Tim Seaton

The world as we know it is declining in its beauty and increasing in the amount of pollution that harms it. We see more and more factories in place of the trees. We see more smoke than we do clouds in numerous places. We see the artificial lights of man instead of the stars of the heavens. We see roads and stores where nature used to reside. All of this is because men are taking nature and turning it into places for them to make money. We make the world worse for our gain. If we continue this, we may not have anything left to gain from.

There are lots of negative ways we are making the environment less healthy because of our advancements. Some of them are pollutants leading to acid rain, deforestation, landfills, the creation of nuclear energy that leads to radioactive waste disposal, pesticides, smog, and soil pollution. These are all pollutants men have enabled to happen with the technology we have. We could have none of these if we figured out a way to effectively use and create energy.

First off, there is acid rain. Acid rain is any form of precipitation with high levels of nitric and sulfuric acids. It can also occur in the form of snow, fog, and tiny bits of dry material that settle to Earth. Acid rain comes down and decreases or totally ruins the plant it falls on. We can stop this by decreasing the usage of the objects that create the acid rain. Andrew L. Lewis Jr. said, “Saying sulfates do not cause acid rain is the same as saying that smoking does not cause lung cancer.” He is stating things we do and create are causing us problems as definitely as smoking causes cancer, so we need to stop. We need to stop creating what is making the problems, because, until we do, there will be problems.

Next deforestation is a big problem. Deforestation is the destruction of forests in order to make the land available for other uses. An estimated 18 million acres (7.3 million hectares) of forest, which is roughly the size of the country of Panama, are lost each year. This could be a rain forest or any other type of forest or even just some trees. We can stop illegal deforestation by putting people to patrol areas where it is illegal or have some sort of security measure. We can stop legal deforestation by being content with what we have and not needing to be bigger and better than everyone else. Prince Charles of Wales said, “Forests are the world’s air-conditioning system — the lungs of the planet — and we are on the verge of switching it off.” He knows that as deforestation is happening, the air that flows in the world becomes thicker. Even though each tree makes very little difference, altogether, if every tree is dead, we will be dead. We need to take any efforts to stop deforestation from happening.

Pesticides are another way of pollution. We use pesticides to kill bugs or other harmful organisms. We use harmful substances to the bugs and other organisms, but they end up harming our plants also. When we are using the pesticides, we are basically killing off part of our economy. We use money on the crops and the pesticide and end up wasting them both. We need to stop using pesticides and find something else that will help kill the bugs off but keep the plants alive. Masanobu Fukuoka once said, “The final principle of natural farming is no pesticides. Nature is in perfect balance when left alone.” He is pointing out that before we added harmful things to the plants and nature, it was perfect, so why do we need to add them?

Nuclear Energy is another negative way we affect the environment. We are harming the universe. It is defined as the use of nuclear reactions that release nuclear energy to generate heat, which most frequently is then used in steam turbines to produce electricity in a nuclear power plant. The term includes nuclear fission, nuclear decay, and nuclear fusion. We can stop nuclear energy by finding different ways to create lots of energy efficiently and easily. Mark Z. Jacobson has been quoted saying, “Every dollar spent on nuclear is one less dollar spent on clean renewable energy and one more dollar spent on making the world a comparatively dirtier and a more dangerous place, because nuclear power and nuclear weapons go hand in hand.” He is noting that when we spend a dollar on nuclear energy, we may as well be spending a dollar to make the world dirtier.

Radioactive waste disposal from nuclear energy is also a problem. It is burying what we humans cannot handle. Even when buried, it will slowly spread out, although after a long time the waste will be totally dissipated. In this time, there is the possibility it could seep into waterways or into the ground our animals eat from. It is also harming the ground it is in. That ground will not be able to be used for a long time after that, so we should not even consider this option. James Buchan said, “For 50 years, nuclear power stations have produced three products which only a lunatic could want: bomb-explosive plutonium, lethal radioactive waste and electricity so dear it has to be heavily subsidised. They leave to future generations the task, and most of the cost, of making safe sites that have been polluted halfway to eternity.” He is taking a stance on the fact that right now, we are not doing anything positive with nuclear energy and the waste it makes, so why use it at all.

Next are oil spills. They are made by man’s error in their creations. They are the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially marine areas, due to human activity and is a form of pollution. The term is usually applied to marine oil spills, where oil is released into the ocean or coastal waters, but spills may also occur on land. It often kills many animals in the water and makes that water unusable, but it also happens on land. It makes the land unusable like water, but it can release fumes that affect the area around it. It can kill wildlife and forests there. It also wastes the oil and the resources spent to obtain it. We can stop this problem by creating objects less flawed or by finding other effective means of getting the oil. Billy Nungesser said this about the BP oil spill in 2010: “They said the black oil wouldn’t come ashore. Well, it is ashore. It’s here to stay and it’s going to keep coming.” Even when we don’t think oil spills could hurt the environment much, we couldn’t be much farther from the truth. Almost every animal who comes in contact with it is hurt for life, if they don’t first die because of it. The land is rendered unusable for a long time after it happens.

Next is smog. Smog is defined as fog or haze combined with smoke and other atmospheric pollutants. Some of the ways we can stop smog are to stop creating smoke or other pollutants. We can have more eco-friendly cars such as electric or hybrid cars that use the sun for some of their “fuel.” We can create objects that will cut down on pollutants. Michael Connelly once said, “The setting sun burned the sky pink and orange in the same bright hues as surfers’ bathing suits. It was beautiful deception, Bosch thought, as he drove north on the Hollywood Freeway to home. Sunsets did that here. Made you forget it was the smog that made their colors so brilliant, that behind every pretty picture there could be an ugly story.” He is stating that even when something like sunsets look beautiful, there is often an ugly story behind it, in this case, the smog.

