Environment issues

Environmental awareness means being aware of the natural environment and making choices that benefit the earth, rather than hurt it. Some of the ways to practice environmental awareness include: using safe and nontoxic building supplies, conserving energy and water, recycling, activism, and others.

Environmental issues The big global environmental issues we need to resolve by 2030 Society climate change is the big environmental problem that humanity will face over the next decade, but it isn't the only one. We'll take a look at some of them from water shortages and loss of biodiversity to waste management and discuss the challenges we have ahead of us. This coming decade will be vital when it comes to solving the big environmental issues facing our planet. The third decade of the 21st century has begun and the environmental challenges we have ahead of us, set out in the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, are many. This global plan of action adopted in 2015 puts forward specific measures to achieve a world that is fairer, more prosperous and more respectful of the environment within ten years. In this regard, the UN itself warns that we are running late, and the question now is whether we still have time to save the planet. Below, we sum up some of the main global environmental problems which the UN says we must resolve this decade: Climate change mitigation and adaptation Global warming due to CO2 emissions which according to the UN have increased by almost 50% since 1990 is accelerating climate change and threatens the survival of millions of people, plants and animals by causing meteorological events like droughts, fires and floods, which are becoming increasingly frequent and more extreme. This means we need to take measures to mitigate its effects and adapt to its consequences which, even if we keep global warming under 2 ºC as required by the Paris Agreements, will last for centuries. Pollution problems and their effect on health.

Hydric stress and water scarcity The lack of this resource, vital to human, animal and plant survival, affects more than 40% of the world population, and according to the World Economic Forum, agriculture accounts for more than 70% of the water used in the planet's most arid countries. The responsible use of hydrological resources will improve food and energy production, as well as protecting the biodiversity of our water ecosystems and helping us slow climate change.

Protecting the oceans The oceans have become the giant waste dumps for plastic. What's more, there are other serious environmental problems related to the oceans such as damage to ecosystems due to global warming, dumping of pollutants, wastewater and fuel spills. The UN calls for improved management of protected areas, giving them sufficient resources, and reducing overfishing, pollution and acidification of the ocean caused by the increase in the earth's temperature.

Pollution problems and their effect on health The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 90% of humanity breathes polluted air, so is calling for a reduction in air pollution to cut rates of respiratory illnesses, thus preventing seven million deaths a year. Contaminated water also causes major health problems and five million deaths a year according to Oxfam Intermón. The UN advocates eliminating dumping, minimising the use of chemicals and treating more wastewater, among other measures

Soil fertility depletion After the Green Revolution in the 1960s, the use of chemical fertilizers has been increased. To get quicker results, farmers have started using fertilizers excessively. Excessive usage of chemical fertilizer contributes to reduced organic matter content and humus content, decreased number of beneficial insects, poor growth, increased pest attacks, and altering of soil pH which ultimately leads to low productivity. Imbalanced use of urea leads to soil fertility depletion over a period of time. In the year 2022-23, urea accounts for more than half of the total fertilizer production (58.4%) total consumption (57.9%), and 35.9% of imports. Other causes of soil depletion include a lack of proper cropping systems and continuous cultivation. In India, the total area under the monocropping system during the year 2015-16 was approximately 52.8 million hectares, which is about 47% of the total cropped area.

Lack of Marketing and Storage facilities: Problems faced by farmers in agricultural marketing include transportation costs, inadequate market infrastructure, price fluctuation, lack of proper market information, and the role of exploiting local traders and middlemen. Lack of storage facilities in rural areas has been a limiting factor for post-harvest losses. Nearly 16% of fruits and vegetables, 10% of oilseeds, 9% of pulses, and 6% of cereals produced are being wasted every year due to lack of storage facilities. Since most of the agricultural produce is perishable, farmers are distressed to sell the produce immediately after harvest even at lower prices. This gives them a meager income. Insufficient storage facilities make it difficult for the farmers to meet people’s demands during the off-season.

Lack of high quality seeds The quality of seed used in farming is essential in attaining a higher crop yield. It is also important in getting sustained growth in agricultural production. Distribution of high-quality seed is as important as seed production. High-quality seeds are typically out of reach for most farmers, especially marginal and small farmers due to their prohibitively high prices.

Loss of agricultural land One of the major farmers problems has to be the loss of agricultural land, as when more land is lost, it becomes increasingly difficult to produce the right volume of food required to feed the entire population.