What are top ten environmental problem Essay

Listing the top 10 of a group is al moods appealing. ex most-wanted fugitives by the FBI. compass hug drug songs, books, and best-dressed celebrities. And David Let marchesan, with his key of items such as Top Ten Reasons You Are Not Looking Forward to the NBA Playoffs. So wherefore not list the top ten environmental problems facing the States and the world? I asked ii dozen ecology graduate students what their list would be.If bothone knows what the real threats ar, these volume bequeath their opinions atomic number 18 science-based, not emotional. Using the Letterman access code of reading the list from 10 to 1, I present the top ten environmental problems in order of increasing importance. The total number of major(ip) problems identified by the people I asked ended up to be more(prenominal) than 10. Not surprisingly, some of the perceived problems argon similar and interconnect, so I consolidated the students lists to end up with the magic number 10. 10. incursive plants and animals.The problems resulting from fire ants, Burmese pythons in the Everglades, and many more regional environmental problems grant a human beings origin related to the introduction of foreign species. 9. Global modality toss. Although global warming receives a lot of press, University of tabun graduate student Brian Todd pointed out that the global climate for the past 4 billion years has been one marked by change and comparative instability. The problem we face today is the crippled ability of many ecosystems to appropriately respond to climate change as they have for the past 65 million years beca using up we have already compromised the environment in early(a) ways. 8. Pollution of marine habitats.See moreMasters of Satire trick Dryden and Jonathan Swift EssayThe oceans are huge, further overharvesting and the degradation of marine environments are proceeding at a steady rate around the world, including a commercially extinct codfish industry and disappe aring coral reefs along our own coasts. 7. Air pollution. Uncontrolled releases by industry and the excessive use of fossil fuels have led to acid rain, dissolution of the ozone layer, smog, and the general reasoning by elimination of clean air. 6. Unsustainable agriculture. The human world is dependent on food production, hitherto agricultural siltation, pesticide runoffs, and loss of natural habitats are constant threats to a anicteric environment. 5.Threat of disease. Bird flu, West Nile virus, and mad cow disease are examples of how we could be affected overnight by unseen enemies, all a consequence of human overcrowding, overconsumption, and invasive species. 4. Water quality and quantity. Sewage from cities, unregulated releases from industrial and agricultural sites, and dumping of wastes in the oceans collectively exacerbate the world(a) problem of piss pollution. Overuse of groundwater in many coastal regions jumper cable to saltwater intrusion is a looming specter. Wa ter wars are now a reality in the western states and even in the wetter Southeast, as evidenced in the court cases involving Alabama, Georgia, and Florida. 3. Habitat loss, fragmentation, and degradation.The loss of natural habitats be stimulate of human development and deforestation is viewed by most as the major cause of the decline in biodiversity nationally and globally. Many species are on an unmitigated path toward extinction because their native habitats are at peace(p) or despoiled. 2. charitable overpopulation. Most of the students cliqueed unchecked human population growth, which leads to overconsumption and associated world poverty, as their top culprit of environmental problems. Virtually e rattling problem from 3 through 10 feces be traced back to our simply having as well as many people for the resources available. Until political and religious leaders have the braveness to realistically address the issue of birth control on a global scale, most of our environme ntal problems leave piece of tail worsen before they wreak better. 1. Apathy.Dean Croshaw, a graduate student from the University of New Orleans, offered what I rank as the number one environmental problem. A clear power of our foremost problem is that world leaders seldom acknowledge, let solely propose solutions to, environmental problems. For those leaders around the world chosen by a democratic selection process, that apathy is condoned and mimicked by the people who elect them. A major difference between David Lettermans lists and mine is that none of mine are funny.1. WaterIts hardly surprising that on the worlds driest inhabited continent, experts are business sectored most how Australia looks by and by its water. We lead to repair smarter about how we manage water that means everything from replace our ageing infrastructure to ensuring we capture rain water when it does fall, urges Kim McKay, author of straightforward Green Life. Most rivers in southern Australia are suffering from decades of over-extraction for irrigation, says Dr Linda Selvey, Greenpeace Australia peace-loving CEO. This is being exacerbated by drought, and the pressure will continue as climate change takes hold.Selvey and former Australian of the Year, Tim Flannery, are some of the many voices profession for urgent action in the Murray-Darling Basin, while the Australian Conservation pedestal (ACF) continues to remind the semipublic of the far-reaching effects of unhealthy river systems in general. Blue-green algal outbreaks kill fish and build up water unsafe for drinking or swimming, while salty water isnt useful for anything, ACF spokesperson pull the leg of Meadows said. 2. mode changeIt may be a global issue, but when scientists across the world are asked what the effects of climate change will look like, they quickly point to Australia. Of all the wealthy countries, were belike the most vulnerable, says Professor Will Steffen, executive terriblector of ANU s Climate Change Institute. Were locked in to another 0.5C temperature rise collectable to past emissions, but what we do between now and 2050 is crucial for the magnitude and rate of climate change later this century and beyond, he says. tour governing body assessments predict over 250,000 Australian homes may be at risk from rising sea levels, Greenpeaces Selvey notes climate change will affect us well beyond our front doors.Climate change also concerns security, the economy and justice. As a doctor, Ive also seen the way it affects peoples health, she says. The response, urges Professor Kurt Lambeck, president of the Australian Academy of Science, moldiness(prenominal) be urgent and adaptable Reducing greenhouse gas emissions must be high priority, even if the full consequences of this are not even so understood, he says. 3. EnergyWe should be replacing fossil fuels with renewable power, says Selvey. Its critical that the Rudd government act to help us with the transition. It sight be done all that is required is political will, she says. Fiona Wain, CEO of milieu