Global ecological changes being witnessed are the result of the rapacious exploitation of natural resources. Also, the deposition of wastes in a proportion that is beyond nature’s capacity to absorb. In fact, these changes are the result of human influence on ecology and the environment.
Water is too toxic for human consumption, the air is unfit to breathe. Global warming has become a great menace and, there is a question mark over the survival of life on earth.
Table of Contents
GLOBAL WARMING
It is one of the major issues which is common today The term signifies an increase in the atmospheric temperature. This has been caused by the release of natural and man-made greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere due to human activities. Global warming has affected various species. These species are dependent on the basic laws of nature.
CLIMATE CHANGE
The term signifies erratic changes in weather, floods, and droughts. Apart from these, intense heatwave and drastic changes in rainfall patterns across the world. But the most imminent danger arises from the melting of ice caps leading to the rise in sea level. Thus, threatening the numerous species living on low lying islands and coastal areas.
OZONE DEPLETION
The term ozone depletion implies a decline in the quantity of ozone in the earth’s stratosphere. The loss of ozone in the lower stratosphere was first recorded over Antarctica in the 1970s. CFCs are the main culprit for ozone depletion and the ozone hole over Antarctica and the Arctic region. Ase it is caused primarily due to CFCs. The ozone hole has adversely impacted the climate and survival of man due to the penetration of UV rays to the earth’s surface.
Pollution
It incorporates air pollution, soil pollution, water pollution, noise pollution, etc. Air pollution occurs with the addition of harmful chemicals into the earth’s atmosphere i.e. carbon-monoxide, CFC’s nitrogen oxide, Sulphur dioxide, etc. Water pollution is the result of chemical wastes, industrial wastes, and domestic waste. Soil pollution is in fact, due to excessive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
ACID RAIN
It is a by-product of air pollution. It occurs when chemicals like Sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are released into the air in a disproportionate amount. The main culprits being industries using coal as fuel. Acid rain chokes the pore spaces in the plant leaves which causes the death of plants in a short span of time. Suh rain also leads to changes in the composition of soil and water, which ultimately kills terrestrial and aquatic life.
LAND DEGRADATION
Land degradation can be attributed to improper land use and large scale deforestation which leads to salinization and alkalization.
RESOURCE DEPLETION
Due to the growth of population and increasing pressure on natural resources coupled with technological development, the natural resources have been exploited to exhaustion. Today there is a serious lack of resources that can be used by man.
It is the lack of basic life support resource that has put human survival at stake i.e. water, scarcity of water can be seen at both domestic level and agricultural level.