The history of green fairs is an interesting one, and the more one reads about it, the more hopeful one gets about the future of the planet and its possible salvation from environmental threats. If ecologists and environmentalists work towards organizing these green fairs, more awareness will be dispersed across the globe, paving the way for a greener, peaceful planet.

If we look back into the past, we find that the habit of celebrating nature and raising awareness of its many resources started as early as the 1800s. One such event was the Brome Fair, an agricultural fair home to the small village of Brome, situated in the Eastern Townships region of the city of Quebec in Canada. This fair is celebrated every year on the Labor Day weekend. This fair started as early as 1856, and although it cannot be called a full scale ecological or green fair, it was a start in the right direction.

Expo ‘74 is another such environmentally geared event that was held in Spokane, Washington as early as 1974. The common theme that ran through this green fair was that of “Celebrating Tomorrow’s Fresh New Environment.”

A familiar event for environmentalists is the Camden Green Fair that is held every year in London. The aim of this fair is to raise awareness of London residents about environmental issues, and to help them keep their surroundings clean and green.

The main purpose of most green fairs is to raise awareness of crucial environmental issues such as the harmful effects of plastic or the deteriorating impact of pollution on the health of the planet. Besides celebrating the spirit of nature, green fairs are also meant to get like-minded people together and provide them a common platform through which they give vent to their apprehensions and voice their opinions.

Green fairs are immensely useful in the way they get together a diverse group of people that comprise of eco-friendly business entrepreneurs, community members, visionary thinkers, and many of the environmental groups. The motive of such ecological fairs is to help build up relations between such groups and work towards the collective good of the environment.

Such fairs focus on the ways in which environmental groups can team up with businesses to create winning products and services that are conducive to the growth of the planet. We all know that the use of harmful chemicals to manufacture goods hampers the environment, and many businesses are now looking at going the organic way to manufacture environmentally friendly products. A green fair is the perfect platform for business leaders to meet green activists and exchange valuable ideas and notes on how to take a green campaign forward.

Most of the green fairs organized around the world also feature useful workshops and lectures on environmental issues. This is not just useful for students and research scholars or businesses but also for the common people who could much benefit from such vital knowledge. It helps to know about the state of the planet that we live in, and in what manifold ways we can go about making a difference. Since green fairs are huge crowd pullers this is an excellent way to grab their attention and inform them in a fun and exciting way about the many possible ways in which they can keep the planet beautifully green.

The importance of organizing these ecological fairs lies in the fact that they showcase all the natural richness of the planet in an easy to understand and attractive manner. Most times we read about crucial environmental issues on the newspapers, but the entire meaning may have got lost owing to the technicalities in the language or descriptions. Such reports may be child’s play for an environmental researcher, but for the common person it may be something too overwhelming. This is why it is important to organize green fairs to attract the masses and speak in their language. At the end of every green fair there is a tremendous amount of information that gets shared, and that makes for a great, positive step towards a healthy and green environment.

Biodiversity
The term biodiversity can be interpreted in several ways but is generally used as a replacement for species diversity or genetic diversity. The terminology describes variations of life and its various forms in an ecosystem or biome, which includes the entire planet. Earth is made up of thousands of different ecosystems and each is generally self sustaining. The coral reefs are an excellent example of a perfectly balanced ecosystem within itself as long as the system remains in balance.

Upsetting a natural balance
When the sea is polluted or the water temperature rises above the norm, there is a chance the ecosystem will become threatened and then we see that finely balanced biodiversity becoming unstable and there may be loss of that ecosystem as we know it. There are barriers separating ecosystems and these may be in the form of mountains, oceans, rivers, and other barriers that prevent crossover from one particular environment into another.
Australia is an excellent example of a large land mass ecosystem. There can be found a wide variety of animal and plant life that is only found on that continent, and never found anywhere else. That is until human interference comes into play. The mammals and birds would never be able to travel to other continents unless man takes them there.

Ecosystems imbalanced
There have been examples of fish being introduced into an environment unfamiliar to them and we find those alien fish totally take over their new environment and drive off or kill off the fish native to that waterway. The invasive species may well be capable of living in a far wider range of ecosystems but they are upsetting the balance and potentially becoming pests rather than useful additions to that environment.
Whenever new or exotic species are introduced into a ecosystem that they did not originate in by human intervention, the entire balance of that ecologic system is put at risk.

Pollution and our coral reefs
Biodiversity is what happens when the balance of nature is disrupted. Pollution of our oceans and seas has created an upset in that fine balance that can have long reaching affects on many ecosystems. Life forms that have been untouched and pristine for millions of years become unstable and unable to maintain their perfect balance.
The beautiful coral reefs have been called the rainforests of the sea. Most coral reefs on planet earth have been formed after the most recent glacial period, making them less than ten thousand years old. This means they are relatively young when compared to many living things on this planet. Many of them grow along the continental shelving created when sea levels rose during ice melts following the glacial movements. Most require light in order to thrive and grow as these reefs are living things, although some coral reefs can be found in deep seas and away from continental shelves.

