Global Environmental Issues
Organisms have to deal with both abiotic and biotic factors to succeed living in a given environment. Such physical and chemical environmental conditions as salinity, light, wind, pressure and heat, constitute abiotic factors. Biotic factors include the whole set of biological conditions that a species faces including the abundance of both predator and prey, space available, food availability, inter and intra species competition (Sherbinin, Alex de et al. 1). The relationships of interdependent nature among and between the living organisms; also referred to as the biotic aspects of an ecosystem can be classed in terms of whether they are harmful or beneficial to a given species. They may also have no effect on a given organism in focus. Human-environment interaction leads to changes and shifts in the global environment via a series of associated causes. These causes change the environments in certain ways to the extent of affecting it globally. The issues discussed below relate to the relationship between human population growth and the global environmental issues.
One of the main global environmental concerns in the modern world is the anthropogenic climate change triggered by greenhouse gas emissions. The emissions, widely, occur due to fossil fuel combustion, clearance and burning of forests, agricultural emissions, pastoralism and other changes in land use (“The environmental crisis”, 1). Changes in the climate affect both the ecological system and social setup. Scientists have estimated that these effects will soon lead to changes in the average...
The changes are also expected to increase in the coming years. It is observed that in the years between 1895 and 2011, there was an increase in temperature by about 2oF. Matters are estimated to worsen by 2080s; with an estimated rise of between 4.5oF and 10oF. The intensity, frequency and duration of heat waves are also expected to increase. The region has witnessed higher precipitation and even heavier precipitation events in recent years (Climate Impacts in the Northeast | Climate Change Impacts | US EPA”, 1). Deaths as a result of heat are expected to increase. The quality of air will also reduce; especially in the urban centers. The sea level in the north east has risen by at least a foot since 1900. The change has increased flooding in the coastal strip.
It has been projected that the sea level across the globe will increase by between 1 and 4 feet by the century turn. It is noted that the north east is likely to experience an even higher rise in its sea level because of the sinking of local land and warming waters. The rise in sea level and floods are likely to destroy and disrupt human life activities and infrastructure including roads, airports, communication systems, access to clean water, production of energy and management of waste. The resultant effects can be catastrophic; economically (“The environmental crisis”, 1). The estimated economic damage in Boston alone…
