The Fate of the Earth - Can We Preserve the Global Environment - Research Paper Example

The Fate of the Earth; Can We Preserve the Global Environment? Earth is the only planet known to man in the entire cosmos that supports life. It has oxygen, water, soil and just the perfect temperature to sustain life. But sadly it is human activity that is destroying planet earth. The fate of Earth does not depend on astronomical movements, it also does not change due to stars shining billions of light-years away. The fate of earth rests with humans; we can preserve the global environment but we need to rid ourselves of greed and self-interest. Earth’s climate ensures that the living organisms get sufficient oxygen and water to enjoy existence. But man shows disdain for environment. Humans are turning themselves into commodities. We are recognized by what we shop, what we shop are the product manufactured by companies advertised to us by spending billions of dollars, to make us buy things that we probably dont even need. On the surface it might not look that bad but cutting trees, wiping out rainforests to build factories and warehouses. Considering a hypothetical situation where foul activities that directly or indirectly destroy our atmosphere are halted, things would not go back to the way they were, not at least in a snap of the finger. It will take decades to undo the damage. Even if that is accomplished we cannot bring back the species that have gone extinct. We cannot create birds like dodos and others that have we have killed through massive hunting and destroying their environment. Rephrasing the problem gives a better perspective. It is not the earth that is in trouble it is us in hot waters. After identifying the problem it is only obvious to think of its solution. We are under the impression that we will be safe by building better and deadlier weapons. Self-interest gives birth to this thought. For instance it is the self-interest and greed that is pushed man to establish himself in terms of more power, more weapons, and more money. We indulge in activities without considering the effect on environment. Very few people focus on environmental hazards created as a direct impact of nuclear testing. These experiments inject oxides of nitrogen into stratosphere, due to their weight they come back to troposphere (Schell 89). The first question is can we reverse the damage done so far? The answer is yes and no. Humans have been acting with no regard for the fate of the planet. Modern humanity is blindly altering the planet by polluting and destroying the habitat without considering the consequences (Levy 103). It would be indulging in a fantasy to think that global warming is really a myth, or the worlds glaciers are not actually melting, but sadly the reality is against the fantasy. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has been researching on climate change for the past 23 years and they have cheerfully created thousands of pages of research acknowledging that climate crisis is not an illusion (Gore, 2010). Which means that the melting ice caps will raise the levels of oceans, this will engulf small islands. All the coastal cities will drown in ravaging waves of the sea. Other than human activity and global warming it is the sun that will decide the fate of earth. If the sun gets too hot or too cold, all life on earth will perish (BBC News, n.d.). If the sun gets too hot the planet will vaporize (Britt, 2013). These factors are beyond human control. Some forces are way too powerful, which is why they are termed as nature. Dark sarcasm is that the humans are already destroying planet earth with the limited powers they have. How sad it is that humans destroy the very environment that is responsible for their creation. The race for manufacturing more products is taking the toll on the environment and eventually on human life. Humans have pumped so much smoke from the factory chimneys that cities get drenched in smog (smoke and fog). Visibility diminishes due to dense dark fumes. The sales of air purifying masks skyrockets in certain Chinese cities as there is a good chance of an ‘airpocalypse’ occurring (Vaughan, 2013). It is not only one country that is suffering from smog, there are many countries , including Iran and India, that make it to the list of having world’s most polluted cities. The irony of this picture is that humans are not damaging the earth as much as they are damaging the environment that feeds them. If all the insects from the Earth are wiped then in a few decades all life form on earth will perish. On the other hand, if all humans somehow become extinct all life form will restore on earth, the planet will heal itself. It is not the fate of the earth that we should be concerned with it is our lives that we are destroying. We can stop polluting rivers so that every human can have clean drinking water, which is not labeled by multinational companies. Fresh, natural and pure water is the right of every individual. The multinational companies poison the air by coughing chimney smoke. The other multinationals then sell pills to cure asthma that the smoke causes. The manufacturing processes dilutes the purity of water by mixing toxic chemicals. Then they sell us bottled water so we can remain healthy. What can be more hypocritical than selling someone their basic right! Manipulating their fellow human beings aside, we have no regards for any form of life. We seldom think about the lives we are destroying by setting up factories on a land cleaned of trees for this purpose. Destructing habitats of animals leaves them no place to live. They die or develop problems. Light pollution is discussed relatively less but the problems it causes are equally dangerous. A research published in Journal of Applied Ecology suggests that light pollution might hamper regeneration process of tropical rainforests; light pollution disturbs the activities of bats that spread plant seed across the jungle (Kinver, 2014). This