3 Awful Things We’re Doing to the Environment (and how I’ll change it)

AKA the post about why I’m majoring in environmental science…

 “If all mankind were to disappear, the world would regenerate back to the rich state of equilibrium that existed ten thousand years ago. If insects were to vanish, the environment would collapse into chaos.”

E.O. Wilson once said the above quote, which was one of the first I heard in my environmental science class. Although I understood that humans have been negatively impacting nature and environment, I didn’t realize the magnitude of the effects. Climate change and global warming have been increasingly covered topics, but why?

These questions are why I decided to study environmental science. I was interested in how living organisms, especially humans, interact with their nonliving environment. Plus, humans do more than just contribute to global warming – we cause a lot of damage.

Here’s 3 ways we’re destructing the Earth:

1. Deforestation. Many people, especially in developing countries, are cutting down forests in order to make room for farming. Cutting down forests destroys the homes of many organisms, making them vulnerable to endangerment or even extinction.
2. Overexploitation. We are using resources much faster than they can be replenished to satisfy our growing demands and population. Groundwater (used for drinking and agriculture), coal, oil, and food sources (like fish) are being economically depleted, disrupting stable ecosystems.
3. Pollution. The air isn’t the only thing we pollute. We also cause water, noise, visual, light and thermal pollution. This interferes with the way animals live, migrate, communicate, and socialize.

Taking an environmental science class opened my eyes to a lot more, changing the way I view the world and our actions. If we don’t start changing our habits now, the earth as we know it is destined to wither beneath our feet. Living creatures – whether it’s humans, animals or plants – and no matter how small or insignificant they may seem, will lose resources vital to their health and well-being. Harming our earth has serious detrimental effects on us as well.

Think it’s someone else’s responsibility?

We are entirely obligated to pass on a healthy and sustainable world to future generations. It’s not fair for others to deal with a sick world because those before them didn’t care. We should leave the earth in better condition than we found it in.

Studying environmental science will help me address these all of these challenges and leave the world in a better place.

After all, most of the harm done is by us, as there’s no ‘rights’ given to the natural world. Just like our world belongs to everyone and everything.

After all…

To care for the Earth is to care for ourselves!