Environmental Issues 03

8/2/2019 Environmental Issues 03

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Environmental Issues 2

Destruction of the Skies and Forests

Our planet has been around for more than 4.6 billion years. The long history

boasted by this planet includes survival from asteroids, volcanoes, earthquakes, and

anything else imaginable. Through everything that this planet we call home has been

through, we are only a small part of the entire history. Humans have only been around

for roughly 200,000 years (Fraser, C.,2009). However, humanity is coming under threat

of something it has never faced before, a by-product of human ingenuity. It is the

destruction of the ozone, interconnected with the heating of the oceans, which is killing

plankton and deforestation of many parts of the world. These are the three major

environmental issues.

The atmosphere is an approximately 1000 km thick mixture of particles, gases,

and aerosols (Clark, B. & Wallace, J.,2009) These gases include water vapours, carbon

dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O), methane (CH4), and ozone.It is the job of these

greenhouse gases in the atmosphere to regulate the temperate for the planet to support

life (Clark, B. & Wallace, J.,2009).

Since the industrial age began in the 1800s, in addition to the creation and boom

of the automobile, humans have been pumping more and more of these greenhouse

gases into the atmosphere. This has happened through the burning of fossil fuels,

chopping down of forests, and release of toxins from factories. This situation has not

changed, but rather worsened. When the suns heat rays reach the earth, they are

absorbed by the earths atmosphere. This is called the greenhouse effect. The

atmosphere basically acts like an agricultural greenhouse. However, unlike an actual


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greenhouse where the heat of the sun is kept inside through glass, it is the greenhouse

gases which hold heat (Clark, B. & Wallace, J.,2009). Many of these rays are released

back into space, however due to the increased amount of greenhouse gases in the

atmosphere and clouds more of this heat is being kept in the atmosphere (Casey,

T.,2009). This is in turn heating up the Earths oceans and global temperature ever so

slowly.

The ocean absorbs nearly 98 percent of the heat from the sun. The sunlight

absorbed and held within the blanket known as the Earths atmosphere goes through

and heats the ocean which affects climate all around the world. The method of heat loss

by the ocean is through evaporation. As 98% of the heat in the atmosphere is

transferred to the ocean, the ocean is heating up more than ever due to the amount of

greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, forcing the heat to stay within the atmosphere.

The surface temperate of every place in the globe is slowed down by the exchange

between the atmosphere and the ocean (Stewart, R., 2009).

The ocean is home to many organisms on this planet. It is the birthplace of life on

Earth. Life started in the ocean as single-cell organisms. It is the ocean and its

ecosystem that decides what happens on land. The movement of currents decide the

climate in regions (Stewart, R., 2009). It is the ocean which is home to one of the

smallest forms of life, yet the biggest in terms of effect. It is a tiny plant which is the

backbone of the food chain, and the basis for half the photosynthesis that takes place

on Earth (Brahic, C., 2006). This organism is phytoplankton, or plankton for short. They

are microscopic vegetation, and the foundation of the marine food chain. Plankton is

also known for producing half the worlds oxygen via photosynthesis. The oxygen output


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of plankton is equivalent to the output of every tree and plant on land (Morello, L.,

2010).

Plankton is a very important aspect to life on Earth and the environment in

general. It is apparent that since the dawn of the 20 th century, and the boom of the

industrial age, the number of plankton in the ocean has declined. The population of

plankton has fallen nearly 40% since 1950, according to Dalhousie University. This

report implies that there has been an annual drop of 1% percent of the average

population between 1899 and 2008 (Morello, L., 2010).

It is widely believed that global warming, and the rising temperature of the sea is

to blame for this decline in the population of plankton (Morello, L., 2010). Plankton is the

basis for half the photosynthesis on Earth. Photosynthesis is the conversion of light and

nutrients into an organic material. This organic material is basically fed to fish, which in

turn are eaten by larger fish and so on right up to the top of the food chain. Therefore it

is imperative that plankton not be reduced worse than it already has been. It could be

stated and argued easily that plankton is the key to life on Earth. Plankton when it dies

also may drift down to the bottom of the ocean floor and hold carbon for a very long

period of time (Brahic, C., 2006). Carbon and a lack of it in the atmosphere is the

reason for the atmosphere to exist the way it does (Stewart, R., 2009).

The decline of plankton due to the rising temperature of the ocean may lead to

the possible collapse of the food chain. This is something that must be reversed or

slowed down. Industries that rely on animals will collapse. It will start with farms, and

rise up to companies and corporations. The collapse of the food chain can spell the


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collapse of economies worldwide. If that is not bad enough, something of even more

importance is the decline of oxygen levels. Plankton is the cause for nearly 50% of the

oxygen on Earth, the other half is all the trees and plants on land. As with the plankton,

causing a decline in oxygen levels, there is also certain destruction in the forests of the

world.

We have damaged our atmosphere unlike anything it has ever been through.

Pumping more and more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, humans are heating

the planet. As the ocean heats up, the climate will change, and marine life is damaged.

We are destroying not only the balance of oxygen on Earth, but also the food chain. It is

the destruction of the natural order of things on this planet.

The earliest resource known to man, wood, has become a commodity that has

created industries that make or break national economies and give jobs to many people.

The industries that revolve around trees have taken our forests for granted. These

forests are what amount to half the worlds photosynthesis. Much like the oceans that

humans are damaging is home to a diverse selection of marine life, so too are the

rainforest of Brazil, or the boreal forests of Canada, home to a diverse selection of land

creatures (Butler, A., 2009).

Every single day more and more chemicals are pumped into the atmosphere.

They are pumped out of factories, plants, and even the cars that people drive to work or

school. As more fossil fuel is burned along with toxins from factories, the more we fill

our planet with greenhouse gases. As more of these gases are pumped into the

atmosphere, the more heat from the sun that will not be released back into space. As


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the ocean absorbs nearly 98 percent of the suns heat, the ocean will heat up just as

much as the surface. This is particularly bad for the plankton that thrive in the ocean. It

is the plankton that accounts for nearly half the worlds photosynthesis, which means

the oxygen levels will decline. Plankton is also the backbone of the marine food chain.

As almost 40 percent of the plankton in the ocean has declined since 1950, if it were to

decline even more, the food chain would completely break down. The decline of

plankton will take with it marine animals, as well as the fishing industry. If that is not bad

enough, one of the biggest industries on the planet accounts for the other half of the

photosynthesis on earth. It is the lumber industry. Each day forests are being cut down,

degraded, or burned. Through this is the release of carbons, which again damage the

atmosphere, which in turn heats the surface and thus the ocean, damaging plankton.

The potential damage that the lack of plankton may have on our planet is immense. It

can bring down human civilization, from the way we live, to the worlds economies, and

the jobs we work. Thus, the destruction of the ozone, interconnected with the heating of

the oceans, which is killing plankton and deforestation of many parts of the world are

the three key environmental issues.

Environmental Issues 03

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