Invisible consequences
We are using the planet's natural resources faster than they replenish themselves. To use the analogy of our bank accounts, we are no longer living on the interest they earn. Instead, we are eating into our capital. In fact, in the UK we are living as if we had three planets to support us. We are not only discharging carbon emissions at a rate that the planet cannot cope with, but are also overconsuming many natural resources including timber, water, all of which can have detrimental effects on species and habitats locally and around the globe.
WWF: finding answers
WWF is working in the UK to reduce the long term threats from our homes and lifestyles, while our projects around the world work to provide the solutions needed to support our vision of a One Planet Future.
These are just a few of the invisible consequences.
- Timber
- Water
- Climate change
- Chemicals
Timber
Illegal deforestation occurs in all types of forests, from Brazil to Canada, Cameroon to Kenya, and from Indonesia to Russia. The impacts from deforestation are extensive - and include the loss of species, such as orang-utans, pygmy hippos and elephants. Many other species are made homeless, food sources are diminished and others are killed directly while some are cut off in fragmented habitats.
Just 100 years ago, for example, there were probably more than 230,000 orang-utans in Borneo and Sumatra. In the last ten years alone their numbers have declined by 30-50%, and now just over 60,000 survive. There is a human impact too - as local people who use the natural resources of the forests for income, food and sometimes medicine are forced to find alternative means of survival. Governments of the countries where the illegal logging takes place lose revenue via illegal supply chains, and this means less money to invest in schools, hospitals or new businesses to give people better livelihoods.
Deforestation means fewer trees - and fewer trees mean less CO2 is absorbed, increasing the amount of climate changing gases trapped in the atmosphere.
Forests suffer the effects of a changing climate - as increased temperatures and lack of rainfall or altered rain fall patterns leaves forests susceptible to fire. In 2005 an area of Amazon rainforest the size of Luxembourg (2,800 sq km area) was lost due to fire during the drought, releasing tonnes of CO2 back in to the atmosphere and destroying the habitat of a rich diversity of wildlife.
Our own choice and use of forest goods has an impact - in the UK alone it is estimated that 55% of the timber used in the UK is used to build our homes. Even more shocking is the fact that the UK is the third largest importer of illegal timber in the world.
What is the solution?
WWF works with business and government to protect vulnerable habitats and provide alternative solutions through a step wise approach to eliminating unsustainable timber sources, and promoting those which support responsible forest management, under the WWF Global Forest and Trade Network (GFTN) mechanism. In the GFTN, members sign up to improve the management of the world's production forests by either responsible forest management and production practices or by committing to responsible purchasing. The initiative has been a huge success - operating in 27 countries world wide, and the WWF UK Forest and Trade Network (part of the GFTN) now includes over 40 members ranging from high street retailers like B & Q, Homebase and Sainsburys to the home builders and construction companies like Bovis Lend Lease, and Redrow Group plc, plus major timber traders such as Jewson's. Travis Perkins and Timbmet. Visit the FTN website to see a full list of their members.
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is an international, non-governmental organisation dedicated to promoting responsible management of the world's forests. It also provides consumers with confidence that they are not contributing to global forest destruction when purchasing wood. Visit the FSC website to find out more or ask to see an FSC certificate or logo when purchasing wood products.
Water
In the UK each person uses on average 150-180 litres of water per day, and much of this is wasted. Climate change is likely to result in drier summers and, if we don’t start wasting less, there may not be enough water for us or for our environment.
The River Mimram, a chalk stream that joins the River Lea at Hertford is just one of the examples of how our excessive use of natural resources are damaging the environment.
Because so much of its water is taken for use in homes, a full 14km of the river suffers from low flows, resulting in streams and wetlands that now dry out or suffer chronic.
We are devastating the internationally important spring-fed rivers of England, including the Rivers Stour, Wey, Itchen, Avon, Piddle, Tarrant, Bourne, Kennet and Darrent, and as demand for water rises and the impacts of climate change are felt, the situation can only get worse.
