What's Happening to Our Environment?
Damaging change has already occurred and is most likely going to continue to get worse in the future. Anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise and increase the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Global warming and climate change will undoubtedly continue even if all anthropogenic contributions to atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations were to cease. The focus at this point must be on finding ways of adapting to the changes that have already occurred and will continue to occur in the not too distant future. As we continue to explore what is happening to our environment, we must also examine and evaluate ways we can effectively change our use of energy and other natural resources to help mitigate the impact on global warming and global climate change. Our up and coming generations need to be considering ways to build a sustainable society, locally and globally, by making and promoting wise choices today.
Sea Level Rise and Water Quality
The Queen of England is afraid. International C.E.O.'s are nervous. And the scientific establishment is loud and clear. If global warming isn't halted, devastating sea-level rises will be inevitable by 2100. 2 1 Coastal regions, Manhattan, and parts of Washington, D.C. are among the areas that could find themselves under water. Sea level has risen by approximately 8 inches over the past century after practically no rise in 2000 years. Satellite data available over the past 15 years has shown sea level rising at a rate approximately double the rate observed over the past century. 22
As stated in the Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States report, the Earth's major ice sheets on Greenland and Antarctica are currently losing ice volume by increased melting and calving of icebergs, another contributing factor to sea-level rise. The Greenland Ice Sheet has been experiencing record amounts of surface melting, and a significant increase in the rate of mass loss in the past decade. If the entire Greenland Ice Sheet melted, it would raise sea level by about 20 feet. The Antarctic Ice Sheet consists of two portions, the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. The West Antarctic Ice Sheet, which is more vulnerable to melting, contains enough water to raise global sea levels by approximately 16 to 20 feet. If the East Antarctic Ice Sheet melted entirely, it would raise global sea level by about 200 feet. 23
About 45 percent of the carbon dioxide emitted by human activities in the last 50 years is now stored in the oceans and vegetation. The rest remains in the air. As the ocean absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, seawater becomes less alkaline and more acidic through a process referred to as ocean acidification. The pH of seawater has decreased significantly and is projected to drop much more dramatically by the end of the century if carbon dioxide concentrations continue to increase. Such ocean acidification is essentially irreversible over a period of centuries. 24 What this means is that sea animals and coral reefs are experiencing survival difficulties.
Pollution - Is Plastic the Culprit?
Our oceans have been treated as waste systems swirling our trash in the Subtropical Gyre as if getting it ready to be emptied down the drain, but where is the drain? Did we even think about that before we dumped our waste into the oceans? According to one estimate, plastic constitutes 90 percent of all trash floating in the world's oceans. Plastic particles floating in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is six times the mass of plankton and twice the size of Texas. Many ocean animals eat the plastic particles mistaking it for plankton, which is their natural food. Millions of sea turtles, whales, and birds die because of plastic bag pollution. Because plastic bags do not degrade, when the animals die and decompose the plastic is released back into the environment, either on land or in the water. The largest predators accumulate the highest concentrations of persistent chemicals that stay in the body because they bond with body fat. Plastics have entered the lives and bodies of most people on the planet as early as 1950. One contribution to this fact is that humans eat some of the larger predators in the form of fish or other seafood and some land animals. This can be explained further by the concept of bioaccumulation. Bioaccumulation is the increase in the concentration of a particular substance in a living organism as it ingests contaminated air, water, or food. As bigger animals feed on smaller animals, the level of contamination exposure is increased is as the level in the food eaten is added to the level already in their body from other sources.
Plastic bags also release poisonous materials into the soil damaging water sources. This is seen more frequently in landfills where un-recycled plastic bags are thrown. Plastic bags photo degrade in landfills and in the oceans, which means that sunlight breaks the bags into tiny pieces. Each fragment of the bag releases extremely toxic chemicals into the soil that then contaminate water sources. Plastic bags can then take up to 1000 years to biodegrade. When not disposed of properly they fly away with the wind. They can end up clogging sewers and waterways leading to a potential increase in the risk of flooding, particularly in small towns. 25
In 2007, more than 830 million pounds of plastic bags and film were recycled nationwide, up 27 percent from 2005. It takes about 430,000 gallons of oil to produce 100 million plastic bags, and the U.S. goes through 380 billion of them a year. More than 1.6 billion gallons of oil are used each year for plastic bags alone. Of the 380 billion plastics used in a year 1 percent is recycled. The average household generates 17 pounds of PET bottles annually. When buried some plastic material may last 700 years blocking the natural flow of oxygen and water through the soil. When burned, they release dangerous toxins and carcinogens into the air. The damage is even more severe when the bags end up in the ocean, where thousands of sea turtles and other marine life die each year after mistaking plastic bags for food. 26
Health - Is Plastic the Culprit?
Bisphenol A (BPA) is classified as a synthetic estrogen or an 'endocrine disruptor'. It is used to harden polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resin. There is growing concern that it can cause serious and occasional irreversible damage to health. It has been estimated that 6 billion pounds of BPA are produced annually. BPA is used in the manufacture of water and beverage bottles among other products. According to the Environmental Working Group (www.ewg.org/chemindex/chemicals/bisphenolA), laboratory tests have shown that trace BPA exposure can disrupt the endocrine system and trigger such disorders as chromosomal and reproductive system abnormalities, impaired brain and neurological functions, cancer, cardiovascular system damage, adult-onset of diabetes, early puberty, obesity, and resistance to chemotherapy. It was also hypothesized by Theo Colborn in the late 1980s that reproductive and development disorders might be caused by 'endocrine disrupting' chemicals. 27 In 1997, the FDA found that BPA seeped from polycarbonate water containers into the the bottled water at room temperature and further reported from another study that boiling water increased the rate of seepage. 28
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