Environmental Issues in the Desert

People may not recognize it, but deserts cover a great percentage of the Earth's surfaces. Although there does not exist as much traffic, chemical treatment or as many factories as urban areas, environmental issues in the desert still do exist, such as global warming, growing urban expansion and poor air quality. So in addition to natural causes, environmental issues in the desert can point the finger towards human impact both directly and indirectly.

Global warming has such an impact on every ecosystem, but not always the same type of effects. Global warming in the desert only adds to the already stifling temperatures of the barren regions, and a further increase in its dry heat hurts any plant and wild life that attempts to survive there. Global warming also creates extremes in temperatures and precipitation, so whereas sometimes the temperature is continually rising, there also exist long period of heavy rainfall, and flood-like monsoons can be damaging to crops, wild life and also pollutes the air when mixed with the dust.

Urban expansion, or the spreading of city life to rural areas, is another factor that weighs heavily on the desert environment. Areas in Nevada and Arizona are constantly being urbanized, and, with that, comes negative effects on the desert environment. Construction, noise and deforestation are among a few of the many negative aspects of urban expansion. Although creating more cities means more jobs and homes for Americans, no good deed goes unpunished.

Deforestation is the removal of trees necessary in an ecosystem that already struggles to have a strong air supply, so construction and noise which both pollute as well are kicking an already dead horse. Cities may be necessary to house and employ a quickly growing population, but these negative side effects have the ability to strongly impact the health and environment of the desert and its inhabitants.

Poor air quality is due mostly in part to the natural processes, aside from the developments in agriculture and urbanization, dust storms which commonly occur in desert regions put a lot of the dirt, sand and rock particles into the air. That mixed with the lack of moisture can cause health risks for humans, when inhaled through the lungs. The poor air quality, as well as the lack of moisture and natural drinking water, makes it difficult for wild life to exist in the desert environment.

Human impact is both a direct and indirect strain on the desert environment. Besides urban expansion, there also exists the agricultural side to desert living, whose irrigation systems and chemical pollution pose a threat to creating more desert than there already is, as well as harming the plant and wild life at the same time.

Every issue has its pros and cons, and in an environment like the desert, there is going to be a constant desire to expand upon and improve its terrain. The downside to this is that for every improvement that humans attempt to make or expand upon, there will exist a dark consequence.