“Living” on Earth
Earth. Together, we live, adapt, develop in the place we all call home. Imaginably, our
home is not perfect, yet we have the ability to make it better. As of now we live in a place that is
slowly deteriorating in resources and human rights because of one thing: Selfishness. Certainly,
we are burning fossil fuels and utilizing the rest of the resources available for our own good,
however what we are doing to help ourselves is not for Earth’s good. Slowly but surely our home
will no longer have the resources it needs to sustain any source life; our home will no longer be
able to properly be called a “home”. However, if we all come together and do things not only for
our good, but for the greater good as well, our home will be safe as well the billions of people
calling “living” on Earth.
Not only is the Earth slowly crumbling apart, but so are the people “living” on it.
Ironically, this situation has taken place because of the people. By polluting the earth by selfishly
burning fossil fuels, the world along with the people living on it are dying: In other words,
environmental degradation. Other ethical violations discussed about in the past regard cultures
being victimized or discriminated, however this violation focuses on the world which all people
live on that is being demolished day by day by people who are too careless and oblivious of the
truth. One out of many ways we are destroying the Earth by burning fossil fuels. In the case of
outdoor air pollution, “WHO [World Health Organization] estimates there were 3.7 million
deaths in 2012 from urban and rural sources worldwide” (Jasarevic, Thomas, and Osserian 12).
If it is not already bad enough that 3.7 million people (not even to mention the 4.3 million deaths
in 2012 from indoor pollution) die from the careless pollution, but the Earth is taking a big hit as
well. In other words, people are massacring their own people while destroying the planet they
live on. What kind of sickness is this? Data suggests that “Globally, more people die from
outdoor air pollution than from malaria and HIV/AIDS combined. And if there is no change to
our current control measures, outdoor air pollution could cause around 6.6 million early deaths
each year by 2050” (Zielinski 2). So, not only will the world eventually deteriorate because of
the people, but so will the people themselves.
I do not want to die: I do not want the world to die. You would think that from the way
we treat the Earth we want it to. I am aware that my actions not only affect the present, but they
also affect the future… big time. So, I take initiative and carpool, drive an eco-friendly car,
anything that can make a difference. I am not necessarily upset that most people do not do what I
do because some people do not have the opportunity to make a difference. Some people do not
drive cars and most people are not a part of large oil corporations that actually burn the fossil
fuels themselves. However, every single person who goes to the gas station is supporting the
cause of all this trouble. Oil is a necessity that fixes a problem in the present, unfortunately it
worsens the situation in the future.
To other peoples’ defense, there are some believable excuses as to why this violation is
justified. To start off, there are many people who are not even aware. Although these people are
a small fraction of the world that are impervious to the consequences behind their actions, they
still hurt the Earth. People should be aware that driving gas guzzling Hummers to and fro causes
damage to their home: Our home. It is hard to believe that there are still some people oblivious to
the health of the Earth and other human beings because of the grand amount of eco-friendly
propaganda. However, instead of blaming the situation on their “stupidity”, there are some things
that can be done.
With more eco-friendly transportation options, people will not be left to choose oil for
their cars. Saying that oil is bad for the Earth and attempting to take it away from society is like
saying drinking water is bad for the earth and taking it away. We cannot live without it, nor is
there a reasonable substitute. If we want to live on Earth and have Earth thrive as well, we need
to adapt and make it livable. The difference between us and Earth is that we can adapt. Earth
cannot adapt to our foolish mistakes and violations. Once we create more environmental healthy
choices, living on Earth might not be that bad after all.
WORD COUNT: 800
Works Cited
Thomas, Glenn, Tarik Jasarevic, and Nada Osseiran. "7 Million Premature Deaths Annually
Linked to Air Pollution." WHO. World Health Organization, 25 Mar. 2014. Web. 10
Nov. 2015.
Zielinski, Sarah. "Air Pollution Kills More Than 3 Million People Every Year." Smithsonian.
SMITHSONIAN.COM, 16 Sept. 2015. Web. 10 Nov. 2015.