Let’s save the planet before it’s too late. Coral reefs are amazingly beautiful and diverse, displaying a wide range of colors. When the oceans become polluted by human garbage and oil spills, or the waters warm due to the current global warming, these finely balanced ecosystems can die due to the changes in their environment. We must somehow prevent this from happening.

Global cooling was a term first coined in the 1970s and is the belief that there is an increased establishment and growth of glaciers. Scientists believed that since the 1940s, the earth was gradually cooling. They thought that the increase use of fossil fuels resulted in the release of particles into the air that would filter the sunlight, causing a global cooling effect. It was the belief that global cooling was brought on by global dimming, meaning the increase in particle count of the atmosphere due to human interference. In order to support their case, scientists showed a decrease in temperature over the decades.

In contrast, global warming is a term known for the trend of overall warming of the earth. Proponents of global warming believe that instead of leading to a perpetual cool down, the use of fossil fuels is leading to a warming that can most distinctively be measured by the oceans. Scientists studying global warming have claimed there to be an overall increase in Earth’s temperature by .56°Celcius during a 100 year timespan, the most aggressive increasing occurring during the most recent five decades.

The anticipated effects of global warming are alarming and indicate a destruction of the species and habitats on Earth, affecting even the habitat of humans. The destruction of crops, weather extremes, and disease are feared with many scientists believing the Earth will no longer be livable by the human species.

Scientists who believe global warming is the cause for our climate change dismiss global cooling as a pseudo science. While there may be years when cities experience particularly harsh or cold winters, they refute the notion that it is a repeating trend and instead claim it to be isolated incidents. After all, it is important to keep in mind that climate change is not measured by seasons and does not include soaring highs and lows but a gradual and stead increase or decrease in temperature. When studying this change over the last several decades, the temperature has seen a steady, while not amounting to even a full degree, the implications of such change is grand and according to many scientists, enough to negate the entire global cooling theory.

The debate over global cooling and warming is sure to continue as scientists make claims and ne findings to support each side. The climate has never been considered stable, over the years Earth has undergone both global warming and cooling and the transitions in between. Understanding these patterns is essential to understanding the situation we are currently dealing with.

Scientists generate an understanding of the Earth’s climate pattern through the study prehistoric ice remnants and ocean sediment core to gain an accurate history of climate patterns. They will drill very large holes into the arctic ice, which once began as snowflake. As the snow piled and turned into ice, gas bubbles became trapped, allowing scientists to recreate the history of the climate up to 450,000+ years ago. A similar process occurs in the ocean sediment cores that trap gases allowing scientists to accurately pinpoint climate history of long ago and to accurately discover where we are today.

While climate change is an inevitable pattern of the Earth, it is undeniably being expedited by the impact of the human race. Whether you fall on the global warming or global cooling side of the debate, the common factor is that the overuse of fossil fuels is creating a negative impact on the Earth. Without the proper intervention, the climate of the Earth will continue to change much more rapidly than it biologically should, resulting in the change of life as we currently understand it.

Once you adopt an eco-friendly landscaping practice, you will find you open the door to a wide range of benefits. These benefits include those toward wildlife, health, personal satisfaction, and even monetary advantages. It is an appropriate practice for everyone, including public areas, highways, commercial us, and private residential homes. The benefits are greater when whole communities implement eco-friendly landscaping, but individual adoption can be highly rewarding as well. Above all else, natural landscaping practices lessen your carbon footprint ensuring that you are doing your part to restore the environment and promote a healthy earth.

Placing plants strategically around a building and throughout the yard can increase heat efficiency. This results in greater insulation of the building, providing a smaller reliance on air conditioning and heating which in turn can save a great deal of money in energy bills. In addition, trees can be planted to act as a barrier against winds, further reducing energy use.

Another benefit to eco-friendly landscaping comes when using native plants and researching their needs. By partaking in this simple practice, you can place plants where they will thrive without much effort. This will give you a beautiful design with minimal commitment. You can also conserve water by creating a natural irrigation system using water barrels and rain containers. This prevents excess water run-off and provides water for later times. In addition to the benefit of conserving water, this will also conserve funds and effort!

Using eco-friendly pesticides and fertilizers is one of the most important things for going green in your landscaping and has great implications. The benefits of this practice are great and include healthier lives for all. Many times, pesticides indirectly harm many species in the area that have consumed insects subject to the toxic chemicals. Benefits of non-toxic pesticides and fertilizers also include an increase in your personal health. Pesticides and fertilizers are often the leading cause of many diseases and can even be linked to serious ailments such as cancer. Eliminating these toxins will decrease your risk for illness.

