Environmental Issues
Environmental issues are defined as problems with the planet's systems (air, water, soil, etc.) that
have developed as a result of human interference or mistreatment of the planet.
The five biggest environmental problems around the world include:
- Air Pollution;
- Deforestation;
- Species Extinction;
- Soil Degradation;
- Overpopulation;
Air Pollution
Air pollution can be defined as the presence of substances from human activities or nature
itself that can endanger the quality of life of living beings.
Air pollutants can be divided into two major groups: primary pollutants (those emitted directly
by a source of pollution, such as a car) and secondary pollutants (those that suffer chemical reactions
in the atmosphere).
Air pollution is directly related to various health problems, mainly respiratory and
cardiovascular. The development of large urban centers and the increasingly exaggerated
consumption of humans are the main responsible for making the world increasingly polluted.
Right now, the most polluted city in the world is Lahore, Pakistan.
Solutions: replace fossil fuels with renewable energy; reforestation; reduce emissions from
agriculture; change industrial processes.
Deforestation
Deforestation, in simple terms, means the felling and cleaning of forest cover or tree plantations. It
involves the permanent end of forest cover to make this land available for residential, commercial or
industrial purposes. Deforestation leads to various imbalances, both ecological and environmental.
What makes deforestation alarming are the immediate and long-term effects that it is obliged to inflict
if it continues at the current rate.
The main causes of deforestation are agricultural activities, livestock, urbanization and fires.
Solutions: conserve what remains of natural forests and recover the degraded areas with the
replanting of native tree species.
At this time the most well-known and alarming case is the deforestation of the Amazon forest.
Species Extinction
We say that a species is extinct when there is no more individual belonging to that species on
Earth. This process, although tragic, is common and is quite important for the evolutionary process of
species. It is estimated that the living species today do not correspond to even 1% of the number of
species that have ever lived on the planet.
Currently the extinction processes are occurring mainly due to the anthropic action where
habitat destruction, predatory hunting, the introduction of species into new ecosystems and pollution
and contamination of the environment stand out.
Solutions: Joint efforts must be made to prevent biodiversity from a decrease. Protecting and
reclaiming habitats is only one side of the issue – fighting illegal hunting and fishing and the wildlife
trade is another.
Among the mass extinctions, the best known, is that of the Cretaceous-Tertiary, which led to
the end of dinosaurs.
Soil Degradation;
Soil degradation is a process of soil destruction. Soils can be degraded from chemical (nutrient
loss, acidification, salinization), physical (loss of structure, decreased permeability) or biological
(decreased organic matter) components, resulting in the depletion and loss of nutrients essential for
soil fertility.
The main factors causing soil degradation are: the absence of local vegetation, acid rains and
erosion.
Solutions include: use of green fertilizers, irrigation correctly, control of fires, among others.
Overpopulation
Overpopulation consists of a high birth rate. This problem is the main cause of global
problems. The main causes of overpopulation are: increased life expectancy, religious
fundamentalisms and decreased infant mortality, including others.
The main consequences of overpopulation include: lack of food and drinking water, lack of
energy, disappearance of green areas and depletion of natural resources.
Solutions include: having fewer children and having them later, considering adoption, focusing
on overpopulation education and birth control methods.
The city in the world with the most overpopulation is Shanghai, in China.
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