environmental rant

We are currently undergoing an ecological crisis, with the 20th century in particular, has seen unprecedented changes in the environment, which are unsurpassed by other period in man's history. These progressive and destructive changes are due to man's false notion that the natural resources are to be exploited for the advantage of humans, either individually or as a society. The situation further worsened as a result of exponential increases in population growth that correspondingly increased the demand for goods and services.

What can be done to save the Earth?

Two issues should be given importance in trying to identify the causes of the deterioration of the environment: (1) overpopulation (2) carrying capacity. Solutions in trying to mitigate, minimize and abort the progressive destruction should focus in the above two issues.

Population Control

The simplest and one of the most effective means of slowing population growth is to delay the age of first childbearing women. As more women enter the workforce and as education levels and standards of living increase, this delay tends to occur naturally. Social pressures that lead to deferred marriage and childbearing can be very effective. Usually, countries with high growth rates have early marriages, e.g. some South Asia and Africa nations have around 50 per cent of women marrying between the ages of 15 and 19.

Another would be the implementation of a birth control program in each country, from the traditional, i.e. breast-feeding, abstinence; to more modern methods, i.e. pills, condom. It is imperative that the government of specific countries effectively convey its program to the society to have a high rate of success in this regard. Moreover, the position of the government regarding birth control policies can affect the overall state of population in country.

Programs for Sustainable development

Effective and full implementation of Global Agenda 21 drawn in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992 should serve as the blueprint for all countries' effort toward achieving sustainable development and improvement in the quality of life.

Sustainable development, which is the capacity to meet the needs of the current generation without compromising the needs of the future generation, should be the mantra for all nations. In this way, all societies should always think of preserving the base resources that will serve as the sources for replenishment of the various raw materials that are extracted from the environment. In this way, societies can maintain a harmonious relationship in resource extraction and at the same time preserving and conserving the more ore less pristine condition of the environment.

Proactive individual actions

Given all this, it does not necessarily mean that we should leave the myriad problems plaguing the planet to the respective governments. There should be a proactive action that should be observed in every individual of all societies. The small things that we do, e.g. application of proper waste management practices that would include reuse, source reduction, recycling and composting would already count a lot. If every individual will be conscious and aware of his surroundings, then, these actions will be magnified several times to positively affect the condition of the environment.

Hence, being educated and aware is not enough. These should be correspondingly translated into proper practices so as to lessen the progressive deterioration of the environment.