Abstract
People currently live in a unique time, the Anthropocene. Since the acceleration of the Industrial Revolution (~1850), humans have become a huge geological force. In 1800, 1 billion people lived in the world, but in 2018 the global human population exceeded 7.6 billion. The beginning of large-scale human impacts during the 1950s was related to the dynamics of global population growth thus far unprecedented in human history. The years 1950–1970 were defined by a quickly expanding chemical industry and the widespread popular belief that so-called progress would result in seemingly endless improvement in the quality of everyday life but that led to destruction and pollution of environment with huge amounts of chemicals (including metals) from industry, agriculture and transport. Anthropogenic metal emission still persists in the world, but its main sources are no longer located in Europe and North America, however, in Asia where half of the global population live. For example, in 2015 aluminium ore mining increased 33 times compared to 1950 and the mining of other economically important metals [iron (Fe), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn)] >6 times. In the case of highly toxic metals such as cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb), this increase was 4.3 higher, respectively, but there was a 50% decrease in mercury (Hg) production. It is estimated that at least 60 elements (out of 118 naturally occurring on Earth) were mobilized from minerals and introduced into biogeochemical cycles on a larger scale (>50%) as the result of human activity rather than natural causes. Never in Earth’s history a single species has dominated the biosphere the way Homo sapiens population does now.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Acevedo-Whitehouse K, Duffus ALJ (2009) Effects of environmental change on wildlife health. Philos Trans R Soc B 364:3429–3438
Adriano DC (2001) Trace elements in terrestrial environments: biogeochemistry, bioavailability, and risk of metals. Springer, New York
Arndt NT, Fontboté L, Hedenquist JW, Kesler SE, Thompson JFH, Wood DG (2017) Future global mineral resources. Geochem Perspect 6:1–171
Assi MA, Hezmee MNM, Haron AW, Sabri MYM, Rajion MA (2016) The detrimental effects of lead on human and animal health. Vet World 9:660–671
ATSDR (2017) Case studies in environmental medicine. Lead toxicity. Course WB2832, https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/csem/csem.asp?csem=34&po=8
Balatsky AV, Balatsky GI, Borysov SS (2015) Resource demand growth and sustainability due to increased world consumption. Sustainability 7:3430–3440
Balmford A (2013) Pollution, politics, and vultures. Science 339:653–654
Bartlett AA (1998) Reflections on sustainability, population growth, and the environment. Renew Resour J 15:6–23
Bernanke J, Kohller HG (2009) The impact of environmental chemicals on wildlife vertebrates. Rev Environ Contam Toxicol 198:1–47
Bernhardt ES, Rosi EJ, Gessner MO (2017) Synthetic chemicals as agents of global change. Front Ecol Environ 15:84–90
Bloodworth A, Gunn G (2012) The future of the global minerals and metals sector: issues and challenges out to 2050. Geosciences 15:90–97
Blus LJ (2011) DDT, DDD and DDE in birds. In: Beyer WN, Meador JP (eds) Environmental contaminants in biota: interpreting tissue concentrations. CRC Press, Taylor & Francis, Boca Raton, pp 425–447
Bond DPG, Grasby SE (2016) On the causes of mass extinctions. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol Palaeoecol 478:3–29
Bongaarts J (2009) Human population growth and the demographic transition. Philos Trans R Soc B 364:2985–2990
Borg K, Wanntrop H, Erne K, Hanko E (1969) Alkyl mercury poisoning in terrestrial Swedish wildlife. Viltrevy 6:301–379
Bouwman H, Bornman R, van den Berg H, Kylin H (2013) DDT: fifty years since Silent Spring. In: Late lessons from early warnings: science, precaution, innovation, Chapter 11. Environment and Health Environmental Scenarios. EEA Report No 1/2013, Environmental European Agency, Luxembourg, pp 240–259
Bradshaw CJA, Brook BW (2014) Human population reduction is not a quick fix for environmental problems. PNAS 111:16610–16615
Brondizio ES, O’Brien K, Bai X, Biermann F, Steffen W, Berkhout F et al (2016) Re-conceptualizing the Anthropocene: a call for collaboration. Glob Environ Chang 39:318–327
Brundtland GH (1987) Our common future. World Commission on Environment and Development, Oxford University Press, Oxford
