You may know about many of the issues our planet is currently facing, and perhaps you just dust it off, because it’s not affecting you… or is it? These global problems affect your local environment and thus impact on your life and future.
Our planet is currently being destroyed by our life choices, and issues such as over-consumption. If everyone on the planet consumed as much as the average US citizen, four Earths would be needed to sustain them! And how is this going to affect your local area? A growing population increases some of the other more pressing issues such as pollution and deforestation, because there is a higher demand for supplies.
How does deforestation affect how you live? In place of the oxygen that you need, a great amount of greenhouse gases are being released into the atmosphere. South America’s rainforests account for 20% of earth’s oxygen supply and these are rapidly being destroyed. 18 million acres of forest are lost every year (36 football fields per second).
PECT’s project Forest for Peterborough offers you the chance to improve the air quality and the local environment for your communities, through volunteering with others from your area. Forest for Peterborough aims to plant one tree for every person in Peterborough, and has already planted 100,000 trees.
How does pollution affect how you live? The types of pollution that affect us the most are air and water pollution. Air pollution is caused by the burning of fossil fuels, as well as household chemicals (such as aerosols) and transport (21% of greenhouse gas emissions in the UK are due to transport).
The increasing amount of air pollution is putting you and future generations at risk of health issues. Volunteering with Forest for Peterborough and improving the air in your area may put your health in a better position for the future.
Water pollution is caused by factors such as chemicals and sewage. You can help prevent this as an issue, just by being aware of what you are putting into the drain, and being aware of where you are disposing of waste materials.
Our earth needs urgent help with combating these issues now, and in the future. Look at PECT’s various projects to see how else you can have a positive impact on your area, and get involved with making a difference!
[Please note: information in this article was accurate at time of release].