Green Practices and Their Benefits on the Environment Essay

Every country is endowed with rich natural resources which can greatly affect the country’s competence within the international economic arena. Each country is highly dependent upon the natural resources that it owns. These natural resources are being utilized to aid the country’s needs in order to strengthen their economy. Thus in order to make full use of natural resources, one must be keen in protecting the environment. The environment shelters all the resources that people need in order to sustain life. Thus damaging the environment can create strong adverse effect on the humans’ needs and well-being. However, the seemingly rapid development within the field of industry and technology diverted the society’s awareness on the importance of environment protection. The discovery of new technological innovations attracted people towards adapting new ways and processes unmindful of the possible threats that these new inventions may bring to the environment. And over time, scientific discoveries have caused the deterioration and depletion of important natural resources. Alongside these innovations and the discovery of the harmful effects that these developments have inflicted on the environment, comes the need for increased awareness and concern in protecting the environment. If people will not learn how to control their utilization of the environment and the proper way of extracting uses from it, the nature’s gift endowed for the humans to make use of shall soon become scarce and will eventually die out completely. From this truth and realizations, certain organizations have emerged to save the environment from further abuse. Environmentalist groups have surfaced in order to prevent the environment from continuous depletion. These environmentalists were formed under the bond of concern for the environment, primarily towards ensuring the â€Å"preservation, restoration, or the improvement of the natural environment† (Rozeff, 2007). These groups of people hold advocacies in order to create a strong stand in promoting their cause and ideals. In addition to this, â€Å"green† companies have also been set up in order to fight for this cause. These companies are those who have responded to the need of protecting the environment, and those who have believed that doing such shall become favorable to them in the future. And as such, these environmentalist organizations and green companies have devised of ways to protect the environment while still reaping the benefits from rich natural resources. In this light, site management programs are being done in order to provide protection to land, water and air resources. These programs are geared towards effectively monitoring the status of natural environment with respect to its utilization, acts ensuring replenishment and maintenance and improvement of such resources (â€Å"Green Remediation,† 2008). Ecological and Soil Preservation The importance of preserving land formations translates into the preservation of the ecology in general. Land resources serve as the widest form of habitats for most of living organisms within the ecosystem. Thus, ensuring that the natural habitats are being well taken cared of will help maintain biodiversity which will benefit humans and other forms of living organisms. One way of ecological and soil preservation is through the use of grassfarming. Grassfarming, when done in a proper way will result to a net benefit in the environment. Animals raised through this process shall help in lessening the use of fossil fuels. Furthermore, development of pasture of this kind helps to reduce the occurrences of soil erosion. With the United States losing a significant mass of soil every year, diversion from the conventional ways of cropping and instead resorting towards row cropping will eventually lessen the rate of soil loss by up to 93 percent (â€Å"Grassfarming Benefits the Environment,† 2008). In addition to this, grazed pasture will also help in removing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Furthermore, grassfarming helps in reducing greenhouse gases thus eventually slowing down the rate of global warming (â€Å"Grassfarming Benefits the Environment,† 2008). Another way of preventing soil erosion is through tree trimming, tree planting and landscaping. While these processes keep soil erosion at a lesser rate and percentage, these also serve the purpose of beautifying the surrounding. While these work to create a more beautiful environment, these also increase the reliability of environment by strengthening and further enrichment of the resources available to humans (â€Å"Tree Trimming and Landscaping: Balancing Beauty and Reliability,† 2008). In general, the protection of ecology and soil preservation will eventually lead to the following: increase in wildlife habitat, reduce wind, water and soil erosion, decrease in carbon emission, protection of water resources and the establishment and development of â€Å"greenspaces† corridors (â€Å"Green Remediation,† 2008). The most important amongst these positive effects in the environment is that while the environment beautifies and becomes more useful for the people, the people will have a greater sense of property values. And as such, the community will have a better perception of the advantages that a â€Å"green† environment will serve for them. Water Preservation and Conservation Preservation of aqua life is also equally as important in maintaining a healthy environment. Developments in the society have pushed people towards over consumption of water resources. In addition, the commercialization