Enemy number one of the global environment

I read in an old National Geographic magazine (2002) that scientists had mapped human impact on the natural world and estimated that 83% of the total land surface and 98% of the areas where it is possible to grow the world’s three main crops — rice, wheat, and maize — had been directly influenced by human activities.

The sea and the sky have also been influenced but, while terrestrial interference has been, on balance, benevolent for our species, the oceans and skies have suffered degradation which now threaten the future of the planet as a habitat not only for ourselves but for all life.

Global warming reaches everywhere. It is the major threat to Earth. As long as it is not curtailed, our future is uncertain, and becomes more uncertain with every passing day. Now, we are at a dangerous juncture of history where one man, will, if given the power, reverse what efforts we have made to contain and reduce this threat that overshadows us. I refer, of course, to Donald Trump. He is widely written about, but I must express my fears in this Outdoor column.