Environmental Problems plays a Significant role on the lives on Earth. These are destroying Earth’s Natural Environment and causing many threats to Humans and Biodiversity on Earth. This blog contains a complete Introduction of Environmental Problems along with their Relation with Biodiversity and Climate Change. Also learn about The Causes and Effects of Environmental Problems in detail.
1. What are Environmental Problems?
Environmental problems are the Challenges and Issues that are related to Environment or arises from the Environment. These issues have very bad impacts on the Environment and Biodiversity on Earth.
The natural problems that occurs in our environment because of Natural or Anthropogenic Causes are known as the Environmental Problems. They can be related to temperature, hygiene, Natural disasters and many such processes cause the Environmental Problems. There are many terms used for Environmental Problems such as Environmental issues, Environmental Crisis, Climatic Issues and many such other synonyms. In the present era, the Environmental problems are on their Extreme level. Some are completely caused by natural processes and phenomena but the extreme one’s are triggered and accelerated by Anthropogenic Activities.
The natural causes of rise of Environmental Problem can be; Geological events, Soil Erosion etc. While Anthropogenic Causes may be Burning of Fossil Fuels, Pollutions etc. All of these cause combines to impact on the Environment in drastic ways. The category of website that you are going through, will provide you bulk of information about Environmental Problems as well as their Preventive Measures and their Management Strategies.
Environmental Problem leads to very bad Health impacts on Human beings and other Biodiversity groups because of extreme weathers, altered environmental compositions and other such factors that cause a change in normal living. The most famous cities of the World such as Bangkok, New York, etc. are suffering from biggest Environmental Problems in present era. We will have a complete discussion on the Introduction and Examples of Environmental Problems in this blog.
1. What was the History of Environmental Problems?
When the life started on Earth, the Earth was a green and prosperous Planet that was best for life of Biodiversity. Earth contained all the useful and essential natural resources that were needed by man and other forms of Life so there was more food and less people on Earth. The plants were found at every part of the planet and freshwater covered most of the Earth’s surface. Population of humans was negligible and the Earth was an Open Market for Humans and the Biodiversity. Every organism on Earth was blessed with bulk of nutrition facilities and other essential Natural Resources on Earth so there was no need of any help to live and survive on Earth.
The presence of oxygen made Life possible on Earth by making it Best option to live across the universe and among all planets. In the same way, availability of a lot water was another plus point for the life on Earth. There was no need of rehabilitation and restoration of Earth’s resources but they were much more in the amount than the need of that time.
Starting point of Environmental Problems:
Then with passing time the man started to utilize the natural resources for his income or for upgrading the quality of life. He started cutting down the trees and using its wood for making goods and useful objects. Then he started selling these goods for taking Economic Facilities from them. The population also began to rise with high rates and people migrated from the woods and caves to wooden and mud houses. This time a little acceleration in Environmental issues started.
With the passage of time and the innovation of Human, the environment shifted from natural to artificial conditions in most of the areas of the world. Heat waves started and record breaking heat and cold struck the earth. This was a big change of people. Then industrial era added up many of the pollutants and loss of natural resources and resulted in destroying the natural environment and also increased the intensity of Environmental issues at a great level and making them Big Environmental Problems. This blog contains Introduction to Environmental Problems.
2. What are the Human Impacts on Environmental Problems OR Effects of Human Activities on Environmental Issues?
Almost all of the Environmental Problems initiates from Human Impacts on the Environment. Human Activities are getting intense with passing time. Following are some of the Human Impacts on the Environmental Problems:
i. Deforestation:
Deforestation is the cutting down of the trees for the welfare of humans so as it is practiced to get forest resources, for urbanization and for other human uses. Forests are the natural sinks of Major Air Pollutants and so they are cleansers of the Environment. The main reason behind Air Pollution, Climate Change and Global Warming is unnecessary cutting down of the trees (Deforestation).
ii. Habitat Loss:
Habitat is a place where a living organism lives and gets its food and also shelter easily. The loss of habitat cause great Biodiversity loss. Biodiversity plays a very important role in managing the Environmental composition and every specie has its own specialized role in maintaining the Environment. Human activities are a big cause of habitat loss because humans destroy Natural Systems and harm the Environment.
iii. Pollution:
Pollution is called a condition in which any unwanted or foreign material adds into the natural system or the Environment. The term pollution is initiated by human activities and it is becoming severe with passing years. Pollutions may be Land Pollution, Water Pollution, Noise Pollution and also Air Pollution. All of them deteriorates the quality of Environment and also contributes in Extreme Temperatures and Climate Change at great extents.
iv. Over-exploitation of Natural Resources:
Over-exploitation is the misuse of the resources that are supplied naturally or artificially in nature. Natural Resources are the resources that are found in nature. Humans consume huge amount of natural resources and they misuse them. The wastage of Natural Resources creates imbalance in the Environment and this adds many pollutants, instability and deterioration in the Ecosystem. This misuse leads to many of the Environmental Problems.
