The environmental effects of paper are significant, which has led to changes in industry and behaviour at both business and personal levels. [271] Additionally, certain military technologies have proven extremely helpful for conservationists and environmental scientists. According to a number of studies, increased entropy is likely to be correlated to negative environmental impacts. The Science of the Ozone Hole", "The Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer", "Computational Tool to Support the Decision in the Selection of Alternative and/or Sustainable Refrigerants", "Ozone hole shrinks to lowest size since 1982, unrelated to climate change: NASA", "Ozone Hole Above Antarctica Shrinks to Smallest Size on Record", "The Ozone Hole-The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer", "Background for International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer - 16 September", 10.1641/0006-3568(2003)053[0341:TNC]2.0.CO;2, "On Complexity Theory, Exergy and Industrial Ecology: Some Implications for Construction Ecology", "The Quest for Sustainability: Challenges for Process Systems Engineering", "environmental impact of energy European Environment Agency", "What are the safest and cleanest sources of energy? We find ourselves on Earth, after 4.5 billion years of Earth history by chance, not by design. Your conclusion will include a summary of the lab results and an interpretation of the results. [59][60], Agricultural irrigation technologies such as high powered water pumps, dams, and pipelines are responsible for the large-scale depletion of fresh water resources such as aquifers, lakes, and rivers. [63] Such losses are attributable not only to soil erosion, but also to salinization, loss of nutrients and organic matter, acidification, compaction, water logging and subsidence. [65] Despite estimated losses of agricultural land, the amount of arable land used in crop production globally increased by about 9% from 1961 to 2012, and is estimated to have been 1.396 billion hectares in 2012. [131], Invasive species are defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as non-native to the specific ecosystem, and whose presence is likely to harm the health of humans or the animals in said system.[132]. Heavy metals usually exhibit toxic effects towards the soil biota, and this is through the affection of the microbial processes and decreases the number as well as activity of soil microorganisms.