Our life-support system's health is maintained by all the species that make-up the biosphere—from the smallest to the largest (our biodiversity). The survival of all these species are interconnected and dependent on each other. Bacteria and insects break down organic material to produce soil and nutrients so plants can grow. Plants provide oxygen and food for animals and many other benefits. Bees, other insects, and animals pollinate the plants so they can reproduce and keep the cycle going. They also maintain the health of plants and spread their seeds. The actual processes that take place between species and the environment are extremely complex and vulnerable. If humanity causes the extinction of one species—it's really the extinction of many species and the decline of our life-support system for ourselves and future generations. God's gift must not be taken for granted—it must be cared for. If not, humanity will face the grim consequences of its actions. 

Humanity has neglected to factor into the economic equation the tremendous benefits nature provides. Because the environment is our life-support system, it's impossible to truly estimate its value (it's priceless). However, economists and environmental scientists have estimated in dollars what it would cost us to accomplish the services nature provides. Using multiple databases, they estimate that nature provides $33 trillion dollars worth of services every year—that's nearly twice the annual Gross National Product or GNP of all the countries in the world combined. For example, forests prevent soil erosion, landslides, and flooding; maintain the purity of the air and water; affect local and global rainfall; temper climatic fluctuations; and promote watersheds and biodiversity. By retaining the proper moisture content within their foliage and soil, healthy forests prevent local fires from becoming widespread. Unfortunately, this moisture content is declining from over harvesting and fragmentation. Consequently, large-scale fires are becoming increasingly prevalent throughout the world. Other ecosystems like mangroves, wetlands, grasslands, shrubs, deserts, oceans, coral reefs, tundra-arctic regions, and so on provide similar and unique benefits. 

Biodiversity provides problem-solving raw materials for shelter and useful products, creates medicines, and allows us to pollinate and maintain healthy crops from being infested with harmful insects and diseases (without the need or hazards of chemicals or genetic engineering, which kill beneficial insects, additional wildlife, and plants). Although tropical forests contain some of the highest concentration of biodiversity on the planet, we destructively log more than 10 million acres of these forests each year (that’s approximately the size of a football field every 4 seconds) and efforts to promote sustainable forestry are largely failing.
Scientists agree that the best way to protect biodiversity is to protect and maintain habitat large enough to accommodate a healthy ecosystem—tolerating small fragmented habitats will not preserve ecosystems or their biodiversity. 

Approximately 40% of all prescriptions in the U.S. are either based on or synthesized from natural compounds found in microorganisms, plants, and animals. The economic value provided by just plant-based anticancer drugs in the U.S. is over $250 billion annually. In addition to nature providing us with penicillin, aspirin, morphine, and steroids; the medicine Taxol, which fights breast and ovarian cancer, comes from the bark of the pacific yew tree; the foxglove plant provides the drug digitalis which boosts the pumping action of weak hearts; and the rosy periwinkle plant is used to fight Hodgkin’s disease and childhood leukemia. Other candidates providing promising medicines include deep-sea sponges, tropical cone snails, dogfish sharks, the bark of the Holarrhena tree (found in Asia and Africa), and the plant Chonemorpha macrophylla (located in the foothills of the Himalayas). A microbe found in the hot springs of Yellowstone National Park provided an enzyme for mass-producing DNA.
Physician and biochemist Michael Zasloff, "There’s so much we don’t know about the natural world…And we’re destroying large parts of it before we even appreciate our ignorance."

Environment Poems

Awareness

Broken bottles and charred pieces of glass
Wadded up newspapers tossed on the grass
Pouring of concrete and tearing out trees
This is the environment that surrounds me?

Poisons and insecticides sprayed on our food
Oceans filling with thick oil crude
All sea life destined to a slow awful doom
These are the things we are to consume?

Mills pumping out iron expelling yellow fumes
Airlines emitting caustic gases from fuels
Weapons of destruction tested at desolate sites
And this is the air that's to sustain life?

There has to be something that someone can do
Like raise the awareness to those around you
That if we don't heed the problem at hand
It's your life that's at stake, the destruction of man.

The Environment

The stars shone in the night sky
The moon was sitting bright and high
The Sun shone in the morning sky
The birds were flying really high

The rubbish sways in the cool breeze
So take your litter home please
We keep the forest neat and clean
so there is no pollution to be seen

The tall grass is spiky and green
when the wind blows it is clearly seen
Upon the mountain the trees sway
the leaves blow away.

I Was Dreaming!!

It Was Beautiful
It was Green and Clean.
The smell of Fresh Air
The sound of the river flowing
I love everything happening there.
I pinched myself to see if it was real.
That was when I realized I was dreaming.
Couldn't it be real!

