The Rise of Green Packaging - World Environment

The Rise of Green Packaging - World Environment

After a long struggle, especially since the Industrial Revolution in the 17th century, humanity has achieved brilliant results in transforming nature and developing the economy. However, there are also negative impacts of uncivilized practices in the highly developed world economic civilization.

Due to improper disposal during the industrialization process, especially the unreasonable development and utilization of resources, as well as the lack of attention to the treatment of waste gas, wastewater, and waste generated during the industrialization process, the consequences of the increasingly scarce earth resources, energy shortages, and deteriorating environment have seriously endangered the ecological space of the earth and the sustainable development of the world economy.

Environmental pollution, resource depletion, and population growth have become the three major challenges that must be addressed in contemporary times.

（1） World environmental crisis

Due to the negative impact of the industrial revolution, the ecological environment has been severely damaged, endangering human survival and development. The current environmental situation is very worrying, and its severity is manifested in the following five aspects.

1. Air pollution and greenhouse effect

Due to the emission of exhaust gases from industrial production, 125 million people worldwide live in polluted air. Every year, 12 million tons of particulate matter and 7 million tons of sulfur dioxide are emitted into the air in our country. The concentration of suspended particles in some cities exceeds the World Health Organization's standards by dozens of times, including heavy metal dust and toxic gases. According to scientists' measurements, a large amount of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane are emitted in human production and life, causing changes in the atmospheric composition around the Earth. According to calculations, a doubling of the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would cause the Earth's temperature to rise by 4.5 ℃.

Some scientists predict that according to the current growth rate of carbon dioxide emissions, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will double by 2030, and the temperature of the Earth's surface will rise by 1.5-45 ℃. The consequence will be the melting of polar ice, leading to a sea level rise of more than 60cm. Some islands will be submerged, and tens of millions of people living along the coast and on these islands will be forced to leave their homes. Island countries are in a precarious situation

2. Destruction of the ozone layer and damage to the "shield"

In the high-altitude atmospheric stratosphere located 20-40km above the Earth, there is an ozone layer that protects the Earth. It can absorb harmful ultraviolet rays from sunlight and protect life on Earth. This ozone layer is known as the "shield" of the Earth. With the development of industry, the chemical substance Freon, successfully developed by Americans in the 1960s, was widely used in fields such as refrigerators, air conditioners, foam materials, insulation materials, and electronic components. Although it facilitated people's production and life, this harmless substance became the culprit of ozone depletion. It rises into the atmosphere and decomposes into chlorine gas after intense ultraviolet radiation. Chlorine reacts with ozone to reduce it to oxygen, thereby causing damage to the ozone layer. After investigation, it was found that due to the effect of Freon, the ozone in the ozone layer has been continuously decreasing since the late 1970s. The destruction of the ozone layer causes the sun's ultraviolet rays to shine directly on the ground, damaging human immune function, leading to an increase in human diseases, rising rates of skin cancer, animal deaths, and reduced crop yields. Scientists have determined that for every 1% decrease in ozone, the incidence of skin cancer increases by 2%. According to the report "State of the World 199" by the Worldwatch Institute, the ozone layer over densely populated areas in the Northern Hemisphere is thinning at a rate twice as fast as 12 years ago, which will lead to reduced crop yields and some plants may lose their ability to pollinate. The intact and orderly ecosystems of nature will be disrupted by increased exposure to ultraviolet radiation.

