Expert: future predictions for the Earth are bad

It is estimated that a tropical forest the size of a football field is cut down every minute around the world, and in Europe alone, the population of plant-pollinating insects has declined by 70 percent in recent years.; the future prognosis for the Earth is bad,” Dr. Radomir Jaskuła of the Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection at the University of Lodz tells PAP.

April 22 is Earth Day, also known as World Earth Day or International Earth Day – is the largest ecological holiday celebrated since 1970. In Poland, Earth Day celebrations were inaugurated in 1990. His goal is to promote pro-environmental attitudes in society and build a commonol responsibility for the Earth.

The expert stressed that a very heavy burden on our planet is the exponential growth of population. The UN estimates that there are already more than 7.6 billion people in the world, and by 2030 the. This number could rise to 8.6 billion.

– According to estimatesoin someorych scientistsoin order for the Earth to function fairly normally and for what it is able to produce to be consumed by humans without much harm to its functioning, the human population is more than half too large already,” pointed out Dr. Jaskuła.

This, according to the expert, very clearly translates into environmental degradation, and it is worth realizing that at least in such interesting, naturally valuable places such as the. Madagascar, over the past decades the surface of the forestoin the tropics has decreased by more than 70 percent. – As a result, of course, it is dying out mnostwo speciesoIn plants and animals, whichoSome of them we will probably never even know,” he added.

According to the scientist, the effectoin the progressive degradation of the environment in recent decades, ktora translates into lowering the robiodiversity, you don’t have to look far for. Studies on insects carried out in Germany or France indicate that over the past 30 years, populations of these invertebrateow, or organismow m.in. pollinating plants, including those thatore are used by humans (thanks to them we have, for example, the. apples, tomatoes or citrus fruits), in someor regions has decreased by up to 70 percent.

It’s – according to the expert – will translate into human living conditions. – If insects responsible for the pollination of plants, which are, after all, the mainowne sources ofofood source for humans and many speciesoin animals, this will result in a gradual but drastic deterioration of conditionsoin for humans, especiallyoln such places where the population is high,” he added.

Groups of organismsoin whichoWithout appropriate decisions and treaties, there are more and more countries in the world with a noticeable decrease in numbers, such as. in the case of someoof certain amphibian groupsow, animals that are highly sensitive to environmental change, are threatened with extinction by as much as 90 percent of the. speciesow. In Poland, declines in numbers are observed for someoof some speciesoin the birdow, although wrobla, whichorego populations have been declining very sharply recently. – So if we are seeing such large changes in just a few decades, the prognosis for the future is simply very bad, the expert added.

One of the examples he pointed outoin, ktory illustrates how strongly the environment is changing wokohuman waste in recent decades, may be the impact of the development of the automotive industry.

– The increase in the number of carsoin translates into the production of exhaust fumes, from whichowhich create smog, in a wayob obvious harm to people, since, after all, every year the number of incidences of rosorts of diseases caused by air pollution. But it also has a very negative impact on the surrounding environment, animals and plants,” Dr. Jaskuła pointed out.

The consumerist lifestyle observed in many regions of the world, in turn, is causing an exponential increase in the number of wasteow, primarily in developed countries.

– Unfortunately, it is not possible to recycle all garbage, although it should definitely be done, and as a result, it is already apparent that someore countries are simply drowning in them. The problem is also that many rich countries dispose of their garbage by exporting it to the countryoin the third world, which often results in the degradation of further valuable habitats, affects the pollution of the wod surface and groundwater” – explained.

Climate change, whichore particularolnie intensely observed in recent years, it roAlso the result of negative human impact on the environment, m.in. mass clearing of forestsow, especiallyoln tropical areas. It is worth realizing, the scientist said, that according to someoIn some countries, the number of trees that are cut down every minute from the surface of the roin a football field.

This in turn translates into large zrodiversification of conditionsoin atmospheric conditions in regions where they used to be fairly constant, thus causing weather anomalies to appear.

– In someoSome regions are experiencing significantly less precipitationow, while in others unexpected storms, hurricanes or orcans appear – as we have seen in Poland, when last year’s. year one such orkanow destroyed a significant area of Boroin Tuchola,” he added.

According to Dr. Jaskuły, the prognosis for the future for the Earth if policies and ways are not changedob care for the environment, are bad. As early as 30-40 years ago, someoers scientists have predicted this type of climate change, manifested m.in. currently observed melting of glaciersow.

– In 50-100 years, many of these places may simply no longer exist in the form we see today, these changes will also negatively translate into roanimal and plant diversity, whichore live in such areas. This is due to the fact that they will not be able to adapt in such a krot time to the changes that are taking place, and we will unfortunately witness their great extinction caused by our activities,” noted the biologist.

In his opinion, the condition for something to change for the better is first of all a change in policy, especiallyolnie of the great powers. – Without appropriate decisions and treatyow, ktore strictly will poMore respected, environmental degradation will proceed more and more rapidly,” he noted.

In November ub. year more than 15 thousand. scientistow of 184 countriesow published a declaration in whichorej warn that failure to act to protect the environment and ecosystemow threatens to destabilize the Earth. 25 years earlier, Nobel laureates had similarly warned.

In 1992. The Union of Concerned Scientists, a non-governmental organization with more than 1,700 signatories, has issued a "Scientist’s warningoin the world for humanity", in whichorym argued that the impact of human activity on nature would likely lead to the "great human suffering" i "of irreversible mutilation of the planet". A quarter century poLater, the scientists renewed their warnings.

According to them, since 25 years, the amount of available drinking water in the world per capita has decreased by 26 percent., and the number of dead zones inod in the oceans has increased by 75 percent. Scientists also mention the loss of nearly 120.4 million hectares ofointo the forestow converted mostly to agricultural land and a marked increase in carbon dioxide emissions and global average temperature. They also point to an increase of 35 percent. World population and a reduction of 29 percent. mammalian abundanceow, gadow, amphibianow, birdow and fish.