The environment is made up of the living and non-living things that are involved in complex interactions. The culture where individuals inhabit and the institutions in which they interact in is known as the social environment.
Environmental injustice is the process by which humans and other living things contribute negatively to their surroundings. Humans have done a lot of injustice by their way of living. Many activities that have led to the harm of the environment include economic activities, social-cultural activities, agricultural, and human activities.
Economic activities have negatively contributed to the environment, hence doing a lot of injustice. The industry companies that are used in the manufacturing of good and products have done damage to the natural recourses. These companies require many raw materials, which are provided by the natural environment thus putting strain and pressure to the natural environment.
This has resulted to unsustainable development because the raw materials are used at a faster rate than they can be replaced. For example, industries that manufacture paper and books get their raw materials from trees (Bell, 42). This has led to the rapid cutting of trees, thus augmenting deforestation. These industries use harmful chemicals that are toxic and dangerous; some of these industries do not have a proper channel of disposing their wastes.
Owing to this, many industries end up disposing their waste into rivers and other natural resources thus affecting the environment negatively. The fumes emanated from these industries are hazardous and they affect the atmosphere, thus destroying the ozone layer. Most of these fumes are acidic and habitually contribute to acidic rain, which affects vegetation, thus affecting the environment negatively. Another economic activity that has violated the justice of the environment is fishing.
The populace that depends on fish for income and food are depleting the product. This has led to overfishing, hence putting strain and pressure on fish. Eventually there is unsustainable development of fish as a natural resource because it is utilized at a faster rate than it is reproduced.
Agricultural activities have really affected the environment negatively. Many people are clearing forests for cultivation, which has resulted to deforestation. Deforestation has led to accumulation of carbon dioxide hence contribution to global warming. Agriculture uses fertilizers, which contains acids; this has led to raise of Ph in the soil thus killing important microorganisms that are used in breakdown of soil.
These fertilizers have caused eutrophication in water bodies especially in the rivers thus endangering the aquatic life. Human activities that do injustice to the environment include mining, timbering, and poaching. Mining has affected the environment negatively because of the explosions that are used in breakdown of the rocks. These explosives have transformed the bionetwork, hence destruction of habitats.
The explosives contain casenogenic chemicals that affect the natural environment. Communities that depend on timbering as a source of income have led to the destruction of trees, thus deforestation. The continuous cut down of trees affects the climate and atmosphere negatively, for instance deforestation has led to accumulation of gases, which in turn destroys the ozone layer.
After the ozone layer has been destroyed, ultraviolet rays reach the earth surface in large quantities thus causing global warming. Some cultures are in the practicing of cutting down trees for burning charcoal. This has led to the accumulation of gases and deforestation hence affecting the environment negatively.
Many activities that humans engage in have really caused a lot of harm to the environment. Industries that add revenue to the government are using the raw materials at an unsustainable rate; this is putting strain to the natural resources thus doing injustice to the environment. Agricultural activities have led to the destruction of forests for settlement and cultivation thus affecting the environment negatively. Owing to these reasons, humans should negotiate between the environment and their activities to ensure sustainable development.
Works Cited
Bell, Mayerfeld. An Invitation to Environmental Sociology. London: Pine Forge Press, 2011.