Environmental Issues
State parties to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants Persistent organic pollutants ( POP s) are organic compounds that are resistant to environmental degradation through chemical , biological , and photolytic processes. [ 1 ] Because of this, they have been observed to persist in the environment , to be capable of long-range transport, bioaccumulate in human and animal tissue , biomagnify in food chains , [ 1 ] and to have potential significant impacts on human health and the environment. Many POPs are currently or were in the past used as pesticides . Others are used in industrial processes and in the production of a range of goods such as solvents , polyvinyl chloride , and pharmaceuticals . [ 1 ] There are a few natural sources of POPs [ clarification needed ] , but most POPs are created by humans in industrial processes, either intentionally or as byproducts. [ 1 ] [ edit ] Compounds
Persistent organic pollutant
Food safety is a scientific discipline describing handling, preparation , and storage of food in ways that prevent foodborne illness . This includes a number of routines that should be followed to avoid potentially severe health hazards . The tracks within this line of thought are safety between industry and the market and then between the market and the consumer. In considering industry to market practices, food safety considerations include the origins of food including the practices relating to food labeling , food hygiene , food additives and pesticide residues, as well as policies on biotechnology and food and guidelines for the management of governmental import and export inspection and certification systems for foods.
Food safety
Over-consumption
CO 2 emission per capita per year per country pre-2006 Overconsumption is a situation where resource use has outpaced the sustainable capacity of the ecosystem .
Peak oil
Historical US crude oil production showing similarity to a Hubbert curve Peak oil is the point in time when the maximum rate of petroleum extraction is reached, after which the rate of production is expected to enter terminal decline. [ 1 ] Global production of oil fell from a high point in 2005 at 74 mb/d, but has since rebounded, and 2011 figures show slightly higher levels of production than in 2005. [ 2 ] There is active debate as to how to measure peak oil, and which types of liquid fuels to include. Most of the remaining oil is from unconventional sources. Rough estimates indicate that out of an available 2 trillion barrels of oil, about half has been consumed. Peak oil is determined by the observed production rates of individual oil wells, projected reserves and the combined production rate of a field of related oil wells.
By Terry Macalister, The Guardian Sunday, May 13, 2012 18:07 EDT The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has been warned by its internal research team that there could be a permanent doubling of oil prices in the coming decade with profound implications for global trade.
IMF warns that oil prices could double in ten years
Overdrafting
Overdrafting is the process of extracting groundwater beyond the safe yield or equilibrium yield of the aquifer . Since every groundwater basin recharges at a different rate depending upon precipitation, vegetative cover and soil conservation practises, the quantity of groundwater that can be safely pumped varies greatly among regions of the world and even within provinces.Climate scientists say they have solved riddle of rising sea
By Agence France-Presse Sunday, May 20, 2012 14:01 EDT PARIS — Massive extraction of groundwater can resolve a puzzle over a rise in sea levels in past decades, scientists in Japan said on Sunday.
This article is about the Indian Ocean brown cloud, for China, see Air pollution in China . Aerosols above Eastern India and Bangladesh December 2001 The Indian Asian brown cloud is a layer of air pollution that recurrently covers parts of South Asia , namely the northern Indian Ocean , India , and Pakistan . [ 1 ] [ 2 ] Viewed from satellite photos , the cloud appears as a giant brown stain hanging in the air over much of South Asia and the Indian Ocean every year between January and March, possibly also during earlier and later months. The term was coined in reports from the UNEP Indian Ocean Experiment (INDOEX). [ 3 ]
Asian brown cloud
Global warming
Global mean land-ocean temperature change from 1880–2012, relative to the 1951–1980 mean. The black line is the annual mean and the red line is the 5-year running mean . The green bars show uncertainty estimates.
A summary of the path of the thermohaline circulation. Blue paths represent deep-water currents, while red paths represent surface currents
Shutdown of thermohaline circulation
Extreme weather
Extreme weather includes unusual, severe or unseasonal weather ; weather at the extremes of the historical distribution—the range that has been seen in the past. [ 1 ] The most commonly used definition of extreme weather is based on an event's climatological distribution: Extreme weather occurs only 5% or less of the time.Arctic ice is melting at a record pace, suggesting the region may be ice-free during summer within 30 years. Photograph: Alexandra Kobalenko/Getty Sea ice in the Arctic is melting at a record pace this year, suggesting warming at the north pole is speeding up and a largely ice-free Arctic can be expected in summer months within 30 years. The area of the Arctic ocean at least 15% covered in ice is this week about 8.5m sq kilometres – lower than the previous record low set in 2007 – according to satellite monitoring by the US National Snow and Ice Data Centre (NSIDC) in Boulder, Colorado. In addition, new data from the University of Washington Polar Science Centre, shows that the thickness of Arctic ice this year is also the lowest on record . In the past 10 days, the Arctic ocean has been losing as much as 150,000 square kilometres of sea a day, said Mark Serreze, director of the NSIDC.
Arctic may be ice-free within 30 years
Current sea level rise
Trends in global average absolute sea level, 1870-2008. [ 1 ] Changes in sea level since the end of the last glacial episode. Sea levels around the world are rising. Current sea-level rise potentially affects human populations (e.g., those living in coastal regions and on islands) [ 2 ] and the natural environment (e.g., marine ecosystems ). [ 3 ] Between 1870 and 2004, global average sea levels rose 195 mm (7.7 in). [ 4 ] From 1950 to 2009, measurements show an average annual rise in sea level of 1.7 ± 0.3 mm per year, with satellite data showing a rise of 3.3 ± 0.4 mm per year from 1993 to 2009, [ 5 ] a faster rate of increase than previously estimated. [ 6 ] It is unclear whether the increased rate reflects an increase in the underlying long-term trend. [ 7 ] Two main factors contributed to observed sea level rise. [ 8 ] The first is thermal expansion : as ocean water warms, it expands. [ 9 ] The second is from the contribution of land-based ice due to increased melting.Environmental migrant refers to people who are forced to migrate from or flee their home region due to sudden or long-term changes to their local environment which compromise their well being or secure livelihood, such changes are held to include increased droughts , desertification , sea level rise , and disruption of seasonal weather patterns such as monsoons . [ 1 ] Environmental migrants may flee to or migrate to another country or they may migrate internally within their own country. [ 2 ] However, the term 'environmental migrant' is used somewhat interchangeably with a range of similar terms, such as 'environmental refugee', 'climate refugee', 'climate migrant', although the distinction between these terms is contested.