Random Article: 10 Reasons Why Humans Should Be Environmentally Aware

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10 Reasons Why Humans Should Be Environmentally Aware

posted by blackpanther666

1. Because, let's face it, if you are one of those Democrats that spews constant rubbish about how being environmentally friendly will cost too much, then you'll realise that you didn't quite think it through... Where do you think we get all the resources from to make money and more technology?

2. Because... Life isn't all about humans. There's a whole planet out there and Joe (common Joe) thinks about his stomach.

3. Sustainability. Being more sustainable, funnily enough, will actually give humans the chance to be able to use a relative amount of resources and not have to worry about them running out. We can do it with energy... We can do it with forests, too.

4. We're causing a lot of extinctions from human activity and industry... In New Zealand, since the 1800's (and conveniently around the time British settlers arrived) about 25-30% of native birds have gone extinct from human activity - Namely cats, possums, rabbits and Mustelids (ferrets, stoats and weasels) being introduced here.

5. Deforestation. Forests, like the Amazon and Indonesian rainforests, are being demolished at a ridiculous rate. Pretty soon there won't be much of those forests left. Where will we get wood for building from then?

6. Land degradation. If we are unwise about how we go about agriculture, eventually we will run out of land to use for it. I did some research on this at university and around 50% of all agricultural land is degraded - Bad enough that it can;t be used again.

7. Global Warming. It's not a myth. Granted, it's not majorly serious at this point, but potentially it could cause some major problems.

8. Climate change. Another major problem and partially linked to global warming. Around the world, weather has been observed to have been indirectly affected from global warming. I believe that La Nina and El Nino are also related.

9. Morals. Morally speaking, how is it fair that we just... want more (as James Rachels once said and I believe that this originally stemmed from Socrates, or Aristotle), but we don't want to take care of the conditions to allow for more, without destroying something in return for it? What is so important about human beings?

10. Technology. It could be so much more useful and sustainable, but instead of spending more money on that, we waste billions each year just on improving the cool shit that we already have. What is so important about TVs, cellphones and computers that they need to be better at least every six months? I mean, are they not already good enough to begin with...?

deathding, IllicitReaper and 4 others like this

DramaQueen1020 I find it funny that some people don't believe in global warming considering its been around as long as the Earth has.

LaDispute Lol agree with all of these. Although no matter what we do now eventually we'll destroy ourselves or at least go extinct and the Earth would be in shambles for a bit because of our toxic influence but life will find a way. I mean, with humans out of the way new species would rise, nature would reclaim it's lost land, and the planet would be on it's merry little way through another era. If anyone actually believes humans have the capability to completely destroy the planet I think that's quite arrogant because we're really just parasites on this planet. It would live fine without us - better, even. So mostly I just think we definitely need to make an effort to be environmentally conscious to minimize our damage and make the world better for the duration of the human race, but when we go extinct no matter how much we've bad done the Earth will be A-okay in our absence. ^_^

blackpanther666 ^ Perhaps. I guess I agree with you, but only because people have already proved that they consider capitalist notions to be more important than keeping the world nice and clean - I guess that stupid concept of 100% growth just will not have anything to do with long-term economics... It's sad that very few people understand that there are more important things than themselves.

prophet69 A splendid effort. Very good :) I want to add my own opinion about this topic. Environmentalism is a broad philosophy and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the state of the environment. Environmentalism and environmental concerns are often represented by the colour green. Environmental Education is a process of recognising values and clarifying concepts in order to develop skills and added tools necessary to understand and appreciate the inter-relationship among man, his culture and his bio-physical surrounding. It creates an overall perspective, which acknowledges the fact that natural environment and man-made environment are interdependent. It should consider the environment in its totality and should be a continuous lifelong process beginning at the pre-school level and continuing through all stages. It should be inter-disciplinary and examine major environmental issues from local, national and international points of view. It should utilise various educational approaches to teach and learn about and from the environment with stress on practical activities and first-hand experience. It is through this process of education that people can be sensitized about the environmental issues. Now, I also want to give my own opinion about harmful and cancerous chemicals that are released into the atmosphere, that mess with the DNA structure (of both wild animals and humans) and nature's environmental equilibrium: Gases which are released during the manufacturing process of certain products used in the everyday life of us humans. Environmental awareness is fine, but what you do and do not do is more important than mere awareness. Some (many?) people have the idea that if they pollute or damage the environment "just a little bit," that's fine. They can't make a difference.But how often is only one person doing the damage(slight thought it may be)? Chances are, lots of people are doing the same thing. This is an example of "Every little bit helps -- or, in this case, hurts." You own actions may serve as an example to others, for good or bad. In the early 1900s, our skies were full of carrier pigeons. There were millions of them. But hunters began shooting them for feathers and meat. They literally killed almost every single one of them! Now they're gone. As the WWF advertisement used to say: EXTINCTION IS FOREVER. That's true of animals, but also applies to plants and all other living things. Air and water can be so polluted that it may take decades to restore them. The chemical manufacturers have huge investments in their plants, equipment and land. They started polluting before it was known to be so damaging. This is a case of "If you can do it, so can I." Think about illegal drugs. Many dealers value money over lives. They have the attitude that they are a very small part of a very big problem and that if they don't satisfy the demand for drugs,someone else will.So why let the other guys make all the money?