is a relatively new research but it is alarming. The lust for more money has blinded human race and they are wiping out the forests, putting up factories and other machinery that is interfering with the natural habitat of the Earth. People are entangled in a perverted cycle of manufacturing. They destroy earth’s atmosphere and end up ruining it, sometimes for small benefits, and other times, none at all. It is reported that the rainforests that are cleared for cultivating crops do not support agriculture. When the trees are removed the soil is ruined; its fertility fails (Kinver, 2014). We do more damage than we get the benefit from it. This talk might seem depressing but the damage can still be controlled, contained and reversed. The healing process of planet earth is a blessing that humans do not realize. They are ungrateful and unappreciative, or maybe they take the blessings for granted. The earth has tremendous potential to run life with clean energy. We can regrow the rainforests, we can plant trees and stop polluting the air and water. The encouraging thing is a lot of awareness has made its way into education. People are aware about recycling. They are mindful that they are not supposed to waste natural resources. Companies are investing in hybrid cars that emit less pollution. The use of public transportation and carpooling are on the rise. These are one of the best ways we can contribute to saving the fate of planet Earth and individual levels. We need to stop thinking that individual efforts are insignificant. Small actions like turning off extra lights and reusing/recycling household items can become significant when done collectively. These actions demonstrate how energy can be saved. These actions inspire others to copy. These actions are silent protests against corrupting and polluting earth’s environment. They show disdain to companies that disregard the natural habitat of earth. We can preserve the global environment but it demands effort and living life according to moral ethics. People need to think about higher society not individual higher status. Development is healthy and needed but inefficient blind development is nothing but insanity. The futuristic movies usually predict a horrible picture of the world. The Terminator series, Matrix, Cloud Atlas and Water World are some prominent Hollywood names that show a murky picture of the future. Man needs to save himself from his own evil nature. Greed is blind but so is love. We are the most intelligent creatures on earth, it is perverse to shun rationality and pursue self-interests by damaging the environment. We understand love, we are capable of loving our environment. Apparently humans need more than just education, we need to learn to love. When we love our environment the journey towards earth’s recovery will be short. An autonomous independent body similar to the United Nations Organization, but truly independent, should be set up to define ethical values for environmental sustenance. The panel making the rules needs to be truly independent; free from bias and extortion. Once such an authority is established it can craft policies that can help save environment. For instance every city should have limit to how much smoke it can emit into atmosphere. The biggest criticism to such a model is it will stop manufacturing, which will leave millions of people jobless. On the surface it is true but one needs to take a closer look to get to the root of the problem. The workers are at the bottom of the food chain. They get negligible amount of money compared to the owners of giant corporates that sit at the top of food chains. One needs to understand is it really the workers that are so vocal against environment protection act or is it people that are scared that they won’t be able to buy the latest luxury sports car. When we stop manufacturing useless and environment-hostile products, the focus will immediately shift to echo friendly products and their manufacturing processes. It is not because of less skill and knowledge in the renewable energy department that prevents governments from taking a bold step, it is the monopoly of giant multinational corporates that maintains status quo. When this monopoly is destroyed the administration will make it mandatory that factories will not be allowed to pollute the waters. They will have to invest in environment friendly manufacturing processes. This spending will inject money back into the economy, creating jobs that will help individuals and the environment. The damage done to earth might not be 100% reversible but it is the best option we have. We need to make drastic changes in our daily lives to have a global impact. We need to create trends that support and encourage environment friendly activities. Fashion models and movie stars should plant trees as it inspires masses to follow trends. We have done so much damage and we need to start the recovery process now. It will take decades to make the earth breathe again but to do that we need to shun greed and self-interest, it is the only way we can preserve the global environment. References Britt, Robert Roy. "Whats the Fate of Earth?" LiveScience. TechMedia Network, 08 Jan. 2013. Web. 12 Mar. 2014. . "Future Earth." BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2014. . Gore, Al. "We Cant Wish Away Climate Change." The New York Times. The New York Times, 27 Feb. 2010. Web. 18 Mar. 2014. . Levy, Sharon. Once & Future Giants: What Ice Age Extinctions Tell Us about the Fate of Earths Largest Animals. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2011. Print. Kinver, Mark. "Light Pollution affects Bats Tropical Seed Dispersal" BBC News. N.p., 11 Mar. 2014. Web. 13 Mar. 2014. . Schell, Jonathan. The Fate of the Earth: And, the Abolition. Stanford, CA: Stanford UP, 2000. Print. Vaughan, Adam. "Nine Chinese Cities Suffered More Days of Severe Smog than Beijing."Theguardian.com. Guardian News and Media, 12 Mar. 2014. Web. 12 Mar. 2014. . Read More