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According to Chapter 6 on the environment, the relationship between the environment and development has been growing concern about degradation and pollution of the environment and climate change as they impact future development. The desire for development has to do with the excess use of resources that causes environmental pollution. The first world conference on the environment was held in1972 in Stockholm. Below is a brief discussion of the five environmental problems discussed in the article;

Deforestation: It simply signifies clearing of green cover and makes that land available for residential, commercial, or industrial purposes. The forest is a natural sink of carbon dioxide, produces fresh air, and helps regulate temperature and rainfall. Currently, forests cover 30% of the land, but each year tree cover is lost, resulting in the nation of Panama due to the growing population demand for more food, shelter, and cloth. 

Global warming: It is the unusually rapid upsurge in the earth’s average surface temperature over the past century, mainly due to the greenhouse gases released as individuals burn fossil fuels. Global warming results in rising temperatures of the ocean and the earth, causing natural disasters that include rising sea levels, melting of polar ice caps, flooding, and unnatural patterns of precipitation such as excessive snow, drought wildfires, flash floods, and hurricanes,  

Acid Rain: happens as a result of the presence of particular pollutants in the atmosphere. It can be caused due to combustion of fossil fuels or erupting volcanoes, or rotting vegetation, releasing nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere. It is a known environmental problem that can seriously affect human health, wildlife, and aquatic species.  

Overpopulation: population explosion in less developed and developing nations is straining the already scarce resources. The population of the planet is reaching unsustainable levels as it faces a shortage of resources. 

Pollution: It is the introduction of harmful materials into the environment. These harmful materials are called pollutants. It includes air, water, soil, noise, light, radioactive, and thermal pollution. These are the primary causes that affect the environment in several ways. All these kinds of pollution are interlinked and influence each other.