The forgotten issues of climate change

In 1800, only 2 percent of the world's population lived in urban areas. Urban population has grown from 751 million in 1950 to 4.2 billion in 2018. This is 55 percent of the world's population. According to the United Nations, this is projected to rise to 68 percent by 2050. Although, some cities are decreasing in population, China, India, and Nigeria are experiencing rapid urbanization.

In contrast, world rural population is now close to 3.4 billion, and is expected to peak in a few years. World rural population is expected to decline to 3.1 billion by 2050, according to the same United Nations report.

Rapid urbanization is bringing with it a number of undesirable environmental effects. Increasing urban sprawl is creating urban heat islands (UHL), causing excessive heat during summers, and creating milder winters. Cities reflux heat back out into the atmosphere at 15-30 percent less than rural areas. This means that cities are warmer by 0.6-1.3 degrees centigrade, than rural areas. Urbanization is also creating poor regional air quality, resulting in haze and pollution troughs across cities and surrounding regions.

Urban areas not only affect weather patterns, form water run offs, and lower water tables. These water tables and water runs offs also become carriers of pollution.

In addition, energy consumption in urban areas is much higher per-capita than rural areas. Mega-cities are resource wise unsustainable, and require energy inputs from far outside city limits. As has been found over the last 18 months, mega-cities provide special public health issues, where infectious diseases rapidly spread, leading to long-term lockdowns, causing adverse community, health, and economic effects. The economic costs of saving lives under lockdown public health strategies, is much higher than for rural areas, where low population density is a prime-defence against the spreading of infectious diseases. Many of these mega-cities developed in the 1960s and 70s were structurally cement based, which is starting to decay. In the near future, massive capital will be required to renewal them.

Urbanization is an issue which requires much more study within the areas of public consumption, energy use, regional climate change, and public health. In the climate change study, this area has received very little funding, compared to other areas. There are strong arguments for revisiting the policies of decentralization, from what we are seeing with urbanization at present.

Deforestation

Deforestation is partly the result of growing urban sprawl, and expansion of commodity mono-cropping and cattle grazing. Deforestation has increased greatly since the 1960s, affecting natural ecosystems, biodiversity, and climate. According to the World Bank, between 1990 and 2016, 420 million hectares of forest has been lost, leaving about 30 percent of the world's land area covered in forest.

Deforestation is causing the destruction of eco-systems which keep the planet in balance. Forests are being lost at the rate of 10-12 million hectares per annum. Forests are a converter of the sun's energy, which is distributed to flora and fauna as food, and a store of carbon dioxide. These eco-systems play a major role in keeping the air clean, and water fresh. This has major impacts on food chains. Land areas with cleared forests often become flood prone and lose their soil fertility, due to the weathering of top soils. This makes new land uses marginal, except for urbanization.

Forests and jungles are the natural habitats of plants that have novel compounds that have pharmaceutical potential. Many natural compounds have been found to be cures or treatments for many human ailments. The destruction of forests and jungles is making many plant varieties extinct before they are examined for medicinal potential.

Part of the problem is that much land clearing is being undertaken illegally in jurisdictions that struggle to enforce the law.

Water and forest management