Environmental protection

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The conservation of natural resources is the fundamental problem. Unless we solve that problem, it will avail us little to solve all others. —Theodore Roosevelt[1]

Environmental protection is a practice of protecting the environment, on individual, organisational or governmental level, for the benefit of the natural environment and (or) humans.

Due to the pressures of population and our technology the biophysical environment is being degraded, sometimes permanently. This has been recognised and governments began placing restraints on activities that caused environmental degradation. Since the 1960s activism by the environmental movement has created awareness of the various environmental issues. There is not a full agreement on the extent of the environmental impact of human activity and protection measures are occasionally criticized.

Academic institutions now offer courses such as environmental studies, environmental management and environmental engineering that study the history and methods of environmental protection.

Protection of the environment is needed from various human activities. Waste, pollution, loss of biodiversity, introduction of invasive species, release of genetically modified organisms and toxics are some of the issues relating to environmental protection.

Contents 1 Governance 1.1 European Union 1.2 New Zealand 1.3 United States 2 In literature 3 Environmental contingency plan and system 4 See also 5 References

[edit] Governance

This section requires expansion.

Many Constitutions acknowledge the fundamental right to environmental protection and many international treaties acknowledge the right to live in a healthy environment.^[2]

Also, many countries have organizations and agencies devoted to environmental protection. There are International environmental protection organizations, as the United Nations Environment Programme.

[edit] European Union

Environmental protection has become an important task for the institutions of the European Community after the Maastricht Treaty for the European Union ratification by all Member States. The EU is already very active in the field of environmental policy with important directives like those on environmental impact assessment and on the access to environmental information for citizens in the Member States. ^[3]

[edit] New Zealand

At a national level the Ministry for the Environment is responsible for environmental policy and the Department of Conservation addresses conservation issues. At a regional level the regional councils administer the legislation and address regional environmental issues.

[edit] United States

Since 1970, the United States Environmental Protection Agency has been working to protect the environment and human health.^[4]

[edit] In literature

Environmental protection has become a theme in fiction as well as non-fictional literature. Books such as Antarctica and Blockade have environmental protection as a theme whereas The Lorax has become a popular metaphor for environmental protection.

[edit] Environmental contingency plan and system

Environmental protection effort, depending on the level, can be quite costly. The question is whether the effort is adequate at least to make sure mankind can be sustainable in the newly developed environmental conditions. However, it is still difficult to make accurate forecast on the global environmental changes. So far, the level of effort depends on the competition of various political forces and the estimates to the environmental changes. It will be disastrous if we underestimate the changes and cannot respond fast enough after we realize the environment conditions are significantly worse than our estimates. One solution is for every nation to prepare an environmental contingency plan and system at a reasonable cost so that the population can swiftly change the living practice to respond to the unexpected fast change of the environments.

[edit] See also

Actio popularis Biodiversity Carbon Neutrality Conservation biology Conservation movement Ecology movement Environmentalism Environmental Information Regulations 2004 Environmental law Environmental movement Environmental organizations Reforestation Green party Green politics Human rights and climate change

Environment portal Ecology portal Earth sciences portal Sustainable development portal List of environmental organizations List of environmental issues List of environmental topics National parks Natural capital Participation (decision making) Public information and participation Renewable resource Sustainability Sustainable development Three generations of human rights

[edit] References

This environment-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v • d • e