Our society is becoming more aware of the real dangers of climate change. Several movements have rallied on the streets, demanding the government to make serious efforts in protecting the environment. Another response against the climate change is sustainable living, which aims to reduce our carbon footprint and choosing renewable and sustainable energy sources without doing much damage to the environment. Sustainable lifestyle also entails several other principles such as seasonal living – to help the ecology of the planet remain as diverse and natural as possible – and also the rejection of a consumerist existence that contributes to the manufacturing of more cheap, unethical, and environmentally harmful things which most often will just end up in the growing landfill.

Due to many natural disasters that occurred in the recent past, we have become more conscious of the negative effects of not protecting the environment. But there are still more reasons why we need to further promote the cause of environmental protection – it is undeniably beneficial to us and to the future generations that will come after us.

Protecting the environment also means protecting the ecosystem and maintaining its harmony and natural order. If one species is affected due to loss of habitat, the rest of the species will also be affected and worse, may become extinct. All creatures in the planet is interconnected one way or another.

Maltreatment of the environment involves polluting our water sources with toxic chemicals, polluting the air and the atmosphere with heavy smoke, making our plants depend on synthetic chemicals to grow, and more. All these acts of maltreatment diminish the quality of life for all humanity. The water we drink, the air we breathe, and the food we put into our body has become fodder for diseases instead of nourishment.

For many centuries, forests have always been generous in providing us with firewood, timber for our shelters, food, rubber, and other raw materials. What we can do in return is to be more responsible in using these natural resources and to keep our forests sustainable through proper forest management. This way, these natural resources will still be available for many more centuries to come.

Humans are not the only ones who can get homeless, animals are also chased out of their homes, too. Due to several developments in agriculture and infrastructure, a huge percentage of forests have been cut down to give way for these advancements, leaving huge populations of animals homeless. The forest is habitat to various animal species. If we all contribute to efforts of preserving these animals’ habitats, then almost all creature will have a home. 

Protecting the environment is a gift for yourself and for the future generations. People will benefit more if they take better care of the environment – we can enjoy a more quality life, there is abundance of natural resources, harmony and biodiversity in the ecosystem which means lesser risk of natural disasters, and cultivation of better values in our society (such as generosity, empathy, concern; and the rejection of materialist, consumerist values). All these and more can also be enjoyed by the future generations as a gift from us to them.