Overall Review of the 20 Articles

At year 2000, from the 1st article, the trend was to increase public awareness regarding environmental issues. The public was asked to step up and drive environmental improvements to accompany economic and social gains. Furthermore, implementation of environmental management was one of the issues that were brought up.

As for year 2001, there were two important issues which are water pollution and the September 11 incident. From the statistics, dwellers from the coastal or riverbank areas dump most of the waste that they generate into the sea untreated. It caused coastal erosion and destruction of beaches. Besides that, the marine habitat was seriously harmed as well. As for the September 11 incident, a lot of environmental protection programmes were affected due to the allocation of funds. But according to the news released, the public was ensured that protecting biodiversity is no less important today than it was before September 11.

According to an article from international World Environment Day (WED), we realise that nothing is impossible. We can say this because of the example of hardship shown by Chifeng City of Inner Mongolia. After 30 years of struggling and limitless effort, they manage to turn deserts into forests. Thus, from the article, the message that was been brought up in 2002 is give Earth a chance by implementing corrective action as nothing is impossible.
The most visible trend in 2003 was the importance of water as it is International Year of Freshwater. From the articles, we know that human race is facing a serious water crisis and it is getting worse from time to time. Besides that, water crisis is one of the major challenges which are facing the human race and corrective actions need to be taken in order to ensure our survival. Furthermore, this is the third time water issues have been brought up after year 1976 and 1981. Yet, the water issue still remains one of the visible trends for the following year, year 2004 but in a different perspective which is contamination of water.
As for year 2005, they emphasized on producing ‘Green Cities’. The trend is both a warning and a declaration of faith in our ability to turn the expansion of urban centre to the benefit of all. For instances, preservation and expansion of green spaces, promotion of recycling schemes and designation of environmentally friendly buildings. It can be the city of today only with the support of communities, businesses and, above all, the government.
Deserts and desertification is one of the most visible issues that have been brought up in 2006. This issue had been brought up in the year 1984 as well during the World Environment Day. The UN Millennium Ecosystem Assessment emphasized in the desertification of drylands. According to them, it is easier to prevent desertification than to reverse it. Population pressure and bad land management practices are the cause of degradation. Better management of crops, more careful irrigation and strategies to provide non-farming jobs for people living in drylands could help to address the problem.

There are a few visible trends in year 2007 which are global warming, Arctic shrinkage, low carbon economy and green products economy. We notice that they are inter-related with each other. Global warming is caused by the increased concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the air. Due to global warming, icebergs at the poles tend to melt at a faster pace. Thus, as an alternative solution, green products economy is prioritized.

As for this year, the most visible trend so far is finding solution for climate changes. The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2008 opened in Davos on 24th of January with calls from the co-chairs to exercise 'the power of collaborative innovation' to meet the top challenges of economic instability, climate change and equitable growth. In the meeting a lot of issues have been brought up and a conclusion is made, we need to create a precedent that would provide the lead in meeting other global challenges that will appear prominently on the horizon.