I have a research project on decision-making to solve environmental problems and need previous studies?
Here are two big ones that for which practical attempts to tackle are being actively developed:
Plastics in the oceans. A big clean up is being planned by Boyan Slat and his company
Thinning of Arctic Ice leading to its break-up and rapid decrease in area:
The plan here is to identify ice of a critical thickness and pump water onto it (using wind power) which freezes, so increasing the thickness enough to stop it breaking up. For details of The Siku Project.
المشكلات البيئية هي أي تغير كيمائي أو نوعي في المكونات البيئية الاحيائية واللاحيائية على أن يكون هذا التغير خارج مجال التذبذبات لأي من هذة المكونات بحيث يؤدي ألى اختلال في اتزان الطبيعة. ترتبط المشكلات البيئيةبصورة رئيسية بالتلوث، كما وتعرف الملوثات بأنها أية مواد صلبة أو سائلة أو غازية وأية ميكروبات
Our environment is constantly changing. There is no denying that. However, as our environment changes, so does the need to become increasingly aware of the problems that surround it. With a massive influx of natural disasters, warming and cooling periods, different types of weather patterns and much more, people need to be aware of what types of environmental problems our planet is facing.
Global warming has become an undisputed fact about our current livelihoods; our planet is warming up and we are definitely part of the problem. However, this isn’t the only environmental problem that we should be concerned about. All across the world, people are facing a wealth of new and challenging environmental problems every day. Some of them are small and only affect a few ecosystems, but others are drastically changing the landscape of what we already know.
Our planet is poised at the brink of a severe environmental crisis. Current environmental problems make us vulnerable to disasters and tragedies, now and in the future. We are in a state of planetary emergency, with environmental problems piling up high around us. Unless we address the various issues prudently and seriously we are surely doomed for disaster. Current environmental problems require urgent attention.
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15 Major Current Environmental Problems
1. Pollution: Pollution of air, water and soil require millions of years to recoup. Industry and motor vehicle exhaust are the number one pollutants. Heavy metals, nitrates and plastic are toxins responsible for pollution. While water pollution is caused by oil spill, acid rain, urban runoff; air pollution is caused by various gases and toxins released by industries and factories and combustion of fossil fuels; soil pollution is majorly caused by industrial waste that deprives soil from essential nutrients.
2. Global Warming: Climate changes like global warming is the result of human practices like emission of Greenhouse gases. Global warming leads to rising temperatures of the oceans and the earth’ surface causing melting of polar ice caps, rise in sea levels and also unnatural patterns of precipitation such as flash floods, excessive snow or desertification.
3. Overpopulation: The population of the planet is reaching unsustainable levels as it faces shortage of resources like water, fuel and food. Population explosion in less developed and developing countries is straining the already scarce resources. Intensive agriculture practiced to produce food damages the environment through use of chemical fertilizer, pesticides and insecticides. Overpopulation is one of the crucial current environmental problem.
4. Natural Resource Depletion: Natural resource depletion is another crucial current environmental problems. Fossil fuel consumption results in emission of Greenhouse gases, which is responsible for global warming and climate change. Globally, people are taking efforts to shift to renewable sources of energy like solar, wind, biogas and geothermal energy. The cost of installing the infrastructure and maintaining these sources has plummeted in the recent years.
5. Waste Disposal: The over consumption of resources and creation of plastics are creating a global crisis of waste disposal. Developed countries are notorious for producing an excessive amount of waste or garbage and dumping their waste in the oceans and, less developed countries. Nuclear waste disposal has tremendous health hazards associated with it. Plastic, fast food, packaging and cheap electronic wastes threaten the well being of humans. Waste disposal is one of urgent current environmental problem.
6. Climate Change: Climate change is yet another environmental problem that has surfaced in last couple of decades. It occurs due to rise in global warming which occurs due to increase in temperature of atmosphere by burning of fossil fuels and release of harmful gases by industries. Climate change has various harmful effects but not limited to melting of polar ice, change in seasons, occurrence of new diseases, frequent occurrence of floods and change in overall weather scenario.
