Environment & its Issues
All seven environmental problems detailed above are very serious, and we’ve got to start treating them that way. We may not have easy solutions, but the fact is, we simply can’t continue living our lives as if everything is peachy. These problems aren’t going to magically solve themselves. We should have begun acting generations ago, but we can’t go back in time, and that means we have to step up our efforts. If we want to keep this planet a healthy place for humans to live – for our grandchildren to enjoy – it’s time to buckle down and do everything in our power to reverse the damage we’ve done.
The issue of resource depletion is growing all the time and our future depends on finding solutions to this problem. Natural resources are part of what makes up a country's wealth. Without the resources that a country needs it will not have a good economy. If there are no more oil reserves found in the world and we kept our increasing rate of two percent oil consumption, the oil reserves will be used up in the world in about forty to fifty years. If this is true then we need to look for newer sources of transportation, other than cars, buses, and motor boats because they all require oil. Three of the main renewable resources are water, food, and forests. We destroy hundreds of acres of trees each year and plant seeds thinking that they will grow back in no time, but it takes hundreds of years for those trees to grow back. Europe holds about eighty nine percent of the world's renewable water resources, but it uses fifteen percent a year. Food is only renewable up to a point. If the demand for fish grows faster than the supply of fish itself then will run out of fish, same with many different animals that we eat. There are many things that our world needs to work on in order to have a good future. If we are not able to finid different resources that we can use then our future will be in big trouble. The world needs to stop wasting the resources that we are given and that we supply and find out ways to conserve them for our future children.
Pollution is the introduction of a contaminant into the environment. It is created mostly by human actions, but can also be a result of natural disasters. Pollution has a detrimental effect on any living organism in an environment, making it virtually impossible to sustain life.
Another effect of air pollution is acid rain. The phenomenon occurs when sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides from the burning of fossil fuels such as, petrol, diesel, and coal combine with water vapour in the atmosphere and fall as rain, snow or fog. These gases can also be emitted from natural sources like volcanoes. Acid rain causes extensive damage to water, forest, soil resources and even human health. Many lakes and streams have been contaminated and this has led to the disappearance of some species of fish in Europe, USA and Canada as also extensive damage to forests and other forms of life. It is said that it can corrode buildings and be hazardous to human health. Because the contaminants are carried long distances, the sources of acid rain are difficult to pinpoint and hence difficult to control. For example, the acid rain that may have damaged some forest in Canada could have originated in the industrial areas of USA. In fact, this has created disagreements between Canada and the United States and among European countries over the causes of and solutions to the problem of acid rain. The international scope of the problem has led to the signing of international agreements on the limitation of sulphur and nitrogen oxide emissions.
The oceans are affected by global warming in other ways, as well. Many things that are happening to the ocean are linked to global warming. One thing that is happening is warm water, caused from global warming, is harming and killing algae in the ocean. Algae is a producer that you can see floating on the top of the water. (A producer is something that makes food for other animals through photosynthesis, like grass.) This floating green algae is food to many consumers in the ocean. (A consumer is something that eats the producers.) One kind of a consumer is small fish. There are many others like crabs, some whales, and many other animals. Fewer algae is a problem because there is less food for us and many animals in the sea. 
Deforestation issue: For commercial purpose, trees are cut down and no new trees are planted to replace them. Soon there will be no more trees in the forest to prevent soil erosion and floods.
Our Environment is our surrounding. This includes living and non-living things around us. The non-living components of environment are land, water and air. The living components are germs, plants, animals and people. All plants and animals adjust to the environment in which they are born and live. A charge in any component of the environment may cause discomfort and affect normal life. Any unfavorable change or degeneration in the environment is known as ‘Environmental Pollution. We need to protect our environment to live happily.
Environmental pollution is caused due to over-use of natural resources, presence of a large number of people and livestock in congested areas, use of agrochemicals, setting up of factories, running of automobiles, burning of fuel, etc. A change in the environment due to pollution also affects the ecological balance.
Environmental pollution is caused both in rural and urban areas. Pollution can cause sickness and discomfort. It also affects the productivity of natural resources, such as land, water, forests and livestock.
This part of the global issues to highlight some of the environmental issues and concerns that have an affect on all of us - from what we do, to what we don’t do. The list of environmental problems presented here, provides a broad overview of the looming dangers over mankind and this planet. This environmental issues list contains problems, not only of the current year, but those that have been present since a long time. Only the seriousness of the effects of these issues is being experienced now, like never before.
Oil Spills, Climate Change, Overpopulation, Resource Depletion, Pollution, Nuclear Issues Global Warming, Ozone Depletion, Loss of Natural Resources, and Degradation.
