Many Scientist consider humans as the most invasive species, as humans can greatly change an enviornment and impact living things that reside there. Are we being stewards of the world? Take a look at an issue in which human intervention has positively or negatively affected the biodiversity of our ecosystem.
What does it mean to be a steward of the world?
In order to ask ourselves if we are truly stewards of the world we must know what it means first. The web definition of a steward is a person who attends to the domestic concerns of persons. This more or less means a person who caters and cares for another. So we can conclude that to be a steward of the world is someone who cares and takes care of the world. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction as our friend Newton has taught us. This is true in the sense that almost everything we do affects the world. Our day to day decisions all revolve around the good of our world from our mode of transportation, to the food we eat. To be a steward is someone who makes decisions based on the well being and care of our world.
Are we ourselves being stewards of the world?
On a survey done by The Canadian Press approximately sixty seven percent of Canadian voters see the environment as a primary issue in our nation, while only twenty six percent see it as a minor issue. While well over half believe that our environment is an important issue it seems that not enough is being done to fix problems such as global warming and the misuse of land. The way I see this is that we have the desire to change, however most of us are just waiting for someone else to do it for us. So the best solution is to begin change among ourselves. Just by making a simple decision to walk to your destination rather than driving makes a difference. I see myself on a daily basis calling my parents from a friend’s house or school because I’m too lazy to take the bus. This is a waste of not only time and money but also a poor decision for the world. If we could all just sacrifice our lazy old selves and get on the bus instead of nagging our parents for a ride we would be taking a step into being stewards of the world. The way we dispose of garbage affects the creatures in the area. I see many people including myself just throwing garbage on the floor not thinking about how it may affect those living species in the area. These simple yet effective strategies are a good stepping stone to become real stewards of the world.
A good way to see how our every action affects the world is by taking the eco logical foot print quiz. It asks a variety of questions that include where you buy your foods, how you get to school, types of products used in your house, how many people are in your family, and what type of home you live in. After answering all these questions it gives you your own eco logical footprint which allows you to compare yourself to the average person. I recommend we all take this quiz in order to change our lifestyle for the better of our world. Some quizzes also give you tips on what you can do to lessen your eco foot print.
Pollution, Pollution, Pollution
Pollution has always been a huge environmental concern negatively affecting us as humans and animals as well. A good majority of pollution created is from the burning of fossil fuels. We all know fossil fuels such as coal, oil, natural gas, and gasoline produce energy for us on a daily basis. However, these very essentials have a huge negative impact on the environment. As we live each day we have yet to realize the consequences that occur from our actions. All the factories and vehicles that emit harmful chemicals into our air destroy the environment. For instance, pollution affects the quality of the air and we have no choice but to breathe it in. This leads to asthma and other breathing problems. Approximately three million Canadians live with asthma which is 9.5 percent of the Canadian population. Studies also say that in Toronto alone, one thousand people die from bad air quality essentially caused by pollution. Pollution also affects the quality of our water. Our very own Lake Ontario is deemed unsafe to swim in causing a concern for the people of Toronto. In a big industrialized city like Toronto pollution is much higher than any other city in Canada. Of course we are hit hardest by the affects of pollution with high smog alerts and bad air quality.
Another huge impact of pollution on biodiversity is global warming. It’s been proven time and time again that our earth is just getting warmer. The ten hottest years ever recorded in history were all seen since 1990. Global warming is caused when carbon dioxide collects in the atmosphere so much so that it traps the heat from the sun causing the earth to warm up. The increased temperature over time has affected a large majority of species especially those living in the arctic area. The thawing ice of the arctic leaves many polar bears clinging to a very small piece. Many polar bears have drowned in the arctic water because the now warm weather would melt all existing ice. Also due to the lack of ice polar bears are unable to travel and hunt for food leaving them starving to death in the arctic waters. There are approximately twenty thousand polar bears many of which are death due to global warming and these great species are soon to be endangered. Polar bears are just one of many species being affected. Global warming has hit the world as a whole bringing in very dry conditions causing long droughts and massive wild fires. We as humans with our technology are slowly destroying our beautiful world. The great biodiversity that exists may soon very well plummet. Global warming will only get worse unless we begin to start making a difference in our world.
Sources:
http://www.nrdc.org/globalWarming/f101.asp
http://info.wlu.ca/~wwwsbe/faculty/rwigle/ec238/news/may-18-00.shtml
http://www.sk.lung.ca/content.cfm?edit_realword=mr85
http://www.cleanerandgreener.org/programs/schools/pollution.htm
http://www.bearplanet.org/global-warming-polar-bears.shtml
http://www.greenhq.net/polar-bears-and-global-warming.html
