A healthy environment is heavily dependent on the actions that a community takes in order to keep it in a stable state, which will ultimately affect the well being and health of the humans themselves. Humans play a significant role in the quality of the environment and atmosphere based on the actions they take each day. Depending on the actions they take, the environment and atmosphere can be affected both positively or negatively. The health of the environment and the health of living orga .nisms on Earth, ultimately affect each other in a cycle. For instance, an unstable and unhealthy environment results in the deterioration of the health of organisms that inhabit that area. A community will either keep the their environmental surroundings clean or dirty which will determine the overall health of the environment. The individual actions that people make also have a significant impact on the health of the environment, such as preserving water or even smoking and affecting the quality of the air. Aside from the health of humans and the environment itself, the health of animals, plant life, and ocean life are also vulnerable in terms of the actions of a community. Various forms of pollution are leading causes in an unhealthy environment. How can the health of
each of these be affected in a cycle, and what can people do to prevent the outcome of an unhealthy environment? Humans and the Environment
Humans take part in everyday activity such as smoking, using toxic chemicals, and littering. All of which significantly decrease the quality of the environment. Nearly all of the current energy sources on Earth are fossil fuels besides natural solar energy, water, and wind. Humans have been increasingly endangering the quality of their air supply by burning fossil fuels through car and air travel, burning coal and petroleum, etc. Air pollution plays a large role in the health of humans, due to the presence of substances with harmful and poisonous effects. Air pollution can cause the development of early childhood asthma, and other negative respiratory symptoms in both children and adults. Children are especially vulnerable because their lungs are still developing and they tend to spend more time outside than adults. Those who spend time even exercising outdoors are very vulnerable, and likely to be subject to heart attacks or developing different forms of cancer. According the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, birth defects can also be caused by air pollution. Other long term effects of air pollution on the health of humans include severe nerve, brain,
kidney, and liver damage. Water pollution, stemming mostly from humans themselves, puts humans at a great risk for becoming exposed to many pollutants and bacterias in the water.
Animals and Ocean Life
The health of animals and ocean life are also at risk due to various forms of pollution such as littering, water, and air pollution. Many toxic substances and particulates settle into the oceans, and onto plants which are consumed by animals. The poisonous effects of the pollution of the Earth play a significant role in the food chain which affects all living organisms. Animals are able to consume toxins on plants and in water, and these animals are eventually consumed by others on top of the food chain. These toxins are able to link to all living organisms on Earth, even humans. Water pollution plays a large role in in deterioration of the health of animals and ocean life. When humans choose to litter outside, run off eventually causes these particles to be moved into oceans, lakes, and streams, where they greatly affect ocean life. Many contaminants end up in the homes of millions of sea creatures, causing them to die from poisoning.
Many animals who use the waters as a drinking source die as well due to the exposure to any harmful chemicals and particles in the water. Both animals and sea creatures are unfortunately at
