7 Environmental Problems That Are Worse Than We Thought
November 3, 2008 · Print This Article
With as much attention as the environment has been getting lately, you’d think that we’d be further along in our fight to preserve the world’s species, resources and the beautiful diversity of nature. Unfortunately, things aren’t nearly that rosy. In fact, many of the environmental problems that have received the most public attention are even worse than we thought – from destruction in the rain forest to melting glaciers in the Arctic. We’ve got a lot of work to do.
7. Mammal Extinction
Image via National Wildlife Federation
One in four mammals is threatened with extinction. That’s 25%, a huge number that will totally change the ecology of every corner of the earth. We could see thousands of species die out in our lifetime, and the rate of habitat loss and hunting in crucial areas like Southeast Asia, Central Africa and Central and South America is growing so rapidly, these animals barely have a chance.
If you think the extinction of an animal like the beautiful Iberian Lynx is no big deal, and wouldn’t have that much of an effect on the planet, think again. Not only would we be losing – mostly due to our own disregard for our surroundings – so much of the awe-inspiring diversity of nature, mass extinctions like this would cause a serious imbalance in the world’s food chain. When a predator disappears, the prey will multiply. When prey dies out, the predator will see its ranks decrease as well. Many people fail to realize just how interconnected all species on this planet really are.
6. The Ocean Dead Zones
In oceans around the world, there are eerie areas that are devoid of nearly all life. These ‘dead zones’ are characterized by a lack of oxygen, and they’re caused by excess nitrogen from farm fertilizers, emissions from vehicles and factories, and sewage. The number of dead zones has been growing fast – since the 1960’s, the number of dead zones has doubled every 10 years. They range in size from under a square mile to 45,000 square miles, and the most infamous one of all is in the Gulf of Mexico, a product of toxic sludge that flows down the Mississippi from farms in the Midwest. These ‘hypoxic’ zones now cover an area roughly the size of Oregon.
Spanish researches recently found that many species die off at oxygen levels well above the current definition of ‘uninhabitable’, suggesting that the extent of dead zones in coastal areas that support fishing is much worse than previously thought. Robert Diaz, a Virginia Institute of Marine Science biologist, said “Everything is pointing towards a more desperate situation in all aquatic systems, freshwater and marine. That’s pretty clear. People should be worried, all over the world.”
As if that weren’t bad enough, global warming will likely aggravate the problem. A rise in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will change rainfall patterns, which could create an increase in runoff from rivers into the seas in many areas.
5. Collapsing Fish Stock
Image via Pew Environment Group
Millions of people across the world depend upon fish as a major staple in their diet. As such, commercial fishermen have been pulling such a huge quantity of fish from the oceans that we’re heading toward a global collapse of all species currently fished – possibly as soon as the year 2048. Like large-scale mammal extinction, the collapse of fish species would have a major impact on the world’s ecosystems.
It’s not too late – yet – if overfishing and other threats to fish populations are reduced as soon as possible. Marine systems are still biologically diverse, but catastrophic loss of fish species is close at hand. 29 percent of species have been fished so heavily or have been so affected by pollution that they’re down to 10 percent of their previous population levels. If we continue the way we are fishing today, there will be a 100 percent collapse by mid-century, so we’ve got to turn this around fast.
4. Destruction of the Rain Forest
Image via Encyclopedia Britannica
‘Saving the rain forest’ has been at the forefront of the environmental movement for decades, yet here we are facing huge losses in the Amazon all the same. You might have thought that, with all the attention the rain forest has gotten, it wouldn’t need so much saving anymore – but unfortunately, global warming and deforestation mean that half of the Amazon rain forest will likely be destroyed or severely damaged by 2030.
The World Wildlife Fund concluded this summer that agriculture, drought, fire, logging and livestock ranching will cause major damage to 55 percent of the Amazon rain forest in the next 22 years. Another 4 percent will see damage due to reduced rainfall, courtesy of global warming. These factors will destroy up to 80 percent of the rain forest’s wildlife. Losing 60 percent of the rain forest would accelerate global warming and affect rainfall in places as far away as India. Massive destruction to the rain forest would have a domino effect on the rest of the world.
The WWF says that the ‘point of no return’, from which recovery will be impossible, is only 15 to 25 years away.
