Conserving the Earth's environment - Is it too late?

[tangwk1990]

I was flipping through my geography textbook and I came across the chapter on conserving the Earth's environment. And I was wondering if it is already too late for us to conserve the Earth's environment. That includes protecting wildlife, protecting wilderness, caring for our rivers, lakes, coasts and mangrove swamps, protecting and conserving nature reserves, protecting and managing national parks and controlling wildlife trades.

In my opinion, I feel that it is a little late to take these actions. Forests are still being cleared everyday, there's still pollution around the world, animals and plants become extinct everyday, people are still killing animals for trade, just to name a few.

Is our Mother Earth really dying? I think everyone of us must do a part to help conserve the Earth's environment. We all have to make Mother Earth a good place to live in or else we will be suffering from these consequences.

What is your opinion?

[zhy378]

I think it may be too late, but then is better late than never. we (humans) been hurtin mother earth for a long time ever since we got here, lol. but yea at least there's some people out there tryin to save/conserve earth. like recylcin, helpin out with the endangered species, etc. :angel:

[seaweedpatchkid]

I don't think it's ever too late to try. We're causing a lot of damage, but we can also go about and clean up our mess by trying.

Effort is the key in everything nowadays. If there is no effort, there is nothing.

I don't think we've ever made a great effort...but if we did, who knows? Great things may come.

[ladiebugfreak]

Nothing is ever too late. There is always times to fix wrongs.

I think there needs to be worldwide effort to fix problems. Everybody, every town, and every country has to pitch in their two cents. This, however, is probably not going to happen, but there is definitely a chance.

[yenny1106]

Well i'm glad that there are actually quite a few people out there who still care about the environment!
i think we never know whether it's too late or not until something really really bad happens. but i really think that humans are just exploiting nature too much for our own economic gains.we have done too much damage, and i believe if we dun do anything now, it comes back to us. look at the number of natural disasters, and global warming. it's just so hot these few days (in Singapore) and the climate these years is just so different from the past decades. think we have ruined the balance/ equilibrium between nature and humans.
n recently, the hot topic about fur coats. humans used to put on fur coats because it's necessary to keep warmth. but now, people wear fur coats just for the sake of wearing, for fashion, for looking good.
and about deforestation. illegal logging. overfishing. pollution. sharks' fins.illegal trade of endangered animals. all these human acts are because of money. sigh.. humans r just too pragmatic..
but i believe we can help to reduce the damage by doing our part. for instance, don order sharks' fins, dun buy any endangered animal products, do our part in recycling etc etc. i think if everyone does a little act, it will come a long way.
but sadly, we always have this thinking that even if I do it, others continue to harm nature. so what's the point? 1 person can't make any difference. so we must abolish such mindsets n just do what we can to conserve the environment! everyone makes a difference!

[petricia]

well.. like everyone else... it is never too late to start! (well... better late than never...) Anyway, i do agree that we are straining our dear mother nature too much...
The hot days in Singapore also set me thinking... Fires are everywhere becoz of the high heat... while in some other places (i think Europe) there is massive storm...
the equilibrium has long been disrupted by the sake of 'human progression'.... we did alot of things for the sake of human... Wars, deforestations (for paper and housing etc...), killing of animals for glamorous out look... The advancement in medicial field also enable us to live longer and all these are a strain on Mother Nature...

All i can say is do our part... dun waste and remember the 3 Rs (Reuse/Reduce/Recycle)

[jiali]

Yep.. i agree that it's kinda late.. but it's better late than never. We still have some natural resources and stuff. I guess as long as everyone cooperates, things would improve gradually! :happy:

[kasic_fantasy]

i agree with most of you people here...so long as we think bout it, it will never be late.

i was kindda surprise to see such topic actually...it sounds so formal :? ..argh anyway, since we know the damages and causes, no point sitting here and do nothing right? so i guess its time everyone do their part for this world.

[oy]

Arent we taking a step in that direction with the Kyoto Proctol? I could be wrong but...it just went into effect a few weeks ago. It's suppose to lower the emissions of factories and things like that in order to lower global temperatures. Scientists say it may lower the global temperature .... .28 degrees Celsius lower? I'm not sure of the numbers.