Now all wasted.
The color is just awful.
The smell of pollution is killing me
The sound of traffic is giving me a headache.
I wanted my perfect dream to come through.
But again, I was dreaming!

Natural Disasters

Natural disasters fall into three broad groups:

1. Those caused by movements of the Earth. These occur with the minimum amount of warning and include earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis. They are difficult to predict and impossible to stop. All that can be done is to take appropriate action to limit damage and loss of life after they occur.

2. Weather related disasters. These will include hurricanes, tornadoes, extreme heat and extreme cold weather. There will usually be some degree of advanced warning, but since weather is unpredictable, nothing can be done to stop these disasters from developing once the weather system develops. Again, in areas prone to this sort of disaster, some provision can be made to limit damage and loss of life.

3. Floods, mudslides, landslides and famine. These are usually the consequence of extreme weather events, or are supplementary to other natural disasters. Often they are the result of extreme and unforeseen conditions.

Someone living in an area that is prone to one or other of these natural disasters will be well aware of the fact, so the most important factor is to be prepared. If you live in an area that is prone to earthquakes, you might not experience one for a number of years, but they can occur with very little warning.

The first indication of an earthquake might be a roaring or rumbling sound that gradually grows louder. There might be a rolling sensation that starts out gently but within a second or two becomes very violent. Alternatively there might be a violent jerk followed by severe shaking that makes it very difficult to stand up or move from room to room.

The strength of an earthquake is usually measured using the moment magnitude scale. An earthquake measuring between 6.1 and 6.9 on this scale could cause a lot of damage in a very populated area. Around 100 of these occur each year. One measuring 7.0 to 7.9 would be considered a major earthquake and would cause significant damage. About 20 of these occur each year. The earthquake that occurred in Japan on 11 March 2011 was measured at magnitude 9.0 by the US Geological Survey and was one of the most powerful ever recorded.

If an earthquake occurs under the sea it can cause a tsunami. The most destructive of these are generated from large shallow earthquakes with an epicentre or fault line near or on the ocean floor. The sudden vertical displacement generates waves that can travel great distances at high speed. While out in the ocean these waves can be no more than a few centimetres high, but as they approach the shore the waves are compressed and become very much higher.

The tsunami that hit northeastern Japan following the 11 March earthquake was 15 metres high some areas and it travelled 10 km inland. Moving at high speed it washed away everything in its path including people and property. It also devastated the nuclear power plant at Fukushima. As a result of this natural disaster the number of people dead or missing is put at around 30,000 and the Japanese economy has suffered a major blow.

Tsunamis are not uncommon in Japan and usually there is a limited amount of warning before they hit. There are well-rehearsed procedures that are followed when they occur, but the one on 11 March exceeded all previous expectations.

Volcanoes are mountains that are characterised by having a crater that opens downwards to a reservoir of molten rock. When pressure from gases within the molten rock becomes too great, an eruption occurs. These can be quite modest and result in little more than a trickle, or they can explode with considerable force and be accompanied by lava flows, flattened landscapes, poisonous gases, flying rock and ash.

Due to their great heat the lava flows are a great fire hazard and in forested areas wildfires often result. Lava flows destroy everything in their path, interrupting watercourses and causing flooding and mudslides, but since they generally move fairly slowly, people can usually get out of their way.

The volcanic ash is mainly pulverised rock. This can be abrasive, acidic, gritty and smelly, but apart from infants, elderly people and those suffering from respiratory problems, to most adults it is relatively harmless, although it can prove lethal to machinery. Following an Icelandic volcanic eruption in 2010, when large clouds of volcanic dust were released into the atmosphere, concern about possible damage to aero engines severely disrupted air traffic in Europe and North America.

Volcanoes also give out gases such as carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide. These are normally quickly dispersed by the wind, but can collect in hollows. High concentrations can cause suffocation. This is the most common cause of death following a volcanic eruption.

Tropical cyclones have been the cause of a number of natural disasters. They are storms with large low-pressure centres and numerous thunderstorms that produce high winds and heavy rain. Generally they are known as hurricanes, but in the northwest pacific region they are known as typhoons. A hurricane is defined as having a wind speed in excess of 73 mph (117 kph), but maximum sustained winds in the strongest tropical cyclones have been estimated to reach 195 mph.

Cyclones form out in the ocean and there are distinct hurricane seasons in different parts of the world, lasting for between five and eight months. Special weather watches are kept during these times and in populated areas there are generally well-rehearsed plans that are put in place when a tropical cyclone approaches.

