List of environmental issues

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Environmental issues are issues related to human impact on the living environment,
habitats, land use and natural resources. The following alphabetical list shows some of
the main known environmental issues by major topic title.

Please help us expand this list.

 Air quality (air pollution, ozone pollution, ties to human health with asthma, diesel
emissions, etc.)
 Biodiversity (conservation of biological diversity)
 Climate change (encompasses "global warming", greenhouse effect, loss of
glaciers, climate refugees, climate justice, equity, etc)
 Conservation (nature and animal conservation, etc.)
 Consumerism (linking the state of consumers within the economy to
environmental degradation and social malaise, planned obsolescence)
 Deforestation (illegal logging, impact of fires, rapid pace of destruction, etc.)
 Desertification
 Ecotourism
 Endangered species (CITES, loss of species, impact of chemical use on species,
cultural use, species extinction, invasive species, etc.)
 Energy (use, conservation, extraction of resources to create energy, efficient use,
renewable energy, etc.)
 Environmental degradation
 Environmental health (poor environmental quality causing poor health in human
beings, bio-accumulation, poisoning)
 Environmental impact assessment (one major current form of assessing human
impact on the environment)
 Food safety (including food justice, impacts of additives, etc.)
 Genetically modified organisms and other forms of genetic engineering or
modification
 Global environmental issues (in recognition that environmental issues cross
borders)
 Global warming
 Grassroots solutions (local and regional environmental issues solved from the
bottom-up)
 Habitat loss (destruction, fragmentation, changed use)
 Intergenerational equity (recognition that future generations deserve a healthy
environment)
 Intensive farming and biointensive farming
 Invasive species (weeds, pests, feral animals, etc.)
 Land degradation
 Land use / Land use planning (includes urban sprawl)
 Natural disasters (linked to climate change, desertification, deforestation, loss of
natural resources such as wetlands, etc.)
 Nuclear energy, waste and pollution
 Ocean acidification (includes algal bloom, coral reef loss, etc.)
 Over-exploitation of natural resources (plant and animal stocks, mineral
resources (mining), etc.)
 Overfishing (depletion of ocean fish stocks)
 Ozone depletion (CFCs, Montreal Protocol)
 Pollution (air, water, land, toxins, light, point source and non-point source, use of
coal/gas/etc., reclaimed land issues)
 Population growth and related issues, like overpopulation, access to reproductive
control (reproductive health), etc.
 Reduce, reuse, repair and recycle (ways to reduce impact, minimise footprint,
etc.)
 Soil conservation (includes soil erosion, contamination and salination of land,
especially fertile land; see also desertification and deforestation)
 Sustainability (finding ways to live more sustainably on the planet, lessening
human footprint, increasing human fulfillment with less impact) (see also sustainable
development and poverty alleviation)
 Toxic chemicals (persistent organic pollutants, prior informed consent, pesticides,
endocrine disruptors, etc.)
 Waste (landfills, recycling, incineration, various types of waste produced from
human endeavors, etc.)
 Water pollution (fresh water and ocean pollution, Great Pacific Garbage Patch,
river and lake pollution, riparian issues)
 Water scarcity
 Whaling (a specific issue due to its worldwide nature, treaties and persistent
campaigns to prevent it; other cetaceans also impacted)