Indeed the world in general is depreciating in terms of environmental safety and if nothing is done to rescue this situation then we may put an end to the world by ourselves and not wait for rapture to do so.
These are the five biggest environmental problems of our time and their possible solutions. Lets hook here and work out the needed change.
Environmental Problem And Their Solutions
1. Air pollution and climate change.
Problem: Overloading of the atmosphere and of ocean waters with carbon. Atmospheric CO2 absorbs and re-emits infrared-wavelength radiation, leading to warmer air, soils, and ocean surface waters – which is good: The planet would be frozen solid without this.
Unfortunately, there’s now too much carbon in the air. Burning of fossil fuels, deforestation for agriculture, and industrial activities have pushed up atmospheric CO2 concentrations from 280 parts per million (ppm) 200 years ago, to about 400 ppm today. That’s an unprecedented rise, in both size and speed and this results to climate disruption.
Solutions: Replace fossil fuels with renewable energy. Reforestation. Reduce emissions from agriculture. Change industrial processes.
The good news is that clean energy is abundant – it just needs to be harvested. Many say a 100 percent renewable-energy future is feasible with existing technology now.
2. Deforestation.
Problem: Species-rich wild forests are being destroyed, especially in the tropics, often to make way for cattle ranching, soybean or palm oil plantations, or other agricultural monocultures.
Solutions: Conserve of what’s left of natural forests, and restore degraded areas by replanting with native tree species. This requires strong governance – but many tropical countries are still developing, with increasing populations, uneven rule-of-law, and widespread cronyism and bribery when it comes to allocating land use.
3. Species extinction.
Problem: On land, wild animals are being hunted to extinction for bushmeat, ivory, or “medicinal” products. At sea, huge industrial fishing boats equipped with bottom-trawling or purse-seine nets clean out entire fish populations. The loss and destruction of habitat are also major factors contributing to a wave of extinction.
Solutions: Concerted efforts need to be made to prevent further loss of biodiversity. Protecting and restoring habitats is one side of this – protecting against poaching and wildlife trade is another. This should be done in partnership with locals, so that wildlife conservation is in their social and economic interest.
4. Soil degradation.
Problem: Overgrazing, monoculture planting, erosion, soil compaction, overexposure to pollutants, land-use conversion – there’s a long list of ways that soils are being damaged. About 12 million hectares of farmland a year get seriously degraded, according to UN estimates.
Solutions: A wide range of soil conservation and restoration techniques exist, from no-till agriculture to crop rotation to water-retention through terrace-building. Given that food security depends on keeping soils in good condition, we’re likely master this challenge in the long run. Whether this will be done in a way equitable to all people around the globe, remains an open question.
5. Overpopulation.
Problem: Human population continues to grow rapidly worldwide. Humanity entered the 20th century with 1.6 billion people; right now, we’re about 7.5 billion. Estimates put us at nearly 10 billion by 2050. Growing global populations, combined with growing affluence, is putting ever greater pressure on essential natural resources, like water. Most of the growth is happening on the African continent, and in southern and eastern Asia.
Solutions: Experience has shown that when women are empowered to control their own reproduction, and gain access to education and basic social services, the average number of births per woman drops precipitously.
Done right, networked aid systems could bring women out of extreme poverty, even in countries where state-level governance remains abysmal.
In what ever capacity you can work to achieve these solutions to our current environmental problem, please do.
