What We Can Do To Save Our Environment

Earth, also known as the Blue Planet, is the only place in the universe where life is known to exist. Inhabited by millions of species including humans, Earth was created distinctively. The variety of life forms on Earth, its biological diversity is widely referred to as biodiversity. The number of species of animals, plants, microorganisms and the different ecosystems on the planet are all part of a biologically diverse Earth. Biodiversity boosts ecosystem productivity where every single species, no matter big or small, have an important role to play. Yet, the irresponsible acts of humans have greatly and gravely affected the precarious balance, thus, causing a serious problem known as biodiversity crisis. Humans, have caused pollutions of various kinds and as a result, habitats of animals were destroyed, precious natural resources were contaminated and finally global warming and climate change started to occur. These terrible repercussions are the main reasons why global biodiversity crisis is happening and as the inhabitants of this planet, actions ought to be taken by us to save our environment from destruction.

In today’s society, electricity is essential for us in our daily lives and more than 80% of electricity is produced by burning fossil fuels. By burning coal or other fuels, green-house gases which will lead to environmental pollution, green-house effect and global warming are emitted. According to research, an average home powered by a coal utility will burn more than 10,000 pounds of coal a year and will cause about the same amount of pollutions as 2 fuel-powered vehicles. To save our environment, renewable energy such as water power and wind power should be used instead. By using renewable energy as the primary power source, the reduction of pollution per household would be equivalent to that of planting 400 trees.

Renewable energy produces minimal amounts of pollution and harmful gases and is infinite as it will never run out. One of the best and most reliable energy comes from the sun, which is the solar energy. By using solar panels, solar energy is captured and can be used to generate electricity and to heat water. Besides, wind power is also very sustainable and dependable as it could not possibly deplete. According to Chris Goodall, a prestigious environmentalist and also the author of a few popular science books, there are sufficient sites for wind turbines to generate 72 terrawatts of electricity, which is about thirty times the world’s electricity requirement. Apart from these two renewable energy, hydropower too should be widely used to generate electricity as rivers and streams are among nature’s most powerful forces. Moreover, biomass and geothermal energy which bring almost zero pollution are also great renewable resources that should be introduced to the public. Apparently, renewable energy has better efficiency and is also far more eco-friendly compared to fossil fuels.

In the 21st century, vehicles such as cars and vans are used for transporting and travelling. The conventional internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs) are used by the majority of people all around the globe. These vehicles use petrol or diesel as their power sources and are extremely “eco-destructive” as the emissions generated by them seriously pollute the environment. As a solution, hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) which are commonly known as hybrids should be used instead as they give off less emissions into the air. Hybrids are vehicles designed for reducing pollution and also saving the environment. They rely on both the engine and the electric motors and so less fuel is consumed as electricity is also used. Each hybrid has an electric battery as its alternative power source and electricity can be captured and stored in it. These electric batteries could recapture significant amounts of energy during braking that are normally wasted as heat. This regenerative braking could actually supply quite a great amount of electricity that can be used to generate the vehicle without consuming much fuel. Furthermore, some hybrids do not even need a single drop of petrol or diesel as the power source as they use electric batteries as well as fuel cells(use hydrogen as fuel) only. Obviously, hybrid electric vehicles are way better compared to the combustion engine vehicles as they produce minimal or even no pollution.

Plastic is one of the most disastrous inventions ever created in the human history. The use of plastic should be avoided whenever we can as they are not bio-degradable and has led to the poisoning and death of many sea creatures. Instead of using the environmentally harmful plastic bags, we should use reusable shopping bags (some call it green bags and they are usually made of fabric) when we go to the supermarkets. Many people claim that they actually do re-use the plastic shopping bags but will still dispose them eventually when they get too dirty. By using the reusable shopping bags which can be washed easily, the use of plastic bags which will take forever to disintegrate could be avoided. Besides, reusable shopping bags actually require less waste of natural resources and less emission of carbon dioxide to produce than plastic bags. There is no doubt, reusable shopping bags are eco-friendly products which could help to save our environment.

Nowadays, continuous deforestation has become a serious problem. As all of us know, trees absorb carbon dioxide in the atmosphere during photosynthesis to produce glucose. In recent years, the amount of carbon dioxide increases as many forests were destructed. The increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere leads to green-house effect and also global warming. To stop this, the act of continuous deforestation ought to be stopped. The frequency of deforestation should be decreased to a reasonable extent and new trees should be planted immediately after deforestation is done. By doing these, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will surely plunge like never before.

To save the environment, individuals should start doing things that are environmental friendly in their daily lives. For example, one can organize a car pool for work or school with your colleagues or schoolmates to reduce the emission of green-house gases. By doing this, the destruction of environment is being delayed or even being ceased. As a responsible individual, we should cut down the use of electrical appliances. Being one of the most used electrical appliances, air conditioners are extremely destructive to the environment. We use air conditioning to cool our little micro environment, house, car, school, but by doing this we are transmitting the heat and harmful gases into the external environment, thus contributing to global warming. Other than air-conditioners, the use of lights should also be reduced to minimal during daytime to save energy. In addition, we should plug all of our appliances into a power strip in one particular area and turn the switch to “off” when finish using all appliances for energy conservation. By doing the slightest and simplest things, our environment could be saved.

Earth, is the only place with suitable temperature, gravity and atmosphere for humans to inhabit. As time goes by, the human civilization is getting more and more advanced, meanwhile, extinction started to be faced by more and more species. Is it just a co-incidence? Perhaps not. Humans are the ones who are causing biological diversity crisis, humans are the ones who are polluting their own environment, and humans, are also the ones who are devastating their own planet, their only place to live. Should we allow these horrible acts continue to get carried on? No, they had to be stopped, with the co-operation provided by the entire human race. Work together, and we shall drive the slightest possibility of environmental destruction out of our homes, out of our countries, out of our lives!