The Issues

The issues facing us and our home are not just globally changing temperatures. They are deforestation, plastic in our oceans, overfishing, and exploitation of animals. In my "Other Resources" tab I provide links to organizations that I have found and know about who try to deal with these big issues individually. Below I have provided the basic facts (with sources) of each, and a likely over simplification of how to help each issue in our own lives in small ways.

Deforestation

The Facts:

Because forests release carbon dioxide when they are cleared or burnt, approximately 12 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions come from deforestation (1).
An estimated 25 million acres of trees are cut down every year to make space to grow crops, livestock, and to produce materials such as paper. This accounts for about 16% of total tree loss cover a year (2).
Food choices matter. Clearing of land for livestock contribute mean an estimated 81,081 square miles of forest land is lost every year. And the forest land equivalent to 300 football fields is being cleared every hour to make room for palm plantations for palm oil (2).

Brack, Duncan. (2019). Background Analytical Study: Forests and Climate Change. United Nations Forum on Forests. https://www.un.org/esa/forests/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/UNFF14-BkgdStudy-SDG13-March2019.pdf
Hannah Ritchie (2021) - “Deforestation and Forest Loss.” https://ourworldindata.org/deforestation" Retrieved August 7, 2024.

Ideas for Effort:

Become a part of the "Trillion Trees Project" and plant a tree in your yard, park if its okay, or sponsor a tree.
Call your local town and city officials and talk about making green spaces for pedestrians and residents.
Buy recycled paper products (Who Gives a Crap TP, papertowels etc.).
Limit the use of products that use palm oil.
Use recycled wood/upcycle pieces.
Consider how much meat you are eating, and if plant-based substitutes could be incorporated.
Invest in sustainably grown coffee, chocolate, and other "tropical zone" goods.
Start your own garden, or herb pots. You don't need as much room as you'd think, you can even have one on your apartment patio!
Support initiatives for permaculture farming. For more about this check out Brent Loken's TED presentation on "Can We Create the Perfect Farm."

Plastic Waste

The Facts:

From the Arctic to Antarctica, from surface to sediment, in every marine environment where scientists have looked, they have found plastic (1).
Global production of plastics is now up to around 300 million tons A YEAR (1).
Many plastic items break down under the onslaught of sunlight and waves until they eventually reach microplastic levels. Other plastics are small from the start, such as the ‘microbeads’ that are added to face scrubs and other cosmetic products, and that go down the drain. These microplastics then accumulate in fish, birds, and has recently been discovered in humans (1).
Less than 10% of plastic been recycled (2).
Plastic degrades each time it is reused, meaning it can't be reused more than once or twice (2).

Cressey, D., 2016. The plastic ocean. Nature, 536(7616), pp.263-265.
Sullivan, L. (2020, September 11). How Big Oil Misled The Public Into Believing Plastic Would Be Recycled. Retrieved October 18, 2020, from https://www.npr.org/2020/09/11/897692090/how-big-oil-misled-the-public-into-believing-plastic-would-be-recycled

Ideas for Effort:

Use a reusable water bottle and avoid bottled water.
Ask for no plastic utensils for takeout orders.
Bring your own reusable straw to restaurants.
Check out plastic free alternatives for household goods. I'll be reviewing ones I try on the blog, but there are SO many options out there.
Look into the Ocean Clean Up Project.
Call your favorite restaurants about not doing Styrofoam take-out containers.
Take your grocery bags back to the grocery, there's usually a bin by the door for these, just make sure they're clean!
Contact your town/city governments about having plastic bags be an upcharge (the UK has done this and people haven't exploded).
Get glass Tupperware. This will also help plastic not get into your food when you microwave it!
Get glass jars/bottles whenever possible for sauces, dressings, etc. These can then be reused by yourself or actually recycled (if they're cleaned!).
Keep your eye out for kelp, or other plastic substitutes!

Overfishing

The Facts:

Overfishing, including the practice of "fishing down the food web," further exacerbates these issues by shifting harvests from high to low trophic level species (1). These practices not only threaten marine biodiversity but also jeopardize food security and livelihoods dependent on fisheries (2).
Bycatch, the unintended capture of non-target species, negatively impacts marine biodiversity, increases juvenile fish mortality, and disrupts food chains (3, 4).

Price, A. R. (2001). The marine food chain in relation to biodiversity. The Scientific World Journal, 1, 579.
Pandey, P. K., Lahiri, B., & Ghosh, A. (2020). Corollary of Marine Eco-system Sustainability by Addressing the Issues of Bycatches. Journal of Fisheries Science, 2(1), 1-4.
Ward, J. M., Benaka, L. R., Moore, C. M., & Meyers, S. (2012). Bycatch in Marine fisheries.
Gjertsen, H., Hall, M., & Squires, D. (2010). Incentives to address bycatch issues. Conservation and management of transnational tuna fisheries, 225-248.

Ideas for Effort:

Basically know where your food comes from. Tuna are considered the "dirtiest fish" because they cannot be "farmed" and have the highest bycatch rates. Salmon however can be farmed and don't involve bycatch. Some shrimp are now being farmed too!
At a restaurant ask if the seafood is farmed or wild, how it was caught and where it's from. Remember, your money has power!
Look into SefoodWatch.org for sustainable seafood recommendations, plus they have an app for when you're at the store!
Support aquaculture!

Exploited Wildlife

The Facts:

The illegal wildlife trade poses a severe threat to biodiversity and species conservation worldwide. For instance, poaching for the pet trade has driven the pangolin (image left) to become endangered with extinction, with an estimated 2.7 million pangolins being hunted/captured annually in Central African forests (1).
The global illegal wildlife trade is estimated to be worth $7-10 billion annually (2).

Ingram, D.J., et al. (2018), Assessing Africa-Wide Pangolin Exploitation by Scaling Local Data. Conservation Letters: 11. https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12389
Xie, K. (2015). Crime Gone Wild. Harvard International Review, 36(4).

Ideas for Effort:

Be aware of what you post, like and share. A cute animal video might be that of an exploited animal.
It should go without saying, but DON'T get an exotic pet like a sugar squirrel, pangolin (pictured left), or exotic cat species. Yes they are cute, but you're doing more harm than good.
Consider not buying faux fur, reptile print or textured clothing. Even though your stuff is faux, it still promotes the notion that the real stuff could be "cool" too.
When traveling ask questions about possible souvenirs, medicine etc. Many traditional medicines or remedies use animal parts like rhinoceros' horn or elephant skin to treat fever in Asia.
Likewise, when traveling, be aware of elephant rides, tiger sanctuaries, dolphin swims etc. Many of these activities involve mistreated animals.
Be aware that ivory can be made to look older than it is to circumvent conservation laws. Don't support the ivory trade by mistake!