Saving Our Environment

'The Environment' is a blanket term that includes two primary areas. The environment includes everything around us that is living or non-living. The first of the two areas of the environment is nature as it exists without human interference - animals, plants, microorganisms, even the atmosphere and soil.

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.

If you take a look around you, you will see that nature and man's creations are at odds everywhere. What we have built constitutes the built environment. Any geographic region can be considered to be a natural environment only if the effect of human beings on it is as little as possible.

Typical examples for existing natural environments are national forests and restricted large nature reserves. While the exact conditions required to be termed as a natural environment can vary from place to place, the term wilderness simply belongs to regions completely without human interference.

Our natural environment is under threat and it's a commonly known fact. Arctic glaciers are melting, the hot climates are getting hotter and rains are falling out of season. The role of natural environmentalist groups are very relevant in this situation. They broaden the horizons for actions and policies on preserving the environment to be enforced by governments and society. Preserving the environment includes protecting what remains, restoring and extending the natural environment (some areas were previously occupied by humans and are now desolate, creating new wilderness areas).

There are plenty of things to be done to preserve the earth - pollution is a major concern that needs to be tackled. The depletion of non-renewable sources of energy is another concern. Many species have been wiped out and many others are on the brink of extinction. Land, air and water are not inexhaustible resources. The environmentalists try to preserve and protect the earth and its ecosystem in many ways, trying to tackle these problems.

The challenges faced by our natural environment include mega development projects, emitting tons of waste into the air and water around it. Industrial plants are also contributing to this. The most recent attention to global warming shows an increasing concern over toxic emissions, which must be reduced at a drastic pace.

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.