World Environmental Issues by K. Schmidt

 World Environmental Issues

1. Poaching:

Throughout history, elephants have been hunted and killed in inhumane manners for their ivory. Human desires for the money receivable, as the price for tusks is copious. These tusks are manufactured into a variety of products such as piano keys and decorative objects. Though many advocacies have been shared, human desire for these luxuries outweighs efforts against it. 

    In 1989, the ban on international trade was presented after years of unprecedented poaching. It was estimated that in the 1980’s, over 100 000 elephants were being killed every year. The ban allowed some herds to recover, especially if they were being protected, but a surge of illegal ivory tracking and poaching has risen over the past few years, drastically declining the forest elephant and the savannah elephant populations. There are many sophisticated ways of poaching due to it being a globally relative issue. The current methods of poaching have surpassed just using rifles. Poacher’s now have well-organized criminal networks who use helicopters, night vision supplies, tranquilizers, and silencers to discreetly kill these animals. Promisingly, in 2016 the United States implemented a near complete ban on poaching, followed by the United Kingdom, Singapore, Hong Kong, along with other ivory markets. Inspite of these bans, poaching is still a prominent issue. Currently, there are many organizations such as the International Anti-Poaching Foundation, Wildlife Conservation Society, Kenya Wildlife Services, and WWF (World Wildlife Fund), a distinguished international non-governmental organization advocating for the termination of poaching, among various other issues.

    Poaching is an awful, inhumane hunting tactic that needs a permanent ban. It will take several efforts and a fair amount of time to completely diminish the act of poaching, however it is possible if governments and organizations take action. Thousands of elephants are being hunted, and it is time for their species to be able to exist for the coming years.

2. Coral Reefs:

A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. They are mainly located in parts of both the Indian and Pacific ocean, the Red sea, among a few other locations. An estimated 500 million people earn their living from the fishing stocks and tourism opportunities coral reefs provide. The tiny animals that give rise to reefs are even offering hope for new drugs to treat cancer and other diseases. 

    There are many ongoing issues and activities that contribute  to the destruction of coral reefs. Warming waters, coral mining, pollution, overfishing, ocean acidification, among other activities are the reason for these coral reefs dying. The destruction of these reefs have become so severe, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the United Nations released a statement remarking on the world’s coral reefs; “Even if global warming is limited to 2 degrees Celsius, almost all reefs will ‘degrade’.” The rapid decline and loss of these valuable, complex ecosystems have significant economic, social, and environmental consequences around the world. It is evident that our reefs need to become healthy because if they don’t, mass job losses will occur, there will be a rapid erosion of coastlines which may lead to the submerging of small island countries, 25% of marine life will be extinct or without habitat, coastal fishing industries would collapse, coastlines will take a battering, less oxygen, as well as other catastrophes. However, many teams and organizations globally are working to save the reefs entirely. Organizations such as Coral Reef Alliance, NOAA, and Ocean Conservancy have taken action in preserving and saving coral reefs. They are doing so by improving reef management so those responsible for the creation and enforcement of protected areas have the tools and financial support they need, implementing satellite technology to detect harmful algal blooms that can smother reefs and to monitor elevated sea surface temperatures, water conservation, and several other methods of preservation. Thus, saving these reefs is crucial to marine life’s existence, as well as our own. 

3. Water Pollution

Water pollution is the contamination of bodies of water, usually inflicted by human activities. This includes lakes, rivers, streams, oceans, aquifers, and groundwater to the point where toxic substances interfere with beneficial use of the water or with the functioning of ecosystems. 

    Water pollution can happen several ways, one prominent way being city sewage and industrial waste discharge. Other ways this occurs is from the chemicals and pesticides on agriculture, radioactive waste, and oil spills. When these  process happens, pollutants, such as bacteria, viruses, parasites, fertilizers, pharmaceutical products, nitrates, phosphates, plastics, fecal wastes, and radioactive substances enter the water. Not only does this affect the ecosystems, but the pollutants also travel into groundwater, which may end up in our household water system, contaminating the water. If this water is consumed, diseases and other illnesses such as diarrhea, cholera, dysentery, typhoid, and poliomyelitis may occur, which kills more than 500 000 people a year. Degradation and destruction of biodiversity, contamination of food chains, lack of potable water, and infant mortality are all results of contact with polluted water. There are several ways to reduce and prevent the pollution of water like reducing CO2 emissions, reducing the use of chemical pesticides and nutrients on crops, reducing and safe treatment wastewa of ter, reducing the use of single use plastics, and encouraging sustainable fishing. Organizations such as Pacific Institute, World Water Council, Project WET, among several others that are helping the prevention of water pollution by informing populations about the issues well as advocating for clean water, allowing millions of people to have access to fresh water, implementing large scale rainwater harvesting and groundwater recharging systems, reducing water use, and much more. It has become increasingly evident that as a whole, the World needs to be more educated on the subject and begin doing the things these organizations are advocating for.

4. Climate Change

Climate change is the act of large-scale shifts in weather patterns driven by human incentives like emissions of greenhouse gases. Climate change has several characteristics. Thousands of the studies conducted all  come to the same conclusion ; there is marked increase of temperature at the Earth's surface as well as in the oceans and atmosphere. In addition , glaciers are melting, there is a drastic increase of high temperatures and heavy precipitation, longer growing seasons and more frequent wildfires. Sea’s are rising and warming, oceans are becoming more acidic, there are recurring floods along the U.S. coastline. It is becoming so severe that species are migrating to places where they never originated. 

    Most of this is induced by human activity. Burning coal, oil, and gas (producing emissions like carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide), deforestation, modes of transportation, increased livestock production/farming, emission of fluorinated gasses, and fertilizers containing nitrogen are just a few of the causes for global warming or climate change. If global warming continues without the world acting upon such issue(s), risks of flooding increases phenomenally, coral bleaching- resulting in them being severely degraded, an ice-free Arctic, extreme heat waves, plants and animals at risk of losing over half their habitats, severe forest fires, frequent and prolonged droughts, melted mountain glaciers (skiing is impossible), and expanded deserts, just to name a few will be the consequences. 

    Recently, thousands of scientists have concluded a few major things that will potentially  help cure our world. Shifting energy production, curbing short-lived pollutants, investing in nature-based solutions, transforming food production, developing carbon-free economies, keeping fossil fuels in the ground, and limiting population growth are tasks needed to be done in order for Earth to regain health. Other approaches to reducing climate change are recycling CO2 and Ocean Greening. 

    It is beyond evident that our World needs saving immediately. With scientists, governments, and thousands of organizations, it is definitely possible to redeem the health our globe once had. If climate change continues without help l, our World will degrade into a state of no return.