This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UWindsor chapter.

“The cause of environmental degradation is deeply rooted in human culture” (Nazaruk 2016).

I’m sure you’ve heard time and time again “Save the environment!”, “save the trees!”, save the bees!”. But have you ever actually looked into why? Sure, you’ve heard about climate change, deforestation, endangered species, and so on. But our environmental issues run really deep; you may not know the full extent of what our actions mean for Mother Nature and the earth.

Let me start by hitting you with some cold hard facts: “Emissions of chemical compounds into the air have greatly altered and modified the composition and energy balance of the atmosphere, thereby accelerating the pace of climate change… the expansion of human activities into the natural landscapes, mostly manifested by urbanization and agriculture developments, has led to the reduction and fragmentation of wildlife habitats and loss of valuable Fauna and Flora… the discharge of industrial and agricultural runoff has contaminated rivers and streams, which severely disrupts the natural food-chain in the aquatic ecosystem and reduces the amount of freshwater, something that is indispensable for the survival of the species” (Nazaruk 2016). Human activities have done nothing but destroy the natural systems of the earth.

It’s no secret, especially here in Windsor the past couple days, that we’ve had an array of wacky weather. It is not uncommon now to have the temperature drop 20 degrees between days (10 above zero to 10 below). In an article by CTV News, they report noticeably strange weather variations and that “during the entire three decades between 1961 and 1990, extreme weather fell outside the range of normal variability only five times. In the last 10 years, however, that happened 12 times.” (Weber 2018) Rising climates are not a good thing; they throw nature’s entire natural balance out of whack. NASA predicts many long-term effects to climate change such as temperatures continuing to rise, extended growing and frost-free seasons, major changes to precipitation and other weather patterns (hurricanes), sea levels rising drastically, and the Arctic eventually becoming ice-free (Global Climate Change: Effects 2017). The arctic thawing would not only increase rising sea levels, but it would demolish the habitats of the numerous animals that live in the far north; polar bears are already a vulnerable species.

The changing environment also has detrimental effects on many animals and their habitats. Most animals make the endangered species list through human activity; urbanization destroys habitats for so many animals every year. Rising temperatures are also a proven threat to species because they can dry out and alter the natural state of their habitats. A species most notably affected by this: Bumblebees. An article from the LA Times states “Over the last century, warming temperatures have noticeably shrunk the areas where bumblebees live in North America and Europe” (Rising temperatures due to climate change are latest threat to bumblebees). Anyone who has seen The Bee Movie knows why we need bees: they pollinate!! Without bees we don’t have honey, and humans will have serious agricultural limitations; most plants and flowers rely on pollinators to help them flourish!

These issues are repercussions of human activity. Our way of life has jump-started this collision course through chemical emissions, exploiting natural resources, urbanization and much more. In the same article by CTV News, Caterina Lindman states “We’re in it for the long haul, so we are concerned for the sustainability of our planet” (Weber 2018).

Ways to do your part in helping reverse these effects are: conserving water, walking or biking instead of driving, recycling, making energy efficient choices for your home, and maintaining gardens and healthy vegetation around your property to ensure wildlife can flourish. A list of environmentally friendly activities can be found here: https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/save-earth-top-ten1.htm

I highly encourage you to do your research on this situation and figure out what you can do to help save the environment. Below, I’ve linked the websites I used in this article so you can learn more about this crucial topic.

Remember, we need the Earth more than she needs us.

For a complete list of endangered and threatened species visit: https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/directory?direction=desc&sort=extinction_status

http://georgiastatesignal.com/students-can-be-green-on-a-budget/

Works Cited

“Global Climate Change: Effects.” NASA, NASA, 3 Aug. 2017, climate.nasa.gov/effects/.

Nazaruk, Pawel Alva. “Why Should We Take Care Of Nature?” The Huffington Post,

TheHuffingtonPost.com, 6 Oct. 2016,

www.huffingtonpost.com/pawel-alva-nazaruk/why-should-we-take-care-o_b_121

70852.html.

“Rising temperatures due to climate change are latest threat to bumblebees.” Los

Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times,

www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-bumble-bees-climate-change-ha