How would you like living right next to a dirty or mosquito-infested dam; or next to a smelly rubbish dump; or next to smoky factory chimneys…? The list could go on, but fact is we all prefer to live in a clean and healthy environment! This is why it is important for you as individuals, social groups and schools to have a policy regarding the environment. A good example of a local environmental policy is the one drawn up by the University of Kwazulu-Natal
Such a policy could take the shape of a written statement that expresses your standpoint towards the natural environment as it relates to your specific community, or just a common understanding of healthy living conditions. Whatever the case may be, through the ECONATICS website we would like to empower you to make informed decisions regarding your personal and collective actions in your private world, community and school environment. By involving yourself and by acquiring knowledge and practical skills regarding the environment, you would be in a position to do play an active role in preserving our natural heritage for yourself and for generations to come.
For those of you who would like to participate as a school group, we would encourage to participate by sending us stories and photographs of your environmental efforts. We could then publish it in the “ECO-HERO’S” section. We have identified the environmental outcomes of the school curriculum that are addressed in each lesson. So depending on the grade in which you are you will be able to see how each lesson applies to each subject with environmental outcomes and share it with your friends and teachers. (The first series with 7 lessons have already been completed. Please look at the “ECONATIC STRUCTURE” to find out more about the various lessons we aim to promote in future.) Additionally valuable SUPPORTING ARTICLES related to each lesson will expand on various issues mentioned in the lesson. These are downloadable at a cost. By means of these articles you will get a practical understanding of how the various issues covered in the article affect us.
As most of us are being affected by environmental degradation in our cities and rural areas, we as young people need to know our environmental rights. The first environmental right we need to be aware of is stated in the South African constitution. It sais
2.24 – ENVIRONMENT
Everyone has the right
a. to an environment that is not harmful to their health or well-being; and
b. to have the environment protected, for the benefit of present and future
generations, through reasonable legislative and other measures that
i. prevent pollution and ecological degradation;
ii. promote conservation; and
iii. secure ecologically sustainable development and use of natural resources
while promoting justifiable economic and social development.
So if you do not enjoy any of the abovementioned privileges, it is your right and responsibility to speak out!
Also, because of the deteriorating environmental conditions in our country, the SA Bureau of Standards has stipulated certain environmental requisites that should be met by industries. This is called the ISO 14000 and requires industries to formulate an environmental policy that satisfies certain conditions. After looking at supporting article B, and the following web page (http://www.14000store.com/ISO-14000-Articles-Requirements.html ), do you think that government and industry is taking environmental law or its responsibility regarding the environment serious? Or do you agree that individual and legal action (supporting article D) should rather become the driving force to change attitudes to favor our natural heritage? See how community participation and effective legislation has curbed deterioration in two African regions (supporting articles E and F).
So, let us have a look at how our modern life-style affects the environment in which we live. Most of us are aware that all living and non-living things are in some way dependent on one another for survival, and know therefore the importance of respecting the environment as a whole. For example, a bicycle is (just like the environment) made up of different parts. It has a seat, frame, handles, brakes and pedals. But all of these would be of little use unless it also has a chain! There is a functional (or dynamic) relationship between these parts of the bicycle in order to make it work. They are all linked to one another in some way or other. In the same way the environment consists of many elements and many forms of life which depend on one another to function properly. This whole co-existence between living things (organisms) and non-living things (elements) is exemplified in the concept of the ecosystem. If we wish to continue living as part of this system, we need to realize our place in the system and take up our responsibility (Supporting article M). Like the chain of the bicycle, we are just another link in the web of living organisms and non-living things on earth. The rivers, the trees, animals, birds, soil, air – everything around us, forms part of our existence and therefore should be respected. But it may seem that humankind has over the years increasingly detached itself from its natural environment (Supporting article J).
The ideal state of the environment is what we call, “a condition of dynamic equilibrium”. This is when all the parts of the ecosystem co-exist in perfect harmony. No element of the Eco-system (let us take elephants as an example) can afford to behave at the expense (depletion of) of the other elements (trees). Nature strives to maintain this balance (e.g. as soon as there are too many elephants, the trees are depleted and the elephant numbers will fall because of starvation in a natural way). Humankind in their greed to ever increase living standards often exceeds their boundaries and keeps us going on an temporarily in an artificial manner by means of technology and the extraction of fossil fuels. This may not only damage parts of the eco-system, but it can lead to the disintegration and final collapse of the system as a whole. Our environment is fragile. It can so easily be destroyed if we treat it carelessly. This in turn will lead to our own downfall. (Read about seven planned resorts that would adversely affect the natural balance that presently still exists in the heart of the country's first World Heritage Site - the iSimangaliso Wetland Park in KwaZulu-Natal
I think it is worth our while to contemplate the quote below, before we move on in our discussion. We need to realize from the outset that things will deteriorate at an ever increasing rate, unless we prioritize environmental issues in our decisions and behavior (supporting article S).
“The senior citizens of the 1990’s have indeed witnessed tremendous change. Most of them grew up in rural areas or in small towns. They have lived in the pre-spaceship times; before the age of the computers and some of them can recall the day the first automobile came racing down the main street of their town at 20 miles per hour.
