Mother nature was created beautifully; fitted with the right curves and dressed in flamboyant colours to better show off her beauty. She was endowed with all the necessary make-up to better meet the needs of her children on the surface of the earth. With time, her beauty is starting to fade. Different aspects of her beauty are being attacked on a daily basis by th sons of men. The children of the earth have rebelled against their mother. They've began to bite the finger feeding them and will soon receive their due recompense.

An aspect of her beauty being attacked is the natural vegetation - trees. The trees make up her covering shielding her from the adverse effects of climate. The natural vegetation is undergoing deforestation through the activities of mankind. The trees are cut down at will which ultimately exposes the soil surface to agents of erosion such as wind and water. Deforestation results in desertification, low crop yield due to decreased fertility of the soil, flooding and increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. An example of green house gases is carbon dioxide which is absorbed by trees to release oxygen. Deforestation brings about an increase in the quantity of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere which in turn results in global warming.

Water bodies are another aspect of her beauty continually destroyed. A popular maxim goes: water has no enemy. Well, not anymore. Man has become an enemy of water; subjecting it to acts that fight its nature. Water bodies around have become the dumping ground for refuse, and, in oil mining areas, water bodies are exposed to the danger of oil spillage. Wastes that are dumped into water bodies tend to have toxic substances, which take up available oxygen in the water body. This leads to a marked depletion of oxygen available to marine life causing them to die in their natural habitat and resulting in an offensive odour. Oil is not soluble in water and forms oil slick on water surfaces. This prevents atmospheric oxygen from being absorbed and gradually results in depletion of the oxygen contained in the water, finally causing death of aquatic life. The dumping of refuse and oil spills also make the water unfit for human consumption; could also result in radiation sickness if radioactive materials were poured in.

In addition, there is the reduction in the quality of air available to man due to air pollution and related activities. Air pollutionIt occurs when any harmful gases, dust or smoke enters the atmosphere; which makes it difficult for plants, animals and humans to survive as the air becomes dirty. The causes of air pollution are the emission of Sulphur dioxide from the combustion of fossil fuels and other factory combustibles; use of insecticides, pesticides and fertilizers in agricultural activities which emits harmful chemicals into the air; and, the release of large amounts of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and chemicals into the air from industries. These have made the air unfit for breathing; resulting in health challenges as well as acid rain.

Finally, the land has been subjected to degrading practices such as bush burning, waste dumping and oil spillage. Bush burning can cause the soil to lose its ability to absorb and retain water. It also reduces the population of beneficial microorganisms in the soil; further resulting in reduced soil fertility and low crop yield. Dumping of refuse results in the release of offensive odours from the dumping grounds. Hazardous chemicals that get into the soil can harm plants when they take up the contamination through their roots. If humans eat plants and animals that have been in contact with such polluted soils, there can be negative impact on their health. Oil spills on land prevents water absorption by the soil, spills on agricultural locations or grasslands have the effect of choking off plant life, thereby, reducing crop yield. Oil spills also have the possibility of going down the water table, thereby, contaminating it.

These are some of the harmful practices mankind has taken to which has brought about a deterioration in nature's beauty. There is a need to undertake remedial actions to salvage what's left of her beauty and possibly restore her to her former glory.