An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially marine areas, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term is mostly used to describe marine oil spills, where oil is released into the ocean or coastal waters. Oil spills may be due to releases of crude oil from tankers, offshore platforms, drilling rigs and wells, as well as spills of refined petroleum products such as gasoline, diesel and their by-products, heavier fuels used by large ships such as bunker fuel, or the spill of any oily refuse or waste oil. Another significant route by which oil enters the marine environment is through natural oil seeps.
Oil spills can be controlled by chemical dispersion, combustion, mechanical containment, and/or adsorption. Spills may take weeks, months or even years to clean up. The oil penetrates into the structure of the plumage of birds and animals, reducing its insulating ability, thus making the birds more vulnerable to temperature fluctuations and much less buoyant in the water. It also impairs or disables birds' flight abilities to forage and escape from predators. As they attempt to preen, birds typically ingest oil that covers their feathers, causing kidney damage, altered liver function, an digestive tract irritation. This and the limited foraging ability quickly cause dehydration and metabolic imbalances. Hormonal balance alteration including changes in luteinizing protein can also result in some birds exposed to petroleum.
Most birds affected by an oil spill die unless there is human intervention.[4][5] Some studies have suggested that, even after cleaning, less than 1% of oil soaked birds survive.[6], though it can also exceed 90% as in the case of the Treasure oil spill.[7] Heavily furred marine mammals exposed to oil spills are affected in similar ways as seabirds. Oil coats the fur of Sea otters and seals, reducing its insulation abilities and leading to body temperature fluctuations and hypothermia. Ingestion of the oil causes dehydration and impaired digestions. Because oil floats on top of water, less sunlight penetrates into the water, limiting the photosynthesis of marine plants and phytoplankton. This, as well as decreasing the fauna populations, affects the food chain in the ecosystem.[citation needed] There are three kinds of oil-consuming bacteria. Sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) and acid-producing bacteria are anaerobic, while general aerobic bacteria (GAB) are aerobic. These bacteria occur naturally and will act to remove oil from an ecosystem, and their biomass will tend to replace other populations in the food chain. Oil may also cause the death of an animal by entering the animal’s lungs or liver. The animal will then be poisoned by the oil. Oil also can kill an animal by blinding it, and leaving it defenseless.
All of these different types of pollution and waste end up contributing to what is probably the biggest area of concern that we have for the planet – the changing climate. Climate change is a major environmental concern because of the fact that even small changes can cause significant problems for large portions of the world. Climate changes are resulting in an increase in the number of worldwide natural disasters like floods and hurricanes.
These things devastate society and wreak havoc on the regions that they hit. Global warming will only cause an increase in these issues along with additional problems that could ultimately end this civilization as we know it. If you work on improving your efforts in the first three areas of environmental concern then you will be helping to contribute to the solution for this major issue.
We like to admit it or not, our very own rapidly multiplying presence on this planet is the biggest environmental problem there is, and it’s getting bigger by the minute. We voraciously consume resources, pollute the air and water, tear down natural habitats, introduce species into areas where they don’t belong and destroy ecosystems to the point of causing millions of species to become endangered and, all too often, go extinct.
It took nearly all of human history – from the first days of man on earth until the early 1800’s – to reach a global population of 1 billion. In just 200 years, we’ve managed to reach 6.5 billion. That means the population has grown more since 1950 than in the previous four million years. We’re adding roughly 74 million people to the planet every year, a scary figure that will probably continue to increase. All of those mouths will need to be fed. All of those bodies will need clean water and a place to sleep. All of the new communities created to house those people will continue to encroach upon the natural world.
All seven environmental problems detailed above are very serious, and we’ve got to start treating them that way. We may not have easy solutions, but the fact is, we simply can’t continue living our lives as if everything is peachy. These problems aren’t going to magically solve themselves. We should have begun acting generations ago, but we can’t go back in time, and that means we have to step up our efforts. If we want to keep this planet a healthy place for humans to live – for our grandchildren to enjoy – it’s time to buckle down and do everything in our power to reverse the damage we’ve done.Resource depletion is most commonly used in reference to farming, fishing, mining, and fossil fuels.Resource depletion is a huge issue in the American society. Resource depletion is when certain natural resources start getting more scarce everyday. You have to adapt to these changes that go on when they start depleting. For example, we have had to adapt to the fact that we are running low on oil, but, in this case, the way in which we adapt is that we purchase this resource from other countries. In summary, resource depletion is the lessening of natural resources. Some of the resources that America is most worried about depleting are oil, kerosene, gasoline, and coal.
