Biodiversity, in short, is all life on Earth. It’s all kinds of animals and plants, how they coexist within our ecosystems, and the benefits we get from all of that. For example, rivers and streams provide flow Water; Insect pollination of crops. Cattle graze on the grass. We are eating Fish from the ocean. Weather patterns and global warming are affected by nature as well.
You can enjoy the perks of biodiversity simply by taking a walk in a park, taking a walk through the woods, or spending an afternoon at the beach.
Any time you spend in nature can build your strength, increase your strength immune systemand sharpen your mental skills, says biologist Rebecca Shaw, PhD, chief scientist and senior vice president of the World Wildlife Fund. “If you have the opportunity to experience Earth’s ecosystems—forests, rivers, oceans, local or national parks, backyards—there are real scientific benefits to your health.”
The role of biodiversity in human health
Biodiversity plays a major role in your health. The main roads are through Medicines, naturopathic, and weather therapy, says John La Puma, MD, of Santa Barbara, California. Co-founder of the ChefMD brand and author of several books on feedand cooking and Fitness.
“There are between 50,000 and 70,000 known medicinal and aromatic plants that humans use for medicine or other purposes,” he says. So, “When we lose plant species, we lose potential treatments.”
Greater biodiversity offers more opportunities for naturopathic medicine, which you may also hear called ecotherapy or environmental medicine. It is a practice based on the beauty of nature and its beneficial effects Stress And restore your mental and physical health.
Many people suffer from Nature Deficit Disorder – a social term for a clinical condition that contributes to this obesityAnd the mental illness And the Nearsightednessand other chronic diseases,” says La Puma. “Spending time in nature can also help maintain and enhance personal medical, spiritual, and wellness, including treatments for general anxiety And the depression ….”
Global warming and weather changes
Naysayers often compare current, and sometimes extreme, climatic events with, for example, ice ages in the past. These major climate changes were caused by subtle changes in how the Earth revolves around the Sun.
“They are two completely different things,” Shaw says. Scientists say climate change, and the warming of the oceans, are largely caused by the greenhouse effect.
“Greenhouse” gases trap heat in the Earth’s atmosphere, like the greenhouses we build to grow, say, tropical plants. These gases include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gases. Their concentrations in the atmosphere have largely increased as a result of the combustion of fossil fuels, along with agricultural and industrial processes.
Air pollution, which comes mainly from energy use and production, includes greenhouse gases and carbon dioxide2. It is a major threat to human health. lung And the heart disease It causes 5 million deaths annually, and that number is rising, says La Puma. They are the fourth leading cause of death, after high blood pressureAnd the smoking, high Blood sugar, He says.
You can take a gas sample and look at what the carbon dioxide looks like2 (carbon dioxide) determination of carbon dioxide2“It’s gases from human or natural processes,” says Shaw. “While the great changes in the Earth have occurred over hundreds of thousands of years, the global warming we are seeing has occurred over 150 years, all man-made and highly destructive.”
High temperatures pose a threat to the animals and plants that live in a particular area. Can lead to dehydration and changes in Water And the loss of native species of plants that are used as food. Moreover, as the climate of the area changes, new species that could not survive in an area move in before they compete with the natives for survival.
Other threats to biodiversity
“The most serious threat to biodiversity is human activity,” says La Puma. “As a species, we have assumed that land is something to be exploited, not something we coexist with and respect. People overfish the oceans, clear forests, pollute water sources, cause climate crises, and intensify traditional commercial agriculture.”
Healthy soil is a key factor in biodiversity, and it will go away quickly. We’ve lost half of the Earth’s topsoil — the nutrient-dense organic layer where plants take root — in the past 150 years, says La Puma. This has affected species that depend on plants that grow in the soil, such as honey bees and other pollinators (small insects and animals that carry vaccine from one plant to another), and the plants that grow in that soil. Some species have lost their habitat. Chemicals used for pest control can poison the water and injure other beneficial species, including plants, animals, insects, and microbes.
If you study creatures like butterflies and birds, you’ll notice changes in their habits and the ranges they travel in, says Shaw. The plants bloom at different times than before. Meanwhile, weather patterns have intensified, leading to events such as catastrophic wildfires, mass flooding, hotter summers and rising sea levels.
These events not only destroy landscapes and habitats, but also wipe out people’s livelihoods. “We are beginning to see natural resource battles between people and wildlife, who often depend on the same valuable resources, such as water and food,” Shaw says.
What you can do now
It’s never too late to make a difference to your environment and your health. La Puma suggests simple but powerful ways to get back to nature:
- Practice daily dread. “Appreciate the beauty of the flower, really listen to the birdsong, take care of houseplants for at least 5 minutes a day, and just do it,” says La Puma. “Experiencing nature, even with this quick dose of nature, can bring you closer to wanting to preserve and protect it, improving mood and self-esteem.”
- Upgrade your food choices. Eat local and organic food. “Try to grow some of your own plants and food — even herbs, many of which (like rosemary) are bulletproof.” Buy local from farmers and support farms that promote renewable agriculture and grow many different types of crops, even on a small scale.
- Garden. Whether it’s food or flowers, grow native plants to serve vaccine and nectar pollinators. “Gardening organically and using native plants are two backyard ways to improve your health and the health of the planet,” says La Puma. He says growing your food this way packs more nutrition and improves topsoil quality. “Increasing biodiversity, even in your backyard, improves soil resistance as well as insect resistance.”
- Playing sports in the fresh air. “The immunityThe benefits of socialization and well-being are greater, and you feel less fatigued And more refreshing than exercising indoors,” says La Puma.