What of the senior citizens of 2050?
Probably they would be those who would be able to recall the days before the sea-level rose to engulf coastal cities like New York and Cape Town; the times you could still go on a hike in indigenous forests and even see wild animals like bushbuck and monkeys in the wild – the4 days before sunbathing was fatal, when you could drink water from a stream; when children could go to downtown schools without oxygen masks; the times when governments fought election on political and economic issues in stead of ecological scenarios”.
(Adapted from editor: Word Development Forum)
In supporting article K you can see a report on the severity of environmental deterioration of our natural resources on a global scale.
So how did it happen that the environmental deteriorated to its present state? Fact is, ever since the existence of humankind on earth, there has been an impact on the earth. In the beginning, men were hunters and gatherers. Their impact on the environment was very small and resources were so to speak “unlimited”. Population density was low and their only source of energy was their muscle power. Soon they learned how to make spears and other types of weapons. Methods for mass-slaughter were developed like fires, which would force animals over cliffs or into ambushes. Still, because of the sparse distribution of these groups of people their impact on the environment was minimal. If one area was depleted they simply moved on to another. (Consider the Thonga People of Kosi Bay
However, when for the sake of convenience (and luxury living) they began to burn down forests to create space for agriculture, the effect on the environment became noticeable. It was at this stage when our forefathers, or should I say ‘we’, began to compete for gain of green land for the use of cattle farming. It now became possible for a single man to produce for far more than his own immediate family needs. This paved the way for specialized careers and people joined together to develop cities.
With the invention of the plow, stronger animals replaced the weaker strength of humans and so the Agricultural revolution began. Irrigation systems and the making of terraces against steep hills further advanced farm production. The result has been e.g. overgrazing and the depletion of grass, which in turn led to the erosion of soil which further led to even more pressure on the remaining grasslands. So a major shift occurred in the relationship between man and nature.
However a worse and more dramatic change occurred in the 1700 and 1800’s during the Industrial Revolution (supporting article I). Enormous amounts of energy came to the disposal of humans through the utilization of fossil fuel. We found out how to tap energy from the sun that was absorbed in coal deposits millions of years ago. This was accompanied by a rapid increase in technology and science. Life-expectation increased, resulting in a huge population explosion.
Pollution of the land, water and air took on proportions unheard of before. The proper and life-sustaining functioning of the environment (Supporting article L) has increasingly been under threat since then and things are getting worse day by day. Unless we put a stop to the mad unrestrained exploitation of resources (Supporting article G) an awful fate awaits all of us. If our environment could ever be saved from total collapse, we need another Revolution: an Environmental Revolution. If this Environmental Revolution succeeds it will rank along with the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions as one of the greatest social and economic transformations in human history.
It is up to us as the young people for this generation to drive the Environmental Revolution. The two previous revolutions were based on more production and quicker exploitation of resources (Supporting article U). However, our recourses should be used in such a way that the following generation will have access to the same amount and quality of resources as we have today. Like you your children will one day have the right to a clean and healthy environment (Supporting article H and W)
At this point we would like you to consider the role that you as an individual or group may play in ensuring a healthy environment for future generations. Environmental deterioration is affecting the whole globe. Air pollution for example knows no boundaries. Without a collective healthy respect for the earth our future is doomed. It will be good for you to also join your voice with other existing initiatives fighting for the preservation of the environment, like the Wildlife and Environmental Society of South Africa (WESSA) (Supporting article R) You could join an environmental society or club and involve yourself in their activities or start up an environmental club at your own school. If you look carefully you will find initiatives that care for specific environmental aspects that are close to your heart. If you are not aware of any such organizations, click here (http://www.earthdirectory.net/southafrica) and you will find a list of environmental initiatives in which you can participate. If you are particular interested in animals you can have a look at supporting articles N and O. You could also acquaint yourself with factors that threaten the continued health of the environment by looking at the work sheets used when environmental impact studies are executed (Supporting article P).
Also see projects that other schools and groups have launched in the ECO-ACTION section of the website. Better even, show us in the following issues what you have done yourselves in your community or school. And lastly, please talk to us. Participate in our ECOTALK by giving us your views, ideas and advise. And if you would like to see how we (meet the team on our Welcome Page) use our talents to improve the cause of the environment, click on our song, “World on Fire” in our ECO and other SONGS part of the site.
This was just an introduction to show you how the relationship between humankind and his natural environment has increasingly changed over the last centuries, resulting in environmental degradation. In LESSON 2 you will see the major forms of deterioration namely air pollution (which includes acid rain), water pollution and surface pollution. In some of our ECO-ACTION contributions you will already see some impacts of air, water and land pollution.
In the groundbreaking book “Silent Spring” the famous American ecologist, Aldo Leopoldt, in the early 1960’s said that one morning in spring we will suddenly wake up and realize that there are no birds to be heard. Then it will be too late and our fate as humans on earth would have been sealed. Who has to take action? Governments (politicians) are too busy ensuring votes; business is too busy making money; the old generation has no vision… they just don’t care. If YOU do not take action, nothing will happen and YOU will bear the consequences. You will have to make a choice.
