| Environment cries for help (4/11) | | Print | |
| Written by Stanley Koo | |
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You don't need to be an AP Environmental Science student or a member of Green Peace to know that our environment is in danger. But the problems of a dying environment are more severe than most imagine. The planet's degradation is already damaging human health, slowing the growth of world food production and reversing economic progress in dozen of countries. By the age of 10, thousands of children in Los Angeles have respiratory systems because of the polluted air, according to Living in The Environment by Tyler Miller, Jr. The depletion of our ozone in the stratosphere in the northern hemisphere will lead to an estimated additional 20,000 skin cancer cases over the next half century in the U.S, alone. Worldwide, millions of lives are at stake — all human health is closely linked to planet's. If we do not do something to save our planet, we will lose this place we call home. Unfortunately, some see the earth's waning state as a simple matter that a minor government policy adjustment can change. But 30 years of environmental efforts to save our planet have failed to stem the tide of environmental degradation, and our growth is unsustainable. We pollute our streams and oceans. We destroy precious earth capital — the earth's natural resources and processes that sustain us and other species. We cause the extinction of many species. This has to stop. I urge you to join the environmental revolution — a global effort to change our high-waste lifestyles and to restructure our global economy. Reuse. Reduce. Recycle. The earth has a capacity for self-repair — don't use potentially renewable resources such as soil, water and forests faster than they are replenished. Recycling aluminum cans and paper will help reduce the 11 billion tons of solid waste the U.S. produces per year, according to Miller. Today, environmentists study archaeological sites of civilizations that were undermined by environmental deterioration. They hope to find the cause of the collapse of the Easter Island civilization and the Mayan empire. Some environmentalists hypothesize that the inhabitants of these civilizations didn't realize that they were overconsuming the resources that supported them. Perhaps people who tried to speak out against the dangers of unsustainable development were shut off by people who favored more economic and technological growth. In the end, these populations crashed as each exceeded its land's carrying capacity. We are fortunate to have the opportunity to critically evaluate and learn from these great civilizations. We have seen what caused the rise and fall of great civilizations and now we need to ask ourselves if we are on our way to recreating their tragedies on a greater scale. Are we growing and consuming excessively? Are we using more than we need? Or will we learn how to live sustainably on this planet that is our only home. The desire to change our lifestyles is in our hand. |
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to listen.
