“How serious is the environmental problem?

Answer 1

Well there's a lot of people who come out with the same old rubbish about it being scaremongering yet can't find any facts to back their statements up. Then there's those who use outdated imagery (filthy tree huggers etc) to try to discredit those who are standing up and saying something. Then also there's those who are so scared their only answer is 'I didn't sign the treaty' (BUSH) because they know the problem is so bad they don't have the faintest idea of how to start fixing it.
So yeah, it's pretty serious!!!
Do a bit of reading, have a look around you...can you see things changing....you don't need to be a scientist to see whats happening in this world you just need to open your eyes and think for yourself rather than listening to idiots like business people who think that the environment is bad for business......no planet is bad for business but they don't think that it'll affect them!

Answer 2

Well, let's look at it in the simplest sense.

RIght now, we've only got one planet (with all the animal, vegetable, and mineral matter associated with that), complete with atmosphere, habitable land, arable land (which is sometimes the same thing), and water.

If things are happening to reduce the amount of these available to our own or future generations - without replacing it with something of equivalent value - then there's a serious problem. If there's lots of resources (I'm lumping all the goodies into one basket for simplicity's sake!) and more being made, then there's no problem.

The only way for you to realize what is happening is to take a good look around you at what is happening; are there more signs of illness in humanity? In the local flora and fauna? Are there things that used to be nearby that no longer are available? Are species going extinct? Is the available material (on a per-person basis) becoming more ... or less?

Once you've decided which direction the road (and therefore humanity) is currently going, then you have to decide whether it's serious or not. Kind of like estimating the slope of something ... are we headed down the path slowly, or quickly? Remember, the basic assumption was that there's only the one planet to draw from ... which, for the forseeable future, is the only practical alternative.

You have to decide for yourself - and then act accordingly.

Answer 3

ive just copy/pasted this from a previous answer of mine that pretty much got slammed, it's straight out of my science textbooks that one person assumed was Government approved propaganda...which is far from the truth

take from it as you will

hopefully, you'll agree


Two of the most important greenhouse gases are water vapour and CO2

to appreciate and fully understand human contribution to the rise in co2 levels in the atmosphere...it would be great to understand the entire carbon cycle

a change in one carbon resevoir can profoundly affect other resevoirs and this appears to be the case when considering human contribution to the otherwise natural carbon cycle.

The amount of co2 in the atmospheric carbon resevoir is controlled by the global carbon cycle.

One of the major and important carbon resevoirs are rocks, which store carbon for up to millions of years. Even small changes in this resevoir as I mentioned, can profoundly affect the atmospheric resevoir, (which appears to be the case)...increasing the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and therefore having an effect on climate changes.

Burning fossil fuels only accelerates the release of carbon stored in the rock resevoir, about 20 times faster than natural processes.

So in short, humans have upset the entire balance of the carbon cycle by burning fossil fuels...deforestation etc...

The proportion of co2 in the atmosphere has risen significantly over the past 250 years and will continue to do so unless we change our ways....not even volcanoes can be blamed for this dramatic increase....if you think about it....the rises are relative to the rise in human economic industrialization, on a global scale.

Human activity may "appear" to be an insignificant contribution...but when you understand the science, you'll soon learn that even small changes can and DO have dramatic effects.

What I would say to anyone wishing to understand this topic more, and as I've said in many of my answers, is go and learn the science, forget blogs, forget newspapers, forget opinions...because all of these can be biased....scientists on the whole, base their interpretations on facts.

Answer 4

This is a very serious problem, if we don't sort the problem as soon as possible sooner or later the world will be too hot to live on and the heat from the sun will cook us all.

Answer 5

Dont get sucked into this media scare mongering.You bet ya some one is making a lot of money by panicing people into thinking were all gonna die in the next 20 years its a load of c**p

Answer 6

The problem would be that an educated person would even ask the question.

Answer 7

So serious that of we dont change within 25 years there will be nothing we can do.

Answer 8

which one? there are loads...

the global warming thing is really bad, if we shut down all of the UK's power stations in 18 months china would have made up for the loss in emmisions.

Answer 9

Deadly serious.