How are these environmental problems being tackled?
- Conservation - because the Earth's resources are limited, they must be protected and supported wherever possible. Conservation aims to reduce the amount of resources used by human activity. It protects endangered speciesAnimals that are close to extinction because of their low numbers., eg by placing a limit on the amount of fish that can be caught and making areas of natural importance into national parkAn area that is protected by government legislation to it them to remain unspoiled by exploitation. so that they cannot be exploited.
- International action and legislation – through international treaties, governments across the world can agree to regulate the use of harmful chemicals, or to reduce the output of greenhouse emissions. One such agreement was the Kyoto Protocol in 1997.
- Sustainable development - the needs of future generations should have equal weight to the needs of people today, meaning we should try to prevent long-lasting damage to the environment, conserve resources or replace those we use up.
- Recycling - some waste productIn chemistry, these are by-products in a chemical reaction formed as well as the desired product. They are described as waste products if no use can be found for them. In general terms, they can be unwanted or unusable material, including household rubbish, hazardous materials (eg toxic waste) or bodily materials (eg urine or faeces). can be broken down and turned back into new products. This reduces the amount of waste going into landfill sites or being incinerated. Glass, paper, metal and some plastics are common materials that can be recycled.
