What exactly do we mean when we speak of the "environment"? It is more complecxt than saying it is only our surrounding. The environment is a delicate equilibrium between every ingredient in our surroundings called the ecosystem. Our ecosystem contains the interaction between organisms and nature.
Man has been chiefly responsible for disturbing this delicate equilibrium by exploiting the natural resources to his end. In fact the resources in the past have faced uninhibited exploitation on all accounts and reckless usage leading them to their current depleted stage. An unchecked release of the pollutants in the air has resulted in the greenhouse effect resulting in the ozone layer getting depleted. This has resulted in global warming which has had many disastrous effects like the rising levels of the water bodies. All this has also resulted in more ecological imbalances occurring than ever before. The ecosystem has also suffered on account of the careless mistakes of various industries and certain individuals who want to save on the cost at the expense of damaging the ecosystem. In fact there is no aspect of the ecosystem that has been left untouched by these perils as you have air pollution affecting the air you take in, water pollution, land pollution affecting the crops.
There are many organizations that make it their agenda to education people and corporations on conserve the environment. They are stressing the development of alternative green sources as an answer to the non-renewable sources of energy, preserving the endangered species, setting up of goals for the reduction of pollution, establishment of natural reserves and the protection of biodiversity upon which the delicate balance of the ecosystems hangs.
There is now international awareness towards these ecological problems. Countries have come in together to solve the environment issues plaguing them. The Global Environment Facility (GEF) that was established in the year 1991 supports many projects related to environment such as the climate change, international waters, land degradation, the ozone layer, and persistent organic pollutants.
The UN had gotten into the act and developed World Environment Day celebrated on June 5 every year. It is one of the chief vehicles that are used to promote the awareness on the environment. It is an important step in launching this campaign for environmental awareness since the environment can be saved if it's a large-scale effort involving people across the globe.