rampant in every country has turned every water resource into either an industrial or commercial site. Thus, actions are needed towards recovering and conserving what is left of the planet’s water resources. In United States, the campaign in passing a National Healthy Oceans Act is being pushed. It is believed that upon the approval of the act, a cohesive national policy will be pushed to revitalize and revive the oceans. If this materializes, the protection of what is left in the country’s marine life shall be restored and protected (â€Å"Ocean Solutions,† n. d). In addition to this act, the development of underwater parks is also being suggested. The establishment of protected marine areas shall help preserve the rich marine life by allowing marine species to reproduce, thus providing a more balanced and diverse marine ecosystem (â€Å"Ocean Solutions,† n. d). In line with this, certain policies are also pushed which shall ensure that destructive fishing shall be stopped and violators will be properly reprimanded. It is necessary to know that use of destructive fishing will deliberately decrease marine diversity. Such policies will also promote for the prevention of occurrences of water pollution. Water pollution further hastens the development of water damage to natural systems. Thus, the government has provided ways to ensure that sewage systems are being monitored in order to prevent leakages that can further contribute to marine death. In addition to these, several conservation designs have been suggested in order to strengthen the campaign of water resources protection. These conservation designs include the formation of clusters and landscapes which shall enable the prevention of excessive water runoffs. Examples of these landscapes include trenches, basins, rain gardens and vegetated treatment systems among the others (â€Å"Green Remediation,† 2008). Moreover, military sonars are being put under restrictions. Military activities over time were proven to have induced harmful effects upon water resources, and as such, activities of this kind must be minimized. If these steps shall be taken, people can help curb the probable adverse effects of global warming. At the rate that global warming is currently occurring in the planet, the planet’s aquamarine resources are predicted to suffer from grave effects it may bring. Thus, being keen in preventing the further intoxication of the marine resources through excessive emission of carbon dioxide in bodies of water, people can help in sustaining and protecting the growth of diverse biofuels (â€Å"Ocean Solutions,† n. d). Air Quality Protection Every individual needs clean air in order to attain a healthy life. Maintaining the natural ecology by giving priority in the protection of trees also helps in cleaning the planet’s air resources. However, there are direct plans which can be done in order to strengthen the society’s position in keeping the atmosphere free from toxic gases. Green remediation activities that come in forms of certain policies can enormously aid in building standards necessary for protecting the atmosphere. Provisions made under Clean Air Act, Energy Policy Act and Energy Independence and Security Act are few of the policy programs which if followed can assist in maintaining clean air within the country (â€Å"Green Remediation,† 2008). Through these acts, it will be made clear that equipments needed in the manufacturing industry will be checked to make sure that companies comply in the reduced emission of harmful gases. These efforts will ensure that heavy equipments and vehicles are functioning properly in such a way that air protection opportunities are being guaranteed to work. Waste Management Given the three important aspects of environment which greatly need attention and protection, a proper and efficient waste management system also contributes to the prevention of environmental degradation. Aside from direct plans involving the environmental maintenance and revival, there are also activities which are seeking to prevent further degradation of the surroundings. In this light, an activity such as â€Å"Reduce, Reuse and Recycle† program is being initiated which is expected to increase the environment’s sustenance against pollution. In the event that this will be strictly observed, this will be of great help in pursuing waste reduction by recycling materials that can still used (â€Å"Reduce, Reuse and Recycle,† 2008). Thus, such activity will help save environment and at the same time, it will also help alleviate poverty by making use of trash materials as a source of livelihood. In general, a feasible waste management practice must take into consideration the opportunity of giving a worthy cause for livelihood while eliminating the threats to the environment. Ideally, an effective waste management system is geared towards (1) conserving landfill space; (2) reducing the environmental impacts coming from wastes while reducing the cost of producing new materials from old and used materials; and (3) reducing the overall project expenses by avoiding new and more expensive purchases and unnecessary disposal costs (â€Å"Green Remediation,† 2008). A Sustainable Development A greater understanding of the environment’s delicateness and vulnerability will lead the people towards the developing a greater sense of concern with how one makes positive use of the rich natural resources provided by the environment. However, even if the people will make use of environmental resources with outmost caution, there are resources that are cannot be renewed and replenished, or resources that take too long before