Conservation Of The Environment

The world is dying. Forests and jungles are being slashed and burnt at an amazing rate. Animals are being hunted down for their fur, skin, horns and other parts of their anatomy. All for what? Forests and nature reserves give way to factories and housing. Trees become paper, which are being wasted. Animals become food, clothing, bags, shoes and medicine. All because of one species – Man.

No doubt it is a world where it is a survival of the fittest. Lions eat zebras, tigers eat deer, beavers chop down trees using their teeth, so every species need some way to survive. But where do we draw the line?

We can draw a lot of lessons from the animals around us. Beavers fell tress to build dams, and their homes, which is acceptable. Lions eat zebras and although I pity the zebra, the lion is carnivorous and needs the meat to survive. Too bad the zebra did not run and escape fast enough. Still acceptable. Living things need air to breathe, water to drink, food to eat and a shelter to live in. So anything within this realm is acceptable.

What do humans do? Humans are omnivorous, so we eat vegetables and animals. There are animals being specially reared for the purpose of food, like cows, chicken, goats, and in certain places, even sheep. All these are still acceptable. But what about other animals who are not reared for food? Animals like cats, dogs, monkeys, and now even aborted fetuses (alright, not really an animal). Why on earth would anyone even think of taking away these animals’ rights to live and feed on them like some sort of beastly act?

And what about the poor raccoons and minks who were mercilessly killed just to be made into coats? What about the finless sharks that got thrown back into the ocean and drowned as they were not able to swim anymore without their fins? What about the poor elephants, antelope and tigers who were killed just to get their horns and whip? And what about the poor trees that died after hundreds of years just to be made into paper, which were being mercilessly wasted?

If we eat and clothe due to survival, it is still acceptable. But man kills others for pleasure. Do we really need dog meat or monkey’s brain or sharks fin soup? Do we really need mink coats? Normal wool will suffice, at least you only shave the sheep, you do not kill the entire animal. Do we really need crocodile or cow skin bags? Leather is so expensive and smells funny too, not to mention the thousands of innocent animals who have to die to be made into handbags. And do we seriously need antelope’s horns or tiger’s whip or ivory?

It is due to all these acts that animals like minks, elephants, tigers and sharks are endangered nowadays. If these animals become extinct, how is man going to find a replacement for all their pleasures?

And what about the fast-destroying Amazon and the other forests around the world? Forest fires, slash and burn cultivation, timber. Trees take hundreds of years to grow back, and if the entire forest is gone, how is anything going to be made? Furniture, housing and paper will be gone. And at the rate paper is being wasted, there will soon be no more paper available.

At least in recent years there is more awareness on the conservation of the environment. In Singapore itself, companies are being encouraged to go green. Thus, as much as possible, we try to print double-sided documents and use old documents as rough paper. Recycling bins and shredders are also available for used paper to send to the various recycling centers. There are companies like SembCorp and Hyflux who deals in recycling waste and water. Unfortunately, confidential information still takes precedent over being environmentally-friendly, something I do not really agree on, but oh well…..

Even home appliances like shower hoses, computer monitors and lights have certain functions that help to preserve electricity and fuel, which ultimately create less energy. Then less coal will be burnt and less nuclear power will be utilized, which saves a lot of energy in the long run.

There are also mock sharks’ fins, fake fur and synthetic leather to replace all the genuine stuff. Animals like sharks and elephants are being conserved to the fullest. Hunting for horns is now prohibited, but unfortunately, there are still lots of poachers around who think only of making money over saving innocent lives. Can these people ever be more sensible?!

We have to do our part to help save the world. It is our world and if all the animal and plants die, humans will not be able to survive as well as we are all part of a huge ecosystem. Thus each of us must do our own part to help conserve and save the forests and animals.