Sustainability Assignment

Sustainability is the earth’s ability to change and adapt to changing environmental conditions (Miller,LITE). Our planet will continue to adapt and change forever but, it cannot replenish its resources as fast as we can use them.

Deforestation is a huge problem, and while deforestation rates have slowed in the last few years, they have not slowed enough to make a large difference. Every day we cut down trees, destroying thousands of habitats and ecosystems. Did you know that 70% of the earth’s land animals and plants live in forests? Many of these animals cannot survive the deforestation of their homes. Steps are being taken to counteract the removal of forests. The number of tree plantations in the world grows each year. This will balance the cutting of the trees with the growth of new trees. However, these tree plantations only make up for a fraction of the trees that have already been cut down (National Geographic).

Another problem we are currently faced with is the deoxygenation of our oceans. Deoxygenation is the removal or loss of oxygen in an area (dictionary.com). In our oceans this can be caused by several factors including algae blooms, warming waters, and changing currents. The loss of oxygen makes it impossible to sustain life within these areas. The areas with enough oxygen loss to become uninhabitable are still few but scientists are already trying to head off the problem. They are considering the stimulation of plankton growth to lower CO₂ levels. In order to stimulate plankton growth they would need to disperse large amounts of iron throughout the oceans. They are worried about the possibility of further deoxygenation so they are still looking for other options.(ARS Technica).

The World’s environments are being seriously affected by global warming and our uninhibited use of our natural resources. Whether you are concerned about your local park or a rainforest in South America finding a “greener” way to do the simplest task can make a difference.

Deforestation

Deoxygenation