The issue of resource depletion is growing all the time and our future depends on finding solutions to this problem. Natural resources are part of what makes up a country's wealth. Without the resources that a country needs it will not have a good economy. If there are no more oil reserves found in the world and we kept our increasing rate of two percent oil consumption, the oil reserves will be used up in the world in about forty to fifty years. If this is true then we need to look for newer sources of transportation, other than cars, buses, and motor boats because they all require oil. Three of the main renewable resources are water, food, and forests. We destroy hundreds of acres of trees each year and plant seeds thinking that they will grow back in no time, but it takes hundreds of years for those trees to grow back. Europe holds about eighty nine percent of the world's renewable water resources, but it uses fifteen percent a year. Food is only renewable up to a point. If the demand for fish grows faster than the supply of fish itself then will run out of fish, same with many different animals that we eat. There are many things that our world needs to work on in order to have a good future. If we are not able to finid different resources that we can use then our future will be in big trouble. The world needs to stop wasting the resources that we are given and that we supply and find out ways to conserve them for our future children. There are many solutions to the issue of resource depletion, but not all are very practical. As technology advances scientist come up with more and more ways to keep different resources from completely being depleted. One practical solution is to buy depleted resources from other countries that still have an abundant supply of them, however, this can get expensive. Another practical solution is to explore the option of finding needed resources in space on other planets. A less likely solution is to find new ways to produce and made these resources that we are loosing. One more less practical solution is to discover different resources that produce the same actions and play the same roles as the depleted did, allowing us to use these alternatice resources so that we have a way to avoid having to buy or trade for expensive resources from other countries. As you can see there are many solutions, some more practical that others, to the topic of resources depletion.
Pollution is the introduction of a contaminant into the environment. It is created mostly by human actions, but can also be a result of natural disasters. Pollution has a detrimental effect on any living organism in an environment, making it virtually impossible to sustain life. ‘I’ll go out for a breath of fresh air’ is an often-heard phrase. But how many of us realize that this has become irrelevant in today’s world, because the quality of air in our cities is anything but fresh.
The moment you step out of the house and are on the road you can actually see the air getting polluted; a cloud of smoke from the exhaust of a bus, car, or a scooter; smoke billowing from a factory chimney, flyash generated by thermal power plants, and speeding cars causing dust to rise from the roads. Natural phenomena such as the eruption of a volcano and even someone smoking a cigarette can also cause air pollution.
Another effect of air pollution is acid rain. The phenomenon occurs when sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides from the burning of fossil fuels such as, petrol, diesel, and coal combine with water vapour in the atmosphere and fall as rain, snow or fog. These gases can also be emitted from natural sources like volcanoes. Acid rain causes extensive damage to water, forest, soil resources and even human health. Many lakes and streams have been contaminated and this has led to the disappearance of some species of fish in Europe, USA and Canada as also extensive damage to forests and other forms of life. It is said that it can corrode buildings and be hazardous to human health. Because the contaminants are carried long distances, the sources of acid rain are difficult to pinpoint and hence difficult to control. For example, the acid rain that may have damaged some forest in Canada could have originated in the industrial areas of USA. In fact, this has created disagreements between Canada and the United States and among European countries over the causes of and solutions to the problem of acid rain. The international scope of the problem has led to the signing of international agreements on the limitation of sulphur and nitrogen oxide emissions. Water pollution is the introduction of chemical, biological and physical matter into large bodies of water that degrade the quality of life that lives in it and consumes it.
Waste and Water pollution: When illegal dumps that are toxic in nature enter lakes, streams, rivers, oceans, and other water bodies, they either get dissolved or lie hovering in water or get deposited on the bed. This results in water pollution deteriorating the quality of the water and affecting our aquatic ecosystems. Lots of industrial units and factories today dump their garbage into streams, lakes and river thus making all these water bodies the final destination of cans, bottles and plastics.
Most of today’s cleaning products are synthetic detergents and are an extract of the petrochemical industry. These impact the health of all forms of life in the water. Polluted water is a hazard, unsafe and also a poison for drinking, recreation and agriculture. More fatally, unhygienic water destroys water life and diminishes its reproductive ability.
Noise, by definition, is unwanted sound. What is pleasant to some ears may be extremely unpleasant to others, depending on a number of factors. The natural environment contains many sources of noise - wind, volcanoes, oceans, and animal sounds are all familiar intrusions accepted at various levels. Man-made noises - from machines, automobiles, trains, planes, explosives and firecrackers, etc. - are more contentious. Both kinds of noise affect sleep, hearing, communication, as well as mental and physical health.
