Environmental Issues and Solutions: A Comprehensive Report

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Environmental Issues

Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
P1 Global Warming as the potential to cause catastrophic changes to life as we know it on
earth............................................................................................................................................4
P2 i. Air pollution directly affects many life forms, including humans, who rely on breathing
in clean air..................................................................................................................................6
ii. Water pollution can influence aquatic life, which in turn can have detrimental effects on
food cycle...................................................................................................................................6
P3: Soil contamination affecting farming..................................................................................7
P4: Waste Disposal: waste production leads to contamination..................................................9
Conclusion................................................................................................................................11
References................................................................................................................................12
List of Figures
Figure 1: Alternative or renewable energy sources....................................................................4
Figure 2: Agricultural productivity affected by soil quality......................................................7
Figure 3: Landfill problem.........................................................................................................9
Figure 4: Recycling..................................................................................................................10

Introduction
This report includes the problems associated with our environment. All problems with all
issues and effects are explained in this report. The solution which should be adopted by us to
conserve our environment. Instead of taking higher decision we should move slowly by
taking smaller steps which in unity will become greatest. The time spends in forestation will
help greatly to conserve our environment from destruction. Mother earth acts like our mother
so as a child we should take steps to protect our mother earth from destruction. The solution
is given as of global warming, air pollution, water pollution, Contamination of soil, etc.
These all are explained in detail in further report.

P1 Global Warming as the potential to cause catastrophic changes to life as
we know it on earth.
Temperature is increasing day by day which is dangerous for earth. The main cause of
increase in temperature is due to global warming. Global warming is caused by emission of
greenhouse gases and toxic gases. There are various gases which are included in greenhouse
which are methane, carbon dioxide, bromine, nitrogen oxides, etc. “The solution for this is
that all Fossil fuels which are used should be stopped instantly. In place of fossil fuels,
alternative energy sources should be used frequently.” (Shahzad, 2015)
Figure 1: Alternative or renewable energy sources
Alternative energy sources contain solar, geothermal, mass, hydro, wind, etc. The alternative
sources of energy do not produce any harm to environment and thus reduce the concentration
of global warming. Installation costs are high but for longer run, this is the most efficient
solution. The energy should be conserved so that we can reach stable climatic conditions and

healthier atmosphere. Electric cars or hybrid cars should be used to conserve our
environment. There are various solutions to reduce the concentration of global warming
which is as follows:
1. PV (Solar photovoltaics): These should be used in farming and electricity to increase
p-type and n-type to make junction using these conductors to produce electricity.
2. Wind: This energy should be used with help of wind turbines to transform kinetic
energy into electric energy.
3. Hydroelectric: The use of hydroelectricity is increasing day by day. The electricity is
produced from water by use of generators and turbines.
4. There are various other sources such as Geothermal, CSP, Coal-CCS, tidal, etc.
(Jacobson, M.Z., 2009)

P2 i. Air pollution directly affects many life forms, including humans, who
rely on breathing in clean air.
Air pollution means all impurities or impure gases present in air which can effect health
greatly. Air pollution is divided into two which are as follows:
1. Visible Air pollution
2. Invisible Air pollution
Air pollution is caused by using fossil fuels such as coal, oil, etc. Gases or emissions
produced in environment by large scale industries, Production of waste by industries, etc.
“The solutions for air pollution are:
1. Renewable sources of energy should be used.
2. Electric cars and hybrid cars should be used in place of patrol or diesel cars,
3. Forestation should be adopted immediately.” (Impulse, 2019)
ii. Water pollution can influence aquatic life, which in turn can have
detrimental effects on food cycle.
Aquatic life lives because of water. Their life depends on Water. The Industries are polluting
water in higher rates due to discharging their waste in water. This can affect aquatic life and
many aquatic animals can be extinct. The birds and creatures which consumes fishes are also
affected by chemical and pollutants. By this lifecycle entire system of animals or habitat can
be extinct. Not only creatures are affected but our environment is also affected. “The study
for water pollution says that due to water pollution, there are 14000 deaths per day, and this is
also increasing day by day.” (Owa, F.W., 2014). The solutions to conserve our environment
from water pollution are as follows:
1. Wastage should not be thrown in rivers, seas, etc.
2. Fertilizers and pesticides should not be used near water systems.
3. Cleaning materials that are used daily should be non-toxic.
4. Instead of throwing waste anywhere it should be decomposed or should be reused.

