Ecology is the reason we got here, the reason we're still here, and the reason why we will continue to be here. It's a relatively broad term that means more in context with the environment, so I won't focus on it too long, but it's the interaction between species within a given biosphere. Without it, we should have no farming, no domesticated animals, practically none of the good stuff we see. At the same time, we would not have disease, famine, and any number of horrible things. Our interaction with our environment doesn't always produce good results, but that ecology is essential to our existence.
But let's get into the environment, because that's really the central question. Why should we care? Well, for one thing, the environment is all around us. The environment is the plants and animals we interact with, the water we drink, the air we breathe. If we don't care about our plants and animals, our food sources disappear. On the plant side, it's even more important, since they're the main source of capturing energy on the planet due to photosynthesis. If not for plants and fungi, the sun would provide extremely little energy to us, and we would be stuck with what little energy remains here on Earth to sustain us all.
If we don't care about water, we doom ourselves even more extensively. Human beings are mostly water, and that water has to be clean and plentiful. If it's unclean, we get sick. If it's not plentiful, we don't get enough to sustain us. Every bit of pollution we put into the water supply becomes something we have to clean out, and we're getting worse and worse at that. Effects move beyond that of course. Undersea life is, perhaps, more important than the life on land. The vast majority of our oxygen comes from phytoplankton, and without them we would have severe problems breathing. Fish life has been an important source of food throughout our history, and we are seeing many of the problems that overfishing and pollution has caused to the industry. Water is the source of life in more ways than one.
Air pollution is an even deeper problem. What we breathe in certainly has an effect on us, but most gasses rise up into the atmosphere, and here's where Global Climate Change comes in. Experimental evidence suggests that CO2 and Methane gases have a substantial effect on that atmosphere, which wouldn't be so important if it weren't for UV radiation that constantly pummels it. Without that protective layer, we expose ourselves to skin cancers, a slew of problems involving many of the plants and animals of the planet, and a litany of other problems. We cannot ignore these as a problem, no matter what opposition rises against this scientific theory, unless someone can definitively disprove it.
But let's get into the environment, because that's really the central question. Why should we care? Well, for one thing, the environment is all around us. The environment is the plants and animals we interact with, the water we drink, the air we breathe. If we don't care about our plants and animals, our food sources disappear. On the plant side, it's even more important, since they're the main source of capturing energy on the planet due to photosynthesis. If not for plants and fungi, the sun would provide extremely little energy to us, and we would be stuck with what little energy remains here on Earth to sustain us all.
If we don't care about water, we doom ourselves even more extensively. Human beings are mostly water, and that water has to be clean and plentiful. If it's unclean, we get sick. If it's not plentiful, we don't get enough to sustain us. Every bit of pollution we put into the water supply becomes something we have to clean out, and we're getting worse and worse at that. Effects move beyond that of course. Undersea life is, perhaps, more important than the life on land. The vast majority of our oxygen comes from phytoplankton, and without them we would have severe problems breathing. Fish life has been an important source of food throughout our history, and we are seeing many of the problems that overfishing and pollution has caused to the industry. Water is the source of life in more ways than one.
Air pollution is an even deeper problem. What we breathe in certainly has an effect on us, but most gasses rise up into the atmosphere, and here's where Global Climate Change comes in. Experimental evidence suggests that CO2 and Methane gases have a substantial effect on that atmosphere, which wouldn't be so important if it weren't for UV radiation that constantly pummels it. Without that protective layer, we expose ourselves to skin cancers, a slew of problems involving many of the plants and animals of the planet, and a litany of other problems. We cannot ignore these as a problem, no matter what opposition rises against this scientific theory, unless someone can definitively disprove it.