(by Giovanni Bozzetti, Pres Ambienthesis) Our Earth is becoming, or returning to being, since everything has already happened in the past, a greenhouse. In a distant time compared to today, in fact, the atmosphere was rich in gases such as carbon dioxide and there were no ices. The climate is now changing much faster than in the past and a lot certainly depends on man, so much so that, according to specific studies on the subject, perhaps not even the efforts put in place to date could be enough to prevent it in the future , not too far away, the seas can devour kilometers of soil and coastal cities as a result, or deserts can replace areas that are still cultivable today. And with the seas that could rise, New York, Miami, Rome and, of course, Venice would end up totally under water. The study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences tells us, in fact, that "The threshold of 2 degrees Celsius could be a point of no return and trigger a domino effect without control. The seas could grow to 60 meters and many areas of the planet could become uninhabitable. "We are now just over 1 ° from a century and a half ago, with an average growth of 0,17 ° per year. But, in the meantime, gases like carbon dioxide and methane, released into the atmosphere by human activities, are turning the globe into a huge greenhouse. Exceeding 2 ° (COP21 target, with a more ambitious 1,5 ° containment) would be like launching down a steep descent without brakes: the temperature would settle at a global average of 4-5 degrees above pre-industrial levels. According to climatologists, keeping global warming to within 2 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial times, will be more difficult than expected. And, if we fail to do so, it could trigger a domino effect that is impossible to counter with periods of drought and increasingly extreme events, which will hit (and partly already hit) agriculture, causing mass migration and social destabilization. A very similar scenario, but much worse and on a global scale, to the one we are already witnessing in the Mediterranean. In fact, it is no coincidence that the "Global Risks" report published by the World Economic Form classifies the water crisis, closely linked to the rise in global temperatures, as the greatest risk for our planet in the next decade and has placed it among the Development Goals sustainable great attention to the theme of water. Desertification, just to clarify the term, is the constant degradation of ecosystems due to human activities - including unsustainable agriculture, mining, pastures for intensive farming and land reclamation - and climate changes. And, even if land degradation is a global problem, it happens locally and requires local solutions. Needless to say, if something needs to be done, it needs to be done now.
The objective can only be achieved with a change of mentality, at an economic and technological level, with machines capable of collecting greenhouse gases from the atmosphere and storing, and with the use of sustainable housing and transport systems and, finally , with a change in land and demographic management and with a new cultural approach, through education. As the study authors state: "Avoiding exceeding this threshold is a goal that can only be achieved and maintained by a coordinated and determined effort by the companiesà human beings to manage our relationship with the rest of the Earth System, recognizing that humanity is an integrated element that interacts with this system ”.
According to another important research entitled "Production of methane and ethylene from plastic in the environment", published in the scientific journal PlosOne, the most common plastic we use (and throw away) in the form of bags, but also some toys, caps, films food or bottles for detergents and food, once released into the free environment under the action of the sun, and especially air, methane and ethylene. Translated: when plastic degrades in the marine and terrestrial environment it emits different greenhouse gases, the same gases that, it is now known, directly affect climate change, causing sea levels to rise, increasing global temperatures, compromising the health of ecosystems terrestrial and oceanic and strengthening storms, which in turn increase floods, droughts and coastal erosion. All damage to the environment in addition to those already known about plastics thrown into the sea, capable of aggregating and transporting numerous other toxic substances (heavy metals, pesticides, etc.) in addition to those typical of plastic. Plastic thus represents a significant source of traces of gas for the climate which is expected to increase with the production and accumulation of plastic in the environment (already accounting for about 95% of waste found in the sea). This source was not anticipated in the assessment of global methane and ethylene cycles prior to the chance discovery, but it may be significant. The world has been producing plastic for over 70 years, 8 million tons end up in the oceans every year. Considering, thus, the large amount of plastic stranded ashore on our shores and the amount of plastic exposed every day to environmental conditions, the study provides further evidence that we will have to limit, or even stop, the production of plastic at source, in particularly that of disposable plastic. Until now, the link between plastics and climate change has mainly centered on the use of fossil fuels such as oil and gas in the production of plastic products, but it was already known that when plastics degrade in the environment they release CO2. Now, however, another piece is added to the long list of impacts on the environment caused by this real "highlander" of the seas, one more reason, which is added to the many others already widely debated and known by all, to commit to stem plastic pollution even in our small daily gestures and transform our lifestyle into a daily "plastic free".