With global warming and California’s drought overwhelming news headlines, many other environmental problems manage to slip under the public’s radar. Though overlooked, these issues are still important and deserve some recognition.

• Loss of biodiversity, or loss of different plant, animal, and insect species, has increased due to human activities such as pollution, deforestation, and introduction of exotic species. According to the World Wildlife Fund, 58% of the world's population of animals has declined since 1970. A lack of biodiversity could decrease food supply, increase erosion of various landscapes, disrupt ecosystems, and deplete the amount of raw materials available to humans.
• Coral, which is an animal that lives in colonies called reefs, is in great danger. It was recently discovered that one third of Australia's Great Barrier Reef has been severely harmed. Approximately 75% of the world’s coral reefs are threatened due to an increase in ocean pollution, over-fishing (which increases the amount of animals that eat coral), warming of the oceans, more sunscreen polluting ocean water, and poor fishing and diving practices. Coral is important to humans because it is a home to many marine species, they lessen the intensity of strong waves and currents that hit the shore, and they control the amount of carbon dioxide in the ocean which, in turn, creates a stable environment for marine life.
• Over-fishing has become a pressing environmental problem with 85% of the world's fish stocks suffering from exploitation or depletion. Shockingly, one study has even suggested that global fish stocks will collapse by 2048. As the demand for fish increases, over-fishing and poor fishing practices have also increased, sending the marine life population into a downward spiral. If the current over-fishing trends continue, prices of sea food will sky rocket and its availability will significantly decrease.
• Lastly, mining is a problem that is very quickly destroying various parts of the environment. Mining can release methane, a greenhouse gas, which adds to the problem of global warming. It releases toxins and chemicals into nearby soil and water supplies which contaminates the crops and drinking water of cities nearby and dust and other pollutants are released into the air that we breathe. Underground mines can also collapse and cause the ground above to sink, damaging buildings and homes.