Global Environmental Issues
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Climate Change and Global Warming
Most scientists believe that climate change is here and is human-induced, and that it will lead to more extreme weather patterns such as hurricanes and drought. Global warming means that the earth's overall air temp is rising. The one-two punch of carbon dioxide emissions and deforestation alter the global atmosphere. This is mainly from car exhaust, power plants and building emissions. When the earth's air temp rises even a few degrees, entire weather patterns change and get really extreme. This is already evident in the fierceness of hurricanes from Indonesia to New York City.
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Renewable Energy
The fossil fuels that we currently use for energy produce harmful greenhouse gases, causing pollution and global warming. We need to consider renewable energy that's derived from resources that are regenerative or for all practical purposes cannot be depleted. Renewable energy flows involve natural phenomena such as sunlight, wind, tides and geothermal heat. Each of these sources has unique characteristics which influence how and where they are used. The majority of renewable energy technologies are directly or indirectly powered by the sun.
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Pollution and Recycling
Air pollution occurs when toxic particles are released into your air and general environment. Sometimes you can see it in the form of smog -- that kind of grey haze over cities when the pollution all collects and hangs out in one place. Air pollution is caused by a lot of things, but mainly from car exhaust and power plant emissions. Pollutants collect in the air and affect everything we breathe, drink and eat. There is too much waste in the world, so by recycling and re-using items, we have a better chance of minimizing the world's waste.
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Genetically
Engineered FoodsA lot of food that we eat today contain genetically modified ingredients. GE food is an expensive technology for developing nations. This is also a very young and untested technology. We are trying to simplify our food processing by creating foods that may be less expensive, but have ingredients in them that can hurt our bodies, such as partially hydrogenated oils (also know as trans fat). Check your food labels and try to eliminate trans fat from your diet. Eating trans fat increases the risk of coronary heart disease.
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Overpopulation
The human population of the planet is approximately 6 billion and rising. As the population continues to increase, there is the fear of putting more and more strain on the environment and adequate food production, as well as nations' ability to provide, economies' to grow and societies' to flourish. People will be fighting for basic needs. This may not be an issue in your lifetime, but eventually with the continuous and rapid growth, your grandchildren and great grandchildren may have to deal with this problem.
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Natural Disasters
Some natural disasters like earthquakes and floods can often occur when least expected. Others, such as hurricanes and cyclones, may be getting more severe. Typically, the poor are the worst hit as they have the least resources with which to cope and rebuild. Although many of these disasters cannot be prevented, you can still get involved to help people in need. There are organizations like the Red Cross that can use your help to get people displaced from disasters back on their feet.
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Nature and Animal Conservation
Humans have destroyed more than 30 percent of the natural world since 1970. How sad is that? Rainforests once covered 14 percent of the earth's land surface; now they cover a mere 6 percent and experts estimate that the last remaining rainforests could be consumed in less than 40 years. Currently, there are approximately 1000-1100 species of birds and mammals that are facing extinction. If invertebrates and plants are included, the total number of species in imminent danger is around 20,000.
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AIDS in Africa
All different types of diseases are scary, but the spread of HIV and AIDS is becoming a global issue. Between 1999 and 2000, more people died of AIDS in Africa than in all the wars on the continent. Twenty-four million Africans were infected with the virus in 2000. In the absence of a medical miracle, nearly all will die before 2010. Each day, 6,000 Africans die from AIDS, and an additional 11,000 are infected. Since no vaccine for HIV is available, the only way to prevent infection by the virus is to avoid behaviors that place a person at risk.
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