Using the Earth
People everywhere – including you and your family – are using the earth and its resources daily. Look around and see.
There is no question that Earth has been a giving planet. Everything humans have needed to survive, and thrive, was provided by the natural world around us: food, water, medicine, materials for shelter, and even natural cycles such as climate and nutrients. Scientists have come to term such gifts ‘ecosystem services’, however the recognition of such services goes back thousands of years, and perhaps even farther if one accepts the caves paintings at Lascaux as evidence. Yet we have so disconnected ourselves from the natural world that it is easy—and often convenient—to forget that nature remains as giving as ever, even as it vanishes bit-by-bit. The rise of technology and industry may have distanced us superficially from nature, but it has not changed our reliance on the natural world: most of what we use and consume on a daily basis remains the product of multitudes of interactions within nature, and many of those interactions are imperiled. Beyond such physical goods, the natural world provides less tangible, but just as important, gifts in terms of beauty, art, and spirituality.
Earth Day seems as good a day as any to remind ourselves what nature gives us free-of-charge.
We all need water to survive. People use the earth’s water to drink and to wash. They use it to grow crops. They fish its oceans, lakes, and rivers.
People use the land. They farm the land to grow food. They clear land to build homes and roads. They mine the land for such minerals as coal, iron, and gold.
People enjoy the earth. They grow gardens and make parks. They go swimming and sailing.
Picture Credit : Google
