21st century technology has brought people of every color, creed and nation to a point where, as long as you are not in China, you can have the whole world's information at your fingertips . Methods of delivering news from standing on a soapbox to a crowd of people, to now user-generated information being delivered within seconds of an event. This information which now includes environmental issues only really became prevalent in the media starting in the 1960s. The media is a vital source for obtaining information from generally unreachable sources or places. Environmental issues have emerged in the media for many reasons: to inform, create action and generate profits. Media is a creator and form of social construction as a particular person or set of people with similar views and perspectives, to meet a certain standard and/or end result, have investigated (to some extent), analyzed , edited and structured in order to achieve the purpose of the story. These structures mean that the media has the ability to frame particular reports in such a way as to achieve a specific desired outcome, just as the “startling” image of the polar bear “stranded” on an ice sheet is released to show the effects of global warming. , although land may not be too far away beyond the image cutouts and the fact that the polar bear is made to swim in icy water. Stories are structured to meet the needs of the author and through the use of various social media many people can become part of larger conversations. There are many ways in which the media has influenced general ideas about environmental issues, as we have seen with the issues surrounding the rhino crisis. This is due to the life cycle of a particular environment... middle of paper... a, as they are not the primary focus of South African citizens today. At the moment the people of South Africa have been facing many load shedding incidents on a widespread level and therefore there is a more pressing issue to cover with stories to calm the public. People are required to pay for their basic human rights and this causes many people within a country to get sick from drinking “free” water that may not be disinfected or may be contaminated by nearby industries. Through the research process I discovered that there is a lack of media coverage on the issue of water pollution and contamination and therefore there is a lack of respect for human rights by the government and the education across the country. The use of media can be used to make partial statements and fully satisfy the agenda of those who make them, but it can also be used for education and unity in knowledge.