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PROTECTING THE ENVIROMENT
Protecting the Environment
Gabrielle L. Barkey
Liberty University
ENGL101: Composition and Rhetoric
Benjamin Mears
September 18, 2023
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Protecting the Environment
The planet Earth is beautifully complex, with many different species and habitats for
unique creatures. It sustains life and provides food and energy for all its inhabitants. At one point
in time, the environment dictated human survival, but overtime that has changed. Humanity has
grown to the point that earth is beginning to weaken because of the pollution of its inhabitants.
One of the most important parts of humanity is to protect the environment. Humans should help
save the environment by eliminating the use of single use plastic, finding responsible alternatives
to toxic substances and how they are disposed, and taking better measures to protect and preserve
wildlife areas and the species that live within them.
While most environmentalists can agree that the decline of biodiversity is an ever-
growing problem, they have yet to discover the big solution to the issue. The main sources of
pollution have already been identified so scientist must ask how far humans should go to protect
this environment. Pam Berry, form the Environmental Change Institute says, “Those involved in
biodiversity conservation can have different legitimate motivations and operate as different
actors,” (2016. para 5). When considering what must be done to preserve biodiversity it is
important to consider different factors that may play into a person’s opinions and beliefs about
the topic. In doing this, scientists will be able to responsibly find out what steps people should
take to protect the environment.
One of the main pollutants in the environment is plastic. It accounts for at least 80% of
pollution in the ocean (IUCN, 2021). An easy way for humans to protect our environment is by
replacing single use plastic with reusable solutions. According to author Jianli Liu, “More than
50% of plastic wastes are discarded or landfilled, causing serious ocean, soil and freshwater
system pollution,” (2021, para. 4). People may argue that plastic is not the problem if it is
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recycled. However, by limiting the use of single use plastic humans can take a necessary step
towards a cleaner environment.
Another way to protect the environment is to find responsible ways to dispose of harmful
chemicals and toxic waste. When waste is not properly disposed of it becomes harmful to the
environment and to everything within the surrounding areas. In the article, Pollution and
Children’s Health, Landrigan and his team state, “Pollution is the world's largest environmental
cause of disease and premature death. It is responsible for an estimated 9 million deaths per
year,” (2018. para 4). Finding ways to dispose of potential pollutants, such as alternatives to oil
or eliminating run-off, is not an easy task. However, it would be well worth it if it prevents the
death of so many children and helps preserve biodiversity.
One of the most important things that needs done is to take action to enforce habitat
preservation. In the European Journal of Operational Research, it says that “Prescribed burning
can accomplish a range of other objectives such as maintenance of biodiversity; control of
weeds, insects and diseases; site preparation for tree regeneration and improvements of
silvicultural practices,” (Matsypura, 2018. para 5). Prescribed burning is just one of the ways
that humans can continue to maintain biodiversity. Though it may not address the main source of
pollution, it is another step that greatly benefits the earth, which in turn benefits humans as well.
Limiting the use of single-use plastics, preserving habitats and finding responsible ways
to dispose of waste are some the measures that can be taken to protect the environment. Carrying
out these tasks may become part of your day-to-day life, while other aspects of this may take
place in lab, office, or in nature. Though it may not be clear how far humans must go to protect
the environment, it is important to always be conscience of what is happening in the world and to
do whatever is necessary to keep the planet clean and happy.
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Reference
Berry M. Pam, Fabok Veronika, Blicharska Malgorzata, Haslett John. Why conserve
biodiversity? A multi-national exploration of stakeholders’ views on the arguments for
biodiversity conservation. (2016). Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.
https://www.proquest.com/docview/2041257898
Landrigan Phillip, Fuller Richard, Fisher Samantha Thomas C. Chiles, William Suk,
Peter sly. (2018). Pollution and Children’s Health
n https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969718338543?via%3Dihub#bi0005
Matsypura Dmytro, Oleg Prkopyev, Aizat Zahar. (2017). Wildfire fuel management:
Network-based models and optimization of prescribed burning. o
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S037722171730591X?via%3Dihub
Liu, Jianli. The Value of China’s Legislation on Plastic Pollution Prevention in 2020.
Springer Science+Business Media. (2021).
International Union for Conservation of Nature. (2021), Marine Plastic Pollution.
https://www.iucn.org/resources/issues-brief/marine-plastic-pollution#:~:text=Over
%20400%20million%20tons%20of,waters%20to%20deep%2Dsea%20sediments.
