Environmental Issues List

As grateful as we should be, for the advancements in science and technology, and therefore the rapid growth of the human species in all manner. We are overlooking a very grave problem that is looming over us, and is beginning to make its presence felt amongst us, that of environmental problems. We have taken a lot for granted, because of the benign nature of the earth and environment. But the fact that it has gone too far is now being noticed by the world. What has contributed to this problem that is threatening survival on this planet? Find out in the environmental issues list presented here.

List of Environmental Issues 2010

The list of environmental problems presented here, provides a broad overview of the looming dangers over mankind and this planet. This environmental issues list contains problems, not only of the current year, but those that have been present since a long time. Only the seriousness of the effects of these issues is being experienced now, like never before.

Oil Spills
Though oil spills are not a new phenomenon, the recent scale at which they have affected the environment cannot go unnoticed. Oil spills are perhaps the biggest environmental issues in America as of now, with the recent BP oil spill that affected the country in April. This was one of the worst oil spills recorded in American history. Recently, an oil spill also occurred in the Arabian Sea, off the coast of Mumbai, India. Oil spills damage the prime source of water for various cities, the marine life, and even affect birds. Indirectly they cause severe harm to the environment and are perhaps, one of the most important environmental issues to reckon with.

Climate Change
The high amounts of air pollution due to the development of several industries, water pollution and due to discarding of toxic waste in the oceans. Besides the aforementioned oil spills, the high rate of deforestation, are also contributing towards a drastic climate change. These wide spread misuse is causing global warming like never experienced before. Erratic changes in weather, brutal blizzards and floods, vicious heat waves, are now affecting lands where such phenomena were not so common.

Overpopulation
Population growth and the subsequent overpopulation is another one of the global environmental issues that has affected every nation. With the advancement in medicine and technology, life expectancy has increased, which is a boon in its own way, but has adversely affected the environment. The earth is now overpopulated, and because of the other environmental issues that are affecting it, the earth is not going to be able to sustain this excess for very long. Also, though family planning measures have been strictly implemented in several countries, they are still not as effective to control the rapidly increasing population.

Resource Depletion
Due to overpopulation, and the relaxed manner in which different natural resources are utilized, there is a serious lack of resources that can be used by us human beings now. As has been noticed, the rising fuel prices are due to the lower amounts that are now available. Several countries face huge water problems where some houses get water only for an hour a day, and where the ability to provide water to people depends on the erratic rains that elude people who solely depend on it as a source of water. Electricity is another serious problem in certain countries that is not available to everyone. Due to the continuous depletion of all these natural resources, experts have predicted that survival on planet earth is only going to get further challenging and difficult. The least we can do is try and adopt some energy saving methods so that it is efficiently utilized, evenly distributed and made available to everyone.

Pollution
Pollution is another one of the top environmental issues that is having a horrific impact on the planet and us human beings. Water pollution, air pollution, acid rain due to air pollution, land pollution, noise pollution, are all adversely affecting the environment and people. Some countries are so polluted that children are born with birth defects, such as mutations of different body parts, while several others develop such defects later in life, due to their exposure to different types of pollution.

Land Degradation
The fast paced urban life has had a deep impact on the land that we live on. For one, to accommodate the rising urban population, a lot of deforestation has taken place. This not only affects the climate, but also destroys the natural habitat of other life forms. Leading to the increasing number of extinct animals and endangered animals, and thereby disturbing the natural cycle of the environment. Agricultural practices such as intensive farming, overgrazing, use of harsh pesticides, render several agricultural lands useless. Furthermore soil erosion, contributes to land degradation and its subsequent effects on humankind.

Nuclear Issues
The use of nuclear energy has led to the threat and instances of emission of nuclear radiations that have harmed the environment in unimaginable ways, causing immense environmental pollution. Hiroshima and Nagasaki are still recovering from the effects of atom bombs that were dropped in these cities. Though the scale of nuclear radiation affecting people is not the same, it is still slowly showing its effects in different manners on us human beings and is, in fact, increasing in today's day and time.

This was just a broad overview of the current environmental issues that are plaguing life on this planet. The environmental issues list is never ending, every action of ours is contributing to different environmental problems. The least we can do is understand these problems, and try and make an effort on our part to reduce the suffering of mankind and nature. If every one of us tries to make a difference, the overall effect will be huge and will lead to a better life for all living species on this planet.