Noise travels through air and hence it is measured in ambient air quality level. Noise is measured in decibels. Experts believe that continuous noise levels in excess of 90 decibels can cause loss of hearing and irreversible changes in nervous systems. The World Health Organization [WHO] has fixed 45 decibels as the safe noise level for a city. Metropolitan areas in India usually register an average more than 90 decibels; Mumbai is rated the third noisiest city in the world, with New Delhi following closely.
In some parts of the world, the bodies of whales and dolphins washing ashore are so highly contaminated that they qualify as toxic waste and have to be specially disposed of. There are many different sources of chemical pollution, including:
- Domestic sewage
- Industrial discharges
- Seepage from waste sites
- Atmospheric fallout
- Domestic run-off
- Accidents and spills at sea
- Operational discharges from oil rigs
- Mining discharges and
- Agricultural run-off.
However, the chemicals that are probably of most concern for everyone are the persistent pollutants: those substances that enter marine food chains and are eventually passed along the chain to the marine top predators in increasing amounts.Persistent pollutants include pesticides, such as DDT, and industrial chemicals, most famously the PCBs.
Land pollution is another of the main types of pollution to the environment. Land pollution is mainly about the contamination and degradation of Earth’s land surfaces. It occurs when waste from various sources – domestic waste, industrial waste, etc – are not properly disposed of, causing harmful substances and chemicals to leach into the ground. Read about various type of pollution on land.
In the landfills, non-biodegradable materials like plastic bottles, Styrofoam and cans can remain buried and intact for thousands of years, leaching chemicals into the ground over the years. Electronic products that contain heavy metals like lead and mercury also leach poisonous toxins into the ground. These chemicals and heavy metals sometimes reach the underground water system and pollute our water bodies. Read about land pollution facts. That is why it is important to recycle, rather than just sending all your unwanted items to the garbage bin.
Nuclear power isn't connected with harmful greenhouse gases, and this is one of the main reasons why many people still support nuclear power as one of the best solutions to cut global fossil fuels usage. The newer nuclear power plants have showed to be very reliable in delivering the energy, and are also operating with maximum safety measures meaning that there's almost a zero chance for new Chernobyl accident. Still, despite all of this nuclear energy sector still hasn't solved one of the most important issues, namely the nuclear waste issue.
Nuclear waste is radioactive for around 5000 years, and as such presents not only a big environmental but also a big threat to our health in form of nuclear waste pollution. Nuclear waste needs to be safely stored, and isolated from the surrounding environment in order to avoid the damage. Since many countries around the globe are determined to add more nuclear power to their energy grid nuclear energy waste issue has become extremely important. For instance, EU will promote underground storage as the safest option for storing nuclear waste.
The additional problem with the nuclear waste issue is also the fact that very few countries across the globe have well-established programmes to implement disposal of fuel and waste from nuclear power plants. World needs to quickly solve the nuclear waste issue because it wouldn't be morally right to leave this issue for our future generations. As the old saying goes the one(s) who have started the mess should also finish it.
The additional problem with the nuclear waste issue is also the fact that very few countries across the globe have well-established programmes to implement disposal of fuel and waste from nuclear power plants. World needs to quickly solve the nuclear waste issue because it wouldn't be morally right to leave this issue for our future generations. As the old saying goes the one(s) who have started the mess should also finish it.
Many scientists agree that deep underground storage is the safest option for storing nuclear waste but the world still faces many scientific and engineering challenges that will need to be overcome prior to actually using this method such as waste container design, the stability of host rock and an adequate measures to monitor and retrieve the waste in case of catastrophic leakages. Of course this will also be connected with huge costs. But in any case, regardless of differences in opinions, this issue needs to be resolved as soon as possible. On top of so many different environmental problems the last thing this world needs right now is to worry about the safety of nuclear waste disposal.
Global warming is when the earth heats up (the temperature rises). It happens when greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, water vapor, nitrous oxide, and methane) trap heat and light from the sun in the earth’s atmosphere, which increases the temperature. This hurts many people, animals, and plants. Many cannot take the change, so they die.
Global warming is affecting many parts of the world. Global warming makes the sea rise, and when the sea rises, the water covers many low land islands. This is a big problem for many of the plants, animals, and people on islands. The water covers the plants and causes some of them to die. When they die, the animals lose a source of food, along with their habitat. Although animals have a better ability to adapt to what happens than plants do, they may die also. When the plants and animals die, people lose two sources of food, plant food and animal food. They may also lose their homes. As a result, they would also have to leave the area or die. This would be called a break in the food chain, or a chain reaction, one thing happening that leads to another and so on.