They often hit the coast with tremendous force causing significant damage, but having hit land, friction slows them down. While the winds will abate somewhat, heavy rains will continue and can cause serious flooding. Coastal storm surges can produce extensive flooding up to 25 miles (40 km) inland.

Hurricane Katrina struck the states of Louisiana and Mississippi in August 2008. 1,836 people died as a result and overall damage was estimated as exceeding $100 billion. Although this was America's costliest natural disaster, the deadliest natural disaster in US history was the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 that killed between 6,000 and 12,000 people in Galveston.

Tornadoes can also be a lethal weather event. A tornado is a violent, dangerous rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud. Because of their appearance they are often call twisters.

Most tornadoes are about 250 feet across, have wind speeds of up to 110 mph and blow themselves out after a few miles, but in extreme cases they can be 2 miles across, attain speeds of more than 300 mph and stay on the ground for considerable distances.

Although they can occur almost anywhere, the vast majority occur in the US, where the average is about 1,200 a year. They are most common in the spring, but they can occur at any time of the year. Worldwide the peak time for them is 5 pm, but one of deadliest in history, the Gainesville Tornado, occurred at 8.30 am local time.

In areas prone to tornadoes many people will have an underground shelter. Without this kind of protection the only hope is to get out of the way or get underneath something strong, like a heavy table.

It is not easy to escape extreme cold and this can also cause fatalities, especially among the old and chronically sick. These groups are not so mobile and it is particularly important for them to keep warm.

In extremely cold weather and in the event of heavy snowfall it is fairly usual for transport to grind to a halt. Roads and railways become blocked, aircraft are grounded and schools close. Diesel fuel often gels in extremely cold weather, causing further disruption. Farm animals can suffer and vegetable crops are difficult to harvest. Fuel consumption rises and water mains often burst.

All in all it is a pretty bleak picture. Then when the snow and ice thaws we often have floods. Rivers burst their banks, roads and bridges are washed away and normal communication can become impossible. There will be widespread destruction to homes and property. In serious cases those who are not drowned will have to find somewhere relatively safe and wait to be rescued.

Floods can also come from the sea. Early in 1953 there was a major natural disaster when serious floods hit countries bordering the North Sea. The Netherlands was particularly badly hit with a tidal surge that reached 5.6 metres in places, completely overwhelming the sea defences. 1,835 people and an estimated 30,000 animals drowned.

Coincidentally the number of people drowned in the Dutch flood was almost identical to the number of people who died when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in August 2005. In this case the estimated number of deaths was 1,836.

Periods of prolonged extreme heat seem to be getting more frequent. In addition to causing illness and significant loss of life, they can have a serious economic effect on transportation, agriculture production, energy and infrastructure. Extreme heat can disrupt railways by twisting rails and roads can buckle or tarmac can melt. Aircraft lose lift in extreme temperatures and stress is placed on the cooling systems of the engines of raid and rail vehicles that can lead to an increase in mechanical failure.

Agricultural crop production can be ruined, milk production is reduced and animals are distressed. Excessive heat causes power lines to sag and short out. As more people use fans or air conditioning, demand for electricity is pushed to the point where supply companies can no longer cope.

Extreme heat can kill people, even though most of the deaths are preventable. It is reported that in the 24 years between 1979 and 2003 more people died in the United States of extreme heat than from hurricanes, lightning, tornadoes, floods and earthquakes combined.

The golden rules are to drink plenty of fluids, dress in cool clothes and stay in the shade if possible. A cool shower can help, as can air conditioning. Since most shopping malls, public libraries and big stores are air conditioned, if all else fails a trip there might be worth the journey, especially if the bus is also air-conditioned.

Extreme heat can also bring wild fires. A UN study reported that in almost every case drought is a major factor that prolonged or exacerbated a blaze. Often after many months without rain a single spark is all that is necessary to create an inferno. Wildfires can move at tremendous speed and will devour everything in their path. They can quickly change direction, which makes it very difficult for someone on the ground to escape.

These mega-fires as they are sometimes called are mainly caused by humans and are characterised by their massive destruction. The February 2009 Black Saturday blazes in Australia killed 173 people and completely obliterated several towns. In 2010 similar fires in Russia killed 62 people and destroyed about 23,000 square kilometres, an area more than half the size of The Netherlands.

A recent UN report (May 2011) suggests that the growing number of mega-fires around the world may be contributing to global warming. In its report the Food an Agriculture Organisation (FAO) says that policy makers should improve their monitoring of carbon gas emissions from wildfires to better determine their potential impact on climate change.

It is a vicious circle; climate change causes drought; drought causes wildfires; and wildfires cause further climate change.

