#EarthDay infographic: What science says about the environment and sustainability

10 ways humans are affecting the Earth — for better and worse

By members of the Elsevier community     Posted on 22 April 2014

In honor of Earth Day, we have prepared an infographic based on science, which you can share on your social networks.

A recent study by the OECD of socioeconomic trends up to 2050 raised four key areas of global concern: climate change, biodiversity, water, and the health impact of environmental pollution.

Air pollution is expected to become the world's top environmental cause of premature mortality in the next three decades, more than doubling the current figure of just over one million to nearly 3.6 million deaths per year in 2050.

Soot, known as black carbon, is a particularly harmful pollutant typically released by diesel-fueled transportation and the burning of fossil fuels. It is the second leading contributor to global warming after carbon dioxide and has been linked to increases in chronic respiratory illness and cardiovascular disease, especially in China and other developing nations according, to Elsevier's Environmental Pollution journal. [divider]

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References

Elsevier journals

• Urban Forestry and Urban Greening
• Resources, Conservation and Recycling
• Environmental Pollution
• Science of the Total Environment

Other sources

• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): Municipal Solid Waste in the US: Facts and Figures
• Alliance for Community Trees (ACTrees): Rethinking the Role of Foraging in Urban Ecosystem Planning
• Natural Resources Defense Council: "Wasted: How America Is Losing Up to 40 Percent of Its Food from Farm to Fork to Landfill"
• Container Recycling Institute: "Bottled Up (2000-2010) — Beverage Container Recycling Stagnates"
• Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD): "OECD Environmental Outlook to 2050: The Consequences of Inaction"
• EPA: "Effects of Black Carbon"