The Earth has a big 'To Do' list

 

Since the end of the last ice age, humans have developed tools and machines and have modified the land for agriculture and long-term settlement. As the population has grown and new technologies have spread across cultures and continents, more and more of the planet’s resources have been pressed into serving the species. In the process, human activities have disrupted the natural order of the environment by depopulating and eliminating species and adding harmful chemicals to the air, water, and soil—activities that are changing the climate and the structure and function of ecosystems, as well as the biological communities they contain. Solving the critical environmental problems of global warming, water scarcity, pollution, and biodiversity loss are perhaps the greatest challenges of the 21st century. Will we rise to meet them?

 

 GLOBAL WARMING

Collectively, the weight of human beings and their activities are changing the face of Earth. The lights of cities can be seen from orbit; large areas that were once forests, wetlands, and grasslands have been transformed into agricultural land; and the gases produced by vehicles and other machines are slowly altering the planet’s atmosphere, by adding chemicals that strengthen the atmosphere’s ability to trap heat energy. By the end of the 20th century, greenhouse gas emissions from human activities had become so great that they had begun to influence temperature and precipitation patterns, and scientists and other experts began to worry how these changes would affect natural ecosystems, the reliability of crop production, and our future way of life.

 

BIODIVERSITY

Each organism on Earth represents the successful lines of millenia of natural selection, and each species fills specific roles in the ecosystems it inhabits and shapes. We still rely directly on many wild plants and animals for food, and many have been the source of important pharmaceuticals or the inspiration for technological breakthroughs. Beyond their economic value to humans, plants and animals bring us joy and enrichment in their beauty and novelty. Our lives would certainly be less beautiful and interesting without songbirds, majestic giraffes, wildflowers, thrilling sharks, or life and oxygen producing rainforests, wouldn’t they?
While organisms have always come and gone over the course of our planet’s history, modern biodiversity loss is human-caused and extinctions are occurring about 1,000 times faster than natural rates. Animals from whales to bees, and plants of all shapes and sizes are threatened by human development, overexploitation, pollution, and global warming. We have permanently lost so many unique and fascinating organisms, and many others are teetering at the brink of extinction. The to-do list for protecting our precious biodiversity is long, but international agreements, nature preserves, and action to halt poaching and other forms of overexploitation are already making an impact.

WATER CRISIS
Water is essential to life. Less than 1% of Earth’s water is usable fresh water. Unlimited access
to clean, safe water is taken for granted in many places, but water scarcity is a growing concern worldwide. Overuse, increasing demand, pollution, poor management, lack of infrastructure, and changes in weather patterns due to global warming are key stressors that affect the availability of fresh water. Many major cities across the globe are at risk of a water crisis, and water stress is projected to increase in most countries in the coming decades, threatening regional stability and raising the possibility of forced migrations. In addition, the issue of water availability is not just a human problem—our demands on lakes, rivers, and streams can dramatically harm ecosystems and the natural processes that require water.
Water scarcity is a growing concern worldwide. Unsustainable and ever-growing demands on our freshwater resources have taxed aquifers and surface waters in many places, harming ecosystems and threatening future economic growth. A regional water crisis, often triggered by drought, can result in famine, forced migration, and other humanitarian emergencies.

THE EARTH HAS A BIG 'TO DO LIST' AND ONLY ABOUT A DOZEN YEARS TO ACCOMPLISH IT.
It requires a complete change of attitude and a lifestyle change. During the war years our grandparents learned to ration food, clothes and necessities of life. They survived quite well and we need to adopt that kind of attitude now.
Conserve water and energy as much as possible. Don't take long road trips unless you have to. Use public transit whenever it's possible. Recycle or re-use everything you can.  Do community service like volunteering to clean up litter or plant trees. Pass on climate information to others. And most important …. lobby or petition your state and federal governments to join the rest of the world in coming to a concrete agreement on how we will slow global warming and stop the climate from changing. It's essential that we join hands around the world and make this our global priority.