Nature

===Human impact===
Although [[humans]] comprise only a minuscule proportion of the total living [[Biomass (ecology)|biomass]] on Earth, the [[human impact on the environment|human effect on nature]] is disproportionately large. Because of the extent of human influence, the boundaries between what humans regard as nature and "made environments" is not clear cut except at the extremes. Even at the extremes, the amount of natural environment that is free of discernible human influence is diminishing at an increasingly rapid pace. A 2020 study published in ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]'' found that anthropogenic mass (human-made materials) outweighs all living biomass on earth, with [[Plastic pollution|plastic]] alone exceeding the mass of all land and marine animals combined.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Elhacham|first1=Emily |last2=Ben-Uri |first2=Liad |display-authors=etal. |date=2020|title=Global human-made mass exceeds all living biomass |journal=Nature |volume=588 |issue=7838 |pages=442–444 |doi=10.1038/s41586-020-3010-5|pmid=33299177 |bibcode=2020Natur.588..442E |s2cid=228077506 }}</ref> And according to a 2021 study published in ''Frontiers in Forests and Global Change'', only about 3% of the planet's terrestrial surface is ecologically and [[fauna]]lly intact, with a low human footprint and healthy populations of native animal species.<ref>{{cite news |last=Carrington |first=Damian |date=April 15, 2021 |title=Just 3% of world's ecosystems remain intact, study suggests |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/apr/15/just-3-of-worlds-ecosystems-remain-intact-study-suggests |work=The Guardian |location= |access-date=April 16, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Plumptre|first1=Andrew J. |last2=Baisero |first2=Daniele |display-authors=etal. |date=2021 |title=Where Might We Find Ecologically Intact Communities? |url= |journal=Frontiers in Forests and Global Change |volume=4 |issue= |page=626635 |doi=10.3389/ffgc.2021.626635|bibcode=2021FrFGC...4.6635P |doi-access=free |hdl=10261/242175 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> Philip Cafaro, professor of philosophy at the School of Global Environmental Sustainability at [[Colorado State University]], wrote in 2022 that "the cause of global biodiversity loss is clear: other species are being displaced by a rapidly growing human economy."<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Cafaro|first1=Philip|date=2022 |title=Reducing Human Numbers and the Size of our Economies is Necessary to Avoid a Mass Extinction and Share Earth Justly with Other Species|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/359182950|journal=Philosophia|volume=50 |issue= 5|pages=2263–2282 |doi=10.1007/s11406-022-00497-w|s2cid=247433264 |access-date=}}</ref>

