"There are a tremendous amount of environmental issues that are on the table."
El Rendell
"I don't think global warming is to do with us, I think it's a natural circle. I don't think a few Ferraris make that much difference."
David Bailey
Global Environmental Issues
There are hundreds upon thousands of global environmental issues. These issues involve animals, plants, other organisms, and much more. The main problems we face nowadays are caused by human intervention. Some of the major issues are commonly known, but some aren't. You probably know what global warming, pollution, the greenhouse effect, and deforestation are. But, you may not know what an issue like desertification is.
Desertification Basics and Deserts
Desertification is the issue involving transforming a normal environment into a desert like landscape. Now, we all know what a desert is. A dry, brittle area of land where little rain and precipitation occurs and as an effect is a very difficult climate for most animals and humans to live and adapt to. When you think of a desert, you probably think of a sandy area with lots of cactuses and tumbleweeds. While it is true that many deserts do have this type of environment, like the Sahara and Mojave Desert, many don't. Only about 20% of deserts have the sandy environment. Most are gravel and/or rocks. Believe it or not, Antarctica is actually considered a desert, a cold desert. Combined, both cold and hot deserts form 1/3 of our Earth. We have a desert very close to us, the Colorado Plateau Desert!
What Causes Desertification?
As I mentioned before, desertification is the process of when human interventions cause a dry land to be turned into a desert-like area. Desertification is caused by many factors including overpopulation, erosion, deforestation, overgrazing, over-farming, and climate change. Desertification usually happens to an naturally dry area, though not nearly as dry as a desert. Sudden factors push the environment to extreme changes and tip the fragile scale over and cause the environment change over a period of time to have desert-like qualities.
Overpopulation, when too many people are crowded in an area, can cause desertification. The supplies in the area will be overused because of the need for more resources. More farming is needed in the area, more tress ad plants are cut and trampled on, and more cattle grazes in the area. Overpopulation can majorly trigger the next factors.
As a result of many people being in one area, more supplies are needed and used. So, there will be more farmers and farms to grow crops for food. This may seem good at first, but in a dry area, irrigation is usually needed to farm correctly and efficiently. Irrigation is the process in which water is manipulated towards certain areas to maintain the stability of the area. When used properly, irrigation can be efficient and actually help the environment. But, most of the time in dry environments, irrigation does not help the environment. Irrigation can actually add more salt to the ground if not properly initiated. Irrigation creates an area of dampness and wetness, contrasting to the dry area around it. This can offset the delicate balance in the environment. Also, the wet environment provides a base for contagious illnesses like malaria, a big problem in other countries.
By farming areas will grow other resources, and graze cattle. As we all know, cattle are usually herbivores and eat grass and other small plants and flowers. In a dry environment, not as much rain is received, so not as much grass and plants will grow. The cattle will eat up all the grass, leaving only the brittle ground, which can eventually lead to erosion.
Deforestation can, too, lead to erosion. The farmers will have to grow many trees or other crops and cut them down to provide wood for resources. If this is done frequently enough, and no plants or trees are regrown, deforestation can happen, very similar to overgrazing. Without the trees, the land will be left without with just dirt, which can lead to erosion.
Erosion is caused when the dirt, soil, and sand is left without anything to protect it. Usually, the trees, grass, and other plants protected the dirt, because they held onto it. The wind would blow on the dirt, but it would be gripped by the plants and held firmly in place. Without a protectant, the dirt would be easily caught by wind or water and sent meters or even miles away. This would leave only the brittle ground, because the wind would take away the top layers, the ones that were dam and received the rain. Now, the ground would be dry and cracked. Normally, plants would just grow back and the process would start again, but the new ground had not built up dampness. So, the plants that would normally grow there would be inadequate because there would be no water and moisture to support them.
What Happens Now?
Now, once the ground is brittle, dry, and cracked, the environment can't support life. The people would move on to a new environment once they realized their home one was inadequate to support life. Animals have nothing to eat or drink, so they too would move on. This would leave the area barren, like a desert. The area has now transformed from a normal ecosystem to a dry and barren lifestyle where almost nothing can grow.
The Facts
As we established before, desertification usually happens in dry areas called dry lands. According to a recent study, 10% of all dry lands are affected by desertification because of human involvement. Dry lands usually account for the lowest qualities of life, poor drinking water, and a high breeding ground for illnesses. Africa and Asia are the main continents where desertification occurs. Dry lands and desertification affected areas and frequently affected by dust storms, causing problems in health and eyesight.
Conclusion
Desertification is a major problem for humanity, all because of human-induced reasons, most as a result of overpopulation. People in dry lands are especially affected by this issue. Already approximately one third of our Earth is a desert, so we need to prevent this number from becoming more. In order to do this, we need to take serious steps in trying to limit the human impact on the environment.