Ecological problems today
занимательные факты

The main ecological problems are:

• Acid Rain
• Agricultural Pollution
• Air Pollution
• Artificial Intelligence
• Biodiversity loss
• Carbon Footprint
• Deforestation
• Endangered Species
• Genetic Engineering
• Global Warming
• Illegal Dumping
• Landfills
• Land Pollution
• Light Pollution
• Littering
• Medical Waste
• Mining
• Natural Disasters
• Noise Pollution
• Nuclear Waste
• Orphanism
• Overpopulation
• Ozone Depletion
• Plastic Pollution
• Public Health Issues
• Resource Depletion
• Soil Pollution
• Urban Sprawl
• Visual Pollution
• Waste
• Water Pollution

Acid Rain

Acid rain can be defined as rain or any other kind of precipitation that is unusually acidic, which means that it has higher levels of hydrogen and thus a lower pH-score.

It is caused by emissions of nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide, which react with water molecules in the atmosphere and produce acid rain.

Acid rain has harmful effects on the environment, especially on aquatic animals and plants. It has also shown damaging effects on freshwaters, soils and insects.

Additionally, also humans are adversely affected since acid rain causes corrosion of steel structures and the weathering of statues and stone buildings. Acid rain can also have a negative impact on human health.

Agricultural Pollution

Agricultural pollution can be defined as the degradation or contamination of the environment through abiotic and biotic byproducts of farming.

For thousands of years, our ancestors did farming in a sustainable way. Thus, there were almost no problems with agricultural pollution.

However, due to the optimization of yields over time through the heavy use of fertilizers and pesticides, agricultural pollution has become a significant problem for our planet.

Air Pollution

Air pollution can be defined as the introduction of excessive quantities of substances, particles gases or biological molecules into the earth’s atmosphere.

Air pollution can have negative impacts on humans in the form of allergies, diseases or even death. It also has an adverse effect on plants and animals as well as on the whole ecological system.

Air pollution can be caused by both natural processes as well as by human behavior. According to the World Health Organization, 7 million people die from air pollution each year. Hence, more people die each year from air pollution than from automobile accidents.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be defined as an area of computer science that has the goal to create intelligent machines that can react and work like humans.

This includes the areas of problem-solving, learning and speech recognition. AI is a breakthrough when it comes to machine intelligence on a level humanity has never seen before.

It has the potential to change the environment in which we are living right now to a significant extent.

A big fraction of standardized work will likely be carried out by machines instead of humans in the near future.

Biodiversity loss

Biodiversity can be defined as the variability and variety of life on our planet. This includes the variety in species, ecosystems and genetics.

Biodiversity usually increases with the temperature, meaning that it is higher in warm climate zones near the equator.

For example, the world’s tropical rainforests cover around 10% of the planet’s surface, but contain around 90% of all species on the planet.

Carbon Footprint

The carbon footprint can be defined as the total emissions caused by organizations or individuals and is expressed as carbon dioxide equivalent.

The carbon footprint gives an indication regarding how much every entity contributes to the emission of carbon dioxide and therefore to the global warming issue.

Deforestation

Deforestation can be defined as the removal of a forest with the purpose of converting this land into non-forest use.

There are several harmful effects of deforestation on the environmental system. For instance, deforestation can cause biodiversity loss and can also indirectly contribute to the global warming issue. Consequently, it is crucial to preserve our forests, especially our rainforests.

Endangered Species

An endangered species can be defined as species that are very likely to become extinct in the near future. The number of endangered species has dramatically increased over the past decades.

According to the IUCN, while in 1998, 1102 animals and 1197 plants have been categorized as endangered, these numbers increased to 3079 animals and 2655 plants until 2012. If this trend continues, we will lose many species in the near future.

To mitigate this issue, governments and other institutions all over the world try to save our endangered species by measures like forbidding hunting and creating protected areas.

Genetic Engineering

Genetic engineering is the manipulation of an organism’s genes with the help of biotechnology. The first official genetic manipulation happened in 1972 by Paul Berg when he combined the DNA from a monkey virus with the lambda virus.

Genetic engineering is a very controversial topic. There are many pros and cons regarding this topic.

Global Warming

Climate change can be defined as a change in the earth’s climate system that results in altered weather patterns. Global warming is a serious problem for humanity as well as to the whole environmental system.

There had always been periods of global warming in the history of the earth. However, since the mid of 20th century, changes in global temperature have increased much faster than in previous ages.

Illegal Dumping

Illegal dumping can be defined as the dumping of waste in an illegal manner instead of using officially authorized measures like curbside collections or rubbish dump.

Illegal dumping can lead to serious environmental problems and can also cause several health issues.

Landfills

Landfills can be defined as a site for waste disposal. The waste is mostly buried in order to get rid of it. Landfills are one of the oldest forms of waste disposal and still play an important role to deal with our enormous amounts of trash on a global scale.

Although the use of landfills has some benefits, there are also some serious issues related to them.

Land Pollution

Land pollution can be defined as the contamination or destruction of land through direct or indirect human actions. It is a serious threat to plants, animals, sea life and also to us humans.

Land pollution has become a serious problem, especially since the industrial revolution has happened.

Consumption levels have increased significantly, which in turn has led to more by-products that have to be disposed of. Consequently, also the land pollution problem has increased substantially.

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Light Pollution

Light pollution is the presence of artificial light in the environment.

It can have negative effects on humanity as well as on humans, animals as well as on other organisms.

Littering

Litter contains waste products that have been disposed of in an improper manner in undesirable locations. Litter can be composed of several different materials like metals, plastics, glass or paper.

It can also include hazardous waste from batteries or electronics. Littering can be regarded as a serious issue to our environmental system since it has severe negative effects.

Medical Waste

Medical waste is waste that contains infectious materials and germs. A broader definition may also include all materials that are of laboratory or medical origin, including infusion kits, packaging, etc.).

Medical waste can cause serious health problems in case it is not disposed of in a proper manner.

Mining

Mining is the extraction of minerals or other geological materials out of our earth. In the mining process, several resources can be recovered, including metals, limestone, coal, potash and many more.

Mining is done with the goal to obtain materials that cannot be obtained at the surface and can also not be created artificially in an economically-senseful manner.

Natural Disasters

A natural disaster can be defined as a significant negative event resulting from the earth’s natural processes. Natural disasters often have serious consequences for many people and also for plants and animals.

It usually also destroys buildings and thus leads to a loss of peoples‘ homes. Some people also lose their lives from natural disasters.

Due to the global warming issue, natural disasters will become more common in the future. Thus, mankind has to be prepared to deal with these adverse events.

Noise Pollution

Noise pollution can be defined as the spread of noise that causes adverse effects on the environment, including humans and animals.

Noise pollution causes various issues, including serious problems for human health.

Nuclear Waste

Radioactive waste is garbage that contains radioactive material. Nuclear waste can be a serious threat to humanity and the whole environment since it takes quite a long time to decay.

Hence, nuclear waste is subject to strict government regulations to prevent any adverse issues.