PROTECT YOUR ENVIRONMENT AND IT WILL PROTECT YOU

Understanding the environment is key to taking care of it.

This short article hopes to present the basic issues and terminologies surrounding the environment in order to demystify the subject.

Let us first analyze the prevailing conditions of our environment. NASA reveals that 2005 may emerge as the warmest year ever since 1800 due to weak El and man made greenhouse gases.

If El Nino has a hand in the fluctuating global temperatures, then human-made pollutants worsen the climatic conditions further.

Continuous increase in the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has created a situation in which the temperature has increased with each passing year, for the last 30 years.

There has been a strong warming trend over the past 30 years, a trend that has been shown to be due primarily to increasing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

Year 1998 left behind the years 2002 and 2003, and recorded the warmest temperature.

The warmest year on record was 1998, with 2002 and 2003 coming in second and third, respectively. Short-term factors like large volcanic eruptions that launched tiny particles of sulfuric acid into the upper atmosphere in 1963, 1982 and 1991 can change climates for periods of time ranging from months to a few years. Also, El Ninos -- when warm water spreads over much of the tropical Pacific Ocean-- have intense short-term influences on climate.

Carbon dioxide emitted by the automobile industry is the most common greenhouse gas. Earth's surface absorbs more of the sun's energy than gets reflected back to space.

More then 160 countries got together in Kyoto, Japan for about 10 days from 1 December to 11 December, to persuade Developed nation to control the greenhouse gases, in accordance with the objectives laid down, in 1992, by the Framework Convention on Climatic Change.

Dictionary.com defines sustainable development as "any construction that can be maintained over time without damaging the environment; development balancing near-term interests with the protection of the interests of future generations."

The word "sustainable development" frequently appears in documents of committees, councils and forums under the patronage of the United Nations body on environmental protection.

The concept of sustainable development is to make sacrifices, for example taking the bus, instead of driving a car to work. It's a simple act and if followed, it will surely help to curb the ever-growing greenhouse effect in the long run. In doing this, people acknowledge that economic progress is possible while taking care of the environment.