Just like any other time in life, sometimes it is hard to see the positive in a situation if there is also a negative side present. This is the case similarly with the fragile topic of human interaction with the environment. It is a known fact that humans are doing damage to the Earth and their diverse ecosystems. There is too much deforestation which destroys the habitats of many creatures big and small, there are many chemicals leaching into oceans and rivers that pollute and destroy its organisms, there is over-fishing, and the list goes on. When hearing about human impacts on biodiversity, how often do you hear about the positive interactions humans have on the environment? Sometimes when scientists educate us about human interactions, they can come across as ranting and raving even when they do present facts. They also tend to focus on the negative; evidence of this is in the media.
This topic has been touched upon, but I feel that it hasn’t been enough. As a member of GreenQuest in our school and a decent human being on this planet, I am all for making up for mistakes. And it can be argued that negative human interactions aren’t mistakes but they are necessary; and I agree with that to a certain extent but at the same time all of the good human interactions are forgotten. Tree planting, multiple-country committees, activist groups and “green” organizations are among the list of the forgotten. Sometimes the media can come across as a little harsh, and this is the worst thing to do if you want to convince people to change. Aside from all of this, even with the continuation of pollution and the long list of other problems, we must not forget the many solutions that society and various individuals have come up with.
There are many organizations known for all of their environmentalist movements. But one of the most well-known and supported is WWF (World Wildlife Fund.) Its mission is, “To stop the degradation of the planet’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature.” (1) Their goals are also to protect biodiversity, make sure that humans obtain resources from sustainable environments, and to promote “green” consciousness. They have created many natural reserves so that they can never be harmed, they have also funded many rallies to promote change, for example the rally where Greece
So if it’s as small as planting butterfly weed, using the NHL’s new Green website, or walking that extra step to the recycling bins, or as big as donating to The David Suzuki Foundation or helping WWF Canada plant trees, it should never be forgotten. Because if we have learned anything from biodiversity, it’s that the smallest little change can make the biggest difference.
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References:(1) - "About WWF." WWF - Canada. Web. Sept. 25 2010. <http://wwf.ca/about_us/>
* "Population and the Environment: A Global Challenge." American Institute of Biological Sciences.
Don Hinrichsen, Bryant Robey. Web. Sept. 25 2010.
<http://www.actionbioscience.org/environment/hinrichsen_robey.html>
* "Protected Areas as Biodiversity Benchmarks for Human Impact: Agriculture and the Serengeti
Avifauna." Proceedings of The Royal Society, Biological Sciences. A. R. E. Sinclair, Simon A. R.
Mduma, Peter Arcese. Web. Sept. 25 2010.
< http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/269/1508/2401>
* "Greece wins acclaim saying yes to clean energy, no to new coal and nuclear." WWF-WWF. What
We Do. Web. Sept. 25 2010.
< http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/successes/?156301/Greece-wins-acclaim-saying-yes-to-clean- energy-no-to-new-coal-and-nuclear>
Images:
* Vanishing Earth. Web. Sept. 25 2010. <http://vanishingearth.com/images/Our-Impact-Vanishing-Earth.jpg>
* World Nuclear. Web. Sept. 25 2010. <http://www.world-nuclear.org/education/graphics/wast1.gif>
* Treehugger. Web. Sept. 25 2010. <http://i.treehugger.com/files/th_images/ikea-tree-planting1.jpg>
* Eco-Fresh Clean. Web. Sept. 25 2010. <http://www.eco-freshclean.com/wwf.jpg>
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hello megan :)
ReplyDeletei liked how you stated your opinion on the topic and showed both sides of the story in the begining. By asking how often do you hear about positive interactions humans have on the environment? you truely get the reader thinking and engaged in you Blog. you could of also added some more background information about WWF for example: it was founded on september 11, 1961. also It was an initiative of Julian Huxley and Max Nicholson. this could of helped get a better understand of the background history of WWF. Nonetheless the blog was great i enjoyed the ended, i found that it was a great sentence to end the blog with.
First of all, many kudos for the mention of GreenQuest!
ReplyDeleteThat aside, the WWF is a great organization. I would have liked some more specific examples of initiatives that the WWF has undertaken to preserve biodiversity. Does the WWF have any specific focus at the moment, or any plans for the future? I know the WWF does awareness-raising, (you mentioned rallies, etc.,) but it would be interesting to know the specific details.
Still, we are working on a word limit, and you did manage to convey a good amount of information. Overall, a nice post!
The WWF is a great organization the helps wild life all around the world and also helps the earth become more "green". I agree that the media does not focus enough on the positive human intervention. There are so many groups out their that are dedicated to making the world more "green" and also helping the wild life that are greatly suffering in many parts of the world. However, there are also groups and individual people who are doing the opposite. Some of them dont even know that they are hurting the earth and the species that inhabit it. This is why I believe that the WWF is such an important organization because it educates people on this topic.
ReplyDeleteI disagree when you say all the good human interactions have been forgotten. Although media tends to focus on mostly negativity when it comes to this topic, I have also seen publicity of good human interaction with the environment on numerous occasions.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, my family (and I) have been supporting the WWF and its work for years. It's definitely one of my favourite foundations.
I like how you included your own opinion on the topic (and how you mentioned the NHL's new green website). :) Nice post!
A lot of what you stated Megan was great. All of the damage done on the Earth is by us humans. But what's not true is that the positive we humans do for the environment goes unrecognized. I think that since we do less positive than negative those acts of stewardship stand out the most.Those who plant tree, are activists and live their lives 'green' are the ones we remember most, because don't we always look for the silver lining.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I'd like to say that you picked a really good organization, and mentioned others that people would know about such as the NHL's. Actually to be honest, I didn't know about it either, so thanks for teaching me something new.
Awesome post Meggs!