 State of the World
»Environmental Destruction
»Social & Economic Injustice
»Militarism & Conflicts
»Increasing Consumption
»Expanding Eco-Footprint
»Third World Debt Good News Concious Choices
»Actions To Take
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| ENVIRONMENTAL DESTRUCTION The planet's natural eco-systems and regenerating bio-capacity are being severely impacted and as a result compromising the ability of the planet to sustain life. Forests, fisheries, oceans, rangeland, fresh water systems (lakes, wetlands, rivers), and other natural ecosystems are all threatened, many on the verge of collapse. Water, land, air is getting increasingly polluted, water tables are falling across the world, soil erosion is leading to expanding deserts, global warming is well underway, and species are dying at an unprecedented rate - 1000 times faster than their natural rate of extinction. Some Facts - We're losing forest at a rate of 375 km2 a day - More than the total area of New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey and Delaware combined or the size of Greece every year.
- The world has lost 80% of the original forests which covered the earth.
- Between 1960-1990, 1.1 billion acres of tropical forest were cleared
- Brazil lost 91.4 million acres of tropical forest between 1980-1990 Almost the total area of North and South Dakota combined.
- At current rates, 5-10% of tropical forest species will become extinct every decade
- 75% of all the fish stocks in the world are already either exploited, over-exploited or recovering. 27% of coral reefs are already lost and 70% of Earth's coral reefs will cease to exist in the next forty years. The world has lost half its coastal wetlands, including mangrove swamps and salt marshes
In next 30 years as many as one-fifth of all species alive today will become extinct. 23% of all mammals and 12% of all birds species were threatened in 2003.Some Resources | |
