Earth Rise

Washed out on our coasts in obvious and clearly visible form, the plastic pollution spectacle blatantly unveiling on our beaches is only the prelude of the greater story that unfolded further away in the world’s oceans, One biome that has become increasingly affected by plastic waste is the ocean. Nearly 13 million tonnes of plastic is washed into the ocean every year. Some plastics release chemicals in the water leading to cancer and other health issues, but the most prevalent issue is the consumption of plastic by animals, which mostly originate from where we stand: the land. For more than 50 years, global production and consumption of plastics have continued to rise. An estimated 299 million tons of plastics were produced in 2013, representing a 4 percent increase over 2012, and confirming and upward trend over the past years. In 2008, our global plastic consumption worldwide was estimated at 260 million tons and according to a 2012 report by Global Industry analysts, plasti...

Climate is the problem that weighs heavily on our society, but a promising solution could be lying right beneath our feet — in the soil. Regenerative agriculture is a system of farming principles and practices that seek to rehabilitate and enhance the entire ecosystem of the farm by placing a heavy premium on soil health with attention also paid to fertilizer use among others. It describes farming and grazing practices that, among other benefits, reverse climate change by rebuilding soil organic matter and restoring degraded soil biodiversity – resulting in both carbon drawdown and improving the water cycle.   It is a method of farming that “improves the resources it uses, rather than destroying or depleting them,” according to the Rodale Institute . In addition to rising temperatures that are themselves changing where and how things can be grown, the climate crisis has fundamentally altered the water cycle around the world. The result is shifting precipitation patterns...

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), from 1880 to 2012, average global temperature increased by 0.85°C. To put this into perspective, for each 1 degree of temperature increase, grain yields decline by about 5 per cent. Maize, wheat and other major crops have experienced significant yield reductions at the global level of 40 megatons per year between 1981 and 2002 due to a warmer climate. Oceans have warmed, the amounts of snow and ice have diminished and sea level has risen. From 1901 to 2010, the global average sea level rose by 19 cm as oceans expanded due to warming and ice melted. The Arctic sea ice extent has shrunk in every successive decade since 1979, with 1.07 million km² of ice loss every decade. We have to cut carbon consumption to keep the world from turning into a charcoal briquette. It needs to come from everywhere; holding oil companies accountable, passing legislations, developing renewable energy sources and non-carbon transportati...

While much attention in recent years has been focused on the relationship of income inequality with economic growth and social development, its relationship with environmental sustainability has remained relatively unexplored. Yet, there is now considerable empirical evidence showing that income and wealth inequality can be harmful for environmental sustainability. Widening income disparity and environmental deterioration in relation to economic growth have increasingly become pressing issues of our concern. I found and drew some mechanisms that may explain the observed correlation by identifying three channels through which income inequality may influence environmental outcomes. These are: 1.       Household 2.       Community 3.       National (with an extension to international) The household channel of causality operates mostly through the consumption behavior. For example, the rich genera...

Climate change is one of a set of inter-linked environmental, economic and social challenges we are currently facing. It has the potential to exacerbate other threats to our economic well-being, such as biodiversity loss, diminishing access to freshwater, degradation of agricultural land and growing risks of resource-related conflicts. Urgent action towards combating these climate changes is therefore an ultimate requirement for a healthy future. In consideration of the sweeping climate catastrophes happening around the world, I will slightly borrow from the Global Youth Climate Action Declaration (GYCAD) a number of potential measures in form of resolutions that should be taken to mitigate the effects of climate change as we come close to the projected 2030 to achieve the set sustainable development goal 13.   v   Economic, political and social drivers ; Urge the international community to construct and implement a framework for binding environmental legislation t...

Pollutants and Air Quality   Air pollutants are responsible for a number of adverse environmental effects, such as photochemical smog, acid rain, death of forests, or reduced atmospheric visibility. Emissions of greenhouse gases from combustion of fossil fuels are associated with the global warming of Earth’s climate. Certain air pollutants, including black carbon, not only contribute to global warming, but are also suspected of having immediate effect on regional climates. Air pollutants are substances that adversely affect the environment by interfering with climate, the physiology of plants, animal species, entire ecosystems, as well as with human property in the form of agricultural crops or man-made structures. Climate tops the list to reflect the fact that global climate change has been recognized as one of the most serious environmental challenges to be faced by humanity in the 21st century. In this context certain climate forcing agents, the most important one...

Collected Palm Oil Fruits Before Processing Found in thousands of products, from peanut butter and packaged bread to shampoo and shaving cream, palm oil is a booming multibillion-dollar industry. While it isn't always labeled in supermarket staples, there are unintended consequences of producing this ubiquitous ingredient. Indonesia and Malaysia together account for nearly 85% of global palm oil production. This oil is commonly used in processed foods, cosmetics and bio-fuels, and while it is inexpensive, the environmental and social costs are high. Each year, thousands of hectares of rainforest disappear in order to meet the growing demand for the oil worldwide. In 2012, Indonesia had the highest deforestation rate in the world, according to a study published in 2014 in Nature Climate Change . Palm oil cultivation causes greenhouse gas emissions. Deforestation in tropical areas accounts for an estimated 10 percent of man-made carbon dioxide emissions, and is a driver tow...