Unsustainable Progress: How Human Development Comes at a Steep Environmental Cost

 

1. Introduction

Human development is considered as a well-being concept and improvement of living standards. Environmental cost entails all the risks, damages, and disadvantages that are connected with a potential natural resource depletion and deterioration as a result of man’s activities (Vörösmarty et al., 2010, p. 556).

Background:

Man has ventured into various activities with the aim of achieving development, but this process often comes at an environmental cost

Thesis Statement

It is evident that human development is not possible with an environmental cost, which is often experienced in terms of environmental pollution and degradation.

2. Topic Sentence for Body 1: Energy development leads to increased regional and urban air pollution

Supporting Point 1:

Energy is a vital element for the alleviation of poverty in addition to the economic development, but this always is achieved at a cost on the environment (Alberti, 2005, p. 181).

Example / Detail:

Conventionally, the development of energy has not been successful in improving accessibility to energy particularly in the developing countries.

Example / Detail:

There have been cases of increased greenhouse effect that have significantly been a threat to life.

Supporting Point 2:

Energy development has led to the massive excavation by use of land moving machines destroying the shape of the earth

Example / Detail:

The deep holes left after mining has led to increased soil erosion creating breeding ground for dangerous animals and insects

Example / Detail:  The destruction of the shape of the earth have left behind an ugly picture of a deformed earth.

3. Topic Sentence for Body 2:

Economic effect of human development on the environment

Supporting Point 1: The goal to meet the millennium development goal of prevention of hunger have led to loss of biodiversity

Detail/Example:

Agriculture has for year put an upward pressure on the available arable land

Detail/Example:

The increase in the international market for biofuels has led to increased demand for land causing more destruction

Supporting Point 2:

Higher agricultural yield is often associated with a negative impact on biodiversity and ecosystem (Devine-Wright, 2005, p. 58).

Detail/Example:

Destructive fishing practices has led to increased water pollution

Detail/Example:

Land and water population has been on increase in the recent years such that the marine life has been destroyed killing the water animals

4. Topic Sentence for Body 3:

Human development has led to various ecological impacts

Supporting point 1:

Man have over the years been depending on the quality of the environment for his survival and in the process this has led to environmental cost (Martin et al., p. 1231)

Detail/Example:

Human activities have rapidly destroyed the environment in a way that the benefits derived from the activities are less compared to the magnitude of the destruction.

Detail/Example:

Increase water population from man activities have killed the marine life

Supporting point 2:

Mining and industrial development has led to increased water and land pollution posing a threat to lands and wildlife

Detail/Example:

The disturbances results to temperature and climate changes, which lead to the loss of plant species as a result of soil nutrients imbalances (Adams, 2003, n.p).

Detail/Example:

Development has led to destruction of wildlife as a result of wildlife habitat destruction

5. Conclusion

 

Human development has been taking place increasingly with the emergence of modern technology. These developments, however, have been associated with increased environmental destruction that is conceived as a cost to the environment. It is thus recommended that human being should take precaution on every development move that they seek to undertake and establish policies that will protect the environment.

 

References

Adams, W. M. (2003). Green development: Environment and sustainability in the Third World. Routledge.

Alberti, M. (2005). The effects of urban patterns on ecosystem function. International regional science review, 28(2), 168-192.

Devine-Wright, P. (2005). Local aspects of UK renewable energy development:     exploring public beliefs and policy implications. Local Environment, 10(1),         57-69.

Martin, T. G., Wintle, B. A., Rhodes, J. R., Kuhnert, P. M., Field, S. A., Low‐Choy,         S. J., … & Possingham, H. P. (2005). Zero tolerance ecology: improving             ecological        inference by modelling the source of zero observations.   Ecology letters, 8(11), 1235-1246.

Vörösmarty, C. J., McIntyre, P. B., Gessner, M. O., Dudgeon, D., Prusevich, A.,   Green, P., … & Davies, P. M. (2010). Global threats to human water security          and river biodiversity. Nature, 467(7315), 555-561.