Understanding Our Relationship with Mother Earth
As we journey through life, we gain a deeper appreciation for the sacrifices made by our parents and family. Their efforts have shaped our existence, nurturing dreams within us from an early age. Many of us have aspired to one day reciprocate their love and sacrifices, with ambitions like, “I want to work hard to buy my mother a house.”
However, life’s realities don’t always align with our dreams. Some struggle to stand on their own, inadvertently becoming a burden instead of a support. This predicament often befalls those who face financial hardships or cannot secure decent employment.
The Earth and Its Children: A Reflection
Let’s draw a parallel between this human experience and our relationship with Mother Earth. Does the burden of care also fall on the less fortunate in this dynamic? More crucially, do the financially successful among us shoulder the responsibility to nurture and protect our planet?
Unveiling the Reality: Environmental Impact Visualized
To delve deeper, we turn to two revealing visualizations. The first, marked in red, showcases per capita CO2 emissions across various nations. At first glance, it appears that highly industrialized countries contribute more to air pollution. This leads to an assumption: a country’s industrial activity is directly proportional to its environmental impact.
However, a closer inspection reveals anomalies. For instance, China, despite being a manufacturing powerhouse, emits significantly less CO2 than Canada (477.6 vs 136.5). This observation suggests a need for further exploration.
Financial Well-being and Environmental Impact
The theory proposed by Dr. Jordan Peterson, a renowned clinical psychologist and Harvard professor, guides our investigation. He posits that addressing global warming hinges on improving human quality of life, enabling a collective environmental stewardship.
This theory is tested against the Human Capital Index (HCI), which assesses countries’ effectiveness in harnessing their citizens’ economic and professional potential. Contrary to Dr. Peterson’s hypothesis, the data reveals an inverse relationship between HCI and CO2 emissions. Countries with advanced economic circumstances seemingly exert more environmental strain.
A Call to Action: Repaying Mother Earth
This paradox highlights a critical point: economic prosperity and educational excellence must be channeled towards enhancing environmental health. It’s not just about growth; it’s about sustainable, conscious growth.
Conclusion: A Collective Responsibility
In closing, it’s worth noting that a mother never compromises her children’s well-being for her own gain. Similarly, we, as inhabitants of this planet, especially those in positions of privilege, must direct our resources towards nurturing a healthier global environment. Shifting blame to less fortunate nations misses the mark. Instead, we should embrace our collective role as stewards of the Earth, repaying it for the abundance it has bestowed upon us.
“Most air pollution comes from energy use and production,” says John Walke, director of the Clean Air Project which is part of the Climate and Clean Energy program at the National Resources Defense Council. In fact, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), it is estimated that each year, air pollution is the major cause of the death of nearly seven million people on Earth. Air pollution has several causes such as:
Burning fossil fuels
Industrial emissions
Wildfires
CO2 and other greenhouse gases emissions
According to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, it is estimated that deaths due to the devastated air quality will continue to rise till 2100 and the economic value of the health benefits was estimated to be between $50 and $380 for each ton of carbon dioxide emitted.
Ever since the industrial revolution, there was an outbreak of industries in all fields ranging from mechanical production to electrical to technical. All these productions relied mostly on heavy machinery that in fact, combusted energy sources (such as fuel, oil, diesel…) and in a complex series of chemical reactions, released gases. One of those gases is Carbon dioxide (CO2). CO2 by itself is not bad because it is a needed chemical in nature. However, CO2 levels in the air have been increasing drastically to the point that they have become one of the major sources in air pollution, according to MDPI.
Carbon Dioxide from electricity production:
According to the World Nuclear Association, almost 40% of the energy-related CO2 emissions are due to burning of the fossil fuels for electricity production. Because a huge part of electricity production depends on burning fuels, there will be a mass of CO2 emitted to the air. This in turn leads to high CO2 emissions, especially from the countries that depend completely on burning fuels to produce electricity. The visuals below demonstrate and prove that the regions that had the highest CO2 emissions from electricity and heat production in 2014 tended to have the highest air pollution rates. The Carbon dioxide emission rates were highest in the middle east, east Africa and east Asia compared to the low numbers of North America and Europe. The same former countries had the highest air pollution rates (PM2.5) compared to the latter. Therefore, we can conclude that the higher the dependency on fuel combustion for energy production, the higher the CO2 emission rates, the higher the air pollution rates. On the long run, this can have devastating effects on the nature, climate and humans.
What can be done?
After governments realized the devastating effects of the gaseous emissions on the air quality and on humans in general, several attempts were done, such as awareness programs among the youth, restrictive laws and advertising. However, these attempts tackled the tip of the iceberg of the problem. A solution is needed to solve the problem deep from within the roots, to prevent it from happening in the first place. Producing energy from renewables could be a potential solution. The most common renewable power technologies are through Solar, wind, biogas, geothermal, low-impact hydroelectricity and biomass. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, generating energy from renewable sources reduces air pollution, diversifies energy supply and creates economic development.
