What Is the Role of an Individual in Conserving Energy and Water Resources?

Introduction

Human beings live in an environment that has a lot of constituent elements such as forests, minerals, water, sun and other energy-producing components, soil, and air. They are the central most and pivotal sources of all the day to day requirements they need as they navigate down through the ages. They provide food; in the form of fruits, vegetables, carbohydrates, bodybuilders such as legumes; which is useful in the sense that it sustains their lives by providing excellent health, building their bodies and acting as sources of energy used for working. They also offer shelter that serves as a source of warmth during cold and unfavorable weather conditions and fuels used for cooking. Clothes are also made using specific species of trees which are either planted or are naturally occurring in the wild environments. The environment, moreover, provide means in which human beings earn livelihood which sustains their existence such as planting cash crops and commercially logging trees for furniture. Climate is the backbone of human survival in the world, and there is a need for reciprocation to get assured of sustainable food and other requirements (Janes, Jasmine K., and Jill A. Hamilton 7). It is done through various efforts such as planting and conserving trees, soil and mineral conservation, preserving energy and ensuring food security.

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Individuals ought to plant trees in the environments that previously had none. It is done by carefully scrutinizing and surveying of the areas to determine the places that need to be planted with trees to bring about equitable distribution of forest cover on the earth's surface. It also improves its various elements such as aesthetic beauty and soil fertility enhancement and conservation. When new trees get planted, several environmental factors get influenced positively such as the attraction of rainfall. It turns out in the facts that land with extensive planted forest cover affects the rainfall pattern of the surrounding region. Their deep roots absorb a lot of water from the underground which then evaporates into the atmosphere through their large leave pores. In this way, the atmosphere will get laden and dense with humidity which plays a significant role in the formation of rain clouds (Fielding, Kelly S., et al.9). The subsequent rainfall will further help in the luxuriant flourishing of the existing and the emerging forest trees in addition to the enhancement of soil fertility through the provision of moisture. In this way, the planted forest trees will have influenced the expansiveness of the forest cover constructively.

Additionally, individuals ought to go for alternative sources of energy. It turns out that in most homesteads across the world, trees are the most commonly used sources of fuel and other furniture products. Trees are cut down with minimal further efforts to replenish them. Therefore, trees suffer blows since they are the direct victims of illegal cutting and logging. Individuals cut trees to burn charcoal used for cooking and providing heating and warmth during cold temperatures, especially in winter (Fielding, Kelly S., et al.43). Other trees are consumed when preparing foodstuffs. Thus malpractice that has trended down through ages hence forests has gotten depleted gradually. When individuals opt for alternative sources of energy that will help shield trees from being further exhausted in such areas, it will go a long way in giving room for expansion and flourishing of forest cover across the world. One of such sources of energy includes the use of biogas for lighting because it utilizes animal wastes for the production of a useful product; light. Also, it is environmentally friendly since no forest cover is used hence safeguarding its existence. Also, use of electricity for lighting and cooking helps in preceding forest trees from being exploited. In such ways, individuals will have contributed a milestone in safeguarding forest cover and expanse on the earth's surface.

Practicing mixed farming also helps in constructively influencing forest cover. It materializes in the fact that people often possess farms of varying sizes. Those with considerably smaller pieces will experience problems allocating for the trees to get planted. Hence, their respective efforts to proportionally partition their farms to accommodate trees versus food crops in their pure quotas might fail to acquire balance. It is because they will be controlled by choice and get tempted to forego tree planting and go for the growing of their beneficial food and cash crops. In the event they go for the best alternative of interplanting them in such a way that trees will get included, forests will gain expanse, and their conservation will then get boosted.

Besides, avoidance of human encroachment on forest cover will help in safeguarding forests. It turns out that, due to the continually rising population, people get to experience population pressure in their respective areas of settlement. In this way, the land they inhabit will not suffice for the production of sufficient foods as well as the accommodation of large population from its explosion. They will, as a way of trying to cope, get tempted to clear the existing forest cover to give room for the current circumstance. The forests will suffer blows due to their rarefaction as time goes. To curb such a menace waged on forest cover, people ought to look for the best possible alternatives in line with the source of the problem (Strengers, Yolande, 29). It is done through the practice of population control methods such as limiting the maximum number of children a person ought to produce. It is implemented after careful consideration of the carrying capacity of the available land to do away with their impending tampering with the forest cover in the event the population is quite excessive on the earth. Such a step is wholly the government responsibility of putting in place legislation regarding population control, followed by a synchronized submission by the citizenry (Janes, Jasmine K., and Jill A. Hamilton, 15). Also, responsible governing bodies ought to put in place laws forbidding the cutting of trees such as clearly defining awful consequences to whoever is caught trespassing and going against the rules that safeguard the forest trees. In this way, forest cover will get assured of perpetually luxuriating and even expand, thanks to protection laws and individuals' cooperation.