- These are some of the main human impacts on Environmental Problems. Other impacts includes Waste Production, Transportation, Overpopulation, Use of Non-renewable energy resources etc. Human impacts triggers the Environmental Problem like no other. This blog contains Introduction to Environmental Problems.
3. What is the Present Conditions of Environmental Problems?
Present conditions of Environmental Problems are a great threat for Humans and Biodiversity on Earth. As we know that industrialization is increasing every year in the world so the increased industrialization is leading to the addition of harmful pollutants into the environment. These pollutants adds a huge amount of Green House Gases into the atmosphere that cause Global warming so it is the increase in average temperature of the Earth. In the same way, Industrial discharge is causing severe impacts on Water bodies. These harmful discharges cause extreme Water pollution and have very bad impacts on Humans exposed to that water and the aquatic species.
Global Warming:
The rise in Global warming is leading to rapid Melting of Glacier so the melted ice adds into the sea and leads to dangerous levels of Sea Level rise. This sea level rise will cause coastal areas submerged into the sea in coming decade. People living in coastal areas are at great threat. Many harmful and unusual changes are occurring at Earth’s surface. For example, The latest Environmental problem occurred on Earth tells us that Greenland (The largest frozen Island in the world) is becoming green because of excessive heat. etc. This is causing the reduction in Earth’s Albedo Effect that is necessary for reflecting the heat waves of the sun back to the atmosphere.
Industrial Emissions:
Industries are adding NOx and SOX gases into the atmosphere because of Fossil Fuel Burning. This is leading to extreme weather events such as Storms, Smog, Wildfires and other such Climatic Activities. By adding Green House Gases and other pollutants, the Anthropogenic activities such as fuel burning, transportation, deforestation and land use change. All these activities are increasing the intensity of Environmental Problems with passing years. So, the present scenario about Environmental Problems is not very satisfying and it is increasing in extent every year. This blog contains Introduction to Environmental Problems.
Real-world Examples of Environmental Problems:
Following are some Real-world Examples of Environmental Problems:
- Plastic Pollution is one of the rising catastrophe for the Environment as it deteriorates the quality of Water, Air, Land and even the food we eat and the water we drink. It warms the Ecosystem in which it enters. It is the major reason of Environmental Degradation in the present era.
- Ocean Acidification is also a big Environmental concern of the present era. It initiates from the waste disposal, excessive absorption of CO2 from the Air and persisting pollutants into the Ocean. This is deteriorating the Marine Ecosystem and cause the destruction of Coral Reefs with a high speed.
4. What are the Future Predictions of Environmental Problems?
Future of Environmental Problems is even worst than the present state of Environmental Problems. It is predicted that the risks of Droughts, Desertification and Soil Erosion if no restoration practices and rehabilitation of nature will be practiced. We will not see beautiful species of Plants, Animals and other forms of Biodiversity around us. Development will eliminate the Green Spaces in different parts of the world. The weather will become more extreme and there will be extreme heat and also extreme cold around the globe. Freshwater will become scarce, as it is already finished in few regions of the world. The weather patterns may become more unpredictable than they are at the present time.
Sea level rise will takeover the coastal areas and all the resources and infrastructure will be destroyed. If no Afforestation and Reforestation will be practiced, the air quality will become worst and the air will not be able for Living organisms to survive. In the same way water will be polluted and it could not be utilized by the people and biodiversity on Earth. To avoid such future conditions, we should focus on the Restoration Practices and also achieve Goals of Sustainability to live in the natural environment on Earth for a long time. This blog contains Introduction to Environmental Problems.
5. What is the Relation of Climate Change and Environmental Issues Or Types of Environmental Problems?
Climate Change is the long-term shifts of weather patterns on the Earth. Climate Change is itself an Environmental problem. As we are observing huge changes in climate from a few years. These changes include longer Heat waves, Extended rainfall periods, Dry Climate etc. All these changes are includes in Environmental Problems as Climate is one of the most Important Component of Environment. So, all the variations and issues related to Climate are noted as Environmental Problems. In this way, many environmental problems are interrelated with Climate Change and leads to many of the Global Environmental Problems. Some Environmental Issues or Problems associated with Climate Change are mentioned below:
- Air Pollution
- Biodiversity Loss
- Sea level Rise
- Global Warming
- Water Scarcity
- Ocean Acidification
- Extreme Heat
- Extreme Cold
- Unpredictable Weather Patterns etc.
All of these Environmental issues that relates with Climatic Conditions or Climate Change. As Climate in the integral part of the Environment and it influence almost all the components of the Environment so, Climate Change is important to study while studying Environmental Problems. This blog contains Introduction to Environmental Problems.
