I am not sure what kind of research paper you are writing but maybe you could try to take a slightly different approach to the current way of talking about the environment: you could try to show how there really is only ONE ecological issue!
Pollution and greenhouse effect causing global warming and climatic disasters due to climate change; waste and overflowing landfills destroying natural habitats and causing soil pollution, possible contamination of water reserves; CO2 emissions causing acid rain destroying forests; the disappearance of plant and animal species...
These are all 'different' symptoms of ONE big problem, the dramatic changes in our environment which, ultimately, will make earth a planet which will be inhospitable to human beings... It will not be the end of the world, but it will be the end of a world with human beings in it!
