Water in Flint was deemed unsafe when the city decided to switch from Detroit’s water supply to water from the Flint River in a cost-cutting attempt. This was due to lead materializing in the water from pipes corroding in Flint River. Because of the high content of lead in Flint’s water supply, many citizens are not using the town’s water to bathe or wash hands, even though a water filter can be used to make the water nontoxic. This caused Shigellosis, a disease caused by the Shigella bacteria that can be contracted when a person does not wash their hands, to spread among Flint residents. Many people have turned to using baby wipes as an alternative to hand washing, despite the fact that baby wipes do not kill bacteria. This fear that the water crisis in Flint has created has caused a multitude of citizens to abandon fundamentals of hygiene, which has lead to devastating results, such as Shigellosis. 

 The average population of species across terrestrial systems was found to have decreased to an unsafe level, as a result of deforestation and destruction of natural habitats for infrastructure and agriculture. This is causing ecosystems to become less resilient or even become unproductive. The dwindling in biodiversity is creating concern over the loss of essential ecosystem services, like timber and fertile soil. This depletion of biodiversity is most present in central North America, where only 40% of the original biodiversity has ceased to exist. Climate change also hinders the diversity of ecosystems, but humans have been the real force behind this disaster. Many experts believe that there is little possibilities that ecosystems can regain their original resilience so that the diversity of life across Earth may be able to be at a safe level again. Unfortunately, it is predicted that many ecosystems will be more likely to be affected by imminent threats, such as global warming.  

In Kameoka, Japan, a factory has been built to grow crops that wouldn’t be able to be produced on traditional farms, due to the decrease in temperature during the colder parts of the year. By using vertical farming, the climate in which the crops are growing is regulated. Another benefit of using this type of farming is that no pesticides are required, since the produce is being grown in an enclosed environment. In addition to that, vertical farming is more effective because the population has increased; and this method of agriculture is shown to be very efficient in helping to reduce food shortages in Japan. Sustainability can also be achieved with the new farming location that is being built in Keihanna. This facility is predicted to reuse 98% of its water. At first, many people were skeptical about this new agricultural practice, but soon accepted this practice and consumed the goods produced in these vertical farms. 

In recent months, seven species of yellow-faced bees have joined the list of endangered-species in America. This is troublesome because bees help to pollinate many plants in Hawaii. Without these bees, it is possible that the structures of some forests may collapse. Biodiversity would be threatened in this area, since certain species of vegetation would not be able to survive. Yellow-faced bees have been suggested as species that should be protected in the past, but since more bees have died since then, they were added to the endangered-species list recently. The reason for their endangerment is due to non native bees which transmit diseases, other animal species, human development, and climate change. Unfortunately, more of the focus has been placed on honeybees because these bees pollinate crops that humans use to benefit economically; however, by placing these seven species of wild bees on the U.S. endangered-species list, more attention can be drawn to these types of bees so that more action can be taken to protect these bees. 

Germany has made a new tax on the coal industry, specifically lignite (brown coal), which is used as the primary electricity source. The tax was created in an attempt to lower the amount of harmful emissions of carbon dioxide. Germany is hesitant to completely shut down the coal plants, but is making more progress than other countries. As the whole world is trying to reduce and possibly eliminate the use of fossil fuels, it remains a constant challenge because the change would be so drastic. America, for example, is still dependent on coal. Although the U.S. is looking for alternative sources of fuel, coal is a big industry. The world’s biggest coal industry is in China. Instead of shutting down coal mines, China uses fake production numbers to keep their industry thriving. The main challenge in cutting coal dependence is that there is a huge market in this area, along with many jobs being provided. Also, it would take a lot of money and investment to research how to meet the limits on carbon dioxide emissions through carbon capture and storage, for example. Germany’s goal of significantly reducing emissions of carbon dioxide by 2020 is not going to be as easy as the Germans thought. 

Hydroelectric power, along with wind and solar power, are going to be used by Apple to accommodate the demand of the cloud to use green energy. Many other large-scale computing companies are trying to lower their pollution output, as more people are using their services. Amazon Web Services, for example pledged its company to use only renewable resources via solar power, but later sold its purchased solar panels to a different company. Other companies are stationed near dams, so that they can use hydroelectric power. Although these businesses are using this type of power because it is more cost efficient, there are positive impact on the environment, since nonrenewable resources are not being used. Using green resources can also improve the power usage effectiveness of these services, since less power needs to be input into the systems. By the cloud using more clean energy, a better and more effective type of power usage.