Saving our Natural Resources - Essay Example

College Saving our Natural Resources Today, with an increase in industrial activities, man has embraced an artificial life and is rapidly doing away with the natural life and its benefits. Humans are concerned with economic activity at the expense of the natural environment. Most people will clear the blossoming natural plants in landscapes to elect structures that facilitate economic activities. The result is rapidly declining natural resources, which are replaced with artificial items. The responsibility of taking care of the natural environment is perceived as a preserve of a small number of people with the rest taking part in the destruction of the precious flora and fauna. Furthermore, man is today more interested in using motor vehicles, which have high rates of greenhouse gases emissions. Cycling is perceived as a boring activity despite the fulfilment that it offers to riders. As a result, humans do not take time to interact with the environment and determine the richness and the freshness of the natural world, which is the major cause of environmental degradation. Therefore, the main question is," what is our personal responsibility toward the natural world, toward what we term our natural resources?" Understanding our responsibilities will have a positive impact to the declining natural resources and impart a change of beliefs; people will prefer natural landscapes compared to the built environment. Pearson, in her book The perfect vehicle: What it is about motorcycles remarks, “Our aim…it seem [is] to accumulate goods. At the end of this metaphoric road stand the non-metaphoric Kmart, glistening like Oz and filled to the rafters with a hundred cheap mementos of wildflowers, in forms of candle, air freshener, sachet, cologne, bath bead, potpourri, and incense stick. In its prior life, of course, the ground under the big store bloomed with wildflowers.” Pearson’s statement confirms the human appetite for built environment at the expense of the natural environment. In its natural form, the ground was filled with beautiful flowers and a rich aroma, the true value of nature. On the second view, Mellissa presents the image of a ground that was previously blossoming with flowers, but on which a store stands to facilitate economic activities. In other words, stores emphasize Pearson’s regret, “our aim it seems is to accumulate goods.” Despite the value of the undefiled nature and its blossoming flowers, humanity has taken keen interests in economic activities and industrialisation, which erodes and degrades the natural aroma of many landscapes. The natural resources are replaced with stone-built structures that deface the landscape. Therefore, humans are called to take value in natural resources and not to prioritise the built environment at the expense of a natural environment. There is value in taking interest in natural items and taking pride in exploring the natural world due to the contentment they offer Mellissa states that “riding on a motorcycle can make you feel joyous, powerful, and peaceful vulnerable and back up happy again” (Pearson 20). A motorcycle is the only vehicle that the rider can fully experience the richness of nature as the rider is ‘vulnerable’ to nature; the rider is in direct contact when riding. In addition, such vulnerability to nature uplifts the spirit of the rider to experience the happiness and peace that comes from the fragrance of natural plants along the riding path. Considering motorcycles do not emit too much pollutant gases compared to vehicles, Mellissa emphasizes that relating directly with nature as one rides a motorcycle offers full contentment. In the above quote, she explains that after destroying the previously beautiful natural landscape, we go ahead to fill the stone built stores with artificial and cheap mementos of wildflowers, in forms of candle, air freshener, sachet, cologne, bath bead, potpourri, and incense sticks. Mellissa suggests that it is possible to find more expensive fragrances than these, in their natural form in nature. Man does not have to destroy the same nature to build factories and stores to manufacture cheaper items of lower quality than what nature offers. In other words, she insists that nature has everything that man requires to live a refreshed life full of fragrances. Humans have a moral responsibility and duty to preserve the environment, which is inherent in humanity considering that destroying the natural world, would be congruent to destroying the environment. As Pearson emphasized, Colin Wilson, in describing the adventurer’s motive, he remarked, “His clear sighted intellect could not conceive of moral freedom without physical freedom” (Pearson 20). Humans have to break away from the business-minded attitude that has been responsible for degradation of the natural resources. They have to focus more on what the nature may deliver, and the impact of its degradation. It is only such decision to preserve the environment that man attains moral freedom in assuming a role towards saving the natural world and humanity, as well. On the other hand, motorbikes similar to motor vehicles consume fossil fuels and will emit harmful gases the environment. Though in the quote above Pearson portrays a grim picture of a destroyed landscape that has been replaced by buildings, riding motorcycles leads to environmental pollution in emitting gases though in smaller amounts, and in noise pollution. Therefore, a motorcycle may offer the best solution for man in taking responsibility for saving the natural world. A milder activity such as cycling may offer such answers. Motor cycles unlike what Pearson paints them to be are dangerous especially in considering the cruising speeds that most riders are used to. “Your thoughts are pinned close to your heads by the helmet, where they may exist only a fraction of an inch from your scalp but then stand to buzz around, thousands of little trapped sand flies” (Pearson 233). Accidents involving a motorcycle are mostly fatal and can have serious consequences that contradict the happiness and pleasure of riding a motorcycle as Pearson emphasizes. Man has a duty and a responsibility to take care of the environment. To achieve this, man has to grow an affinity to the natural environment and not artificial one, which has a degrading effect to the environment. Moreover, man has to break away from the business-minded attitude in preserving the natural environment. One way that man can achieve this end is by cycling and rather than using motorcycles which has a lower pollution rate. Moreover, man should take time to explore nature and develop strong affection to natural resources, which will improve his perception about the value of natural resources. On the contrary, motorcycles also do emit some pollutants in their exhausts and are dangerous to man’s life when drive at high speeds, which may erode the gains needed. There is a need to protect the natural resources with zealous and aggressiveness. Man should assume strategies that encourage them to fall in love with nature, which encourages putting in place policies towards saving the environment. However, considering that industries have to be constructed, there is a need to resist interfering with natural landscapes in undertaking such commercial activities. Instead of using motorcycles for travelling, if possible cycling can be an alternative. Cycling will do away with environmental pollution while at the same time reduce the thrilling speeds that most motorcycle riders are used to; such speeds endanger lives. Therefore, undertaking these strategies will ensure man takes the responsibility of saving the natural world and the natural resources. Work Cited Pearson, H. Mellissa. The perfect vehicle: What it is about motorcycles. NY: Norton & Company, 1997. Read More