They are all around us, some close to us, real not imaginary. We enjoy their natural smell, beautiful songs and colours. Even we keep them in our homes. Look at them when you pass by, listen to their speech, say hello to them. We all live together on the same planet. We need each other. Who are they? Beautiful flowers, trees, bushes, grass, lakes, rivers, streams, seas… and all their living beings.
“In all things of nature there is something marvellous.” Aristotle (384-322 B.C.), Greek philosopher
For a long time we have been taking advantage of all the beauty nature has to offer us. Now, it is time to give that back; work hard to save the environment. We must ask ourselves – What do we have to give our children and our children’s children. What is happening? Well, take a look around, what do you see? Trash, pollution, acid rain, toxic-waste, global warming. Every day, there are more and more animals and plants which are in danger of becoming extinct. Some disappear by natural disasters or naturally over time.
Over the last century the rate of extinction has increased 1000-fold! Today plants and animals are not vanishing because of some external factor. Mostly, they are at risk due to human activities. Their natural habitats are destroyed with the boom in human population. From north to south, from east to west, forests are cleared for farming, housing, building shopping centres. As more people use more space there is less living space for species to inhabit. People take wood, oil and other products from the land. Do you know that your tissue products may have come from European ancient forests? Wild fauna and flora are hunted and collected for different reasons, for meat, sport, for medicine and so on. Seals, dolphins, and turtles are trapped and killed. Further more, industrial gases trapped in the atmosphere pollute the air and cause global warming, changing the environment of species. Thousands of lakes in Scandinavia have no more life in them.
Europe has a wide variety of ecosystems with thousands of different plants, birds, fish, animals and insects. A quarter of species are in danger of vanishing within the next thirty years. In Europe, 22% of higher order plants, 52% of fish and 42% of mammals are endangered. When species become endangered, it means that the health of our ecosystem is becoming worse. Most people are not even aware that such a drastic problem exists. One of the most effective ways to save these endangered species is to spread awareness about them. So tell your family, neighbours and your friends. Be “green” European! Protect and save the Iberian lynx, brown bear, the slender-billed curlew, the skylark and garden warbler, marine species like the monk seal, plants like the lady’s slipper orchid, majestic hills and mountains, ancient forests, the fascinating waterfalls and rivers, the blue seas and the endless oceans.
We must not wonder what we can do, because there are so many things we, the Europeans, can do together. Let’s think about the decisions we make in our individual lives and in our societies. We are dependent on and interconnected with the rest of the world. Let’s build an environment where humanity, wildlife and natural habitats can coexist together.
Love nature! It is difficult to put price on nature. The great American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, author of one of the most famous houses ever built, wrote once:
“Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you.”
