Environment

Although we have not often taken our natural environment into consideration before, global climate change is making a lack of caring impossible. For centuries, human beings have used their environment for their own purposes, expecting Mother Nature to keep giving. More recently it has become clear, however, that our resources are not without limits and Earth, the only planet we have available to us, cannot take endless abuse without effects.

Harmful practices such as dumping waste into our waters, burning fossil fuels, and overextending delicate resources have resulting in an unstable environment that threatens to change drastically within the coming decades. Already, the trapping of too many greenhouses gases in our atmosphere has caused a fairly swift rise in global temperatures. Pollution of oceans and rivers has caused many people throughout the world to not have access to clean drinking water. Oil spills and severe overfishing have destabilized marine ecosystems to the point where it is unlikely they will be able to bounce back. Our dependency on oil in the form of energy has caused wars, extermination of numerous animals, and a promise for a bleak future.

There are, however, things that can be done. Although governmental support in the United States has not been particularly strong, individuals, towns, and cities have taken it upon themselves to make a change. Limits on energy usage, implementation of renewable resources, and even simpler things such as recycling and switching to low flow toilets and showers are offering promising results for our environment.