How much of your yard or community is purely natural? By Julie Peller Ph.D

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Green Junction

Humans have altered much of the Earth to serve their own needs. A 2021 World Economic Forum analysis states that humans have modified the world’s land for agriculture, mining, industrialization, and urbanization. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, more than one-third of the Earth’s land is now used for agriculture to feed the world’s 8.3 billion people.

Future generations will enjoy and benefit from the Earth’s treasures only if continued modifications align with sustainable growth. Habitable (formerly called Healthy Building Network) is one of many organizations focused on sustainable growth. “We believe all people and the planet thrive when the materials economy is in balance with nature.” As modern society continues to develop rapidly, with an anticipated 2.5 trillion square feet of new construction by 2060, we need a real appreciation of nature to ensure its health and longevity.

In Elizabeth A. Johnson’s book “Come, Have Breakfast,” she writes, “In general, people’s spirits pick up when they experience something of the wonder and beauty of the natural world. Getting outside is rejuvenating. Whether it be desert or green woods, grassy prairie or sandy beach, snowy mountains or fertile river valleys, a city park or even a flower growing in an apartment window box.” She also writes about the abuses from human “progress.” “All too often today some places in the natural world ..are poisoned by mining, burned by fires, flooded, eroded, stripped, polluted, dumped with garbage; these break one’s heart and turn one’s stomach.”

To honor and protect nature’s gifts and treasures, we must experience and appreciate them. Kudos to all the organizations that function in various ways to appreciate and guard nature. The international pledge by Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) seeks to protect 30% of land by 2030. According to the Protected Planet Report 2024, “17.6% of land and inland waters and 8.4% of the ocean and coastal areas globally are within documented protected and conserved areas.” How much of your yard or community is purely natural?