7 reasons to love your planet
How many of these fun facts do you already know?
1. Our Earth is in a perfect position
Did you know that our planet sits in the perfect location, also known as the ‘The Goldilocks Zone’? This means it is just the right temperature for liquid water to exist. Something you, and the rest of life on Earth, very much depend on to survive.
2. Earth has a protective shield
High above our atmosphere, a protective layer of gas and particles called the plasmasphere acts as an invisible “armor” of sorts to protect Earth from space-weather storms and deflects harmful ultrafast electrons which travel at near-light speed.
3. Earth is home to bees
Bees are good for our planet for a number of reasons but mostly because they’re vital for the preservation of biodiversity in nature. They are perfectly evolved to pollinate Earth’s trees, flowers, and other plants — including 75% of our food crops, which serve as food and shelter for other creatures large and small. Without bees, life here would be a lot more challenging. Many of our crops would disappear, limiting food diversity and more importantly, overall supply. We have a lot to learn from them.
4. Earth has its own climate regulators
Trees are vital to us and our planet. They act as natural climate regulators and we depend on them down to the very air we breathe. Trees are important for things such as carbon storage, soil conservation and water cycle regulation. Simply put, they’re one of nature’s most effective ways to keep our ecosystems in balance. Without them, we lose extraordinary and essential functions for life on Earth. Did you also know that after oceans, forests are the largest stores of carbon on Earth? You do now.
5. Earth is full of mysteries
Did you know that oceans make up 70% of the Earth’s surface? And yet, over 80% of Earth’s oceans remainunmapped and unexplored. Scientists estimate that over a million undiscovered species could live here. As we said, mystery is out there.
6. Earth is full of life
There are trillions of planets out there and yet, following years of extensive research, ours remains the only living, breathing planet known to harbour life. Thanks to its fortuitous conditions and placement in our solar system, it is home to an estimated 5 ± 3 million weird and wonderful species. Despite Earth appearing flush and perfectly equipped as a planet to support life, changes to our ecosystems have led to the endangerment of species such as the giant panda, the blue whale, the african elephant and the sea turtle.