To reduce the gaseous emissions and air pollution, several countries tried to develop their technological and scientific knowledge of renewable energy production as saw a promise in using renewables, that could one day, be substituted for fuel combustion to produce energy. In fact, developed countries such as USA and the EU countries took serious initiatives to use renewable energy production. The below figures show that countries that increased their electrical energy production from renewable sources over the time period of 2005-2014 had the least air pollution rates in 2014. The EU countries and North America had the highest dependency on using renewables to produce electricity compared to the middle east, east Africa and east Asia and the former regions in turn had air pollution rates that are much lower.
Renewable energy production, therefore, is a clean energy source that can reduce Carbon dioxide emissions and in turn lead to a better, sustainable and a healthy planet that has a rich and high air quality.
Climate change is the biggest threat to our planet. It is both the easiest and the most challenging issue we have ever faced. The easiest because we know what we must do. The hardest because our current economics are still totally dependent on burning fossil fuels, thereby destroying ecosystems to create everlasting economic growth.
Although there are still some countries like Africa doesn’t have total access to electricity.
Over the years, electricity consumption has increased tremendously.
So did the usage of renewable resources has also increased, but not enough compared to non-renewable resources.
It has been 10 years since top voice influencers and climate justice activists, United States presidents, and tech enthusiast CEOs were trying to fight climate change. It is known that the key to tackling the climate change crisis is to end our reliance on non-renewable energy. So, what if we try to use renewable energy for electricity? Can this reduce climate change? Can it avoid using CO2 Emissions, fuel, oil, and gas? We studied and visualized data of countries that used renewable energy and how it affected their environmental pollution compared to others that used non-renewable energy like fuel, oil, and gas. We found that developed countries that were using renewable energy had less ecological pollution by 70% approximately than countries that weren’t using renewable energy.
This descriptive statistical measure demonstrates the huge success of the use of renewable sources of energy to reduce pollution and diminish climate change. Remember there is no planet B. We live in one mother earth; we must protect it.
It is proven that the use of renewable sources of energy decreases the amount of pollution which reduces climate change and, because of this we recommend that the countries should make use of their hydropower, ocean power, wind, and solar energy for electricity and minimize the use of non-renewable energy.
Around the world, we’re seeing clear evidence that our climate is changing. Floods, drought, heatwaves, and forest fires have all become more extreme in recent years.
As CO2 emissions in the atmosphere increase climate change increases.
One billion children are at ‘extremely high risk’ of the impacts of the climate crisis – UNICEF.
Over time, CO2 emissions have kept on increasing, and there are many reasons behind it. Between 1960 and 2020, CO2 emissions grew by over 90%, with emissions from liquid fuel consumption, electricity and heat production making up to 80% of CO2 emissions
This increase in CO2 emissions has led to a serious issue leading to Climate change and making life harder for all communities around the world, especially communities who struggle in finding clean water and it has impacted different aspects of their lives.
Every day, fragile water supplies are at even greater risk of disappearing completely. Drought or floods can damage water supplies and spread disease at the other extreme.
Belita in Malawi would agree. She relies on open water sources like Lake Chilwa for her livelihood. But the lake is prone to the whims of changing weather patterns.
“Due to drought last year, I was not able to produce enough food for my family,” she told us.
“However, I was determined to save my life and that of my children by cultivating a small garden.”
Lake Chilwa is the second biggest lake in Malawi.
Belita and her community rely on it for transport, fishing, and doing business.
At some points of the year, the lake suffers from extreme flooding. At other times, it dries up. Some years, the lake evaporates completely, devastating the community.
In 2019, Cyclone Idai struck, scarring the lake and land further. Leaving the community benefiting from the Lake suffering to find clean water, and continue working in their businesses.
“It used to take 25-40 years for natural drying cycles to occur.
“But now, every three to five years there is an extreme recession in Lake Chilwa.
“This is the impact of climate change.”
– Environmental scientist, Professor Sosten Chiotha
Action Needs to be Taken!
As climate change impacts our planet’s health and ecosystems, we all must do our part to reduce its negative effects. One way to help lessen the effect of climate change is to reduce our carbon emissions.
Countries like the United States, European Union, and the Arab World need to take initiative in decreasing their CO2 emissions through:
Governmental regulations forcing companies to lower their carbon footprint
Reducing air travel
Switching to clean energy through solar panels, wind turbines, and geothermal energy
Initiating projects to help communities affected by climate change and finding innovative ways to lessen the impact of climate change on their lives.
