Air pollution, water pollution, climate change and so on, these are all environmental problems. But how about endangered species? What do we call endangered species? Do we have those in Lithuania? An Endangered species is a species which has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List as likely to become extinct. Because of increasing urbanization and expanding infrastructure, deforestation animals are being
extinct. There are too many of them to be discussed. Let’s look at some mammals.

Bison is the largest mammal known in Lithuania. Bison was a very important hunting object in Lithuanian history, the Grand Duke Jogaila was interested in great animals’ (including bisons) hunting. Now there are very few of them left.  

Next one is the brown bear. They weigh 130-170 kg. In earlier years
because of increasing population and farming these bears had been hunted as predators. And also deforestation was causing the same problem-extinction.

The third one is forest dormouse. Its appearance is squirrel-like, On average, the forest dormouse is 110 mm long with a fluffy grey tail nearly as long as its body. The head and body length can range from 80 mm to 130 mm, while the length of the tail can range from 60 mm to 113 mm. The range of its body mass is between 18 grams and 34 grams.

All in all, we should protect and respect our country, environment and animals.  I hope that in future the level of extinction will decrease.

All of us know that trees produce oxygen and that it is vital for our survival, but trees do so much more. Our forests are natural sinks of carbon dioxide and produce fresh oxygen as well as helps in regulating temperature and rainfall. Now forests cover 30% of the land but every year tree cover is lost due to growing population demand for more food, shelter and cloth. Deforestation simply means clearing of green cover and making that land available for residential, industrial or commercial purpose. This article will look into causes and effects of deforestation.

Deforestation occurs around the world, though tropical rain forests are particularly targeted. NASA predicts that if current deforestation levels proceed the world’s rain forests could completely vanish in a hundred years which would be a disaster.

There are many reasons of deforestation, but most of them are related to money or to people’s need to provide for their families.The biggest driver of deforestation is agriculture. Farmers cut forests to provide more space for planting. Logging operations, which provide the world’s wood and paper products, also cut tons of trees each year. Loggers, some of them acting illegally, also build roads to access more and more remote forests – which leads to further deforestation. Not all deforestation is intentional. Some is caused by a combination of human and natural factors like wildfires, which may prevent the growth of young trees.

Deforestation has many negative effects on the environment. The most dramatic impact is a loss of habitat for millions of species. Deforestation also causes climate change. Forest soils are moist, but without protection from sun-blocking tree cover they quickly dry out. Trees also help perpetuate the water cycle by returning water steams back into the atmosphere. Without trees forest lands can quickly become deserts. Trees also play a huge role in absorbing the greenhouse gases that cause global warming. Fewer forests means larger amounts of greenhouse gases entering the atmosphere – and increased speed of global warming.

We can already see negative results of deforestation, but we can try to improve the situation. The quickest solution to deforestation would be to simply stop cutting down trees and plant new ones. The cutting should be balanced by the planting enough young trees to replace the older ones which were cut down. It is a slow process, but it can change a lot.

Tropical rain forests which cover 6-7% of the earth’s surface, contain over half of all the plant and animal species in the world. So it is time to think that every action of ours have some kind of effect and cutting down trees can have a huge effect to the Earth in the near future. So all of us should think of a ways to stop or at least to reduce deforestation.

Our planet Earth is unique among the stars. It is a safe haven for life: shielded by our atmosphere, with plenty of water and food for everyone… But not everything is going well lately in our paradise. There are a lot of problems that influence the environment, such as global warming, pollution, deforestation and many more, which are mostly caused by humans. But there are also a lot of ways in which we people can help the nature to restore its balance.

One of the best ways to help our planet is to use renewable energy sources, such as sunlight, wind, ocean waves, geothermal heat... Their biggest advantages is that they are clean, renewable and quite cheap. I think that soon they will replace coal and oil and will be used worldwide.

One day can be hot and cloudy, the next cold and sunny – these day to day changes are the weather.  One day it’s windy, the next it’s raining, the day after that it’s windy and raining then we might get some sunshine.  So, weather is always changing.  But now we regularly hear about climate change.  Climate reflects long-term weather patterns, so when we talk about climate change, we’re talking about long-term changes to the weather.  Over decades and centuries, climate changes – places become drier, wetter, hotter or colder.

Our climate is changing, both naturally and due to human exploitation. There is already undeniable evidence that animals, birds and plants are being affected by climate change and global warming in both their distribution and behavior.

Climate variability and change affects birdlife and animals in a number of ways:

Birds lay eggs earlier in the year than usual, plants bloom earlier and mammals are come out of hibernation sooner. Birds are migrating and arriving at their nesting grounds earlier, and the nesting grounds that they are moving to are not as far away as they used to be and in some countries the birds don’t even leave anymore, as the climate is suitable all year round.

