Environment - Is it getting better? - Chien Nguyen

Environmental concerns are among the most pressing issues that individuals should prioritize. The severity of these problems, such as global warming, carbon emissions, and marine pollution, has been increasing gradually and dramatically. To demonstrate the gravity of these issues, I will present several statistics.

To begin, let us examine a graph depicting the global average temperature. 

As shown, the world's average temperature has steadily risen over the past 140 years, from 1880 to 2020. The average temperature experienced fluctuations between nearly -0.25 degrees Celsius and 0.20 degrees Celsius from 1880 to 1980. However, from 1980 onwards, the figure saw a substantial increase of approximately 0.75 degrees Celsius. It is important to note that while temperatures fluctuate significantly in our local area, global temperatures mainly depend on how much energy the planet receives from the Sun and how much it radiates back into space. The energy from the Sun varies minimally by year, while the amount of energy radiated by Earth is closely linked to the atmosphere's chemical composition, particularly the amount of heat-trapping greenhouse gases.

Carbon dioxide emissions and overpopulation are considered to be among the primary contributors to environmental destruction, according to several researchers. A graph outlining global population changes and carbon emissions from 1927 to 2014 supports this notion. The data shows that as the population grew from 2 billion in 1927 to 7.3 billion in 2014, carbon emissions also increased, reaching approximately 10,000 million tons by 2014. 

Finally, marine pollution has significantly impacted our planet's environment. Research on the amount of microplastics in the eastern tropical Pacific reveals that the region's microplastic levels are expected to increase by 3.9 times compared to 2008 levels by 2030. This quantity may nearly double again by 2050, resulting in a 6.4 times increase compared to 2008 levels. By 2100, unless action is taken, the amount of plastics in the ocean is projected to be over 10 times higher than in 2008. It is crucial to note that the study found that the abundance of microplastics systematically increases over time and across all sampling locations.
In conclusion, the environmental issues we face are not limited to a specific region, but rather they are regional and even global in scale. These issues have caused harm not only to ecosystems and wildlife, but also to human life. It is disheartening but unsurprising to see the increasing frequency of natural disasters worldwide.