Sustainable Solutions to 4 Environmental Problems: How Teens Can Help Our Planet

The world is ours. We get to live on its earth and breathe its air, we drink its water, and marvel at its landscapes. We use these resources to survive and thrive.

In recent years, however, we have been taking it for granted. We have gotten so caught up in politics, economics, and everything else that we have neglected the care of our beautiful earth.

According to the UN Environment Programme, we are using the equivalent of 1.6 Earths to maintain our current way of life, and ecosystems cannot keep up with our demands. That is why I will share 4 of the biggest environmental problems we are facing as a society, and how we as teenagers can make an impact. Because if we don't start now, we never will.

#1: Climate Change

I'm sure you've heard it being talked about. It is a hot topic. By burning fossil fuels, we are increasing the levels of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere and global temperatures.

2023 was the hottest year on record, with global average temperatures at 1.46C above pre-industrial levels. These rising levels are unsustainable and if we don’t start trying to stop the increase before 2026, Climate change will be irreversible. While this all sounds scary, and our governments are trying their best to stop this, we must also do our part. Some examples of this are:

• Take public transport so we can reduce emissions.
• Switching to energy-efficient appliances at home
• Eating more vegetables and less dairy and meat
• Reduce, reuse, and recycle
• Reduce food waste by buying smaller quantities.

Stasisław at Polish Wikipedia

#2: Pollution

Pollution is when harmful substances such as Carbon Monoxide (CO), pesticides, and rubbish get disregarded and cause damage to our earth. Even noise and light can pollute our earth. According to WHO, over 7 million premature deaths annually can be attributed to air pollution. This contaminates and reduces the quality of air, water and land, which causes our quality of life and our ecosystem to suffer. To reduce our impact on this, we can:

• Avoid any plastic products
• Make use of renewable energy, such as solar
• Always use recyclable products
• Quit smoking
• Take care of our existing trees and plant new ones
• Help to educate others

Ekamb at Wikimedia Commons

#3: Biodiversity Losses

Biodiversity loss is essentially the loss of variety regarding our ecosystem. Such as different species going extinct or disappearing from a certain area. This leads to levels of the ecosystem's productivity and the quality of its service being lowered. Panda.org says “Put simply, reduced biodiversity means millions of people face a future where food supplies are more vulnerable to pests and disease, and where fresh water is in irregular or short supply.” Unless we help to increase biodiversity in our area, we will soon be victim to these problems. Some ways we can fix this are:

• Limit our use of pesticides
• Plant native trees
• Leave grass unfertilized
• Let dandelions grow
• Don't kill those annoying bugs
• Put out food for birds
• Help animals in need (when safe)

Below is a picture of a Siberian Tiger, which are currently endangered

S.Taheri at Wikimedia Commons

#4: Food Waste

Roughly a third of the world’s food is wasted. That’s about 1.3 billion tons a year. We waste so much food for many different reasons, such as buying too much, preparing too much, our plans change, forgetting our lunch in the car, the expiry date passes, and leftovers going off in the fridge.

There are so many innocent reasons. But when this is compiled, this wood waste causes serious problems. According to Worldwildlife.org, when we waste food, we also waste all the energy and water it takes to grow, harvest, transport, and package it. And if food goes to the landfill and rots, it produces methane—a greenhouse gas even more potent than carbon dioxide. These are some small ways we can make a big difference:

• Plan your meals
• Know how to store your food
• Understand 'use by' vs 'best before' dates
• Use what you have
• Avoid serving too much.
• Share extra food with others
• Repurpose waste where possible

Petrr at Wikimedia Commons

Our damage to the environment can’t be fixed overnight. However, by introducing these small ways to help reduce waste and keep our planet safe, we can lessen our impact on the Earth. Also, by educating ourselves and others, we can help make our environment safer.

So good on you for taking the initiative! Now go out there and help our world.