But i agree with everyone. It's never too late. Everyday is an Earth day!

[ShuiMei]

Yes, I totally feel that Kyoto is a great step in the right direction for the environment. However, the United States, the world's worst emitter of greenhouse gasses did not sign on =.=

[ker_ai_teresa]

I'm a bit confused as to why Australia won't sign the Kyoto Protocol either. It must be something political.

anywayz, the fact of the matter is, the only way to stop pollution, deforestation, the greenhouse effect, and so forth, is to kill off the human race. The fact is, we're the ones causing all these problems.

But as that isn't practical :rolleyes: I agree that we do have to be responsible and do our part no matter how little it may seem. Whether it be using enviro friendly bags rather than plastic bags, recyling our soft drink cans, using both sides of a piece of paper, walking to the local shops rather than driving, only turning on the air con when you have to, etc, etc.

I guess as long as everyone cooperates, things would improve gradually! :happy:

Actually no. No matter how much we try to conserve what we have and help out the environment, our situation as it stands, will not improve. Yes, what we do will slow down the deterioration process of our environment, but it won't bring back the sections of the polar ice caps that have melted, it won't patch up the holes in the ozone layer, it won't eliminate the rubbish we have created, it won't bring back extinct species, etc. perhaps we can improve our air quality by using our cars less, but besides that, what we do now can only serve to slow down the destruction process.

grim but reality.

btw, I'm a fanatic when it comes to recycling. :happy:

[ankh]

Yup the harsh fact is that we can never bring the world back to where it was 10 years ago.
The point now is to conserve the environment.

Actually it is easier saying than doing it.
Every little action we're doing right now, be it typing a message on the forum, sitting in your room with the lights and fans on all contribute in one way or another to pollution.
The culprit for this is technology which undeniably is mankind's fault.

With technology pressing on, I do not see any hope of the situation ever improving and worse still, deteriorating even more.
Unless the advancement of technology comes to a standstill, I think it's too late.

[ShuiMei]

I'm a bit confused as to why Australia won't sign the Kyoto Protocol either. It must be something political.
The short-term effects of Kyoto can be devasting for local industries, I know here in Canada the auto-industry and the oil-industry is very anti-Kyoto because it costs money to make the kinds of changes that Kyoto wants and then they'll loose profit or something lovely... :dry:

[gCjs84]

Ya. I do think that it may be too late to do anything to prevent further damages to Mother Earth. . We humans really depend too much on this Earth to fuel our world. All those production, logging, pollution etc etc are all evidence that we just cannot stop without affecting our economies. This is the sad reality. As some have said, it is better late than never. Every effort goes a long way and countries around the world should do their part in a bid to reduce the damages I guess.

[snowflake]

I think it is too late to help Mother Earth as damage has been done BUT we can help it from becoming worse. This is the most important issue right now. Now this will have to be a global movement and with everyone pitching in. No matter how small a single action is the important thing is that you help. Yet at some countries, people have little ideas of recycling and what can be done.

anywayz, the fact of the matter is, the only way to stop pollution, deforestation, the greenhouse effect, and so forth, is to kill off the human race. The fact is, we're the ones causing all these problems.

And I agreed with Teresa’s view. That is why that is always talks about human existence at every century. Example, Plagues, natural disasters and clan killings??! :rolleyes:
Anyway what we can do now is only to do our part in conserving earth.

[beyOnd aLL reasOn]

We are way past late for conserving out environment. The global warming situation isn't remotely anywhere near being really helped. Our pollution is pretty bad [around where i live...and plenty of other places to]. If we keep going the way we have for the past centuries...there will one day [relatively soon in the large scheme of things] when we humans will be in big trouble. Without resources and facing a ravished Earth.

We may not be able to completely rectify our damage [that would take...eons...i suppose] but the least we can do is at least try. If we can't better our situation, we can at least help ourselves by not making it much more worse than it already it.