Almost everywhere you look you find references to climate change associate with natural disasters. A UN report on climate change observed that the increase in tropical cyclone intensity was larger than climate models had predicted and the conclusion was drawn that it was more likely than not that there had been some human contribution to increase this intensity.

It is clear that the world is getting warmer, probably due to a natural process, but it is reasonable to assume that this process is being speeded up by mankind's release into the atmosphere of large amounts of greenhouse gas. It is also reasonable to assume that these greenhouse gas emissions are having a profound effect on the world's weather.

It is easy to blame every natural disaster on global warming, but meteorology is not an exact science and while in some cases this blame might be quite justified, in many cases these natural disaster occur for purely natural reasons.

Renewable Energy

Renewable forms of energy have been around for centuries. Sunlight has been used for making fire and wood was burned for cooking and heat. Wind and water power were early sources of energy with wind being used for propelling ships and turning windmills since ancient times. Rivers were used to turn watermills and the Romans even used geothermal water for heating.

Until the middle of the 18th century renewable sources of energy were the only forms of energy available, but then, with the advent of the Industrial Revolution, fossil fuels began to be exploited.

For the next 200 years fossil fuels reigned supreme, but in the last 50 years, people began to wake up to the fact that fossil fuels would not last for ever. Prices were becoming very unstable and there was a general wake-up to the fact that emissions from these fossil fuels were doing enormous harm to the Earth's atmosphere. This gave rise to considerable concern over global climate change. As a result, attention began to turn once again to sources of renewable energy and modern renewable energy technology dates from this time.

Renewable energy is any form of energy obtained from natural resources, such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, geothermal heat and biomass. Currently about 20% of the world's energy comes from renewable sources, although only about 13% comes from biomass, and that is mostly from wood burning.

Throughout the world there is significant potential to harness renewable energy in various forms. If a country is lacking in one form of energy, it is usually rich in another form. A good example is the Sahara Desert, where there is enormous potential for solar power, but none for hydroelectricity.

For domestic use renewable energy systems are often expensive to install, but they are able to pay for themselves over a number of years. As technology advances, initial costs fall and this payback period becomes shorter. In addition, many governments promote renewable sources of energy by subsidising installations.

In a domestic situation some kind of solar panel can be used to convert sunlight into electricity or thermal energy. This is an excellent example of renewable energy and is completely pollution-free.

A fairly recent development is the photovoltaic (PV) cell. This does not need direct sunlight since it is able to capture any light and convert it into energy. It will even produce energy from moonlight. As with everything new, cost is a factor, but it is firmly expected that will fall as the technology becomes more popular.

Image: Solar Power.

In many countries solar power could provide between 50% and 75% of domestic hot water energy. There is a proposal to build the world's largest PV power station in the Australian State of Victoria, with an output of 154 MW.

One of the problems facing producers of solar power is to find an area of flat space that is big enough to accommodate the number of cells needed to produce electricity on a large scale. Experiments are now taking place by floating banks of cells on the surface of large industrial reservoirs.

Geothermal energy is also used for domestic heating. Latent heat within the Earth increases with depth and geothermal heat pumps bring this heat to the surface for water or space heating. The downside is that any geothermal heat pump needs electricity to bring the heat to the surface.

On a larger scale geothermal energy is obtained in the same way, by tapping the heat of the Earth. These large plants are expensive to build, but once built, running costs are very low. There are three types of geothermal plant.

i. Dry steam plants take steam out of fractures in the ground and use it to drive a turbine that spins a generator.

ii. Flash plants take hot water out of the ground, usually at temperatures in excess of 200°C, allow it to boil as it rises to the surface and then let the steam drive a turbine.

iii. Binary plants pass the hot water through heat exchangers, boiling an organic fluid that spins the turbine.

In all three types of plant the condensed steam and remaining geothermal fluid are injected back into the hot rock to produce more heat.

Image: Geothermal Energy in Iceland.

Small-scale domestic hydroelectric power units are possible in certain locations and can be very effective, but this form of power production is usually on a massive scale.

Hydroelectric plants are one of the most successful sources of renewable energy. Water is about 800 times denser than air, so even a slow flowing stream can produce a considerable amount of energy. Hydroelectric plants are extremely long-lived, with many having been in operation for more than 100 years.

The Grand Coulee Dam in Washington State is the largest electric power producing facility in the US. It was completed in 1942, took nine years to build, and supplies four power stations with an installed capacity of 6,809 MW.

Image: Norris Dam, hydroelectric dam located in East Tennessee, USA.

The big disadvantage is that constructing a hydroelectric plant and its accompanying reservoir usually involves the dislocation of large numbers of people and the disruption or destruction of the whole ecosystem of a river and its surrounding area. The actual construction process will also release significant amounts of greenhouse gas into the atmosphere. In spite of this, hydroelectric power plants produce much lower life-cycle emissions than other types of generation.

