We studied a lot about the environmental issues topic. We studied the data from the given links as well. We closely observed the effects of changing environment as well.

All the information and the data used in the project is taken from the links provided.

Deforestation

INTRODUCTION:

Deforestation refers to the decrease in forest areas across the world that are lost for other uses such as agricultural croplands, urbanisation, or mining activities. 

deforestation has been negatively affecting natural ecosystems, biodiversity, and the climate.

The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization estimates the annual rate of deforestation to be around 1.3 million km2 per decade.

Human activity and other factors result in deforestation. Humans clear the natural landscape to make room for farms and pastures, to harvest timber, and to build roads and houses. Tropical forests of all varieties, in particular, are disappearing rapidly by human activity. 

Other causes of deforestation may include drought, forest fires, and climate change. Although deforestation meets some human needs, it also causes major problems, including social conflict, the extinction of plants and animals, and climate change. These challenges aren’t just local. Deforestation also has global impacts.

Causes:

1.Agriculture

2.Forests are cut down to clear land for agriculture, livestock grazing, and settlement; for timber; to produce charcoal; and to establish tree plantations.

3.Mining

4.Dam construction

5.Urban expansion

6. Large scale shifting cultivation

7.Overexploitation of forest resources.

8.Overgrazing

Effects:

According to a 2018 FAO report ,three-quarters of the Earth’s freshwater comes from forested watersheds, and the loss of trees can affect water quality. The UN's 2018 State of the worlds forest report, found that over half the global population relies on forested watersheds for their drinking water as well as water used for agriculture and industry.

Deforestation in tropical regions can also affect the way water vapour is produced over the canopy, which causes reduced rainfall. A 2019 study published in the journal Ecohydrology showed that parts of the Amazon rainforest that were converted to agricultural land had higher soil and air temperatures, which can exacerbate drought conditions. In comparison, forested land had rates of had rates of evapotranspiration that were about three times higher, adding more water vapour to the air. 

Trees also absorb carbon dioxide, mitigating greenhouse gas emissions produced by human activity. As climate change continues, trees play an important role in carbon sequestration, or the capture and storage of excess carbon dioxide. Tropical trees alone are estimated to provide about 23% of the climate mitigation that's needed to offset climate change, according to the World resources Institute, a nonprofit global research institute.

Deforestation not only removes vegetation that is important for removing carbon dioxide from the air, but the act of clearing the forests also produces greenhouse gas emissions. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations says that deforestation is the second leading cause of climate change. (The first is the burning of fossil fuels.) In fact, deforestation accounts for nearly 20% of greenhouse gas emissions.

Biodiversity:

Although tropical forests cover only about 7 percent of the Earth’s dry land, they probably hold about half of all species on Earth. Many species can only be found in small areas. This makes them more likely to die out. In addition, the forest that remains is more dangerous for the plants and animals still there.

Rainforest products are popular around the world. These include latex, cork, fruit, nuts, timber, fibers, spices, natural oils and resins, and medicines. Some of these products can be taken out of the forest in ways that do not cause harm to the environment. If the forests are destroyed, people will no longer be able to get those products.

Biodiversity matters for another reason: Plants and animals in the rainforest may hold the cures for diseases and ways to improve the food we produce. Many of these plants and animals may not have even been discovered yet.

Global Warming:

Deforestation affects rainfall and temperature. Up to 30 percent of the rain that falls in tropical forests is water that the rainforest has recycled into the atmosphere. Water evaporates, condenses into clouds and falls again as rain. In addition to maintaining tropical rainfall, the evaporation cools the Earth’s surface. Deforestation is likely to create a drier, hotter climate in the tropics. Tropical deforestation may also affect rainfall patterns far outside the tropics.

Deforestation can also turn the tropics into a larger source of carbon emissions, which increases the greenhouse effect and global warming. The trees and plants in the forests contain a lot of carbon. Through photosynthesis, they use carbon dioxide and store carbon in their stems and leaves. Carbon dioxide escapes back into the atmosphere when these stems and leaves decay. But when people clear the forests, more carbon returns to the atmosphere.

