Environmental Degradation



The environmental degradation has been a long time in the making, but the serious ramifications have caught up on us in a relatively short time. We are living at a time when the world is facing the greatest ecological crisis it has ever known.

The straw that breaks the camel's back hasn't fallen yet, and nobody really knows how far away it is. But we do know this: the world is in a very precarious position.

This section is where you can educate yourself on what the environmental degradation and ecological issues that we are facing really are.

The Global Warming Debate Misses The Point

flood
image by akuppa

The global warming debate focuses only on the question of whether it is man made or due to natural causes. But regardless of the answer to that question our culture is continuing to ravage the planet. If climate change is man made it is not enough just to prevent the temperature rising. Even if climate change is natural that doesn't excuse the rest of our destructive behaviours.


Human Overpopulation

slum
image by devu2003

The human population has been growing exponentially since civilization began. Yet it is only now that is reaching crisis proportions. Not because the Earth can't handle the numbers but because we are killing off other life forms to make room for ourselves. The diversity of the ecosystem is threatened. The more we expand the more environmental degradation occurs.


Soil Degradation

soil degradation
image by hoyasmeg

Food needs good soil in which to grow. However our culture's totalitarian farming methods destroy the quality of the Earth's soil. It takes time for displaced soil to reform itself to a point where it can sustain life again. We are eroding soil faster than it is reforming. At this rate our farms will eventually cease to produce.


Rainforest Deforestation

logging truck
image by 111 Emergency

Deforestation threatens to turn the world into a desert and take away the all important carbon sink. As we produce more food surpluses and more people the need for living space and resources increases. The health of the planet and the good of the ecosystem is the last thing on the minds of those who raid forests for cash.


A Mass Extinction Is Underway

panda
image by tiny froglet

A human induced mass extinction is currently taking place. Estimates suggest around 200 species per day are being lost. The normal extinction rate is 1 species every 2 days. The last time there was an extinction of this magnitude was when the dinosaurs were wiped out. If this continues the survival of the human species is threatened.

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