What are cumulative effects?

Cumulative effects can have a big impact on our environment, but what are they? Learn how the effects of seemingly unrelated activities can add up, and why they are important.

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Consider this plastic bottle, a single ocean wave, or this small drip of oil from a vehicle.

Individually, these aren’t usually a big deal. But they can add up, over and over and over.

They contribute to what we call cumulative effects, and they can negatively affect ecosystems, communities, health and economies.

In the same way that a path becomes worn when people use it over and over, cumulative effects add more and more stress to ecosystems, even if that’s over years or decades.

Some of these stressors are natural, and some are caused by human activity and development.

Let’s look at water quality as an example.
Effluent from a variety of industrial sites and activities.
The clearing of land, contributing to erosion and silty water from extreme rainfall.
Pesticides, fertilizers and organic waste, and sediment coming from farms, golf courses, and gardens.
Pollutants from urban runoff, like oil and gas, that might have spilled or dripped on the road.

All these things can add up and interact with each other, cumulatively, to lower the quality of our water and compromise the habitats of species that rely on that water, like fish and birds.

The same kinds of things can happen to air quality through vehicle and industrial exhaust, chimneys, fertilizers and forest fires.

And wildlife habitat can be stressed by forestry, urban encroachment, pipeline construction, transmission lines, new roads, and more.

Sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly, but very surely, these stressors take their toll. They can result in loss of habitat for wildlife, affect wetlands for waterfowl, increase air pollution and possibly affect human health.

Over time, all these stressors put sustained pressure on ecosystems and the health of species that inhabit them, including us.

By monitoring, studying, mitigating, and collaborating with others, we are working to understand and manage cumulative effects.

And you can be part of the solution too. So next time you think one plastic bottle, or a drip of oil, isn’t a big deal, think about the impact of this happening 1,000 times, 1,000,000 times. It all adds up.

Every action counts. The choices we all make matter!