Prevention:

1.Shifting cultivation should be not be allowed

2.As increasing human population is the reason for increased demand for food, the population should be controlled

3.No overgrazing of animals in forest area.

4. Growing of crops in hydroponic should be encouraged .

5. Deforestation and its harmful impacts should be taught in the schools.

6. Dependency on dam for electricity generation should be reduced.the use of Other methods for electricity generation like wind mill,Thermal water plant, tidal power plant, etc should be encouraged .Therefore , No more dams should be build.

7. Forest fires should be prevented.

8. Forests should be observed closely. Forest and flora and fauna found there should be taken care of by government.

9.Usage of paper should be avoided .Instead electronic like computer and tablets should be used.

Why should we prevent deforestation?

Deforestation should be prevented.It is our duty , as most intelligent species of the planet, to look after the other species.We are very intelligent , but we are not using our intelligence wisely.Our greed makes us choose the wrong path.Deforestation adversely affects biodiversity and that in turn leads to instability of the ecosystem.We all are aware of the consequences but still we are not doing anything to overcome it. Deforestation leads to decreased fixation of oxygen in atmosphere .It also causes soil erosion and as we all know , soil formation takes millions of years.It causes increased levels of carbon dioxide in atmosphere. We all should unite and stand against deforestation.It is making our planet, our ecosystem weak moment by moment.We cut trees to make paper, but there Is no need, we could rather use electronic devices for note making.

It is not about past or future. It is about NOW. We all are suffering and facing the consequences in one or the other way.We should stand against it.

Air pollution:

The increase in concentration of various components of air which we are surrounded by like NO2,O2,CO, SO2, ground level ozone and lead. As we all know about the pandemic we are suffering from right now , as we all saw the decrease in AQI from a very higher level to a very lower level this all was because all the factories were closed and all the people were quarantined in their areas, only essentials were allowed.

The clean air act was established in 1970 which is used for tracking six pollutants -NO2, ground level ozone ,CO, SO2 ,lead and particulate matter. Satellite instruments found now a days can measure all these pollutants except lead.

NASA is involved in this study since decades with the use of space and ground sensors.we all have data about this from NASA Aura and the European space agency’s Sentinel-5 satellites.A project led by EPA(Environmental Protection Agency) has been funded to assimilate NASA Earth observations into their “ AirNow system” ,it distributes real time air quality reports and forecasts.

Since 2004 it is noted that NO2 levels have dropped by 50%,and it’s been said that the air in United States is the cleanest and it is now in modern industrial era.

If we talk about other countries like India, the pollution had increased a lot as there is no waste management, people burn waste which is very harmful, instead of using renewable resources people use non-renewable resources like diesel and petrol, as we know their quantity is also less and they cause a lot of pollution.

Everyone want to improve the status of their living, that’s why there was a time when people started moving to urban areas from rural areas and even immigration was taking place a lot,it even happens now, and our elders always told us that we need to develop, that’s why we did this,so people moved from hilly areas to plains, to make their life better and effective but it didn’t happened though, they earned money which they came for but had a lot more concern about their health, they started suffering from a lot of diseases this is all because the air in urban areas is lot more polluted than the air in rural areas ,so the money which they even came to earn was of no use because they have to spend that money to cure their diseases. Let us take a few examples of those diseases: lung cancer ,asthma,COPD(chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), cardiovascular problems, shortened life span.

So u can think how dangerous this air pollution is, but we need to live with it because we also need to improve our life style. There are various ways we use to protect ourselves from air pollution, a few of them are:

•Wearing a air pollution mask that filters particulate matter when going out.

•Travelling in closed transportation to shield ourselves from carbon pollutants flying in the air.

•Buying air purifiers for our homes with HEPA and activated carbon filters as they are best at removing pollutants like PM2.5 particles and bacterial, Viral and chemical contaminants

Now a days everyone think about their children and give them the best education so that they achieve more than their parents and even what they want, but by this air pollution they are making their life worse.