3. Polar Sea Ice Loss
Image via National Snow and Ice Data Center
Polar sea ice is melting at an unprecedented rate, and it’s not showing any signs of slowing down. It’s perhaps the most dramatic, startling visual evidence of global warming, and it’s got scientists rushing to figure out just how big of an effect the melting is going to have on the rest of the world.
British researchers said last week that the thickness of sea ice in the Arctic decreased dramatically last winter for the first time since records began in the early 1990s. The research showed a significant loss in thickness on the northern ice cap after the record loss of ice during the summer of 2007.
Scientific American warns that “human fingerprints have been detected” on both the Arctic and Antarctic regions. Antarctica had previously appeared to be the only continent on the planet where humanity’s impact on climate change hadn’t been observed. The collapse of the Larsen B and Wilkins ice shelves in the Antarctic Peninsula shows just how fast the region is warming.
2. CO2 Levels in the Atmosphere
The aforementioned polar sea ice loss is yet another sinister sign of carbon dioxide levels building up in the atmosphere – the main force behind global warming. Greenhouse gas emissions caused by our modern way of life – vehicles, power plants, factories, giant livestock farms – will bring devastating climate change within decades if they stay at today’s levels.
Average temperatures could increase by as much as 12 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of the century if emissions continue to rise, a figure that would easily make the world virtually uninhabitable for humans. A global temperature rise of just 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit would cause a catastrophic domino effect, bringing weather extremes that would result in food and water shortages and destructive floods.
The most recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change represents “the final nail in the coffin” of climate change denial, representing the most authoritative picture to date that global warming is caused by human activity. According to the panel, we must make a swift and significant switch to clean, efficient and renewable energy technologies in order to prevent the worst-case scenario.
1. Population Explosion
Whether 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.
- MoPIRG's Global Warming Solutions Campaign
- Don't Let Global Warming Take Out Our Irreplaceable Wildlife
- Save Wildlife from Global Warming: Support the Climate Security Act
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Wow, its pretty sad isnt it. its only going to get worse.
Jiff
http://www.Ultimate-Anonymity.com
Unfortunately tragedy of the commons keeps striking. Everybody is worried that too much conservation will simply allow competition with less concerns to take all the profits. Not sure what the solution is since the core of the issue is such a core part of the guilty parties.
great article. I completely agree and feel that decreasing the human population “by any means necessary” is our only option for survival. I think we need to stop having babies, support abortion, and “send our eldery off” who do not contribute to society but only take from it. Too far you say? Lets consider the alternative…the end of the human race. There won’t be ANY people on this earth. I think the decision is an obvious and easy one to make.
By changing your eating habits you can help stop or help the world cope with 6 of 7 of these catasrophes. Vegan, organic living.
6. Dead zones – good portion from fertilizers supporting most of our unsustainable food chains
5. Fish stock – pretty simple
4. Destruction of Rainforest – the majority is destroyed for beef and livestock farms to sustain McDonald’s and other mega-chain restaurants supplies
3. Polar Melt – see #2, some reduction may be seen, but could be too late
2. CO2 Levels – eliminate a portion of the problem by removing massive livestock farms, which are some of the heaviest polluters
1. Population Explosion – crop production has massively higher yields when compared to livestock production, be able to feed more of the population to reduce starvation (i realize this may be a contradiction, and not really applicable to what this article is talking about, as more people=more pollution)
Something you almost never hear about anymore is the idea of large settlements in free space, best done at the LaGrange points where the interaction of Earth, Moon and Sun gravity cancels out, and if you park something in these spots they will tend to stay there. See Gerard K, O’Neil’s book, “The High Frontier”. Imagine a cylinder 20 miles long with a 4-mile radius, interspersed windows and land surfaces on the inner surface of the spinning cylinder. Living inside, in an environment nearly indistinguishable from Earth’s surface could be 20,000 people and some typical plants and animals, or maybe an African savanna with elephants and other threatened species. The physics were worked out in 1974, and I’ll admit we have not yet found an inexpensive way to move mass into space from Earth, but doesn’t such a vision give you hope? The Earth’s limit of human population, about 10 billion, is almost upon us. What if there are resources in our solar system enough to support 100 billion people. Don’t we have a moral imperative to try to enable this to happen? By not trying to save the Earth and spread life to space settlements near Earth, are we not being evil? Please don’t give me that , “Mankind is not ready” argument. Mankind was never ready! Never will be! That’s evolution in action–a dynamic truth, always elusive, always being approached, never fully known, only always becoming.