In spite of the environmental issues and concerns, not to mention the impacts on the lives of local populations, the current boom region for hydroelectric power is Asia and in particular, China. In this developing area, there is an ever-increasing demand for energy. This is coupled with greatly increased costs of imported energy, so there is a widespread desire for clean, renewable and economical domestic generation. As a result all environmental and human issues get quietly forgotten.

Wind Power is another source of renewable energy. Although originally developed by the Dutch in the 17thcentury, it had largely been forgotten, but is now experiencing a revival. Wind powered generators have become popular worldwide both for domestic and commercial generation and wind farms have been constructed both on land and offshore. The United Kingdom is the world's largest generator of off-shore power, followed by Denmark.

In 2008 wind power produced 120,791 MW of electricity world wide, which was some 1.3% of global electricity consumption. There had been a 28% increase in production during the course of that year. As an example, wind power produces 20% of Denmark's electricity.

Image: Offshore wind farm.

Concern has been expressed about the impact on the environment of large numbers of wind turbines in one place, but taking this aside, wind power has the advantage of having a high potential with relatively little cost.

Biofuels are yet another example of renewable energy. These originate as plant material such as wood or some other form of vegetation, or are manufactured from plant material of some form or a derivative such as paper or card. This is either burned as it is, or can be processed into some form of briquette for use as an alternative to coal or charcoal.

Bioethanol is an alternative to conventional autofuel and is produced by the fermentation of the sugar components of plant materials. Brazil is one of the largest users of this form of renewable energy, with bioethanol providing 18% of the country's automotive fuel. It is also widely used in the US.

Image: Biofuels.

Unfortunately large areas of land are needed to grow the plant material in order to produce the bioethanol. Brazil took the decision to use large areas that were formerly tropical rainforest. While the Brazilian authorities regard this as making good use of the country's natural resources, environmentalists regard deforestation of these ecosystems as a very retrograde step.

In recent years research into new renewable energy technologies has taken on a fresh impetus. Technologies being developed to produce bioethanol from sustainable sources and municipal solid waste and there is encouraging researchinto using salinity changes to produce electricity.

Offshore wave energy has the potential to be one of the most environmentally friendly forms of electricity generation. As an example, the wave energy around the British Isles has been estimated to be equivalent to three times current UK electricity demand. The world's first commercial wave farm was officially opened in Portugal in 2008 and one currently being constructed off the Scottish coast is destined to be the largest in the world. Research is also taking place to harness Ocean energy.

Research continues to improve solar power panels, using nanotechnology that can create circuits out of individual silicon molecules. These may cost half as much as traditional PV cells and would be more efficient.

Renewable energy is no longer a niche sector, promoted only by governments and environmentalists. Public concern about climate change and protection of the environment, coupled with high oil prices and increasing governmental support are driving increasing rates of investment into research for clean and cost effective forms of energy. We look forward to an exciting future.

Management of Waste ( 5R Concept )

Recycling is the process of taking used material and processing it to make something else, or reconditioning an object to restore it to an ''as new'' condition. It is stage three of what has become known as the 5R Concept:

 Reduce

 Reuse

 Recycle

 Refuse

 Re-think

This is considered to be a very environmentally friendly process since in addition to avoiding the waste of potentially useful materials, it reduces the consumption of fresh raw materials and energy usage. Pollution levels are limited because waste material is not incinerated or buried.

Many kinds of materials can be recycled, such as glass, paper, metal, plastics, textiles and electronics, but many highly developed countries have a very poor record with respect to recycling.

About 5% of the world's population live in the United States and on average every US citizen produces about 730 kg of rubbish each year. This is roughly the weight of a heavy draught horse. In total the annual amount of rubbish produced in the US amounts to 228 million tonnes, which is 40% of the world's waste.

In the past ten years the amount of US recycling has approximately doubled and 32.5% of US municipal waste is now recycled, but this still means that approximately 154 million tonnes of rubbish ends up in landfill every year.

In the 27 EU states during 2009 each person generated on average 513 kg of municipal waste, which varied from 316 kg per person in the Czech Republic to 833 kg per person in Denmark. This waste was treated in different ways: 38% went to landfill, 20% was incinerated, 24% was recycled and 18% was composted.

Again this varied from country to country, but Austria was the most environmentally friendly by recycling or composting more than 70% of its municipal waste. Bulgaria on the other hand sent all of its municipal waste to landfill. Germany is the country with the most highly organised recycling system, with 48% of its waste being treated in this way.