Other benefits of eco-friendly landscaping include quieter living areas due to the reduction of power equipment, less likelihood of flooding due to storm-water management, more chances to appreciate and enjoy nature, cleaner water sources for drinking, swimming, and fishing, smaller strain for waste collection and water treatments, less time in landscaping management, and a reduction of landscaping costs. These benefits come in addition to less energy use, lower energy bill cost, less health concerns, and thriving wildlife. By partaking in eco-friendly landscaping, you will be doing your part to preserve your community while adding to the biodiversity of our ecosystem as a whole.

The endocrine system in a human body is a set of glands and the hormone produced by them. These glands in the human body are responsible for the development, reproduction, growth and behavior of animals and humans. Both natural and manmade chemicals have the tendency to interfere with the functioning of these glands and the hormones produced by them and also on the target tissues where the produced hormones act. These chemicals are called endocrine disruptors. Humans get exposed to these substances via contaminated water and food. From chemicals used in consumer products to industrial processes, EDCs are omnupresent!

These endocrine disruptors, also referrred as hormonally active agents are a matter of concern because they have harmful effects on the growth, reproduction and development in humans and also in animals. Due to the disturbance in the endocrine system some type of cancer can also be a cause of worry. These chemical compounds can affect the body through a number of mechanisms. Firstly they can bind the cell receptors which will result in an unnecessary response by commencing the normal reaction to the cell at a wrong time or to a greater extent. This is called the agonistic effect. There is another effect called the antagonistic effect where it will stop the binding of the natural hormone. The human body has a certain amount of natural hormones in the blood and these chemicals can stop the transportation of the proteins through the blood stream. Another effect is that these endocrine disruptors may obstruct the natural metabolic processes of the body which will affect the breakdown rate of the hormones in the body.

These endocrine disruptors are found in many things around us, thus the level of exposure for everyone is high. Chemicals; the traces of which have been found in humans are DDT, Polychlorinated biphenyls, polybrominated diphenyl ethers and many others. Some of the effects that these disruptors have are reproductive tract abnormality, vaginal cancer, semen abnormalities in men, abnormalities in penis, lower cholesterol, delayed neurological developments and many others.

The effect the chemicals can have can vary from person to person and some who are exposed may not be affected at all. But the embryo and the fetus can be adversely affected by the chemicals as their development and their growth is controlled by the endocrine system. This can result in lifelong abnormality or even abnormalities in reproduction. The time for which the body is exposed can also alter the effect the disruptors will have on the human body. The effect of these disruptors can be seen in later stages of life or at times in the next generation.

The endocrine disruptors are exogenous substances which alter the functioning of the endocrine system and this can have serious effects on the health of both humans and animals. They affect normal functions of the cells and the hormones in the human body which can have lasting effects. One needs to be careful and take adequate precautions by staying away from the chemicals and thus, their harmful effect.

Facts: The term Endocrine Disruptor was first coined by Theo Colborn in 1991 at a conference at the Wingspread Conference Center in Racine, Wisconsin. She later stated that envorinmental chemicals disrupt the development of our endocrine system.

Environmentalists claim that most of the current problem that humans are experiencing in terms of climatic changes to rabid resource extraction is all caused due to human population growth.

Population growth has contributed to some of the major environmental problems that we are experiencing today. The Population Connection revealed that with the growth of population since 1950, 80% of the rainforests have been cleared, more than 10,000 wildlife and plant species have been lost, greenhouse gas emission has increased potentially by 400% and more than half of the surface land of the Earth has been used for commercial purpose, which still continues.

With such a remarkable increase in these various factors, it is now expected that the population of the world is likely to be exposed to scarcity of water in the future. Scarcity of water or water stress will further intensify the difficulties in meeting the water consumption levels, thus wreaking devastating effects on the ecosystem.

The Interconnection

An interconnection between every living organism, starting from the germs to sharks and whales to humans and their interdependency is obvious. All these living organisms share a food chain, which is dependent on the healthy habits for survival. With the population growth, every living organism is likely to have lesser resources for survival. This actually implies how the human actions and the alarming growth of people are adversely affecting the environment.

Earth has a “carrying capacity”, which refers to the human populace that the earth can substantially support. Certain factors like the overall resource being used and the distribution of resources can affect the capacity. Exceeding the Capacity of the Earth would definitely call for environmental hazards. Although science has been struggling to provide some solution to the condition, results haven’t been published yet. Nonetheless, when every other resource fails, we will have to rely on science as the last resort to overcome a great disaster.

With the increasing population, the demand for every other resource for survival is increasing significantly. But do we have ample resources to support life? That’s the biggest question.

It is a fact that we are using and sometimes abusing most of the resources we have, or better say we had. Deforestation for human living space, wildlife poaching for human benefit, industrialization to support human needs etc are just a few of the habits that we have adapted in the recent past without realizing how it would affect the Earth and affect us in the long run.

Earth could have been a better place than it is today if we humans were just a bit more concerned about ourselves. Though we apparently seem to be that way, but unknowingly or ignorantly we fail to keep up our efforts. It is all because of the population and the necessity to make both ends meet, that we humans are adapting anything that comes handy and that brings us two square meals, and in doing so we are actually destroying the earth and the environment.