The Top Environmental Problems We’re Currently Dealing With
Our environment is changing rapidly, with issues arising across the board contributing to the decline of the natural Earth. “Climate change” often comes to mind when we think of environmental problems, but there are unfortunately a myriad of additional issues that encompass the crisis we’re dealing with. Some of the most pressing ones, many of which are interconnected, are explained below.
Poor Governance
Collective efforts in combating the environmental crisis is needed, however, policymakers have lacked firm and swift action in tackling these issues on a wide scale basis. For instance, activists and economists alike have been pushing policymakers to address climate change by urging them to implement policies that discourage the emissions of greenhouse gases. National carbon taxes across 25 countries have resulted from such pushes, however, the 2019 OECD Tax Energy Use report found that tax structures are not aligned well with pollution profile energy sources, meaning the more detrimental greenhouse emissions are not taxed in the same manner as the less detrimental ones. Stronger policies need to be orchestrated across the globe to provide a pathway for change to happen.
Food Waste and Agriculture Issues; Water Waste/Insecurity
Food waste contributes 4.4 gigatons of carbon emissions each year, with almost one third of all food made for human consumption being wasted. In fact, food waste would be the third largest polluter if it were a country. The food waste issue also contributes to the increasing risk of food insecurity-- overproduction in the agricultural process leading to unsustainable farming practices that cause food scarcity in certain areas of the world. The same issue applies to water waste and insecurity. 1.1 billion people worldwidealready lack access to water and 2.7 billion people deal with water scarcity each year. Water and food shortages are quickly becoming not only an environmental problem, but a humanitarian one as well.
Deforestation
Intense demand for open land and timber material causes mass clearings of forest land. Forests are important in the carbon sequestration process, and they also help protect natural soil layers that prevent landslides from occurring. By the year 2030, the planet may only have 10% of its forest left.
Biodiversity Loss
A result of deforestation and the disruption of natural habitats for agricultural systems, urban usage, and human needs in general have resulted in the loss of biodiversity. Wildlife populations on Earth are diminishing -- we can see this through the increase in endangered species categories. The loss of natural wildlife, both animals and fauna, are starting to cause a disruption in the natural ecosystem.
Air Pollution
Emissions from greenhouse gasses used in industrial and motor settings cause air pollution, meaning poor air quality which directly affects human health. According to a recent report from the EU’s environment agency, air pollution contributes to 400,000 deaths in the EU annually. Air pollution is perhaps the most pertinent environmental issue to human survival, and one that therefore needs our attention more.
Plastic Waste
Research shows that 91% of our plastic waste has not been recycled. That means that our plastic is floating around in waterways harming wildlife and their habitats. Our health is also compromised through microplastics and plastic chemicals. Including microplastics, the cumulative amount of plastics could reach 600 million tons by 2040.
Global Warming and Melting Ice Caps
Global temperatures are rising, indicating a changing environment that won’t fare well for our future. Greenhouse gas emissions from human activity are increasing our overall climate, causing a series of issues and catastrophes. Natural disasters such as wildfires and hurricanes are increasing in frequency and intensity. Rising temperatures are causing ice caps to melt, sea levels to rise, and may lead to the erosion of urban cities. A host of other problems are arising, such as shrinking productivity of crops, the spread of diseases, and water supply depletion.
Human activity is impacting the environment around us, and it’s up to us to collectively come together and solve this crisis. The environmental problems listed above are only the tip of the iceberg -- if we continue on this path, we may have no future planet to rely on. Awareness, activism, and change are paramount now in combating the environmental crisis and building sustainable practices to maintain our life on Earth.
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