they can be replenished. This then brings into light the importance of how to use our resources in a sustainable way. Though resources may be renewed and replenished, it is still necessary to know how to use them properly while allotting time for these resources to be replenished according to the pace that suits them. Trees and forest reserves are examples of renewable resources. While trees and forest can always be replenished, humans who make use of it should be careful in consuming the richness and wealth that these resources provide us. As such, people must be keen on knowing when it is time to start making actions towards ensuring that such resources will be given an ample time to replenish that resources that have already been utilized by humans. Consequently, nonrenewable resources are also present in the environment. These include the nature’s fossil reserves. Fossil fuels though are still currently rampant within the environment are nonrenewable resources, which if used inappropriately will soon become scarce. Thus, it is the obligation of human beings to know how to carefully and prudently use these resources in such a way that future generations will still have enough to make use of for their own development. In this light, renewable energy resources must be integrated properly to ensure future abundance and proliferation. And on the other hand, alternatives must be provided as replacements to nonrenewable resources. The utilization of solar and wind alternatives can be useful instead of continuously relying to nonrenewable fossil reserves as energy sources (â€Å"Green Remediation,† 2008). Thus, if these are given proper attention, while prolonging the life of the nature’s nonrenewable resources and protecting the environment, this can also help the economy in reducing country costs and liabilities. Ideally, an effective system in managing renewable and nonrenewable energy sources may result in the: (1) decrease in fossil fuel prices while ensuring long-term benefits and cost savings; (2) lowering the demand and reliability on traditional energy resources; (3) reducing the emissions from fossil fuel consumption; and (4) widening the opportunities for new market and job creation (â€Å"Green Remediation,† 2008). Environment Protection: Translation Towards Human and Economic Development As previously mentioned, the planet’s rich natural resources serve as the people’s basic source of livelihood. Without these resources, people will be left with nothing to feed on, no shelter and no means to survive. Thus, it is widely believed that poverty and environment are two interrelated concepts that humans must be able to grasp in order to attain the fullest potential that humans can attain. A report following the researches conducted by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) concluded that to be able to battle poverty, people must turn towards environmental protection. The relationship between the two is linked in a â€Å"downward spiral† wherein the poorest among the nation are those who have extracted their environmental resources towards the limits without being keen on replenishing them. Thus, environmental degradation has further impoverished people due to lack of education and knowledge to keep the resources alive (â€Å"UNDP-EC Poverty and Environment Initiative,† 2004). Thus, the goal set up by the UNDP Environment Initiative is to provide practitioners and policy makers in identifying solutions towards equipping the people with proper knowledge on how to take care of natural resources while allowing them the privilege of making use of the environment’s richness. Given the immense importance of environmental resources to the lives of every people living in the planet, it is of great necessity that people must learn how to utilize these resources in such a way that the environment retains its healthy form and condition. The processes, policies and projects stated beforehand are bright solutions towards maintaining a sustainable development. The environment is one of the best gifts bestowed upon human beings. Observing â€Å"green† practices and making sure that environmental protection is put at first priority on top of human selfishness and recklessness will benefit not only the environment itself, but more specially human beings who are largely dependent on the gifts that environment provides. References Grassfarming Benefits the Environment. (2008). Eatwild. Retrieved July 29, 2008, from http://www. eatwild. com/environment. html Green Remediation: Incorporating Sustainable Environmental Practices Into Remediation of Contaminated Sites. (2008). United States Environmental Protection Agency. Ocean Solutions. (n. d) NRDC. Retrieved July 29, 2008, from http://oceans. nrdc. org/solutions Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. (2008) The Green Flag Program. Retrieved July 29, 2008, from http://www. greenflagschools. org/mshs/project_areas/ Rozeff, M. S. (2007) What is Environmentalism? LewRockwell. com. Retrieved July 29, 2008, from http://www. lewrockwell. com/rozeff/rozeff151. html Tree Trimming and Landscaping: Balancing Beauty and Reliability. (2008) Knoxville Utilities Board. Retrieved July 29, 2008, from http://www. kub. org/wps/portal/! ut/p/c1/04_SB8K8xLLM9MSSzPy8xBz9CP0os3gPC1OnYE8TIwMDlwAnAyMfl1BLU1c3D1cPA_1wkA68KvDKG-GXDzQzhMgb4ACOBvp-Hvm5qfoF2dlBHuWOigCUwDZj/dl2/d1/L3dJMjJZZyEhL0lCakFBQVFnQUlUQ0FBaUNJQUNBb2dBSUJ1d0FDR0EhL1lCcDNwSnchLzZfSDg1QlNJNDIwMERQQjAyTERVOTVFRkhFNjA! / UNDP-EC Poverty and Environment Initiative. (2004) United Nations Development Programme. Retrieved July 30, 2008, from http://www. undp. org/seed/pei/