Coral Reef

Coral reef are home to 25 per cent of aquatic life, and are found in 109 countries. Sadly, reef degradation has occurred in 93 of those nations, according to the WWF.

Photo by Twitter/@chasingcoral

Coral Reef

According to the WWF, we have already lost 27 per cent of the world's coral reef. If things continue, 60 per cent of what's remaining will be destroyed over the next 30 years.

Photo by Instagram/@theplanetlovelife

Coral Reef

It's not just aquatic life that relies on coral either. More than 450 million people living near these reefs rely on them for food and income.

Photo by Instagram/@ecoceanic

Deforestation

Rainforests boast diverse and important ecosystems, but according to National Geographic swaths half the size of England are lost each year.

Photo by Instagram/@greenpeace

Deforestation

Agriculture and logging operations are huge culprits in deforestation, resulting in a lost of habitat for the 80 or so per cent of the world's land animals and plants that rely on these forests to survive.

Photo by Facebook/@melike efeturk

Deforestation

Fewer forests also means larger amounts of greenhouse gases entering the atmosphere, which in turn increases the speed of global warming.

Photo by Facebook/More Trees Less Assholes

Global Warming

Need more proof that global warming is real? These side-by-side images posted by the WWF prove that sometimes a picture really is worth a thousand words.

Photo by Twitter/@WWF_UK

Global Warming

These side-by-side pictures of a disappearing glacier is enough to chill you, especially since the change happened over a matter of months--not years.

Photo by Twitter/@ChasingIce

Global Warming

According to NASA, sea levels have risen eight inches since the beginning of the 20th century and more than two inches over the past two decades alone.

Photo by Twitter/@MesutOzil1088

Global Warming

The Mendenhall Glacier in Alaska is one example of a shrinking glacier. Over the past decade it has retreated by 1/3 mile as a result of the warming climate.

Photo by Twitter/@DrKbythebay

Global Warming

The Trift Glacier in Switzerland in another example of a famous glacier that has retreated remarkably over the years.

Photo by Instagram/@lifegate

Loss of Freshwater

Of all the water on earth, only three per cent of it is fresh. It's important for sustaining crops through irrigation, providing food and sustaining life, yet freshwater habitats continue to decline.

Photo by NASA Earth Observatory

Loss of Freshwater

Fecal waste, chemicals, pesticides, petroleum and a slew of other factors are polluting our water at alarming rates. According to National Geographic, 70 per cent of industrial waste is dumped untreated into these waters, polluting the usable supply in developing countries.

Photo by Twitter/@ghwildlifesoc

Pollution

Still think that single-use plastic bottle isn't causing any harm? This clever meme shows just how long one little water bottle can actually stick around...

Photo by Instagram/@greenpeace

Animal Life

Deforestation has had a brutal impact on wildlife. In Borneo, where forests are declining at alarming rates for the production of palm oil, orangutans are particularly affected.

Photo by Twitter/@youth4wildlife

Animal Life

Meanwhile food and habitat loss in the North has impacted polar bears, as demonstrated in these shocking images.

Photo by Facebook/Julien Geoffrion

The only #10YearsChallenge that matters

By Amber Dowling

Over the past several weeks social media feeds have been buzzing with the latest Internet craze: the #2019Challenge, or the #10YearsChallenge as it’s been dubbed. Essentially, people upload a photo of themselves 10 years ago with a side-by-side photo of themselves today to see how much they’ve changed.

The “challenge” has sparked some concern, with naysayers claiming it could potentially be a Facebook scam in order to collect facial recognition information. Then there are those who have taken the challenge to heart and turned it into a cause by forgoing the selfies and showcasing how pollution, climate change, and overall consumption have impacted the environment over the past decade instead. These are some of our favourite memes that have come out of the whole thing, and really, they may be the only #10YearsChallenge photos that matter.

Tags: #10YearsChallenge, Climate change