Why don't you enlighten me.
"strip mining" was a metaphor for this...
...we learn daily of the collapse of fisheries; the depletion of soils; the
contamination of groundwater, freshwater and soils; the death of lakes;
the destruction of Earth's ozone shield; the slow poisoning of entire
landscapes by chemicals produced through research; the acceleration of
deforestation; the extinction of thousands of species; global warming;
the increasing misery of people in impoverished countries; the dramatic
increase in ecological refugees fleeing ravaged lands.
With the full knowledge of influential governments and corporations,
millions of species, natural ecosystems and dozens of the planet's
ecological processes are being degraded, weakened or eliminated.
Novel chemicals such as hormones and pesticides are being deliberately
added to the human and pet food supply. Genetically modified foods are
widely used in food production without public consent.
"Changes to Earth's biodiversity have occurred more rapidly in the past
50 years than at any time in human history, creating a species loss
greater than anything since a major asteroid impact wiped out the
dinosaurs."
That's the conclusion of Global Biodiversity Outlook a report released
by the US CIA on Biological Diversity.
"In effect, we are currently responsible for the sixth major extinction
event in the history of the Earth, and the greatest since the dinosaurs
disappeared, 65 million years ago," the report states.
THE WIDE-RANGING REPORT CONCLUDES THAT DEMAND FOR RESOURCES GLOBALLY
EXCEEDS THE BIOLOGICAL CAPACITY OF THE EARTH BY SOME 20 PERCENT.
Among the findings:
The average abundance of species declined 40 percent between 1970 and
2000 while species in rivers, lakes and marshlands have declined by 50
percent.
52 percent of species within well-studied higher taxa including birds,
mammals and amphibians are threatened with extinction.
In the North Atlantic, populations of large fish have declined 66
percent in the last 50 years.
Since 2000, 6 million
hectares of primary forest have been lost annually.
In the Caribbean,
average hard coral cover declined from 50 percent in the last
three decades.
35 percent of the world's mangroves have been lost in
the last two decades.
If you haven't noticed this then you are not been paying attention.