What's the biggest environmental issue in your opinion?

[zach]

What's the biggest environmental issue in your opinion?

There are a lot of issues but want do you think is the most urgent or important one we need to address?

I may create a poll on this but wanted to get some feedback from people first.

Here are a few off the top of my head:

• Climate Change/Global Warming
• Overpopulation
• Sustainability (may need to be more specific)
• Pollution (Water/Air/Soil)
• Dependence on fossil fuels/non-renewable energy.

[pignx888]

i think its all of the above since all of them are interconnected in some way

[5thofbizzo.com]

At this exact moment in time for me personally its reliance on fuels. This gas thing is getting out of hand where I'm spending 120$ weekly to go 10 miles to work. This cuts into groceries, which are higher because of the gas prices also. Itss raising the prices of nerarly everything, and forcing millions into foreclosures.

[Rebel]

I'm definitely concerned with overpopulation because it ultimately determines the effect of every other category. 6.4 billion people is far too great a number for sustainability, especially since many of them are overly religious and care only about the afterlife. It's sad to say that human beings, who should have been the protectors of the planet, are now the one's who will not only destroy themselves, but destroy the planet as well if nothing is done soon to combat the horrendous amounts of damage already done to the environment and many other species. It's kinda scary.

[Derek]

Ultimately the issue is Climate Change and conservation of natural resources. Long term, we need to reduce our dependency upon fossil fuels and develop alternative energy technologies. The short term solutions (and really long term) is conservation.

Conservation is our greatest resource. And we can begin to utilize this asset today at very little cost.

Did I answer the poll question?

[supportthewarmth]

I think renewable/sustainable energy sources are the way to go.

[gludeman]

I think overpopulation is the biggest problem. The reason we have severe pollution problems, dwindling natural resources, dependency on fossil fuels, global warming and problems with sustainability is because of world populations. In most cases, humankind has been forced to push the limit of technology and take short-cuts because of their desperate need to keep ahead of the demands of the people. For those of us with easy access to computer, it may be hard to relate, but many of the people of the world are struggling just to survive. Those on the verge of starvation have very little concern for the environment or future generation. They are pretty much willing to do whatever it takes just to get another meal.

Fixing the other issues is important, but it is just a finger-in-the-dike (temporary) solution if population growth is not brought under control. Our planet can only support so many, and most experts agree that we are already past the balance point for sustainability.

[zach]

I agree that these are all interconnected in some way or another.

I think the root cause of a lot of the issues we are seeing is population growth. I'm not sure where population growth turns into over population or how many people is too many. I do know that by living greener and reducing reliance on fossil fuels we will make it possible to sustain a larger population. Whether we can make enough changes to sustain the current population or not, I don't know... but I don't think the current population and our current ways are sustainable.

[earth-list.com]

I think SUSTAINABILITY connects most of the problems we face today. To live sustainably, we must do a combination of things including conserving resources, reducing pollution, balancing population with food supply, and coming up with renewable & clean energy sources.

Sustainability covers all except natural climate change, is there anything else that it doesn't account for?

Earth-List.com: Alternative Energy and Organic Living Business Directory

[Eryn E.]

I'm in favor of the fossil fuels/petroleum being the biggest issue currently. If you think about it, many of the "enviromental issues" today are a result of petroleum and its by-products.

Our oceans: Ever researched the Pacific Garbage Patch (Pacific Gyre)? It's an unbelievably huge trash deposit located at a spot in the ocean where there is hardly any current. What kind of trash? Plastic...of course. And the scary part is it will be there forever since plastic doesn't break down.

Our air: Whether you believe in global warming or not, emissions from petroleum (factories, engines, etc) are severely damaging air quality. I recently learned that in addition to the well known fact that plastic doesn't biodegrade, neither to emissions.

Our land: Landfills are full of plastic (which again doesn't break down). Chemicals from petroleum and its by-products are poisoning the earth, its animals, and ummm...us.

All around, it's pretty scary stuff.

Eryn E.
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