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

First of all, I would like to thank @hive-168205 for organizing this special contest. Also, I'm not forgetting all the community contributors, my fellows @suboohi, @mostofajaman, @sahmie, @khursheedanwar, and all the community boards I can't mention each one. A huge thank you to the entire team.

By the way, when I mentioned the word 'community,' what typically comes to my mind is a group of people living together based on common interests. But the reality is not as simple as that, more elements make a community intact beyond common interests.

_{Marigold (Tagetes erecta L.) or in Bahasa often called Kenikir. This beautiful creature is known for its benefits and properties, such as its ability to cure diabetes and osteoporosis. Source: personal collection}

Let's take the example of Healthy Steem. All in all, there are many factors that contribute to its community's wholeness, like human resources (such as moderators and content creators), Steemit platform itself, engagements (such as posts and comments), and even community policies. We can categorize them as the factors that can contribute to a good community. Healthy Steem cannot be categorized as a complete community without these elements.

With the analogy above, we can conclude that the harmony among the elements within a community is also referred to as the 'environment'.

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, environment refers to the complex combination of physical, chemical, and biotic factors that can affect organisms or even the ecological community. Of course, these combinations also determine an environment's ability to survive. Click here if you want to know more about the definition of environment, because I'm myself considered a non-expert.

We are human beings and we cannot separate our lives from the environment around us. Albert Einstein once said, "The environment is everything that isn't me". It is one of my favorite quotes of all time. What does it mean? It means every single thing around us is part of the environment itself. We can't conclude something isn't part of the environment even though it is not alive. Let's take an example of rocks, soil, water, air, buildings, roads, and various forms of infrastructure.

_{Beach represents the fittest description of an ecosystem. Here, there are living components such as vegetation and marine organisms, as well as non-living components like water, air, sand, and wood. Source: personal collection}

If we come back to the basic explanation of the environment, there are three components physical, chemical, and biotic. Unfortunately, these days those three components are no longer balanced and causing damage to our lives.

In the physical aspect, for example, I just found out that the Earth's temperature is increasing each year. I got the information from Berkeley Earth's report that discovered 2023 as the warmest year on Earth since 1850. But before that, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) declared that 2022 was the hottest year, G-L-O-B-A-L-L-Y. How hot is it? Just imagine how fast the temperature rising, 1.15 degrees (Celcius) in one year. It is equal to temperature increases throughout the pre-industrial period (1850-1900 AD).

I personally felt the impact of this climate change. I feel stifled and thirsty every single day because I live in a tropical zone. Even an air conditioner cannot cool my body due to the hot weather. I know it was getting worse when the local government warned us about the high UV index through the local media outlets. They advised us to use sunscreen every time we wanted to go outside.

_{The screenshot i took of the news about the horrifying increase in the UV index. Source here}

The increase in UV index is related to the ozone layer which can become thinner and thinner each day. It may cause danger, especially for the human body. Based on the information I got from the Skin Cancer Foundation, UVA and UVB exposure can harm the DNA within our skin cells. In the long term, it can cause genetic defects or even mutations, which increase skin cancer risks and accelerate the aging process.

Besides ultraviolet poses, air pollution is another serious concern in my area. Factories and vehicles are the main sources of pollution here. Pollution has left me with difficulty breathing so I have to wear a facemask more frequently.

_{Both of my life saviors. I always use a mask and body lotion containing UV protectors every time I want to go outside. Actually, I'm not someone who likes to apply skincare products all over my body (I think every man out there has the same issue). But because of the urgent situation, I got to use this lotion to avoid undesirable effects from UV radiation. Source: Personal collection}

In response to the worse condition of our planet, I have been practicing the principles of 3R (reduce, reuse, recycle), although they are not fully practiced yet. However, from my deepest heart, I've always felt guilty every time I dispose of my waste improperly. Based on my fault, I tried to minimize the inorganic waste I produced as much as possible. Meanwhile, for organic waste such as kitchen scraps, I compost them.

The company where I work also conducts environmental actions as part of our responsibility. I believe that all industries must take responsibility for the environmental damage they cause. If they can't completely eliminate the damage, they should at least reduce it.

I believe environmental sustainability can only be achieved through individual awareness. Therefore, we have to start to spread this awareness from the smallest unit: family. I always teach my kids to treat the environment as they usually treat humans. Disposing of trash properly, conserving water, and wearing the same clothes as long as they are still wearable. The result? My kids grew up without feeling embarrassed to simply pick up a plastic bottle on the street, and they are not afraid of being teased just because I rarely buy them new clothes.

_{One of the environmental actions conducted by my office, beach clean up. Source: Personal collection}

I want to invite three of my friends to join this contest, so we can learn new things together and revisit what we have already known. To @irawandedy, @heriadi, @afrizalbinalka, please share your insight about the environment and your health.

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Thank you for taking the time to read my story

Have a great day

El-Nailul