Top Climate Change Issues We’re Facing in 2023
The issues of climate change and the destruction of our world sadly did not stay in 2022. Even though several protests, speeches, and gatherings have taken place to change the issues, we haven't seen much initiative from the political side of the matter, only the initiative to make it worse. Here's the breakdown of everything we are facing and possible solutions.
Plastic Pollution
Plastic is everywhere, in every room and in every body of water. No matter where you walk, there will be a piece of plastic in your path. Yes action has been taken for this issue, but few people join to help. So what does this mean for our planet?
500 billion plastic cups alone are used every year on earth. Not only that but in one single minute humans use 1.2 million plastic bottles. But more than half of those plastic bottles are thrown in the trash can as opposed to the recycling bin, or just tossed on the ground. Only a third of those bottles are actually recycled or used for other purposes. Now where does all that plastic that's thrown on the floor go? Sadly, the ocean, which makes up the majority of the planet, is filled with 75 to 199 million tons of plastic. The effect of this kills over 1 million marine animals and 100,000 mammals yearly.
With this extreme plastic pollution, it can not only poison the animals, but also the planet. Plastic continues to pollute our planet for hundreds of years. This is because forgotten plastic that is in the ocean and on land takes over 500 years to decompose. For Californians, there is a new law that makes vendors that use plastic packaging responsible for the waste of their products. Therefore if a company's packaging is found on the ground that contains plastic, then the company will be required to pay a fine due to the pollution. This was put in place to hopefully curb the amount of plastic that ends up in the ocean, because once it's out there, it's unlikely to be retrieved.
Water Shortages
When people think of water shortages, many think about a water pipe being shut off for a day or a lake's water levels lowering. In reality, it's far worse than that. In the United States alone, 2.2 million people are without running water and standard plumbing. Unfortunately, 44 million people in the U.S. have inadequate water systems, meaning that they do not pass code or are simply faulty.
Droughts are a wide spreading problem due to climate change. Livestock, ecosystems, vegetation, and livestock are all affected by drought. Droughts can also cause more fires due to the land being so dried out. This makes the fires larger than we are able to put out because of the lack of water resources. These fires release enormous amounts of carbon dioxide, brown carbon, and black carbon into our atmosphere.
Our largest supply of water, the Colorado River, is continuing to dry up. The river provides water to seven U.S. States to 40 million people. This has been deemed as the worst drought in the last 12 centuries. Climate change hasn't helped in the challenge to change this environmental disaster.
Water Pollution
Aside from plastic, there is far more contaminating our sources of water. Other major pollutants include trash, parasites, chemicals, and bacteria. These substances lead to a lack of potable water, an increase in diseases, and the contamination of the food chain. Due to the droughts, whenever it rains, it feels like a blessing and that we need it. Yes we do, but what is in the rain water? Everytime it rains, animal waste from farms, fertilizers, and pesticides, infect our waterways. This happens because of evaporation through the world combined with the chemicals.
In addition, every week on the news, there is at least one report of an oil spill. Oil spills are localized, meaning that they not only contaminate beaches and land, but also marine life. A single gallon of oil contaminates more than one million gallons of water. 134 million gallons of oil have been spilled into the water while there's 352 quintillion gallons of water in the ocean.
Taking action against the pollution of our water is important to not only us, but the future generations as well. Not only is water a vital need for our human bodies to function, it's also a predominant source in cooking, cleaning, and showering. Mobile devices that cloud a lot of today's pollution all use and contain water in their production. Extreme pollution to our bodies of water and systems can damage the bodies and digestion for many of our wildlife.
In addition, every week on the news, there is at least one report of an oil spill. Oil spills are localized, meaning that they not only contaminate beaches and land, but also marine life. A single gallon of oil contaminates more than one million gallons of water. 134 million gallons of oil have been spilled into the water while there's 352 quintillion gallons of water in the ocean.
Air Pollution
The main causes of air pollution are fuel oils and natural gasses used to heat a home, coal-fueled power plants, fumes from chemical production, and vehicle emission. Air pollution is made up of particles of chemicals that can harm the health of humans and animals by increasing the risk of infections in the respiratory system, lung cancer, and heart diseases. It also negatively affects plants and agriculture.
The Willow Project
If you've been on social media, then you most likely have seen the rallying and online protests of a proposal called the Willow Project. This project, proposed by ConocoPhillips', is a project that supports willow oil and gas drilling in Alaska.
This $6 billion project would be located in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska. This reserve is 23 million acres which is the largest area of land in the United States that has yet to be disturbed.
This is the largest oil extraction project ever to take place, and will release over 250 million metric tons of carbon dioxide into our atmosphere. This project requires 250 wells, with 389 miles of pipelines, and 37 miles of roads. This project will highly affect the earth's ecosystem and environment.
The wildlife of Alaska is one of its key components to what makes it Alaska. If the willow project gets approved, there will be a decrease in population of its most sacred animals. Creators like polar bears, penguins, the American Pika, seals, arctic wolves and foxes, walruses, and deer will go extinct.
What We Can Do
Try to steer away from buying products that use plastic and other harsh materials. If plastic is bought, which is somewhat inevitable, then make sure it is properly rinsed and thrown into the recycling. When purchasing menstrual products check to see if they are compostable and will decompose, like the brand August, which provides wrappers for the products that dissolve in water! When walking on the beach or sidewalk, pick up any spare trash and plastic you see and put it in the right bins to reduce the intake of them in the ocean.
Also conserve water! Water is a main component to how all of us live. Places all over the world are without water and plumbing, therefore we should cherish and save the water, rather than taking 30 minute showers and leaving the water running while brushing your teeth. Use left over water to water plants outside even.
No matter how hard we try, the damage has been done. We need to sign petitions and participate in protests to take care of our planet. Small everyday actions will only carry us so far — broader action is needed.