Water resources' conservation is wholly an individual responsibility. It is done by closing the running taps in the event they are not being used. It is because they will get wasted and diminish from the source. Also, using water sparingly helps in the conservation of water. The available water is distributed proportionally among the impending activities such that none is wasted in the long run. Water resource can also be reused. The ones that have already been consumed in one event can still are utilized in another one so long as it is still safe to do so. It helps conserve water resource from being wasted in the case where a lot of it is used and discarded. Water resource can also be recycled so that it can still be fit for use in other activities such as drinking and irrigation. In this way, the ones that have not been used will be kept safe and conserved as well as enhance multiple uses of the resource, more especially when it is scarce, hence conserving water resource (Janes, Jasmine K., and Jill A. Hamilton,18)

Moreover, individuals have a significant role to play in soil conservation. One of them is planting cover crops. It turns out that because the soil loses particles covering the surface of the earth, measures ought to get put in place to have it safe in place by avoiding erosion and loss of fertility. When trees are planted, their roots play a significant role in holding soils in place. It is because the sources are ramifying and also have root hairs over which soil particles cling together. Under the torrential flow of rainwater in the forms of insignificant runoffs as well as the seepage underground, such soil particles will be held in place hence doing away with soil erosion. Also, the expanse of the forest cover will spell luck in so far as soil fertility is concerned. The tree leaves falling off the trees will have a chance of rotting of the soils. They will release the nutrients they have with them increasing its fertility. Also, they will improve soil texture and structure as a result of continuous and constant piling on the soil surface. All these are a testimony of the concerted human effort of planting trees in a bid to protect soil along its line of importance.

Individuals can safeguard soils through adopting productive farming practices. One of them is the rotational kind of cropping on the same piece of land. It happens on the fact that earth has a wide variety of nutrients that suits the healthy growth and survival of different crops. There is a need, thus, to ensure that different types of cropping are planted on the same piece of land. However, this significant undertaking which cannot be possible in one season owing to the spacing and comfort for production those different crops do need. Individuals ought to practice rotational kind of cropping in different seasons to attain full use and replenishment of soil nutrients (Whitlock, Cathy, et al.23) Due to various crops being grown; the constituent nutrients will get utilized as well as the replenishing of those used in the previous seasons. Soil fertility will get maintained in the long run, thus a soil conservation exercise.

Soil conservation can also be conducted through the artificial addition of nutrients and minerals deemed deprived. It turns out that due to the use of soil for a long time, ultimately some nutrients get diminished. It leads to an imbalance in soil nutrients in the long run. Artificial techniques can be applied to determine such discrepancies. Steps can thus be taken to bring back soil stability and nutrient balance through the application of human-made nutrients to boost its supply in the required sections. In this way, continued and sustainable soil production is assured and more especially for the agricultural purposes. When different crops are grown in their respective seasons, they will flourish and optimally produce the required level of outcomes, maximizing revenues and profitability. Therefore, the population gets assured of the sustainable and long-term food supply. When all the seasons are fruitful, the food for the citizenry will be available in plenty hence food security kept and maintained intact.

Minerals in the soil can get maintained in a variety of ways, one of which is the giving of a farm a break out of intensive cropping in a season. It turns out that due to mineral draining activities such consistent cover cropping and soil erosion elements being paramount, overtime the minerals get to undergo rarefaction down the ages of constant use. The balance of soil fertility will get dismantled and completely tattered. Individuals can take a step to bring it back by such actions as leaving the soil under no cropping for a particular time frame. In this way, the earth will have time to regain fertility and mineral composition through such activities as decomposing the available plant and animal matter, releasing their constituent minerals to the grounds (de Melo, Robson Soares, et al.29). Also, soil microorganisms will have ample time to procreate and increase in number. They will then aid in the decomposition of the present matter as well as improving the soil aeration. Also, their presence in massive amount coupled with their short lifespan will help in adding to the soil fertility when they die and get decomposed, releasing more and more nutrients and mineral supplements to the soil....