Human and Nature relationship Essay Example

Human and Nature relationship Essay Example Human and Nature relationship Paper Human and Nature relationship Paper Humans are gradually becoming more aware of the need to move towards a sustainable future with nature. Our well beings and extravagant lifestyles largely depend on the resources provided to us by the environment and without them, we wont be able to survive for long. In order to move towards sustainability, we, humans, need to create a symbiosis relationship, one where we both give and take from nature, rather than persisting with the parasitic relationship we have right now, where we take without giving anything back. So what Is sustainability? The fact Is, there Is no simple definition of the term sustainability; the term changes slightly with each definition depending on the perspective It Is written from as well as the values and beliefs held by the writer. The general Idea most people have of sustainability Involves living with the surrounding environment In a way that will allow both the system and the environment to continue surviving comfortably (Bender, 2013). Another popular deflation of sustainability Is the capacity or ability of something to maintain Itself ( what Is sustalnabllltV2008). Both these definitions re different in that one has an anthracic nature and is more specific, while the other could be applied to any living thing; however, it should be noted they both revolve around the maintenance of oneself, though Helen Benders definition also involves the maintenance of ones surrounding as the quality of humankinds future is dependent on it. The reality is, humans need nature in order to survive which explains the urgency to establish a sustainable relationship with nature. Everything we have originates from nature which has finite resources and as history shows, without these resources, our violation, like the Easter Island, will most likely collapse. The Easter Island is arguably an epitome of the impacts of the overexploitation of resources. It is said that the fall of the Easter Island civilization is largely the result of the destruction to their environment; as wood was not a part of their currency, the motivation to conserve the non-renewable resource did not exist, and as such the deforestation of the island occurred (Diamond, 2003). Though other factors did contribute to the collapse of the civilization, such as the overpopulation of rats (Hunt,2006) and their isolation from there islands, the strapping of the island started the domino effect that effectively ended the civilization. On the other hand, communities like the Aboriginals that lived as part of the environment were able to thrive and survive for countless years (approximately 50,000 years (Australian Aboriginals History Timeline 2013)). The deep reverence they held for nature along with the practices they exercised allowed them to live with nature In a way that allowed both parties to benefit from the relationship. For instance, burning practices, where certain areas were purposely set n fire In order to promote the growth of certain species of plants and other organisms, such as tubular flowers, occurred once every few years. This traditional not only exterminated unwanted shrubs and weeds, It also promoted grasslands that provided native species, such as kangaroos, with food (World, 2012). These are but two examples of how essential nature is to a civilization and how ones relationship we have today originates from nature and without it, we would not have food, oil, houses, cars and everything we believe to be vital to our daily lives. In order to preserve our current lifestyle and the lifestyles of the future generations, we need to be able to learn to incorporate nature into our lives, but before any action is to be taken, we need to first learn to respect nature. Hundreds of definitions exist for the term nature. A definition of nature is anything, organic or inorganic, that was not created or altered by human activity (Low et al, 2005). Though this definition is not wrong, it does not cover the extent of alteration something natural can undergo before it is considered to be unnatural. For example, a bush in someones back yard as been removed from its original location and is occasionally trimmed and fertilized, and yet, most people would still consider it to be a part of nature. A better definition of nature would be anything, organic or inorganic, that was not created or altered to a point where it is unrecognizable from its original resource by human activity. Respecting nature, in by no way, means that we should stop going out into the wilderness, nor does it mean that we should live in mud huts and become vegans. Think of a person you respect and the way you treat them because of it. Do you avoid them? Do you take advantage of them? No. Though you may regard them with high esteem, you probably would not go out of you way to avoid them, in fact, you would probably try to include them in your life, so why cant we do the same with nature? An ideal way of incorporating nature into our lives is to move towards the construction of green cities. This could mean more parks, the encouragement of growing plants on apartments and office buildings, and the use of a sustainable energy source such as solar energy. This not only takes us a step closer Tao sustainable future, it also has psychological benefits such as relaxation and stress lease (Davis, 2004). Though people are starting to see the advantages of building green cities, various factors have to be considered; aesthetic factors as well as the economic cost are among the most important elements which have to be regarded. In order to build a green city that will have an impact on the planet, we need the majority of the citys citizens to be behind the movement, and to do so, the additions to the area have to be pleasing to the eye (no one wants an ugly view). In addition, the price of the changes and well as future maintenance have to be affordable to the argue part of the population because, as one can imagine, if only 2% of the city can afford to make the change, then there will not be a significant impact. Another factor that would impact the decisions of the citizens would be their degree of respect. Without respect for nature, we will not change. Australians dispose approximately eight billion dollars worth of food each year (Do Australians waste $8 billion worth of edible food each year? , 2013); we act as if we own the environment, when, in reality, the survival of humankind depends on it and the fact is, natures resources are finite ND can only last for so long, especially if we persist with our current habits. If we are to change, we need to realize this fact and start showing our respect though the protection and maintenance of nature because as of now, the planet would be better off without us. Human impact, and a large number of them are negative impacts. Take Coherency as an example. In 1986, an explosion at a nuclear power plant in Coherency released large quantities of radioactive particles into the air which spread to western USSR and parts of Europe. This incident not only effected humans, but also the environment around the area. The damage to these areas severely effected the ecological system, the radioactive particles no only killed and altered the plants, it also effected the ground water and cause mutations to various animals (Fallacy, 2013). Incidents like this happened several times throughout history (Hiroshima and Opal to name a few), which brings up the question: would this planet be better off without the existence of humans? Though it is true that we, humans, have cause uncountable damages to this planet, it is also true that we have ingrained ourselves onto the Earth in a way that will cause further destruction if we were to one day disappear. Buildings and other infrastructure require the maintenance of humans in order to stay standing. The things we see as permanent are not really so and without us, they would eventually collapse. It is true that, in the (very)long term, nature will triumph, but not before taking heavy damage. Dams will start to wear down and eventually break causing floods, and nuclear power plants will start to leak (Varies, 2008). Furthermore, certain species that rely on humans to survive, such as jugs, could go extinct as they are not adapted to survive in the wild (Varies, 2008). A large flaw In our species (humankind) is that the majority of us do not learn from the past and so we make the same mistake over and over again, mistakes that the planet, as well as ourselves, have to take the consequence for. For instance, though we know that the fall of the Easter Islanders was largely due to their mistreatment of the environment, we are still making the same mistake today as they did then; we use resources like its infinite and are not able to foresee the consequences of our action. Maybe its due to our selfishness, or maybe its Just ignorance, but the outcomes of out actions will impact the future generations as well as nature itself. It is crucial to establish a relationship with nature that is beneficial to both parties and only then, will we be able to call ourselves a sustainable species. Nature provides us with everything we have and need in order to survive, so without it, humankind will not last long. It is because of the substantial amount of damages that the planet has taken from us humans, that the need to take action is urgent.