Global Environmental Issues

What is global Environmental issue?

Global Environmental Issues' is a phrase that refers to the effect on the climate of human actions, in
particular the on fire of fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas) and large-scale deforestation, which cause
emissions to the atmosphere of large amounts of 'greenhouse gases', of which the most important is
carbon dioxide.

 Are defined as harmful effects to Earth and its natural systems due to the actions of humans.
Although climate change can also occur from natural causes, human behavior has led to an
increase in greenhouse emission.

 What are the causes of global environmental issues?
What are the causes of global environmental issues?
 Pollution of air, land and water through excessive deforestation, industrialization
and overfilling landfills which emits CO2 and adds to greenhouse gas
emissions are all topmost causes of these environmental issues.

1/Pollution of air

Air pollution is contamination of the indoor or outdoor environment by any chemical, physical or
biological agent that modifies the natural characteristics of the atmosphere.

 Climate Change: Are shift in temperatures and weather patterns. These shifts may be natural,
such as through variations in the solar cycle.
 It is one pollution of air.
  It is the big environmental problem that humanity will face over the next decade.
 It describes global warming.
 Global warming the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on
Earth's climate system.
 It is long-term changes to earth’s climate.
 Cause for greenhouse gases.

Greenhouse gases are transparent to sunlight, and thus allow it to pass through the atmosphere to heat
the Earth's surface. The Earth radiates it as heat, and greenhouse gases absorb a portion of it.
Causes of Climate Change
1. Generating power
Generating electricity and heat by burning fossil fuels causes a large chunk of global emissions. Most
electricity is still generated by burning coal, oil, or gas, which produces carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide
– powerful greenhouse gases that blanket the Earth and trap the sun’s heat.
2. Manufacturing goods
Manufacturing and industry produce emissions, mostly from burning fossil fuels to produce energy for
making things like cement, iron, steel, electronics, plastics, clothes, and other goods. Mining and other
industrial processes also release gases, as does the construction industry.

3. Cutting down forests

Cutting down forests to create farms or pastures, or for other reasons, causes emissions, since trees,
when they are cut, release the carbon they have been storing.
4 .Using transportation
Most cars, trucks, ships, and planes run on fossil fuels. That makes transportation a major contributor of
greenhouse gases, especially carbon-dioxide emissions.
5 .Producing food
Producing food causes emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gases in various
ways, including through deforestation and clearing of land for agriculture and grazing, digestion by cows
and sheep, the production and use of fertilizers and manure for growing crops, and the use of energy to
run farm equipment or fishing boats, usually with fossil fuels.
6 .Powering buildings
Globally, residential and commercial buildings consume over half of all electricity.

Effects of Climate Change

1 .Hotter temperatures
As greenhouse gas concentrations rise, so does the global surface temperature. The last decade, 2011-
2020, is the warmest on record. Since the 1980s, each decade has been warmer than the previous one.
Nearly all land areas are seeing more hot days and heat waves. Higher temperatures increase heat-
related illnesses and make working outdoors more difficult. Wildfires start more easily and spread more
rapidly when conditions are hotter. Temperatures in the Arctic have warmed at least twice as fast as the
global average.
2 .More severe storms
Destructive storms have become more intense and more frequent in many regions. As temperatures
rise, more moisture evaporates, which exacerbates extreme rainfall and flooding, causing more
destructive storms. The frequency and extent of tropical storms is also affected by the warming ocean.
3 .Increased drought
Climate change is changing water availability, making it scarcer in more regions. Global warming
exacerbates water shortages in already water-stressed regions and is leading to an increased risk of
agricultural droughts affecting crops, and ecological droughts increasing the vulnerability of ecosystems.

4 .warming, rising ocean

The ocean soaks up most of the heat from global warming. The rate at which the ocean is
warming strongly increased over the past two decades, across all depths of the ocean. As
the ocean warms, its volume increases since water expands as it gets warmer. Melting ice
sheets also cause sea levels to rise, threatening coastal and island communities.

5 .Loss of species
Climate change poses risks to the survival of species on land and in the ocean. These risks
increase as temperatures climb. Exacerbated by climate change, the world is losing species
at a rate 1,000 times greater than at any other time in recorded human history.

6 .Not enough food

Changes in the climate and increases in extreme weather events are among the reasons
behind a global rise in hunger and poor nutrition. Fisheries, crops, and livestock may be
destroyed or become less productive.

7 .More health risks

Climate change is the single biggest health threat facing humanity. Climate impacts are
already harming health, through air pollution, disease, extreme weather events, and forced
displacement, pressures on mental health, and increased hunger and poor nutrition in
places where people cannot grow or find sufficient food.