Business Australia, sees an opportunity in the coming energy crisis. We have mental ability to be world leaders in solar, wind, marine and geothermal energies. We have these resources on tap, but weve become lazy esteemers. Why dont we do minerals processing and manufacturing in Australia using these energy-efficient resources?Like Flannery, who believes a lose of triple-bottom-line accounting in government and industry is make uping the environment, Wain says those in manufacturing bespeak to shift their thinking, and fast. Its time to be thinking very big picture, so we need boards of directors that can think further than their three-year term of office, she says. 4. CoalTim Flannery is not the only expert surveyed who expressed serious concern over Australias 20-odd conventional blacken-fired power plants. Were the biggest coal exporter in the world, says McKay. We may think our g lobal carbon contribution is small (almost two per cent of global emissions), but its much, much greater than that repayable to our bulk coal exports to countries like Japan, South Korea, the Netherlands and China. Its unbelievable we havent developed alternative, renewable energy sources on a life-size scale.Were dragging the chain presumably due to short-term, next election-cycle thinking, she says. piece brown coal is responsible for much of our carbon dioxide (carbonic acid gas), Wain believes we should be further investigating sequestration of the climate-changing gas. Regardless of what else we do were tacit going to need to draw down CO2 from the atmosphere to get it to 350 parts per million. Wain points to a commercial trial aiming to turn CO2 captured from coal-fired plants into algal oil (to produce plastics or biodiesel) and another trialling brown coal deposits as the base for soil fertilisers as two potential solutions. in that respect are consortiums of developer s just getting on with it, she says. 5. BiodiversityWith 1500 land-based species threatened, what Flannery terms the extinction crisis is concord upon as a serious environmental challenge. We have already seen a fairly disturbing loss of our biodiversity, but the problem tends to get overshadowed by climate change, land degradation and water issues, says the ANUs Will Steffen. in that locations a whole suite of services we enjoy thank to a biodiverse-rich ecosystem, from provisioning services like food or water, through to nutrient flow and pollination, reminds Steffan. He believes our highly urbanised society only compounds the problem. We are quite disconnected from the services our ecosystem provides. Aside from products like food or timber, we dont see a value or wrong for these services in an economically focussed system. But Australia has an extinction debt structure up, and the trend is not improving, he says. 6. OceansDespite knowing the problems faced by one of our best -loved tourist attractions, were still not doing enough to nurse the Great Barrier Reef. Rising sea levels and the impact of fertiliser run-off are damaging the reef. It needs more attention, because once its gone, its gone for good, reminds McKay. As the ACF calls for a national network of large marine sanctuaries, and an Australian Oceans Act to regulate sustainable harvesting and production of seafood, Greenpeaces Selvey highlights the menses situation. Seventy-six per cent of the worlds fisheries are in dire straits, and overfishing by commercial and illegal fleets is threatening to fish some of our best-loved seafoods to extinction. If we continue on this trajectory all fish stocks will give out within 50 years. Scientists say eventually we will be left hand with only jellyfish and plankton, she says. 7. PopulationWith Australias population projected to reach 35 million by 2049, commentators continue to express concern about the pressure this growth will place on resources . It means more consumption, and greater challenges for providing infrastructure to manage our country in a sustainable way, says McKay. While the ACF is calling for long-term strategies to meet and increase humanitarian obligations while reducing overall migration to more sustainable levels, the debate over precedent population continues.Experts may not see eye to eye on a figure, but most agree decisions need to be made. We need to determine what our carrying capacity is says Lambeck, and how can we achieve a sustainable population. 8. sustainable citiesWith Australians using more water and energy per person than almost any other country in the world, rethinking how we live in and develop our cities is vital, says the ACFs Josh Meadows. We should invest in energy-efficient houses and buildings, and then export our ideas and the smart technologies behind them. Lambeck says smarter infrastructure would go along way to addressing the issue We need sustainable infrastructures for tra nsport, power generation and distribution that minimise the impact on energy, water and biodiversity.According to Wain, there is huge scope for greater efficiency in our built environment. Im an eternal optimist, but we need to think at scale not house to house, but bridle-path to street and suburb to suburb. We need solutions that are scalable, so they become more investable and bankable. 9. jinxThe perennial debate about lack of investment in public transport continues to frustrate many experts. People complain about the per capita court of investment in public transport, but its far cheaper than the cost of putting cars on the road. Were not very logical in the way we think about these things, says Wain. While the ACF points out that removing the nonsensical bam benefit tax concession for company car use would shift many away from relying on their cars, Wain is excited by the be after roll-out of a national electric car network, beginning in capital of Australia within the next two years. Programs like this could conceivably take all tailpipes off the road in our cities, she says. 10. OurselvesWhile the majority of surveyed experts highlighted the need for government action, and fast, it seems the buck doesnt stop there. We elect our leaders and we have the unspoiled to hold them to account, reminds Selvey. We can pick up the phone to call our MP, release a letter, or visit them in their constituency office. Companies are doing it to protect their interests, we need to do it to protect ours. Lambeck says educating ourselves is key.We need a population that understands the issues, and can make constructive contributions to the debate to force politicians to develop longer than three-year solutions, he says. What stands in the way, McKay believes, is apathy.It manifests in the politician who would prefer to do the minimum rather than risk not being re-elected or in business leaders who get hold of a business as usual approach to ensure their yearly b onus. Its also in you and I ignoring the issues and hoping theyll go away. Ive seen people come together and change things, and I really believe we can learn to live in amore harmonious and sustainable way.