Another pollutant problem we have is soil pollution. This is when humans put things we are not supposed to into the dirt. Some examples of this are toxic chemicals, pesticides, lead, sewage, and metals. Others include acid, solvents, and herbicides. Leftover ash can get in the ground through coal production and disposal. Pesticides are also a type of soil pollution. When it is sprayed, the excess seeps into the ground and can stay there for longer than 40 years. When we are putting these in the ground, we are putting harmful substances there. We can stop this by just stopping the polluting we are doing. Wendell Berry said about soil pollution, “The soil is the great connector of lives, the source and destination of all. It is the healer and restorer and resurrector, by which disease passes into health, age into youth, death into life. Without proper care for it we can have no community, because without proper care for it we can have no life.” He is saying that with the soil being polluted, we will not have most of our lives and our needs cannot be fulfilled.

Landfills are places where lots of damage is being done. People think landfills are great ideas, but they have their flaws also. They are a place to dispose of refuse and other waste material by burying it and covering it over with soil, especially as a method of filling in or extending usable land. They are harmful, though, in some ways. When we put electronics in landfills, we are accidently putting in toxins such as arsenic, mercury, cadmium, PVC, solvents, and even some lead. All of these are harmful not just to the land but potentially to the humans working there as well. We can eliminate this risk if we find better ways to dispose of the waste, such as recycling our waste. We can use this possibly to create more energy or at least not have to release more pollutants creating more energy. “A landfill-based system presents substantial long-term risks of increased water and air pollution. Landfills are often viewed as nuisances in communities, they provide few jobs to the local economy, and may depress surrounding property values. Once a landfill closes, the land has limited use for future development. Thus, the social costs of shifting to a landfill based system are great, especially in communities.” This shows landfills aren’t that much of a help to the world right now. It lowers the value of everything around it and doesn’t allow for much to be done with it after it is closed.

We also have many good ways we help nature. Some of these are finding ways to create less pollutants, wildlife conservation, recycling, and landfills. They are all ideas that have shown how to create energy efficient ideas that don’t create pollution either. They can be made even better if worked on and spark ideas for even better inventions.

First off, there are many ways we can create less pollutants. One example is alternative fuel/hybrid cars. These are vehicles that run on a fuel other than traditional petroleum fuels. It also refers to any technology of powering an engine that does not involve solely petroleum. Some of these cars are the Toyota Prius, Ford Escape, and the Honda Civic. They all use gas at some times, but their main fuel is the battery that charges between drives. Most companies are starting to develop hybrids that run mostly on fuel. They are able to be used and not be polluting the universe any more than necessary. Companies are making more and more hybrids to save money, gas, and not pollute the earth as much.

Next there is wildlife conservation. This is protecting areas of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna, or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study. We have been able to keep endangered species from becoming extinct. This has happened with the gray wolf, the brown pelican, the Aleutian Canadian goose, and many others. There are hundreds of wildlife conservations and national parks, which both provide safe havens for animals worldwide. We make more and more every year. Security around some conservations are extra protection for the animals, yet some poachers still get into them and kill animals. We need to try and have all animals in wildlife conservations or other safe havens or they might go extinct as well. With wildlife conservations, we can also protect the plants that are there. We need to protect them because they are a key part of our nature’s way of life also.

Recycling is another great way to protect nature. Recycling is converting waste into reusable material. We do this by first loading our recycling into trucks. We then put items into hoppers in which the material is funneled into different stations where workers sort it into what it is made of. Trash continues on the line and is sent to landfills, and recycling items are sent to be sorted more. They are then put into machines that smash glass bottles and put them in separate containers to be recycled. All the other material goes into a conveyor that drops off metal and plastic and lets cardboard and papers go. These are hand sorted and go into sorting bins that lead to a fiber baler to be recycled. Plastic bottles go into the container baler. Metal cans are put on a separate baler to be recycled. David Korten said,

To achieve true sustainability, we must reduce our “garbage index” — that which we permanently throw away into the environment that will not be naturally recycled for reuse — to near zero. Productive activities must be organized as closed systems. Minerals and other non-biodegradable resources, once taken from the ground, must become a part of society’s permanent capital stock and be recycled in perpetuity. Organic materials may be disposed into the natural ecosystems, but only in ways that assure that they are absorbed back into the natural production system.

He is pointing out the fact we need to be able to return what we have used so we do not run out of resources or make the earth a terrible place. If we do, then we will not have a society that runs or works like we have it intended to.

Finally, there are landfills. As stated earlier, landfills are a place to dispose of refuse and other waste material by burying it and covering it over with soil, especially as a method of filling in or extending usable land. Landfills have some good properties that come along with the bad ones. They are able to extend land that is somewhat useable. They let the government monitor the waste disposal. Maybe the most needed reason for landfills is it allows all the problems stray waste can leave to be concentrated in one area. People may ask, how is this good? It allows all the chemicals to be concentrated in one area, leaving all the other land to be good for things that need soil such as growing crops. It lets us gather waste so the country can know what is being used. We can learn much about people just from the trash and waste they produce.

In conclusion, we definitely need to find more ways to create energy efficiently yet eco-friendly because it is one of the biggest problem causers for pollution. We need to find better ways to kill the nuisances that don’t harm crops, the ground, or the farmers spraying it.  We need to find ways to make oil transportation that will not fail, and we need to find ways to make more safe ways of making energy and eco-friendliness. We need to make the world a better place. We need to take care of the world God gave to us. He wants us to care for it, not make it a place filled with pollution and war. Not a wasteland of hate and ugliness. We need to be better stewards of the land we have been given.