New research suggests that the amazon is now a net producer of greenhouse gasses. This is something scientists have warned of for decades, but how have we reached this point? Here we’ll dive into an explanation of why the Amazon is so important, how it works as a carbon sink and why it’s not functioning as one anymore.
Arctic sea ice is melting at a rapid rate. According to NASA, sea ice has been reducing by 13% each decade since it started measuring this rate in 1979. But why does the loss of arctic sea ice matter?
You probably don’t realise that arctic sea ice helps to regulate temperatures across the globe. Sea ice reflects about 80% of sunlight into space. This action balances the temperature across the planet. Scientists call this the albedo effect.
Since the beginning of life, humans have exploited natural resources for the materials required to sustain life. That primarily includes food production and economic sustenance, although other substances are also extracted from the natural environment. However, human exploitation of natural ecosystems has long-lasting effects on the future provision of resources and other ecosystem services.
Degraded ecosystems take time to recover from overexploitation, while some might never bounce back even when exploitation stops. That might adversely impact the availability of resources like clean air, food, and other services, ultimately threatening human existence. Unfortunately, most countries struggle to guarantee the long-term use of natural resources at minimal environmental cost while guaranteeing social and economic development.
While carbon dioxide (CO2) is essential for plant and animal survival, too much concentration in the atmosphere can have devastating consequences. CO2 has proven to be a significant contributor to air pollution, taking a substantial role in the greenhouse effect. That’s because carbon dioxide traps radiation at the ground level, resulting in ground-level ozone. That prevents the earth from cooling during the night and warms ocean waters.
Co2 is a standard greenhouse gas naturally existing in the atmosphere, accounting for about 75% of emissions in the air we breathe. However, it can live in the atmosphere for thousands of years. Research also shows that the level of carbon dioxide concentration has risen to 355 parts per million (PPM), compared to 270 PPM recorded in the 1700s.
When you live in a polluted city, your family’s life can be in grave danger unless you take the proper precaution. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 1.7 million childrenunder five years pass every year due to pollution. Others also ail for long periods and face the risk of eventually succumbing.
Polluting factory. Pixabay
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According to the UN Global Forest Goals Report of 2021, forests currently cover close to 31% of the global land area. However, only 1.11 billion hectares are covered by native or primary forests that are largely undistributed. Even worse, the world is continually losing its forests at a fierce rate, with about 420 million hectares lost to deforestation since 1990.
Deforestation is a major environmental issue. Pixabay
Several industries have driven the climate change crisis despite the stakeholders knowing the underlying dangers. Looking back at the last years, we agree that environmental pollution is at an all-time high in 2022. Many of our animals are endangered. Ultimately, we have felt that we are also in danger as lots of improperly treated industrial wastes pollute the water we drink and the air we breathe.
It is an old basic stereotype that only women are excited about clothes and in today’s society it is not the case anymore. Nowadays we can see men standing in lines in fashion stores, and they often need advice on how to dress. So the good news is you could find a bunch of not only fashion queens, but fashion kings also, giving tips on the Internet. Since the trend on social media doesn’t tolerate the same outfit twice, one might be forced to ask questions like “Do timeless clothing still exist?” and “Are our wardrobes overwhelmed with single-use pieces and how can we avoid it?”.
Every day, the average person in the U.S. throws about 4.9 pounds of municipal solid waste (MSW). Of the 294.4 million tons of MSW collected in 2018, only 32.1% were composited and recycled. About 17.7 million tons of food waste were managed in other ways, but 50% of the waste (146 million tons) ended up spread across the over 2600 MSW landfill plants in the country.