Irene, St. Joseph's Academy, Las Pinas, Philippines: My Carbon Footprint

Environment   Nov 5, 2020 by Irene Desiree C. Reyes

My Carbon footprint is 3,210 kg, larger than the Philippine average but smaller than the global. In all honesty, seeing the results of my calculations left me in disbelief. I always try my best to reduce my negative impacts on the planet. The area with the largest carbon footprint was my home life. This wasn't a shock since I do live in a house of five, sometimes becoming seven. As a family, however, we do try to reduce our negative impacts on the planet as much as we can. Most recently, we saw the effects of the pandemic on the waste production of the world. This led to our family transitioning further into more eco-friendly products. Of course, we recognize that this isn't enough. My family has been thinking for a long time about installing solar panels in our home to reduce our footprint in energy. Our home is not one of much grandeur, but it is quite large and with nearly all of us working and studying from home, our consumption of energy has gone beyond the healthy amount. 

Truly, what surprised me the most was the average carbon footprint of the Philippines. If I'm being honest, I never expected it to be so small. A recent Harvard Study said that 59.9% of about 5,184 Filipino adults have little knowledge concerning climate change. To me, it seems that the reason why the average is what it is may not be because of awareness, but rather a lack of resources. Although many pictures show a great beautiful side of the Philippines, some may not know that the country is also filled with people who are struggling to provide for themselves. In 2018, 16.6% of the population lived below the poverty line. This lack of resources is, I think, a reason why the average carbon footprint of a Filipino is smaller. Simply put, a lot of people cannot afford to buy or spend money on even their basic needs. Even so, the carbon footprint is higher than the healthy amount. So, there obviously needs to  be major changes. 

Seeing the large difference between my carbon footprint, the Philippines, and the rest of the world tells me that there is an incredibly large gap that needs to be bridged. That gap is between the social classes and between humanity and the environment. Based on a little research, developed countries have larger carbon footprints per person that those of developing and underdeveloped countries. This doesn't mean that developed countries are at blame, but it does say that there is a huge difference between the living conditions in the world. So, first, we have to make a great lifestyle available to everyone. When we do this, I firmly believe that closing the gap between humans and the environment would become far more easier. This is especially important to countries like the Philippines. In the road towards a sustainable future, we cannot leave people behind. 

While I was calculating my own carbon footprint, it came upon me just how dangerous all my actions are to the planet. The conditions I entered were based on this year's activity. With the pandemic hindering most of my actions, I dread just how high my carbon footprint would be in the previous years. I definitely gained a lot of knowledge while performing this activity, but I also have formed so many questions in my head. The most prominent of which is: how have all our actions become so deadly to ourselves? Furthermore, why is it that we continue to ignore sustainable solutions that are put right in front of us? Is it just blissful ignorance, or is it because they aren't affordable to the vast majority? Either way, one thing is clear. The solutions are right in front of us. We just need to see, believe, understand, and act on it.

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