The Planet : An Interconnected Ecological System

“Many current discussions about sustainability focus on the ways in which human activity...can be maintained in the future without exhausting all of our current resources… there has been a close correlation between the growth of human society and environmental degradation - as communities grow, the environment often declines” (603).

Have you ever thought about how your actions or opinions affected the environment around you? We’re constantly unaware of what we do that impacts the environment’s condition. One author named Wendell Berry blames the public in his article regarding the way society and the industry has treated the environment and its natural resources. This raises concerns whether we should be putting more importance on the economy or the land that we live in for the sake of our future survival. While I agree with most of Berry’s points and perspectives I slightly disagree with a few of his opinions, but nonetheless he brings up a great matter in today’s modern society.

Around the world, humans are aware of the environmental crisis going on, yet, the issue is brushed under the rug and ignored. This issue is ignored due to the fact that some people are unwilling to change their lifestyles, it is expensive to be environmentally friendly, and there is a lack of effort towards change worldwide. Scientific evidence has proven that there is a crisis happening, but people show disinterest in it. Some people feel helpless because there is no way that the individual effort that is made can possibly make a global difference.

Never in the history of the human species have we been in such a rapidly changing environment. Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, we have been making social, economical, scientific, and environmental changes and advancements at an unprecedented rate. Societal advancements, while much appreciated by the average Joe, have been detrimental to our environment. Every days forests are cut, rivers polluted, and once ecologically important areas are cemented over to compensate for our rapidly growing population. As the status of our natural world becomes more critical by the year it is important that we look at the driving factors and reasons for this destruction of the natural world. While pollutants and globalization are the driving

Throughout world history, people have come up with brilliant new ideas to make life easier, and as time goes on, research, making food, and getting news, has all become instantaneous. It now only takes the push of a button to cook a thanksgiving meal or the click of a remote to find out what’s happening across the world. These things are often taken for granted, and rarely does someone stop and say: “I wonder what turning on this extra lamp does to the environment?” This statement sounds insignificant when there are people starving in other countries and people are training for the army. Yet, being concerned about the environment is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, the environment should be one of the biggest concerns among people, as

Everyone in my generation has probably grown up seeing ads or watching videos about pollution or about the environment in general, so much, to the point that these constant reminders about protecting our planet are already part of the norm for us. While these reminders have had positive effects, like how more and more people have become informed of the Earth’s condition, many people, myself included, still remain indifferent to the threats our environment faces. I won’t lie; I’m no saint or crusader for the cause, but every now and then certain videos or articles strike a chord within me and makes me reflect on the way how I’ve been living affects the environment. One such article was the one we read last week in class, “The Sixth Extinction” by Elizabeth Kolbert in the Upfront magazine.

It is a fact that people in different parts of the world have already experienced and realized the detrimental effects of their activities where they live. As much as people do not like to live in a dirty city, they are concerned to cut down all the forests and to poison the entire potable water. The governments of different countries together with businesses are ready to implement and fund programs to restore and preserve the environment, but the difficulty lies in the fact that different countries, like people, have different levels of understanding and implementation of these actions. Mahatma Gandhi said: “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed.” It is not difficult to understand, that the main geneses

“As societies wrap their collective minds around the consequences of global environmental change-rising temperatures, prolonged droughts, chronic water shortages, disappearing species-it may well be that a new ethic will emerge, one that says it is not only right and

The literature advocates that younger rather than older, females instead of males, respondents with higher as compared to lower income, liberals and democrats rather than conservatives and republicans, and the highly educated tend to have a greater likelihood of engaging in pro-environmental behavior. While these results are meaningful, there is a need to update the literature given that that peoples desires and actions change constantly. Moreover, these findings tend to be from one-year cross-sectional analyses. Thus, there is a need to undertake analyses that

Have you ever wondered how many people there are in the world? This beautiful place called earth is home to billions of humans, and human-kind is not alone. Although at times we may forget that we have several different species living with us, not only do different species live with us but they are part of the circle of life that is the root of our existence. For many years’ people have been releasing excessive amounts of CO2 into the earth, with little to no consideration of the effects it may have on surrounding environments. Exploiting natural resources to leave nothing behind except for oil spills and other environmentally dangerous components. Corporations need to be held to higher expectations with more regulations, there needs to be a government that will enforce these regulations. Who decides our government? People do, local communities vote for who runs their city, state, and country. Communities can help spread awareness and demand cleaner energy, stricter laws, and reduce their carbon footprint.

Right now, the Earth is at a point where with each day that passes by, it is slowly falling apart. It is deteriorating due to the uncaring actions being done to it and because of the lack of human interaction we have with one another to actually care for the Earth. Even though it may not seem as if it is crumbling right in the present moment, nothing will remain if no progress is achieved. The ones who are causing the most harm to the planet are human beings when in comparison to other animals. Human actions are the real problem as their main concern is only on how they can fix their own personal issues or challenges, instead of focusing on how we can improve and save our planet. There are many articles, books and other resources written on how we can refine the well-being of the Earth, including the document of the Earth Charter with its analyzation and potential solutions towards helping the Earth. The books that we have read throughout the semester are able to address particular issues that are also confronted in the Earth Charter through the similar themes and messages that they all provide. They are all able to be connected through the biggest similar message they all share, which would be how important it is for us all to come together to help improve our planet Earth in any way we can.

Environmental issues have been a cause of a lot of debate in the recent past. Governments and nongovernmental organizations have been in constant consultations on how to help protect the environment. Apparently, as a result of man’s many actions, the natural environment is getting torn apart so quickly that the coming generations will not enjoy this kind of environment, unless a

The spectrum of environmental attitudes from right to left goes from exploitative industries, more conscious businesses, naïve neutrals, conservationists, preservationists, and ending with eco-radicals. When I was young I did not believe in climate change. I took what my dad said for granted, not realizing that he was just going off his own personal beliefs and had no factual knowledge on the matter. I was very naïve then. After I apprehended my ignorance, I decide I would never blindly trust what someone else says without looking further into the subject. I am ashamed of the time I spent believing in something so wrong, but I have the rest of my live to make up for it.

Every day, society is wasting the Earth’s natural resources in an unsustainable way. By continuing to live in an unsustainable way, it has resulted in the depletion of resources on this planet. Our lifestyles have caused this to become a problem that needs to be fixed. Populations of developing countries are wasting our resources at rates never before seen, yet mankind rarely realizes how it is affecting the planet. If our lifestyles are not changed sooner rather than later, deeper consequences will occur that will alter our lives forever. The environment is suffering every time people waste a resource. It has resulted in an increase in global warming that has affected millions of people around the world and it will continue to do so. There is no definite solution to this problem, nevertheless as the people of this planet, we can at least do something regarding to it. By using resources in a sustainable way, it will contribute to the survival of society and the Earth.

The Earth is a dynamic, constantly changing environment in which the hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere all interact. When one changes slightly the change is then felt through out the spheres. Humans need to understand that the change they cause can have a potential for a disastrous affect on the environment. From injecting the atmosphere with greenhouse gas, or deforestation, all the unnatural things done to the environment will have an unnatural affect that will have to be dealt with. We as humans have a moral responsibility to reduce global warming gasses by changing our modes of transportation, to stop deforestation, and increase government funding into research to inhibit global warming for