The Industrial Revolution’s Effects on the Environment

1. The Industrial Revolution’s Effects on the Environment By Katie Wilson, Julia Tuttle, & David Evans

2. Introduction Along with the industrial revolution came the machines that took the place of human labor. While the industrial revolution meant that more goods could be produced for human consumption, it also meant that more pollution would be emitted into the atmosphere, water, and dirt and more natural resources would have to be exploited in the production process.

3. Population Increase & Living Conditions • As more people moved from rural areas to urban cities and immigrants were shipped in, contamination of drinking water, human waste and unsanitary conditions spurred the epidemics of typhoid, cholera, and other diseases that spread among the tenants of close apartments. • Smog episodes killed thousands in the cities and caused respiratory illnesses like bronchitis and pneumonia. Between the 5th of December and 9th of December in 1952, one of the deadliest recorded episodes of urban smog occurred in London, England. As many as 12,000 people may have died as a result of the smog.

4. Smog

5. Did You Know…? Samples of hair from historical figures such as Newton and Napoleon show the presence of toxic elements such as antimony and mercury. By the 1800s, certain trades were associated with characteristic occupational diseases. For example, hatters became disoriented, or “mad,” from nerve-destroying mercury salts used to treat felt fabric and bootblacks suffered liver damage from boot polish solvents.

6. Changes in the Land • With the construction of new buildings, factories, and houses as well as railroads tracks, areas of the countryside were destroyed and replaced by industrial developments. • In order to clear the land for these new developments, deforestation occurred. When trees are removed, soil erosion occurs and species of wildlife and trees are displaced, killed, or facing extinction.

7. Fossil Fuels • The great majority of our energy today derives from fossil fuels. The availability and use of of this energy source has allowed people to produce more and consume more. Fossil fuels include coal, natural gas, and petroleum (crude oil). • Increased use of the steam engine and factory chimneys excreting their smoke from burned coal and oil led to air pollution and darkened skies above cities. • The atmosphere contains a thin layer called the ozone layer, which protects life on earth from ultraviolet radiation. Use of these fossil fuels destroyed and is harming the ozone layer.

8. Contrast “In order to survive, man has to discover and produce everything he needs, which means that he has to alter his background and adapt it to his needs. Nature has not equipped him for adapting himself to his background in the manner of animals. From the most primitive cultures to the most advanced civilizations, man has had to manufacture things; his well-being depends on his success at production. The lowest human tribe cannot survive without that alleged source of pollution: fire.” Ayn Rand (1971) "The Anti-Industrial Revolution," Return of the Primitive, 277.

9. Conclusion During the Industrial Revolution resources seemed inexhaustible and nature was viewed as something to be tamed and civilized. However, some leading industrialists have begun to realize that traditional ways of doing things may not be sustainable over the long term. "What we thought was boundless has limits," Robert Shapiro, the chairman and chief executive officer of Monsanto, said in a 1997 interview, "and we're beginning to hit them."