The Expert answers:
There isnt just one, there are many interelated factors the one thing causing the other which has effects that cause something else to give you a picture i must mention all of them and i have included some solutions
these are some Mega threats that endanger the planet and some solutions
over population,erosian,over pumping of carbon aquifiers(deep wells)
desertification,rising seas,land loss,deforrestation.excess carbon emissions,mass extinction of species and global warming.
DEFORRESTATION if it continues ,is that we could end up looking like Mars.Without an atmosphere ,without water,without air,with out life
the forrests make most of the water that we can drink or use for plant growth(sweet water)
some is condensed from the sea but that reaches only the coastel aereas .
The bulk ,comes from the forests ,and the rivers come from the rainfall which comes from the trees ,
and the trees with precipitation,feed the rivers when it is not raining and keep them running all year round.
If we kill all the trees,we kill the rivers .we kill the rain. We kill us.
The trees also absorb the heat in the day and heat up the place in the night ,so they keep the temperature confertable to live in.
In the dessert the nights are freezing cold and during the days you burn up
CARBON MONOXIDE
the trees absorb carbon emisions ,which is poison to us and they produce oxygen which we need to breathe.
So in short the trees produce the air that we need to breathe.
They also produce wood which is usefull and a wide range of food such as fruits
deforestation must be stopped before desertification goes out of control and consumes the planet.
DESERTIFICATION
the sahara is growing by 7 kilometres every day.
Two major desserts in northern china are growing together making one giant dessert and,causing dust storms so making thousands of people refugeese
the trees evaporate a mist which ,which protects us from the strong rays of the sun .
The planet is drying out at an alarming rate.
In the days of the dinasaurs this planet was under an aquiferus manta ,a mist that covered the entire earth ,and there were no desserts .
Count how many there are today,and all of them are as a result of mans actions.
The sahara used to be forrests
arabia ,irak ,iran used to be fertile lands in biblical times
Ghengas Kahn burned all the forrests here and filled the well with water and so turning vast lands into dessert.
Bad agricultural practises is turning vast teritories into desserts ,because of over grazing and the exessive pumping of carbon aquifiers ,the surface aquifiers already having been depleted.
And the use of fertilisers and heavy machinery that compacts the ground which raises the salt in the soil.
Modern agriculture today is doing the same as ghengas kahn but in much bigger territories.
And because agricultural lands are lost, farmers are forced to cultivate highly erodable lands, to keep up with the growing demand for food.an extra 70 million people each year and this is increasing
the world population has doubled in the last 50 years the fasted increase ever since the first homo sapian.
EROSION
soil erosion is almost always as a result of human intervention.
The trees are cut down and these trees existed to provide a cover against the rays of the sun which now dries out the soil ,and the wind can than easily blow away the dust that is formed ,——this is wind erosian
because the trees are no longer there, whose roots bound the soil together ,and because their canapies of foilidge no longer exist the rain now has easy acces to the unprotected ,now dry surface and the rain waters wash away the top soils ,——this is water erosian
farmers plow large plots of land to plant maize or wheat or what ever and as happened in the 20s in the USA,they plowed in straight lines.when the winds came they blew alonfg the straight lines and picking up speed removed millions of tons of top soil(wind erosian) turning vast teritories into dessert deprived of arable soil
today the farmers plow in circles and curves to prevent this building up of speed by the wind,
but still vast sections of land are exposed to the sun which kills the micro biotic life ,that builds the black and rich top soil and tons of water is evaporated by the sun.,
A far better way is a very old concept now newly applied called –no till farming.
After the inicial shaping of the land the tractor is no longer used .or another type of plow head is used which does not break and turn the soil over,but merely makes a deep cut in to which the new plants are planted or sown.
Or the seeds are just stuck in an unbroken surface ,which is covered——- by mulch
mulch is a layer of organic material which prevents the soil from drying out by blocking the sun and maintaining its moisture
because the soil is now soft and moist the earthworms devellop and there is no better manure on this earth than that from earth worms,who also airate the soil with their bodely movements sucking in the air .
The mulch also is a cover which protect the soil from the impact of heavy rains which brings the salt to the surface which makes the soil poorer.
