Importance of Environment

The importance of a healthy environment is beyond any description. 

The existence and sustainability of our life on this planet are possible only due to our environment. 

It comprises every living and non-living entity in our surroundings including human beings, plants, animals, soil, water, air, etc. 

Our earth provides us everything we need to live including air, food, water, and a place to live under the sun. It is our only home in the solar system. 

There has been an emergent need to save and protect our environment like never before in our living memories. It is very important to teach our children the importance of environment as they are the future of our planet.

Our Eco-system

Nature has precisely designed our ecosystem that ensures essential services like health, survival, and quality of life for all the communities of living organisms at a place. It comprises both biotic and abiotic components.

Our nature has gifted every form of life with the uncanny ability to continuously adapt to the changing surroundings to ensure survival and proliferation. 

How so many different entities interact in perfect harmony to nourish life on our earth is beyond our wildest imagination? 

Alarming issues plaguing our environment

Human beings in their quest for rapid development have caused mindless and irresponsible exploitation of environmental resources. 

The human interferences in environmental processes have led to several disastrous and irreversible changes in the environment. 

These changes are more pronounced in the weather patterns across the globe that is marked by abnormal warming and cooling periods. 

It has resulted in ever-increasing frequencies of cyclones, floods, earthquakes, tsunami, etc. 

Let’s briefly discuss some of the environmental issues that require immediate redressal. 

Global Warming

It has been the hotly debated environmental issue for so many years now. 

The emissions from the industries and automobiles, burning of fossil fuels, and chlorofluorocarbon have hugely contributed to the heightened levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

It has led to an increase in the earth’s temperature (called global warming) with devastating consequences on environmental patterns.

Climate Change

Global warming has accompanied many climatic changes with itself such as a change in seasons, melting of glaciers, epidemics, unexpected floods, earthquakes, cyclones, etc.

The climatic changes have led to extreme temperatures and alter the balance of the eco-system. It has resulted in the extinction of many species of plants and animals.  

New diseases are being thrown up by nature for restoring the balance.

Depletion of the ozone layer

Nature has gifted us with an ozone layer that has dutifully served as our protective shield against the harmful ultra-violet rays.

 This protective coating has been gradually depleted by the CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) that are released by the industries and certain household equipment like air-conditioners.

The presence of holes in the ozone layer exposed us to the harmful UV rays that may cause skin diseases including cancer.

Air Pollution

The ever-deteriorating air quality is a direct consequence of emissions from industries and automobiles. 

The harmful chemicals and gases have polluted our atmosphere leaving the air we breathe dirty and unhygienic.

There has been an exponential rise in respiratory disorders such as asthma, allergy, and even lung cancer due to the high concentration of polluted air in our surroundings.

Check out – Best air purifiers for your home

Water Pollution

By throwing away the contaminants, sewage, and waste products in water, we have polluted our rivers, lakes, ponds, and oceans.

These contaminants have altered the aquatic eco-system and suffocated the life of many aquatic animals and plants. 

The oxygen levels of the polluted water have drastically reduced and water has become unfit for drinking and other human consumption.

Our life depends so much on water and today fresh, oxygenated water has become a rarity. It is important to stop wasting water and reuse water as much as possible

Check out – Best water purifiers for your home and offices

Deforestation

The rampant cutting of trees (known as deforestation) for fulfilling our vested commercial interests has resulted in the severely depleted forest cover across the globe. 

The trees are our lifeline. They release the oxygen we breathe to survive. They provide us with food, medicines, wood, gum, resins, shelter, and raw materials for almost everything. 

The trees effectively contain floods and maintain the temperature of the earth.

The deforestation has brought about the severe hazardous changes to the earth’s climate. It has badly affected biodiversity leading to the extinction of several plant and animal species.

Overpopulation

We are overburdening the earth with our exponentially increasing population. This vast population is depleting the limited resources of mother earth at an alarming rate.

The very question of sustainability with such a huge population is raising immense concerns among the environmentalists.

The overpopulation factor amplifies every other environmental issue such as climate change, deforestation, pollution, and global warming; many notches higher.