Everyone during their childhood must have listened stories from their mothers or grandmother, actually they are lot more experienced they can help to shape the child by telling about the changes occurring in the environment . Then the children can know well about this, let me ask something else whenever you want to go to outing with either your family or friends you always go to a place which is well known in fact there are many places better than that but nobody knew about that.

As I live in India I know better about this, people either want to go to the places including beaches, drives and mountains or hill stations and at those places the AQI is very low as we talk about the national capital, Delhi the air is very toxic and even unbearable to a lot of people, so they prefer masks or to go for a shorter distance they prefer cars, because it’s more safe, but to make their own life safe they are making the life of their children worse as they can also use cycles or walk for this shorter distance, but it could only happen if they try to do so.

A year ago a unique method of carpooling started in Delhi the capital of India that on odd dates only cars with odd no.s are allowed and on even days cars with even no.s , it helped drastically a lot to decrease the traffic and there was a stunning decrease in air pollution.

Result:

 Nothing is impossible, we just need to work hard as well as work smart to achieve it and if we won’t control this pollution then we are not doing anything to us, in fact we are wasting the life of our upcoming generations. So we should curb the heavy usage of vehicles and the factories and power plants should be only at their reserved areas, we should use less of refrigerant to save ozone layer. We can promote this by changing the packets of packaged goods and inspire the media to show about this and to focus on these issues as they are concerned for our lives.

Marine Pollution :

Marine pollution occurs mostly due to the harmful effects resulting from the entry of chemicals, particles, industrial, agricultural and residential waste into the ocean or other water bodies. This is quite a huge problem as 80% of this pollution comes from land, then air pollution has its role by carrying off iron, nitrogen, silicon, sulphur, etc., into the ocean.

The pollution caused in larger water bodies can often be fanned by the physical phenomena like biological effects of Langmuir circulation. Now-a-days, the main problem rising is a type of water pollution called “Nutrient pollution”. Its mainly contamination by heavy inputs of nutrients that primarily causes eutrophication. The high amount of nitrates and phosphates also stimulates growth of algae. Many toxic chemicals break down to tiny particles and are eaten by planktons and other small organisms. In this way it flows slowly upward in various marine food chains. That’s the same as in case of pesticides being pulled into the waters that end up in the food chains.

Marine pollution has a long history beginning in the 1960s where the radioactive wastes were being dumped off the coats of USA into the Irish Sea or Mediterranean Sea and various oil spills.

Main Reasons :

1) Direct Discharge of urban sewerage, industrial waste, various forms of plastic and other untreated toxic wastes into the rivers and seas. As per the reports the top emitters of oceanic waste are China, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, etc.

2) Inland or Deep sea mining of various ores causes the minerals to run into seas that can interfere the normal growth of coral polyps. The floating particles in the surface also increase the turbidity of the water resulting in clogging.

3) Ships have a big part in this scenario with the oil spills that contain toxic PAHs that are difficult to clean up and end years as sediment, discharge of cargo residue into the water, disposal of ballast water carried by the ships in the sea causing spread of harmful algae and other invasive species, leaking pipes, etc.

4) Debris and dust including plastic bags, are blown from the landfill and other areas. The USGC even links dust events responsible for the deteriorating health of coral reefs across the Caribbean since 1970s.

Most of the marine debris is plastic, a component that is rapidly rising since WWII. According to a study the rivers like Indus, Yangtze, Nile, Ganges, Mekong, etc., are solely responsible for the carriage of 80-90% plastic into seas and oceans.

Some examples of effects of marine pollution :-

1) The fish stock and estuary soil have been damaged in the Amur river due to the disposal of heavy metals and phenols by Chinese and Russian industries.

2) In 2004 US FDA issued guidelines that pregnant women, nursing mothers and children should limit the consumption of tuna or other predator type fish due to accumulation of heavy metals like mercury in their diet.

3) The Prestige oil spill on the Galician coast and Gulf of Mexico unleashed a hooping 3.2 million barrels of oil into the waters.