The rubbish of today is different to the rubbish of 50 years ago. Today's rubbish contains more materials that don't break down when they are put in the ground, or if they do break down this is likely to take a very long time. An aluminium drink can that is buried in landfill in 2011 will still be a recognisable can in the year 2511.

Packaging material makes up about 25% of all municipal rubbish and most of this can be recycled. Used aluminium cans, melted down, can make new cans that can be on the supermarket shelf within 60 days. Recycling one aluminium can save enough energy to run a TV for three hours.

Steel is another metal that can be recycled. A 60-watt light bulb can run for over a day on the amount of energy saved by recycling a pound of steel.

On average everyone uses up to two pine trees worth of paper each year and it is estimated that half a million trees must be cut down to produce the paper for each week's Sunday newspapers. If all newspapers were recycled, that would save 250 million trees each year. Producing new paper uses almost 65% less energy than recycling old and it takes 390 gallons of oil to produce one tonne of paper.

Glass is the classic recyclable material. It is virtually indestructible, taking about 4,000 years to decompose if buried; yet it can readily be melted down and reformed, but in the UK five out of every six glass bottles gets thrown away.

Motor oil if disposed of inappropriately can cause serious pollution. A litre of oil can contaminate 2,000,000 gallons of fresh water, yet motor oil never wears out; it just gets dirty. It can be recycled, re-refined and used again, thus reducing our reliance on imported oil.

It is a simple fact that we are running out of space so we can't keep on burying our rubbish, but in some countries recycling is regarded as being a more costly option. This has led to reluctance to move away from traditional means of waste disposal.

Initially this may be the case, but as experience is gained and efficiency improves, costs tend to fall. Also there are economies of scale; small amounts are more expensive to recycle than larger quantities.

But there are more important issues than money.

The release of carbon dioxide into the Earth's atmosphere is a major contributor to global warming. Manufacturing certain products releases far more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than recycling them. A good example is aluminium. Manufacturing new aluminium goods produces 95% more carbon dioxide than recycling scrap aluminium. When you consider that the US alone uses 80 billion cans a year that is an awful lot of aluminium and if all the used cans in the world could be recycled a significant reduction in emissions could be achieved.

Recycling paper can also bring a major environmental benefit. It is estimated that each year every tree in the world absorbs almost 250 pounds (113.5 kg) of carbon dioxide from the Earth's atmosphere, using this to feed itself through a process of photosynthesis. Since it takes about 16 trees to make a tonne of paper, the maths speaks for itself.

Air pollution is a major problem in the world. Huge amounts of toxic gases are released into the air from industries manufacturing items from plastic and metals. As the world population continues to increase, demand for these goods also continues to rise. In the US 2.5 million plastic bottles are thrown away every hour. Without recycling the only option is to build more factories, leading to further pollution.

Recycling could also solve many of the problems associated with landfill. Traditionally rubbish was simply dumped in landfill sites, but in the last 50 years not only has the population increased, but the amount of rubbish generated per person has also increased. We have now reached the situation where many areas are running out of sites suitable for landfill. This is reaching crisis point in some cities and suburbs, where landfills are creeping closer to crowded human settlements, with all the associated risks of disease.

Water is vital to life, but it is very easily contaminated and in many cases this contamination is associated with landfill. When waste is disposed of in landfill it is not treated in any way and contaminants seep down to lower levels of the soil and contaminate the groundwater.

Where landfill areas are scarce, there is often little choice but to dump rubbish into seas and oceans. It is well known that the dumping of industrial and municipal waste in this way has a devastating effect on marine ecology and environmental preservation would be an important benefit of recycling.

It's a simple fact that because we cannot carry on burying or burning rubbish for ever we need to increase the amount of rubbish that is being recycled. Governments can introduce rules and regulations, but the most important issue is to persuade people that recycling is now an essential part of life.

We live in a ''throw away society'' and in spite of all the evidence; many people still need to be convinced of the importance of recycling rubbish. Studies have shown that those with friends and neighbours who recycle are more likely to recycle their own rubbish. Those of us who share this passionate belief have an important task on hand.

Desertification: the persistent degradation of dryland ecosystems by climatic variations and human activities.

Desertification occurs in all continents except Antarctica and affects the livelihoods of millions of people by the reduction or loss of biological or economic productivity. Drylands occupy 41% of the world's land area and in 2000 were the home to about 2 billion people, roughly a third of the human population

All drylands are potentially threatened by desertification. It is thought that some 10% to 20% of drylands, or some six to twelve million square kilometres may already have been degraded. As a comparison the area of China is 9.6 million square kilometres.

