Self- Portrait of the Crisis
“A nation that destroys its soil destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people.” —Franklin D. Roosevelt
Regarding the crisis we found in the lake, one of the topics we highlighted was POLLUTION.
As a sort of personal manifesto I designed a self-portrait related to that topic. As that pollution affects the land, the lake and its inhabitants, it will eventually make it an irrelevant land for living. We have to solve these kind of problems and make them a problem of first importance or otherwise we will suffer ourselves and will inhibit the next generation dust, a lot of waste & garbage.
I wanted to show the environmental crisis as wrong land use, erosion, pollution, fires that most of the time intentionally and unintentionally have caused disasters with my poster, and to scream the truth that if we don't stop immediately it will cost our lives.Nature is as fragile as we are - it feels the pain just like us, and I wanted to represent that with my mouth shut, and my eyes that speak more that words ever can.
Our environment is constantly changing. There is no denying
that. However, as our environment changes, so does the need to become
increasingly aware of the problems that surround it. With a massive influx of
natural disasters, warming and cooling periods, different types of weather
patterns and much more, people need to be aware of what types of environmental
problems our planet is facing.
Pollution: Pollution of air, water and
soil require millions of years to recoup. Industry and motor vehicle exhaust
are the number one pollutants. Heavy metals, nitrates and plastic are toxins
responsible for pollution. While water pollution is caused by oil spill, acid
rain, urban runoff; air pollution is caused by various gases and toxins
released by industries and factories and combustion of fossil fuels; soil
pollution is majorly caused by industrial waste that deprives soil from
essential nutrients.
Global Warming: Climate changes like global
warming is the result of human practices like emission of Greenhouse gases.
Global warming leads to rising temperatures of the oceans and the earth’
surface causing melting of polar ice caps, rise in sea levels and also unnatural
patterns of precipitation such as flash floods, excessive snow or
desertification.
Overpopulation: The population of the planet
is reaching unsustainable levels as it faces shortage of resources like water,
fuel and food. Population explosion in less developed and developing countries
is straining the already scarce resources. Intensive agriculture practiced to
produce food damages the environment through use of chemical fertilizer,
pesticides and insecticides. Overpopulation is one of the crucial current
environmental problem.
Natural Resource Depletion:
Fossil fuel consumption results in emission of Greenhouse gases, which is
responsible for global warming and climate change. Globally, people are taking
efforts to shift to renewable sources of energy like solar, wind, biogas and
geothermal energy.
Waste Disposal: The over consumption of
resources and creation of plastics are creating a global crisis of waste
disposal. Developed countries are notorious for producing an excessive amount
of waste or garbage and dumping their waste in the oceans and, less developed
countries. Nuclear waste disposal has tremendous health hazards associated with
it. Plastic, fast food, packaging and cheap electronic wastes threaten the well
being of humans. Waste disposal is one of urgent current environmental problem.
Climate Change: Climate change is yet another
environmental problem that has surfaced in last couple of decades. It occurs
due to rise in global warming which occurs due to increase in temperature of
atmosphere by burning of fossil fuels and release of harmful gases by
industries. Climate change has various harmful effects but not limited to
melting of polar ice, change in seasons, occurrence of new diseases, frequent
occurrence of floods and change in overall weather scenario.
Loss of Biodiversity: Human
activity is leading to the extinction of species and habitats and and loss of
bio-diversity. Eco systems, which took millions of years to perfect, are in
danger when any species population is decimating. Balance of natural processes
like pollination is crucial to the survival of the eco-system and human
activity threatens the same. Another example is the destruction of coral reefs
in the various oceans, which support the rich marine life.
Deforestation: Our forests are natural sinks
of carbon dioxide and produce fresh oxygen as well as helps in regulating
temperature and rainfall. At present forests cover 30% of the land but every
year tree cover is lost amounting to the country of Panama due to growing
population demand for more food, shelter and cloth. Deforestation simply means
clearing of green cover and make that land available for residential,
industrial or commercial purpose.
Ocean Acidification: It is
a direct impact of excessive production of CO2. 25% of CO2 produced by humans.
The ocean acidity has increased by the last 250 years but by 2100, it may shoot
up by 150%. The main impact is on shellfish and plankton in the same way as
human osteoporosis.
Ozone Layer Depletion: The ozone
layer is an invisible layer of protection around the planet that protects us
from the sun’s harmful rays. Depletion of the crucial Ozone layer of the
atmosphere is attributed to pollution caused by Chlorine and Bromide found in
Chloro-floro carbons (CFC’s). Once these toxic gases reach the upper
atmosphere, they cause a hole in the ozone layer, the biggest of which is above
the Antarctic. The CFC’s are banned in many industries and consumer products.
Ozone layer is valuable because it prevents harmful UV radiation from reaching
the earth. This is one of the most important current environmental problem.
Acid Rain: Acid rain occurs due to the
presence of certain pollutants in the atmosphere. Acid rain can be caused due
to combustion of fossil fuels or erupting volcanoes or rotting vegetation which
release sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere. Acid rain
is a known environmental problem that can have serious effect on human
health, wildlife and aquatic species.
Water Pollution: Clean drinking water is
becoming a rare commodity. Water is becoming an economic and political issue as
the human population fights for this resource. One of the options suggested is
using the process of desalinization. Industrial development is filling our
rivers seas and oceans with toxic pollutants which are a major threat to human
health.
Urban Sprawl: Urban sprawl refers to
migration of population from high density urban areas to low density rural
areas which results in spreading of city over more and more rural land. Urban
sprawl results in land degradation, increased traffic, environmental issues and
health issues. The ever growing demand of land displaces natural environment
consisting of flora and fauna instead of being replaced.
14: Public Health Issues: The
current environmental problems pose a lot of risk to health of humans, and
animals. Dirty water is the biggest health risk of the world and poses threat
to the quality of life and public health. Run-off to rivers carries along
toxins, chemicals and disease carrying organisms. Pollutants cause respiratory
disease like Asthma and cardiac-vascular problems. High temperatures encourage
the spread of infectious diseases like Dengue.
Genetic Engineering: Genetic
modification of food using biotechnology is called genetic engineering. Genetic
modification of food results in increased toxins and diseases as genes from an
allergic plant can transfer to target plant. Genetically modified crops can
cause serious environmental problems as an engineered gene may prove toxic to
wildlife. Another drawback is that increased use of toxins to make insect
resistant plant can cause resultant organisms to become resistant to
antibiotics.
The need for change in our daily lives and the movements of
our government is growing. Because so many different factors come into play;
voting, governmental issues, the desire to stick to routine, many people don’t
consider that what they do will affect future generations. If humans continue
moving forward in such a harmful way towards the future, then there will be no
future to consider. Although it’s true that we cannot physically stop our ozone
layer from thinning (and scientists are still having trouble figuring out what
is causing it exactly,) there are still so many things we can do to try and put
a dent in what we already know. By raising awareness in your local community
and within your families about these issues, you can help contribute to a more
environmentally conscious and friendly place for you to live.
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