Environmental Crisis: Causes, Impacts, and Resource Depletion

Posted on Jan 14, 2025 in Geography

Environmental Crisis: Causes and Consequences

Technological advances and industrial development, while driving the economic system, have been developed outside of a sustainable framework. This has led to serious environmental problems with significant repercussions in the natural world.

This crisis threatens the future of the planet and our current way of life. Key factors contributing to this crisis include:

  • Exponential Population Growth: Concentration in large cities like New York and Tokyo leads to security issues and marginalization in trade.
  • Uncontrolled Resource Consumption: Threatens the economic system’s stability.
  • Air Pollution: A significant issue, particularly in urban areas.
  • Rapid Increase in Greenhouse Gases: Causing abrupt and large-scale climate change.
  • Increased Industrial and Per Capita Waste: Contributing to pollution and resource depletion.
  • General Deterioration of Resources: Pollution affects all resources, especially renewable and potentially renewable ones.
  • Increased Water Stress: Deficits in water quality for human supply and aquatic life.
  • Degradation of Fertile Soils: Erosion is accelerated by deforestation.
  • Forest Destruction: Primarily due to logging.
  • Biodiversity Loss: Caused by habitat destruction.
  • Fishery Depletion: Due to overexploitation.
  • Increased Disparities Between Rich and Poor Countries: Leading to increased immigration.
  • Aggravation of Natural Hazards: Massive settlements in hazardous areas (seismic, volcanic, river plains) exacerbate risks.

Weather and Climate Dynamics

The physicochemical variables that determine climate interact with each other in a feedback loop, forming a complex, nonlinear system that complicates prediction. Many linear systems, such as seismicity, further contribute to this complexity.

Assuming constant solar radiation, we can consider the following factors:

  • Greenhouse effect
  • Albedo
  • Cloud formation (low clouds have an albedo effect)

Environmental Impact: Human Actions and Their Effects

Environmental impact refers to changes in the natural environment caused by human action. There are five main types of modifications:

  • Changes in Soil Use: Agriculture, industry, deforestation, urban development, and neglect of human activities (leading to erosion).
  • Pollution: Emission of substances into the atmosphere, water, and soil; continuous and intense waste generation (traffic, industry).
  • Biodiversity Loss: Reduction of forests, pesticide use, introduction of exotic species, and unsustainable hunting and fishing practices.
  • Overexploitation: Groundwater depletion, unsustainable forestry practices, and petroleum extraction.
  • Visual Impact: Urban planning in mountain areas, beaches, wind farms, landfills, and quarries.

Ranking of Environmental Impacts

According to the Affected System:
  1. Atmosphere: Global warming, noise pollution, air quality degradation, acid rain, ozone depletion.
  2. Water: Oil slicks, overexploitation of aquifers.
  3. Altitude: Public works (airports, highways), mining, quarrying.
  4. Soil: Excessive erosion due to deforestation, loss of fertile soil.
  5. Landscape: Visual impacts on scenic areas of interest (wind farms).
  6. Life: Deforestation, biodiversity loss due to habitat destruction.
By Extension of the Environmental Impact:
  1. Local: Specific and limited impacts (e.g., a landfill).
  2. Regional: Affecting large areas (e.g., oil spills).
  3. Global: Affecting large areas (continents or the entire planet), such as climate change.

Types of Natural Resources

  • Potentially Renewable Resources: Resources that are not renewed in the short term (e.g., groundwater). Aquifers are located above impermeable layers.
  • Renewable Resources: Inexhaustible resources (e.g., wind).
  • Nonrenewable Resources: Found in nature in fixed quantities and formed very slowly (e.g., oil).
  • Natural Resource: Anything that humans obtain from nature to meet their needs (basic or otherwise).

Overexploitation of Natural Resources

Population growth (quadrupled) and high energy demands (increased 16-fold) in the past century are causing an environmental crisis by depleting natural resources. This will lead to a decline in the economic system, which is ultimately limited by ecological constraints.