Sustainability and Environment
In recent years there has been a significant rise in people's concern for the environment. When we talk about our environment, we are talking about the world around us. We are not only talking about our home and our local park but we are also talking about our Country and our World.
Over many years, our environment has suffered and in order to take steps to start improving and maintaining our environment. We need to start thinking about areas such as waste reduction, energy and pollution in order to conserve the existing value of our natural resources and to improve and enhance these where possible.
For all of us, a safe environment is essential to our quality of life - the quality of the air we breathe, the water we drink and the land on which we live and work.
Sustainable development
Put simply - sustainable development is working to ensure a better quality of life for everyone, both now and for future generations. In order to achieve this, there are several areas of our environment that we need to consider:
Energy Efficiency
Saving energy is important for our environment as non-renewable energy sources like coal, oil and gas, will eventually run out. Saving energy can be achieved by using gas, electricity and water more efficiently and we can all take steps to make sure that this happens.
Air Quality
There are many different types of air pollutants and these affect our health and the natural and built environment in different ways. Some pollutants have relatively localised effects, some have an impact on the region, while others contribute to changing national and global atmospheric conditions.
Waste Disposal
We are now throwing away more rubbish than ever before and are running out of places to put it. Most of our rubbish is buried in the ground, in 'landfill' sites, but these are filling up fast and new ones are hard to find.
It is also costing more than ever to get rid of our rubbish and we can all take some action to help reduce waste by recycling, reducing waste at home and composting.
Another easy change we can all make is SMART SHOPPING IN THE FIRST PLACE - we can all cut down on the amount of rubbish we create in the first place. It's not difficult, it doesn't take any extra time and it can make a very big difference
Caring for animals
Animals are an important part of our world. They need to be looked after and cared for. When we talk about animals, we are not just talking about domestic pets like cats and dogs, we are talking about all of our wildlife.