A friend and I were discussing sustainability and she brought up the concept that in the earth’s ecosystem, humans are an invasive virus. At first, I was a bit taken back. Humans a virus? I always thought we were amazing, that we could do anything, and nothing stood in our way provided that we just figured out how to “get it together” and act in each other’s best interest. It did not take long at all for me to realize that she was right, and there were examples in nature that support that we indeed are a virus, a shock to the system. [1]
One comparison to man’s impact on the ecosystem can be drawn from invasive species. The Great Lakes have been under attack from invasive species since the 1800s, a total of 25 invasive fish species alone. The invasive species have had a significant impact on the existing food chain by competing against the native life forms. The Zebra Mussel is an especially notorious invasive species. Introduced into the Lake St. Claire ecosystem in 1988, in just 22 years they have eliminated the native clams and are clogging pipes and screens to power plant cooling water supplies and municipal water supplies. The Great Lakes ecosystem is also suffering from invasive plants that have eliminated natural flora and hindered water recreation. [2] And the Great Lakes are just one of numerous ecosystems that have been invaded by foreign species. I remember when we lived in rural New Jersey along the Musconetcong River, there was an invasive water plant - I believe it was water chestnut - that essentially overwhelmed the entire river bank on the Bloomsbury side of the river.
Now look at mankind. Man has overtaken the entire globe with the exception of the frigid poles. Does that make man an invasive species? Absolutely. When bringing up the subject of invasive species, man is responsible for bringing most of them into areas where they are non-indigenous. Man impacts every single ecosystem. We plunder the natural resources of our world, typically leaving behind irreparable damage. We raze the Brazilian rain forests acre by acre, killing off thousands of species in the process, forever wiping out pristine forest land, and removing critical carbon dioxide absorbing flora. And this is just one example of pristine forest land being decimated.
We pollute the water. Take for example the Gulf of Mexico. Just this week, 26 baby dolphins washed up dead on-shore between Louisiana and Alabama. This is more than 10 times the typical number. Although not yet conclusively tied into the Gulf oil spill last summer, the oil spill is certainly a major suspect in the deaths. [3] After all, man poured 206 million gallons of crude oil into the waters; the environmental impact of this disaster will have permanent negative effects on the Gulf’s ecosystem.
The Industrial Age led to the prodigious consumption of coal, oil, and natural gas. This has led to acid rain which is destroying our forests and has led to large increases of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. There is still controversy whether or not the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide has led to irreversible global warming. If it is true, warmer temperatures will have unknown and profound effects on the ecosystem. There is no controversy, however, in the effect of the release of halocarbon refrigerants into the atmosphere and their effect on the ozone layer, leading to the famous ozone hole over Antarctica. It is lucky for us that the hole is over Antarctica, where we don’t live, otherwise, we and other life forms nature would be suffering from much higher levels of cancer and other damage from the exposure to solar radiation normally absorbed by the ozone.
Then there are more insidious forms of invasiveness. Take urban sprawl in the United States. Over 50 years ago, people lived in the cities or towns where they worked and, if not, lived near rail and transportation centers that made it easier to take public transportation. At any rate, they lived closer to work, so if they drove, the distances were much shorter. When I was a young child, my father always lived within 10 miles from work. Then people started to migrate into the suburban regions, pushing the suburbs ever farther away from the centers of work. Eventually, even industrial parks sprang up in the suburbs. Today it is very common for people to commute more than 20 miles one-way to work and even 50 or more mile commutes are not uncommon. Because the most likely commute is from one suburban area to another, the one-passenger automobile is the rule. What is the impact? More gasoline burned. More time wasted in heavy traffic and therefore less quality time to live. More scrap automobiles and tires. More pollution. Ever larger houses and properties require two wage-earners to support the added costs, leading to an even higher commuting impact. And the increasing area of the urban sprawl consumes forests and other rural land.
So there is no question that humans are an invasive species, a virus that has had a profound impact on the Earth’s ecosystems. What do we do about it? At the individual level, make intelligent purchasing decisions, live closer to work, carpool or take public transportation, repair/recycle/borrow as opposed to replace and throw away, and be mindful of the proper disposal of household waste, much of which may be hazardous. At the industrial level, have sustainability policies, optimize energy consumption, reduce the use of toxic chemicals, reduce waste, recycle, and reuse. At the government level, promote and reward environmentally sound practices, punish and tax environmentally unsound practices, and when weighing various options, weigh all impacts of the decision including unintended consequences. Most importantly, we all need to understand that the very future of our children, our grandchildren, and the survivability of the human race may depend on the actions we take today in protecting our environment and therefore the future of mankind.
1. Conversation with an anonymous friend who is very knowledgeable in the field of sustainability.
