When I published my first blog on the Natural World theme, it was a simple observation on the behaviour of birds at nesting time in my garden.
Little did I know that it would make me think and relate to many other amazing living things which inhabit our planet.
I have discussed aspects of nature on land and underwater, but there are many more which make up the whole, which I have not touched on.
The animal kingdom for example, is an enormous subject which would need several blogs to cover, and as I hadn`t intended them to take on lives of their own, have left it aside for the moment.
However, I am going to try piece together what I have already discussed, and compare it to the world of the human.
Before doing that, I must mention the rather invisible but hugely important part that the atmosphere plays in keeping the natural world alive.
THE ATMOSPHERE:
We can`t see much of it, but it is all around us, providing oxygen which living things require to breathe.
The atmosphere is gigantic, and none of us know where it leads to, and how it sustains itself.
There are many other necessary gases present which are required as trace elements, and of course carbon which is currently an environmental talking point.
What these gases have in common is their invisibility, which makes it difficult to track them down and follow them.
RAIN CLOUDS
There are many amazing things within the atmosphere, not least the weather.
The sun, which is central to the atmosphere, evaporates water from the oceans and stores it in the form of clouds.
Depending on where one lives, the clouds can become so heavy with evaporated moisture, that they fall to the earth as rain which tops up water levels.
In very cold climates, the rain becomes snow and ice.
In very hot countries, the ground becomes parched through lack of moisture.
Wind is also found in the atmosphere. Although we can`t see it, we can feel it. It can be a light breeze or a raging storm creating huge destruction.
The weather affects everything.
We can`t control it, and we must respect it.
It makes us feel hot or cold, and it is responsible and necessary for life and the growth of vegetation and crops.
Too much or too little sunshine and rain can bring on flooding or drought.
Wind and water are natural renewable resources which can generate energy and can heat and light our homes.
SUNSET
We may think that the atmosphere is a bit colourless and unexciting, but think of some of the remarkable sunrises, sunsets, moonscapes and best of all, the Northern Lights, which can provide us with amazing natural beauty.
Much of the atmosphere may be invisible, but it is central to the continuation of life for all living things.
THINGS IN COMMON:
What has become obvious as I have researched into the natural world, are the many things that each part has in common, and how it should be all about balance.
For living things, be it animal, fish, flower, tree or human, there is a natural cycle of life.
Reproduction, lifespan and death.
Lifespans can be short, or long.
They are subject to many variables such as disease, natural disasters, decreasing species, and harm by outside forces.
With the exception of humans, it seems that most living things which make up the natural world survive on their own.
They may help and interact with each other, or another species, but they do not produce individual items which will undertake work for them as humans do.
Instead, over time, mutations take place in order to redefine a habitat, attract a mate or improve efficiency.
There is little waste in nature, as following the death of its life cycle, a creature or plant can decompose and find a new use such as nutrition for another species, in the natural world.
Humans on the other hand, have always invented items in order to advance themselves.
Their brain power has allowed them to create completely new items in order to overcome a problem, or make life easier.
The result has been that humans are far from self sufficient, as rely on many other humans in order to invent and produce a new concept.
Humans seem to have a feeling of superiority towards other parts of the natural world.
THREAT TO ENVIRONMENT
Instead of respecting other sections of the environment, they feel because of their ability to invent and make things, that they can afford to exploit other forms of life, by using their inventions.
This has resulted in an imbalance.
HUMAN INTERVENTION:
Humans have been ignoring the environment by polluting it, demolishing habitat sites, contaminating the atmosphere, reducing species of wild and marine life, and destroying flora and fauna.
PLASTIC WASTE
Most of it has been done through ignorance of the natural world, but also from a commercial and financial point of view.
Humans need to realize that although their ability to generate wealth is unique to them, other sections of the natural world can do the most amazing things without outside help.
AMAZING FEATS:
How is it possible for a tiny swallow to make the treacherous annual journey between the U.K. and Africa, and find the same nesting spot at almost the exact time each year?
How does the salmon find its way back to its fresh water spawning ground from hundreds of miles away?
How do trees communicate by sending out specialized fungal networks between them?
How can fish and animals camouflage themselves to be indistinguishable from their habitat to fool predators?
COLOUR MATCH
Humans are unable to do such things, and have also allowed many of their inbuilt senses to become redundant as they rely on inventions.
Humans are now entering a new phase of development, with the dependence on Artificial Intelligence taking over much of what the human brain did before.
It will be an interesting progression.
Meanwhile humans are still at odds with the natural world, perhaps slowly beginning to learn from it and get the balance right, but with a very long way to go.
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