Preserving Our Environment

Our natural environment consists of both living and non-living components, which are commonly referred to as just ‘the environment.’ The key constitutes of our environment include two main areas. The complete ecological units functioning as a natural overall structure with minimum human interference is the first main area of the environment. This eco system consists of animals, vegetation, rocks, atmosphere and microorganisms.

The second area includes everything that is not human-originated, but are natural forces - but there are no clear lines drawn here. These forces include energy, radiation, magnetism, air, water, climate and electricity.

The natural environment as we know it contrasts heavily with the built environment, which is everything that’s completely influenced by our own activity. If you take one geographical region, it can only be considered as a natural environment, if the human impact on it is at its minimum.

However, a natural environment and a wilderness are not the same. There are a lot of other factors that must be taken to consideration before an area can be called a natural environment, unlike in the case of a wilderness, which is any area without any human interference.

There are so few regions that can be considered to be natural environments now. Climate changes can account for some of this - climate changes caused by human influence. We have unseasonal rains and floods, melting icecaps and glaciers, and rising temperatures. Natural environmentalist groups play a major role in trying to keep natural environments intact. They try to push through laws and policies that will preserve the environment - keeping what there is safe, and trying to restore what was lost, as well as trying to create altogether new wilderness areas.

The common environmental preservation goals include several short-term and long-term aspirations. These include reducing pollution and cleaning up to achieve a zero pollution level, using non-recyclable materials to create energy, minimising non-renewable fuel consumption in society, developing alternative energy sources, conserving precious resources such as air, water and land, protecting pure ecosystems, preserving endangered species and maintaining the biodiversity that all life forms on Earth depend on.

The threats that the natural environment faces are many - when land is developed, nature suffers because of the pollution it inevitably includes. Toxic gases are spewed into the atmosphere by industrial plants, just as waste is being dumped everywhere. Global warming is not just a threat, but a reality now.

We are the reason the natural environment is facing such danger. It is our responsibility to try and preserve the environment - not just stop damaging it, but fixing the damage that has been done. There is no time to lose - preservation can start right at home.