Candelone JP, Hong S, Pellone C, Boutron C (1995) Post-industrial revolution changes in large-scale atmospheric pollution of the Northern Hemisphere by heavy metals as documented in central Greenland snow and ice. J Geophys Res 100(D8):16605–16616
Carson R (1962) Silent spring. Houghton Mifflin, Boston
Carvalho FP (2017) Pesticides, environment, and food safety. Food Energy Secur 6:48–60
Castello MJ (2015) Biodiversity: the known, unknown, and rates of extinction. Curr Biol 25:R362–R383
Chellan P, Sadler PJ (2015) The elements of life and medicines. Philos Trans A Math Phys Eng Sci 373:20140182
Clemencon R (2012) Welcome to the anthropocene: Rio+20 and the meaning of sustainable development. J Environ Dev 21:311–338
Cohen JE (2010) Beyond population: everyone counts in development. CGD Working Paper 220, Washington, DC Center for Global Development, http://www.cgdev.org/content/publications/detail/1424318
Corlett LT (2015) The Anthropocene concept in ecology and conservation. Trends Ecol Evol 30:36–41
Cox C (1991) Pesticides and birds: from DDT to today’s poisons. J Pestic Reform 11:2–6
Crutzen PJ, Stoermer EF (2000) The “Anthropocene”. Glob Change Newsl 41:17–18
Davidson AJ, Binks SP, Gediga J (2016) Lead industry life cycle studies: environmental impact and life cycle assessment of lead battery and architectural sheet production. Int J Life Cycle Assess 21:1624–1636
de Sherbinin A, Carr D, Cassels S, Jiang L (2007) Population and environment. Annu Rev Environ Resour 32:345–373
Ding L, Liu Z, Aggrey MO, Li C, Chen J, Tong L (2015) Nanotoxicity: the toxicity research progress of metal and metal-containing nanoparticles. Mini Rev Med Chem 15:529–542
Ewing B, Reed A, Galli A, Kitzes J, Wackernagel M (2010) Calculation methodology for the national footprint accounts, 2010 edition. Global Footprint Network, Oakland
Fagerberg J, Srholec M (2017) Capabilities, economic development, sustainability. Camb J Econ 41:905–926
Franson JC, Pain D (2011) Lead in birds. In: Beyer WN, Meador JP (eds) Environmental contaminants in biota: interpreting tissue concentrations. CRC Press, Boca Raton, pp 563–593
Gall JE, Boyd RS, Rajakaruna N (2015) Transfer of heavy metals through terrestrial food webs: a review. Environ Monit Assess 187:201
Galloway JN, Schlesinger WH, Clark CM, Grimm NB, Jackson RB, Law BE et al (2014) Biogeochemical cycles. In: Melillo JM, Richmond TC, Yohe GW (eds) Climate Change Impacts in the United States: The Third National Climate Assessment, US Global Change Research Program, pp 350–368
Gardner G, Prugh T, Renner M (2015) State of the world 2015: confronting hidden threats to sustainability. Worldwatch Institute, Washington
Gaston KJ (2005) Biodiversity and extinction: species and people. Prog Phys Geogr 29:239–247
Giese B, Klaessig F, Park B, Kaegi R, Steinfeldt M, Wigger H et al (2018) Risks, release and concentrations of engineered nanomaterial in the environment. Sci Rep 8:1565
Gong X, Yang S, Zhang M (2017) Not only health: environmental pollution disasters and political trust. Sustainability 9:575
Gorman HS, Conway EM (2005) Monitoring the environment: taking a historical perspective. Environ Monit Assess 106:1–10
Goulson D (2014) Pesticides linked to bird declines. Nature 511:295–296. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13642
Halada K, Shimada M, Ijima K (2008) Forecasting of the consumption of metals up to 2050. Mater Trans 49:402–410
Hayes TB, Hansen M (2017) From silent spring to silent night: agrochemicals and the Anthropocene. Elem Sci Anth 5:57
Horowitz HM, Jacob DJ, Amos HM, Streets DG, Sunderland EM (2014) Historical mercury releases from commercial products: global environmental implications. Environ Sci Technol 48:10242–10250
Hylander LD, Meili M (2003) 500 years of mercury production: global annual inventory by region until 2000 and associated emissions. Sci Total Environ 304:13–27
Ikeda M, Watanabe T, Nakatsuka H, Moriguchi J, Sakuragi S, Ohashi F, Shimbo S (2015) Cadmium exposure in general populations in Japan: a review. Food Saf 3:118–135
Inshakova E, Inshakov O (2017) World market for nanomaterials: structure and trends. MATEC Web of Conferences 129:02013
Klee RJ, Graedel TE (2004) Elemental cycles: a status report on human or natural dominance. Annu Rev Environ Resour 29:69–107
Köhler HR, Triebskorn R (2013) Wildlife ecotoxicology of pesticides: can we track effects to the population level and beyond? Science 341:759–765
