Gary Harvey Blog

Our natural environment consists of both living and non-living components, which are commonly referred to as just ‘the environment.’ The key constitutes of our environment include two main areas. The complete ecological units functioning as a natural overall structure with minimum human interference is the first main area of the environment. This eco system consists of animals, vegetation, rocks, atmosphere and microorganisms.

The second area includes everything that is not human-originated, but are natural forces – but there are no clear lines drawn here. These forces include energy, radiation, magnetism, air, water, climate and electricity.

What nature had already provided and what man has created are in sharp contrast. What humans have created is called the built environment. At any place, only if the influence of humans is negligible can it be called a natural environment.

Wilderness, does not automatically mean a natural environment. Any area where there is no human interference at all is a wilderness. There are other conditions that need to be met if a region is to be considered a natural environment. National forests and nature reserves are considered to be part of the latter.

Our natural environment is under threat and it’s a commonly known fact. Arctic glaciers are melting, the hot climates are getting hotter and rains are falling out of season. The role of natural environmentalist groups are very relevant in this situation. They broaden the horizons for actions and policies on preserving the environment to be enforced by governments and society. Preserving the environment includes protecting what remains, restoring and extending the natural environment (some areas were previously occupied by humans and are now desolate, creating new wilderness areas).

There are some common goals that these groups are working towards – reduction of pollution, cleaning up the atmosphere, using recyclable material and actually recycling them, preserving the non-renewable fuel pockets by using renewable energy sources, conserving water, land and air, making sure that habitats of animals are not wiped out and more species are not wiped off the Earth and maintaining the balance that the Earth needs.

The threats that the natural environment faces are many – when land is developed, nature suffers because of the pollution it inevitably includes. Toxic gases are spewed into the atmosphere by industrial plants, just as waste is being dumped everywhere. Global warming is not just a threat, but a reality now.

We are the reason the natural environment is facing such danger. It is our responsibility to try and preserve the environment – not just stop damaging it, but fixing the damage that has been done. There is no time to lose – preservation can start right at home.