.Saturday, June 5, 2010 ' 12:49 PM Y
5th June is
World Environment Day. How many people have actually heard of that annual occasion? Generally, citizens living in an urban city lead hectic lives. Their lives are constantly packed with activities. As we walk to and fro busy streets, do we even pause to ponder over what changes has occurred to the environment today?
On the surface, the environment looks fine. We do experience rainy seasons and there are natural biodiversity that surround us. But if we think deeper within, we will ask ourselves: Has the weather become more
humid these days? What about
global warming, has it worsened? How about
acid rain? Any
extinction of species?
The environment today has become much more different compared to what it has been 50 years or even a century ago. This may be due to industrialisation and technological changes as the world advances to a modern society. Many decades back, environmental issues did not even come across the people's minds. Thus, only in the 1970s did the people start having 'Save the Environment' campaigns and implementing policies to help conserve the the environment such as to reduce the rate of fishing in seawaters. The US Protection Environmental Agency was created in 1970.
Hosted by United Nations, leaders from all around the world meet up frequently to discuss enviromental issues. In my opinion, this is a good start. From leaders of the countries, whatever useful environmental information they take back to their home country will be passed down to their citizens. Therefore, citizens will also be aware of the need for
environmental conservation. To create
enviromental awareness, newspapers have also published details of the climate talks among countries.
As we gaze up into the sky and see the glaring sunlight, do we visualise the ozone layer, how it has been thinning as the years go by. As a result, ultraviolet rays are able to pass through and the rays are harmful for the skin, especially if we are exposed to it for long-term periods.
Another big environmental issue is regarding endangered species on a verge of extinction. Fishermen fish daily for fishes. Essentially, they rely on fishing as their source of income and their daily meals. To them, fishes are 'free', directly fished from the sea and they need not fork out a single cent. However, fish stocks are running out. The Green Economy Report estimates that there are 35 million people fishing around the world on 20 million boats. With numbers hitting millions, this is a very serious issue and poses a huge problem. It is extremely difficult to ensure that all the 35 million people cut down on their fishing fleets. Poor fishermen may have no idea that overfishing is harmful to the environment. Besides, there are millions of people who consume on fish daily. This is a factor that is hard to control.
As knowledgable living creatures living in planet Earth, we should learn to
conserve and preserve the environment for future generations to enjoy. With the aid of every Earth member, it will make a big difference to the environment. I applaud environmentalists and those who take initiatives to come up with ideas and take the effort to start saving planet Earth.
-Pearlyn :D-
Labels: Our Environment
