New Environmental Issues

There are such countless numbers of new environmental issues surrounding us as human beings that it has become difficult to keep track or know which ones need the most urgent attention and how to best prevent or resolve new environmental issues before they get out of hand. It is initially important to highlight some of the issues that are fixable by changing our irresponsible habits to more sustainable ways of living, whether it is the car we drive, the food we buy or way the dispose of trash. From there, more focus can be put on the tougher codes to crack.

Some of the quickly spreading environmental issues include plastic pollution in the oceans, the vast reduction of marine life to the point of endangerment and the increasing lack of sanitary drinking water. Most of these are treatable situations if each individual sets new standards for living, and many people have rallied to create groups to lead the charge. Plastic pollution has quickly spread as one of the environment's new leading issues, resulting in five massive islands, called gyres, of plastic waste circling in different areas of our world's oceans. People have become consumed with plastic ware in their everyday life, dramatically compared to decades previous. Single use plastics are designed to be used once and thrown out. The problem is that so many people have become accustomed to this lifestyle, and although nearly every person in the U.S. has accessibility to recycling, still an overwhelming percentage are reluctant to recycle. The waste is often discarded incorrectly into the environment. The banning of plastic bags in grocery stores, along with additional surcharges for paper bags, will move people towards a reusable society. Groups like Sea thos Foundation are urging people to avoid plastics and get reusable water bottles and tote bags to clean up the environment, as well as the ocean, which receives a lot of the waste from beaches.

The problem of plastic pollution coincides with another environmental issue, endangered marine life. The quickly spreading problem that people have heard about for years has matured into a full-blown massacre, nearing the point of mass extinction. Overfishing and plastic waste are both methods of needlessly killing off creatures that give back to our oceans, which in turn, give back to people. Overfishing is a direct act of improperly removing fish before they can reproduce, causing 75% to 90% of various populations to disappear. Plastic waste indirectly makes its way into the ocean, with roughly 70% sinking to the bottom, ruining ecosystems and obstructing sea life communities, and the other 30% sit on top and create the above-mentioned plastic islands.

In addition, shortages of sanitary water have become a growing issue. Nearly half of the world lacks sanitary water, causing disease and many water-contaminated deaths for children, or people with vulnerable immune systems. Water is an essential part to solving general illnesses, such as dehydration, stress and even chronic pain. People, especially children, in developing countries cannot combat sickness with adequate water for both drinking and cleanliness.

Like most problems, these are just a few of the new environmental issues that have been growing, both due to lack of government funding, but more importantly, because of lack of awareness.