STOP AND SMELL THE FLOWERS

AGGIE ANNIE

By Megan Rivera

February begins and the smell of flowers start to fill the air. The fragrance of flowers can no doubt trigger a whole host of memories: walking past a floral shop, receiving them from a loved one, attending an unforgettable wedding, or giving them as a get well soon gift. As Valentine’s Day begins to surround us, so do these beautiful, fragrant flowers. These flowers begin to take space in our homes or workplaces, meanwhile flower farms adamantly work to provide these pieces for us. 

The flower industry, especially cut flowers, is very profitable. The United States alone has reports of growing and marketing $25,000-$30,000 per acre, annually.(1) In the country, there are currently over 6,000 growers, with more increasing each year. While the United States grows their own flowers, they are not one of the leaders in the flower industry, and import approximately 81% of flowers that are used.(2) The leaders in the world of growing and exporting flowers are The Netherlands, Colombia, and Ecuador. I know that whenever I think of The Netherlands, I imagine myself sauntering through their notable tulip fields. Given their reputation and dominance in the floral industry, there is no surprise that The Netherlands export 52% of their cut flowers; with Colombia and Ecuador trailing behind at 15% and 9%.(3)

Like many others, the florist industry faces some struggle when it comes to competitors and doors shutting amid the COVID-19 Pandemic. As the pandemic hit, the demand for flowers became less prevalent.  Not only were florists deemed unessential, but weddings, homecomings, and other events were cancelled.(4) While the florist industry has decreased 6.3% in the last 5 years, they have hopes and goals for the next 5.(5) Rather than falling to competitors such as supermarkets and online stores as they are now, florists are going to emphasize their assets of creating unique, luxurious products. Currently in the United States, there are over 31,000 different private businesses in the floral industry employing greater than 65,000 people, with expectations to grow in the coming years.(5) 

So when you are clearing off some space for your breathtaking new arrangement, think about those who grew, exported, and designed the incredible piece. This is an international industry that provides the same beauty, fragrance, and smiles to those who come across them. So enjoy their journey; and always make sure to take some time to stop and smell the flowers! 

Works Cited:

1. Market, Growing for. “Flower Farming.” Flower Farming - Growing for Market, January 15, 2008. https://www.growingformarket.com/categories/Flower-Farming. 

2. ReportLinker. “United States Floriculture Market - Growth, Trends, and Forecast (2020 - 2025).” GlobeNewswire News Room. "GlobeNewswire", April 29, 2020. https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/04/29/2023955/0/en/United-States-Floriculture-Market-Growth-Trends-and-Forecast-2020-2025.html#:~:text=Market%20Overview%20The%20total%20number,imported%20from%20Colombia%20and%20Ecuador. 

3. Fredenburgh, Jez. “How the Covid-19 pandemic hit the cut flower chain”. BBC. 2020. https://www.bbc.com/future/bespoke/made-on-earth/how-the-covid-19-pandemic-hit-the-cut-flower-chain.html

4. James. “Top 10 Countries That Export Flowers to the World - Eagle-Link Flowers.” Eagle, April 23, 2018. https://www.eagle-linkflowers.com/blog/the-top-largest-player-on-the-flower-export-market/. 

5. “Industry Market Research, Reports, and Statistics.” IBISWorld. Accessed January 22, 2021. https://www.ibisworld.com/united-states/market-research-reports/florists-industry/. 

BIDEN AND OUR PLANET

CULTURE RADAR

By Sam Townson

I am sure you’ll have heard that Joe Biden has just become President of the United States of America and Donald Trump is out. This change in administration leads to new hope for the environment. President Trump’s policies were counterproductive to environmental conservation and preservation of the natural world with his withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, dismissal of anthropogenic (human-induced) climate change and the pro-fossil fuels agenda. Yet, it is obvious from the outset that Biden has a different conviction as he has already rejoined the Paris Agreement and demonstrated to the world that he wants to tackle climate change head on.

The Trump administration rolled back The Clean Power Plan put forward by Obama which would have reduced carbon emissions by 32%. This delayed the important action really needed to curb the USA’s emissions. Not only this but they allowed the use of seismic air gun blasts to search for underwater oil and gas deposits. It is evident Trump was not interested in moving away from fossil fuels, but moreover, these air gun blasts can disorient marine mammals that use sonar to communicate. Furthermore, Trump drops climate change from national security threats meaning less research funding; reducing the pressure science can put on governments to take action and preventing any breakthroughs in climate science. (1) 

So, what does this mean for our planet?

