Global environmental issues

An overview of global environmental concerns provides an extensive and insightful investigation into the main environmental challenges which presently threaten our global environment. Explanations of the evolution of natural systems on the earth (water, biosphere, atmosphere, and ecosphere) provide fundamental knowledge of the environmental problems from the scientific concepts, processes, and historical background. 

A variety of environmental problems are triggered by the fast increasing population and economic development, due to unchecked urbanization and business production, agriculture expansion and forest degradation. Significant environmental problems include the degradation of forests and the agriculture of land, depletion of resources (water, minerals, woodlands, sand, rocks, etc.), environmental degradation, loss of biodiversity, loss of ecosystem resilience, and the safety of the poor. 

Most prominent environmental problems

If we had to question what are the world's environmental issues now, most citizens would be reluctant to think beyond climate change and oil shortages. Such individuals are not conscious that many other global problems are similarly harmful. 

- Climate change: 

Climate change has become more evident during the last decade and has been one of the warmer years the planet has ever seen for nine years in the decade. The change in the temperature often meant that the planet's calculations go astray. The most noticeable symptoms include environmental anomalies, extreme floods, glacial ice, rising sea levels, etc. 

- Survival of the species: 

Another global environmental challenge is that biodiversity protection approaches flora and fauna survival to prevent habitat extinguishment. Extinction of a single plant or animal species is the result of a dramatic imbalance in the ecosystem, as it is directly or indirectly affected by several other species. In the last century or so, several plants and animal species have been extinct, resulting in a significant loss for the planet's biodiversity.

- Energy crisis:

Our reliance on fossil fuels has made us significantly vulnerable to major energy crises because we are primarily dependent on our energy requirements. Although several renewable sources have been found, none have been as convincing as the primary source of energy for mankind as regards the substitution of fossil fuels. Attempts are underway to harness all the capacity of these outlets, and our existence is largely dependent on them because fossil fuels are about to run out of resources.

- Natural resources exploitation: 

Our hunger for more has left us empty-handed in different areas of the planet in terms of natural wealth. Many human actions have contributed to a drastic depletion of our natural capital, including logging, forestry, fisheries etc. 

- Land degradation: 

Land pollution, due to human activities or desertification, has made the planet's surface unsuitable for human use because of loss of vegetation. The reason that we have gone so far in terms of protecting the natural world may be related to land loss. Inappropriate use of soil, hazardous waste disposal, widespread deforestation and other human activities are damaging to nature, always affecting our natural environment. 

- Land usage: 

International land-related environmental problems are not restricted to hazardous waste disposal or large-scale degradation but also improper land use. In the case of inappropriate land use, land degradation due to development is also a significant factor. Together, these factors lead to many problems such as soil erosion, land degradation and desertification.

- Nuclear issues: 

There is a strong potential for atomic energy, but there is no less problem with it. One of the significant difficulties; especially if safety regulations are not adequately followed, is radioactive waste from nuclear power stations. The Tragedy of Chernobyl has set an example of how atomic waste could lead to catastrophe for humankind. 

- Overcrowding: 

Overcrowding is another major global environmental problem. With the world's population still rising alarmingly, the pressure on the planet's resources is growing. Overpopulation issues range from food and water crises to the absence of natural burial space. Overpopulation also leads to different population risks. Continuous population growth will not only cause natural resource depletion but will also bring more significant pressure to the economy. After all, a large population needs a massive effort for a nation in terms of finance.  

- Pollution: 

This is perhaps the most apparent but most ignored global environmental problem in this article. The term 'population' itself has several other aspects, including air pollution, water pollution and land pollution. On the one hand, air pollution may be due, as a result of waste disposal in factories, oil-carrying ships, etc. 

The high amounts of carbon dioxide pumped into the air by industries and vehicles and the pollution of water, water and land. Humans should be blamed for this issue, as our research appears to disturb the world. If we continue with this trend, we will soon be left without fresh air and clean water for drinking. 

- Waste management: 

With an increasing population, the human activity increases and also the volume of waste materials. These waste contain not only harmful gasses released into the air or toxic waste into bodies of water but also nuclear waste, electronic waste, medical waste and even waste from our houses. The production rate of this waste is significantly higher than what the price of treatment is, and this only leads to waste being piled up, which ultimately pollutes the environment. 

Conclusion

Numerous environmental changes are identified as problems of global concern like 

Desertification; 

fuel depletion; 

rainforest destruction 

Coastal ecosystems modification; 

reduced drinking water availability and quality; depletion of soil resources; 

extinction of the species. 

The sheer amount, scale and scope of these problems may be daunting, and some analysts have suggested that they have a collective, environmental effect on the earth's climate. These were some of the world's major environmental concerns and issues that have threatened the planet for a long time. 

However, today's environmental effects on the earth are not restricted to those as mentioned above. Several issues are surfacing every day, including dams building concerns, genetic waste, etc., rendering the list of global environmental problems lengthier. If we don't begin to deal with these issues one at a time, we won't have the option to give in to these environmental problems. 

References: 

https://www.dw.com/en/five-of-the-worlds-biggest-environmental-problems/a-35915705

https://www.omicsonline.org/scientific-reports/srep632.php

https://www.omicsonline.org/scientific-reports/srep632.php

Author: Frank Taylor