One of the major themes must be POLLUTION. Our rivers and streams, not to mention our very atmosphere, are now polluted. Studies have shown that where an abundance of life once survived, industrial effluence has destroyed all. Secluded fisherman's haunts are vanishing before their very eyes, and many picturesque beauty spots are now ruined. When fish and insects disappear from the rivers, and the water is no longer clean enough for animals to drink from, wild life quickly disappears from the riverside. Alongside the river plant life withers and decays, killed by the poison or waste. Thus when an industrial plant pollutes the water, in effect it harms the whole area through which the river flows.
In major European cities, exhaust fumes from millions of cars are the cause for the dangerous increase of carbon monoxide and sulphur dioxide content in the air we breathe. It has often been said that were the internal combustion engine invented today, it would be banned as a health risk. Further research may well bring about the return of the steam-powered car, which in performance will easily match the internal combustion engine, and which will be vastly superior to the electric car. But only time can tell.
Another important item is the threat of the 'side effects' of powerful chemicals on the soil. In Great Britain the widespread use of these chemicals is resulting in the death of harmless, if not beneficial, wildlife. If a high enough concentration of D.D.T. builds up, man himself may be endangered. As well as this, the foraging insects which these chemicals are designed to kill have developed a natural immunity, and are returning in larger numbers than ever before, especially in cases where the use of insecticides has resulted in the destruction of the insects natural predators. No doubt many will remember the red spider mite. I believe that these problems can only be solved by the introduction of predators to wipe out the pests, but extreme care must be taken when using such methods.
Perhaps the thing that will hit farmers the hardest is SOIL EROSION. Twenty years ago, any suggestion that this could happen in Britain would have been dismissed as 'a load of old codswallop'. But today, due to lack of foresight, this is indeed a grave threat. Many will have read 'DRIVE's' report about East Anglia being gradually turned into a dust-bowl, and I for one have complete confidence in the truth of the report because I know how soil erosion has played its part in the South African High Veldt, a major sheep rearing district: there the grass has been literally chewed away, and tons of rich top-soil lost in 'dust-storms'. The threat in Britain is slightly different in that it is the removal of trees which has unleashed the threat.
Let me explain. Trees act as windbreaks, harbour fruitful insects, absorb excess moisture, and loosen the soil with their extensive roots. When they are removed, crops are exposed to high winds and flooding, and their roots wither in the hardened soil. The crops are destroyed, the waters evaporate, and the driving force of the wind sweeps away the valuable top-soil. It is still not too late for the agriculturalist to heed the warning voice of the ecologist.
Individuals can help make E.C.Y. a great success by supporting local or even national
associations, e.g. the Wildlife Youth Service; by attending lectures, e.g. those given by the
Natural History Museum, which often incorporate films; by visiting nature reserves, and
obtaining information from the Countryside Commission the Forestry Commission, and the Nature
Conservancy; by forming a school society; by taking an active part in projects; by reading
conservation books, and just by developing a positive attitude towards such topics as pollution,
conservation, wildlife preservation, natural history, and the effect of Man on his environment.
I assure you that such interests are satisfying - at least that is my experience and that of
many others.