Environmental Suicide: Cause of Death

The protection of our environment is the biggest issue we face as a species moving forward. Our planet has given us many gifts: oxygen to breathe, water to drink, and land to build shelter. But are we biting the hand that feeds us? Forest genocide, the burning of fossil fuels, and mass pollution damages the same environment on which we depend on for our survival. With an ocean of solutions at our disposal such as using renewable resources, switching to electric motors, proper discarding of non-biodegradable waste, we still choose to ignore or even contribute to the problem. When every bit of our water supply is polluted by unethical dumping of toxic chemicals, our air is too toxic to breathe due to the excess of greenhouses gasses, and our soils are too contaminated to bear food; will we then realize that our ignorance lead us to the end of what we know as living? Sustainability of our environment should be a main concern for every person on this planet, especially those with the power to make a change.

U.S. Representative, Jim Clyburn, once stated “Environmental Protection doesn’t happen in a vacuum. You can’t separate the impact on the environment from the impact on our families and communities”. The topic of environmental sustainably is usually neglected by those who aren’t affected directly by the misuse of our resources.

Water pollution, which is a pivotal issue we face today, affect millions on a daily basis. Many factories and power plants dump tons of chemical waste into our water bodies. This is seen as an easy solution to a problem, but only to those who aren’t directly affected by the consequences of such practice. Many third world inhabitants suffer from water-borne diseases, loss of food and water supply due to those toxic chemicals.

Other practices such as burning fossil fuels and harmful gases pollutes the same air we need to breath, causing lung diseases and the buildup of greenhouse gasses in our atmosphere. With the added act of deforestation, we are wiping out one of the few oxygen suppliers that our environment has provided. We abused our resources with our excessive needs for material and senseless endeavors, to fulfill our selfish needs for living while also bending the rule with the prospect of gaining profit.

Some may argue “we aren’t the ones to blame, the corporations are”. But aren’t we the consumers of those corporation? Our excessive needs force us to commit horrible crimes upon our planet with no thoughts consequences. We the people have the power to decide what kind of future we want: a future of diseases, scarcity and war, or a future of sustainability where the grass is greener.

Buying organic, supporting non-GMO companies, proper waste disposal, switching to renewable resources such as electric cars, biodegradable material and the simple reduce, reuse, recycle method, are ways to contribute to the sustainability of our planet. These small acts help prevent the misuse of our resources and help lengthening the life span of our environment. We must find a balance in our technological advancement and the preservation of our natural environment to ensure our long history of successes isn’t short lived. We are all responsible, from the factories finding more organic and healthy ways to discard their waste to an average citizen simply recycling. Our future hold endless possibilities for humanity: space exploration, cures for century long illnesses, artificial intelligence; but we won’t achieve much if we ignore the most important challenge at hand, ensuring we have a sustainable environment and future.