Letter to the Editor: Humanity and the Environment

When I was younger, my brother and I always went outside on walks, played on our bikes and listened to nature. One of our favorite activities was to lay on the grass and take in the greenery and scenery of our small hometown. As we grew older you could slowly see the town dying out. Not dying out like everybody was leaving. Dying out like, no grass. No tress around us. There was no water in the creek at all. We wondered, “What is happening and why is our town slowly diminishing?” Well, I later figured out it was because of the impact that nature itself was having on the environment and on humanity. The less snow and/or rain we got, the dryer the creek got. We kept seeing less and less greenery and everything turned an awful brown color. Nature is destroying not only environment, but it is also destroying humanity in a plethora of ways. 

            Nature is destroying itself and the environment in the fact that it is taking a toll on humanity not only physically but emotionally as well. It not only has an effect on our overall health in a negative way, but is having an effect on the environment itself and it is also having an effect on the economy and social aspects. This issue is important because it plays a really big role in how our economy and overall health is taking a toll based on the extremity of nature occurring instances. 

            It is considered one of our duties to help protect humanity and the environment. Recently the Great Falls disaster center helped with flooding problems that were a result of nature taking a toll on itself. We helped gather materials to clean up the flooding problem. However, we can only do so much to help the environment. Ultimately it has to help itself. The environment is having a major impact on itself and the widespread of disease through humanity, “within weeks from the wind and flood damage from 2016 hurricane Matthew, in Haiti, there was a drastic surge in cholera as well as many other repercussions (Alison P. Galvani).” There isn’t much research for Great Falls. However, an article from the Great Falls Tribune was posted about the little town of Sand Coulee and it stated that because of the mines around Sand Coulee, the water systems were polluted. This is a natural resource and it really messed it up so bad that “specks of coal turned up in the drinking water(Puckett).” We need to step back and let the environment help itself and intervene when deemed necessary. 

            I think that our duty really helps the environment and itself that helps it. Continuing to do the three R’s, reducing, reusing and recycling is what should be done about this ongoing issue. It’s not going to help itself if we don’t help it. 

Jordan Romanchuk

PO Box 21 Sand coulee, MT 59472

406-799-5321

lullubellie@yahoo.com

Works Cited

Alison P. Galvani, Chris T. Bauch, Madhur Anand, Burton H. Singer, Simon A Levin. "Human- environment interactions in population and ecosystem health." 20 December 2016. Proceedings of the National Acadamy of Sciences of the United States of America.25 March 2019.

Puckett, Karl. "Hydreologist's Death leaves big shoes to fill in Montana Mine Cleanups." Great Falls Tribune 19 December 2018.