Current rates of deforestation are alarming in many parts of the world, and if this trend continues many forests and rainforests will vanish by the end of this century. Millions hectares of forests are being cleared annually, and deforestation is with no doubt one of the biggest ecological problems world is facing today. Rainforests have the richest biodiversity on our planet, but if current rates of deforestation continue many animals and plants will perish from existence. Just imagine, in less than 100 years we could destroy what nature was developing for millions of years. What an irony this would be…

The problem of climate change is also connected with forests and deforestation. Deforestation is responsible for 20% of total CO2 emissions, and if world really plans to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation will have to be stopped immediately. Forests have natural ability to act as a carbon sink and can slow down increase of CO2 emission into the atmosphere which can be our strong weapon against global warming. The more forests remain the stronger we are in fight against global warming.

Sadly, many people around the world are still unaware of how important forests really are despite the climate change problem knocking on our door. Many people still do not care whether we’ll protect our forests and stop deforestation or not. Public awareness is still not on sufficient level, and this has to change as soon as possible. World needs to hear sad truth about our forests and do everything to stop deforestation. Without our forests, our defense against global warming and climate change will be completely broken. It is really time to wake up from this nightmare, and do everything that is in our power to secure sweet dreams for our future generations.

WWF, the international conservation group has issued a warning that we have already lost 40% of reefs in the Coral Triangle, and unless world makes quick action to curb emissions this number will be significantly bigger in years to come. What people fail to see the importance of corals, and the possible consequences of what is gonna happen if world’s largest coral reefs get destroyed.

The worst possible scenario includes hunger for hundred of millions of people across south-east Asia. These people rely on fish for food, and without coral reefs there won’t be fish either, and hunger will rule the lives of many people. Such scenario could happen by the end of the century because changes are so drastic that even scientists were surprised with current data.

System is changing very quickly, and world has in the last 40 years lost 40 percent of coral reefs and mangroves, and what is even more alarming these changes happened with only a 0.7 degree temperature increase. So you can imagine what’s going to happen if we pass two degree Celsius temperature increase, or God forbid even more.

The importance of Coral Triangle is really immense. The Coral Triangle contains a third of all the world’s coral, and three-quarters of its coral reef species. Sadly problems with oceans have been neglected on global political scale. We seem to be forgetting that oceans absorb large quantities of CO2 that would instead end up in atmosphere, and cause even bigger climate change impact. If we continue with our emissions and pollution oceans will lose their productivity. Without oceans productivity world will really have no chance to tackle global warming and climate change. Our oceans need us but we need them much more.

To understand how mankind can counter global warming, we must understand what brought it about. There are several holes in the ozone layer, caused by gases emitted from the Earth’s atmosphere and rising into the atmosphere. These gases have been caused by the use of certain noxious chemicals, some of which were used in agricultural. One of them in particular, Methyl Bromide, has largely been banned from use. Another minor cause in temperature and climate changes is the use of aerosol sprays, which might seem petty and innocuous, has had some effect, scientist say. However the principal gases being emitted into the atmosphere are from industry and vehicle exhaust systems.

Only very recently has the United States Government begun to realize how much these factors have affected the situation. However the realization among all of us is that it will take years if not decades to put and end t o the emission of gases. This can only be achieved through a gradual transition to cleaner energy.

In the meantime, mankind will have to live with the catastrophic effects that these temperature and climate changes are bringing upon us.

Natural disasters are becoming a much more common place, the most prominent example being the Indian Ocean Tsunami that occurred in 2004, causing the deaths or more than 300,000 people and destruction of property at a tremendous scale. Hurricanes and typhoons over the last few years have been increasingly frequent and more violent, again at great cost to lives and property.

However, temperature and climate changes have become a silent killer, due to acute shortages of water being felt all over the World, Drinking water is increasingly short of supply as well as water for agriculture to supply the most basic foods for the starving millions.

Great efforts are being made to increase water supplies through desalination and waste water treatman , but it may be a case of too little too late to save many millions of people who are slowly starving to death.  If and when mankind succeeds in reversing the changes in our weather patterns caused by temperature and climate changes, only then can their situation improve.