Current environmental crises — water, atmosphere and climate change, invasive species, and waste — are all interconnected with human activity. Explore the causes, consequences, and possible solutions of each.
Humans depend on the environment, and human activity in turn changes the environment — often in harmful ways. This topic explores four current environmental crises, all connected to one another and to human activity: water, the atmosphere and climate change, alien (invasive) species, and waste.
Water quality is affected by mining (pollution, disease, eutrophication and algal blooms) and thermal pollution. Water availability is affected by droughts and floods, poor farming practices, destruction of wetlands, dam construction, and the depletion of boreholes/aquifers by exotic plantations.
Human activities are changing the atmosphere: the greenhouse effect and global warming (driven partly by rising carbon dioxide and methane emissions), ozone depletion, and deforestation all contribute to desertification, drought, and floods. Reducing your "carbon footprint" — the total greenhouse gas emissions caused by an individual or activity — is one way individuals can help address this.
Species introduced to an area where they don't naturally occur can out-compete indigenous species, disrupting ecosystems and reducing biodiversity.
Poor waste management causes soil and water pollution. Solutions include recycling, properly managing and rehabilitating dumpsites, using methane captured from landfills as an energy source, and the safe disposal of hazardous waste (such as nuclear waste).
Click each crisis to see its causes and possible solutions.
| Year | Dam surface covered (%) |
|---|---|
| 2015 | 5 |
| 2017 | 20 |
| 2019 | 45 |
| 2021 | 70 |