SEC-S16 / W4 | "The Environment and Our Health

From the day we were born till the day we die, the wellbeing of humans is one way or the other connected to the environment we live in. Our food, water and even the air we breathe within the environment plays a major role in our health.

In this week Steemit engagement challenge, i will be writing on the topic: the environment and our health.

Before going ahead let me invite a @negro-bby @pea07 and @shano49 to join in this challenge.

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Environment from my own understanding comprises of everything that surrounds us to make life habitable. It comprises of both natural and man made resources. For instance, the air, food, water, land etc are free gift of nature while the buildings, technology, infrastructure etc are all man Made. All these things coexist to make up our environment.

But over time, because of the activities of humans to improve their standard of living in their environment, it has polluted our natural habitats and the atmosphere. As a resulted of this polluted natural environment, it has affected human life negatively causing health issues like asthma, skin irritation, cancer, typhoid etc.

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Promoting a healthy environment through sustainable practices can improve human health and well-being. So, as humans, it’s important we preserve our environment by stopping acts like deforestation, spilling of oil products into the sea, air pollution and lots more, to ensure a sustainable and healthy planet for present and future generations.

Imagine living in a dirty environment, stagnant water everywhere, this will breed lots of mosquitoes, flies, tse-tse flies and this insects are detrimental to our health. Is important we keep our environment clean and safe all the time to avoid all this sickness.

In as much as, we don’t have absolute control over everything that happens in our environment, there are several steps we can take to create a lasting solution to our problems when it bothers on our health and they include planting of trees, tidying our environment, using renewable energy etc.

There are several key environmental issues that affect our health on a day to day basis and I will be mentioning few of them:

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• Water pollution:

If you notice, on regular basis, people try to clean their drainages all the time or prevent stagnant water because things like that breeds mosquitoes which causes malaria to our health. Drinking contaminated water as well can also bring about typhoid and dysentery.

• Air pollution

Mostly in the south-south part of Nigeria, there is this popular job that people engage in to make earns means and it’s called illegal refinery. This illegal refinery has contaminated the environment so badly that when you cough or sneeze in a white clothes it comes out with black soot. This black soot has triggered so many heart and respiratory diseases like asthma, bronchitis

• Climate Change

Climate change is one of those environmental factors that we can’t control and as well poses as threat to our health. For instance extreme weather conditions or high temperatures brings about food scarcity, excessive heat etc.

• Deforestation

We were taught in school that plants absorb carbon dioxide and releases oxygen through photosynthesis. Then imagine if the trees has been cut down as a result of urban development, their will be excess carbon dioxide in the environment without any oxygen, making it unhealthy for humans to breathe and can cause sickness. Secondly, trees are habitat for most of this tiny organisms and imagine if there homes are burnt down, they come to dwell among us bringing unnecessary sickness in our body.

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There are necessary steps we need to take everyday to promote sustainable environmental health and I’ll be listing them below:

• Planting of trees around your environment for proper breathing.
• Cleaning your environment all the time to avoid flies and mosquitoes.
• Making sure the water you drink is properly treated.
• A switch to renewable energy to reduce air pollution and climate change.
• Eat more of vegetables and reduce your intake of meat. It boosts your immune system to fight against all this diseases.
• Minimize use of plastic and opt for reusable bags and containers.
• Educate people around you about the dangers of environmental pollution.

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Education or creating an awareness about environmental pollution will keep people abreast of the dangers and start taking action to clean their environment and homes all the time.

As a result of the awareness campaign on saving energy, people now choose to opt for energy saving products as their home appliances to conserve energy.

Educating people about their environmental health provides them with the knowledge to live a healthy lifestyle and the right food to eat to boost their immune system to fight against some of these diseases.

Creating awareness of the harmful effects of these illegal refineries and punishing offenders in the south-south region has reduced the black soot contaminating the air.

In the Niger delta region, we are always prone to flood from the rivers or as a result of releasing water from the dam. Educating people about this flood has now made people to build more drainage systems and clear the dirts in gutters for free flow of all this water incase it arises again.

In conclusion, man and his environment are interconnected and for we to live a healthy lifestyle, we have to protect our environment from some of these harmful activities we do all in the name of finding money.