It took me about five years of working in the field of environmental management to really get my head around what impacts we have on nature from our everyday actions. There are billion things of course, but what I mean is that it took me five years to break environmental management down into some simple golden rules.
Given that the average household probably doesn’t have an environmental professional living under their roofs, I thought it would be a good idea to share my rules with everyone. These are true for anyone, at any age, anywhere in the world.
1. Whatever you are using, use less of it.
It could be water, plastic, clothes, building materials, energy and the list goes on. It doesn’t matter what it is that you are using, it had to come from somewhere and took energy to make it, clean it, store it and transport it to you. Don’t waste it.
2. If it’s not 100% natural, it’s not going to be good for the environment.
Nature is wonderful at dealing with anything it produced. If you place something unnatural in the environment, you can be sure that it will harm some species and impede ecosystem function.
3. Vegetation is key to a healthy environment.
Where there is vegetation, there is more habitat, more food, more natural filtration, stable landforms and cleaner air. Given that vegetation gives us the air we need to breathe, it’s no doubt our most important living ally.
See - vegetation makes everyone happy! Such a fine model in this picture too!
4. Nature manages itself much better than we ever will.
The natural environment has a use for everything. Nothing goes to waste and energy transferred from organism to organism efficiently. Smart engineers and designers have clicked onto this and now try and copy nature in their designs (called biomimicking – that’s another big word to add to the Mahdi Earth repertoire).
5. Harnessing renewable energy is the only way of the future.
Even if we wanted to keep using fossil fuels, there just isn’t enough to keep the human race going. We need to start getting serious about going 100% renewable.
6. We don’t have a right to be here more than any other living creature.
That includes insects! Most species play an important role in the healthy functioning of ecosystems. Humans are just one living species, among millions on this planet. Assuming we have the right to kill other species and destroy their habitats at will is plain wrong. In fact, in my opinion, most other species have much more of a right to be here than humans because they live in harmony with nature. All we seem to do is exploit it. Rant over.
7. The earth supplies every single thing we need to survive.
We need it to be healthy and unless we start respecting it more, we as a species will go extinct.
Do you have any special ways to help the environment in your everyday life?