Environmental  problems  affect everyone.   Air pollution in one  part of a country affects  people in another area.  Water pollution affects the instigator of the problem but also others many miles away, sometimes in other states or countries.  Biodiversity loss is a global problem.  How, specifically, do environmental threats affect you directly?

OVERPOPULATION

The continuing rise in the human population causes a myriad of problems.  One of the major issues is exploitation of resources.   There is only a  limited supply of natural resources.   As the population continues to increase,  the demand for these  resources increases as well.   Already we are seeing shortages  of water in some areas of the United States.  In the future we will see dramatic increases in competition for our natural resources.

Another  problem associated  with overpopulation is space.   There is a finite  supply of land  which humans can inhabit. As the population continues to rise, this land will be in short supply. Many countries are feeling this pinch already.   We are very fortunate  in the United States because we have such a vast countryside;  yet, we are not immune to this threat.

Another major threat  of overpopulation is  a shortage of food.   Already we have many  areas of the world where starvation is a major problem.  As the population rises, the demand for food increases.  Yet, the demand for land for people to inhabit also rises.   Eventually there will come a  point when there is not  enough land available for farming to raise  the crops needed to supply the world with food.   If we do not consider this problem now,  it will have drastic consequences in the future.

Increased competition over land and resources could have many side effects.  Hostility between countries and even between individuals in a society is very likely to rise as competition intensifies. Along with this there is the possibility of  a higher frequency of mental illnesses such as depression.  The quality of our lives will surely suffer due to shortages of resources.  For further details on our expanding population, refer to the page on Overpopulation.

LOSS OF DIVERSITY

This area is one  that is not considered  by many people.   What  does it matter if  one  animal or  one plant goes extinct?  Sometimes the effect is small; sometimes the ripple effect  creates dramatic  consequences.  One of the side effects of loss of diversity is that we will have less wildlife to see during our hours of recreation.   There will be less wilderness for us to explore.  Without the ability to escape from our harried lives into another environment occasionally, stress is bound to increase.  The quality of our lives will also suffer as we will have less enjoyment in our free time.

There is also the very real fact that we do not always know what the consequences will be if a species is lost.  We still have only just probed the surface of our natural environment and do not know the niche that each species fills in its ecosystem.  It may take many years after the extinction of a species before we can actually learn the consequences of its loss.  For further details see the page on Loss of Diversity.

GREENHOUSE PROBLEMS

There has been an increasing amount of study recently on what is termed the “greenhouse effect”.  There is no agreement between scientists as to what will eventually happen to our planet as a result of this process.

To put it simply, the greenhouse effect is an overall warming of our global climate due to pollution by mankind.  The causes are numerous, ranging from pollution emitted into the air by factories and car exhaust fumes to changes in water temperature due to wastewater emissions into natural waterways.

In some scenarios, it is believed that the planet temperature will increase by a few degrees.  This seems minor and of no consequence.  However, this small elevation in temperature can cause dramatic results.  Polar icebergs would begin to melt  with this temperature change,  changing the level of the seas and threatening coastal  communities.  Coral reefs,  which are very susceptible  to temperature changes,  could suffer severe damage  or simply die out altogether.  Temperature increases can also lead to changes in weather patterns, precipitating more frequent and severe storms.  See Greenhouse Effect.

FUTURE GENERATIONS

Oftentimes  the  mistakes we  make in our lives  do not demonstrate  themselves fully until much later.   It is our children and grandchildren who will pay the costs for the environmental problems we cause today.  If for no other reason than consideration of their future lives, we should preserve and protect our planet now.