Why You Should Care About The Environment
This seems like a silly question because we live here and use the resources our Earth makes available for us, but the interesting part is that we don’t really treat her with the respect or care for how much she gives us. Why is it that we should care about the environment?
Reason 1: A healthy environment is critical for healthy living.
We can’t just pollute our environment and not expect contaminants and toxic things to ultimately have an impact on plants, animals, and ourselves.
Reason 2: Ecosystems and Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the variety of different living things and if we stay on the same track we are on, we are going to start seeing things disappear.
Reason 3: Natural Resources
These are limited resources. Choosing to use sustainable and renewable resources helps us to save these natural resources.
Reason 4: Climate Change
Without the Earth's natural greenhouse effect, it would be inhabitable, but we have tipped the Earth's energy out of balance by human behavior. Earth’s temperature has continued to rise and we can see differences in our weather patterns and types, intensity, and frequency of natural disasters. The extra carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which comes from the increased burning of fossil fuels, in turn causing an increase in the greenhouse effect. The more greenhouse effect because of that energy being trapped in the atmosphere, the warmer Earth gets.
Reason 5: Future Generations
What we do today will affect our children, their children, their children, and so on. If we step up and do our part by making sustainable choices and pushing for policies that protect the environment, we not only set a positive example for future generations, but set society on a path to helping heal the Earth.
Changes To Consider
- Turning off lights/fans when you’re not in the room.
- Reusable Water Bottles
- Recycling
- Repurposing Different Items
- Composting
- Writing Letters to Political Leaders
- Environmentally-friendly Detergents
- What goes down the drain eventually ends back up in a source of water!
While I have given you 5 reasons as to why you should care about the environment, there really are an innumerable amount of reasons. You can make small swaps that lesson your individual impact and write letters that promote policy change to protect our environment.
I’m With Her. Where do you stand?
Photo by James Wheeler
Sources: Green Spaces, Era Environment, Nature’s Academy, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, BBC