It's really kind of sad how much we've hurt the Earth. But you guys are all right...its better late than never.

But the important questions is really how we can possibly help our environment. Because gCjs84 is right...we do depend too much on the Earth's resources and the chances of us being able to find alternative paths in time to conserve what we have left is very slim, is it not?

Question: I heard somewhere that it was predicted [in like the 60' or something] that our petroleum [our gas...i'm not quite sure what it's called] will last to only about 2050...is that true?

[nycgirls]

Very off-topic: There's a recyclemania contest among 49 US Colleges right now. We were trying to see whose pound per capita recycling is the heaviest. It's a fun thing to do... but promotions are more or less not too active about it, since it is student-run and it is VERY inconvenient to find a recycle bin RIGHT NEXT to a trash can most of the time. Most people will not be willing to carry 5 empty bottles with them and wait UNTIL they see the recycle bin, while there are 20 pounds of books on your shoulders...

That's what I am going to relate to right now: the power... who's the boss? Environmental issues are basically STILL not the interest that the Wealthy and the Powerful are seeking for. Agree with many of you who has a moderate or passive view to preservation of environment, people are still quite short-sighted. Another thing is convenience: how do you think the society will participate? If by social norms no one is preserving the environment like doing a daily ritual, then most of us will just chicken out and not do it. The little guilty pressure we had every time we disposed a plastic bottle into regular trash will soon be smoothened by the thought of "maybe-just-this-time, and others are doing their job."

Also an interesting but mind-bothersome thing will be obedience in society. Sadly our educational systems are training us to be socailly homogenous, raising less or no questions. Implicitly the environmentalists are considered as "radical and misbehave" right now, so people will view active engagement in environmental issues a "radical" thing. The little mind inside of us will go like, "no way... I am not going off for a demonstration and get caught by the police."

At least, I hope that we will put efforts on doing the preservation by ourselves, while try to glorify it and give this attitude a positive boot. A movement in the philisophical ideas we are seeking for will be crucial to the conservation of our environment... I wonder when Dewey the II will come out??

[b^la]

yeah i agree that it's better late than never.
but in my geography teacher believes that human beings and our actions are not actually responsible for global warming. apparently there is a pattern in the changes of our climate and that it goes from hot to cold to hot again and apparently, we're reaching the stage in the pattern where the climate just naturally goes hot again and therefore, he doesn't believe that we are actually causing it.
still, i think that it's better to start being eco-friendly before we lose everything (forests, seas etc) and regret it! it's really hard to get everyone on the planet to conserve though...

[Logic]

I think it's too late but we can still do alot to slow down the process of environmental degradation. I don't know if this has got to do with the amount of pollution but nowadays the weather is crazy here in Oz. Sometimes it can be cold then the next day really hot.

[macdawn]

Well, my personal opinion is, we are never going to get back to how it was before the industrial revolution, because there are a lot of things, like animals, when they had gone extinct, are gone forever.

However, I agree that, we can do our part to slow down our advancement towards the path of destruction. For every tree we conserved, for every square kilometer of rainforest we protected, that is something for our children and their grandchildren. Gobal mass extinction is a cycle of natural, and according to research, it had happened at least 6 times before, the last being the extinction of the dinosaurs, and it is pretty certain that it will happen again.

I just hope, we are not helping to make that day come fast. Selfishly, I hope I could share this world with my children and my grandchildren.... I am a big fan of recycling, but sad to say, the recycling program, in some areas of Singapore still leaves a lot to be desired. :cry: But I am still hoping to convert people around me to recycling... I managed to get my mom and aunt into it....

-MacDawn

[nevets1219]

Well, it is never too late to do a good thing. I would say it is too late to approach this issue easily. Things that cause most of our pollution is not something we can do away easily.

Cars is something everything needs (and in California - you are pretty much considered grounded if you don't drive though there should be plent of people who shouldn't be driving). Every family has at least 2 cars. Car pool is a good idea but Asians don't exactly find this solution to be good. I personally don't mind but you can't really act like yourself when you have other people in the car.

