The United Nations says the world population hit 8 billion, 12 years since it passed 7 billion. This staggering number reminds us that the existence of humankind should be more in line with the earth’s ecosystem. So that we can coexist with our planet, set our steps to keep the balance, and not make the climate change issue worse because human growth is accelerating. Less than a century earlier, our planet only supported about 2 billion people.
This population growth will not slow down anytime soon, because according to the UN population update, the population will continue growing until it peaks and then starts to slow down. They revised the long-term projection from 11 billion to 10.4 billion in July this year. Based on the same model, Indonesia will be the 6th populous country in 2050. With these facts in hand, what do we need to do to sustain the ecosystem and hopefully be able to protect our planet?
Conserve Our Water
Water is everything to us. It supports our metabolism and sanitary. With more people living on this planet and no additional clean water resources, access to clean water will shrink eventually. Therefore, we have to start preserving our water by cutting down the unnecessary water waste. Also, don’t put chemicals into water resources or populate the river. If we do not protect the water resource from now on, the water crisis will hit us sooner or later.
Plant More Trees
Oxygen is essential to us because it keeps our organs working properly, thus making us alive. Plus, breathing fresh air reduces our stress and adds happiness to our life. Do you know what organisms that are able to produce oxygen? Yes, the answer is a tree. So, if we cannot live without oxygen. Then why don’t we plant more trees?
One single tree can provide oxygen for up to four people, which means planting more trees will enable us to provide more oxygen for others.
Drive Less
No matter how much we love the convenience of driving in our car, taking a bike to work or using public transportation is a better choice to protect the planet. More cars in the street will bring more carbon emissions and our planet cannot bear another ton of carbon emission. With the growing population, let us normalize walking, biking, and using public transportation in our daily lives. After all, being more active during the day is healthier.
The number of our land will not increase, but our population will. So, every little change in our lives matters for sustaining the planet. We are counting on each other, change now.