8 .Poverty and displacement

Climate change increases the factors that put and keep people in poverty. Floods may
sweep away urban slums, destroying homes and livelihoods.

2 / Water and land pollution

Water and soil pollutants represent two major categories of global environmental issue.
Water- and soil-polluting substances are often due to man-made wastes such as household
garbage, manufacturing and agricultural wastes, fertilizers used by farmers, oil spills, and
radioactive materials.

Pollution refers to the deterioration of the earth’s land surfaces, at and below
ground level.

 Main Causes of Land and Water Pollution

Litter & Industrial Waste

Littering, the improper disposal of waste products, is unfortunately common.

Industries and industrial sites across the world are a major contributor to water
pollution. Many industrial sites produce waste in the form of toxic chemicals
and pollutants, and though regulated, some still do not have proper waste
management systems in place.
Illegal dumping also contributes to land pollution. Oftentimes people will dump
waste illegally in places such as forests, open fields, and ditches rather than in
approved dumping areas.

Urbanization and Construction& Marine Dumping

While urbanization is not in itself littering, large quantities of people living,

producing trash and littering in a dense area does inevitably lead to land
pollution. The process of marine dumping is exactly what it sounds like, dumping
garbage into the waters of the ocean. It might seem crazy, but household
garbage is still collected and dumped into oceans by many countries across
the world.

Mining& Sewage and Wastewater

Mining is the extraction of minerals and other geological materials from the
ground, which are then used for a wide range of purposes, including but not
limited to, producing gasoline for automobiles, generating electricity, and
selling materials such as gold and silver. This extraction and the methods
used, however, deplete the earth of its natural resources and cause damage
and pollution in its wake. Harmful chemicals, bacteria and pathogens can be
found in sewage and wastewater even when it’s been treated. Sewage and
wastewater from each household is released into the sea with fresh water.

Agriculture & Oil Leaks and Spills

Agriculture is foundational for both everyday life, as well as the economy as a

whole. It also, however, can have profound effects on the planet. Agricultural
pollution occurs when contamination created as a by-product of raising
livestock and growing food crops is released into the environment, and the
contamination is vast. The age-old phrase “like water and oil” is used when
describing two things that do not mix easily or at all. Just as the saying states,
water and oil do not mix, and oil does not dissolve in water. Large oil spills
and oil leaks, while often accidental, are a major cause of water pollution.

Effects of Land Pollution

 Water that isn’t safe to drink

 Polluted soil, which leads to a loss of fertile land for agriculture

 Climate change, which causes an onslaught of disastrous problems,

including flash floods and irregular rainfalls 

 The endangerment and extinction of species in wildlife

 Habitat shifting, where some animals are forced to flee where they live
in order to survive

 An increase in wildfires, due to polluted areas often becoming very dry

 Increased air pollution, which burning waste contributes to

 Increased soil pollutants can enter the body through the food chain, and
cause health issues.

Effects of Water Pollution

Affects Aquatic Life: Water contamination has a significant impact on aquatic
life. It affects their metabolism and behavior, as well as causing disease and
death.
Affects Food chain: Water contamination may have a significant influence on
the food chain. It upsets the food chain.
Groundwater contamination: Pesticides and fertilizers used in agricultural
production pollute groundwater as well as our ecology. 
Affects Human Health: Pollution affects humans, and faucal matter in water
sources can cause illnesses such as hepatitis. Poor drinking water treatment
and contaminated water can always lead to an epidemic of infectious
illnesses like cholera.
High TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) in water: Water is the best solvent since
it quickly dissolves a wide range of compounds.

• Ozone layer depletion

Ozone in the atmosphere’s upper layer, the stratosphere, protects humans, animals and plants from the
damaging effects of UV-B radiation from the sun. Without it, all life on earth would cease to exist.

However, the use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and other OzoneDepleting Substances (ODS) are slowly
eating away at the stratospheric ozone layer, creating a major potential health hazard.

Past (and current) emissions of ODS result in increases of ultraviolet radiation reaching the Earth’s
surface which can pose sever- al health effects

Increase of melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers; Cause or acceleration of eye cataracts
development;

 Reduce effectiveness of the immune system;

 Impact on nutrition (e.g. reduced plant yield);
 Damage to ocean ecosystems and reduced fish yield (by killing microbial organisms in the
 Skin cancer is the most worrisome health impact of ozone depletion. Overexposure to the sun’s
harmful Ultra-Violet (UV) light may damage children’s skin.