Impact of the person on the environment and on Earth in general is called anthropogenic influence. Change of the planet under the influence of human activity happened not one decade and even century therefore it is necessary to understand as the person changed Earth and as there took place this change depending on milestones of development of humanity.
Milestone 1. Primitive-communal system of society.
This stage of development of human society arose approximately for 50 thousand years B.C. The person learned to use nature gifts, it was expressed that he mastered at first collecting, and then and hunting. Collecting means that the person is capable to distinguish various herbs, berries, mushrooms and other natural materials and to use them without any preprocessing, just bringing together them from the environment. The point of hunting was in that by means of catching or murder to use skins, bellows and meat of animals. Anthropogenic influence was minimum. The person was still forced to adapt to the wild environment as it constituted for him serious danger.
Milestone 2. Agriculture emergence.
Agriculture arose in the territory of modern Turkey about 12000 years ago. Wheat became the first cultivated culture. Today agriculture includes a huge set of various cultures most of which was received by selection of already existing plant species. In terms of anthropogenic influence, agriculture had enormous impact on Earth. For its maintenance soils are specially processed, artificial are applied and natural irrigating systems change, lakes and swamps are felled trees, filled up or are dried up.
At this particular time the mankind began to be engaged in livestock production. Without realizing sense of the word "selection" yet, people learned to remove and cross the most convenient for further use of animals (horses, cows, etc.).
Milestone 3. Processing of natural materials.
By the time of emergence of the first large states in the territory of Southeast Asia, North Africa and the Mediterranean Sea the person learned to melt metals, to process the stones, wood and other materials granted by the nature. Palaces, at home, roads were constructed. The person began to realize the situation in this world thanks to what development of society underwent cardinal changes.
Milestone 4. Middle Ages.
This era is characteristic, first of all, not so rapid technical development as was in the ancient time, thanks to progress of Ancient Greece, Rome, Egypt, the countries of the Mediterranean and the Middle East. The person continued to master the natural resources which are available at his order. But told above does not mean that the Middle Ages are equivalent to a stagnation era. The countries and the states continued to develop, new trade routes were formed, the person continued development of Earth corners, earlier inaccessible for it.
Milestone 5. Modern times.
This era was marked by a new view on the environment and Earth in general. Now the person realized himself the center of this world. It poured out in the fact that the Modern Times became an era great scientific achievements in all spheres of human activity. It qualitatively and quantitatively affected human impact on Earth. The era of Great Geographical Discoveries began that led to the fact that earlier unknown plants, animals, materials became available to the person. Active development of production of various products began. With the advent of the developed manufactory production it is possible to speak about origin of mass consumption with confidence. It led to growth of the natural resources consumed by the person.
The modern times are also associated with active resistance of church various new and heretical (from their point of view) to the ideas. Because of their actions inquisitions such great scientists as J. Bruno and Galileo Galilei were betrayed.
Milestone 6. The latest Time and the 20th century.
The scientific and technological revolution which happened thanks to the invention of the weaving loom of a new sample and the "martin" metallurgical furnace in the second half of the 19th century led to emergence of mass production. It urged on development of capitalism that could not but affect globalization processes. Transport networks began to shroud the earth, on the world map there were new cities, new types of productions appeared and developed. The planet began to serve as a magic tablecloth which can satisfy infinitely human wants in resources. Such barbaric relation to the planet could not but affect its state. Such phenomena as environmental pollution, global warming and change of global sea level, do not descend from lips of ecologists of the whole world.
Milestone 7. The 21st century - time of understanding of mistakes.
In our century the mankind understood that it will not be able eternally to use Earth as a source of resources, most of them - non-renewable. The human eye was fixed towards alternative energy sources, recovery of richness of bowels of the earth. The latest technical inventions in the majority are connected not with intensive development of productions, and optimization of the processing of materials created earlier. Information society demands to itself everything new and new ways of high-speed exchange of various data. The created society looked at Earth not as on a source of resources and as the house behind which permanent care, attention and care is necessary.