Environment issues Protecting the Natural Environment

Environmental Issues
Environmental issues are the harmful effects of human activities on the environment. These
include pollution, overpopulation, waste disposal, climate change, global warming, the
greenhouse effect, etc.

Various environment protection programs are being practised at the individual, organizational
and government levels with the aim of establishing a balance between man and the
environment.

Some of the current environmental issues that require urgent attention are:

Climate Change

Climate change is a great concern in today’s scenario. This problem has surfaced in the last
few decades. Greenhouse gases are the major cause of climate change. Environmental
changes have several destructive impacts such as the melting of glaciers, change in seasons,
epidemics, etc.

Global Warming

The burning of fossil fuels, emissions from automobiles and chlorofluorocarbons add to the
greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. This has led to an increase in the earth’s temperature
causing environmental changes. This increase in temperature across the globe is known
as global warming.

Ozone Layer Depletion

The ozone layer is a layer of concentrated ozone gas. It protects us from the sun’s harmful
ultraviolet rays. This very important layer is being destroyed by CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons),
which are used in industries and everyday life (e.g. aerosol cans).

The chlorine in these compounds destroys the ozone layer. The hole in the ozone layer leaves
humans and wildlife exposed to harmful UV rays resulting in several skin diseases including
cancer.
Water Pollution

The introduction of harmful substances into rivers, oceans, lakes and ponds, which changes
the physical, chemical or biological condition of the water is called water pollution. The
polluted water lacks oxygen and therefore the organisms die.

Water is the main source of life and therefore it is our prime duty to prevent it from any kind
of pollution.

Air Pollution

Air pollution is the result of emissions from industries, automobiles, and the increasing use of
fossil fuels. The gaseous emissions have added to an increase in the temperature of the earth.
Not only this, but it had also increased the risk of diseases among individuals.

Solid Waste Management

Solid-waste management is defined as the discipline associated with the generation, storage,
collection, transfer and transport, processing, and disposal of solid waste in a manner that it
does not have a harmful effect on the environment.

Deforestation

Deforestation is the depletion of trees and forests at an alarming rate. The trees provide us
with oxygen, and several raw materials and also maintain the temperature of the earth. Due to
the depletion of trees for commercial purposes, there has been a drastic change in the earth’s
climate.

Forests are an abode to a large number of wild animals and plants. Destruction of forests has
led to the elimination of a large number of plants and animal species affecting biodiversity.

Overpopulation

The earth’s population is increasing drastically. It is estimated to be more than seven billion.
The increasing population has led to a shortage of resources. If this continues, it will be very
difficult to sustain such a huge population. The other environmental issues including
pollution, waste management, deforestation, climate change and global warming are all
associated with overpopulation.
 Solutions to Environmental Issues
Following are some of the most common solutions to the environmental issue:

1. Replace disposal items with reusable items.

2. The use of paper should be avoided.
3. Conserve water and electricity.
4. Support environmental friendly practices.
5. Recycle waste to conserve natural resources.
Environmental issues are a warning of the upcoming disaster. If these issues are not
controlled, there will soon be no life on earth.

Ten Simple Things You Can Do to Help Protect the Earth

 Reduce, reuse, and recycle. Cut down on what you throw away. Follow the three
"R's" to conserve natural resources and landfill space.
 Volunteer. Volunteer for clean-ups in your community. You can get involved in
protecting your watershed, too.
 Educate. When you further your own education, you can help others understand the
importance and value of our natural resources.
 Conserve water. The less water you use, the less runoff and wastewater that
eventually end up in the ocean.
 Choose sustainable. Learn how to make smart seafood choices
at www.fishwatch.gov.
 Shop wisely. Buy less plastic and bring a reusable shopping bag.
 Use long-lasting light bulbs. Energy efficient light bulbs reduce greenhouse gas
emissions. Also flip the light switch off when you leave the room!
 Plant a tree. Trees provide food and oxygen. They help save energy, clean the air,
and help combat climate change.
 Don't send chemicals into our waterways. Choose non-toxic chemicals in the home
and office.
 Bike more. Drive less.t

 Prevention of Pollution Prevention

 Current: What Is Pollution Prevention
Pollution prevention and other environmental stewardship activities, such as recycling and
proper waste management, help ensure that Indiana’s environment and economy are
sustained for future generations.

