The quality of life in the global society is contingent on the stability and maintenance of a healthy environment. Contemporary scholars have gained interest in the factors that have contributed to the recent climate changes. Several critical threats to the global environment have been identified and their impacts examined. However, it is crucial to note that the effects of some of these factors are less adverse than others. This paper examines the aspects that make two of these threats less of a priority than others.
Energy sources and the lack of educational opportunities are two of the least priority threats to the global environment. First, the impacts of these factors are less adverse as compared to the effects of climate change, globalization, cultural taboos, and the inappropriate use of technology. In detail, globalization heightens the rates of terrorism, job insecurity, and currency fluxes. Additionally, the increase in terrorist attacks leads to the destruction of property and the environment, activities which jeopardize the quality of life in different ecological systems. As a result, there is an imbalance in the ecosystems, which has the outcome the rise in the numbers of some animal and plant species and the extinction of others.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Likewise, the effects of energy sources are incomparable to those of climate change. Changes in climate result in the rise of global temperatures which occasion drought, floods, extensive rains, as well as intense and occasional waves. Climate change also brings about a rise in sea levels and increases the acidity and warmth of oceans since increased temperatures accelerate the rate at which glaciers melt. Furthermore, cultural taboos, the other significant threat to the global environment, promote inter-generational conflicts between different individuals, which often contribute to property and environmental destructions.
Furthermore, the ineffective use of technology also has several adverse effects on the global environment. The contemporary society is characterized by a growing over-reliance on modern technologies. The use of land clearance advancements, for instance, has led to the destruction of animal habitats, and the support systems of different natural ecosystems. Technology also enables people to construct pipelines, which disrupt animal migration patterns. According to Jones, Pejchar, and Kiesecker (2015), technologies used in manufacturing industries release toxic wastes such as pesticides, which adversely affect flora and fauna or modify the functions of different ecosystems through eutrophication. Irrefutably, the overuse of technology has contributed significantly to global warming.
According to Toke and Vezirgiannidou (2013), e nergy sources are considered critical threats since they account for sixty percent of the world’s emissions. However, these emissions have been reduced significantly due to the use of other energy alternatives, making energy sources one of the least priority threats. Wind, solar and geothermal, energies, among others, have been adopted, reducing the effects of energy sources on the environment ( Mohtasham, 2015 ). State governments have also developed environmental policies to control the emissions that are released by various industries, including the energy manufacturing sector, transforming energy sources into the least significant threat.
The lack of educational opportunities is the other lest significant factor affecting the global environment. When education is inaccessible to the younger generation, it increases the rates of unemployment and poverty ( Omoniyi, 2013 ) since it is obligatory for individuals to have specific educational backgrounds to secure well-paying and stable jobs. Furthermore, this situation also leads to the prevalence of crime, as people turn to illegal activities to acquire money so that they can survive. Even though this factor is a threat to the global environment, it is an insignificant threat as opposed to the other ones, due to the following reasons.
First, education is not the only key to success or to acquiring a stable source of income. Many people today have ventured into entrepreneurship, establishing their own business enterprises so that they can earn a living. According to Zimmermann (2014), education is not the only determiner of business success. Irrefutably, there are people who despite their higher levels of education are unable to manage their corporations, leading to their inevitable downfall effectively. Secondly, state governments have developed programs which make education more accessible to the poor. Today, financial aid is provided in different countries to help young children in funding their own learning. Programs such as the Annenberg Foundation, American Honda Foundation, and the NEA foundation all provide grants to promote the accessibility of education in the US. According to Chingos and Blagg (2017), these programs offer more than eight hundred and fifty million dollars to elementary and secondary education every year. Thirdly, programs aimed at imparting technical skills, such as hairdressing, mechanical engineering, and electrical engineering have been developed all over the world to enable people to set up their own businesses, earn a living, and cross the poverty lines (Daminger et al., 2015). Irrefutably, energy sources, and the lack of educational opportunities are insignificant environmental threats since their effects can be minimized through the previously discussed strategies.
The global environment has deteriorated greatly in the last two decades. Global warming has resulted from climate changes due to the rise in the levels of toxic gases released into the environment. Climate change, globalization, inappropriate use of technology, cultural taboos, as well as the lack of education opportunities, and energy sources are some of the identified threats to the stability of the global environment. However, the effects of the last two are minimal, compared to the others.
References
Chingos, M. M., & Blagg, K. (2017). Making sense of state school funding policy. Urban Institute. Retrieved December 4 , 2017.
Daminger, A., Hayes, J., Barrows, A., & Wright, J. (2015). Poverty Interrupted. Applying Behavioral Science to the Context of Chronic Scarcity .
Mohtasham, J., (2015). Renewable Energies. Energy Procedia , 74 , 1289-1297.
Jones, N. F., Pejchar, L., & Kiesecker, J. M. (2015). The energy footprint: how oil, natural gas, and wind energy affect land for biodiversity and the flow of ecosystem services. Bioscience , 65 (3), 290-301.
Omoniyi, M. B. I. (2013). The role of education in poverty alleviation and economic development: A theoretical perspective and counseling implications. British journal of arts and social sciences , 15 (2), 176-185.
Toke, D., & Vezirgiannidou, S. E., (2013). The relationship between climate change and energy security: key issues and conclusions. Environmental Politics , 22 (4), 537-552.
Zimmermann, L., (2014). Public works programs in developing countries have the potential to reduce poverty. IZA World of Labor .
