Human Perception And Environmental Changes: How they affect each other.

 

INTRODUCTION 

Over the years the environment has been changing from its natural setting, slowly to semi-natural and rapidly to what cannot be mentioned in the context of naturality due to human activities.

According to NASA, The planet's average surface temperature has risen about 2.12 degrees Fahrenheit (1.18 degrees Celsius) since the late 19th century, Data from NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment show Greenland lost an average of 279 billion tons of ice per year between 1993 and 2019, while Antarctica lost about 148 billion tons of ice per year.

Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the acidity of surface ocean waters has increased by about 30%.

What is the cause of all these rapid changes?

Environmental change is a change or disturbance of the environment most often caused by human influences and natural ecological processes. Environmental changes include various factors, such as natural disasters, human interferences, or animal interaction. Environmental change encompasses not only physical changes but also factors like an infestation of invasive species.

Global environmental changes include climate change, stratospheric ozone depletion, changes in ecosystems due to loss of biodiversity, changes in hydrological systems and the supplies of freshwater, land degradation, urbanization, and stresses on food-producing systems.

The gases released into the atmosphere as a result of human activities are naturally found in the atmosphere in minute quantities, they only became harmful when the concentration exceeds what is required, Human activities responsible for triggering global environmental changes include but not limited to the following:

MINING

Modern life is highly dependent on the mining and metallurgical industry. Metals and minerals are the raw materials used in the construction, transportation, and manufacturing of goods. From extraction to delivery, this market accounts for 5% of all greenhouse gas emissions.

FOSSIL FUELS

The massive use of fossil fuels is the first source of global warmings, like burning coal, oil and gas produces carbon dioxide - the most important greenhouse gas in the atmosphere - as well as nitrous oxide.

 

DEFORESTATION

The exploitation of forests has a major role in climate change. Trees help regulate the climate by absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere. When they are cut down, this positive effect is lost and the carbon stored in the trees is released into the atmosphere.

INTENSIVE FARMING

Another cause of global environmental changes is intensive farming, not only with the ever-increasing livestock but also with plant protection products and fertilizers. Cattle and sheep produce large amounts of methane when digesting their food, while fertilizers produce nitrous oxide emissions.

WASTE DISPOSAL

Waste management methods like landfills and incineration emit greenhouse and toxic gases - including methane - that are released into the atmosphere, soil, and waterways, contributing to the increase of the greenhouse effect.

All the above-mentioned anthropogenic activities contribute greatly to global change in the environment because they all lead to air pollution which is the starting point of our environmentally changing world.

Despite the scientifically proven evidence that the global environment is changing mainly because of human activities, and effective control and preventive measures in mitigating it such as Increasing energy efficiency and use of renewable energy, Implementing climate-smart agriculture and nurture forest landscapes, changes in agriculture, reforestation and forest preservation and improved waste management, sustainable consumption, etc have been proposed by the expert, the level of global atmospheric pollution is still rising.

Almost all countries are parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The ultimate objective of the UNFCCC is to stabilize atmospheric concentrations of GHGs at a level that would prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system. In 2010, Parties to the UNFCCC agreed that future global warming should be limited to below 2 °C (3.6 °F) relative to the pre-industrial level. With the Paris Agreement of 2015 this was confirmed, why is the global atmospheric pollution still rising instead of decreasing?

Is it because man as the caretaker and user of the environment refuse to fully take action, or the control and preventive measures put in place to mitigate it are no longer effective.

Based on thorough research and experiment all the control and preventive measures were proved effective, but man failed in taking care of the environment.

Man failed in taking care of the environment because of the perception that the world is an endless frontier including its water land and air. And that environmental changes such as climate change is not real, so the environment needs not be taking care of.

Several myths are going around about climate change some of which are:

Myth1:  scientist don't agree on climate change

Myth 2: “Earth’s Climate Has Always Been Changing. This is No Different.” 

Myth 3: “It’s Cold Outside So Global Warming Isn’t Real.”

Myth 4: “Humans Release An Insignificant Amount of CO2. We Can’t Be the Cause of Global Warming.”

Myth 5: "there is nothing we can do about it."

     CONCLUSION

Many people believed that Scientists manipulate all data sets to show a warming trend.

If we keep on believing in these myths, turning a blind eye to all the environmental changes we have witnessed so far its adverse effects will be worse in the future.

We need to change our perception and believe to stop the global environment from changing.

           

REFERENCE

WHO: Climate change and human health

Johnson, D.L.; Ambrose, S.H.; Bassett, T.J.; Bowen, M.L.; Crummey, D.E.; Isaacson, J.S.; Johnson, D.N.; Lamb, P.; Saul, M.; Winter-Nelson, A.E. (1997). "Meanings of environmental terms". Journal of Environmental Quality. 21 (5): 581–89.

 "Scientific Consensus: Earth's Climate is Warming". Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet. NASA JPL. Archived from the original on 28 March 2020. Retrieved 29 March 2020.; Gleick, 7 January 2017

 "The State of the Global Climate 2020". World Meteorological Organization. 14 January 2021. Retrieved 3 March 2021.

 NASA, Mitigation and Adaptation 2020.

NASA. "The Causes of Climate Change". Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet. Archived from the original on 8 May 2019. Retrieved 8 May 2019