ENVIRONMENT IMPERILLED?Is a clean and green environment just a fantasy?

 "An environment is all of the conditions, circumstances, etc. that surround and influence life on earth, including atmospheric conditions, food chains, and the water cycle."

We cannot isolate ourselves from the earth’s natural processes and our immediate environment—whether it be natural or built. Every element of our existence is derived from our surroundings. Those elements that constitute our physical form and all living and non-living matter have existed since the earth was formed from the sun nearly 4.6 billion years ago. As a result, the environment provides man with nourishment and energy. Energy emitted from the sun travels millions of miles to earth, where it is stored in plants through photosynthesis. Along with other essential elements, matter then is transferred to man through the food chain.

A clean environment that includes clean air, water, land and energy, is essential for human existence, conducting business and creating wealth. These components must be sustained through conservation and proper management.

Today’s talk is all about “green;” that universal symbol of value, respect and concern for the life-sustaining processes and cycles of the natural environment system, of which we all are a part.

Traditionally, the concept of “green” has centred on preventing pollution, minimizing waste and recycling, all to prevent unwanted matter from harming the natural environment. The concepts of clean and “green” are complimentary. Clean is a condition free of unwanted matter, with matter being any substance that has mass and is influenced by gravity. Substances are solids, liquids and gases and can be living or non-living. Matter can be measured and described quantitatively. Conversely, unwanted matter is any substance that obstructs human endeavours, poses a risk or causes an undesirable or adverse effect. Often this type of matter is referred to as pollution.

Cleaning is the method used to achieve a clean environment. It can best be viewed as a fundamental environmental management process of putting unwanted matter in its proper place. This ensures an environment that is sustainable and functioning.

Nature has created so many critical balances across the globe that the abundance or the deficit of any of these elements can prove hazardous to this self-sufficient system. It is therefore important to keep this intertwined bond of life, intact, natural and green.