Cleanliness Around Us (Essay Sample)

Cleanliness around us

Cleanliness is the state of being clean. Humans have evolved and developed bigger brains than most primates and have come to understand the effects of dirt in our environment. However, paradoxically, we are the single species that has the most impact on environment and we have continually made it unclean in our pursuit for our survival. All the other species co-exist with the environment without littering it other than excrement which is biodegradable and acts as biological agents of seed dispersion. We therefore, as humans, should take full responsibility of all the dirt that is in the world. To elucidate on the issues surrounding dirt, we need to understand how we got here, what is it’s effect and the way forward to make our environment cleaner.

Throughout evolution, man has continually devised means to simplify and enhance his quality of life. This evolution has come with several unintended consequences that have affected our lives. Since the inception of the industrial evolution, dirt around the world was insignificant except the cities which faced several hygiene related diseases such as cholera and dysentery. Industrial revolution led to production of various by-products which were improperly disposed. Some of the industrial products were non-biodegradable and were produced in record volumes. These by-products led to contaminated cities and spilled over to natural resources such as rivers and nearby hinterland. This problem persisted partly due to ignorance on its effect to environment and poorly implemented policies regarding disposal of industrial waste. It created a culture and economy fueled by industrialization that overlooked the effect industries had on the environment. Unfortunately, this culture is still engrained in the corporate culture in the 21st century. Over the years, the by-products and products of these industries have saturated our lives and have found their way to the environment around us as dirt.

Today, almost everyone suffers the effects of the dirt in our environment. Few countries have successfully managed this menace by devising innovative ways of dealing with dirt. Unclean environment around us poses a threat to our health as it provides favorable environment for disease causing microorganism to thrive and cause diseases. It also affects the natural ecological cycle that has led to extinction of many species of animals and plants some even before they are discovered. It destroys the aesthetic value of our environment and further leads to environmental degradation. Additionally, poorly disposed waste produces poisonous gases which contribute to global warming and reduces our air quality.

Though there have been several initiatives backed by legal frameworks to clean our environment, there is still much which needs to be done. We should all understand that the environment is borrowed from our children not inherited from previous generations, and therefore, we ought to take care of it. Each one of us should take part in eradicating this problem while working with the authorities to tame corporations and greedy leaders who sell our environment for their own selfish gains. Everyone should look beyond our physical and mental barriers that threaten our environment, future and take responsibility in enforcing and complying with directives to clean our environment. Governments or any other body cannot fully address this menace, rather it requires a collective effort. Our education systems should bring on board the younger generations who are the future custodians of our planet and inform them of their role to tidy our environment. We all benefit from clean environment but and takes humans as a species to undo the historical damage that has endangered the survival of other species and sustainability of our planet through pumping dirt in our environment whilst in pursuit of our selfish gains.

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