Pollution prevention (P2) means working at the source of pollutants to prevent them from
being generated or to reduce the amount generated. It is using materials and energy more
efficiently, and conserving natural resources, including water. It is following best
management practices, and involving all relative people in their implementation, to reduce
and prevent pollution. Finally, P2 also means seeing the financial benefits of increased
efficiency in the use of raw materials, energy, water or other resources. The “Pollution
Prevention Hierarchy” illustration outlines the concepts of pollution prevention in the order
of greatest effectiveness related to resource use and waste / pollution generation.

Defining Pollution Prevention (P2)

Source Reduction is any activity that prevents the creation of solid or hazardous waste at the
point of generation or minimizes the volume and toxicity of waste entering the waste stream.
Source reduction is one of the primary components of P2, and sometimes the term is used
synonymously with P2.

The focus of P2 is conservation and waste minimization or elimination, not pollution control.
Actions taken after waste has been generated, including out-of-process recycling,
composting, treatment, concentration, or dilution, are not considered P2.

The “Waste Management Hierarchy” illustration demonstrates that the most desirable waste
reduction priorities are source reduction and reuse, followed by environmentally sound
recycling and composting; energy recovery; treatment; and as a last resort, disposal or release
(including unintended spills).
Since source reduction and reuse both result in the prevention of waste, the amount of waste
requiring management is reduced overall. Waste reduction of these types are given the
highest priority in solid waste management plans because they reduce the demand placed on
the management systems.

Pollution Prevention Includes:

A. Any practice that (these practices are known as "source reduction"):
 Reduces the amount of any hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant
entering any waste stream or otherwise released into the environment
(including fugitive emissions) prior to recycling, treatment, or disposal, and
 Reduces the hazards to public health and the environment associated with the
release of such substances, pollutants, or contaminants.
B. Other practices that reduce or eliminate the creation of pollutants through:
 Increased efficiency in the use of raw materials, energy, water, or other
resources, or
 Protection of natural resources by conservation.
C. Equipment or technology modifications; process or procedure modifications; product
reformulation or redesign; substitution of raw materials; or improvements in
housekeeping, maintenance, training or inventory control.

To consider an “in-process” or “closed-loop” recycling and / or energy recovery activity a

form of pollution prevention, it must serve a productive function with the making of the
commercial product or the service provided for which the original process was designed.
Such practices are only considered P2 if they become an integral part of the operations (i.e.,
the production process cannot function without the “in-process” recycling component).

Pollution Prevention Does Not Include:

 Energy recovery that is external to the process

  Recycling that is external to the process
 Treatment of a waste stream
 Disposal or release
 Any practice that alters a hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant once it has
been generated
 Any practice that is not necessary for production
 Practices that create new risks to human health or the environment

DEPLETION OF NATURAL RESOURCES

Natural resource depletion occurs when resources are taken from the environment faster than
they are replenished. Causes of natural resource depletion include population growth,
consumer habits, industrialization, climate change, and pollution.

Natural Resources Depletion

Natural resource depletion refers to the decreasing amount of resources left on the Planet
Earth. It occurs when we use the resources at a rate faster than their renewal. It is indeed a
very grave problem nowadays.

Why is Natural Resource Depletion a Problem?

In ancient times, human life was very close to nature. But with the establishment of large and
heavy industries after the Industrial Revolution, indiscriminate exploitation of Nature started
taking place to meet the need for raw materials for the industries. With the help of science
and technology, man has grossly abused natural resources to meet the increasing needs of
population and violated the laws of nature. The over-exploitation of natural resources has
posed a big threat to the survival of mankind. Due to large-scale industrial waste, natural
resources such as water and air have to face the pandemic of pollution too.

As a result of the implementation of big projects related to developmental activities,

environment-related problems in the present era have acquired alarming proportions. In the
race for development, we seem to forget that all natural resources such as water, air, minerals,
forests, oils etc. are available in limited quantities. There is a need for conservation of natural
resources which are becoming scarce with the passage of time. Their use exceeds the speed of
their natural replenishment. Increasing pollution, global warming, industrialization and other
processes have accentuated the depletion of natural resources.

Causes of Natural Resources Depletion

The major causes of resource depletion are listed below:

 Overpopulation – With increasing population, demands of the country increase which
further results in depletion of resources.
 Over-consumption and waste – As the standards of living of people improves, they tend to
consume more and waste even more.
 Deforestation and the destruction of ecosystems – Forests are cut annually, to make space
for multiplexes, residential complexes etc. This not only destroys trees (and wood as a
resource) but also destroys home of thousands of species of animals.
 Mining – Mining of Minerals and Oil-Minerals and metals are in high demand in today’s
world. This is a very big problem as ores are being depleted day by day.
 Technological and industrial development – Technology advances and so the need of
resources increases.
 Soil erosion – Because of deforestation, soil erosion takes place. Thus, soil gets devoid of
important minerals and resources.
 Pollution and contamination of resources – Water pollution, soil pollution is increasing at
an alarming rate today due to negligent attitude of people towards the environment. Pollution
has a direct effect on contamination of resources available in nature.