3. Overlogging and severe damage to ecosystem entities

Green symbolizes life, and once it is lost, human survival becomes a problem. Nature was originally beautiful with mountains and clear waters, and two-thirds of the Earth's land area was once covered by forests. However, due to excessive logging, deforestation, and land reclamation, forests on Earth are decreasing, especially primary forests, which have decreased from 5 billion hectares in the 19th century to over 2.8 billion hectares. Since 1950, 50% of the world's forests have been lost, with an annual reduction of 17 million hectares in forest area. Scientists warn that 40% of arable land in Africa, 32% in Asia, and 19% in South America is at risk of desertification. Every year, nearly 21 million hectares of arable land are swallowed up worldwide due to desertification, causing sand to advance and people to retreat. As a result, there are fewer pastures and arable land available for human use. Without skin, how can hair attach? Forests are the main body of terrestrial ecosystems and the overall control room of nature. Due to the extensive destruction of their vegetation, they can no longer purify the air and conserve water sources. In addition, wetlands have dried up and grasslands have degraded, resulting in the extinction of 10000 species every year. At the end of the 20th century, species on Earth disappeared at a rate of 15% to 20%, which is 1000 times faster than the natural extinction rate. Officials from the United Nations Environment Programme believe that "the destructive consequences of land desertification are no less than several nuclear strikes

China is a country severely lacking in forest resources, with a forest coverage rate of only about 60% of the world average, resulting in severe soil erosion. Its area covers 3.67 million km2, accounting for 38.2% of the total land area; The degraded area of grassland is nearly 100 million hectares, accounting for one-third of the existing grassland; The total area of desertified land is 1.53 million km2, accounting for 16% of the total land area. The 1999 national flood was the result of 50 years of indiscriminate deforestation, leading to significant soil erosion.

4. Freshwater pollution and severe water crisis

Freshwater is the blood of the earth, the lifeline of agriculture, and the fundamental material for human life. However, water resources on Earth are becoming increasingly scarce and severely polluted.

At the end of the 20th century, the world's population had exceeded 6 billion, and in no more than 70 years, the population on Earth will reach the critical line for human survival -10 billion. With the increase of population and excessive development and waste of water resources, water shortage will become increasingly severe. From 1950 to 2000, based on per capita annual access to water resources, Europe will decrease from 5900m3 to 4100m3, Asia will decrease from 9600m3 to 300m3, and Africa will decrease from 9600m3 to 5100m3. 70% of the ancient Earth's surface area of the ocean received a large amount of waste dumped by humans every year, including about 2 billion tons of garbage (including 1 million tons of plastic waste), 1 million tons of oil, over 300000 tons of lead, and 5000 tons of mercury. These wastes discolor seawater and pose a huge threat to the survival of marine organisms. The pollution of freshwater resources in our country is also very serious. More than 35 billion tons of sewage are discharged into freshwater every year nationwide, with 36% of urban river sections and 50% of urban water sources being polluted. The pollution situation in coastal waters is also quite serious.

5. The increase in solid waste seriously pollutes the urban environment

After entering industrialization, many developed countries have neglected the management of "three wastes", resulting in an increasing accumulation of industrial waste and increasing pollution to the environment, especially urban environments. The EU countries generate 2.2 billion tons of solid waste annually, including 100 million tons of urban solid waste, 1.3 billion tons of agricultural waste, and 800 million tons of waste from industrial production processes; The United States generates 150 million tons of urban waste annually, while Japan generates over 50 million tons. China's urban solid waste is approximately 75 million tons annually, with over 600 million tons of industrial waste discharged each year. A huge amount of solid waste is buried underground, occupying land and dumping it into rivers, polluting the water. Burning it also pollutes the atmosphere. In recent years, plastic packaging waste has formed a sharp "white pollution" in cities, becoming a major public hazard. Therefore, solid waste, along with water, air, and noise pollution, has increasingly become the "modern four pests" that seriously affect urban environments.

Someone also summarized the manifestations of the world environmental crisis from 10 aspects, which are

(1) Desertification is becoming increasingly severe.

(2) The forest has been severely damaged.

(3) The mass extinction of wild animals and plants.

(4) The world population is rapidly increasing

(5) Drinking water resources are becoming increasingly scarce, and rivers are severely polluted.

(6) Fishery resources are gradually decreasing.

(7) The extensive use of pesticides and fertilizers has contaminated food crops.

(8) The surface temperature of the Earth has significantly increased, resulting in the greenhouse effect.

(9) The increasingly serious harm of acid rain.

(10) Solid waste continues to increase.

The Rise of Green Packaging - World Environment