Air, water, soil, seas and us

Air pollution

The main causes of air pollution are energy generation in thermal power plants, industrial production, energy consumption in buildings and traffic.

Air pollution killed almost half a million people in Europe in 2015, and around 6.5 million worldwide every year.

Water pollution

Fertilizers and crop protection agents from conventional agriculture a well as heavy metals from mining and industrial production lead to water pollution.

Contaminated fresh water also reduces fish stocks, can cause cancer and kidney disease and lead to sterility in fish and humans.

More than 80% of the world's wastewater ends up in the environment without proper sewage treatment.

Soil contamination

Many factors lead to soil contamination: Faulty cultivation methods of conventional agriculture; inefficient irrigation; incorrect handling of waste; nuclear and other hazardous waste; waste products of mining.

The consequences (amongst others): less agricultural yield; bee death; less food; poison in the food chain, which makes us ill.

Pollution of the seas

Much of the pollution in our oceans occurs on land, not in water. This includes waste water, garbage and everything else that is simply dumped into the sea without thinking.

As a result of the pollution of the oceans through oil spills from accidents with tankers or oil rigs, residues from fish farming and fishing or poisoned algal carpets the food base of around 3.5 billion people is at risk.

There are now almost 500 so-called "death zones" in which life under water is no longer possible.

Chemical pollution

There are two causes for environmental damage caused by chemicals: catastrophic chemical accidents; dangerous substances such as asbestos, lead or heavy metals to which we are permanently exposed. Asbestos kills around 100,000 people worldwide each year.

There is evidence that lead from water pipes or paints have a negative impact on children's IQ. For most other toxic substances, the exact effects have not even been researched.

Garbage

Garbage pollutes the air when it burns, contaminates soil, flora and fauna and pollutes seas, rivers and lakes.

The reason for the increasing littering of the earth is our lifestyle. There is a clear connection between per capita income and waste generation.