preview

Canada Thistle: Can Humans Harm The Environment?

Decent Essays

When trying to co-exist with the environment there contain many challenges. And sometimes as an effect of these challenges humans may harm the environment. Humanity can harm the environment in many ways. For example, dumping trash in landfills, cutting down trees, burning fossil fuels for energy, and clearing out an area for new housing and businesses. Out of the many ways that people can harm the environment, introducing a non-native species into new surroundings harms the environment the most.
When someone introduces an non-native species into a new environment, it could harm its surroundings. Also known as an invasive species. The definition of an invasive species is “1) are not native to, yet can spread into, wildland ecosystems, and that …show more content…

An example of an invasive plant includes the Canada thistle. The Canada thistle harms the environment because it, “crowds out and replaces native plants, changes the structure and species composition of natural plant communities and reduces plant and animal diversity… prevents the coexistence of other plant species through shading, competition for soil resources… through the release of chemical toxins poisonous to other plants” (Canada). The Canada thistle’s only special way of harming the surrounding environment consists of poisoning the plants that surround it. Otherwise the Canada thistle does not have any special ways that it harms the environment. People brought the Canada thistle to the United States in the 1600’s. By the year 1954, Canada and the United States of America declare the Canada thistle as a “noxious weed.” However now many consider the Canada thistle as an invasive plant (Canada). The Canada thistle has many ways that you can control it. You can cut it by hand, pull the plant out, burn them, or use chemicals to kill these plants. The best way to get rid of the Canada thistle encompasses using chemicals. If you do not have any chemicals to do this job you can always cut the plant down to the ground, and when it regrows do this again until the roots become exhausted …show more content…

Most of the time people bring non-native species into new environment by purpose. The people who bring them to their new environments mostly aren’t aware that they could harm their new surroundings. When trying to reverse the effects of an invasive species it could take years. It takes volunteers hours upon hours to dig up plants, trap, scare away, burn, poison, and animal proof areas to prevent an invasive species from spreading. Introducing a non-native species into a new environment is like introducing fire to

Get Access