6. What is the Relation between Biodiversity and Environmental Problems?
Biodiversity is the variety of life present on the Earth’s surface. It includes tiny organisms such as Unicellular and Micro-organisms and larger organisms like Blue whale and Hippopotamus etc. As we know that all types of Biodiversity live in the Earth’s Environment. So automatically Biodiversity influence Environmental issues and Environmental Problems also influence Biodiversity. It works both ways. Following are Examples that explains how Biodiversity provides benefits to the Environment and how it harms the Environment:
Example: Benefits of Biodiversity for the Environment
Forests:
Forests cleans up the air and remove many harmful pollutants that are responsible for Global warming and Air Pollution. It is because it exhales huge amounts of oxygen and eliminates Air pollutants from the air. It also provide habitat and Ecosystem Services to different species of plants and animals essential for the Environment.
Nutrient Cycle:
Biodiversity helps in the transfer of nutrients from one place to another. It does not let the nutrients accumulated at one location and cause excess of nutrition at one place. This network uses Food Chain to transfer the nutrients from one part of the environment to another. In this way, Ecological Balance is maintains and we can avoid Environmental Problems like Eutrophication.
These are the examples why Biodiversity is Beneficial in the condition of Environmental Problems.
Example: Drawbacks of Biodiversity for the Environment
Over-grazing:
Over grazing is the process of excessive consumption of food by animals from the same location containing vegetation. The excessive consumption of food from the same location takes away essential nutrients from that area so this may cause Desertification, increase the risk of Soil Erosion and leads to Nutrient loss in the very region and nearby regions.
Biodiversity Loss:
Biodiversity loss is the destruction of biodiversity for any Natural or Anthropogenic cause. This may cast very bad impacts on Environment. Some examples of Biodiversity loss are Deforestation, Wetland destruction and Land-use change so all these activities harm the environment by eliminating useful species of Biodiversity from the environment and can result in Global Warming, Soil Erosion and Nutrient loss.
These are the examples of how Biodiversity harms the Environment. This blog contains Introduction to Environmental Problems.
7. What is the Relation between Environmental Problems and Sustainability OR What are the Solutions to Environmental Issues?
Sustainability is the concept of meeting the needs of present generation without compromising the needs of future generation. It teaches us the Conservation and Restoration Strategies to let the Natural Resources survive for a long period of time for upcoming generations. Environmental Problems can become negligible if every person in the world tries to apply Sustainability in their daily life. The only Eco-friendly and effective way to fight with Environmental Problems is Sustainability. Following are some Sustainable practices that we can apply in our daily life:
- 4R strategy (Reduce, Recover, Reuse, Recycle)
- Conservation of Energy
- Reduce food waste
- Reduce Plastic Waste
- Conserve Water and Electricity
- Grow your own food
- Use of Renewable Energy Resources
- Use energy efficient Appliances
- Better Waste Management
- Promote Cycling and use of Public Transport
By applying these Sustainable Strategies we can fight with the Environmental Problems with effectiveness. These measures are the actionable solutions to improve Environmental Health. These are some of the simple practices that we can apply in order to be Sustainable and reduce the risk of Environmental Problems.
8. What are the Effects of Environmental Problems?
Following are some of the Effects of Environmental Problems on Humans, Economy and Ecosystem:
Effects of Environmental Issues on Human Health:
- Air Pollution increase the chances of Respiratory or Lung Disorders.
- Water Pollution is the major Cause of Water-borne Diseases.
- Extreme Temperatures leads to Heat-related diseases, fever and so many other such disorders.
- Natural Disaster cause Life loss at great extents every year etc.
Environmental Issues and Economy:
- Natural Disaster bring a lot of Economic Loss i.e. Destruction of Infrastructure and Property etc.
- Natural Resource Depletion affect industries and firms at great levels.
- There is a great loss of crops and food supply due to Climate Change etc.
Effects Environmental Issues on Ecosystem:
- Loss of keystone species disturbs the food chain.
- Water Pollution deteriorates the Marine Ecosystem.
- Land pollution contaminates the Natural Habitats of the Species.
- Deforestation deteriorates the Air quality in which we breath etc.
This blog contains Introduction to Environmental Problems.
9. Conclusion:
Environmental Problems are the issues and Challenges that are related to the environment in which we live. The Environmental Problems were negligible in the start of Earth’s history and so the Earth was full of resources and capacity to hold people. But with passing time as Human started exploiting Natural resources without Restoration, the Environmental issues grew to great extent and are growing with every passing year. The future is more dark in the context of Environmental Problems.
Climate Change is itself an Environmental Problem that contributes in many other Environmental issues. If we control Environmental Problems, we will automatically control Climate Change before its too late. The solution for present and future Environmental problems is to live a Sustainable life so Sustainability can take us out of the Environmental Crisis with proper Implementation. This blog contains Introduction to Environmental Problems.
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