Environmental protection has long become a critical issue that requires quick and effective responses, and these are environmental issues that we can no longer avoid…
Climate change, poor air quality, waste problems. These are pressing questions that must be faced by world leaders, but also by each of us.
You may be carelessly reading the news from the country and the world at the moment and thinking about how to improve your own standard of living, but in the coming years all this could lose importance if the ecological conditions in which we live deteriorate.
In any case, in 2022 there are five pressing environmental issues that humanity will need to work on quickly if we want this planet to continue to be habitable…
Global warming
Photo: PixabayIt is true that the temperature on our planet is increasing and the ozone layer is shrinking. The greenhouse effect is taking its toll, leading to extreme weather, including the extreme heat and drought that hit Europe this summer.
The problems start in industrial plants and the chemical compounds they emit into the atmosphere, but also in homes and also in means of transport, which also contribute to global warming.
Glaciers have begun to melt, some island countries are in danger of extinction, therefore greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced and very quickly, if we do not want to live in climatic conditions in which it will be very difficult to preserve our own health, as well as the current relief of the existing continents…
Relaxation
Photo: PixabayWithout fertile soil, there is no life on this planet for the human race, and currently such areas are decreasing in the world, thanks to the destruction of their biological potential.
Currently, up to 6 billion hectares of fertile land are affected by this problem, partly due to climate change, partly due to overgrazing, as well as urbanization and poor forest management. It is about 35% of the land area of planet Earth.
Desertification leads to a reduction in food production potential and also affects the quality of life of various animal and plant species. It is a phenomenon that is least talked about when it comes to environmental issues, but it actually poses a great danger to humanity…
Deforestation
Photo: PixabayWe know that forests are the lungs of humanity because they produce the much-needed oxygen and are responsible for the optimal living conditions that have reigned on this planet for thousands of years.
But deforestation in search of fuel and timber has spiraled out of control, from the Amazon to Europe. Forests, which play a key role in maintaining the balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the air, not only provide shelter for diverse flora and fauna, but when they are cleared excessively, soil erosion, groundwater evaporation, flooding and atmospheric changes occur. , which is a problem they will no longer be allowed to ignore in the future.
One of the reasons for deforestation is the need for paper, which mankind uses for various purposes. The good news is that many industries have decided to reduce the amount of paper they use by moving to the Internet, including the gaming industry, which has moved to the Internet, offering its users a “greener” option to find big wins and tactical strategies that Rizik.hr writes about. However, too much paper is still used for packaging purposes and in homes, and this is also something that will have to change if we want to save our forests…
Loss of biodiversity
Photo: PixabayDue to deforestation, climate change and human activity, 20 to 75 plant and animal species are disappearing from this planet every day.
This trend threatens the entire ecosystem in which we live, which we could feel best during the pandemic, which happened mainly because viruses lost the habitat they had in the past in various animals that are now exterminated.
Biodiversity loss not only affects food production, but also many aspects of quality of life, both for humans and the remaining animal and plant species. Once the food chain is broken, there will be problems for everyone living on this planet, which is why special attention should be paid to the preservation of biodiversity in the coming years…
Waste management
Photo: PixabayFinally, there is waste, which we produce more and more and dispose of it more and more difficult. Separating plastic, glass, paper and bio-waste from mixed waste is a good step towards resource recycling and sustainability, but there are many other issues we must also face.
Namely, tons of mercury, phosphorus, nitrogen, zinc and lead end up in rivers and seas as well as in the ground, destroying the ecosystem in which we live, and even drinking water is under attack.
There is of course nuclear waste, which is becoming a hot topic again, because it contains radioactive isotopes that pose a great danger to the biosphere, and it seems that nuclear energy will become extremely popular again, due to geopolitical conflicts in Europe and the world.
In other words, recycling is an important step in the right direction, but humanity has to deal with a number of other problems related to waste disposal, such as illegal landfills, in order to preserve the planet…