Biden recognises the legitimacy of the climate crisis and the need to act! He is looking to introduce a bold new plan – a Clean Energy Revolution – to bring down the USA’s greenhouse gas emissions. The plan will ensure the US gets 100% of its energy from clean, renewable sources and has net-zero emissions by 2050. However, this commitment will only be enough to keep warming below 2°C and it will require the majority of other nations across the globe to take the same action.(2)  He wants the US to be the world leader for clean energy with rapid deployment of innovations across the nation through large history making investments. To do so Biden will follow in the footsteps of other countries like Germany who installed almost 1kW of renewable energy per person, whereas the USA has only implemented less than 0.4kW.(3)  There will be new fuel economy standards, aggressive limits on methane pollutants and boost biofuels. Firms will be faced with costs for emitting greenhouse gases with a new enforcement mechanism, so all businesses are held accountable for the role they play in reducing emissions. This will all help to bring down the greenhouse gas emissions spewing out of cars, factories, etc. across the nation. Our planet can start to breathe a sigh of relief and take in some clean air!

However, Biden’s environmental efforts are broader than implementing clean energy to limit industrial emissions and new regulations to limit pollution emanating from the use of cars in the urban environment.  He will look to protect the natural world and biodiversity by bringing in conservation laws for 30% of the US’s lands and waters by 2030.(4)  There will be new laws to enhance reforestation which will help restore nature and create new carbon sinks to the US. Urban sprawl, the growth of urban infrastructure such as housing and commercial developments into the surrounding rural areas,(5)  will be prevented helping to bring dense, affordable new housing to many through construction projects in many of the US’s cities!(4)  Not only will Biden look to protect the natural world but there will be moves to stand up to the power abusing large corporate companies such as ExxonMobil - who is responsible for 1.98% of global emissions since 1988 - releasing emissions harming communities of colour and those living in low income communities too.(6)  Evidence suggests that 70% of contaminated waste sites are in low-income neighbourhoods and the majority of the 2 million people living in communities within a mile of sites vulnerable to flooding are people of color.(7)  These communities, and our planet, will be protected from the companies that put profit before the environment and health.

The huge investments that the Biden Administration plans to make in clean energy, environmental protections and protection of communities will help to make the US kinder to our planet! Greenhouse gas emissions will be brought down. Nature across the country will be protected. There will be accelerated movement towards green energy and new technologies. New green jobs will be created. Carbon sequestration will grow rapidly across the US.

This change in President will also have ramifications reaching beyond the nation’s borders! Biden wants the US to lead the world in climate action shown by his rejoining of the Paris Agreement. He claims that he will use every tool in the foreign policy box to motivate other countries into taking action too. He wants to bring together the world’s major carbon-emitting countries with a world climate summit to discuss how all nations act to help protect our planet. The US is on the radar of all major polluting nations across the world as it holds a huge responsibility in helping tackle climate change. Here in the UK we are acutely aware of the action of our US allies and want to know that they share our concerns for the climate. Furthermore, the international community has often felt that without US action the behaviour of other nations is counteracted due to its scale. Biden’s actions have ramifications for policy across the globe as other nations gain confidence in the possibility of action making real change. 

It is clear Biden is taking a whole host of actions! The USA’s Presidential attitude towards climate change is changing.

Works Cited:

1. Gibbens, S. (2019) 15 ways the Trump administration has changed environmental policies. The National Geographic. Accessed 19 January 2021. Available at: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/02/15-ways-trump-administration-impacted-environment/

2. EU (2020) 2050 long-term strategy. EU. Accessed 29 January 2021. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/strategies/2050_en

3. Assirati, B. (2019) These countries are leading the charge to clean energy. World Economic Forum. Accessed 29 January 2021. Available at: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/02/these-countries-are-leading-the-charge-to-clean-energy/ 

4. Biden, J. (2020) The Biden Plan for a Clean Energy Revolution and Environmental Justice. Joe Biden. Accessed 29 January 2021. Available at: https://joebiden.com/climate-plan/

5. Rafferty, J. (2015) Urban Sprawl. Britannica. Accessed 29 January 2021. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/topic/urban-sprawl 

6. Riley, T. (2017) Just 100 companies responsible for 71% of global emissions, study says. The Guardian. Accessed 29 January 2021. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/jul/10/100-fossil-fuel-companies-investors-responsible-71-global-emissions-cdp-study-climate-change

7. Colarossi, N. (2020) 10 egregious examples of environmental racism in the US. Insider. Accessed 29 January 2021. Available at: https://www.insider.com/environmental-racism-examples-united-states-2020-8 

Editors Note: Earthians Care is a non-partisan organization. When covering political topics we aim to do so without bias by relying solely on presentation of facts. Do you feel we accomplished this? Let us know!

