Environmental Issues of the 21st Century

“Today human actions have become major forces in the operation of the earth system. They increasingly challenge the system boundaries of the planet, which will result in fundamental, unprecedented and unpredictable changes in the earth system (UNEP, 2012).” This is the most important perspective we have to consider as we enter and currently live in the era provided by the 21st century. Everything happening in this world is dependent or, if not, manipulated, by human beings. We have become the most superior entity on this planet to the point that we can tinker and choose our planet’s destiny. Given this notion, the most infamous environmental concern which got into our senses from the time we hit this century “can [simply] be categorized according to the major themes of global environmental change– water, climate change, the marine environment, and so on (UNEP, 2012).” This phenomenon or change in natural trends, habitats, and, is of course, caused by the acts of us humans, being the superiors of this natural cycle. There are numerous aspects of environmental change like water, climate, etc. But what we all know is that the reason behind these changes is collectively bound by the excessive and iniquitous acts of man because of their inventions and stubbornness. Change in water is caused by water pollutants which come from factories and garbage which is a product of man. Change in climate is due to greenhouse gases which come from burning of chemically hazardous wastes which is made by man and burned by man. Change in marine environment is cause by excessive fishing, and water pollutants as well which are both acts of man and products of man. These are just a few examples of how some aspects of environmental change are done. From here, we can derive the idea that these changes in trends and systems in nature are all put together by man and their acts. To make it a lot more concrete and practical, probably the most

Cited: UNEP, 2012. 21 Issues for the 21st Century: Result of the UNEP Foresight Process on Emerging Environmental Issues. United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Nairobi, Kenya, 56pp.