P3: Soil contamination affecting farming
Due to various human activities soil has been contaminated, the reasons can be industrial
waste, climate change, deforestation etc. According to Elliot et al. 1998, “Logging operations
disturb forest soils and thus also increase erosion”. The deforestation is the main reason that
affects the health of soil and after that, the industrial waste helps in degrading the quality of
farming soil that directly affect the farming and thus farmers become more vulnerable.
Pesticides and heavy metals contaminate the soil due to this the soil is either ground in dust
or blown away. The solutions for this can be afforestation, and reducing air, soil and water
pollution, thus this will reduce global warming. The afforestation needs growing more and
more trees nearby. The solutions for this can be reducing land demand, developing
technological solutions, reducing population and afforestation, etc. According to Hooke et al.
2012, “Reducing demand is a critical component of the solution, but in itself is not sufficient,
given the magnitude of the problem”. There are few solutions that can help farmers like:
 Crop rotation,
 Strip farming,
 Conservation of rainwater,
 An artificial windbreak can help to reduce wind effects of erosion,
 Planting more trees
 Reducing industrial wastage
 Planting cover crops
 Disposing waste
Figure 2: Agricultural productivity affected by soil quality

(Source: National Research Council)
Cover crops will help to hold the soil and thus helps to reduce soil erosion. Crop cover is
required because the soil’s potential in producing crops was much determined by soil
provided by the environment.

P4: Waste Disposal: waste production leads to contamination
“It seems the more we create the more we throw away”, Green Blogger, 2014. This statement
seems to be truer because humans are the main cause of producing garbage and waste (liquid
or solid) in the environment at alarming rate. Earlier humans did not produce waste as
humans did in past few years. Other species do not produce as much waste as humans do.
This is the issue that needs to be considered as a priority because various problems arise due
to waste production like skin disease, water contamination, soil contamination, air pollution,
landfills and many more.
Figure 3: Landfill problem
(Source: followgreenliving)
Problems of waste disposal:
1. Producing too much waste
2. Producing mostly toxic waste
3. Landfills
4. Some technologies that are marked as “GREEN” were actually not true
5. No proper technological methods used for reducing waste
Solutions for waste disposal:
1. Following three R’s i.e., “Reduce-Reuse-Recycle”
2. Encouraging zero waste
3. Monitoring landfilling activities
4. Improvement in the treatment of thermal waste
5. Planning for waste diversion

Figure 4: Recycling
(Source: followgreenliving)
At a small level recycling can be done to help the environment from landfills and littered
waste. If landfills can be reduced this will help in soil to grow new plants that will lead to the
consumption of increasing carbon dioxide by the trees and thus reducing global warming.
Less waste and garbage will not contaminate the water, air, and soil and will help in greater
productivity. The waste should be disposed of in an appropriate manner, this will benefit the
environment in a long term.

Conclusion
In this report, various environmental issues have been taken into consideration along with
possible solutions for them. The ecosystem provides various services to the living species on
earth. Issues like global warming, air pollution, water pollution, soil contamination, and
waste production. But these environmental issues are not the limited issues and thus this
report does not consider all the issues related to the environment. These problems have been
addressed and possible solutions have been provided to contribute to the environment.
Solutions have been cross-checked with the articles and studies to provide a relevant and
valid solution. The earth needs a valid and promising solution that will affect the earth it at a
fast pace to preserve the natural resources and earth.

References
Shahzad, U. (2015). Global Warming: Causes, Effects and Solutions. Researchgate, [online]
pp.1-9. Available at:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316691239_Global_Warming_Causes_Effects_and
_Solutions [Accessed 16 Jan. 2019].
Jacobson, M.Z., 2009. Review of solutions to global warming, air pollution, and energy
security. Energy & Environmental Science, 2(2), pp.148-173.
Impulse, S. (2019). Solutions to air pollution: how to improve air quality?. [online]
Solarimpulse.com. Available at: https://solarimpulse.com/air-pollution-solutions [Accessed
16 Jan. 2019].
Owa, F.W., 2014. Water pollution: sources, effects, control and management. International
Letters of Natural Sciences, 3.
Anseeuw, W., Wily, L.A., Cotula, L. and Taylor, M., 2012. Land rights and the rush for land:
Findings of the global commercial. ILC: Rome, Italy.
Hooke, R.L., Martín-Duque, J.F. and Pedraza, J., 2012. Land transformation by humans: a
review. GSA today, 22(12), pp.4-10.
National Research Council, 1993. Soil and water quality: an agenda for agriculture. National
Academies Press.
Blogger, G. (2014). Waste Management – Solutions and Its Importance - Follow Green
Living. [online] Follow Green Living. Available at: https://followgreenliving.com/waste-
management-solutions-importance-rtr/ [Accessed 16 Jan. 2019].