Is mankind destroying our beautiful planet?
Many believe we are.
Sometimes It's hard to believe we are the most intelligent species on the planet. When we are destroying the very thing that keeps us alive. I think greed, selfishness, laziness and ignorance are some of the reasons we allow such a dire atrocity to occur.
Our way of living is destroying the planet.
Image By Bengt Nyman from Vaxholm, Sweden (originally posted to Flickr as IMG_6064-1) [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Many people are living such a fast paced life that they really don't see whats going on around them or perhaps theyr'e just to busy to make life style changes for the benefit of the environment. Things like walking instead of driving, using less and electricity and recycling are some of the many ways we can make a difference. For many of us we are so accustomed to our conveniences and way of living that we find making changes is just to hard. I have to admit I have been guilty of favouring easy and luxury over a more environmentally friendly way of living. Because all the benefits I get from living a more easier and comfortable life can be very difficult to give up, especially after a long hard day. I mean don't we deserve it after all our hard work. After all If we don't see the destruction then it's easy to pretend it's not happening.
I'm guessing most of the population thinks this way. I believe if we continue our way of living we will create irreversible environmental damage.
There are those that are trying to help by living an environmentally friendly life and educating others on environmental issues. I feel unless more of us put in a bigger effort and star listening than they are fighting a losing battle especially when they are fighting against the rich and powerful.
These environmentalists are just a school of small fish bound to be swallowed by the powerful, vicious, greedy sharks that claim to own the world. Life to the sharks is about the now, the money and the power. It doesn't matter to them what happens in a hundred years or a thousand years because it's a future where they will no longer exist.( Unless their riches help them find a cure to mortality.) These sharks are the rich and powerful industry owners that aren't willing to spend their slave labour money on making important environmental and health improvements to their business.
I understand we need industry and that it provides employment for millions of people. To close down industrial businesses would be detrimental to many. However I believe there are many industries that can spend the extra money to find ways to operate in a healthier and safer way, not only for the environment but also for its workers.
Most of us are just little fish but we can grow in our numbers. We can do the little things needed to lengthen the life of our beautiful world. We can try to reduce the pollution we create in everyday living and we can spread the message to save the Earth.
Say there are only five of us, if we each convince two people to join our cause then there will be fifteen of us and if those fifteen each add another two people it becomes thirty and so on.....
Lets wake the people of the world up, open their eyes and let them see what man is doing to Mother Earth.
Maybe, just maybe we can all make a difference.
I found this online poll on Debate.org asking people if they believed Humans are destroying Earth?
89% people say yes 11% people say no.
It seems many of us are seeing the truth. Now we just need to do something about it.
You can take a look at this poll by clicking on the following links:
http://www.debate.org/opinions/are-humans-destroying-earth
The results may have changed since I posted this article.
If your interested you can vote and comment on what you believe.
If you want to help to heal planet Earth you could start with reducing Greenhouse gasses.
greenhouse pic
By Robert A. Rohde (Dragons flight at English Wikipedia) [GFDL 1.2 (http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/fdl-1.2.html)], via Wikimedia Commons
Green house gases trap heat in the Atmosphere which has an adverse impact on the climate causing global warming. The principle green house gasses are Carbon dioxide, methane, Nitrous oxide and Flourinated gasses. Many believe Industrial greenhouse gas levels are growing.
Man made Greenhouse gases:
Transportation
Burning coal and oil
Releasing methane and nitrous oxide from farming.
Unnatural industrial gases
Deforestation
Electricity production
chemical reactions
Ways you can reduce greenhouse gases:
Walk, ride a pushbike, catch public transport
Plant a tree
Recycle and reuse
Conserve energy eg.. turn off lights, use energy saving bulbs, use less heat and hot water
Buy energy efficient products
Buy solar panels
Use non-toxic household products
Increase people awareness
For more on Green house gas emissions and it's impact on Earth visit:
https://whatsyourimpact.org/effects-increased-greenhouse-gas-emissions
When it comes to man kind destroying mother Earth greenhouse gases are just a small slice of the cake.
Mining is ranked as one of the world's most destructive industries. Not only does it create greenhouse gasses it also has many other devastating environmental effects such as the destruction of landscapes, contamination of ground water and contributing to acid rain.
http://web.mit.edu/12.000/www/m2016/finalwebsite/problems/mining.html
Deforestation has a massive effect on the eco system including soil fertility and loss of habitat for animals, insects and plants.
https://www.pachamama.org/effects-of-deforestation
War in the past has created severe loss of biodiversity, not only killing man, but Killing wild life and its habitat, Leaking fuel into the oceans, bacterial contamination in water, heavy metals contaminating the soil. "ATOMIC WEAPONS", pretty sure I don't need to explain that one.
https://www.lenntech.com/environmental-effects-war.htm#ixzz5OUR3GimP
Chemical spraying. Pesticides are being linked to the decline in Honey bees and Amphibians. Pesticides are also poisoning the water ways.
http://www.panna.org/resources/environmental-impacts
I'm going to start putting in a bigger effort. I'll be following the above suggestions. I'll walk more often, instead of driving and make sure the kids are using less power. I have been educating my children for years to do the right thing and that will definitely continue and I'll continue to talk to others about environmental issues.
If your not already doing so, hopefully this post will convince you to start living a healthier, environmentally friendly lifestyle.
Hope you like and thanks for reading!