Most drylands are found in developing countries and when compared to the rest of the world, inhabitants of drylands lag far behind in terms of human well-being and development indicators.

The level of poverty will vary with the level of aridity and from region to region, but populations continue to rise in spite of high infant mortality rates that can reach 54 per 1000 in some areas. Growth in health and education infrastructure, facilities and services continues to be slow

The traditionally harsh environment forced dryland populations to be flexible in their use of land. This resulted in a livelihood based on a mixture of hunting, gathering, farming and herding that was very suitable for this sort of environment.

Expanding populations have brought the need to produce more food and about 5 million square kilometres of former grassland is now used for growing crops. Much of this is on the margin of what farmers can use without some form of irrigation and droughts often lead to crop failure. Globally more than 2 million square kilometres of this rain-fed cropland has been moderately or severely degraded and each year about one per cent is abandoned to become desert.

Irrigation projects have been developed in many areas but these have often had a strong impact on inland waters, increasing salinity and causing a decline in biodiversity, leading to further desertification.

Looking to the future, the process of desertification is expected to increase. Poverty and the unsustainable use of land will continue to be the main factors driving this. Climate change is an important factor that is linked to desertification, but its impacts will vary according to the region and the management approach that is adopted

In order to stay ahead of desertification and lessen the combined effects of climatic variations and human activity, it is important for nations to improve agricultural and grazing practices in a sustainable way. There must be a fresh way of thinking. What has been called a ''culture of prevention'' must be created, involving changes of attitude in both governments and populations.

A number of actions are possible and these can include:

> Integrating land and water management

> Protecting vegetative cover

> Integrating the use of land for grazing and agricultural purposes

> Combining traditional practices with land use technologies

> Giving local communities the capacity to manage their resources effectively

> Developing alternative livelihoods that don't depend on traditional land use

> Creating economic opportunities in dryland urban areas.

With the world going through a period of climate change its drylands will inevitable be subjected to extremes of weather. It is important for governments and populations to be appropriately prepared in order to prevent a disastrous consequence

Conservation

Conservation is a broad term and can be almost interchangeable with the idea of the environmental movement as a whole - almost all environmentalists want to conserve the natural environment.

Conservation is also probably the oldest idea in the environmental movement. Although their aims might not seem particularly at one with those of the current green movement, the Norman kings of England passed laws in the 11th Century to protect hunting forests so they, and they alone, could enjoy their passion for blood sports without their prey being inconvenienced by hungry peasants and their desire to hunt for the pot and fence in land for farming.

In fact, ideas which are at the heart of modern environmentalism have a very long history in religion.

Taoism, the main Chinese religion, preached that man should live in harmony with nature. In India, Jainism preached non-violence to all other creatures: Jainists are vegetarian and won't eat root vegetables, because to uproot them is to kill the plant and monks of the faith are famous for the care they take when sweeping their temples so as not to harm even the smallest fly.

In the West, it's not hard to see that for Christians who believe their God created the world it might not be the best way to worship that creation by wiping it out. The 12th-13th Century hermit St Francis of Assisi is well-known for preaching to birds and animals and has been made the Catholic Church's patron saint of ecology.

Many modern conservationists have found inspiration in these ideas, and those of other societies, for example the Native Americans (Native American) and Australian Aboriginals (Aboriginal) who they believe have had a more harmonious and less exploitative relationship with the natural world, while still relying on it for their livelihood. In fact, modern scientists today are looking to ancient civilisations for wisdom about how to conserve the natural environment. (Scientists look at aboriginal land management).

The modern conservation movement has its roots in the 19th Century, and it's not possible to provide a full survey here. But among the philosophical giants of the movement are the American writer Henry David Thoreau, who is often referred to as the Father of Environmentalism, and the British designer and thinker William Morris, who saw the industrial cities of the Victorian age as unnatural and alienating man from nature.

By 1872, the American Government had founded what is regarded as the world's first national park at Yellowstone. And President Theodore Roosevelt - a famous huntsman - passed much legislation to protect the national environment. When, in the 1930s the dustbowl crisis led brought real environmental disaster to the United States the push to protect the environment became stronger.

In Britain, the first four national parks were established in 1951 by the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949, which also set up the first national policies on nature conservation.

By 1972, the United Nations had founded its own environment programme which now includes the World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC).

Conservation charities

While governments have been key in carrying out conservation legislation, much work - both campaigning and lobbying and more practical conservation projects - has been down to charities and non-governmental organisations.

The largest and most famous is probably the World Wildlife Fund, now just WWF, with its instantly recognisable giant panda logo, probably the most 'famous' endangered species in the world. WWF was founded in 1961 after valuable groundwork by Sir Julian Huxley, the British biologist who had already played a key role in founding the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the world's first global environmental organisation.

