Human activity and its correlation to climate change

  For class, we walked along the Noland Trail and discussed the topics of human ingenuity and interaction and how we have “controlled” nature. Our first stop was at the statue by Anna Hyatt Huntington which depicts a man trying to control a wild horse with a makeshift bridle and surrounding the statue were men each representing human ingenuity, the compass, art, writing, and agriculture. The shipyard was also discussed, how the ships allowed people and resources to travel around the world and help spread human habitation. We continued to walk along the trail coming across a small patch of land where young pine trees were planted in an attempt to replenish the forest with these trees, we also came across a Mulberry tree, that grew along the pine trees. There were also sightings of invasive/nonnative plant life such as vines wrapping around the trees, for now, it is harmless to the tree but eventually, it will strangle and kill the tree. There was some attempt to cut the vine but it grew back, continuing to harm the tree. Walking back towards the Liongate bridge a bald eagle was seen flying about the water, it is believed that the bald eagles have a nest along the tree and they continue to come back to that same tree every year. Continuing through the trail we came across a conservation/ preservation sight. The plants were surrounded by a protective barrier to prevent the deer from eating them before they grew to a certain height. This species of plant has had difficulty surviving in their natural world, due to climate change and human activity, some say that human activity has no effect on the livelihood of the environment and its inhabitants and that these events are natural. For millions of years, the earth's climate has continued to change (ice age/ global warming) with species of all kinds dying out and new ones taking their place, so yes climate change can be natural. However, human activity is causing this process to increase unnaturally. The burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas is responsible for releasing an unnatural amount of greenhouse gasses, which is trapping the heat in the atmosphere and heating up the earth. This in turn can melt the permafrost in the tundra region, releasing the methane that has been trapped for thousands of years back into the atmosphere which then is trapped in the atmosphere heating it and causing even more permafrost to melt, this is noun as positive feedback loop. There are many more examples of positive feedback loops that are affecting the environment but the main point is that human activity is causing climate change. 


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