Human impact on the environment
Impact of human life on Earth and environment
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| 2025 | Start of the projected period for potential climate reparations, where the top 21 fossil fuel companies could owe cumulative climate reparations of $5.4 trillion through 2050. |
| 2025 |
Steady-state economy
Digital technologies' greenhouse gas emissions expected to reach 8%, equivalent to car emissions.
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| 2025 | Estimated 1.8 billion people will be living in countries or regions with absolute water scarcity, and two-thirds of the world population could be under water stress conditions. |
| 2025 | Projected water withdrawals expected to rise by 50 percent in developing countries and 18 percent in developed countries. |
| 2024 | Recorded as the warmest year on record since regular temperature tracking began in 1850 |
| 2024 | Global temperatures exceeded 1.5°C above recent averages, highlighting the continuing trend of accelerated global warming. |
| 2024 | World Meteorological Organization estimates almost 50% chance of five-year average global temperature exceeding +1.5 °C between 2024 and 2028. |
| 2024 |
Woody plant encroachment
UNCCD highlighted the 'silent demise' of vast rangelands, emphasizing how woody plant encroachment threatens climate stability, food security, and the wellbeing of billions of people globally.
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| February 2024 |
Effects of climate change
By February 2024, the number of ships passing through the Panama Canal was expected to drop to 18 per day due to potential climate change-related rainfall reduction, down from an original 36 ships per day.
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| 2023 | UNEP carbon budget analysis indicates that global warming can be kept below 1.5 °C with a 50% chance if emissions after 2023 do not exceed 200 gigatonnes of carbon. |
| 2023 | Renewables represented 86% of all new electricity generation installed globally, marking a significant milestone in clean energy transition. |
| 2023 | Expected year of achieving the $100 billion annual climate finance target for developing countries set in the Copenhagen Accord. |
| 2023 | Oxfam research revealed that the wealthiest 10% of people were responsible for 50% of global emissions, while the bottom 50% were responsible for just 8%. |
| 2023 |
Effects of climate change
At current warming levels, some ecosystems are threatened by mass die-offs of trees and severe heatwaves, with potential critical risks to biodiversity.
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| 2023 |
Harmful algal bloom
Blue-green algae bloom in Lough Neagh, Northern Ireland, caused by record-breaking wet and hot summer conditions, leading to wildlife deaths including dogs and swans.
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| 2023 | IPCC released a comprehensive report highlighting the disproportionate effects of climate change on vulnerable populations, emphasizing the urgent need for global, rapid, and sustained climate action. |
| September 16 2023 |
Effects of climate change
A massive landslide occurred in Greenland when a 1,200-metre-high mountain peak collapsed into the Dickson Fjord after glacier melting, triggering a 200-metre-high mega-tsunami that caused global seismic vibrations lasting nine days.
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| April 2023 |
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Published a controversial research paper criticizing IEEE guidelines on cell phone radiation, claiming significant health threats and challenging existing health guidelines from the World Health Organization regarding wireless technology systems.
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| February 2023 |
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Clarivate delisted the journal from its main citation indexes (Science Citation Index Expanded and Social Sciences Citation Index) due to publications deemed outside the journal's scope.
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| 2022 | Greenhouse gas concentrations reached levels higher than at any time during the last 14 million years, with CO2 and methane showing significant increases since 1750. |
| 2022 |
Steady-state economy
Research published describing degrowth toward a steady-state economy as potentially positive, calling for more serious international cooperation and attention to transitioning high-income and rapidly growing economies to a low-throughput, low-emissions model.
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| 2022 |
Woody plant encroachment
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its Sixth Assessment Report, discussing woody encroachment's potential slight increases in carbon and potential masking of land degradation processes in drylands.
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| 2022 | A modeling study revealed that northern China experienced more severe ecological water scarcity compared to southern China, with water pollution identified as the primary driving factor in most provinces. |
| 2022 | Half a billion people reported to be living in areas with severe water scarcity throughout the entire year, highlighting the ongoing global water crisis. |
| 2022 |
Environmental impact of fashion
BBC 'More or Less' investigation critically examined previous emissions estimates, highlighting the 2021 WRI report as the most reliable study at that time.
