Environmental Issues to Be Aware Of

Environmental Issues to Be Aware Of

Environmental issues are those issues which arise due to the harmful effect of human activities on the mother earth (ecosystem).

The balance in our ecosystem is being threatened. Sadly, the threat is coming from the very ones who it is protecting – humans.

It took thousands of years to achieve a balance in the ecosystem and human-activities are posing a threat to this balance.

Environmental issues such as loss of biodiversity, rising oceans, pollution, global warming, intensive farming, land degradation,  deforestation, and the likes have become the major concerns of our world today as they seem to be experiencing an unprecedented rise which could lead to the extinction of human lives from planet earth.

Preserving the earth is not a job just for the governments, but for every inhabitant of planet earth.

Together people can make the earth safe again and provide information exposing various environmental issues and possible solution.

1. Pollution

Pollution is one of the major concerns facing the world today. It involves the release of harmful substances into the air, soil, and water. Yes, it goes beyond that but these types of pollution are the major problems facing our world today.

It is sad to know that with all of the awareness going on across the world, people still indulge in one type of pollution or the other.

What is worse, is that these pollutants take tons of years to recover from.  A polluted land will take a number of years to regain its nutrient.

Ozone layer depletion, climatic disruption, and global warming are on the rise because of the pollutants we release into the air.

Aquatic lives are also not safe.  This is because of the pollutants that are continuously flooding our natural bodies of water.

What Are the Causes of These Pollutants and Environmental Issues?

Air pollution

Air pollution is caused by the release of harmful gases into the atmosphere. The noxious gases and toxins released by industries and factories are the major source of air pollution. Combustion of fossil fuels by motor vehicles is yet another source.

Soil or Land Pollution

Soil or land pollution is caused especially by industrial, medical, and domestic wastes. These wastes are toxic. When disposed of improperly, they deprive the soil of essential nutrients needed for plant growth. Activities like mining and deforestation are yet another cause of soil pollution.

Water pollution

On the other hand, water pollution is caused by waste from agricultural and industrial activities. These wastes deprive aquatic organisms of oxygen and make the water unfit for drinking or swimming.

Possible Solution

All kinds of wastes should be properly disposed of. Avoid bush burning and burning of fossil fuels. Any activity that leads to the emission of harmful gases should be avoided as much as possible to prevent environmental issues.

2. Global Warming

The mother earth is made unsafe by the release of Greenhouse gases (methane, carbon dioxide, etc) into the atmosphere.

These gases possess heat-trapping capacity. On accumulation, they tend to cause a rise in ocean and earth’s temperature leading to what is known as ‘Global Warming’.

There has been a rise in global warming over the years and if this issue goes unattended to, the earth surface would get heated up to a point it cannot support human existence anymore.

Global warming is a grave environmental issue which could lead to climatic changes, increase in hurricane frequency, melting of glaciers, droughts and various diseases.

It is time to take responsibility of protecting the earth for continued existence.

Possible Solution

Activities that lead to the release of greenhouse gases should be avoided.

3. Climatic Change

True, without these heat-trapping gases, planet earth would be too cold to support life but these gases have accumulated too much in the atmosphere.

Atmospheric CO₂ is rising at an alarming rate.  If left unchecked, it could lead to the extinction of life from planet earth.

Studies show that the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide has increased from 280 parts per million (ppm) to 400 ppm.

Possible Solution

The good news is that we can save planet earth from climatic disruption by changing industrial processes, reforestation, replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy, and reducing emissions from agriculture.

4. Deforestation

The role of plants and forests in our continued existence is indispensable. They cleanse the atmosphere of carbon dioxide, which is the cause of many environmental issues we face today, but humans have actively engaged in activities that destroy these plants and forests by burning rainforests to make more lands available for agricultural, residential, industrial, and commercial purposes.

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), about 18 million acres of forest are lost every year because of the need to cater for the growing world population.

This act of deforestation poses danger to our very own existence.

