NATURE & CONSERVATION

Morgan Freeman Narrates the Greatest Story of Our Generation As you can see above, these are shocking but unfortunately realistic images. What we as human beings need to realize is that all our actions and events affect everyone on Earth. Our planet, our home; is a living being that just as we humans and all other living beings, are all connected by the ecosystems. We are all oné. Ecosystems that are very vulnerable. As plankton is poisoned by plastic soup, then this has impact on all kinds of small and large fish and also on us as human beings, because we eat that fish again. That’s circle of life. Everyone is dependent on each other. The Earth (our home) is under very great pressure. Climate change, environmental pollution, deforestation, overfishing, extinction of protected animal species, loss of biodiversity. The ecological crisis is a global issue wich effect us all. No matter what race or relegion you have, if you’re poor or rich, we all need oxygen, water and food. The solution is that we need to address the most important world problems: overcrowding, corruption, world domination, abuse of power, war, terrorism, cultural conflicts, poverty, violation of human rights, hunger, water scarcity. These are all problems that we as humans cause ourselfs. As Humans it is our responsibility to meet the challenge to address these problems together. Let’s put an end to this destruction and fight for a better world. Below you will find a list of problems we are facing and possible solutions what we can do about it. Every little step helps.

Climate change and the Greenhouse effect

Due to deforestation and at generating energy by combustion of fossil fuels (oil, gas and coal) comes a lot of carbon dioxide (CO2). That accumulates in the atmosphere and works like a suffocating blanket around the Earth. The heat from the Sun that reaches the Earth, can thereby not just disappear again in space. This is the so-called greenhouse effect, which ensures that the Earth warms up. As a result, melting the ice caps on the Norwegian glaciers in Greenland, Antartica and the pool in record time. Scientists estimate that all the ice is gone as early as 2040. Did you know that if the ice caps of Greenland and Antarctica would melt completely, that sea level rises than 63 metres? Only South-Limburg and the Veluwe would then still protrude above the water surface. Climate change has apart from sea-level rise even more effects; degradation of ecosystems, extreme drought and weather change. In the Netherlands climate change provides for milder winters, warmer summers, storms like last the storm on 5 december 2013. Worldwide there are ever larger and heavier tropical storms. Hurricanes such as Sandy, Katrina and recently the Typhoon Haiyan on the Philippines.

Deforestation

Forests are vital for humans and animals. Forests are the lungs of the Earth and work as Air Purifier: they take carbon dioxide and produce oxygen. As trees grow, they take CO2 from the air. If the trees are cut down, this CO2 is released in the atmosphere again. Another important function of forests and it’s tree roots is that they hold the ground. They prevent the fertile top layer of the soil to be washes away, this is called erosion and causes large mudslides  in many countries. Complete villages are washed away. The tropical rain forests in the world are home to half of all plant and animal species on Earth. Unfortunately, for many years a huge part of it has been cut down. Each year there are disappearing between 6 and 12 million hectares of tropical rainforest. This is often not even to the wood: large forest areas are intentionally burned down to make room for new agricultural land or for the production of palm oil and soy.

Illegal trafficking in protected animals and animal products

Whale hunting

The commercial whale hunt continues. Despite the global ban. The  Japanese, Norwegian and Icelandic whaling fleet continues to  kill whales with harpoons. A hunting method that caused terrible suffering. With the support of their Governments, but against the wishes of a large part of the world’s population, they continue their hunt. Hunting for profit, and not out of necessity or for scientific purposes, as some claim.  In addition to the commercial whale hunting, there are still many other hazards that threaten the survival of the whales, such as pollution, entanglement in fishing gear, collisions with fast sailing ships, underwater noise and climate change.

Overfishing

Overfishing occurs when more fish are caught than the population can replace through natural reproduction. Gathering as many fish as possible may seem like a profitable practice, but overfishing has serious consequences. The results not only affect the balance of life in the oceans, but also the social and economic well-being of the coastal communities who depend on fish for their way of life.

Billions of people rely on fish for protein, and fishing is the principal livelihood for millions of people around the world. For centuries, our seas and oceans have been considered a limitless bounty of food. However, increasing fishing efforts over the last 50 years as well as unsustainable fishing practices are pushing many fish stocks to the point of collapse.

More than 85 percent of the world’s fisheries have been pushed to or beyond their biological limits and are in need of strict management plans to restore them. Several important commercial fish populations (such as Atlantic bluefin tuna) have declined to the point where their survival as a species is threatened. Target fishing of top predators, such as tuna and groupers, is changing marine communities, which lead to an abundance of smaller marine species, such as sardines and anchovies.

Many fishers are aware of the need to safeguard fish populations and the marine environment, however illegal fishing and other regulatory problems still exist.

Plastic Soep = poisonous soup

More and more plastic waste is ending up in our oceans and seas. Due to the effects of weathering, sunlight and wave action, this plastic reduces to smaller particles. This leads to serious pollution. The oceans occupy 72% of the earth’s surface and they are our principal source of oxygen.

Microplastics do not just cause pollution in inland waterways, they also damage the environment. Furthermore they pose a potential threat to human and animal health. For the first time, the issue of microplastics in fresh water systems has made it onto the international agenda as a new and serious environmental problem. Up to now, attention had mainly been paid to plastic pollution in seas and oceans.

Source: http://plasticsoupfoundation.org.

What can we do about it?

Check out this url: 100 ways to Save energy at Home

Switch to clean energy

– Switch to green power – Put solarpannels on your roof – Drive an electric or hybrid car

Make sustainable choices:

– If you by wood, choose for FSC- Timber to prevent deforestation – Don’t buy irresponsible products wich contain soy and palmoil – Eat seasonal fruits and vegetables from local producers and farmers – Stop eating meat, become a vegetarieër – Recycle used producs, seperate your waste – Don’t buy everything new, use second hand stuff – Don’t trough away any plastics in Nature – Choose and support sustainable solutions

Stop Poaching, illegal traffic in animal products and commercial whaling

– Don’t buy Ivory – Don’t buy animal skins or producs – Support organisations as: IFAW , WWF , STOP RHINO POACHING NOW , GREENPEACE

Stop the Plastic Soup

– Avoid the use of plastic, don’t use plastic bags when shopping – Bring your own (thermosflasks, plasticfree bags) – Single use is abuse (minimise use of disposable plastics) – The art of ‘leave it out’ (don’t buy pre-packed fruit & vegetables) – Aim for prevention, then re-use, then recycle – Put trash where it belongs (throw nothing on the road or in the water) – Avoid personal care products (i.e. scrubs) that contain plastic. You can find list on this page. These microbeads end up in the ocean via the wastewater systems. Check your bathroom and see if your personal care products contain plastic: Polyethylene (PE),  Polypropylene (PP) en Polyethylene terephtalate (PET), Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), nylon12. – Stop the use of ballons, eventually they end up in the sea or nature

Wubbo Ockels a former dutch astronaut has written a very important letter for all humans just before he died:  he says ” Let’s stop the destruction of the earth , of humanity , of us.” check out his letter here.