No doubt that we are developing ourselves with the latest technologies day after day and year after year. Today we can get all those facilities that human beings can’t afford four to five decades ago.
Human beings are now able to do any work in a single pinch.
But in this actually, we are not winners, because we win these facilities by sacrificing our nature and or environment. Basically, environmental pollution is an undesirable change in the surroundings that have harmful effects on plants and animals.
It leads to environmental pollution. The pollutant is the substance the causes the pollution. The situation is so bad, and it is time for human beings to take the ‘necessary action’ towards saving nature from major environmental issues.
If we ignored it today, then we are going to pay much more for it. Such ill effects are sure to curb human existence shortly.
There are so many emerging environmental issues that can lead to the loss of human beings' life and the extinction of a wide variety of environmental species. These emerging issues are as follows:
1. GLOBAL WARMING:
Global warming is one of the main emerging issues relating to environmental pollution. Global warming increases the earth’s temperature due to greeneries gases called carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor, and other gases.
These gases possess heat-trapping capacity, which is needed to create a greenhouse effect so that this planet remains warm for human beings to survive.
During the past several decades, the accumulation of greenhouse gases has been grown rapidly, which means that more heat gets trapped in the atmosphere. Only a few of these gases heat the surface of the earth, which results in global warming.
According to the NOAA, the earth's average temperature has increased by 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit over the past century.
So, Global warming is a serious environmental as well as a public health concern. It can have long-lasting effects, resulting in climate change, melting of glaciers, droughts, diseases, etc.
2. OZONE LAYER DEPLETION:
This is another major emerging issue ozone layer is the layer of gas that sits 20-30 km above the earth's surface. It mainly contains ozone which is a naturally occurring molecule, and it contains three oxygen atoms.
This layer helps in preventing too many harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiations from entering the earth. We can easily calculate the importance of the ozone layer, as it can absorb 95-99% of the harmful UV radiation emitted by the sun.
However, in the past several decades, human and industrial activities have contributed a lot to the depletion of the ozone layer. As a result, there is now a hole in it that is constantly increasing.
The Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer is an international agreement made in 1987. Its main aim is to stop the production and import of ozone-depleting substances and reduce their concentration in the atmosphere to help protect the earth’s ozone layer.
3. INDUSTRIAL AND HOUSEHOLD WASTE:
At present, tons of garbage by each household every year. Due to the rapid increase in the demand for food, shelter, and housing. This automatically resulted in the creation of more and more waste, which needs to be disposed of.
Most of the waste is buried underground in landfill sites. The presence of huge landfill sites across the city is a serious environmental concern in itself.
Due to rapid industrialization, the problem of disposing of industrial waste is a major concern. Although guidelines have been issued by the government or courts in this regard, we commonly see a trend where industrial waste is coming into the rivers, which is dangerous not only for human beings but all the species in the river.
Also, the waste which is non-decomposable and buried into the soil degrades the soil quality.
4. POLLUTION- NOT LIMITED TO AIR, WATER, AND LAND:
Many of us are known about pollution, but we are still not aware of its damaging consequences. We think that pollution is only limited to soil, water, air, noise, etc. But the issue is more serious because pollution has also extended to light, visuals, point, and non-point sources.
Human beings are solely responsible for causing these types of pollution.
5. Deforestation:
We all know that the population is growing rapidly due to the rapid growth of population and the demand for more and more industries to generate employment, leading to deforestation.
A study reveals that the demand for food, shelter, and cloth has almost tripled in the last few decades, and these demands are mainly satisfied by the clearing of forests.
Deforestation involves the permanent end of forest cover to make that land available for commercial, residential, or industrial purposes.
According to the FAO, an estimated 7.3 million hectares of forest, we last every year. This is a severe environmental issue as the effects of deforestation may cause floods, soil erosion, climate imbalance, wildlife extinction, and an increase in global warming.
6 . Urban Sprawl:
This is due to overpopulation. Not only in India or China but at present, almost all countries are irresponsibly using their land to meet their ever-growing demands.
The process of setting up or expanding industries has led to the problem of land degradation and soil pollution, and habitat destruction is a terrible misery.
The more serious concern is that the natural environment, consisting of the flare and the fauna, is destructed and lost completely. In the long run, it can hurt human beings and their survival, and it also causes a serious environmental issue.
7 . Hydraul :
Another serious emerging issue is Hydraulic tracking. It is the process of pumping millions of gallons of water and sand, chemicals underground to create enough pressure to crack or break apart the rock and to release the gas.
This can lead to an increase in water pollution, an increase in the number of droughts, and the spread of toxins. So, it is hazardous.
8 . Depletion of Natural resources:
The depletion of natural resources generally occurs when the resources are consumed faster than that of their replacement. Natural resources can either be renewable or non-renewable, and they are in existence without any human action.
Almost all the countries around the globe have been continuously digging in the earth’s crust to search for petroleum products, which they can use or sell to other countries to fulfill their thrust for energy.
As we all know, these natural resources are only limited in number, and after a certain period in the future, there will be a huge possibility of their depletion.
This is not all; the exploitation of natural resources beyond or certain point will also lead to an increase in air pollution and an increase in global warming.