Effects of Natural Resources Depletion

The depletion of natural resources has widespread consequences not only on the human life
but the environment too. Some of these are as listed below:

 Resource Scarcity: Resources like fossil fuels, timber, water and arable land become scarce
because of over-consumption and degradation, mostly in the areas of tremendous population
growth.
 Rising Prices: When natural resources become scarce, food, fuel and energy prices rise.
Even the price of renewable resources increases if they need to be shipped to reach areas
where these have been depleted.
 Water Shortages: When infrastructure development and population growth increase, water
shortages occur. As of today, almost 1 billion people lack access to clean water.

What resources are in decline?

• Water – Even though you see water everywhere and our planet is 70% water, only
2.5% of that 70% is fresh water. The rest is salt water and not useful to humans at all. That
small percentage of fresh water is mostly in the form of ice or permanent snow cover. So, we
really have only a few percent available for use. The Food and Agriculture Organization of
the United Nations predict that by 2025, 1.8 billion people will have no water to drink.

• Coal – This is the most used fossil fuel and a non-renewable energy source. Peak coal
extraction is predicted between 2025 and 2048. In 2011, it was estimated that we have
enough coal to meet global demands for 188 years.If the demand increases, the timeframe
will decrease.
• Oil – Without oil, global transportation will be severely debilitated. The BP Statistical
Review of World Energy estimates that there is 188.8 million tons of oil left in the known oil
reserves as of 2010. If our current demand continues, this oil will only be enough to supply
the world demands for the next 46.2 years.

• Natural Gas – As of 2010, the known reserves of natural gas was estimated to last
58.6 years with the current global production.

• Fish – Fishermen from a lot of coastal provinces report a decline in their catch. Other
marine species such as the tuna is close to extinction due to overfishing. This is a resource
since Fish is part of our major food group.

• Phosphorous – This resource is used for fertilizers to help plants grow. Scientists
from the Global Phosphorous Research initiative estimates that peak phosphorous will be
reached by 2030. Phosphorous is derived from phosphorous rock and guano.

Solutions to Depletion of Natural Resources

1. Controlling Deforestation

Programs aimed at checking against deforestation, such as REDD (Reducing Emissions from
Deforestation and Forest Degradation), created by the World Bank, the New York
Declaration on Forests, and the United Nations, are initiatives that could help reduce the
depletion of natural resources.

The initiatives may also act as incentives for encouraging the general public to conserve
forests as these are the habitat and protectors of some of the world’s unique plant and animal
species and water sources, respectively.

Sustainability programs that aim to educate people about the importance of conserving
natural resources should also be enacted as a way of focusing on the long-term risks
associated with environmental degradation.

2. Reducing oil, mineral, and material consumption

Oil-rich countries, together with the World Bank, state, and consumables’ regulatory bodies,
should join hands towards a common international objective of discussing how oil and
mineral consumption, as well as exploitation, can be reduced.

Manufactures can, for instance, be trained on lean manufacturing (recycling, re-use, and
reducing wastage) while consumers are sensitized on how to adopt re-use, reducing wastage,
and recycling techniques.
3. More exploration and use of renewable sources of energy

Renewable sources of energy such as solar and wind power can be explored more and
utilized to reduce the dependency on fossil fuel, which is a major cause of environmental
pollution, climate change, global warming, and the destruction of natural habitats.

Through the exploration of different renewable sources of energy, a lot of technological

innovations can be developed, which in turn could help reduce the use of natural
nonrenewable resources.

4. Protecting wetlands and coastal ecosystems

Wetlands are regions saturated with groundwater that play a significant role in sustaining
vegetation cover. The coastal and wetland ecosystems are thus vital in sustaining the food
chain as they replenish water sources and avail minerals and nutrients for primary producers
(green and flowering plants), essential for maintaining plant and animal biodiversity. Also,
when coastal ecosystems are protected, they aid in controlling marine overfishing and protect
coral reefs.

5. Sensitization and awareness creation

People must be educated on how their daily practices put a strain on scarce natural resources,
as well as their individual contributions to resource depletion. The main purpose of creating
awareness would be to encourage people to preserve and restore the natural environment by
getting involved in conservation efforts.