Why Is Our Environment Important?

The environment is an important issue even when society is faced with economic crises, wars, and unending social problems. It matters because Earth is the only home that humans have, and it provides air, food, and other needs.

Ecosystem Importance

Humanity's entire life support system depends on the well-being of all the species living on earth. This is commonly referred to as the biosphere,Biosphere refers to one global ecological system in which all living things are interdependent. Within the overall biosphere or ecosystem, there are smaller ecosystems like the rainforests, oceans, the desert and the tundra.An ecosystem is composed of living and non-living parts, whether it is terrestrial or aquatic, 

The non-living parts are the soil, water, air, and nutrients, and living elements are plants, animals, micro-organisms, and humans. A healthy ecosystem has all the chemical elements and nutrients circulating in a cycle while supporting millions of species. The myriad of species all help in the process of cycling elements when they produce food, eat, go about their lives, and even through their deaths. In this process a variety of goods and services are created that are useful for humans.

Food Chain

The food chain is an example of a useful part of the ecosystem. plants use sunlight, water, and elements in soil and air to create food for themselves. They are in turn eaten by animals and micro-organisms. Humans are the top of the food pyramid in any ecosystem because they use plants and animals for food. Earthworms and small insects, like bees pollinating plants, are all part of the environment without whom the food chain would be broken. World production can be 

Natural Resources and Products Derived From Them

Besides food, ecosystems provide several other natural resources useful for people an ecosystem's "provisioning services," since people derive nearly all their material needs or provisions this way. The most important are

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Water - Water is important enough to be declared a human right

Medicines - Many plants have been used as medicines for hundreds of years,

 

Clothing - Clothes are produced from plants like wood pulp, cotton, hemp, jute or animal products like silk, wool, and leather, as listed by Natural Fibres; in addition synthetic clothes are produced from petroleum products say Trusted Clothes

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Wood - Wood from forests or plantations is used as fuel or in construction and furniture

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Biofuels - Biofuels, like bioethanol, are extracted from wheat, corn or biomass crops like willow, 

Fossil fuels -Fossil fuels, such as coal, gas and crude oil used in transportation, energy generation and production of plastics and chemicals, depend on dead plant and animal 

Air Quality and Disaster Control

Trees and forests in the environment play an important role in regulating air and climate.

Quality of Air

Trees produce oxygen when they produce their food through photosynthesis. In addition during this process trees also use carbon dioxide in the air and reduce its concentrations in the atmosphere

Temperature Moderation

 Trees and plants also moderates temperatures, making warm places cooler, and providing warmth in cold areas.

Prevention of Disasters

Natural ecosystems that are undisturbed can moderate severe events and limit their damage

Biodiversity

Biodiversity is the sum of diversity at various levels: ecosystems, species, populations and genes.

What Biodiversity Affects

Biodiversity in terms of number of species and individuals (or population size) of a species can also impact many processes in its ecosystem.

Environmental Problems Affect Human Life

When any ecosystem is off kilter, it impacts the entire planet. All the environmental problemsthat exist have far-reaching implications for the health of the planet and its inhabitants.

Threat of Environmental Degradation

The deterioration of environment, often referred to as environmental degradation, threatens the earth's natural resources such as clean water supply, fossil fuels for energy, and food supply. 

Climate Change

Global warming caused by climate change can result in a rise in sea levels submerging coastal land, and thereby reducing and harming habitats of animals living by the coast as well as human settlementsMoreover, global warming will decrease biodiversity, extreme weather events, ocean acidification and bleaching of coral reefs and affect the food chain

Pollution

At present the environment is being threatened by increasing levels of pollution of air, water, land, noise, thermal, and light to name a few. These not only impact the environment but also human health and world economy. Pollution is estimated to be the main cause of diseases 

Earth Is Humanity's Only Home

All goods and services used by humanity come directly or indirectly from the earth and its environment.