Hoping For a Better View of the Future

Environment   Oct 6, 2016 by STC_PHILIPPINES_CLARICE CANONIZADO

"Man is the future of man." - Francis Ponge

I can't understand why human beings tend to take advantage of things just because they sound simple or because they are not threatened by their scarcity. I can't understand why we, as intellectual beings, are very slow in realizing that times are changing and that we are fast approaching an epoch of self-destruction due to short-sightedness. It daunts me how we have become thinking machines with high capacity brains but with barbaric-like attitudes towards nature. We’re almost on the verge of hopelessness. Hopelessness in a sense that we look at the environment like objects ready to be extracted and be put in assembly lines all over the world. And this mentality should change QUICKLY.

How do we change our mentality in the first place? Of course, we should firstly subject ourselves in criticizing our own actions as stewards of creation. Involving oneself in virtual environmental activities would really be helpful in putting ourselves in the pedestal of what we are experiencing nowadays which is climate change. Being part of an elective class called Advanced Environmental Education in my school, St. Theresa's College Quezon City here in the Philippines, made me realize that individual actions contribute great consequences. We were able to toggle with two different activities: Water Footprint Calculator and a virtual role playing activity wherein you are the president of a European country and you need to make policies to decrease the carbon emissions. These simulations, as compared to my community, are really relatable. For one, me and my classmates' water footprints are generally high. This implies that at this young age, we are already capable of using a lot of water even if it's not necessary. It's is very alarming to think that we're consuming too much but we are giving back almost nothing to the environment. For the other simulation on the other hand, it reflects our government in which they are also focusing on catering sustainable developments here in our country. Although we still lack in more effective policies to improve our stand against climate change, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is working hard to inspire the Filipino people to always take part in preserving the environment since grave consequences are to be expected if we continue on being insensitive citizens.

However, the results in these simulations shouldn't just stop as virtually compiled results in the internet. These results should challenge us to be better people for nature. Personally, I found myself thinking of ways on how I can help in alleviating climate change in small ways. They made me realize that actions are immediately needed and as a youth of today, I should be an individual who will always be ready to combat climate change no matter what. They changed my perspective on how climate change should be tackled on a global and individual aspect. It is important to be well-informed that climate change is indeed happening. Quick responses should be done by EVERYONE because nothing would change if only a few people would be concerned about this issue. For example, individuals should be able to take part in proper waste management system in their communities. In a national level, the government should be able to come up with effective policies that would ensure the progress of the country and its people together with the protection of nature. There are still a lot of concrete examples that can exhibit our care for nature but for now, let us focus on 2 main points - water and climate change.

ON WATER

 75% of the Earth's surface is covered in water and 3% of this is only fresh water. In this 3% of fresh water, only 1% can be readily used by people. Take note, ONE PERCENT. But guess what, on a daily basis people use more than a thousand gallons of water for many purposes like laundry, washing the dishes and many more. In fact, being a meat eater would make your water footprint soar like a rocket. And of course, we don't even know that. We always thought that we only consume hundreds of gallons a day since it looks like it. But in reality we consume water too much from what we actually need. In addition, for a whole week, we literally consume tens of thousands of water without realizing it and its impacts on us. We don't realize that the simple chemical bonding of H2O leads to our survival as species in this planet. I mean, we all know that water is essential but we don't put it to heart. Water is essential because it is one of the many building blocks of life that lets us propagate actions effectively as biological and social beings. It helps the world in a way that it could run agricultural lands without hassle and as a result, help a nation build its economy. Water is essential because it provides all creatures with basic nourishment to continue their existence and maintain the ecological balance. Water is essential because it helps humans in manufacturing goods, technology and services which advance nations to be the best that they could be. But then again, we don't realize all of these. The water that we pollute goes around the world through our rivers, lakes, oceans and many more and it feeds and breeds the grave issue on climate change.

ON CLIMATE CHANGE

Now, as we venture on a chaotic world, we are challenged to look at the effects and thus, look for solutions. This climate change that endangers us affects all people no matter the status, religion, sexuality, worldviews etc. We are responsible to change our fate because we are the only intellectual being on this planet who could look for attainable answers for the benefit of all. The problem of one would be the problem of all. Indeed, man is the future of man. Using our awesome capabilities to save ourselves from this destructive climate change is a one way ticket to have the best future we could ever attain.

CHEERS FOR MOTHER EARTH!

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