How many times have you heard „We need to act ecologically”? Or that our planet is in danger? Probably many times. But how many times have you actually listened to what is happening around us? Probably not that many times. As climate change is one of today’s main concerns, my paper is trying to raise awareness and provide some brief information on this major topic.
In the first part of this article I am going to explain what is ecology, why it is so important and what could happen if we ignore it while in the second part I will be focusing on the notion of eco footprint.
This is the first article from a series whose subject is global warming and related subjects. The text is based on personal notes as well as official references.
So, what is ecology? The official definition would be „the branch of biology dealing with the relations and interactions between organisms and their environment, including other organisms”.[1] Another way of putting it would be “advocacy for the protection of natural resources from pollution or its effects; environmentalism”.[2] Ecology is a rather modern word and was first used in 1896. Coined by the zoologist Ernst Haeckel, the term comes from the Greek Okios, which means house. Ecology has then given birth to other terms such as ecological and eco footprint.
Now that we know what it means and where it comes from, another question arises: why is it important? Ecology is important for our comfort. We can learn from the relationship of humans and nature facts that are vital for food production, maintaining clean air and water, and defending biology from the constantly changing climate. Ecology also provides us with the essential basis for nature conservation. For example, heathland is a landscape that is fast disappearing throughout much of Western Europe, but some studies have helped identify how to preserve its ecological characteristics. The most important contribution it can bring is that it aids to improve our environment.[3]
What will happen if we ignore ecology and fail to take action? The main problem would be the aggravation of global warming, which would in its turn give rise to other issues, in opposition to all the positive facts that I mentioned before.
As for the ecological footprint, “it measures the ecological assets that a given population requires to produce the natural resources it consumes”.[4] It has six categories of productivity: cropland, gazing land, fishing grounds, built up land, forest area and especially carbon emissions.
Each of us have our own eco footprint and there are numerous quizzes you can take to calculate yours; I highly recommend you to try some of them. [5] If your eco footprint is very high, you should probably reduce it as there are numerous negative aspects that could arise if a large number of people have a big ecological footprint, similar to the ones caused by the ignorance of ecology. What’s more, our resources will eventually come to an end if we do not start taking measures at once.
Therefore, what can you do to reduce your eco footprint? First of all, try to reduce the quantity of your single-use products. Next, you should try to limit your use of plastic, water and waste in general. Recycling is important as well. Another important thing would be to use greener forms of transport and consume less animal products.[6]
It is vital to know what ecology is and what part it plays in our lives as much as it is to learn about your ecological footprint and how to minimize it. These are the first steps to being aware of and trying to prevent global warming.
Reducing the ecologic footprint starts with each of us. It is important to remember that even if you are the only one doing it, there will be others joining after a while. Never underestimate the power of personal example and join the fight for a greener and cleaner environment for all of us!
[1] https://www.dictionary.com/browse/ecology
[2] https://www.britannica.com/science/ecology
[3] https://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/about/what-is-ecology/#:~:text=Ecology%20enriches%20our%20world%20and,biodiversity%20in%20a%20changing%20climate.
[4] https://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/about/what-is-ecology/#:~:text=Ecology%20enriches%20our%20world%20and,biodiversity%20in%20a%20changing%20climate.
[5] See also https://www.rsc.org/Education/Teachers/Resources/jesei/ecofoot/students.htm
https://footprint.wwf.org.uk/#/
[6] https://www.ilacsd.org/2017/04/27/8-ways-to-reduce-your-ecological-footprint/
The environment is very important, it is unfortunate that many people ignore this, and since your article talks about an important topic, I think it is better for this article to be longer and contain many suggestions, and more explanations in order to help people who are unfamiliar with the topic of the environment To understand the article better.
Hey there!
This topic is one I personally believe everyone should not only stop to think about but should work to make educated choices in order to help save our precious planet. Under that, I commend you for taking the time to try to educate others. Overall I think you cover this topic in both an educational, but also a personal way. Your use of quotes is both supportive to your point, but overall well integrated. Alongside that, you have found the good middle ground between overly scientific and overly simplified so bravo.
I could go on about all the great qualities you show as a writer, but what would a review be without some constructive criticism so here are the ways I personally believe you could improve your writing.
1. Telling vs doing. Now, this might come off as a weird criticism for an essay, but I believe it's very important. What I mean is that on multiple occasion you tell the reader very directly about what they are about to read.
a. For example at the end of your first paragraph, you have the phrase "my paper is trying to" and any phrase that can be simplified to "this paper's purpose is ----" is unnecessary and should be deleted. Instead of telling the purpose, it's better to just write it because if your writing is doing its job the reader will be able to pick up on the purpose by themself.
The one instance that is an exception to this rule is any academic paper, in which case a thesis is likely necessary. Nevertheless, there are ways to set up a thesis without having to say "this paper's purpose is". For example something like this: "As climate change is one of today’s main concerns it's important to raise awareness and educate ourselves on its components"
For there you could even go on to add "such as ecology and the notion of eco footprints" which could replace your second paragraph which suffers from the same "here is what I'm going to writing about but I'm not actually writing about it yet"
2. This isn't actually a criticism, but more of a question for you. Have you in your research noted how things such as economic circumstances and geological location affect both a person's eco-footprint, but also their ability to 'be green'? For example, I personally live in an area where transportation options are limited. If I could I would love to bike/walk everywhere, but snow/ice and mountains make that impossible. Furthermore, greener cars such as electric aren't made for mountain life. Because my options to help the planet are limited in this way and others I have to be a bit more inventive of how I contribute.
Anyway, I hope my review helps you and feel free to ask questions about what I've said.
Slainte
Here are some tips to help go green:
-volunteer to help clean parks, state-owned areas, neighbors yards, etc and recycle trash
-instead of throwing old papers away, put them in a bucket; after a while, you can burn these papers and roast marshmallows (there are safe ways to burn it and unsafe ways to burn it)
-start a personal/community garden so you go to the store for veggies, fruits and herbs less often (it's also fun if you're patient)
-write/call your state/federal leaders regarding going green and reducing carbon emissions (it's funny when the interns say that there's a 100% chance their boss will have an answer withing the month and they still don't 6 months later. Gosh, I love Republicans.)
-support the Green New Deal
There are other ways, of course, but these also help.
Hello MoonIris,
Stellarjay here for a review!
As someone who strongly believes in a greener future and reducing my eco footprint, I agree with all of your points. I could hear the strong motivation behind this work. Not only that, but your whole essay had good structure and has great potential. From what I could tell, your grammar, for the most part, was excellent, nothing to change there. Needless to say, there are a few things that could use a little attention.
1) There were two places where you put quotation marks in a weird place.
„We need to act ecologically”?
„the branch of biology dealing with the relations and interactions between organisms and their environment, including other organisms”.
try to reduce the quantity of your single-use products.
gazing land,
120,187 Literary Works • 648,971 Reviews
Points: 334
Reviews: 5
Donate