Imagine earth without plants, that would mean no photosynthetic process to cleanse the atmosphere of the excess carbon dioxide. This would ultimately lead to a rise in global warming, ozone layer depletion, and climatic disruptions, putting an end to the existence of life on planet earth.

Possible Solution

Burning of forests should be discouraged and reforestation techniques should be implemented on deforested lands.

5. Overpopulation

The ever-increasing population is among many of the environmental issues facing the world. The 20^th century saw a number of 1.6 billion people and now we are about 7.5 billion.

The need to cater for the huge number of population is the major cause of many environmental issues we face today. Examples include deforestation to make more lands available for use, over-cultivation of lands to meet the high food demand, too many plastics than can be recycled, etc.

Despite the plans made to curb this problem, there is yet an increase in the population every second.

Possible Solution

Birth control practices should be encouraged in every country.

6. Ocean and Plastics

This is one environmental issue that surfaced recently. The number of plastics in our natural water bodies now competes with the number of aquatic lives.

In fact, research shows that over 8 million tons of plastics are dumped into oceans every year.

This poses a great danger on marine lives as they mistake these plastics for food and end up dying after ingesting them.

Scientists have predicted that there will be more plastics in oceans by 2050 if this trend continues.

Possible Solution

Why kill aquatic lives when we can recycle the plastics? Plastics and other garbage could be incinerated or recycled.

7. Ozone Layer Depletion

Life would not exist on earth without the ozone layer. It serves as the shield that protects us from the harmful rays of the sun, but there has been a depletion in the ozone layer due to the release of harmful gases (e.g. chloro-floro carbons) into the atmosphere.

CFC gases create holes in the ozone layer. These holes increase with time and if left unchecked, could lead to the destruction of earth’s protective cover.

Possible Solution

The use of CFC gases should be banned across the globe.

8. Rising Seas

One of the results of greenhouse emissions is a rise in sea levels and this has been forecasted to change the landscape of planet earth.

According to the study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, sea levels rise at a rate of 3.1 millimeters every year.

It might seem like a little difference but if left unchecked, this little rise will eventually grow bigger and cause a change in the earth’s landscape.

Possible Solution

Carbon footprint and emission of greenhouse gases should be kept in check.

9. Acidic Rain

Toxic gases released into the atmosphere combine with rain and falls back to earth in the form of acidic rain, fog, snow, or settles on earth as dry materials.

This poses danger not only to humans but to forests, wildlife, aquatic lives, and architectural buildings.

Human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels and the release of harmful gases from industrial processes and vehicle’s exhausts are the major source of these harmful gases which combines with rain to form acid rain.

Possible Solution

We should restrain from these activities or keep the rate in check.

10. Species Extinction

More animals are added to the endangered species list every year. This is yet another result of human’s activities.

Climatic disruption, the decline of habitats, and pollution are the key players in the extinction of species.

Hunting for wild animals is also a cause of this extinction. Animals are being hunted for bushmeat, medicinal products or ivory.

Aquatic lives are not left out. An industrial boat can be used to clean out the entire fish population of a sea.

Possible Solution

Strict laws against the killing of wildlife should be enforced in every country.

11. Soil Degradation

A healthy soil is important for high yields of plants but today, the soil is being degraded through overgrazing, erosion, monoculture planting, and exposure to pollutants.

These activities lead to loss of soil’s nutrient, thus decreasing crops’ yields or providing no support for plants’ growth even.

World food problem is a disturbing topic that we are yet to find a solution to. This is because lands are being degraded by the minute.

In a recent study, the United Nation estimated that about 12 million hectares of farmlands are degraded every year.

How do we curb the world food problem without enough fertile soils?

Possible Solution

To meet the food demand of our ever-increasing population, we need fertile soil as such, soil conservation and restoration techniques should be adopted by the agricultural sector of every country and strict laws should be made against land/soil pollution.

If you feel that you have been involved in something related to any of the environmental issues above, contact The Lawyers Direct and speak with a qualified attorney.