In today’s modern, connected and clued-in society, it would be fair to say that there is more activism on a broad and wide scale now than at any other time in history. In generations before this, there is no doubt that certain political, social and cultural movements have gained speed and come to the forefront of world wide attention, but one can certainly argue that the innovation of the internet, combined with plenty of issues from which to choose, has lead to a higher number of individual concerns and movements among activists than ever before.
Though not all of these concerns are comparable in terms of size, subject matter or support, there is a natural tendency to try to order these problems in a linear fashion, seeking to determine which are most important and should take precedent over the rest, and which are not worth any serious time at all. In broad terms, the concerns that people tend to have can be divided in to certain subsections. These include financial, cultural, political and environmental. The purpose of this essay is to put forward the argument that, out of all the possible concerns that the world population could pick from, environmental concerns should take the highest priority. After all, if the earth is in no condition to be inhabited, none of the other mentioned concerns will be there to examine.
The ocean connects to human life every single time we drink a drop of water, or even take a breath. 72 percent of the planet that the human races lives on is covered by the ocean, meaning that if anything detrimental were to happen to the seas of the world, it would have a catastrophic effect on humanity. Plainly, the health of the future generation of human beings is dependent on the health of ocean, it provides energy, food, drinking water and many forms of economical security.
The ocean is one particular food source for the planet, but the issue of food security for the entire globe is one that is on top of the environmental list. Figures suggest that the world will need to feed 9 billion individuals by the year 2050, a population increase of 2 billion compared to current statistics. The way the environment is going, this will need to be achieved on less land and under a great deal of ecosystem stress. 70 percent more food is going to need to be produced by 2050, and what the world’s first world population need to start doing is being less wasteful with their food consumption. A popular environmental theory is that of seeking out new, alternative diets that are more sustainable than our current food choices.
And it isn’t just the oceans. Man has been destroying the rainforest (and all types of forest) for centuries, wiping away what is essentially the lungs of the planet. It is a vicious circle in that while we clear trees to produce land for agriculture to feed ourselves, we destroy oxygen producing trees and a resource that provides a habitat for amazing wildlife and also incredible plants, plants that have provided the world with the basis of so many medicinal cures.
In summation, the fact of the matter is that without a bigger, sole focus on protecting the environment around us, all other activist concerns throughout the world become redundant. After all, what can be more important than saving the very planet that you inhabit? Without a healthy earth, there can be no other healthy aspects of society.
