An Overview Of Human Activities

Aug 4

The environment is under pressure because of human activity. This section explores eight significant industries and gives a summary of the effects they have on the environment. viewpoints and the forces that shape them.

Energy

investigates energy-related activities at three stages on a local and European level: primary energy production, derived energy conversion (electricity and heat), and end-use. There is a short discussion of how energy sources like nuclear power, renewable energy, and fossil fuels affect the environment. We'll talk about the variables that will affect how energy is used and changed in the future.

The usage of energy and GDP have been separated since the crises of the 1970s.
In Europe, expenditures on industry account for 41%, transportation for 22%, and domestic and business activities for 37%.
In Western Europe, energy consumption is to blame for a variety of local consequences on water, soil, and land, including air pollution, acidification, tropospheric ozone, and climate change.

Industry

provides a summary of the environmental impact of European industry while showing inequalities throughout the continent. A evaluation of the significance of industry as a whole in terms of emissions, waste production, and resource use is done, and the "environmental performance" of different industrial sectors is evaluated. Additionally, how business practices have changed in response to environmental concerns is examined. Industrial data that may be related to environmental harm is scarce. Statistics on output and energy usage are available from international sources as well as national and state-of-the-environment assessments for specific sectors.

The chemical industry decreased its energy usage per unit of output by 30% between 1980 and 1989.
The industries with the worst environmental effects are those producing chemicals, pulp and paper, cement, steel, and nonferrous metals.
In 1990, industry emitted 14% of nitrogen oxides and 25% of SO2 (20 countries).
All industrial facility emissions are going down.

Transport

Examines how transportation affects the environment and provides an overview of the problem of transportation over all of Europe, taking into account regional variations. Investigations are conducted on the environmental impacts of transportation patterns as well as certain underlying causes. Also considered is the direction of transportation in Europe. The European Conference of Ministers for Transport (ECMT), Eurostat, and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe are the main data sources (UNECE). We utilized information from the academic literature to show.

In Western Europe, the percentage of private vehicle ownership doubled between 1970 and 1990, and road traffic accounted for 80% of all energy-related CO2 emissions, or 25% of the total. Despite decreased emissions per car, total pollutant emissions are projected to increase in the future years.
Transportation infrastructure is causing a growing fragmentation of land use.
Over the last 20 years, road traffic accidents have claimed the lives of more than one million people in the EU alone.

Agriculture examines the adjustments made to agricultural technique and organization in response to demand, as well as any potential environmental impacts. Despite the fact that there is a wealth of data available at the national level, particularly in the and EFTA countries, the majority of it is concentrated on production, employment structure, fertilizer and pesticide use, livestock demographics, and farm sizes; very few studies examine the scope and contribution of agricultural production as well as changes in agricultural systems to environmental impacts.

In Europe, agriculture occupies 42% of the continent's total land area. Agriculture's economic contribution in Western Europe is declining, while output and labor productivity have been rising steadily.
Agriculture is a victim of environmental degradation in addition to polluting water, lowering the quality of the soil, eradicating biodiversity, and changing the landscape.

Forestry The condition of Europe's forests and their utilization are examined. The chapter addresses the main motivating factors for these changes and shows how linked actions and behaviors might have an influence on the environment. The statistics were compiled using traditional forest inventories as well as qualitative information on specific environmental effects and non-wood production forestry.

With the majority in the south and west, forests currently cover 33 percent of Europe's geographical area, an increase of 10% in 30 years. In contrast, the cover in several eastern nations has stayed steady or decreased. Non-native species have changed the composition of forests since 1965, with European wood output increasing by 18% and consumption increasing by 28%.

Fishing And Aquaculture

Review of the nature and relevance of the environmental effects of fishing, as well as an overview of fishing and aquaculture throughout all of Europe with a focus on regional differences. The effectiveness of current fishing regulations is evaluated. The main data sources are international organizations (FAO and Eurostat), with examples taken from scientific papers and state-of-the-environment reports.

Due to overfishing, fixed and drift nets have an impact on marine mammals in the northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean, including dolphins, monk seals, and maybe porpoises and seabirds.
Wastewater from aquaculture pollutes the environment.
If exotic species are introduced via aquaculture, they may compete with or replace native species.

Touristic Recreation

With an emphasis on regional differences, the author presents a general assessment of the situation in Europe in terms of tourism and leisure. Among the six main contexts where the consequences of tourism and recreation are assessed are protected areas, rural areas, mountain ranges, coastal regions, cities and historical sites, and theme and recreation parks. A case-by-case approach using national or local data is employed since tourist statistics do not adequately reflect the environmental consequences of tourism and leisure. General trends are indicated using World Tourism Organization data.

One of the most significant social and economic activity in the EU is tourism. The concentration of tourist activity into brief vacation seasons and relatively limited places exacerbates its consequences. Skiing has a big influence on the environment, particularly in the Alps, where 100 million people visit annually. 157 million people traveled to the Mediterranean shore in 1990.

Households

Review of the effects on the environment at home in terms of resource use and emissions, as well as the underlying causes and feasible preventative measures. There are no statistics that link dwellings to their surroundings. International organizations like Eurostat provide socioeconomic data. Case studies using national data are used to help provide a more complete picture.

Seventy percent of industrial production in Europe is consumed at home, and as the number of homes grows while shrinking in size, resource demand is increasing.
Today, every household in western Europe possesses at least one car, which has a significant negative impact on the environment.
Even while 50% of household waste may be recycled, only around 10% of it is actually collected for recycling, and the quantity of trash that homes produce keeps growing.
European houses use around 19 percent of the total water given for all purposes, and this number is rising.