But human borders mean nothing to air, water, windblown soil or seeds or migrating fish, birds or mammals.
For the sake of our health, our children and grandchildren and even our economic well-being, we must make protecting the planet our top priority.
Perhaps the whole world is actually a banquet, to which every living thing is invited. First you come as guests: then eventually you’re on the menu.
It’s time we stopped ignoring the environment. Let’s not let another election go by without making this a high priority.
Just as human activity is upsetting Earth’s carbon cycle, our actions are altering the water cycle.
With an estimated population of nine billion people by 2050, we cannot continue to consume resources at the same rate and maintain our quality of life.
Hydraulic fracturing requires massive amounts of water. Disposing of the toxic wastewater, as well as accidental spills, can contaminate drinking water and harm human health.
Beyond reducing individual use, one of our top priorities must be to move from fossil fuels to energy that has fewer detrimental effects on water supplies and fewer environmental impacts overall.
The increasing frequency of extreme weather events, droughts and floods is in line with what climate scientists have been predicting for decades – and evidence is mounting that what’s happening is more severe than predicted, and will get far worse still if we fail to act.
Humans are an infant species, a mere 150,000 years old. But, armed with a massive brain, we’ve not only survived, we’ve used our wits to adapt to and flourish in habitats as varied as deserts, Arctic tundra, tropical rainforests, wetlands and high mountain ranges.
As parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts we need to start getting out into nature with the young people in our lives. Families play a key role in getting kids outside.
When I was a kid, being outside was the norm. Rain or shine, our parents would tell us to get out of the house.
Japan is a model already to the lie that economic growth is the key to our future. If they can really show an alternative to nukes and fossil fuels, then they will be the poster boy for the renewable energy for the future.
We have altered the physical, chemical and biological properties of the planet on a geological scale. We have left no part of the globe untouched.
Many instances of persecution and killing have occurred in countries with atrocious human rights records such as Sri Lanka, Guatemala and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
What about our children and grandchildren and their children and grandchildren? Do we not want them to live healthy and happy lives?
Ultimately we need to recognize that while humans continue to build urban landscapes, we share these spaces with others species.
Most North Americans know that human-caused global warming is real, even if political leaders don’t always reflect or act on that knowledge.
Japanese people cut their energy use by 25 percent immediately after Fukushima. They showed there was huge opportunity there. And instead, the government simply wants to get those plants up and running again.
Outright bans on plastic bags may not be the best solution, but education and incentives to get people to stop using them are necessary.
Our planet has not seen an extinction crisis as serious as the one in progress for 65 million years.