No worries, if the New World Order has there way – we will have a reduced population by up to 80%.
Lies, lies!
The planet could not be in better shape. If you don’t agree, drive through Northern NJ and tell me it is not the prettiest sight in the whole world…
Americans have every right to do what they want and have what they want, always. It is OK to be fat, lazy and stupid. It is OK to think you deserve everything. After all, you are an American, yeah!!
All I can say is, we are killing ourselves. What we can do is to slow the process of dying but I don’t think we can save the situation.
Have you guys watched Zeitgeist: Addendum? Its a documentary that talks about the idea of us living in a resource based economy. It gets a little too “conspiracy theory-ish” at times, but I liked how they mentioned The Venus Project and their ideas of a Technocracy (a form of government in which scientists and technical experts are the leaders rather than politicians & lawyers).
Their ideas take me back to when I was a kid. I remember watching the Disney Channel and PBS, and there was hardly a show that didn’t talk about saving the earth. Remember Captain Planet?
Back then we were just kids, barely learning how it’s important it is to recycle, to be disaster prepared, and to care about the environment. Everything is catching up to us. The ones who care are now old enough, not just to vote, but to actually make a difference. We have degrees and jobs now. Solar & wind is now fesibal technologies.
Things will begin to improve, but only if we continue to expect, want, and demand change. We need to continue removing the old & stagnant out of the political arena. I do my part by buying locally & organic where possible and keeping abreast on the local politics.
Everyone stop fucking!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Where I live (in rural America) there is plenty of space, plenty of resources, and a declining population.
The cause for this is “agribusiness” and government policies that support the huge farm/businesses over the more ecologically friendly small farm, not overpopulation.
Yep, these are the ones that keep me up nights. Along with:
* A throwaway culture that has resulted in Texas-sized whorls of “plastic soup” in most of the world’s oceans;
* An environment so saturated with manmade chemicals — pesticides, phthalates, atrazine, Bisphenol-A, other carcinogens/endocrine disruptors/etc — that you see phenomena like male frogs with female characteristics;
* “Megacities” throughout the developing world that are just irredeemable environmental disasters;
… but hey, nothing’s going to ruin my mood on this particular day.
… just changed the brand new funky president…!!
i can’t believe all these are happening… how come nobody in power truely care about this?
I am aghast at how blinkered some Americans are! ‘Beautiful’ new jersey … yeah, it may be pretty, but how about the awful devastation of the rain forests, of the wildlife all over the world? It sounds a little like ‘I’m alright Jack’ … just the sentiment that allows humans to continue to rape the planet. And FFS, going on about your midwest farms … do you think that it’s only America that matters? The WHOLE WORLD is changing rapidly, and for the worse, and one day you may wake up, or your sons or daughters, and realise that YOU are dying because the world is dying.
The are some very beautiful areas in the UK where I live, but I am under no illusions that that suggests that everything is perfect, nor that I am not responsible. We all are.
I don’t want to go green because i already am going green so yepps!!!
going green needs to take affect i wnat mt kids annd any one else to see the animals that are in trouble
HI tori i was just saying hi wats up?
i want to go green and i will do some thing about it so every body goes green and the high school and middle schools come on take pride in your school and go green to help your school and every where around you like skate borders you need a place to skate so clean it up or it will not be there
this sucks balls
We need to respect this earth its been around for awhile, its not right for us to just come in and destroy it. so let clean this place up. not destroy it anymore. we all want to be here. “ALL PEOPLE DO IS COMPLAIN ABOUT HOW WE DONT TAKE CARE OF OUR EARTH. SO GET YOUR LAZY BUTTS UP AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT, STOP COMPLAINING ANF TAKE SOME ACTION, AND RESPONSIBILITY. we all have something to do with our earth being destroyed so lets all work together to FIX it.
We need to respect this earth its been around for awhile, its not right for us to just come in and destroy it. so let clean this place up. not destroy it anymore. we all want to be here. “ALL PEOPLE DO IS COMPLAIN ABOUT HOW WE DONT TAKE CARE OF OUR EARTH. SO GET YOUR LAZY BUTTS UP AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT, STOP COMPLAINING ANF TAKE SOME ACTION, AND RESPONSIBILITY.
