Human activities such as burning coal and using mercury in manufacturing has increased the level of mercury in the environment. We can be exposed directly or by igesting organisms that have been exposed to it. In the United States we a primarily exposed to it when we eat fish or shellfish.

To me, biodiversity, simply means the number of plants and animals on the planet that are different from each other. The Smithsonian offers a more complex definition...

According to the FDA... "Genetic engineering is a process in which recombinant DNA (rDNA) technology is used to introduce desirable traits into organisms. A genetically engineered (GE) animal is one that contains a recombinant DNA (rDNA) construct producing a new trait. While conventional breeding methods have long been used to produce more desirable traits in animals, genetic engineering is a much more targeted and powerful method of introducing desirable traits into animals. In January 2009, FDA issued a final guidance for industry on the regulation of genetically engineered (GE) animals.

I think a major environmetal issue is having clean fresh water to drink. As the world population grows the need increases. In many parts of the world the need exceeds what is available. It is easy in many Western countries not to think about this problem, but if your faucet went dry you would understand it right away.

We have had a wake up call with the earthquake in Japan and the resulting damage to several of their nuclear reactors. It has only been a month or so but it seems as though people are already putting it in the past when we really need to be doing something about the reactors that are still in use. I live in Southern California and they have a nuclear plant not far at all from my house. Just like the Japanese reactors, this one sits right on the coast. I would be surprised if that reactor was able to continue functioning correctly after being hit by a tital wave.

Humankind faces many issues, real and imagined, but without a life sustaining habitat there is no existence. All of humankind's other issues pale to insignificance in comparison.

Say the phrase "endangered species," and many people scoff, thinking of government boondoggles that save obscure plants and animals at the expense of human economics. What many skeptics fail to realize, unfortunately, is that the balance of Earth's environment can be so upset by the extinction of the tiniest species that the survival of everything on earth can be threatened.

With the recent problems in the Gulf of Mexico, it looks to me like oil spills are one of the major environmental concerns. We don't think about them as much as the others until they happen, but when they do happen they have an incredible lasting negative impact on the local environment. We really need to push our elected representatives to fight for alternative energy. The fat cats from big oil have lived high on the hog at our expensive long enough. It is time someone else gets wealthy helping save the earth rather than the current scum reaping massive profits destroying our planet.

The past 210 years have seen some of the most amazing developments in human science and technology thanks to the developments of the Industrial Age and its successor, the Information Age. However, the elements that make this highly sophisticated society possible are rapidly being depleted, leading scientists and environmentalists alike to growing concern about human survival.

Throughout recorded human history, the growth of civilization has been linked to the development of energy. In ancient cultures, animals were a major source of energy for the development of agriculture. More sophisticated cultures used human slaves as energy to build cities and monuments. Contemporary society, from the flip of a light switch to rockets blasting into space, is built upon readily available energy.