THE IMPACT OF THE DECLINING NATURE ON OUR MENTAL WELL-BEING

NEURO NASH

By Abrar Hasanat

We all know that in most parts of the world, nature is declining in an unprecedented manner.(1)  It’s a piece of common knowledge to everyone that these declinations of nature are detrimental to our physical health. Various diseases, health-related complexities, and many other things take place.(2)  But have we ever thought about whether or not nature has an impact on our mental well-being and happiness? In fact, this point is often ignored while talking about the effects of nature on human health even though this is one of the most important ones. So today, we’ll take a deeper look into it.

Have you ever had the feeling of immediately being refreshed when you travel to someplace with an abundance of greenery? Or had your therapist advised you to give the countryside a visit when you’re feeling stressed out? Or just ever felt better when you go to a place with a better touch-of-nature? Well, this is because research reveals that environments can increase or reduce our stress, which in turn impacts our bodies. What you are seeing, hearing, experiencing at any moment is changing not only your mood, but how your nervous, endocrine, and immune systems are working.(3) 

So, what does it mean actually? It means that whenever you’re exposed to a detrimental or heavily polluted environment - it will affect your mental health by making you sad, anxious, or even feel helpless to a certain extent. This is because for thousands of years the human body evolved in a way to derive benefits when we’re nearer to pure nature. And when the body gets exposed to pollutants instead of nature - the entire nervous system gets anxious about the situation which in turn causes our mental health to face massive pressure.(3) 

“People have been discussing their profound experiences in nature for the last several 100 years—from Thoreau to John Muir to many other writers. Now we are seeing changes in the brain and changes in the body that suggest we are physically and mentally more healthy when we are interacting with nature,” says researcher David Strayer, of the University of Utah.(4)  Studies have shown that climate change over the years has had a dramatic impact on the way we think, behave, decide, and execute plans.(5)

Many people still fail to acknowledge the fact that the change in nature has a huge impact on our mental health; however, the fact is this issue is getting worse every day. When we are in touch with nature, it has a positive impact on our well-being and happiness. Similarly, the declining nature will have a negative impact for sure. Let’s take a look at a couple of points on how it actually affects our mental health.

• Increases Stress: Declining nature increases stress by making the surroundings non-natural and thus making the entire nervous system anxious. Different conceptual perspectives converge to predict that if individuals are stressed, an encounter with the most unthreatening natural environments will have a stress-reducing or restorative influence, whereas many urban environments will hamper recuperation.(6) 

• Reducing happiness: The natural environments may confer psychological benefits to humans. Researchers have shown that individuals tend to select natural environments as a means to transform negative psychological states into more positive ones. And the opposite happens when they’re exposed to urban environments. Thus we can say it makes people less happy and more brooding.(7) 

• Reduces creativity: Natural environments with pleasing aesthetic qualities including open views and lack of loud, distracting noises are often chosen as preferred restorative environments. Effects of these landscapes are captured in the Perceived Restorativeness Scale and include those that engender somewhat effortless, soft fascination, the sense of belonging,  and the sense of being away. And with a declining nature, all these get reduced which in turn reduces our creativity and increases attention fatigue.(7)

• It makes you feel less alive and active.(8)

• Increases risk of various mental health diagnoses: The chances of bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, personality disorder (like conduct disorder), and schizophrenia increase when exposed to various pollutions. A growing body of research suggests that pollution can inflict some of the earliest and most long-lasting damage on our cognitive and mental health.(9) 

• Increase of negative emotions: Being in an urban environment where the level of pollution is way higher than that of a natural one will increase activity in the prefrontal cortex, a brain region that is active during rumination — defined as repetitive thoughts that focus on negative emotions. Calming nature sounds and even outdoor silence can lower blood pressure and levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which calms the body's fight-or-flight response. According to Dr. Strauss, "Having something pleasant to focus on like trees and greenery helps distract your mind from negative thinking, so your thoughts become less filled with worry." On the other hand, the decline of natural environment and its elements result in an increase of non-pleasant and negative thoughts.(10)

The list basically goes on and on. It goes on to show us how impactful the declining nature actually is to our mental health.

