What kind of environmental issues are out there?

Question

What kind of environmental issues are out in local, nationwide and planet wide areas?

I'm just a little curious on what's going on around the Earth that we aren't noticing so much of.

(examples are global warming, recycling, forest preserves, etc)

Answer 1

For one of my courses, we have our final project on "The Greatest Environmental Issue", i.e. the most serious threat to the long-term well-being of human population. My professor made this list:

Air Pollution
Decline of Fish Stocks
Forestry/Deforestation
Genetically-Modified Organisms (GMOs)
Global Warming / Climate Change
Loss of Biodiversity
Mineral/Energy Resource Depletiion
Overpopulation
Pesticide Overuse
Soil Degradation/Depletion
Water Pollution (toxic, and/or hormone mimicking)

Hope this helps. I urge you to look into these issues; each one is quite fascinating (and terrifiying!).

Answer 2

Here in Montana, we have an interesting situation developing. Just outside the city (only by Montana standards) of Great Falls a proposed coal fired generating plant is being "protested" (for lack of a better term). It seems that out in the middle of nowhere, neighbors are wary, spurred on by evironmental groups, they are shouting concern about possible pollution and dangers unimaginable to their kids. While on the other side, the supporters of the plant are shouting the virtues of the latest technology being used to clean discharges from the plant. On other matters involved, it appears that the city/county, in a effort to get more business into the area ( and perhaps to offset their less than favorable appearance in squandering money on other ill concieved ideas of drawing other ventures to the area, such as a relatively clean gas fired generating plant debacle and more than a few others) has deftly changed the zoning from agricultural to heavy industrial for the plot of land involved. Lots of questions, lots of legal stuff.

For me, the part I don't understand is: Why take perfectly good productive land out of production, when there is lots of land available which is not only nonproductive but never will be. Why are we taking the chance on buring coal when there is so much gas available which even without cleaning is cleaner than coal at its best. Montana has lots of coal, lots and lots of coal, but there is also gas. Leave the coal in the ground until a method is developed to convert the coal into a cleaner sources of energy.

While I am not an extreme environmentalist nor am I unaware of the need to conserve our planet. This situation strike me as odd, there is something wrong here and I certainly am not smart enough to figure out just what it is that smells so bad. Its the bucks, its gotta be the bucks...and the politics.