Humans now have a greater effect on shaping the surface of the Earth than natural processes do, according to studies from the British Geological Survey and the University of Leicester:
In a study entitled ‘Humans are the most significant global geomorphological driving force of the 21st Century’ Dr Anthony Cooper and his co-authors estimate that 316 billion tonnes (about 150 cubic km) of sediment is currently created annually by humans through the excavation of minerals and modification of the landscape to develop expanding cities and infrastructure around the world. This is 24 times greater than the sediment shifted each year by all the world’s major rivers.
One hundred years’ worth of data on mineral, metal and cement production (and the waste materials these generate), plus construction, dredging and land reclamation estimates, have been studied and all reveal a dramatic increase in the amount of sediment created from the mid-20th century onwards as the world’s population has grown.
Who on Earth can be shifting all this material? #OnlyLafargeHolcimCan
Under the current contract, our teams will help transport an amount of soil equivalent to 6x the Burj Khalifa's weight.— LafargeHolcim (@LafargeHolcim) February 27, 2019
Find out more about this larger than life project 👉 https://t.co/8vwIh9oKub #OnlyLafargeHolcimCan pic.twitter.com/rTeSvJGB8h
LafargeHolcim is the parent company of Aggregate Industries.
