Environmental Laws

What is the law? According to a website Law can be described as a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior. Laws are made by governments, specifically by their legislatures. The formation of laws themselves may be influenced by a constitution (written or unwritten) and the rights encoded therein. The law shapes politics, economics and society in countless ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people.

ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS

Almost everything we do is administrated by some set of rules. There are rules for every sports, company, community, social club, examination, traffic etc. that we need to follow to uphold the law’s purpose and orderliness. There are also rules set about our morality and custom that states what we should and shouldn't do. Laws are rules imposed to the people by the state.  Everyone should obey the law at all times whether they like it or not.

Environmental laws are one of the most important yet the most neglected law in our country. News about illegal logging and deforestation is always on the air but never did they say about capturing the culprits. Same goes for the problems in water and air pollution. I think that maybe our environmental laws are a bit outdated but it is not the reason of our nature’s destruction. Law enforcers should do their job better and think for the better good rather than personal gain. People also should know the importance of our environment and maybe able to discipline their selves and stop in their own way our nature’s deterioration.

If I will be given a chance to make my own law, I will inhibit the construction of golf courses and clubs and the like if the site is a home for a number of trees. I think those projects are more of a detriment than a benefit for the society and an entertainment for some people should not be an excuse for the destruction of the nature. I think that it is us that should adjust to our environment and not the other way around. We should always place the nature above people or experience the consequences later on. 

Atmosphere

What is atmosphere? The atmosphere is the blanket of gases which surrounds the planet Earth. It is held close to the surface by the planet’s gravitational pull. It is made up of a mixture of gases, mostly nitrogen, oxygen and carbon dioxide. It ranges as far as over 500km above the surface of the planet. There is no exact boundary between the atmosphere and outer space. The Atmosphere become thinner the higher up you go. The atmosphere just keeps getting less and less dense, until it disappears into outer space.

Protecting the earth’s atmosphere should be the priority of everyone. Life on earth became possible because of the atmosphere. It is the only thing that keeps safe from the harmful effects of the sun and without it we will be toasted alive. It is also plays a major role in the water cycle and keeps the oxygen around so we can breath and live the life as we know it. 

The Layers of the Atmosphere

Even though we may not feel the effect right now, destroying the atmosphere can be a great disaster for all of us that are living in this world if it continues. Air, water and land pollution is the leading cause of the destruction in the atmosphere. As we can see, everything is interconnected in our nature so we must all exert effort if we want to preserve our life. Be mindful in what we do and try to maintain a mutual relationship with our nature.

Lithosphere

Lithosphere  

The outer most shell of every planet that has a rocky surface is what we call the lithosphere. In our planet, the lithosphere is composed of the crust and the upper mantle and is further divided into tectonic plates. The earth’s lithosphere has two types: the continental and the oceanic. By studying the earth’s lithosphere somehow we can learn more about our planet’s history. Scientist has now understood further how volcanoes erupt, how and where mountains will form and many more by learning about the lithosphere. We may not notice it in our everyday living but the tectonic plates where we are situated moves constantly. These movements, regardless of how little they may be, is the reason of the earth’s geographical features.

The Philippines is located on what we call the pacific ring of fire. As we know, the pacific ring of fire is a region that surrounds the majority of the Pacific Ocean Basin where high volcanic and seismic activities happens. This region is essentially a home of geological activities like volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, deep sea trenches and major fault zones. Knowing these facts, we should always consult geologist if we ever plan on building a house or any infrastructure so as to know whether the building site will be situated near a fault line. If so, it is better to look for another place or rather make the building sturdy and earthquake proof in case one should happen. People should also avoid settling near active volcanoes in case of eruption just like what happened in Mayon Volcano in Albay.

Hydrologic Cycle

Hydrologic cycle is the journey the water takes as it circulates from the land to the sky and back again. This cycle begins when the water in the oceans, lakes and rivers heat up and begins to evaporate, so as the water in plants which is called transpiration. The water vapor then goes up in the air and changes into tiny droplets forming clouds in a process called condensation. When so much water has condensed that the air cannot hold it anymore, precipitation will occur. It may be in a form hail sleet, snow or rain which is a regular occurrence here in the Philippines. After precipitation, water returns to the land or sea. Some of it are absorbed by the ground and become ground water but most of it flows to low lying area and eventually returns to the bodies of waters where the cycle start all over again.

Water is essential for every living organism on the planet. Plants and animals may live without food for a time but never water. Humans are the same. We need clean water in order to survive; even the first civilizations were established near bodies of water as an indication. But if water is really important to us why do we keep on disrupting the hydrologic cycle with our unwise and careless actions?

Even if earth’s surface is 71% water, 97% of that water is in the ocean the remaining fresh water is frozen as ice caps (little more than 2%). The remaining freshwater are either groundwater or readily accessible through rivers and lakes. With this we can conclude that less than 1% of the water supply can be used as drinking water.

                 

Continuously interrupting the hydrologic cycle may cause water shortage. It means that the less than 1% of potable water won’t be enough to sustain the population. This may be the result of drought, deforestation and too much use of water that it doesn’t have time to replenish. But it may also be the result of the disturbance by us, humans, in the water cycle. Improper waste disposal and blocking or diverting the natural path of the water ways are some of our mistakes that needs to be corrected immediately.