According to the report, the experts have predicted that these non-renewable sources might vanish in less than 50 years from the present. However, still, so many companies like the oil companies have been continuously using these energy sources, in a manner as they are going to be here for a lifetime.
So, this is a major emerging environmental issue for which almost all the renowned nations meet so that a permanent solution can be taken by each of them and they become able to use natural resources within a particular limit and stop its exploitation.
9 . Habitat Loss and Destruction:
Another big issue that is emerging in environmental pollution is Habitat Loss and Destruction. It occurs by pollution, which causes habitats to be destroyed because it changes the quality of water, air, and land while becoming a breeding ground for toxins.
This habitat destruction can lead to the extinction of so many species, disruption of underwater systems, displacement of wildlife, and change in soil composition and quality, among others.
So we all should raise awareness about it and teach others the importance of biodiversity to solve this serious environmental issue.
10. Loss of Biodiversity:
One of the major environmental pollution issues is that the biodiversity of the earth is in grave danger. At present, human beings are the most dangerous cause for the destruction of the earth’s biodiversity.
The loss of habitat and its destruction, which we discussed earlier, is caused due to global warming, pollution, and deforestation. It is one of the or we can say it is the biggest cause of biodiversity loss.
The problem of biodiversity loss is considered one of the most serious problems, which are more serious than that of global warming and climate change, ozone depletion, glacial retreat. This is increasing with the increase in the population.
The conversion of habitat and its destruction are eliminating species at such a pace that the system they live in and support leads to an imbalance of the ecosystem.
So, to conserve this biodiversity, many protected areas have been introduced by the MAB Committee of UNESCO. One of the important examples of such protected areas is the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve areas of Himalaya, owing to the rich biodiversity representing High-Himalaya biogeography province 2B.
This is a grave concern, so we have to take serious steps and overcome this problem as soon as possible.
11. Climate Change - Climate crisis
The last but the biggest emerging issue in the last few decades is climate change or the climate crisis. If we see in today’s scenario, the process of climate change is a lesser natural process.
Earlier it was natural that the climate is changing. But now climate change is rapidly occurring due to the ill-effects of human actions, which are responsible for disturbing and the harmful or dangerous outcomings like global warming, coal industry, greenhouse effect, urban heat, etc.
If we talk about its effects, the world is experiencing arbitrary droughts, sudden rainfall and snowfall, unexpected weather patterns, and constant fluctuation in the temperature, leading to disasters like forest fire. Now the weather is no longer predictable enough.
These climate changes are random, and this is getting stressful day by day; even keeping track of the changes has influenced the lives of human beings both in positive as well as in negative ways.
Since evolution, human beings are continuously using nature for their personal benefits.
These resulted in huge carbon dioxide content in our environment and other harmful materials in water and the atmosphere. The use of fossils fuel regularly has led to complete exhaustion of it.
The continuous exploitation of natural resources by us and not taking any major step to improve the situation ultimately resulted in various harmful gases in the environment.
The depletion of the ozone layer caused by greenhouse gases which we discussed earlier, is also due to climate change.
Over the last few decades, the governments have collectively taken steps to slow down global warming, which leads to climate change.
Through the way of Kyoto Protocol and the Paris agreement, the countries agreed to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases. Still, the amount of Co2 in the atmosphere continuously keeps on rising, which results in the heating of the earth at an alarming rate.
Conclusion :
In the light of the above discussion, we can conclude that there are too many emerging environmental pollution issues.
This is not a question: what are the major issues, or which issue is more dangerous or serves to live creatures. But the main question is that how to overcome these issues.
Environmental pollution is continuously causing a lot of distress not only to human beings but also to other living creatures on the earth and driving many species to the hole of endangerment and sometimes even extinction.
The biggest shame for human beings is that due to their greed or their wants of high facilities, the other living species or animals are in huge danger.
Pollution impacts those species as well. So, the root cause for environmental pollution and its various emerging issues is only the human beings, or their greed/wants.
The fact is that no one is concerned about our future generations, that what type of environment we are going to left for them, where there are no natural resources, the atmosphere is full of pollution. Human beings suffer from severe health issues.
Then, nothing is left with us except regret for our acts and exploitation of nature by us.
Yes, industries are indeed the need of the hour. But if followed by us, some precautions would not impact our environment to such an extent. In our opinion, this is the time, where we just have to take serious steps if we want to save ourselves from a severe end.
Various conventions were made from time to time at the global level to tackle environment-related issues. Still, they don’t get success and will never get success until every individual takes them as a duty to protect their environment.
Strict actions must be taken against industries that violate the rules related to the decomposition of industrial waste, setting up industries near localities, etc.
The new agreement should be made at a global level with the support of every nation by keeping in mind the flaws of earlier agreements.
If we take this issue lightly, then human beings are solely responsible for not just their severe end but the end of all living creatures on the earth.
We must be aware of people who don’t lose our precious nature to fulfill our own greed.
We have to go back to our nature and need to love our environment, in a manner that is neat and clean only then can we live a healthy life, otherwise be ready, because nature will take revenge for the harm we give to it.
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