We need our actions to take into account the environment.
Do you know what planetary health is?It is a fairly recent field that looks at the intersection between the natural world and humanity. Often times, that intersection turns out to be a head-on collision that ends badly for both parties. And it is that we must not only look at the climate, but all the ways in which humans relate to the environment. Let us remember that everything we do to the Earth is going to affect us in one way or another.
In the last century alone, poverty has decreased and life expectancies have risen, biodiversity has plummeted, freshwater supplies have been depleted, forests have shrunk, and the climate is changing rapidly. While it may seem that the good news in the first two examples is unrelated to the apocalyptic nature of the last three, everything is connected. Better health, a longer life and the prosperity of our growing population on the planet has only been possible thanks to the use of all the resources to which we had access.
But, as we’ve all learned from a young age, actions always have consequences.
The International Congress on Infectious Diseases has found, for example, that the current advances we have made in health and society could easily disappear along with our resources. (Surely more than one comes to mind the science fiction saga Mad Max).
Various studies have found that changes in the environment could lead to increased death rates. Thus, as shown, the high levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere could lead to a lower absorption of zinc in plants and zinc is a nutrient that our immune system needs. If crops have less zinc overall, experts estimate that between 132 and 180 million people could be zinc deficient by 2050, in addition to people who are already malnourished.
Then there are another series of health risks: water shortages and plant diseases can affect the food supply. Humans invading wildlife habitats not only harm wildlife, they can also put us in contact with unknown and deadly diseases like Ebola.
What can we do to help save our planet? Here are some examples.