I just want to thanks KC for her comments. Couldn’t agree more!!!
All of this is reality, and you adults have been knowing this for years but now you decide to do something about it now, you guys are unbelievable by the time I grow up there is not going to be enough fish in the sea, there is not going to be forest to admire, the CO2 level would rise to the point that it is going to be able to go down. You guys have to do something and do something fast, you either make or break my future. If you don’t than you are killing my future my kid’s future and the worlds future you now know that something has to be done so do it.
i hate that people are not protecting the earth they need to get their lazy fat butts up and do something about it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
just because your life is such a cookie cutter lay out does not mean that everyone else’s is tour home may be the prettiest that you ever saw and that the whole worldis like that then go to places like Africa and Brazil and the the worlds oceans and tell me that all of this is a lie
– a student of Mr.Alvarez
cool comments
Nobody in power cares about this because they’re too busy bailing out their bankers, and then pretending that they didn’t know all the executives were getting huge bonuses. You’d be surprised how quickly screwing the American people fills up a schedule.
Truth is there’s still too many people like “Republican” (who I believe is only being satirical) that think its all made up. Or worse yet that they deserve their luxuries even at the cost of their own environment.
Pride is our greatest environmental issue.
Never thought it could go so bad .
but now what can we do ?
what are the possibilities that we can have to stimulate a common reaction amongst all the countries and the varoius sections of socities?
thanks
-Ashvath
Thank you for sharing with us. It is really interesting and sad.
how sad!!!!!!!!
I seriously can’t sleep at night knowing these things are happening at an alarming rate. I want to do SO much, but I feel I’m constricted… and a lot of people around me are doing nothing. It actually hurts my feelings. I’m such a nerd.
OH MY GOD OUR WORLD IS IN DANGER
No,one but I and You can save our earth from what has been, is will be and faced her!
stop swearing
I think the biggest problem we have is Population control, but its not bad having too many people, its too bad having too many lazy people. We have to show people what is really going on in the world. I hear people say, ” Im gonna die anyways”, but they don’t know how bad the world is going to be for another generation. There needs to be more education put into recycling and conserving resources. And something needs to be done about Dumping stuff into the ocean, I went to the Santa Monica Beach CA, a beautiful place, but after leaving the water, I had some weird spots on my skin, the pollution in the water made my skin grow some weird fungus…. gross, Im sure out in the world something worser can occur.
It is hard to say,but nothing is beyond the will of humanbeings there for we must try to stop it.
For me it needs only global effert.
GOD be with US.
@ republican : PLz don’t mind me saying this but i really think that some Americans give a blind eye to the rest of the world. i mean, u guys act as if nothing exists beyond America. If any one American has the right to live in this planet,so do I. If any one American deserves everything,so do I. If any one American has the right to choose his/her own way of life, so do I and I WILL FIGHT ANY DAMN AMERICAN TO WIN OVER MY RIGHT.IS it so difficult to see how rapidly our environmant is degrading? how long are we going to pretend that we’re really OK with what’s going on? I mean we don’t really have change everything single-handedly. everyone of us can take small step which will aggregate to a bigger step. each individual’s awareness will have a huge impact if we’re just a bit careful about how we are spending the scarce resources.If you can’t do anything about this global problem,then don’t do anything.but plz don’t say anything AGAINST it.
All of these problems are linked to each other. Humans must address this from a standpoint of we are the problem things as simple as recycling can reduce emission. But we don’t do it as if it matters,we baby boomers are responsible for many of the problems and we need to help our children and grand children correct these problems and we must start now before the earth decides to correct them on her own. The earth was designed to support humans and it will correct things if it must it has done it in the past , the last ice age for example,and it will do it again.
we need to keep our environment safe as possible so that we could see less people dying. if we dont take care of our environment we could damage our world. if we dont keep the environment clean we can end up having the swine flu
i am 11 yrs old
No wonder you’re 11 years old.
on may25th,2009 4:24pm
I need always to see green areas whereever I am. And I need to be commmitted in all activitiies to maintain the earthh green.
Jesus is king of kings help us to make our earth evergreen