The Wall_Spring 2023_Issue 9

Abigail Sceales, (she/her), S7, passionately warns us that our Earth is in danger and we have a duty to protect and conserve her.

Plastic pollution

How much longer do we have until human beings becomes extinct? Scientists estimate that in 2 billion years’ time, the Earth will cease from being habitable for humans.When the hydrogen that fuels the sun runs out, the sun will begin to die and as all of the unique and beautiful life that calls Earth home, will cease with it. However, humanity is unlikely to live long enough to see the end of the Earth as humans themselves are destroy ing this planet on which we live. Air pollution One of the ways that we are destroying the planet is by pollut ing the Earth’s atmosphere. Such pollutants come from cars emitting chemicals from their exhaust pipes, burning coal to create electricity, generating waste, and producing chemicals and pesticides that harm insects and animals.Therefore, humans are reducing the amount of time we have on Earth because we are plundering the Earth’s limit ed resources. Deforestation In addition to polluting the Earth’s atmosphere, we are destroying the planet through deforestation. By rip ping out the trees, we are depriving the Earth of vital oxygen, destroying homes for the world’s wildlife, and removing a vital way to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

A further key area in which humans are destroying the planet is our obsession with the use of plastic and our failure to dispose of it effectively. Much of the plastic ends up in our Earth’s oceans.This plastic is often eaten by sea creatures such as turtles.A whopping 1 million sea creatures, including sea birds, die from eating plastic each year be cause of the plastic problem. Plastic also contributes to global warming as most plastics are made-up of chemicals that come from the production of planet warming fuels such as gas, oil and even coal. Eventually time for our planet will run out. However, if each of us are mindful in the way we spend our time on Earth and the way in which we interact with it and its limited resources, we can extend Earth’s life? You can help this situation by doing simple things such as using reusable materials, travel by using more eco-friendly ways such as walking or taking public transport.All of these small actions will contribute to there being a longer habitable planate to live on for humans, as well as a longer life for mother Earth herself.

Interested in finding out more? Read the editor’s supplementary content by scanning the QR code.

Artwork: Grace Oldfield, LVI

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