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Food alterations - We have been able to breed specific traits as we domesticate and cultivate plants and animals. Vaccines, hormones, and artificial insemination also contribute to the genetic alteration of the animals we eat.

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Food alterations - Crops are much different in their genetic composition than they were several centuries ago. For example, corn is now much sweeter than its wild counterparts and potatoes have been bred to be starchier.

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Food alterations - Crops have also undergone genetic engineering to increase resistance to pesticides and viruses. Smithsonian reveals that an estimated 75% of genetic diversity has been lost to these modifications, which in turn reduces their ability to adapt.

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Holes - According to Smithsonian, a study in the journal 'Anthropocene' pointed out that man-made holes in the Earth could be our longest-lasting effect on the planet.

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Holes - Between mining, nuclear testing, and oil and gas drilling, the holes humans have made on the planet will leave a permanent mark.

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Holes - Mountaintop mining is another way we mar the Earth's topography. The practice of blasting off mountain peaks to access the coal below is predicted to have serious geological and environmental effects.

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Frozen pollution - Layers of ice in the Earth can contain various chemical substances that are present in the atmosphere when they are formed.

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Frozen pollution - Ice cores drilled in Antarctica can tell us about the composition of the atmosphere 800,000 years ago.

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Frozen pollution -

More recent ice layers contain many metals from human industrialization.

Antarctica collected nearly 660 tons of lead over the past 130 years, according to Smithsonian.

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“Plastiglomerate” - Another way humans have left their mark on the planet is with huge plastic deposits.

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“Plastiglomerate” - The synthetic plastic we've been manufacturing and consuming has ended up accumulating in the oceans. Smithsonian reports that there is an estimated 40,000 to one million tons of plastic in the Earth's oceans.

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“Plastiglomerate” -

When plastic melts in high-temperature situations, such as with lava or forest fires, the resulting product is a "plastic rock," or a conglomerate of plastic, woody debris, and other natural materials.

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Space debris - The U.S. Space Surveillance Network has estimated that around 500,000 pieces of space debris are floating around in Earth's orbit. The debris includes satellites, spent rocket stages, and other pieces of artificial material that was shattered in collisions.

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Space debris - Also known as space junk, this debris can pose problems if it collides with other orbiting pieces of equipment or even spacecraft.

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Space debris - The increase in space debris poses a threat to humans traveling in spacecrafts, the International Space Station, and other space vehicles.

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Invasive species - Over the centuries, humans have either intentionally or unintentionally transported non-native species of plants and animals to locations where they are not naturally found. Invasive species pose huge threats to the native ecosystems in any given region.

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Invasive species - A helicopter carrying mouflon sheep from Maui to the Big Island of Hawaii, USA, was apprehended in 2012, according to Smithsonian. The sheep were being transported for hunting purposes, but pose a huge threat to the native ecosystem of the island.

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Invasive species - Another case of human transportation of exotic species took place in the Amazon. Water hyacinths were removed from the rain forest and brought to New Orleans, USA, where they quickly colonized aquatic ecosystems and posed a huge threat to other native plant species by blocking their access to sunlight.

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Invasive species - Finally, thousands of Burmese pythons, native to Southeast Asia, were brought to Florida, USA, where they have been ravaging the local ecosystem. As the pythons do not face as much resource competition, they have almost unlimited access to aquatic birds and alligators.

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Carbon dioxide emissions - When scientists talk about climate change, they are widely referring to the change in atmospheric CO2 levels.

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Carbon dioxide emissions - Through the burning of fossil fuels, humans have released billions of tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which in turn has devastating consequences for the planet.

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Carbon dioxide emissions - Some of these consequences include global weather pattern changes, ocean acidification, and rising temperatures.

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Disappearing rivers - Much of life on Earth depends on fresh water to survive. However, there has been an overall draining of rivers, lakes, and aquifers due to decreased rainfall and man-made dams that direct water flow in inefficient ways.

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Disappearing rivers - According to website The Dirt, the Aral Sea on the Uzbekistan-Kazakhstan border has shrunk by 75% after human activity decreased the amount of water flowing from connecting rivers.

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Disappearing rivers - The case of the Aral Sea demonstrates how draining rivers can negatively impact weather patterns. The area is experiencing harsher summers and winters because the lake is no longer absorbing as much heat in the summer, which in turn keeps winters mild.

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Industrial agriculture - The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reports that over 40% of Earth's surface has been turned into farm land. Much of this has occurred through deforestation, which has had devastating effects on the planet.

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Industrial agriculture - Not only does deforestation allow more CO2 to be released into the atmosphere, it has disrupted the water cycle in the remaining forests, threatening their ability to survive.

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Industrial agriculture -

Another problem that has arisen as we've converted more of Earth's surface into agricultural land is fertilization runoff. The vast amounts of nitrogen and phosphorous used in farming have lasting effects on the biosphere. An example of this is by creating marine dead zones, or low oxygen areas where life cannot survive.

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