Protecting

Environmental
Quality
What do we mean by
environmental quality?
 Environmental quality is a measure of the
health of the environment itself (including
the plants and animals it supports), and of
the effects it has on the health, comfort,
and psychological state of the people
that inhabit it.
 Why protect environmental
quality?
 To preserve the health of the community and its
members.
 To preserve community resources.
 To create a more pleasant and better quality of
life.
 To enhance the aesthetic character of the
community.
 To attract new, environmental-friendly business
and sustain economic health.
Why protect environmental
quality?
 To attract visitors and new residents.
 To preserve community history.
 To protect the community from
environmental disaster.
 To prevent people from taking actions
they’ll later regret.
 To protect endangered species.
 To maintain ecosystems.
 To be good stewards of the planet.
When should you act to protect
environmental quality?
 When it’s specifically threatened.
 When there’s a community development
initiative.
 When there’s a new commercial,
industrial, or housing development
beginning.
 When there’s an environmental crisis.
 When there’s a publication or media
event that calls attention to the
environment.
 When money is available.
 Who should be involved in
protecting environmental quality?
 Local and state, officials.
 Local and national and international
environmental organizations.
 Community activists.
 Those directly affected by environmental
quality.
 Businesses and corporations.
 Anyone who is conscious of the effects of
environmental quality – or the lack of it –
on their lives.
How do you protect
environmental quality?
Make yourself aware of what elements
of the environment you should be
paying attention to:
 Air
 Water
 Land
 Plants
 Animals
 Natural resources
 The built environment
 Recreation
 Aesthetics
Air
 Airpollution and smog
 The ozone layer
 Acid rain
 Global warming
Water
 Water pollution
 Water supply
 Oceans
 Land
 Pollution
 Land destruction
 Agriculture
 Waste disposal
 Loss of open space and
wilderness
 Plants
 Overharvesting
 Habitat loss
 Pollution
 Invasive species
 Animals
 Pollution
 Habitat loss
 Invasive species
Natural Resources
 Abundant water
 Minerals
 Plants
 And other materials and
substances
The Built Environment
 Open/green space
 Environmental quality of buildings
 Light pollution
 Noise pollution
 Visual pollution
Recreation
 Theme parks
 Educational parks
 Forests
 Wildlife
 Parks for recreational activities such
as hiking, boating, etc.
Aesthetics
 Naturalor built – how it looks
 Landscapes
 High mountains
 Beaches
 Etc.
How do you protect
environmental quality?
 Decide on the issues you can most
effectively tackle.
 Learn what you need to know
about the scientific, social,
economic, legal, and political
realities of the situation.
 Recruit allies.
How do you protect
environmental quality?
 Create, with as broad a range of allies as
possible, a strategic plan, and prioritize
both the actions you want to take and
those you feel you must take.
 Implement your plan.
 Evaluate your efforts.
 Maintain your gains, and do it again.
In Summary
 Thequality of a community’s environment
affects the health and well-being of
everyone in that community.
Environmental quality is inseparable not
only from the health of individuals, but
from the availability and quality of
resources, the safety of the food and
water supply, and the psychological and
social well-being of the community as a
whole.
 Protecting environmental quality certainly
means, in many cases, preserving open
space and stopping or preventing
pollution, but it also means addressing
habitat reduction for plants and animals,
conserving resources (including
foodstocks, such as fish populations),
seeking alternative energy sources,
practicing sustainable development and
agriculture, building according to
environmentally-responsible.
 Italso means working – through both
political advocacy and direct action – for
policies, laws, and regulations that take all
these into account, as well as the spiritual,
recreational, and aesthetic benefits of
open space and wilderness.
 And it means continuing to maintain
environmental protection and continuing
to work to ensure that future generations
enjoy adequate resources and a healthy
environment.