Practical action

All the suggested actions on the previous pages must happen worldwide if they are to be successful. This demands much more international cooperation, especially between rich and poor nations. The trouble is that politicians tend to be more concerned with gaining support in their own countries in the short-term, than with the long-term future of the world and its people.

Many people believe that even all these actions will not be enough, and that we must all make very great changes in the way we live. They are working towards this in what is known as the green movement. This used to be called the ecology movement.

At the moment it is mainly charity organizations, that are successfully helping the world’s poor to help themselves.

Population and resources

The human population is increasing at such a rate that both the environment and the balance of nature are threatened.

The earth has enough resources to support its population of 5 billion and more. But at present this is not happening. Millions of people in the poor world are living in hunger and poverty. The population problem is not so much “too many people” or “not enough land”, as not managing to properly feed and support the growing populations.

Population problems do not necessarily come from a shortage of land: Holland has a high population density but no problem, because it can afford to feed its population. India and Brazil have more land per person, but have a problem because they are poor.

Chemicals in farming

In today’s intensive farming the natural nitrogen and mineral cycles are neglected. Very little natural organic waste is returned to the soil, resulting in reduced levels of minerals and humus, and lower productivity. To make up for this, farmers add chemical fertilizers to the soil. These often cause environmental and health damage, e.g. when washed into rivers and lakes, eventually ending up in drinking water.

Many powerful chemicals are also used to fight pests, weeds and diseases in order to keep productivity high. These pesticides, herbicides and fungicides have long-lasting and damaging effects on food webs wherever they are used. The chemicals often remain on the plants which have been sprayed, and can damage human health when these are eaten.

The greenhouse effect

Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere plays an important role in warming the earth by trapping the sun’s heat, in what is called the greenhouse effect. Since industrialization, the burning of fossil fuels has greatly increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

The future effects of this build-up on global temperatures can only be guessed at. Some experts predict that temperatures will rise, melting the polar ice packs, raising sea levels to flood coastal areas, and resulting in large-scale changes in climate and agriculture around the world.

To keep the level of carbon dioxide from rising further we must increase our use of renewable energy-efficient.

1.15. Read the text Conservation of the Land and answer the questions after it. Use a dictionary if necessary.