Today we are experiencing what would be called a global environmental crisis. That is, a crisis that affects the environment, as well as all forms of life that are associated with ecosystems that would be in crisis, and that, furthermore, is characterized by having a global character instead of being able to be located in a specific way in a specific geographic area. Undoubtedly, its origin is found in human activity, which with its impact on the environment seriously endangers the very survival of many biological species and ecosystems as a whole. In addition, this has consequences that go beyond the biological and environmental impact, since they directly affect human societies and their economies and territorial balances. If you want to learn a little more about the global environmental crisis, as well as their Causes, consequences and possible solutions, keep reading Green Ecologist and we will tell you.
Causes of the global environmental crisis
The global environmental crisis is multi-causal. However, all the causes that produce it have a same origin: human activity. Although it is true that speaking of human activity implies an extreme generalization, it is necessary to start from this base, since it leaves out of all doubt that the global environmental crisis is the result of an environmental problem of natural or purely climatic origin.
It is true that the climate change it is a constant throughout the history of life on Earth. However, except for specific cases of mass extinctions caused by external factors (the best known of all would be the mass extinction that took place after an asteroid hit the planet approximately 65 million years ago and put an end to the reign of the dinosaurs), climate change is a process that unfolds at a speed slow enough for ecosystems to adapt to such changes. When this climate change takes place in a sudden and accelerated way (as in the aforementioned case of the asteroid or due to human activity today), a global environmental crisis occurs that affects all species and ecosystems, resulting in a collapse of many ecosystems as they do not have the real capacity to adapt to the changes that occur.
In this way, in the absence of external factors that cause the current climate change in the conditions that we evidence, and in the face of the concrete experience that human activities as a whole are being responsible for said climate change, there is no other possible explanation than to point out. the human activity in its current form as the responsible for the global environmental crisis what happens.
Consequences of the global environmental crisis
exist various consequences of this global environmental crisis that we can divide into three large groups:
Ecological consequences
In this section we could include all those that have a direct effect on ecosystems and the forms of life. To mention a few examples:
- The extinction of both flora and fauna species.
- The degradation of the biodiversity of ecosystems.
- The proliferation of invasive species.
- Alterations in natural biological cycles.
Social consequences
In this section we would include all those that, directly or indirectly, would affect human activity itself and to human societies. In this sense, some examples would be:
- Crop losses or soil degradation.
- The inability to find enough fresh water to meet human demand.
- Migrations of population groups in search of geographic areas with greater resources.
- The proliferation of diseases linked to pollution.
- The proliferation of diseases linked to the geographical displacement of infectious diseases themselves as a consequence of an increase in global temperature.
Properly climatic consequences
These types of consequences would be largely responsible for some of the ecological and social consequences. However, due to their own character, they are worth evaluating in themselves, since involve weather modification just as it had developed so far. Some examples are:
- Desertification
- Deforestation.
- The acidification of the sea.
- The increase in the number of phenomena such as hurricanes or typhoons, as well as their proliferation in geographical areas that are not traditionally associated with these phenomena.
Solutions to the global environmental crisis
When it comes to talking about solutions to the global environmental crisis, these can be divided into two large groups:
Preventive solutions
They are those focused on slow down or avoid escalating consequences of said crisis. In this sense, the best example can be found in the suppression of the use of fossil fuels in favor of renewable energies. In this way, we would be able to stop the damaging effects of much of the human activity produced by the global environmental crisis.
Restorative or healing solutions
In this case, they would be solutions aimed at recover or restore the damaged environment. Some examples of this type of solution go through:
- Reforest deforested areas.
- Clean the seas.
- Restore ecosystems through plans for the protection of native flora and fauna.
- Improve the management of hydrographic resources among many others.
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