Kuklinska K, Wolska L, Namiesnik J (2015) Air quality policy in the U.S. and the EU – a review. Atmos Pollut Res 6:129–137
Ma WC (2011) Lead in mammals. In: Beyer WN, Meador JP (eds) Environmental contaminants in biota: interpreting tissue concentrations. CRC Press, Boca Raton, pp 595–607
Mackenzie FT, Chris S (1993) C, N, P, S biogeochemical cycles and global change. In: Wollast R, Mackenzie FT, Chou L (eds) Interactions of C, N, P and S biogeochemical cycles and global change. Springer, New York, pp 1–62
McCauley DJ, Pinsky ML, Palumbi SR, Estes JA, Joyce FH, Warner RR (2015) Marine defaunation: animal loss in the global ocean. Science 347:1255641
McKee JK, Sciulli PW, Fooce CD, Waite TA (2004) Forecasting biodiversity threats due to human population growth. Biol Conserv 115:61–164
Meinert LD, Gilpin R, Robinson GR, Nassar NT (2016) Mineral resources: reserves, peak production and the future. Resources 5:14. https://doi.org/10.3390/resources5010014
Mikulewicz M, Chojnacka K, Kawala B, Gredes T (2017) Trace elements in living systems: from beneficial to toxic effects. Biomed Res Int 2017:8297814
Mitra A, Chatterjee C, Mandal FB (2011) Synthetic chemical pesticides and their effects on birds. Res J Environ Toxicol 5:81–96
Mohr S, Giurco D, Retamal M, Mason L, Mudd G (2018) Global projection of lead-zinc supply from known resources. Resources 7:17
Monastersky R (2015) The human age. Nature 519:145–147
Mosa A, Duffin J (2017) The interwoven history of mercury poisoning in Ontario and Japan. CMAJ 189:E213–E215
Nielsen FH (1984) Fluoride, vanadium, nickel, arsenic, and silicon in total parenteral nutrition. Bull NY Acad Med 60:177–195
Nielsen FH (1998) Ultratrace elements in nutrition: current knowledge and speculation. J Trace Elem Exp Med 11:251–274
Nishijo M, Nakagawa H, Suwazono Y, Nogawa K, Kido T (2017) Causes of death in patients with Itai-itai disease suffering from severe chronic cadmium poisoning: a nested case–control analysis of a follow-up study in Japan. BMJ Open 7:e015694
Norwood BM, Forbes JM, Harris JCO (1951) Iron and steel. In: Bureau of mines, minerals yearbook, pp 696–714
Nott MP, Rogers E, Pimm S (1995) Modern extinctions inthe kilo-death range. Curr Biol 5:14–17
Nriagu JO, Pacyna J (1988) Quantitative assessment of worldwide contamination of air, water and soil by trace metals. Nature 333:134–139
Obrist D, Kirk JL, Zhang L, Sunderland EM, Jiskra M, Selin NE (2018) A review of global environmental mercury processes in response to human and natural perturbations: changes of emissions, climate, and land use. Ambio 47:116–140
OECD (2011) Celebrating 40 years of the OECD environment policy committee (1971–2011). OECD, http://www.oecd.org/env/48943696.pdf
Olsson P, Moore ML, Westley FR, McCarthy DDP (2017) The concept of the Anthropocene as a game-changer: a new context for social innovation and transformations to sustainability. Ecol Soc 22:31
Peralta-Videa JR, Zhao L, Lopez-Moreno ML, de la Rosa G, Hong J, Gardea-Torresdey JL (2011) Nanomaterials and the environment: a review for the biennium 2008–2010. J Hazard Mater 186:1–15
Pimm SL, Jenkins CN, Abell R, Brooks TM, Gittleman JL, Joppa LN et al (2014) The biodiversity of species and their rates of extinction, distribution, and protection. Science 344:1246752
Racki G, Rakocinski M, Marynowski L, Wignall P (2018) Mercury enrichments and the Frasnian-Famennian biotic crisis: a volcanic trigger proved? Geology 46(6):543–546. https://doi.org/10.1130/G40233.1
Rauch JN (2009) Global mapping of Al, Cu, Fe, and Zn in-use stocks and in-ground resources. PNAS 106:18920–18925
Rauch JN, Pacyna JM (2009) Earth’s global Ag, Al, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb, and Zn cycles. Global Biogeochem Cycles 23:GB2001
Ray PC, Yu H, Fu PP (2009) Toxicity and environmental risks of nanomaterials: challenges and future needs. J Environ Sci Health C Environ Carcinog Ecotoxicol Rev 27:1–35
Ripple WJ, Wolf C, Newsome TM, Galetti M, Alamgir M, Crist E et al (2017) World scientists’ warning to humanity: a second notice. BioScience 67:1026–1028
Salata OV (2004) Applications of nanoparticles in biology and medicine. J Nanobiotechnol 2:3
Sen IS, Peucker-Ehrenbrink B (2012) Anthropogenic disturbance of element cycles at the Earth’s surface. Environ Sci Technol 46:8601–8609
Sodhi NS, Bickford D, Diesmos AC, Lee TM, Koh LP, Brook BW et al (2008) Measuring the meltdown: drivers of global amphibian extinction and decline. PLoS One 3:e1636
