The hydroelectric power station in the northern part of India, near a river, was a central point of debate among the many environmental problems facing India a few years ago. Many environmental activists were adamant in preventing the construction of the dam. The reason was that the construction of the dam may create pollution in the nearby areas, including vegetation, wildlife, flora and fauna. The fight between activists and the government continued for several years and was a central environmental issue in the country’s main newspapers.
The incident cited above is one of many cases of environmental degradation caused by humans. There are many issues that require immediate attention, such as global warming, endangered species, ozone layer depletion, water pollution, air pollution, and land pollution. Various efforts such as the formation of organizations at the global and national levels are there to solve and prevent many serious environmental problems facing the world today. There are groups of environmental activists all over the world in different countries to deal with the problems.
Environmental degradation was not as pronounced before the 19th century. However, with the invention of the steam engine and rapid industrialization in the 19th and early 20th centuries, many pollution problems arose. The concentration of carbon dioxide and many other poisonous gases has increased since the mass hysteria of industrialization. The growth of these gases and effluents has been constantly increasing and, therefore, their concentrations have reached alarming levels today. The invention of various heat engines in the vehicle industries greatly contributed to the pollution problem facing the world today.
The environment is in a state of imbalance today in the 21st century. On the one hand there is an increase in temperature and on the other there has been a decrease in temperature due to environmental imbalance. Air pollution caused by industries, transportation systems, and deforestation has increased the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Plants, including trees, are massively felled all over the world to meet the needs of industries. This has resulted in the phenomenon called deforestation, which is the rapid removal of forests, including flora and fauna, from the face of the earth. The reduction in the number of trees and vegetation means that there is less absorption of carbon dioxide emitted by humans and other living species. This cumulative effect of deforestation and industrial pollution is raising the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
The increased amount of this harmful gas has resulted in what environmentalists call the greenhouse effect. In the greenhouse effect, the basic process is that the earth’s atmosphere with carbon dioxide allows ultraviolet rays to pass through but not the infrared radiation present in the sun’s rays. The more concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the more infrared radiation (warming properties) trapped by the earth’s atmosphere, which increases the earth’s temperature. So, the increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide has resulted in the increase in temperature, which causes global warming.
Deforestation has caused the inverse effect on temperature which is the decrease in the temperature of the earth. Due to the rapid clearing of forests, there is now more area available on the earth from which sunlight is reflected. The reflection of sunlight from the earth is the albedo effect. With the increase in area caused by deforestation, more light is reflected from the ground. So the heat energy from the sun’s rays that was once absorbed by the land in forests is now reflected back out into space, lowering the concentration of heat near the earth’s surface. This has resulted in the decrease in the earth’s temperature.
Ozone depletion is another major issue in the environment. Chlorofluorocarbons emitted from the ground are depleting the ozone layer through a series of chemical reactions. The depletion of the ozone layer means that harmful ultraviolet radiation can escape from the earth’s atmosphere causing various diseases in humans. This rapid depletion of the ozone layer is detrimental to the very existence of human beings.
Air pollution is endangering the environment as already discussed, as well as the other living species that inhabit the earth. Water pollution like oil splitting, harmful chemicals in water bodies are endangering aquatic life. The pollution of the earth has created all kinds of diseases and ailments in human beings. All three of these forms of pollution are serious threats to life on earth.
The Amazon is a forest in America full of biodiversity. The forest has thousands of species of plants and animals. Each species lives in a symbiotic relationship with each other. Even if a wild species or tree leads to extinction, it can be just as disastrous for the forest, if not in the short term, then in the long term. There are many endangered and endangered animals, and if there is no action now to save them, who will show up? Someone should take responsibility for saving our fellow human beings because indirectly, if not directly, our survival depends on them as well. And if there is no action now, then our very survival is in jeopardy and our future generations may not see these beautiful creatures that once roamed the earth. Despite various initiatives taken by governments and organizations around the world, there are many endangered species whose lives face threats from humans. Much trade in animal skins, bones, skins, etc. through illegal means is prevalent throughout the world. There is a prohibition or total control of such activities through laws and regulations, but still such illegal activities operate illegally without control in the background. Therefore, the protection of wildlife and natural habitat is one of many critical environmental issues on the planet today. The issue needs a comprehensive approach and global action.
Environment Sustainability is the regular replacement of the natural resources used. Once a tree falls in love with the paper industry, it is necessary to replant a tree to make up for the loss. Thus keeping natural resources unharmed in the long term so that they are not affected. Various initiatives like this by corporations and organizations around the world need to be implemented. In the corporate governance structure followed, environmental sustainability is one of the main problems raised. The alarming recent growth rates in the world have put enormous pressure on the world’s natural resources, which has affected the health of the earth’s environment. If resource depletion continues at this alarming level, there will not be enough time for future generations to deal with resource scarcity. Sustainability calls for preventing this from happening and saving the world’s environment.
What the world wants today is environmental sustainability through environmental protection. In the sense that whatever people consume today does not affect natural resources so that they are available for our future generations. What we do today with the environment will affect future generations and if we want our future generations to live happily and prosperously we must act now, otherwise it will be too late. Global warming will cause a great long-term effect that could be disastrous for the earth and its inhabitants. Even a slight rise in temperature could be devastating. Earth is our habitat, a precious planet on which our survival depends. If it is not there, then there is no life and therefore no human beings. If the environment continues to degrade in this way, it will not be long before our grandchildren or their children’s children will not share the same environment that we enjoy today.
Many agencies and programs have been launched around the world to counteract environmental pollution around the world. The United Nations global programs to raise environmental issues, the creation of independent environmental protection agencies in several countries are some of the initiatives taken around the world. The carbon credit scheme launched is particularly important in that the scheme has balanced global growth with environmental protection. The growth of the world has led to the environmental problem facing the world today as this global environmental body created the carbon credits. The basic advantage of carbon credits is that the world’s growth is not compromised while the environment remains pollution-free. The carbon credit scheme is now practiced all over the world. Corporations obtain carbon credits for the environmental protection initiatives they apply in their operations. The carbon credits won trades for cash from the designated global authority. There are well-developed exchanges for carbon credits where they are traded and exchanged for cash. Similar innovative schemes could be sparked in such a way that raises the environmental concern but at the same time benefits people. So what is necessary is to give people lust because it is human nature to greed and to do anything to satisfy that greed. Simple programs and other direct initiatives to save the environment can be successful to some extent, but creative innovative schemes like carbon credits will have a significant impact on the human psyche to better understand the environmental problem. If the carbon credit scheme has forced corporations to take environmental problems seriously, similar schemes will encourage layers of society other than corporations to take the problem seriously. Such schemes should encourage school children, older pensioners, non-working women and the like to care for and encourage protection of the environment.
We humans have lived with our natural environment, including flora and fauna, for centuries since the dawn of our life on earth. The natural instinct must not allow us to let the nature with which we have shared all the food, the home and everything we long for for centuries. Earth is a place where we live in a symbiotic relationship with other species and even a slight disturbance in this balance can affect our very existence.