Global Trends in the Environment

The environment of planet Earth is being harmed and the causes of environmental degradation are mostly man made. Natural resources are being exploited to provide energy, food, and technology for an ever-growing global population. In the process, the globe is warming at an unprecedented rate, water and air are being polluted, and forests are being destroyed; however, awareness and education are encouraging the search for environmental first aid.

The climate change occurring now, which affects every continent and ocean, has both human and natural causes. Developing land to support human activities, harvesting forests, and burning fossil fuels are human contributions to the problem; while volcanic activity, intensity of the Sun, Earth’s orbit, and the interaction of the atmosphere and oceans are natural causes. Greenhouse gases are natural and help keep the planet warm by trapping heat in the atmosphere, but the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation are exacerbating this effect. Since the Industrial Revolution, increasing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have caused global temperatures to rise and at an even higher rate over the last 30 years (EPA). The consequences of global warming include a drastic increase in the number of hurricanes, tropical storms, heat waves, and terrible droughts in the southeastern and southwestern United States, Europe, and Africa (Colemen & Kerbo); melting ice in the Arctic and melting glaciers worldwide, rising ocean temperatures and sea levels, and acidification of the oceans caused by higher carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere (EPA).

The Earth’s water and air are being polluted by tremendous amounts of toxins being produced and expelled into the atmosphere and ...

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...e Earth, the environment, millions of animal and plant species, and ourselves, but it will take a huge effort on the part of an enormous number of people. Global citizens need to get involved and make their voices heard to save the planet and humankind.

Works Cited

Bozon, I. H., Campbell, W. J., & Lindstrand, M. (2007). Global trends in energy. McKinsey Quarterly, (1), 46-55. Retrieved fromEBSCOhost.

Coleman, J. W., & Kerbo, H. R. (2009). The environment. In Social problems (10th ed., pp. 398-405). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Earth Day. (n.d.). The History Channel Website. Retrieved October 10, 2011, from http://www.history.com/topics/earth-day

Global warming. (n.d.). Environment (deforestation). Retrieved October 10, 2011, from National Geographic website: http://einvironment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/deforestation-overview