Technological Developments
Human technologies which degrade the environment result in a loss of diversity in the living and nonliving environment.   Biodiversity refers to the differences in living things in an ecosystem.
Many of our technologies and resource use practices have resulted in an irreversible loss of biodiversity.

Some examples of human activities which have negatively influenced other organisms include our land use practices and pollution.    Excessive land use decreases the space and resources available to other species on the planet.   Air, soil, and water pollution changes the composition of these environmental resources, making them harmful and unusable for other species and sometimes ourselves.

Endangered Species
Endangered species are those species which are threatened with destruction due to habitat destruction or other factors.  Animals which were once endangered but are presently successfully reproducing and increasing their numbers are the bisons, gray wolves and egrets.  Other endangered animals which are currently responding to conservation efforts and beginning to make a comeback are the whooping crane, bald eagle, and peregrine falcon.    Even with these successes, the future of many endangered species remains in doubt.

Exotic Species
The importation of some organisms have caused problems for native organisms.   Organisms which are imported into an area from another region are called exotic species.  Many examples of this are found world-wide.  Some common examples of exotic species having negative effects would include the rabbits and deer which were imported into Australia.   These exotic species won the competition with many native herbivorous marsupials and became nuisance species.    The starling was brought into the United States from Europe.   The starling has out competed many of our native songbirds.    We also have alien invasive species which have caused problems in New York State.   These include the plants such as the Water Chestnut, Eurasian Water milfoil, and Purple Loosestrife and animals such as the Alewife and Zebra Mussel.

The Purple Loosestrife

Purple loosestrife is a plant native to Europe. It was brought to North America in the early 1800's by immigrants who valued its beautiful purple flowers.  It is now a serious pest of wetlands.  Once purple loosestrife enters a wetland, it takes over. Common native wetland plants, such as cattails, cannot compete with purple loosestrife. Once these native plants are choked out, the wildlife that depends on them for food and shelter are also eliminated.

Use of Fossil Fuels
Fossil fuels are becoming rapidly depleted.   The use of these fuels are adding to out air pollution problems.   The search and demand for additional fossil fuel resources also impact ecosystems in a negative way.  Industrialization has brought an increased demand for and use of energy.

One of the ways the increased burning of fossil fuels has had a harmful influence of the environment is by causing an increased incidence of acid precipitation.   

How does Acid Precipitation occur?

Most acid rain influencing New York State is caused by sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide pollution from the burning of fossil fuels in the Western and Midwestern United States.   These gases combine with water vapor in the atmosphere and fall back to the earth over New York and the Eastern United States as acid precipitation.

Our increased burning of fossil fuels and the release of excess carbon dioxide to the atmosphere associated with their combustion is also contributing to the Greenhouse Effect or global warming.    It is believed the increase in level of carbon dioxide and some other gases is not allowing much infrared or heat radiation to escape the planet into outer space.   This is causing our planet to slowly warm.   The graphs in the table below show the link between increasing earth carbon dioxide levels and the increase in global average temperatures.

Ozone Depletion
CFC's (chloroflurocarbons) are very active chemicals associated with certain human manufacturing processes and products.   This CFC pollution from refrigerants and plastics are destroying our thin ozone shield high up in our atmosphere or in the stratosphere.   This layer of ozone normally shields us from excessive incoming ultraviolet radiation.   Some consequences of this ever increasing ozone depletion appear to be an increased incidence of skin cancers and cataracts in the human population.

Nuclear Energy
While nuclear energy avoids many of the pollution drawbacks associated with the increased burning of fossil fuels, there are many risks associated with the use of nuclear fuels for energy.  Environmental dangers exist in reference to obtaining, using, and storing the wastes from these fuels.   Many of the waste products of used nuclear fuel stay in the environment for thousands of years and release radiation which is harmful to humans or other living things.   Additionally, the water used to cool many nuclear reactors must be released eventually to the environment.   The thermal pollution associated with this released heat into the water is potentially dangerous to the aquatic life in the area where this hot water is released.

Other Factors Influencing Environmental Quality
Many different factors besides industry and resource use have influences on environmental quality.   Some factors include population growth and distribution, resource use, the capacity of technology to solve environmental problems, as well as economic, cultural, political, and ethical views.