Disposal of solid wastes

The disposal of non-biodegradable solid waste materials poses big challenges for a healthy environment.

The plastics have polluted the earth’s surfaces like no other things. They remain in our environment for several hundred years. 

Some of the solid waste materials lead to the toxicity of our crops and water. They cause clogging of the water pathways leading to floods. They even led to the spread of infectious diseases by breeding harmful microbes.

The absence of effective and efficient solid waste management is a mounting environmental hazard.

The proactive and consistent measures for solving environmental issues are necessary for sustaining and nourishing life on our planet. Otherwise, we would soon find ourselves on the verge of extinction.

Let’s discuss some prominent environmental goals and actions needed to achieve them.

Maintaining excellent water quality

• We need to save every drop of water for treating the severe water crisis that is prevailing in major cities of the world.
• Devise ways for creating more pervious surfaces for reducing stormwater volume and increasing groundwater tables.
• Prevent the discharge of industrial effluents into main water bodies and rivers.
• Install treatment plants for stormwater before they enter water bodies.
• Avoid the disposal of chemicals like pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, motor oil, and other automotive fluids into the sanitary sewer system.
• Set up a mechanism for using native plants that provide pollutants breakdown and nutrients uptake for water in treatment ponds.

Maintaining healthy air quality

• Design a public transport system that strictly complies with efficient Basel   

   emissions norms.

• Reduce the idle time at the traffic signals by implementing efficient, robust  

    and coordinated traffic control using drones and satellite data.

• Encourage the use of cycles, electric vehicles and other environmental 

   friendly modes of transport.

• Purchasing Energy Star label equipment for home and office usage that 

    consumes minimum energy.

• Do regular maintenance and servicing of your vehicles and machinery that 

   consumes petrol or diesel.

• Rigorous plantation drive for increasing the forest covers by planting 

   millions of trees and plants every year. These trees would produce oxygen, 

   absorbs carbon dioxide and aids in ozone formation.

• Use a public mode of transport for daily tasks. Encourage shared rides, car-pooling, and work-from-home regime.

Preserving Biodiversity

• Devise and implement robust plans for preserving natural habitats across the country.
• Laid down rules that encourage builders and residents to preserve wildlife habitats during the planning and designing of their construction site.
•    Ensure to maintain safe travel ways for animals and plants between   

      habitats

• Encourage plantation of native plants in their natural landscape and territory.
• Avoid encroachment of the natural habitats of animals and plants while carving out highways.
• Promote the usage of integrated pest management among the residents and businessmen
• Use only environmentally friendly products that can be recycled and reused.

Maintaining a healthy ecosystem

A healthy ecosystem comprises all living and nonliving things in perfect harmony or equilibrium with each other.

• Manage natural resources such as petroleum, natural gases, and coal for protecting ecological balances and ensuring sustainability.
• Avoid the contamination of water from sewage and pollution from industrial effluents.
• Avoid the usage of fertilizers as they promote the growth of algae.
• Reduce the usage of papers for avoiding cutting down of trees.
• Reduce the usage of CFC (Chlorofluorocarbons) that cause depletion of the ozone layer
• Avoid burning of forests and garbage

Miscellaneous tips for preserving the environment

• Stop using the chemicals and pesticides as they cause immense harm to our ecosystem.
• Develop indigenous and environmentally friendly disinfectants by using distilled vinegar, lemon, and baking soda. 
• Recycle waste products such as plastics, aluminum, glass, and paper as much as possible. Also, use reusable bags and towels instead of disposable plastics.
• Save water and electricity in your home and offices. Heat your water at lower temperature settings in a water heater. 
• Use energy-efficient appliances and equipment that lower the energy consumption and reduces heat generation for reducing carbon footprints.

Our earth nourishes us by providing us with all the goods and services we have in our lives either directly or indirectly.

It is our utmost responsibility to preserve our environment by keeping our atmosphere pollution-free, maintaining cleanliness and hygiene in our surroundings, and working conscientiously for a healthy eco-system.

By taking various positive steps in a correct direction, we can protect our environment and sustain life on the earth for ourselves and future generations.