Part 2: Synthesis

SO CAN THE EARTH BE SAVED?

Until scientists & astronauts or space-researchers have found a way to make life possible in Mars, Earth is the only planet in the entire solar system which can support life. Without the Earth, can you even imagine where we would be living? No you can't, & thats why its a horrible thought.

The earth has given us so much, life & natural resources being tops. Now that its reserves are depleting, people are actually thinking of giving up on it? After all its done for us, it is time for us to pay back our dues.

What are the advantages of trying to save the earth?

For one, without it, we & our descendants would not be able to live on. And as long as we live, we'll be relying on it for everything. Food, oxygen, natural resources for economic reasons, recreational activities etc. We can't give up on the earth just because a few problems have sprung up. Besides, the problems with the earth & its environment were all caused by us, the humans & the only living beings on the planet. Can't really blame the martians now, can we?

The ailing earth & bad conditions of the environment, comes a whole round back to affect us, both economically & health.

Because of technology, the world is now connected. Products, including food, are being traded all over the world, creating a chain reaction. Meaning, if one country fails economically, several other countries who does business with it or is directly associated with it would suffer losses too. Subsequently, countries who are co-dependent on one another for business & income would be greatly affected as well.

With serious environmental issues like highly toxic polluted seas & the ever-growing problem of global warming, not only the health of the people is compromised, so are other important activities like international trade.

Take for example, Sweden, a country that is well-known for its fish trade. Its economy very much relies on the import-export business of fish. With the Baltic Sea recently polluted & not much being done to improve the problem, partly because of Russia's slow uptake to the dire situation, Sweden cannot expect a good economy anymore. This translate to shortage of fish for food & fish for business. This in turn means that other countries who rely on Sweden for both trade & food would be affected too.

Health is also put as risk when our environment is as polluted as it is. More people are suffering from respiratory diseases because of the increasing levels of harmful substances in the air we breathe. In places where sewerage systems are outdated & not properly developed, the vast amount of trash on the streets could mean that the people are not living in good healthy conditions.

Examples of bad living conditions because of the polluted environment leading to health risks include India & countries in Eastern Europe like Russia.

In India, workers' conditions in recycling plants are appalling. They are faced with highly toxic gases on a daily basis, reducing the strength of their immune system thus exposing them more to diseases. Mining plants in Russia are causing ancient forests to be burnt to the ground, forests rich in both history & mineral resources, destroyed & never to be replenished again.The great decrease of trees means drastic lack of oxygen for the people as well. They might be earning money from the doubled rates of metals but with ill health, they would not be able to enjoy it won't they?


What are the greatest risks the earth is facing now?

The first & major one is pollution. There are 3 main forms of pollution: air pollution, water pollution & land pollution.

With the constant emission of harmful gases from industrial buildings & factories, our air is becoming more & more toxic everyday. On top of that, a higher number of people are owning cars & driving them, releasing carbon monoxide into the atmosphere, further polluting the air.

Water pollution could be the biggest pollution problem. With more & more factories dumping their waste water into seas, a greater number of marine life would suffer. This is a big problem because it would in turn affect us, the consumers.

The situation of land pollution is no less dire. We are slowly filling up our earth with nothing but trash. Soon we wont have space to store trash anymore, so we'd resort to burning the garbage, which would then release harmful gases into the air.


The Earth should be saved at all costs. However,it must be a global effort, because only then would it be effective. Countries should start encouraging their people to be more environmentally-friendly. Manufacturers should also start to make more eco-friendly products & we should not stop looking for better alternatives or substitutes for potentially harmful substances in everyday products.