ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS

CAUSES:

- The human mind has thrown us out of balance with Nature – great minds have led to technological advances and to
ecological disasters at the same time;

- There has been a dramatic increase of the human impact on Earth;

- An illusion that we are separate from Nature was created and the fundamental notion that we are superior and
separate from nature and other life forms has created havoc;

- selfishness, the economy is valued above everything else and governments do not take this problem seriously – the
economy is placed above nature;

- Everything began in the 1800s with the Industrial Revolution and the beginning of the fossil fuel age – Nature was
converted into a resource and what really mattered was limitless growth and expansion = progress

- In the past we lived on sunlight and due to the use of fossil fuels we have managed to create products off ancient
sunlight – without technology the planet wouldn’t be able to sustain this amount of population – population growth
– overpopulation

- our life / progress is based on non-renewable energy sources - oil is the basis of our life - we are subsidised by oil

- greed

- nature is seen as property

- failure to create / enforce laws to protect the environment

- politicians respond / are supported by the fossil fuel industry.

- Cultural problem – advertising – consumerism – consumer democracy ideology – our time is spent on going to work
and shopping

CONSEQUENCES:

- Revenge of nature after 200 years of Industrial Revolution:

. climate change – massive amounts of CO2 are dumped into the atmosphere due to the burning of fossil
fuels – heat is trapped in the atmosphere because we have added unnatural gases to natural ones;
. heatwaves, wildfires, stronger natural catastrophes (tornadoes, hurricanes…);
. deforestation – land becomes dry – deserts are growing - desertification;
. water scarcity, food deprivation – famine;
. warming of the seas;
. melting of ice caps – rise of the sea level,
. soil degradation – agriculture - soil erosion;
. vanishing wetlands;
. change in rainfall patterns – floods, droughts; change of river flow;
. environmental refugees;
. carbon accumulates in the atmosphere and ocean and all living systems are in decline (ex. coral reefs, which
are the basis of life);
. destruction of ecosystems and of the services they perform for us;
 . impact on our health: huge increase in asthma, ADHD, cancer, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s…
. food is poisoned (heavy metals, plastic…) and is becoming scarce;
. ocean stagnation – mass species extinction;
. overfishing – we are removing billions of animals from the ocean – overfishing;
. low income populations / communities are more at risk

WHAT CAN WE DO?

- We need to recognize that nature is not our property and that it has rights
- Harmony between man and nature
- We need to go from well-having to well-being
- Sustainable living
- We must use our understanding of science to create a culture that will interact with nature in a sustainable
way
- New design with new materials – mass utilization
- Energy from renewable sources
- We should mimic nature in the way it produces and reuses
- Green buildings
- Energy efficient buildings
- Better insulated houses
- Efficient electric cars
- Recycling, reusing, reducing consumption – disengaging from consumerism – “things are thieves of time” –
frugality (wise use of resources)
- Flexible and fluid economy
- (raise) carbon taxes
- Breaking addiction on fossil fuels
- Personal action
- Voting
- Using consumption habits as a weapon
- Take political action
- Lifting levels of awareness
- Societal involvement