A question might arise at this point -  is it the presence of nature that is positive or is it that the absence of nature is negative? In all honesty, both of them are equal in the general sense. However, keeping relevance to the article we can say that the absence of nature is more highlighted and impactful in recent times. We all can agree that nature is declining in terms of both quantity and quality. Thus, the absence of nature which is basically a result of the declining nature is thus the main reason for the negative impact on mental health. However, both criteria of the question are complementary to each other in the wider sense so we can say both are equally impactful.

Now, one might ask - what can be done to solve this issue? The answer is known to all of us - don’t pollute the environment! It’s as simple as that. In a wider sense, the main reason for the decline of nature is largely caused by pollution and unplanned urbanizations.(11)  So reducing the amount of pollution and including nature in plans for urban cities will surely help the cause in several ways. And how to conserve nature? That’s something to be discussed in a future article. 

The main point of this article is to reiterate the point that we have to start working for the betterment of our nature because the negative impact of a declining nature goes way deeper than only physical effects. The psychological toll this declining nature creates is immense, we surely understand that by now. Even though we can’t see it, the decline of nature has a direct negative impact on our mental well-being and happiness - something every human being holds dear. We need to take steps to minimize this rapid decline of nature and quickly. As former US President Barak H. Obama said “We’re the first generation to feel the impact of climate change and the last generation who can do something about it”.(12)

Works Cited:

1. “UN Report: Nature's Dangerous Decline 'Unprecedented'; Species Extinction Rates 'Accelerating' – United Nations Sustainable Development.” United Nations. United Nations. Accessed February 1, 2021. https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2019/05/nature-decline-unprecedented-report/. 

2. Myers, Samuel S., Lynne Gaffikin, Christopher D. Golden, Richard S. Ostfeld, Kent H. Redford, Taylor H. Ricketts, Will R. Turner, and Steven A. Osofsky. “Human Health Impacts of Ecosystem Alteration.” PNAS. National Academy of Sciences, November 19, 2013. https://www.pnas.org/content/110/47/18753. 

3. “How Does Nature Impact Our Wellbeing?” Taking Charge of Your Health & Wellbeing. Accessed February 1, 2021. https://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/how-does-nature-impact-our-wellbeing#:~:text=Being%20in%20nature%2C%20or%20even,the%20production%20of%20stress%20hormones. 

4.  Suttie, Jill. “How Nature Can Make You Kinder, Happier, and More Creative.” Greater Good. Accessed February 1, 2021. https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_nature_makes_you_kinder_happier_more_creative. 

5. Lorenzoni, Irene, Robert O'Connor, and Nick F Pidgeon. “Dangerous Climate Change: The Role for Risk Research.” PubMed, n.d. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16506969/. 

6. Ulrich, Roger S., Robert F. Simons, Barbara D. Losito, Evelyn Fiorito, Mark A. Miles, and Michael Zelson. “Stress Recovery during Exposure to Natural and Urban Environments.” Journal of Environmental Psychology. Academic Press, July 8, 2005. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0272494405801847. 

7. Bratman, Gregory N., J. Paul Hamilton, Kevin S. Hahn, Gretchen C. Daily, and James J. Gross. “Nature Experience Reduces Rumination and Subgenual Prefrontal Cortex Activation.” PNAS. National Academy of Sciences, July 14, 2015. https://www.pnas.org/content/112/28/8567.abstract. 

8. Ryan, Richard M., Netta Weinstein, Jessey Bernstein, Kirk Warren Brown, Louis Mistretta, and Maryle`ne Gagne. “Vitalizing Effects of Being Outdoors and in Nature.” Journal of Environmental Psychology, n.d. http://selfdeterminationtheory.org/SDT/documents/2010_RyanWeinstenEtAl_JEVP.pdf. 

9. “Is There A Link Between Air Pollution And Mental Health?” IQAir. Accessed February 1, 2021. https://www.iqair.com/us/blog/air-quality/air-pollution-and-mental-health. 

10. Publishing, Harvard Health. “Sour Mood Getting You down? Get Back to Nature.” Harvard Health. Accessed February 1, 2021. https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/sour-mood-getting-you-down-get-back-to-nature. 

11. Cox, Daniel T.C., Danielle F. Shanahan, Hannah L. Hudson, Richard A. Fuller, and Kevin J. Gaston. “The Impact of Urbanisation on Nature Dose and the Implications for Human Health.” Landscape and Urban Planning. Elsevier, August 1, 2018. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169204618306571. 

12. “Remarks by the President at U.N. Climate Change Summit.” National Archives and Records Administration. National Archives and Records Administration. Accessed February 1, 2021. https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2014/09/23/remarks-president-un-climate-change-summit.