If you’ve ever stepped outside, you have a reason to care about the environment. If you’ve ever read under the shade of a tree, gone to the beach, or hiked on a path in the woods, then you have reason to care about the environment. As climate change becomes an increasingly talked-about topic in the United States and around the world, it’s important that every citizen finds a reason to care about and fight for clean water and clean air.
There are many ways to do this. You can make small changes, like using less water when you shower or eating less meat. Or, you can make bigger changes like putting solar panels on your house—and you’d be surprised at how low the solar panel cost can be. Either way, climate change is real, and it’s essential that the world treats it as such. Here are some reasons to care about keeping the environment clean.
1. A Clean Environment Keeps You Healthy
Have you ever breathed in the air near someone smoking a cigarette and tasted the smoke in your own lungs? It doesn’t taste, smell, or feel good, and has detrimental health effects. This idea translates to the environment. Contamination and pollutants in the air are toxic, and breathing these toxins in can cause respiratory diseases such as asthma. Water pollution, similarly, can lead to water-borne illnesses such as E.coli or typhoid. Being kind to the environment can help keep these toxins out of the air and water, and your health—along with the healths of those around you—will thank you.
2. Global Warming is Real
The temperature of the earth is rising. It has been consistently increasing by an average of a little more than 2 degrees Fahrenheit every year since 1880, and this should not be happening. This is largely a human issue with humans to blame; dangerous chemicals such as carbon dioxide are being released into the air, causing the ozone layer to become thinner and thinner. This makes it harder to protect the earth from the rays of the sun, leading to increased temperatures. Because it’s a human problem, it’s also humans‘ job to fix it; it’s important that the amount of gases released into the air is cut, so that the earth can stop heating up.
3. Biodiversity is Essential
With an unhealthy environment, biodiversity is at risk. This means that as climate change progresses, the world will hold less and less different plants, animals, and other living things. Many of these plants and animals are beneficial to humans, and if climate change continues to progress, the quality of human life, and even human survival, will be threatened. In other words, protecting these living creatures are of the utmost importance—not just for them, but for humans, too.
4. The Earth is Beautiful
How many times have you gone on vacation and marveled at Mother Nature’s wonders? How many times have you looked at mountains or lakes and been in awe at their beauty? Climate change, pollution, deforestation, and other environmental issues will compromise the beauty of your favorite places. If nothing else, care about the environment for that reason.
5. Your Great-Grandchildren Will Be Grateful
You’ve probably dreamed about having a big family: your kids eventually giving you grandkids and then your grandkids eventually giving you great-grandkids—and so on. Care about the environment for them, because if you don’t, then you might be threatening their survival. The little things you do like brushing your teeth with the water off or shutting the lights when you leave a room might feel small and inconsequential to you, but remember that your great-grandchildren might not be able to survive without them.
The health of the environment is no joke. It’s critical that the fight for climate justice continues, and that humankind dedicates itself to fixing its mistakes. Because with each degree the temperature of the earth rises, the closer irreversible climate damage becomes. So think about your great-grandchildren: care about the health of the world around you so that it can one day be healthy for others.