The development of [[technology]] by the human race has allowed the greater [[exploitation of natural resources]] and has helped to alleviate some of the risk from [[natural hazards]]. In spite of this progress, however, the fate of human [[civilization]] remains closely linked to changes in the environment. There exists a highly complex [[feedback loop]] between the use of advanced technology and changes to the environment that are only slowly becoming understood.<ref>{{cite web|title=Feedback Loops in Global Climate Change Point to a Very Hot 21st Century|website=Science Daily|date=May 22, 2006|url=http://www.lbl.gov/Science-Articles/Archive/ESD-feedback-loops.html|access-date=January 7, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061208131415/http://www.lbl.gov/Science-Articles/Archive/ESD-feedback-loops.html|archive-date=December 8, 2006|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}}</ref> Human-made threats to the Earth's natural environment include [[pollution]], [[deforestation]], and disasters such as oil spills. Humans have contributed to the [[Holocene extinction|extinction]] of many plants and animals,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kolbert |first=Elizabeth |author-link=Elizabeth Kolbert |title=The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History |title-link=The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History |year=2014 |publisher=[[Henry Holt and Company]] |location=New York City |isbn=978-0805092998}}</ref> with roughly 1 million species threatened with extinction within decades.<ref>{{Cite journal|doi=10.1126/science.aax9287|title=Landmark analysis documents the alarming global decline of nature|last=Stokstad|first=Erik|date=5 May 2019|journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]]|s2cid=166478506}}</ref> The [[biodiversity loss|loss of biodiversity]] and ecosystem functions over the last half century have impacted the extent that nature can contribute to human quality of life,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Brauman |first1=Kate A. |last2=Garibaldi |first2=Lucas A. |date=2020 |title=Global trends in nature's contributions to people |url= |journal=[[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America|PNAS]] |volume=117 |issue=51 |pages=32799–32805 |doi=10.1073/pnas.2010473117|pmid=33288690 |pmc=7768808 |bibcode=2020PNAS..11732799B |doi-access=free }}</ref> and continued declines could pose a major threat to the continued existence of human civilization, unless a rapid course correction is made.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bradshaw |first1=Corey J. A. |last2=Ehrlich |first2=Paul R. |last3=Beattie |first3=Andrew |last4=Ceballos |first4=Gerardo |last5=Crist |first5=Eileen |last6=Diamond |first6=Joan |last7=Dirzo |first7=Rodolfo |last8=Ehrlich |first8=Anne H. |last9=Harte |first9=John |last10=Harte |first10=Mary Ellen |last11=Pyke |first11=Graham |last12=Raven |first12=Peter H. |last13=Ripple |first13=William J. |last14=Saltré |first14=Frédérik |last15=Turnbull |first15=Christine |last16=Wackernagel |first16=Mathis |last17=Blumstein |first17=Daniel T. |date=2021 |title=Underestimating the Challenges of Avoiding a Ghastly Future |journal=Frontiers in Conservation Science |volume=1 |issue= |pages= |doi=10.3389/fcosc.2020.615419 |access-date=|doi-access=free }}</ref> The value of natural resources to human society is not reflected in [[market failure|market prices]] because mostly natural resources are available free of charge. This distorts market pricing of natural resources and at the same time leads to underinvestment in our natural assets. The annual global cost of public subsidies that damage nature is conservatively estimated at $4–6 trillion (million million). Institutional protections of these natural goods, such as the oceans and rainforests, are lacking. Governments have not prevented these economic [[externalities]].<ref>UK Government Official Documents, February 2021, [https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/957629/Dasgupta_Review_-_Headline_Messages.pdf "The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review Headline Messages"] p. 2</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Carrington |first=Damian |date=February 2, 2021 |title=Economics of biodiversity review: what are the recommendations? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/02/economics-of-biodiversity-review-what-are-the-recommendations |work= [[The Guardian]]|location= |access-date=13 November 2021}}</ref>

Humans employ nature for both leisure and economic activities. The acquisition of natural resources for industrial use remains a sizable component of the world's [[economic system]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://knoema.com/zscvyje/natural-resources-contribution-to-gdp|title=Natural Resources contribution to GDP|date=November 2014|website=World Development Indicators (WDI)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141223080408/https://knoema.com/zscvyje/natural-resources-contribution-to-gdp|archive-date=December 23, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2012.html|title=GDP – Composition by Sector|publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency]]|work=[[The World Factbook]]|access-date=February 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140522215220/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2012.html|archive-date=May 22, 2014|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref> Some activities, such as hunting and fishing, are used for both sustenance and leisure, often by different people. [[Agriculture#History|Agriculture]] was first adopted around the [[9th millennium BCE]]. Ranging from food production to energy, nature influences economic wealth.

Although early humans gathered uncultivated plant materials for food and employed the [[medicinal plant|medicinal properties of vegetation]] for healing,<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.nps.gov/plants/medicinal/plants.htm|title = Plant Conservation Alliance – Medicinal Plant Working Groups Green Medicine|publisher = US National Park Services|access-date = September 23, 2006|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061009003035/http://www.nps.gov/plants/medicinal/plants.htm|archive-date = October 9, 2006|url-status=live|df = mdy-all}}</ref> most modern human use of plants is through [[agriculture]]. The [[land conversion|clearance of large tracts]] of land for [[crop]] growth has led to a significant reduction in the amount available of [[forestation]] and [[wetlands]], resulting in the [[loss of habitat]] for many plant and animal species as well as increased [[erosion]].<ref>{{cite web|last = Oosthoek|first = Jan|date = 1999|url = http://www.eh-resources.org/philosophy.html|title = Environmental History: Between Science & Philosophy|publisher = Environmental History Resources|access-date = December 1, 2006|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070626085227/http://www.eh-resources.org/philosophy.html|archive-date = June 26, 2007|url-status=live|df = mdy-all}}</ref>