[Volcano]

But the way human beings have a direct -------- on the planet is often more visible on a local level.

A) impact B) collision C) afflict D) collapse E) defeat

Why D, why A?

[susan53]

D makes no sense. The "collapse" of something is when it falls down or breaks down. The noun doesn't collocate with "have" and in any case, it would not be the planet itself which collapsed. You would have to say eg Human beings are causing the collapse of the ecosystems of the planet (cause and collapse do collocate, and so do systems and collapse).

A is correct. Impact means effect, which could also be used in the gap (though impact has the sense of a more dramatic effect and is therefore more suitable here). Both these nouns do collocate with have. So it's fine both for meaning and collocation.