Soetan K, Olaiya CO, Oyewole OE (2010) The importance of mineral elements for humans, domestic animals and plants: a review. Afr J Food Sci 4:200–222
Steffen W, Persson A, Deutsch L, Zalasiewicz J, Williams M, Richardson K et al (2011) The anthropocene: from global change to planetary stewardship. Ambio 40:739–761
Stokes LC, Giang A, Selin NE (2016) Splitting the south: China and India’s divergence in international environmental negotiations. Glob Environ Polit 16:12–31
Strode S, Lyatt Jaegle L, Selin NE (2009) Impact of mercury emissions from historic gold and silver mining: global modeling. Atmos Environ 43:2012–2017
Syvitski JPM (2012) Anthropocene: an epoch of our making. Glob Chang 78:12–15
Thiéry A, De Jong L, Issartel J, Moreau X, Saez G, Barthélémy P et al (2012) Effects of metallic and metal oxide nanoparticles in aquatic and terrestrial food chains: biomarkers responses in invertebrates and bacteria. Int J Nanotechnol 9:181–203
Tian HZ, Zhu CY, Gao JJ, Cheng K, Hao JM, Wang K et al (2015) Quantitative assessment of atmospheric emissions of toxic heavy metals from anthropogenic sources in China: historical trend, spatial distribution, uncertainties, and control policies. Atmos Chem Phys 15:10127–10147
Tong S, von Schirnding YE, Prapamontol T (2000) Environmental lead exposure: a public health problem of global dimensions. Bull WHO 78:1068–1077
UCS (1992) World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity. Union of Concerned Scientists, https://www.ucsusa.org
UN Environment (2017) Global mercury supply, trade and demand. UN Environment – Economy Division Chemicals and Health Branch, Geneva, p 96. www.unep.org/chemicalsandwaste/resources/publications
UN WPP (2017) World Population Prospects: The 2017 Revision, Key Findings and Advance Tables. United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, Working Paper No. ESA/P/WP/248, p 53
UNEP (2012) One planet, how many people? A review of Earth’s carrying capacity. A discussion paper for the year of RIO+20
UNEP/FAO UN (1991) Decision guidance documents. DDT. United Nations Environment Programme & Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome – Geneva, http://www.pic.int/Portals/5/DGDs/DGD_DDT_EN.pdf
United Nations (2004) World population to 2300. UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, p 240
US GS (2011) Mineral commodity summaries 2011: US Geological Survey, US Department of the Interior
US GS (2016) Iron and steel. In: Mineral commodity summaries 2016. US Geological Survey, US Department of the Interior
van der Pluijm B (2014) Hello Anthropocene, goodbye holocene. Earth’s Future 2:566–568
van der Voet E, Salminen R, Eckelman M, Norgate T, Mudd G, Hisschier R et al (2013) Environmental challenges of anthropogenic metals flows and cycles. United Nations Environment Programme, p 235
Viswanath B, Kim S (2016) Influence of nanotoxicity on human health and environment: the alternative strategies. In: de Voogt P (ed) Rev Environ Contam Toxicol 242:61–104
Wang YP, Law RM, Pak B (2010) A global model of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus cycles for the terrestrial biosphere. Biogeosciences 7:2261–2282
Webb TJ, Mindel BL (2015) Global patterns of extinction risk in marine and non-marine systems. Curr Biol 25:506–511 [Probably a 9-fold lower marine extinction rate of species is currently observed in comparison to non-marine systems. On average between 20% and 25% of species worldwide are threatened with extinction]
White PJ, Brown PH (2010) Plant nutrition for sustainable development and global health. Ann Bot 105:1073–1080
Whitmee S, Haines A, Beyrer C, Boltz F, Capon AG, de Souza Dias BF et al (2015) Safeguarding human health in the Anthropocene epoch: report of The Rockefeller Foundation-Lancet Commission on planetary health. Lancet 386:1973–2028
WHO (1996) Trace elements in human nutrition and health. World Health Organization, Geneva
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Kalisińska, E. (2019). Human Population Increase and Changes in Production and Usage of Trace Elements in the Twentieth Century and First Decades of the Twenty-First Century. In: Kalisińska, E. (eds) Mammals and Birds as Bioindicators of Trace Element Contaminations in Terrestrial Environments. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00121-6_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00121-6_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-00119-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-00121-6
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)