Hello Steemians, I want to share to you the importance of our mother earth. Economic development determines the lifestyle , politics, stability and cultural life of countries around the world. This same economic development has caused serious damage to our natural environment which often is irreplaceable. Rich and poor countries have relied heavily on natural resources which were utilized indiscriminately causing a heavy toll on our environment.
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Our environment has provided our needs , and we took what we have wanted from it. Earlier, limited damage was done to it due to a small population and limited technology. And later on, with a growing population and the onset of Industrial Revolution , damage to environment grew eventually raising our concern. Land was destroyed because of mining; soil and water resources were harmed by fertilizers and chemical pesticides. Oil spills caused water pollution and destroyed marine life. Acid rain caused by gases emitted by factories and power plants affected and damaged farms, forests and lakes.
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Another concern is global warming which is also known as the “greenhouse effect”. It is caused by the irresponsible activities of people including the burning of fossil fuels resulting in a harmful emissions. The high-level presence of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere traps heat that radiates into space. This warming increases the presence of water vapor in the air, absorbing more of the heat. With the rise in temperature , snow and ice melt, causing ocean levels to rise . Low lying regions and coastal areas become flooded as was experienced in recent years. A devastating effect could happen in a shifting away of agriculture from formerly fertile and productive areas to deserts or barrenlike lands that will be nonproductive.
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Rich nations have produced and consumed much from the natural resources by getting raw materials from them, using them for manufacturing the new products, While these rich nations lead in commerce and trade, they too, contribute a lot to pollution.
To their credit, rich nations also have led campaigns to protect the environment through the environmental summits and enacting laws aimed to control the pollution and conserve whatever remains.
Ecology, the science that deals with the study of relationship between living things and the environment, was a result of scientists` awareness of what is happening to our environment. The need to feed a ballooning population necessitated the provision of more food, thus the use of pesticides to kill pests. Little did we know that this same process did not only harm pests but people as well due to the residue that it built up in the environment.
Art ,specifically architecture and sculpture, led way to a better treatment and use of land through the urban planning. The use of land should be maximized in such a way that it controls the growth and development of places through zoning. Zoning specifies how the land is divided to housing, parks,gardens, watershed , shopping malls , markets and buildings for commercial purposes. Sculptures are planned in such a way that they blend and complement the area being developed. A sculpture enhances the appearance of architecture without becoming obtrusive , it draws people toward it.
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Global and national efforts are being exerted to make the environmental issues priorities of governments. And art has not been left out. Awareness through poster campaigns and other visual means , such as advertisements , films, documentaries, makes us participants in saving the environment .
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To a certain extent , people have moved to clean up the coastal areas, plant more trees in idle lands, segregate waste and produce organic fertilizers by composting. All efforts should lead to saving our environment and art serves this purpose through visual art forms.