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Global Issues

What is a global issue?

In these pages, we shall look at certain matters that have to be tackled by every one of us on Earth in a collective manner. So far, we saw how our actions affect only us, the neighbourhood we live in and the country we live in, at a broader level.
Isn’t that enough?

No, we need to look at certain actions of ours that affect the whole earth. What happens in one part of the world can affect a country or region very far away from it.
How is it so?
Do you remember the tsunami that washed over much of South East Asia has affected animal and plant life in this region? Environmentalists believe that human habitation too close to the coasts and the removal of the mangroves has aggravated the impact.

Shaheen’s quote: It is believed that humans have been responsible for the steep increase in the rate of extinction of animals in just over 50 years.

There are many other issues that cannot be ignored and need a united effort by all the member countries in this world. These are not limited to a region or continent.

What is done in one country could have far reaching consequences in a country that is very far away. So, it becomes necessary to take action at a global level. For instance, members of one country cannot rest by saying that they’ve cleaned their country of pollutants or greenhouse gases, so they need not bother about others.

Let’s take a look at the problems that plague the health of the environment and see what is being done about them by the world. These are also known as environmental hazards:

The issues that are of major concern are:
1. Natural Hazards
2. Environmental disasters
3. Climate Change and Global Warming
4. Ozone Depletion
5. Deforestation
6. Biodiversity
7. Human Population
8. Transportation and Fuel
9. Waste
What is a natural hazard?

According to the Wikipedia, a natural hazard is an event that has an effect on people resulting from the natural processes in the environment.

Shaheen’s quote: “I need to look at my actions and see how they affect the whole Earth. (These two statements don’t connect!)I never knew that the UAE lies along a fault line! We have experienced mild tremors in recent years. My friends in Dubai and Fujairah felt a slight swaying of objects for a whole minute!”
1. Earthquakes

It is quite literally the shaking or trembling of the earth’s surface. It occurs along the ‘fault lines’ in our Earth’s crust.

You may have witnessed one or watched scenes on TV or film. You might hear a slight rattle or see objects swaying gently. In severe cases, buildings collapse, trapping people under the debris.
Are all earthquakes disastrous?

Some are mild and some are strong.

Scientists have found a way of measuring the intensity of an earthquake. The Richter scale is the most widely accepted yardstick, against which the intensity of an earthquake is measured.

Earthquakes below 4.0 on the Richter scale usually do not cause damage, and earthquakes below 2.0 usually can’t be felt. Earthquakes over 5.0 on the scale can cause damage. A magnitude 6.0 earthquake is considered strong and a magnitude 7.0 is a major earthquake.

The 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake

This earthquake triggered a series of tsunamis across the Indian Ocean. It measured 9.1 to 9.3 on the Richter scale. It is considered one of the deadliest disasters in our modern history. At this magnitude, it is the second largest earthquake ever recorded on a seismograph. This earthquake was also reported to be the longest duration of faulting ever observed, lasting between 500 and 600 seconds, and it was large enough that it caused the entire planet to vibrate at least half an inch, or over a centimetre. The disaster is known in Asia and in the international media as the Asian Tsunami, and also called the Boxing Day Tsunami in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom as it took place on Boxing Day. Many people have lost their lives and homes, leaving young children orphaned and homeless.
2. Tsunamis

A tsunami (pronounced soo-naa-mi), is a series of huge waves that occur as a result of an undersea earthquake or a volcanic eruption. Tsunami is a Japanese word that means ‘harbor wave’, and the waves travel in all directions from the source of disturbance. These waves can travel at speeds greater than 450 miles per hour in the open sea.

When they approach shallow coastal waters, they gain great height and smash against the shore. It can rise up to 100 ft. when it touches the coast. The tsunami that swept across the Indian Ocean in 2004 brought so much destruction that people are still struggling to get back to living normally.
3. Hurricanes

You may have heard of the havoc caused by Hurricane Katrina in the US in the summer of 2005 and seen pictures of people’s homes being flooded and even torn away, displacing many people.

‘Hurricane, tropical cyclone, and typhoon are different names for the same phenomenon. It is a cyclonic storm system that forms over the oceans. It is caused by evaporated water that comes off of the ocean and becomes a storm. Hurricane is used for these phenomena in the Atlantic Ocean, tropical cyclone in the Indian, typhoon in the eastern Pacific.’ Wikipedia.

They rotate in an anti clockwise direction around a central point or ‘eye’ and gain speeds of at least 74 miles per hour. This is why they are very destructive. It is very important that hurricane warnings are taken seriously and people should stay away from the sea at such times.
4. Environmental disasters

Human activities have changed the ecosystem in such a manner that it has widespread and/or long-lasting consequences. It can include the deaths of animals (including humans) and plant systems, or severe disruption of human life, possibly requiring migration. Anthropogenic environmental disasters are disasters caused by human activities. The causes for such disasters can be chemical spills, oil spills, nuclear disasters or even war.

Some of the World’s Worst Environmental Disasters:

1. Bhopal: the Union Carbide gas leak
2. Chernobyl: Russian nuclear power plant explosion
3. Seveso: Italian dioxin crisis
4. The 1952 London smog disaster
5. Major oil spills of the 20th and 21st century
6. The Love Canal chemical waste dump
7. The Baia Mare cyanide spill
8. The European BSE crisis
9. Spanish waste water spill
10. The Three Mile Island near nuclear disaster
5. Climate change

It refers to variation or changes in the Earth’s global climate or in regional climate over time. It describes the changes in the atmosphere ranging from decades to millions of years. You may have watched the animated movies Ice Age and its sequel Ice Age 2. It showed how the entire earth was covered in ice due to natural causes.
What causes climate change?

These changes could be due to Earth’s internal processes, external forces or human activities. Among the natural causes, it could be a continental drift, volcanoes, ocean currents, comets and meteorites.
Why do we need to worry if it’s a natural process?

Natural causes affect the climate over a great period of time, in fact, millions of years. But human activities are speeding this change.
What human activities contribute to climate change?
- Burning of fossil fuels like coal and petrol releases a lot of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere
- Cultivation of paddy releases harmful greenhouse gas, methane.
- Cutting down trees in forests to make timber, paper and to clear space for cultivation and buildings makes the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere go up.
- Increasing waste also releases the harmful gas methane.

How do human activities affect our climate?

What can we expect in our future?
- When the earth’s temperature rises, our ice caps will melt.
- When the ice caps and glaciers melt, the water will flow into the seas and cause sea levels to rise.
- Homes of animals living in the cold Polar Regions will disappear and so will their food. The polar bear is already in danger of dying out, so are some penguins.
- When the sea levels rise, low lying islands and coastlines on Earth will sink.
- Weather patterns will change in an erratic manner. Natural disasters like hurricanes and tornadoes may increase in frequency.
- Rainfall will be affected, so cultivation may be impossible. Even drinking water will be scarce. Diseases will spread.

	EIA Energy
	Edugreen
	UNEP Ozone Action
	World Wild Life
	Breathing earth
	CITES
	World Wild Life
	UAE interact
	Clean Air Kids
	Tiki the Penguin
	Just for Kids
	Kids Recycling Zone
	Water Footprint
	Save Water
	Kid Zone
	Eco Friendly Kids
	Kids F.A.C.E
	EPA Environmental Kids Club