4) The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011 caused radioactive toxins leak from the damaged plant into the air and ocean.

5) And nonetheless the Italian Mafia ‘Ndrangheta’ was accused of sinking nearly 30 ships loaded with toxic wastes most of it being radioactive.

6) China’s Lake Taihu is normally a tranquillity filled area with the sculpted limestone cliffs and green lush terrains but in 2007 all changed after a massive blue green algal outbreak thickly slimed the lake’s surface.

These were detected by the NASA's Sea-Viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor (SeaWiFS) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) flying 438 miles (708 km) over Earth that measure subtle gradations in visible and near-infrared light reflected up from the oceans, including the signature of green chlorophyll that indicates the presence of phytoplankton. The resulting data, called ocean colour, map the abundance and distribution of phytoplankton, giving researchers information about climate conditions that favour this organism, as well as overall ocean health. Another satellite called Landsat can also be used to map the water’s health. 

In Bengaluru, India, one of the city’s lakes is so polluted with sewage, trash, and industrial chemicals that it has an alarming habit catching on fire. As recently as January 19, 2018, fire broke out on Bellandur Lake and burned for seven hours. Adding to this after tests of hundreds of lakes and small rivers near Bengaluru none of them were found fit for drinking and bathing.

Adaptations :

To push back against such problems, NASA’s Earth Science Division, and particularly its applied sciences program, is doing what it can to marshal the agency’s resources to make countries aware of all the resources NASA has made available to monitor and reduce the impact of water-related problems. Even as a part of the vast Water Program NASA scientists and staff are working with the United Nations to highlight key NASA datasets, tools, and satellite-based monitoring capabilities that may help countries meet the 17 sustainable development goals established by the international body to help reduce the marine damage.

So as said by the program manager of NASA Earth Applied Science Water Resources program that “All the water on Earth already exists. We can't make more”. Therefore we have to realise that we have all we need but still most of the population is facing the problem of water scarcity. This is the result of our deeds but if we sit and think about the situation our future generations is going to face if we keep exploiting at this rate is horrifying. There are uncountable ways of saving water but the baby steps to it start at our home only. Just imagine if we monitor use of water in our homes and save accordingly how much water we can save for the generations to come.

We need to make our mind prepared to teach ourselves or within our family how important a resource is water then they slowly understand and spread the message wishing their friend circle and then their families. It continues like a chain because activists can’t go on telling to each one so the layman will be the biggest and the best agent of spreading this message. We should realise that what we are doing is for our offsprings and even us. At the end, does it hurt to have a clean surrounding be it water, air or land?! Think it over once.

https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/Deforestation/deforestation_update3.php

https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/145888/making-sense-of-amazon-deforestation-patterns

https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/landsat/news/40th-top10-amazon.html

https://mynasadata.larc.nasa.gov/basic-page/deforestation

https://global.jaxa.jp/press/2016/01/20160128_daichi2.html

https://www.eorc.jaxa.jp/en/earthview/2003/tp030904.html

https://global.jaxa.jp/article/special/geo/shimada_e.html

https://www.jica.go.jp/english/news/press/2016/161114_02.html

https://earthdata.nasa.gov/learn/sensing-our-planet/cleaner-water-from-space

 https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/blogs/earthmatters/tag/pollution/

 https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2977/when-it-comes-to-water-you-have-to-think-global/

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_pollution

 https://blog.arcadia.com/causes-effects-of-ocean-         pollution/#:~:text=Other%20specific%20effects%20of%20ocean,poisonous%20industrial%20and%20agricultural%20chemicals

https://earthdata.nasa.gov/earth-observation-data/near-real-time/hazards-and-disasters/air-quality

https://aura.gsfc.nasa.gov/airquality.html

https://earthdata.nasa.gov/earth-observation-data/near-real-time/hazards-and-disasters/air-quality

https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2986/nasa-satellite-data-show-air-pollution-decreases-over-southwest-us-cities/

https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4810