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| 2021 | The European Commission released its 'Fit for 55' legislation package, mandating that all new cars on the European market must be zero-emission vehicles from 2035. |
| 2021 |
Effects of climate change
Potential start of the projected 50-year collapse of the Amazon rainforest from a rainforest to a savanna ecosystem, as predicted by the 2019 study.
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| 2021 |
Environmental impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill
A new species of baleen whale, Rice's whale (Balaenoptera ricei), was described. Analysis revealed that the Deepwater Horizon oil spill likely devastated the species' population, causing a decline of up to 22% due to reproductive failure among the few mature females.
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| 2021 |
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Journal received an impact factor of 4.614 according to the Journal Citation Reports.
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| 2021 |
Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts
Journal Citation Reports reported an impact factor of 5.334 for the journal Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts.
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| 2021 |
Steady-state economy
A study confirmed predictions from 'Limits to Growth', concluding that global GDP will begin to decline within 10 years, either through deliberate transition or ecological disaster.
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| 2021 |
Woody plant encroachment
Dirac Twidwell and Dillon T. Fogarty published a guide focusing on reducing risk and vulnerability to woody encroachment in rangelands, providing strategic insights for land management.
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| 2021 |
Environmental impact of fashion
World Resources Institute (WRI) report provides an updated estimate of 2% greenhouse gas emissions from the fashion industry.
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| 2021 | UN Environmental Program released the 'Making Peace With Nature' Report, highlighting that addressing planetary crises like pollution, climate change, and biodiversity loss is achievable by working towards Sustainable Development Goals. |
| September 2021 |
Harmful algal bloom
Clear Lake, California experienced record-high microcystin levels, resulting in an extended 'Do Not Drink' advisory affecting 280 households.
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| September 2021 |
Harmful algal bloom
Spokane County issued a Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) alert for Newman Lake after tests revealed potentially harmful cyanobacteria toxicity levels.
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| August 2021 |
Harmful algal bloom
47 lakes in New York State were confirmed to have algal blooms, demonstrating the widespread nature of the environmental issue.
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| July 2021 |
Harmful algal bloom
Large red tide occurred on the Gulf Coast of Florida around Tampa Bay, causing millions of pounds of fish deaths and a National Weather Service Beach Hazard declaration.
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| 2020 | Reduction of sulfur content in ship fuel oil begins, estimated to cause an additional 0.05°C increase in global mean temperature by 2050. |
| 2020 |
Effects of climate change
World Bank paper estimated that between 32 million to 132 million additional people will be pushed into extreme poverty by 2030 due to climate change impacts.
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| 2020 |
Effects of climate change
Extreme weather events displaced approximately 30 million people globally, as reported by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre.
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| 2020 |
Steady-state economy
The rate of natural resource use reached over 110 billion tons per year for the first time.
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| 2020 |
Steady-state economy
A multinational team of scientists published a study identifying overconsumption as the biggest threat to sustainability, calling for a drastic change in lifestyle.
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| 2020 |
Harmful algal bloom
A large harmful algal bloom in the Baltic Sea closed beaches in Poland and Finland, caused by fertilizer runoff and extreme heat. The event posed significant risks to flounder and mussel beds, and was identified by the Baltic Sea Action Group as a major threat to regional biodiversity and fishing stocks.
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| 2020 | Escalation of water dispute between Egypt and Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, with Egypt viewing the dam as an existential threat due to potential reduction of Nile water supply. |
| February 2020 |
Steady-state economy
The Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy (CASSE) proposes the slogan 'Degrowth Toward a Steady State Economy', aiming to unite degrowthers and steady-state economy advocates.
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| February 2020 |
Harmful algal bloom
Roodeplaat Dam in Gauteng Province, South Africa was treated with a new algicide formulation using sodium percarbonate to target a severe Microcystis sp. bloom, which allows for a more targeted and less harmful approach to algae removal.
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| 2019 | Global human-caused greenhouse gas emissions were recorded at the equivalent of 59 billion tonnes of CO2, with a breakdown of 75% CO2, 18% methane, 4% nitrous oxide, and 2% fluorinated gases. |
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This contents of the box above is based on material from the Wikipedia articles Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts, Environmental impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Environmental impact of fashion, Water scarcity, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Woody plant encroachment, Harmful algal bloom, Climate change, Effects of climate change, Steady-state economy & Environmental issues, which are released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.