The mulch also is the food and conditions for a vast variety of micro biotic life that produces top soil
MUD SLIDES
in Mexico in the mountains the increasing
populations of indigenous peoples are cutting down trees to plant corn ,this land is productive for a few years before it becomes poor and useless for farming.
The roots of the trees that have been cut down rot and tunnels are created with their diaaperance ,with heavy rains these tunnels fill up with water and the soil lifts and moves down wards .
Mudslides are caused and large parts of the mountains are exposed to the rock.
The mud destroys the lands beneath and the exposed areas NEVER recover leaving the area with out vegetation forever
to recover eroded soil is a lenthy process ,which involves planting, bushes ,grasses and trees under difficult conditions to hold the soil and to create bariers to stop further movements on the surface and trap any organic matter that ends up there.we can help by adding mulch(chopped organic matter and plant leafy plants to be chopped down for this purpose,.
There are various plants that are exelent for this pupose,like a bean called nescafee which is a monster in normal circumstanses ,it covers an enormous aera ,grows very fast creates tons of leaves ,when fully grown it dies leaving a thick cover of rotting organic material behind.
WATERSHORTAGE,OVERPOPULATION
each year 70 million more people are consuming water but this is ,but a small part of what agriculture uses.
So our consumption of water is ever increasing and our drinkable water supply is shrinking because of polution ,and the production of potable water is less all the time because of deforestation.
In Tasmania one can already exchange one litre of water for 2 litres of petrol.
It is predicted that the wars of the future will be for water.
The water we got in most populated places must be treated or purified before it is acceptable for human consumption.
In Portugal and soutern Spain ,as in many places, wine is cheaper than water.Which would explain the many drunk people there
we are living in a bubble economy and when the bubble bursts
food prices will sky rocket,and so will the price of water.
The wars of the future will be for water
GLOBAL WARMING
because of the green house effect and the desertification this planet is heating up
Each degree rise in temperature signifies 10% crop loss
RISING SEAS
The northpole is melting ,and we will know it without ice in our life times.
This does not affect the sea level because it is ice that is already in the water.
Green land and the south pole ,which apperantly has a hole in the ozone the size of the usa,are another matter.
This is ice above the sea ,on the land, and melted water will return to the sea .and so duely affect sea levels.the sea has been rising for a long time.
In portugal remains of Roman villas have been discovered 3/4 of a mile in the sea,and in one town the locals say that the sea is eating their town ,in recent years the Dona Philipa golf cours has lost the 16th and 17th hole which have fallen of the cliffs unto the beach.
In California and Florida rising seas have flooded arable land that has been lost
so far only a few millions acres in total globaly ,but this will speed up with the increasing global warming.
And in Antartica arms of ice that even had names because the were so permanent have broken of into the sea.
And we are witness to the first mass extinction of animals since the days of the dinosaurs species being lost by the hour ,to put it conservatively
SOLUTIONS
Global efforts to cut down on carbon emisions,reforestation to capture carbon,sustainable farming practises and ecomomic systems of irrigation,education on family planning to counter overpopulation,water harvesting to fill up subteranian water supplies,environmentally friendly energy systems,efficient public trans port to discourage the use of the internal conbustion engine,global distribution of food supplies.encouraging people(to return to the land) to be autosufficient (with the internet business is not any more confined to the cities),urban planning to include vegetation,stop building more high ways,
agricultural devellopment programs for 3rd world countries.
If every one in the world, who could,would plant a garden ,this would take the stress of the farmers,add to the bio-mass and so the humidity and put a lot more food into circulation.
So what you can do is plant a tree,clean up rubbish,leave bins for people to put their rubbish in,leave notice boards explaining that you cleaned and ask people to co-operate,
and dont put your own organic rubbish together with the rest,seperate and classify your rubbish,70 %of contamination is because of organic material and this is the easiest to take care of ,you make a small compost heap in a shady place in the garden and all the organic waste of the house can go here ,at times cover it with leaves or sand.
The rich compost which results you put back on your plants.
This does not smell or create bugs,the decomposition kill about every thing.
If you can have a couple of bantum chickens which eat 70%of garden pests and they do not rake the ground and kill the plants as ordinairy chickens do. Source(s) my humble confused beginning of a space
http://spaces.msn.com/byderule
read a planet under stress ,plan B –by Lester E Brown.
It is in an Adobe print out as well on the net.
