DOI: https://doi.org/10.36719/2789-6919/56/42-48
Tugba Orengul Uzunca
Kütahya Dumlupınar University
Master’s student
https://orcid.org/0009-0003-2958-7060
tuzunca43@gmail.com
The Importance of the Green Economy in the 21st Century and Social Awareness in Combating the Climate Crisis
Abstract
Climate changes have led to a rise in global temperatures, significantly affecting human life. Throughout the billions of years of Earth’s history, various climate changes have occurred over time. These changes are not only due to natural causes but are also, in many cases, linked to human activities. The human species, with a history of approximately 300,000 years, has become the dominant species and has continued its struggle for survival over ecological systems. This struggle reached its peak with the Industrial Revolution, during which the impacts of human activities accelerated. The current era has been termed the Anthropocene by scientists studying ecosystems and is characterized as a geological epoch.
As a result of human activities in nature, while attempting to meet their needs from the environment they inhabit, humans have also created threats to their own existence. This threat, which began in the hunter-gatherer period, led to the extinction of many species and problems such as uncontrolled hunting. Over time, with the increase in settlement and agricultural activities, the population grew, and the rising demand for resources caused greater harm to the natural balance. The lifestyles of societies, their cultures, social relations, demands for resources, methods of resource use, and the value they assign to the environment have ultimately moved ecological problems beyond the field of natural sciences into the realm of social sciences, making it an interdisciplinary issue.
Keywords: climate change, global warming, green economy, climate crisis, social awareness, ecological balance