Written by Diana-Maria Stanciu

Although we, as a species, have come a long way, always creating and always improving our technology, the human race has been destroying the planet little by little.

Our survival depends on the Earth and by deteriorating the environment, we are a threat for the planet, as well as for ourselves. The industrial revolution has brought us a step further and changed our lives, but at the same time it has caused a lot of the biggest issues that we confront with everyday, such as the greenhouse effect. This was caused by the huge amount of carbon dioxide that has been emitted into the atmosphere. Emissions from industrial plants, such as sulphur, can also enter the atmosphere falling back to the Earth as acid rain and destroying plants and trees. Because of deforestation, another important issue, a lot of animals are on the brink of extinction or losing their natural habitat. Of course, scientists are trying to artificially create more resistant organisms that can adapt to extreme conditions, but it has been proven that such genetically modified plants could bring a disaster. Knowing the damage that has been already done, we should focus on stopping the pollution and repairing the planet, our only home.

My opinion is that in my country, the biggest environmental issue is deforestation. In the past decade, millions of trees have been cut down legally, as well as illegally. For example, the hill right next to my parents’ cabin that used to be surrounded by trees, is now only a wasteland. And like this hill are thousands more in Romania. I don’t think that a lot of people are directly affected by this tragic truth, there are a lot of ignorant people who just turn a blind eye, but there are also people who cherish the beautiful Romanian sights and try to make a difference. As an example, I want to mention an organisation called “Greenpeace Romania” that made a petition, in the hope of convincing the government to adopt a system that tracks the wooden material, so that those who illegally cut down trees can be caught and charged. There are other ways in which we can improve the situation like planting trees in the empty spots in the forests. These activities don’t need to necessarily be planned by organisations, but can be done by a small group of people too, for example a group of friends that realise that forests need to be kept alive and thriving.

In conclusion, the well being of the Earth has a great influence on us and we are dependent on it, so we should do our best to heal the planet and to stop pollution as soon as possible. Every action that we take for the environment could take us a step closer to saving our precious and unique home and all its inhabitants.