By Han Seung-hun
Global Student Reporter
Earth, our mother planet that gave life to all creatures crawling over her body, is being betrayed by one of her offspring, human beings. Blinded by our egoistic pursuit of materialistic satisfaction, we have been destroying the earth with excessive development and industrialization.
Now the earth has reached the point where she has to punish her children to disillusion us from the illusion of materialistic happiness. She made attempts to remind us of the fact that turning away from mutual existence with other species means taking the path of self-destruction.
For the sake of our mother planet and all species on earth that are our brothers and mutual friends it is crucial for us to acknowledge the gravity of damage done to the environment the and measures needed to be taken to atone for the sins we have committed.
In order to contribute some effort to awaken people from their cold indifference toward the environment, my colleagues and I decided to participate in ``Leaders for Protecting Biological Resources.'' The Ministry of Environment held the third convention for students with the title, ``Conservation of Living Resources'' and 22 teams were selected as this year's ``eco-Walkers.'' Our team, ``Passionate Enthusiastic Active Crew for the Environment'' comprising seven ``rangers'' was responsible for campaign and publicity activities to inform the public about indicator species and biological resources. Our goal was to make people aware of the severity of the environmental pollution and promote eco-friendly lives.
Indicator species are specific species that are unique environmental indicators that offer a signal of the ecological condition. They indicate both biotic conditions and abiotic conditions, depending on which species live in specific area. They are extremely sensitive to their environment, and without certain conditions, indicator species cannot live. If certain indicator species live in one environment, people can safely assume that the region will have certain characteristics.
Indicator species can also be used as measures of environmental quality. For example, many species of lichens are very sensitive to toxic gases, such as sulfur dioxide and ozone. These species can be used to monitor many places to study air pollution. Severe damage to lichens is especially common in cities with abundant air pollution. Similarly, aquatic invertebrates and fish have commonly been used as indicators of water quality and the health of aquatic ecosystems.
If a site has populations of sewage worms or tubificids, for example, this almost always suggests that water quality has been degraded by inputs of sewage or other oxygen-consuming organic matter. Tubificid worms can tolerate virtually anoxic water, in contrast with most of the animals of unpolluted environments, such as mayflies and stoneflies, which require well-oxygenated conditions.
Another focus of our activities is informing people about biological resources. Biological resources refer to all living creatures that can be utilized to benefit humanity without damaging the environment. The range which biological resources can be applied extends vastly from providing food to advancing technology. The fact that these are being used as food is nothing new to us; however, other ways biological resources can be applied are not often recognized.
For instance, natural plant extracts from yew trees or willows are integral ingredients for making aspirin. The mechanism of dragonfly's wings has been used to create helicopters. The application of supersonic waves, which bats emit to find their food, enable us to detect objects under water by giving the idea of sonar. The way dandelions spread seeds has led to the invention of parachutes.
Biological resources are beneficial even when human beings do not lay hands to utilize them. The most conspicuous example that can be observed in Korea would be mudflats. Mudflats are coastal wetlands that form when mud is deposited by tides or rivers. The maintenance of mudflats prevents coastal erosion and purifies polluted area.
However, mudflats worldwide are under threat due to the rise in sea levels, the reclamation of land for development, dredging for shipping purposes, and chemical pollution.
With two sides of the country surrounded by winding coastlines, Korea has some of the largest and the most beautiful mudflats in the world. Protecting mudflats from further development would not only accelerate the purification of the sea, but also contribute to earning economic profit by serving as tourist resorts.
Despite the effort to find efficient alternative energy, the major source of energy we still use today is fossil fuels. As a result, millions of lives are being lost to vehicle exhaust and carbon emission. Other alternatives, such as thermal power generation is polluting the air and destroying forests by blocking radiation from sun. Waterpower generation has to sacrifice animal lives to build dams, and coolant from nuclear power generation is heating up the temperature of seas, leading to the disruption of ecosystem.
Protecting nature is the only hope for the mutual existence of all species on earth, the cure for an earth dying every minute due to the cold indifference toward the environment, and the deterrent that will protect us from impending catastrophe. Earth has warned us enough about the future we are going to end up with if we choose to turn our back from her. Heed her warnings, or we will have to face with the future that lay on our path, no future.