The environment, a place in which we live, and a cradle of all lives on earth, is the most precious gift that God created for the human kind. And health, a priceless possession of human life, and the one which we cannot live without, keeps us physically in good conditions. Since our health and the environment are closely beside us and so important to us, we can imagine how our lives would be if both of them were ruined. Yet we are now doing many things that destroy the beautiful environment, and as a result our health deteriorates.
The environment, which sustains human life, is a profound source of ill health for many of the world's population. In the least developed countries, one in five children don't live to see their fifth birthday -- mostly because of avoidable environmental threats to health. Hundreds of millions of others, children and adults, suffer ill health and disability that undermine their quality of life and hopes for the future. These environmental health threats include lack of clean food and water, sanitation, adequate housing, and protection from mosquitoes and other insect and animal disease vectors. The people often suffer from diseases such as malaria, typhoid and cholera. Even those curable diseases can cause many deaths in the undeveloped countries because they lack proper medical treatment and public hygiene.
However, not only the poor suffer, the habitants in developing and even rich countries have also become victims of environmental pollution. The improper treatment of chemicals and disposal of refuse, the burning of fossil fuels, the emission of poisonous gases and the overcrowding and stuffy air in urban areas are the major components of environment pollutions resultant from industrialization and modernization. This damages the organs of human and animals and the genetic formation of all living organisms and cause illnesses like cancers, respiratory sickness, weakening of human immune system, and the large amount of unusual deaths of plants and animals due to abnormal climatic changes such as the greenhouse effect.
Health and environment have a subtle correlation with each other. So if we want to be healthier, we have to contribute more on environmental protection. We have to maintain the balance of the ecosystem and lessen the production of waste materials. The government should implement careful plans for urban development, restrain the use of fossil fuels and hazardous chemicals, relieve congestion, and help the undeveloped areas to improve their sanitary system. We should also support recycling and keep our environment clean so as to create a healthy environment for ourselves as well as our descendents to live in, or else it will be too late.
