The Earth spins on its axis with a tilt which it has sported for a long time. The tilt was hypothetically caused by Theia, an ancient planet, that crashed into Earth and knocked it off-kilter. This was also said to be the beginning of our moon’s life: as it was created from the debris caused by the collision. We can attribute much of the things in our daily life to the tilt of the Earth: like seasons and climates.
However, as Newton proved, “for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction,” and as humans begin to take more from their environments the effects on the environment slowly begin to increase.
While 71% of Earth is made up of water, fresh water is not so readily available. For this reason, humans have taken to pumping groundwater which makes up 1.69% of all available water on Earth. Unfortunately, this can and has caused changes to the Earth and its tilt. As humans pump more water out of the ground the Earth’s tilt is increased by 4.3 cm annually. While this may not sound like much on the geological time scale this can cause lasting changes to the climate of the planet.
Another problem that has arisen due to the pumping of groundwater is the sea-level. As more water is pumped from the ground to drink more water has to be disposed of and inevitably more water has found its way into our oceans. As a result of climate change and the use of fossil fuels our sea levels are already rising, and pumping groundwater out of the ground is only exacerbating the wound.
As we use more fossil fuels the Earth warms because they release heat-trapping gasses; this causes the water on Earth to rise and expand as it warms due to the gasses. The heat trapping gasses affect the glaciers too which have been melting at a higher rate.
As of now there has been an overall increase of 6.5 mm, while this may not seem as much by itself, added to the increase caused by fossil fuels and the melting of glaciers, any increase can be harmful to humans. If sea levels rise enough, they can not only drown pieces of land, but also taint soil for farming and groundwater supplies. Increased sea levels can also change the intensity of natural disasters like hurricanes or tsunamis.
Jerry Brown, the former governor of California, was right when he said “We need the science to continue. The heat, the storms, the sea level rise, the Arctic melting. These are all real facts that over time will sink in. The question is, will that be two years, or five years or 10 years?”
All in all, as a species, we humans need to pay more heed to the potential consequence of our actions for they could potentially destroy our only planet: because there is no planet B.