Final answer:
In recent centuries, humans have greatly altered Earth's ecosystems, with the rate of change increasing dramatically over the past 200 years. This period has also seen a substantial improvement in global living standards and advancements in health, education, and political systems. Modern lifestyles differ significantly from those of our hunter-gatherer ancestors, with changes in work, communication, and travel.
Step-by-step explanation:
In recent centuries, humans have significantly transformed the Earth's surface and its natural ecosystems. While human influence on Earth's ecosystems has a long history, the pace of change has accelerated notably over the last two centuries. This rapid transformation has coincided with the industrial revolution and the subsquent increase in technological capability, which has allowed humanity to manipulate the environment in unprecedented ways.
Alongside these environmental changes, there has been a revolution in the human condition. More people today enjoy improvements in their standard of living than ever before. Advances in health, education, and democracy have contributed to better lives for a vast portion of the world's population. Western Europe and its offshoots have been at the forefront of this progress, but many less developed nations have also seen substantial improvements, with sub-Saharan Africa joining the trend more recently.
The changes to human ways of life also extend beyond this progress, affecting behaviors and social structures. An enormous shift can be seen in the differentiation between work and leisure, as well as in the way people perceive the fruits of their labor. The way we communicate, travel, and interact with the world around us is profoundly different from earlier eras, particularly in comparison to the gathering and hunting lifestyle that prevailed for most of human history.