Media: A Tool for Promoting Environmentalism
by Gift Ifokwe
The effects of human activity and development have tampered with and changed the earth’s natural state. Yet, the intangible and emotional connections contribute to overall happiness in life besides the environment’s physical feeling. People enjoy playing sports in an open field, diving, bicycling, camping, and observing wild animals roaming in their habitats.
Environmentalism works to correct the damage as well as prevent future destruction in which sustainability comes to play. It integrates the impact of changes to the environment on both living and non-living matters. Also, it seeks to advocate the preservation, restoration, and improvement of the natural environment, i.e., water, air, land, animals, plants, rainforests, deserts, and oceans.
Basically, Environmentalism tries to balance the relationship between humans and the various natural systems they depend on to sustain every component.
What Role Does the Media Play in Promoting Environmentalism?
The concept of media is not a new phenomenon in our society today. Its significance is tremendous since the 18th and 19th centuries. The media plays a decisive role in molding and making a sustainable society for humanity. And it is the most reliable tool when passing information to as many people from different backgrounds with different languages in the shortest time possible.
We can propagate News, entertainment, education, data, or promotional messages using media channels such as newspapers, magazines, television, radio, billboards, direct mail, telephone, fax, and internet. Therefore, it is useful to make people realize that we all need to curb environmental degradation.
Also, Social media has become a powerful media tool for communication, collaboration, and awareness creation. And that is because it is accessible to large proportions of the population.
Here’s how the Media promotes Environmentalism
- Presenting the best approach in preserving and relieving the effects of environmental decadence by the community.
- Promoting environmental health.
- Making community activities much more visible.
- Influencing environmental campaigns that seek to involve and promote individual behavior. An example is the Going Green Campaign.
Conclusion
The media are an effective means of calling attention to environmental problems, inducing public awareness of the issues caused by pollution, and, thus, can invoke public pressure to take action. Awareness creation for environmental protection and the sustainable use of limited resources directly concern each citizen.
The media is instrumental in breaking the silence surrounding environmental problems and creating an environment that encourages discussions of how the community can participate and change their environment.
Meanwhile, we all have voices on different platforms. Therefore, we should make a conscious decision to imbibe environmentally friendly habits, which will save our planet- one citizen at a time.
Be the change you want to see!!!
