What is the single most harmful thing humans do to our enviornment?

Question

(e.g.) What action if totaly stoped or changed could have the most benificial impact on our enviornment?

Bottom trawling fishing, Power production, Oil Production, Fresh water consumption, etc...

Answer 1

The human population is growing at an exponential rate, and like any uncontrolled population, we will wreck our planet. So, the first thing to stop would be: reproduction. Although, an alternative would be a better global distribution of resources.

Answer 2

An awesome question without an awesome answer.

Simply put we have bred ourselves out of a planet. There are far more humans than the planet can support.

Probably if there were no more than a couple of hundred million people, they could all live in comfortable , well educated and enlighted lifestyles without causing the planet's environment to inevtiably collapes.

We need to address almost every human activity and I suspect we'll have to adopt policies which would make even the most "green" tree-hugger pause and reflect upon the harshness of the measure, not to mention the conservative (we're not harming anything) crowd.

Of course it's very unlikely we'll do anything hard or invconvenient, so really our decendants (children,grandchildren etc) will live with the knowledge that they were cursed by us to live on a world that is changing radically.

The inequality of the rich and the poor will mean the poor will always be rising up causing terrorism, fighting corporatism etc, causing the rich to expend resources defending themselves.

Think of it this way, the generation being born today is probably the last generation that will know of animals like tigers, lions or large temparate glaciers firsthand. Fresh water, clean air and fish will become rarities which they "always" paid more for.

Answer 3

Humans

Answer 4

The answer is Live. Everything humans do is contrary to this planet. How about garbage! I see that as the most changeable thing that people can change on an individual level. Stop wasting and stop littering and stop over consuming. The planet is doing things that it always does for instance Hurricanes...if people weren't in the way then they wouldn't affect anyone.

Answer 5

Hi.
Economic interests are spoiling everything,becaming the most harmfull issue ,spoiling the environment .

If you see the other answers given , you will find that commercial
interests at most,are giving problems to the natural environment.
The list of these interests is very long.
We sholud start to live in a different way,feeling responsible for the protection of the environments in which we are living.
The governments should support more the citizens of their
countries in their efforts.(Ignoring the economic interests of their politicians.......................................).
It's a dream.Of course.
Everybody will insist to think to his own ,personal ,interest,ignoring the damages to others.
Our children will pay for this.
Regards.
N.M.

Answer 6

The use of coal as a source of energy - By far one of the stupidest things we have committed on this planet.

check out the statistics
http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/coalvswind/c02c.html

Answer 7

clinging to the false notion, that everything that benefits the environment is a socialist conspiracy! this has to be the pinnacle of stupidity!

Answer 8

WAR

with nuclear bombs, chemicals, and Depleted Uranium

Answer 9

Slash & Burn forest clearing.

Answer 10

reproduce excessively