The oceans are affected by global warming in other ways, as well. Many things that are happening to the ocean are linked to global warming. One thing that is happening is warm water, caused from global warming, is harming and killing algae in the ocean. Algae is a producer that you can see floating on the top of the water. (A producer is something that makes food for other animals through photosynthesis, like grass.) This floating green algae is food to many consumers in the ocean. (A consumer is something that eats the producers.) One kind of a consumer is small fish. There are many others like crabs, some whales, and many other animals. Fewer algae is a problem because there is less food for us and many animals in the sea. Global warming is doing many things to people as well as animals and plants. It is killing algae, but it is also destroying many huge forests. The pollution that causes global warming is linked to acid rain. Acid rain gradually destroys almost everything it touches. Global warming is also causing many more fires that wipe out whole forests. This happens because global warming can make the earth very hot. In forests, some plants and trees leaves can be so dry that they catch on fire.
The ozone layer protects the Earth from the ultraviolet rays sent down by the sun. If the ozone layer is depleted by human action, the effects on the planet could be catastrophic. Ozone is present in the stratosphere. The stratosphere reaches 30 miles above the Earth, and at the very top it contains ozone. The suns rays are absorbed by the ozone in the stratosphere and thus do not reach the Earth.
Ozone is a bluish gas that is formed by three atoms of oxygen. The form of oxygen that humans breathe in consists of two oxygen atoms, O2. When found on the surface of the planet, ozone is considered a dangerous pollutant and is one substance responsible for producing the greenhouse effect. The highest regions of the stratosphere contain about 90% of all ozone.
In recent years, the ozone layer has been the subject of much discussion. And rightly so, because the ozone layer protects both plant and animal life on the planet. The fact that the ozone layer was being depleted was discovered in the mid-1980s. The main cause of this is the release of CFCs, chlorofluorocarbons.
The wonderful resources provided by nature are massively taken for granted and destroyed by humans themselves. The following are the global issues on the loss of natural resources.
Issue related to food: Fertile lands have been transformed into highways, grazing fields, residences and commercial centers. Reducing vast agricultural areas will naturally deplete the production of food.
Toxic chemical issue: The use of fertilizers and pesticides in the farms to boost food production causes air poisoning and pollution which are harmful to plants, animals and humans.
Issue on the destruction of natural habitats: Wildlife needs a particular kind of environment to survive. For instance, some birds fly to warmer countries during winter season but when the habitat is destroyed by loggers, these birds will go somewhere else to which their body can't tolerate. Wildlife will soon be doomed for extinction.
Issue on energy: Many countries rely on fossil fuel for their energy needs which is non-renewable. Fossil oil such as gasoline and diesel, pollutes the air, which results in global warming. Everyday, thousands of vehicles are clogging the highways, not only to ferry human passengers but to bring about smog, pollution and other toxins into the environment.
Deforestation issue: For commercial purpose, trees are cut down and no new trees are planted to replace them. Soon there will be no more trees in the forest to prevent soil erosion and floods. The number of endangered species keeps on increasing because of these issues. Let's not wait until humans too will be included in this record. The blame for this occurrence is pointed towards men. Therefore, the entire human race has to assume responsibility in properly repairing the damages done to the environment, so that in the near future, there will be no more issues associated with the loss of natural resources.
Environmental degradation is a process through which the natural environment is compromised in some way, reducing biological diversity and the general health of the environment. This process can be entirely natural in origin, or it can be accelerated or caused by human activities. Many international organizations recognize environmental degradation as one of the major threats facing the planet, since humans have only been given one Earth to work with, and if the environment becomes irreparably compromised, it could mean the end of human existence.
There are a number of ways in which environmental degradation can work. In a classic case, resources simply become depleted. Air, water, and soil are all resources which are vulnerable to depletion through overuse, as are natural resources like minerals and oil deposits. Habitat pressures which force animals into a small area can also contribute to resource depletion, as the animals consume a high volume of material in a small area.
Pollution is another cause of environmental degradation. When the environment becomes polluted, it means that toxic substances have rendered it unhealthy. Pollution can come from a variety of sources, including vehicle emissions, agricultural runoff, accidental chemical release from factories, and poorly-managed harvesting of natural resources. In some cases, pollution may be reversible with costly environmental remediation measures, and in other instances, it may take decades or even centuries for the environment to cope with the pollution.
Many of us talk about environmental pollution, and many of us have the same idea about what environmental pollution entails: orange sludge collecting in rivers, clouds of yellow smog wafting over valleys, trash littering a formerly green field. But these evocative images just aren't sufficient if we really want to take on the task of ending or curbing environmental pollution in our local regions, and in the world at large. In order to fight environmental pollution, we need to know the major types of environmental pollution: how to recognize them, what problems they present, and what we can do against them.
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