Huxley had been shocked by the threats to African wildlife he had witnessed while working for UNESCO and his writing in British newspapers led to the WWF's founding document the Morges Manifesto.

Conservation charities have often grown up around single species seen to be under a particular threat. These creatures tend to be those that will catch the public's imagination and hence their donations: large primates, big cats and whales for example; while you'll struggle to find a major beetle conservation charity.

Examples: Whales and Dolphins. Tigers.

Some have relied not only on charismatic species to raise cash but also on enormously driven individuals who have become personalities far beyond the confines of the biological or botanical sciences.

Two women, Joy Adamson and Diane Fossey, became international stars as a result of films based on their conservation work. Both were murdered in the African landscapes they had fought so hard to protect.

Adamson lived in Kenya and when her husband, game warden George Adamson, shot a lioness in 1956 the couple adopted her cubs. The story of Elsa, the first lion successfully re-released into the wild from domestic captivity became a best-selling book Born Free and later a hit film. The Born Free Foundation still works in conservation today and has broadened the scope of Adamson's work to encompass many species and to campaign for the phasing out of zoos. Adamson was murdered in Kenya in 1980.

Dian Fossey lived and worked with mountain gorillas in Rwanda becoming a world authority on these endangered creatures. She became closely involved with the gorillas - naming them - and wrote a best-selling 1983 account of her work called Gorillas in the Mist which was filmed with Sigourney Weaver playing Fossey. She was murdered in 1985 and conspiracy theories surround her death, which was first attributed to poachers but which some say was carried out to stop Fossey interfering in tourism exploitation of the gorillas or even her sometimes difficult relationships with local people. The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International now works to protect the mountain gorillas and also to improve the lives of people who live near their habitats.

Zoos and conservation

One way to conserve a species threatened with extinction in the wild is to keep specimens in captivity. However, zoos are not always loved by environmentalists and conservationists. Most object to zoos on animal rights grounds; believing that it is simply wrong to 'imprison' wild animals for our entertainment or education.

But zoos have reacted to this criticism and almost all now do work in conservation of species in the wild and scientists recognise the valuable work zoos can do in complementing conservation in the natural world.

Broader aims - conserving the whole environment

While conservation has sometimes been associated with particular species, as time has passed the focus has tended to widen to envelop the whole environment - a species cannot survive if its habitat is destroyed.

The study of biodiversity has also made us more aware of how complex are the systems on which life depends.

While a tiger or elephant may capture the imagination and thus the cash, we have come to a greater understanding of how reliant creatures at the top of food chains are reliant on everything beneath them. And, at the top of the whole pyramid sit human beings - on top perhaps, but certainly not removed from.

For example, the charity Conservation International, aims not to preserve environments but to make conservation a part of everyday life.

Conservation and Climate Change

Climate change has changed everything and there is now a pressing new reason for conserving some of our most important habitats which are being recognised not just as natural wonders but as an important resource in storing carbon.

Rainforests in particular are seen as important carbon stores which must be protected to alleviate the effects of carbon change.

Conservation and Economic Development

One of the problems conservationists face is that most of the habitats and species they are trying to protect are in the third world where populations are desperate to escape from poverty and exploiting the resources around them is the most obvious route to do this.

It's not hard to see how conservation efforts coming from developed countries which have comprehensively trashed their own environments and indeed, many would argue, grown rich on appropriating natural resources from their third world colonies, might elicit a mixed response from people who now wish to share in that wealth.

One of the most publicised examples of third world industry feeding first world demand for products and coming under pressure from first world conservationists is the palm oil trade.

Orangutans have been driven to the brink of extinction by the destruction of their south-east Asian rain forest homes for timber and oil palm production. Palm oil goes into hundreds of products enjoyed by western consumers and it's also being studied as a possible biofuel to replace oil.

The challenge for conservationists is to balance protecting habitats with allowing desperately poor people to make a living.

Making rich habitats more profitable intact than they are destroyed is one way of doing this, either through subsidies or by encouraging industries which rely on the preservation of habitats, such as so-called ecotourism.

What can you do?

It's not hard to find charities to support conservation work and if you can afford to support their work it's a great way to help endangered species.

The shift in conservation has been towards focusing on the wider natural world rather than individual species and here your power as a voter, citizen and consumer can be used.

You need to be informed, so prepare to do a little homework, how to buy products which don't harm habitats on which endangered species rely.

Write to your elected representatives and let them know that you are concerned with conservation and their support for it is one way to win your vote. By joining pressure groups you give your voice the power of a chorus, so look at what groups are active in your country and how you can help them.