Factory. Everything is mass-produced and massively consumed. We can try to cut down on consumption or effectively using a product. I think Taiwan has implemented rules to reduce use of plastics which is good to see and know. I just saw this special on PBS about using algae to reduce pollutant (not CO2 - but something else - can't remember at this time). If many companies started implementing pollution reducing methods, it can be guarnteed that the cost will be paid by consumers and no one wants that.

Reduction of Forest. This can be remedied..Look at all the island countries (Taiwan and Japan). Build up rather than sideways. Why cut into forests which helps reduce pollutants, keep flooding down, preserve balance in wildlife, etc. Not only that rain forest provide many useful medical remedies which has yet to be discovered.

This isn't something one nation can do and make great changes to. Every nation has to make some effort to help out the environment. Recycle is something everyone can do easily...(thanks to all the homeless people who put great effort into this). Pesticide free gardens also help preserve the water you drink.

[mysadworld]

yes..its never too late to do anything unless we give up!
i guess many are still not aware the seriousness of the situation that the earth is facing now
there is an urgent need to create more awareness to the people!
though the government has constantly reminded the people to conserve earth's environment
people are not caring much about it
sigh...i hope we humans will realise it SOON!!!

[Logic]

Development is a problem too. With many countries developing means that more of forest land is stripped down for urbanisation. I was in Malaysia and was amazed when we drove out of the city on the way to Putraya. I saw a whole mountain being stripped down, all the trees were gone leaving bare land. It was quite disappointing to see that happen, deforestation is a big problem but having said that, it happens everywhere. After the buildings have gone up, you don't realise but maybe that was once a forest and look at it now!!

[Rurouni[X]]

I think that its right.
Better late then never.
of coarse we can never actually fix all the damage that we have done.
Of coarse we can stop now..
'But are you really willing to stop using Gases and fossil fuels.
Many people will be out of a job.
Also to give up pollution you dont think of how it will affect you.
How will people deliver stuff?
Cant fly anymore.
You cant simply snap your fingers and stop all the pollution.
^^"

[tc9.jay]

Well, if we are talking about global warming, while I would have to agree that humans play a huge part in emitting unnaturally large amounts of greenhouse gases (esp carbon dioxide) into the atmosphere, I also want to point out that the natural pleistocene period has to be taken into consideration too.

In fact, we are all living in the last of the ice age and moving into the inter-glacial period so in a way, it is only part of nature's grand plan that we are seeing an increase in temperatures globally. I dare say that without us humans, the earth would still be warming up though undeniably, through our activites, we have inevitably speeded up the process.

Then again, this might come as a surprise to many but the pollutants that we have been releasing into the air for the past century or so thanks to the industrial revolution has also prevented us from bearing the full brute of global warming. This phenomenon is known as global dimming and was only discovered half a century ago by an Israli sceintist. What happens is that as humans release particles into the air, these hygroscopic particles actually prevent the sun's rays from properly reaching the earth, as the sun's rays are reflected back into the atmosphere.

In a bid to 'conserve the environment', humans have been cutting down on the emittence of pollutants into the atmosphere but fail to address the more relevant issue - that of the release of greenhouse gases. In fact, as global dimming has been shielding us from the full blast of global warming, we may see an increase of 10 degrees celsius by the end of this century in contrast to the 0.6 degrees increase over the last 50 years due to the decrease in pollutant emittence and increase in release of greenhouse gases. Scary isn't it?

So is it too late to reverse all the damages caused to the environment? I would think so. The damage is irreversible and to a certain extent, inevitable. But if we don't take up steps and measures now, the situation would intensify and what good would that do for us or for our future generations? Plus, given that two of the most populated nations China and India are developing at an insane speed, it's time rich countries like US stop alleging that there is no hard evidence that humans have brought on global warming and put their own selfish interests aside to prevent the situation from further deteriorating. It is a fact that the rich countries are developing at the poor countries' expense. (look at all the climatic changes affecting Africa.) And besides, if global warming continues at this rate, US is going to experience the dry and hot climate Africa is currently experiencing in the not-too-far future.

That said, it is never too late to start conservation efforts.