Major Environmental Crisis We All Forget About 

The UN calls this the forgotten crisis. Because among the human rights violations, health crises, and wars, we are indeed forgetting the major environmental crisis. Yes, remember our planet Earth? They are still a part of our problem, plaguing our environment’s everyday well-being and, by proxy, us!

So, to awaken your sense of responsibility towards our environmental crisis, we are bringing you some data about them in the excerpt below.

Especially when we are almost placing them in the back of our heads, maybe it is high time we bring them to the center of our provoking thought process.

Why We Need To Remember!

Here are reasons why our environmental crisis should still be a big deal!

Especially when, for the past decade, we have been over-exploiting our planet for all kinds of resources. Technological innovation is skyrocketing, and our carbon footprint is increasing simultaneously.

It is impossible to get rid of every technological innovation and stop using our resources. However, we also have to be extremely mindful of this environmental crisis.

Just to know when to stop!

When to moderately use your electricity.

It is time to plant more trees.

Take public transport for once rather than taking your personal car for everything.

Environmental Crisis We All Forget

So, without any further ado, let’s get into the different environmental crises we almost forget every year.

As reported by the UN.

1. Water Pollution

Water-borne diseases in underdeveloped and developing countries lead to almost 3 million deaths every year.

Continuously drinking contaminated water can also cause genetic problems in newborns.

This contamination is mainly from industrial waste. Plus, they are causing a heavy disbalance in our water system.

Unfortunately, many industries, in the name of technological and economic growth, forget about their CSR. That is their Corporate Social Responsibilities, which entails that every non-government corporation has to worry about the environment.

Years and years of releasing untreated water into the water bodies is what is surging up the water pollution rate.b

2. Soil Pollution

From major industries to our lack of mindful activities towards the Earth. They both are to be blamed when it comes to the increasing soil toxicity.

We are the ones responsible for over-mining our soil for resources and causing deforestation to accommodate more population. Sometimes, it is not even a necessity.

We are just doing it because we can!

Do you know what happens when the soil starts losing its strength and corroding in mountainous regions?

It leads to worst calamities like landslides, taking away hundreds of lives in the process.

Contamination of water leads to soil pollution as well when that same water is used for irrigation purposes. Losing crops or being unable to grow them due to the infertility of the soil are common issues that every farmer faces.

From a social standpoint, this also increases the farmer suicide rate in some developing countries.

Overall, this puts our entire humanity in grave jeopardy.

3. The Melting Ice Caps

According to the UN, this is an environmental crisis that we often think about. Always at the back of our mind where we know it is happening, but seldom do we try to understand the reason behind it.

Melting ice caps are the direct effect of the greenhouse effect on our environment. This is where heat is being trapped within our atmospheric layer due to growing pollution from cars and combustion.

As a result, the increasing temperature is directly affecting the poles, making glaciers melt at lightning speed!

The melting glaciers are not only causing scorching summers even away from the tropics but also increasing the sea level. In 2022, the UK dealt with one of its record-breaking summers to date, as the highest temperature reached 40 degrees Celcius.

Climate change is real, and sometimes only we are to be blamed for our excessive burning of fuel. Ironically, this is an action that we can very much control, but how often do we think along those lines?

Genetic Modification

Whatever we spoke about before are diseases you have already heard about. But have you heard about something called Genetic Modification?

This is when we take two plants and practice genetic mutation to cause a hybrid. This genetic engineering of food might seem harmless now, but for me, it always looked like something from dystopian science fiction.

Not only are they not necessary, but they also cause potential poisoning and heavy loss of nutrients from the original food item.

Now, why would you want to buy an off-season fruit that is heavily genetically engineered and ripped with chemicals when you can get seasonal fruit?

This is why it is important to buy fruits from your local market and always buy them within the season rather than putting your stomach through too much-processed fruit.

Poor Waste Management

Let us face the reality!

Can we ever produce less waste?

Yes, if we try, but there will always be something or the other!

Rather than counting on how much waste we are producing, we should focus on managing them well. This is an environmental crisis where our world is heavily faltering.

It is when we follow practices like dumping all waste in one bin that the problem arises.

Releasing untreated waste in the water bodies is increasing the level of plastic in our oceans. Even making it un-breathable for the poor marine ecosystem. An ecosystem that took 3.5 billion years to build, we are destroying in a heartbeat.

You can start treating waste from a grassroots level!

Begin with making a compost for your degradable waste; this can also increase your soil quality.

Make separate bins for your plastic and non-plastic waste. Even encourage your neighbors to do so.

Keep your electronic waste separate, and recycle paper waste as much as possible before discarding them.

Spiking global temperatures  

NASA stated that the global temperature has risen at least 1.9° in the last 25 years. The previous 9 years have been the hottest since 1880. But the question is- why people are not bothered by the rise in temperature?  

The answer is quite simple. They don’t see it as a critical or unanimous problem. They only see it as a change in a few degrees at a local level. When you study the incremental effect of your local temperature hikes on the environment, you’ll know of the massive heat we expel.  

Plus, you’ve got to study the harm that every added degree of heat does to our forests, oceans, etc. However, people are gradually becoming conscious. But it is not an acquired effect. There are more frequent flash floods, heat waves, droughts, and storms nowadays. Maybe those last trailing thoughts in the minds of people.  

Acute loss of biodiversity  

The World Economic Forum released a Global Risks report. It states that biodiversity loss ranks 3rd among all dire risks we don’t heed. Some propagated studies show that 6% of all the plants and animal species will be gone by 2050.  

But why are we not concerned about the loss? Firstly, we don’t know how the lack of biodiversity would hit us. Secondly, there have not yet been any apparent effects of the same on humankind. But the question is- what perils can biodiversity loss cause?  

A diverse ecosystem can combat threats like disease, weather change, and even pandemics. Biodiversity allows easy food sourcing and controls the climate-carbon level. When there is a shortage of vegetation, there won’t be any natural CO2 filters.  

Pandemics  

You may argue people are now well-versed about pandemics. And hence very well aware. But that is a hoax, as big as it can be. People may know what a pandemic feels like. But we rarely brainstorm how to prevent another pandemic like the last one.

That is one of the most significant issues around. At the same time, we are not concerned about climate crises. And we all know that climate is related to pandemic prevention.  

But how? We are exposed to more pathogens as we destroy animals’’ natural habitat. So, it’s time we act fast. Otherwise, there will be more pandemics very soon.

It Is Our Planet!

Yes, we can blame the government and the mute-billion-dollar organizations for adding to this environmental crisis, but it is our planet at the end of the day.

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There is no planet B!

So, why not take this opportunity and learn ways to eradicate it from a domestic level?

If you wish to share what we could all do to be better citizens of the planet, please let us know in the comment section below.