It is estimated that about half the world's wetlands have already been lost, and more than 20% of the world's 10,000 known freshwater species have become extinct, threatened or endangered (United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs).
What is the solution?
There are many cheap and effective ways to reduce the amount of water that we waste. By installing low-flush toilets, and water efficient taps and showers in our homes, we could reduce household water consumption by up to 40%.
Waterwise is a UK NGO focused on decreasing water consumption in the UK. Visit their website to find more useful tips on saving water in your home.
Climate change
One of the most obvious signs of a changing climate is the rapid loss of summer sea ice in the arctic – this is the sea ice that is left when the temperatures rise during the natural summer temperature increase.
Average temperatures in the Arctic are increasing at twice the global average. It is predicted that by 2090 some areas of the Arctic will see air temperatures increase by 12 degrees Celsius, and the Central Arctic Ocean winter temperatures may increase by 8-9 degrees Celsius.
It is estimated that since the 1970s, 14% of perennial sea ice has been lost from the arctic and that over the past century temperatures in the arctic have risen by about 5 degrees centigrade. Some scientists estimate that by 2040 there will be little sea ice left at the poles at all in the summer.
There are obvious problems related to this for arctic wildlife. Polar bears depend on the sea ice to reach their hunting grounds, and without it they face starvation. Many species of whale depend on the Arctic as their main feeding ground. Currently the Arctic ocean is the most productive marine ecosystem in the world and home to the highest density of birds in the world. Loss of sea ice and rising temperatures will reduce food availability for whales, seals, polar bears and sea birds.
What is the solution?
There are a number of international, European and even local targets and agreements for reducing emissions, but we all need to play our part.
For example, if everyone installed cavity wall insulation, we'd cut CO2 emissions by six million tonnes, enough to fill 1.2 million hot air balloons. Try our footprint calculator to find out how you can reduce your emissions from your home and lifestyle.
WWF are lobbying the UK Government to introduce a strong Climate Change Bill in the UK. Visit Get On Board website to see how you can help us make a difference and lobby government.
Chemicals
Man-made chemicals are an integral and vital part of our modern lifestyles. They are found in a vast range of consumer products – from furniture, paint, cosmetics and personal care items to electrical appliances and cleaning products.
While they have undoubtedly improved the quality of our lives, many possess undesirable properties. They can be harmful to health and many can persist in the environment and accumulate in the bodies of wildlife and people.
From polar bears in the Arctic to unborn children in the UK, it is likely that every living being has been exposed to a cocktail of man-made chemicals some of which like the insecticide, dichloro diphenyl trichloroethane (DDT) and PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls - used in electrical components) have been banned for decades for their safety concerns.
In more recent years, modern chemical compounds such as brominated flame retardants (used to prevent fire in plastics e.g. TVs, computers and textiles e.g. furniture, carpets) and perfluorinated 'non-stick' chemicals, (used for waterproof and stainproof coatings) have followed PCBs and DDT to all corners of the globe. Some chemicals can also interfere with hormone processes in the body – these are known as hormone disrupting chemicals (sometimes referred to as endocrine disrupting chemicals - EDCs). Examples include phthalates, primarily used to soften plastics and found in numerous consumer products, from vinyl flooring to cosmetics and have a feminising effect on some species.
Many of these chemicals have been detected in young children as well as adults, and in some cases at higher levels in children than in adults. Alongside this, there is growing concern over possible links between certain chemicals (particularly hormone disrupting chemicals) and human health impacts such as cancer, reproductive problems, birth defects, asthma, allergies, behavioural problems, disruption of infant brain development, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity
What is the solution?
Fortunately, the European Law known as REACH will eventually phase out the most persistent and bioaccumulative chemicals in favour of safer alternatives, but it is worryingly weak on hormone disrupting chemicals and REACH needs to be strengthened in this respect. In the meantime, there are a number of things you can do to reduce your exposure to man-made chemicals.
You can start by purchasing low or minimal VOC paints which are now availble in most DIY stores. Another important area to think about are your cleaning products. WWF's Green Goods online shop sells a wide range of household goods which have all been passed through our eco-criteria.