7. Loss of Biodiversity: Human activity is leading to the extinction of species and habitats and and loss of bio-diversity. Eco systems, which took millions of years to perfect, are in danger when any species population is decimating. Balance of natural processes like pollination is crucial to the survival of the eco-system and human activity threatens the same. Another example is the destruction of coral reefs in the various oceans, which support the rich marine life.
8. Deforestation: Our forests are natural sinks of carbon dioxide and produce fresh oxygen as well as helps in regulating temperature and rainfall. At present forests cover 30% of the land but every year tree cover is lost amounting to the country of Panama due to growing population demand for more food, shelter and cloth. Deforestation simply means clearing of green cover and make that land available for residential, industrial or commercial purpose.
9. Ocean Acidification: It is a direct impact of excessive production of CO2. 25% of CO2 produced by humans. The ocean acidity has increased by the last 250 years but by 2100, it may shoot up by 150%. The main impact is on shellfish and plankton in the same way as human osteoporosis.
10. Ozone Layer Depletion: The ozone layer is an invisible layer of protection around the planet that protects us from the sun’s harmful rays. Depletion of the crucial Ozone layer of the atmosphere is attributed to pollution caused by Chlorine and Bromide found in Chloro-floro carbons (CFC’s). Once these toxic gases reach the upper atmosphere, they cause a hole in the ozone layer, the biggest of which is above the Antarctic. The CFC’s are banned in many industries and consumer products. Ozone layer is valuable because it prevents harmful UV radiation from reaching the earth. This is one of the most important current environmental problem.
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11. Acid Rain: Acid rain occurs due to the presence of certain pollutants in the atmosphere. Acid rain can be caused due to combustion of fossil fuels or erupting volcanoes or rotting vegetation which release sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere. Acid rain is a known environmental problem that can have serious effect on human health, wildlife and aquatic species.
12. Water Pollution: Clean drinking water is becoming a rare commodity. Water is becoming an economic and political issue as the human population fights for this resource. One of the options suggested is using the process of desalinization. Industrial development is filling our rivers seas and oceans with toxic pollutants which are a major threat to human health.
13. Urban Sprawl: Urban sprawl refers to migration of population from high density urban areas to low density rural areas which results in spreading of city over more and more rural land. Urban sprawl results in land degradation, increased traffic, environmental issues and health issues. The ever growing demand of land displaces natural environment consisting of flora and fauna instead of being replaced.
14: Public Health Issues: The current environmental problems pose a lot of risk to health of humans, and animals. Dirty water is the biggest health risk of the world and poses threat to the quality of life and public health. Run-off to rivers carries along toxins, chemicals and disease carrying organisms. Pollutants cause respiratory disease like Asthma and cardiac-vascular problems. High temperatures encourage the spread of infectious diseases like Dengue.
15. Genetic Engineering: Genetic modification of food using biotechnology is called genetic engineering. Genetic modification of food results in increased toxins and diseases as genes from an allergic plant can transfer to target plant. Genetically modified crops can cause serious environmental problems as an engineered gene may prove toxic to wildlife. Another drawback is that increased use of toxins to make insect resistant plant can cause resultant organisms to become resistant to antibiotics.
The need for change in our daily lives and the movements of our government is growing. Because so many different factors come into play; voting, governmental issues, the desire to stick to routine, many people don’t consider that what they do will affect future generations. If humans continue moving forward in such a harmful way towards the future, then there will be no future to consider. Although it’s true that we cannot physically stop our ozone layer from thinning (and scientists are still having trouble figuring out what is causing it exactly,) there are still so many things we can do to try and put a dent in what we already know. By raising awareness in your local community and within your families about these issues, you can help contribute to a more environmentally conscious and friendly place for you to live.
Global warming has been concerning scientists for decades, but Al Gore legitimized the crisis with his film An Inconvenient Truth.
Clean energy vs. dirty energy. Renewable energy. Energy independence. Petroleum. Biofuels. Coal. ANWR and offshore drilling. Even Paris Hilton has something to say about energy. Energy is second only to climate change in significance, but the picture isn't as clear as one might think.
