Since the 1800s, Planet Earth’s average global temperature has risen almost one degree celsius and more than 500 species have become extinct. Unlike topics such as economic globalization, women's struggle for equality, and religion and modernity, environmental issues do not just affect humans, but also all other living organisms on planet Earth. The decisions made by select few have the potential to affect billions. In the next hundred years, the global environmental health will deteriorate due to pollution aided by consumerism, the depletion of the Earth’s natural resources, and corporations’ influence on politics.
Pollution to the natural environment has already claimed the lives of many species and has negatively changed the Earth’s natural ecosystem. Marine debris pose major threats to maintaining the biodiversity of the oceans. The one of the main type of debris would be plastic because of one-time-use items for consumers, such as utensils, bags, and bottles, often find themselves either in the stomach of a sea turtle and/or floating in the middle of the ocean. In 2011, the production of plastic products reached 280 million tonnes per year. This number is massive compared to the meager five million tonnes produced in 1960s. It is important to keep track of where the plastic is going because there are certain materials that do not biodegrade and the ones that do may take 450 years to even complete that process. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is an example of what consumerism and globalization can do to worsen pollution. The garbage patch is comprised of 79,000 metric tons of plastic floating in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and 46 percent of that is just fishing gear. The plastic pollution in the ocean also has the possibility to increase to three times by 2050. Water pollution from textile waste and chemical dyes has increased dramatically in the past decade due to “fast fashion.” Fast fashion mostly consists of items that are only trendy for a short amount of time, whose materials are unethically sourced for production, and are mass produced in clothing “sweatshops” filled with mostly underpaid female workers (Source 23.1). In the country of the United Kingdom, three-fourths of unwanted clothes are actually thrown away instead of donating to local shelters or thrift stores. It is time for consumers to weigh the ethics and be more aware about where their favorite companies are outsourcing their work and where their last season’s clothes remains. Pollution will remain an extremely important in the next century because humans are now experiencing the effects of climate change from man’s actions.
In “Tragedy of the Commons” by William Forster Lloyd (and later developed by Garrett Hardin), the author explains that if someone overuses a resource, it causes growth because everyone else will also overuse it. However, without proper infrastructure and the continuous production of resources, everyone suffers in the long run. An example of this concept would be the overfishing of bluefin tuna by the “Pacific 6” (Japan, China, the U.S., Indonesia, Chinese Taipei and South Korea). Demand for bluefin tuna picked up in the 1960s with the rise of interest in the sashimi style of sushi. With popular demand, Japan and the U.S. began to massively overfish. Now, the population of bluefin tuna has dwindled to only 3.6 percent of its original population in the 1960s. A report by the International Scientific Committee for Tuna and Tuna-like Species in the North Pacific Ocean says, “the likelihood of rebuilding stocks to healthy levels is only 0.1 percent.” Based on their estimates, there will only be 6.4 percent of the original levels in 2024. Population growth will most likely be the most prominent problem. There will be an increase of at least 4 billion to the world’s current population. The United Nations’ projections for world population are 9.8 billion in 2050, and 11.2 billion in 2100. The predictions also state that there will be a doubling of Africa’s population. This population boom could be explained by the improved quality of life, low infant mortality rate, and longer lifespans. To address the price of overpopulation Garrett Hardin says, “The most important aspect of necessity that we must now recognize, is the necessity of abandoning the commons in breeding. No technical solution can rescue us from the misery of overpopulation. Freedom to breed will bring ruin to all.” When Africa doubles in population, there may not be enough room for animals that need space in their biota. Animals, such as lions, elephants, and rhinos, already have rapidly declining populations because of human expansion. There may be enough resources for the 11.2 billion humans in 2100 with some rearrangement, but not so much for the other mammals on Earth.
Rachel Carson, conservationist and author of Silent Spring, is credited to exposing the negative effects of exposure to DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) and was widely hated by right wing critics when she was alive (Strayer and Nelson 1058). Chemical companies such as Monsanto and Ciba and right wing critics attacked Carson because she was a woman with no scientific publications. The United States bought 80 million pounds of DDT in 1959 and from their perspective Carson was prohibiting them from making further profit. Controversy has even carried over from Nixon’s presidency to Trump’s with Breitbart News, headed by former advisor of President Trump Steven K. Bannon. They replied to Google’s tribute to Rachel Carson’s 50th anniversary of her death by saying, “Will Google be paying tribute to any of the other mass killers of the 20th century? Hitler? Stalin? Mao? Pol Pot? Probably not. But then, none of the others have had the benefit of having their images burnished by a thousand and one starry-eyed greenies.” Since the 2016 election, candidates who are climate change deniers have been consistent with those who receive donations from Super-PACs backed by major polluters. Major corporations like Aetna and Verizon contributed to the $107 million in donations brought in by Trump’s inaugural committee. Lobbiers representing the fossil fuel, transportation, and electrical utilities sector have spent $2 billion attempting to alter climate change legislation that would directly affect their stock. The United State’s political status is important for signing agreements such as The Paris Agreement. This is because the backing of the United States is highly influential and because the United States is the second highest emitter of carbon dioxide after China.
Due to pollution aided by consumerism, the depletion of the Earth’s natural resources, and corporations’ influence on politics, the global environmental health will deteriorate in a 100 years. There are many ethical dilemmas that occur when discussing the future of the environment. In the case of Africa in 2100, there will be benefits such as improved healthcare and a high enough fertility rate that the population doubles. However, the population boom of four billion people could push Earth’s resources to the limits and cause more species to become extinct. Despite Rachel Carson’s books being harshly criticized, they were what kickstarted the science revolution and what was needed at the time. It is ultimately up to the decision of a consumer to take action to protect the planet whether it be by buying sustainable clothes or not using plastic straws.