Businesses vs. Environment

Business Killing the Ecosystem (3^rd final draft)

When one raises the question of environmental awareness, many businesses might say that environmentalism is a waste of time. Their main reason for this is because environmental awareness only gets in the way of profits and production. Businesses might say that environmentalists give regulations and restrictions on projects and business, which in the long run cost them more money and restricts most of their practices. But the big picture is that rain forests are disappearing at a fast rate. Industries are the root of this mad destruction towards nature’s resources. Businesses are affected positively from the outcome of destroying the ecosystem.

As industries get bigger and spread out more land is needed for highways, advertisements, expanding more cities. Many occasion industries are paying off the government to pass by laws so businesses can build new industries in certain places. Environmentalists are against destruction because there is a lot of bio diversity being lost. I say that the world is like a big living organism and it seems that businesses are viruses. It’s important for the Government to see the environment worth something because then there is a sense of value to our land.

There has been research done by scientists for the Center for Social and Economic Research on the Global Environment and they have developed an economic evaluation for the environment. One must know the importance of value towards the environmental goods and services (Pearce et al, online). Having put value in the environment is like a protection plan because it can prove the cost worthy to business and industries. The result of this should show business the true cost of using up environmental resources. This helps environmentalists and economists put a dollar figure on what the environment has to offer. As Robert Costanza, an ecologist from the University of Maryland has estimated the service provided by the ecosystems. He came up with the ecosystem worldwide number; 33 trillion dollars annually, this surpasses the gross national product of all the countries on earth combined by eight trillion dollars (Zimmer 105). Many businesses see the environment and immediately think about the services it provides commercially, services such as mining or chopping wood. But why hurt the forest when it has so much to give to our society for example, forests protect the soil from getting erosion, which can cost a lot. If we have something go extinct or missing it will be difficult to find out how that one species or object is doing after time, which will make it difficult for scientist to discover new objectives.

On another note, environmentalists argue that animal diversity is being lost. Currently about one species a day is lost from the forest. This could have a drastic effect on the food chain. If a certain species of animal becomes extinct then another species dependent on that animal for food will also become extinct and so on. Each forest contains the most diverse animal and diverse organisms than any other biome in the world. Knowing these facts our government should invest in our ecosystems and eventually make good of it. Plant more trees, recycle soil, regrow crops, build proper irrigation, and more. Doing such things can improve quality of life on this planet but also provide us with the natural resources without crippling our planet.

Although businesses might say that farmers clear the land for their crops. This is only temporary damage compared to what large companies do with their large plantation. Companies such as Coca-Cola are clearing out hundreds or acres to grow orange crops. These oranges are sent out to the United States and then are used to make orange just such as Minute Maid orange juice. There are a variety of products Coca-Cola also owns such as Ocean Spray, Tropicana that contain berries and oranges from these “factory” farms. The big issue with this is that the soil for agriculture has nutrients, which are depleted within one to two years and is dead from that time on. Making the land dead for many centuries to come. This has a huge impact on the environment and for society because we’re losing more than soil, we are also losing bio diversity.

These rain forest are home to many diseases as well as animals. These diseases range from malaria to Ebola. Many new and deadly strains of malaria are being released as logging leaves pools of water to breed mosquitoes that spread the disease. Yellow fever is also mutating from these practices. Other diseases such as Ebola are released as man digs deeper into the heart of the jungle. These diseases are a way for nature to defend itself which leads me to the last point to be made about rain forest destruction. How can scientist find cures for Ebola or other diseases if businesses are destroying the environment! Gaiia has a hypothesis, which states that the earth is a living organism and humans inhabit that organism (Sean Chamberlin 1989). Such as cancer invades the human body slowly killing a person. Or as a deadly virus raises your body temperature as that person feels as if his or her innards are being ripped out. That is exactly what is happening to the earth as businesses destroy these rain forests. These are the lungs of the earth and may have a drastic affect if lost. Global warming, and more deadly diseases, and loss of rainfall all may be a direct cause of rain forest destruction.

Rain forests are a valuable resource and should not be squandered away by man. These forests should be preserved as a critical balance in nature. But the modern age is that of money. It doesn't matter what is done as long and money is either saved or earned. However, the human race does not take into consideration of what happens if these forests are destroyed. It affects the earth and may lead from a green planet to a dead planet in the end. After all, once gone these forest can never grow back.