Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Land use change, especially in the form of deforestation, is the second largest source of carbon dioxide emissions from human activities, after the burning of fossil fuels. [ 4 ] [ 5 ] Greenhouse gases are emitted from deforestation during the burning of forest biomass and decomposition of remaining plant material and soil carbon .
These impacts can be split into operational impacts (fuel sourcing, global atmospheric and localized pollution) and construction impacts (manufacturing, installation, decommissioning, and disposal). All forms of electricity generation have some form of environmental impact, [ 210 ] but coal-fired power is the dirtiest.
Climate change effects on tropical regions includes changes in marine ecosystems, human livelihoods, biodiversity, degradation of tropical rainforests and effects the environmental stability in these areas. Climate change is characterized by alterations in temperature, precipitation patterns, and extreme weather events.
Mountains cover approximately 25 percent of earth's surface and provide a home to more than one-tenth of global human population. Changes in global climate pose a number of potential risks to mountain habitats. [13] Climate change can adversely affect both alpine tundra and montane grasslands and shrublands.
Rainforests once covered 14% of the earth's land surface; now they cover a mere 6% and experts estimate that the last remaining rainforests could be consumed in less than 40 years. [294] Small scale deforestation was practiced by some societies for tens of thousands of years before the beginnings of civilization. [295]
It is important to conserve the rainforest because many resources for things we use everyday come from the rainforest, including rubber for tires and spices such as cinnamon and many other common items. [9] It is imperative to life on earth that the rainforest be conserved, as the trees take in carbon dioxide to provide oxygen.
Some climate change effects: wildfire caused by heat and dryness, bleached coral caused by ocean acidification and heating, environmental migration caused by desertification, and coastal flooding caused by storms and sea level rise. Effects of climate change are well documented and growing for Earth's natural environment and human societies. Changes to the climate system include an overall ...
Tropical rainforests have been called the "jewels of the Earth" and the "world's largest pharmacy", because over one quarter of natural medicines have been discovered there. [2] Rainforests as well as endemic rainforest species are rapidly disappearing due to deforestation, the resulting habitat loss and pollution of the atmosphere. [3]