I will begin my speech by greeting the teachers and students present. Today, I will be talking about environment and how important it is to both humans and animals. We all know that the environment is the natural one where humans and animals live. It is a source of life and energy and our quality of life depends on it. In fact, our own existence depends on it.
The natural environment is vital for our life. It seems that humans haven’t fully understood the importance of living in a clean and natural way. On the contrary, they pollute nature, the land and the atmosphere so much it has become one of the basic problems of the 21st century. All flora and fauna were supposed to live with humans harmoniously. Unfortunately, humans behave in an arrogant way and don’t respect that. They cause destruction to the natural environment in several ways.
The various types of environmental pollution are all dangerous. Factories release polluting gas in the air and unwanted material or by-products in the rivers and the seas. Forest degradation is reducing the number of trees in the natural environment. Animals get extinct because of constant hunting and the lack of preservation. Global warming, air contamination and other types of pollution threaten the natural environment more every day.
There can be no fulfilled and normal life inside a polluted and destroyed environment. Humans have started to experience what it means to live in a corrupt balance with nature. Their drinking water is also polluted by chemicals, their food contaminated with heavy metals and other discarded substances. The environmental balance is disrupted and people get ill or can’t live a normal city life. We end up eating unhealthy food and breathe air full of chemicals and heavy metals. That makes illnesses that come from them, more frequent and serious.
If pollution is something that comes from humans, they themselves are the ones that must consider what they are doing wrong. There is no mind and soul balance without communication with the natural environment. We are destined to live and prosper in the natural world, tune with it. Our constructed environment of cities and factories help us gain wealth and live an easier life but has a destructing influence in nature. Even when we don’t see the pollution every day, it is there and threatens our health. For example, noise pollution is something we don’t see but is hazardous for humans and animals and should be prevented.
Man is part of the natural ecosystem as much as animals and plants are. He should not pollute their common environment as it’s the basis for their coexistence. Animals do not pollute but suffer the consequences from man’s behavior. Fish swim in oil-polluted seas and land animals breathe the dirty air. Humans go as far as to hunt and kill animals for sport and this disrupts the food chain as species go extinct. There are many examples of animals that have disappeared from earth because of humans.
Not all is lost though. There are still measures and changes that can be made to improve the natural environment. Regulations and pollution control measures are great ways to force factories to recycle their waste. Throwing less garbage is also a solution and all humans must recycle or reuse unwanted goods instead of disposing of them. Governments and ecology organizations must also imply laws to make sure industrial wastes will not be disposed of in the water, polluting it.
When the natural environment is in good condition, the social one is also flourishing. People can live happily in big cities and villages, communicate and share ideas. They will travel from one place to another and share experiences. Human civilization will this way progress and make great steps towards the future. In fact, part of the civilized life should be eco-conscience, the idea of understanding why nature is important for us. In this speech, I am showing that we, humans, are part of the natural environment. We can’t progress if we don’t love and preserve it. Plants, animals and atmosphere are totally depended on us. We must do our best to safeguard them.
Ananda – edited.