Many people know that climate change is causing Arctic sea ice to melt, which in turn threatens polar bears who need the ice to hunt for their prey. They spend far more time at sea than it does on land.  Polar bears today are thinner and less healthy than those of 20 years ago.

Although it is thought that no species has yet become extinct exclusively because of climate change, many migratory and non-migratory species are expected to become extinct in the near future.

Living in a 21^st century seems to be like the best time of our lives. We got everything we need: high standarts of living, great progress in Social Welfare, Health care and technology. But….. Aren’t we forgetting something? Should we really care just about things like that? An essential problem of the 21st century is world pollution. Currently the environment is so contaminated that urgent measures should be taken. A single individual cannot be blamed for the world pollution, however every person should take care of his or her habitat. Here is a list of thing all of us can try to be a part of a better future!

1. Climate change is first and foremost an issue. You might have noticed that the weather’s been hotter than usual, or you have noticed a drought in your area or conversely, unusual storms. To prevent climate change you can start by using less electricity, driving less, switching to LED bulbs or eating less meat.
2. Another thing to mention is deforestation. Tropical rainforests, which are crucial to stabilizing the climate and to human survival, are being chopped down at breakneck pace- one and a half acres of rainforest are lost every second. Humans have already chopped down about 50% of the rainforests that once existed on the planet and at the current rate of destruction, we will completely destroy the rainforests in the next 40 years. What we could do as individuals? By using recycled paper, we can decrease the need to cut down as many trees and by buying goods made with FSC-certified wood, we can show retailers that we don’t want them to support brands that obtain lumber irresponsibly. Last but not least, why not plant a tree or even a hundred trees.

   

3. Moving on we face pollution. Pollution comes in many forms and no matter where we live we all probably have seen it more or less. It became a part of our daily routine to see such thing like smog in the streets of big cities. The first thing we can all do to reduce the amount of pollution in our streets, air and water is to make a mental change. Before buying a new product, ask yourself if you really need it or if you might be able to purchase it secondhand. It could make a big difference in the amount of trash we see in our landfills. Secondly, if you don’t already recycle, get into the habit. If everyone adopted these easy principles, the world would be in a much better place.

4. Global warming is another environmental issue which is increase in earth’s temperature due to effect of greenhouse gases called carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor and other gases. Without these gases, this planet would turn be cold for life to exist. What can be done? Reduce, reuse, recycle. By recycling half of your household waste, you can save 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide annually, use Less Heat and Air Conditioning, use less hot water, encourage others to conserve!

   

5. Water scarcity is becoming more of an issue as the population increases and climate change causes more droughts. Only three percent of the world’s water is fresh water and 1.1 billion people lack access to clean, safe drinking water. How to deal with this problem? Installing an ENERGY STAR-certified washer, using low-flow faucets, plugging up leaks, irrigating the lawn in the morning or evening when the cooler air causes less evaporation, taking shorter showers and not running sink water when brushing your teeth.
   

   

It’s time for us to open our eyes and hearts and start caring more not about ourselves but also about our planet, our home.  It is high time for human beings to take the ‘right’ action towards saving the earth from major environmental issues. We and only we create a world we want to live in. And it is up to us weather we want to have a bright future or destroy everything we have. If ignored today, these ill effects are sure to curb human existence in the near future.

There are many environmental problems in the world today, such as littering, water and air pollution, deforestation, acid rain and more. Many of them are caused by people. You may think that Lithuania is a small country and there are not so many severe environmental problems. Although, the extent of Lithuania’s ecological issues is not as great as in other big countries, they are still issues that cannot be left unsolved.
One of the biggest environmental problems in Lithuania is littering. In the recent report on how European Union countries manage municipal waste Lithuania was one of the outsiders. The vast majority of municipal waste in Lithuania is still landfilled. Despite the fact that since 2004, the recycling rate has slightly increased, the overall recycling level is still shamefully low. Probably, the reason of it is the lack of information. This problem needs to be solved quickly. We have to instruct our people about recycling. The recycling process should be supervised carefully.
Another huge concern is the usage of plastic bags. These bags are very popular in our country. You can find tons of them in supermarkets or in any kind of shop. Usually they are given for free. Buyers do not even understand how many of them they actually take. As you may know, microorganisms are unable to decompose plastic trash.  It is a very massive issue that other countries started to take care off.  For example, Italy was the first country in Europe which forbade onetime plastic bags. In these days, more and more countries in the world apply major restrictions on plastic trash. Lithuania has to do the same.
It would be wrong to say that Lithuania does not do anything to fix littering problems. Every year the volunteers of Lithuania organise action called ‘Darom’. The main task of this action is to collect trash all around the country. This is a good start in solving littering issue, but it is just a little step. We should not litter in the first place!
All in all, the nature is our home. Our entire future depends on the way we protect our nature. Therefore, the protection of the natural environment against physical, chemical, biological and any other negative impact should be the main target in Lithuania.