With the immediate looming problems of climate change and energy, focus has shifted away from landfill waste, but this is a serious problem. The world has largely gotten accustomed to a throwaway lifestyle, but that’s neither healthy nor sustainable. Waterways are choked with trash and modernized nations ship their undesirable leftovers to the developing world.
Pure Water is in short supply. Our global reserves of drinkable water are a fraction of 1% and 1 in 5 humans does not have access to potable (safe) water. Many people do not realize that strife has already broken out in some stressed regions
Biofuels have turned into a global controversy – the idea that people may causing the starvation of millions in order to fuel their SUVs is sickening. And yet that’s not the whole picture. For example, eating hamburgers has as much or more impact on the global food picture as the use of biofuels. And then there’s the whole issue of “food miles” – at first, local seemed logical, but the situation is more complex than that. It’s all about resources and efficiency.
This is directly tied to waste. It is well-known that the industrialized world simply consumes in a way that is not sustainable. And the developing world is rapidly imitating the model. Sustainability in the most compelling sense is about long-term solvency. The way we live now is borrowing against the future. Reducing consumption, and smart consumption, are both necessary – and there are many ways to go about doing this.
From desertification to polar ice melting to erosion and deforestation, existing land management choices are not serving the planet or its inhabitants very well. The 1990s saw some headway with forest management but the Bush administration’s various initiatives (most notoriously, “Healthy Forests”) have set back progress by decades. There is very little land left that is undeveloped, either with structures or roads. And there is virtually no land left that is not subject to light or noise pollution.
The good news is that some species have made a comeback. The bad news is that many more species are now under threat, including indicator species and evolutionarily unique species. (When an indicator species becomes threatened, endangered, or worse, extinct, this means an entire ecosystem faces collapse.) The consequences can have global impact. From the most unusual endangered animals to a complete list of indicator species for key ecosystems and how you can help, you’ll find plenty of fascinating information soon. (Be sure to bookmark this post and check back for updates and links.)
THE SCIENCE OF PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUES Our tomatoes have fish DNA? Killer bugs are on the loose? Superweeds are taking over corn fields? Wild animals are sprouting extra limbs? Autism is on the rise? WTF! What on earth (literally) is going on? From genetic manipulation and cloning to public health issues and food and drug contamination, get to know the new, strange, important and most interesting green issues related to genetic science, agribusiness, public health and more.
Deforestation has long posed a threat to our Earth. Forests cover 30 percent of the planet’s land, and provide vital protection from sandstorms and flooding as well as the substantive natural habitat for wildlife.
While studies show young people to be driving less, many of us still aren’t going to be doing without cars any time soon. As long as urban developments are built to be un-walkable (we’re looking at you, Apple and your new Cupertino Campus), we’re going to have to find a way for everyone to be able to get from a to b and back again without destroying the planet.
Air pollution and climate change are closely linked, as the same greenhouse gas emissions that are warming the planet are also creating smoggy conditions in major cities that endanger public health. If you’ve seen horrifying images of pollution-choked Chinese cities and think the smog is isolated to Beijing or Shanghai, think again. U.S. scientists are finding that Chinese pollution is intensifying storms over the Pacific Ocean and contributing to more erratic weather in the U.S.
Water and soil pollution might not get the media attention that air pollution does, but they are still important public health concerns. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, dirty water is the world’s biggest health risk. While the Clean Water Act did much to make American water safe from harmful pollutants, today there is a new threat to clean water coming from the shale gas fracking boom taking place across the country.
Well, one can sum it up as following:
1. Sustainability
2. Climate Change & Global Warming
3. Pollution; in Air, Water, and Ground
4. Imbalanced Population Growth
5. Resources Scarcity Concerns; extinction of some species can be considered as a warning sign
Excess use of Mobile Phones and TV(Unnecessary News(Young's), Serials(Only Females) and Cartoon channels(Kids)) etc.
- Badges
- Science topic