Is
This Our Future?
Our class discussions
have indicated that our earth is getting warmer and our changing climate
impacts our world and our ecosystems in many ways. Climate change impacts are occurring
in every facet of our life. Scientific projections indicate that we are in a
climate crisis. People are at risk. The climate change crisis is before us.
We further
increase our understanding of our human impact on global warming through the
reading of Tracey Vence’s article, “Keep
Off the Grass.” We must understand that climate change impacts our globe.
It is our nation that is responsible for emitting high levels of greenhouse gas
emissions. It is human induced climate change that harms the health and ecosystems
of the world.
In
the article, “Keep Off The Grass,” author,
Tracey Vence exposes the danger of the mainstream scientific views concerning
deforestation and the grassland ecologist’s views. Planting trees to replace
areas which have been ravaged will reduce carbon emissions into the atmosphere.
As an alternative remedy for ecosystem revival, the afforestation of grasslands
will benefit areas over a longer period of time. I believe that it is a wise
choice to consider the soil which stores carbon, phosphorus and nitrogen. The
added nutrients benefit the root systems of plant life increasing growth. This practice
seems to be a good choice for improving our ecosystem as the natural habitat would
become more stable and less threatened by famine and loss of water.
It
is evident that the grassy biomes have been politically overlooked and neglected
while the planting of trees in areas of deforestation has taken place. Why does
our society have to be so biased in its environmental policy making? Would it
not be an intelligent decision not to disregard alternative ecosystems as a preventative
solution?
I am in
full agreement with the article’s view that a nonforest biome is also in crisis
and also showing signs of disruption of climate change by human impact. It is time
to ethically and morally act and assume a responsibility to our environment. The
United Nations and the World Bank are actively involved in tree planting
initiatives and now international programs such as the Bonn Challenge and the Initiative
20 x 20 are actively engaged in planting trees where there weren’t any before.
Now isn’t that smart?
Vence, Tracey. “Keep Off
The Grass.” The Scientist (2016): n.pag. Web. 27 Mar. 2016.
Fig 1. Source: Beria L.
Rodriguez; “Keep Off The Grass”; The
Scientist (2016);print.
www.the-scientist.com
www.the-scientist.com