Amo, Niña Kryscha Grace Y.

FINAL OUTPUT IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY

Don’t Leave a Footprint…

A Reflection Paper

My first steps on Earth showed me all the fascinating things. It’s a place where I can do

anything. Climb on tall green trees, fall on a neatly trimmed grass, boldly blocking the fresh winds,

splashing through the deep blue waters, learning about creatures that I haven’t seen before or just

about anything that came from life. It’s true that human and nature are inseparable. But as my steps

increased, in a snap, parts of my Earth are not as fascinating as I thought it was. Earth came up

against these typhoons, floods, forest fires, pollution, extinction, famine and more. It was…

frightening. Then I thought, there was more than what my steps had taken me.

Would I take my steps even further?

By social media I can immediately access or swipe through current issues of the society. I

have mostly seen sensitive graphics about animal extinction. It triggers my thoughts that from

dolphins, whales and turtles had this one thing in common in their stomachs—plastics. In the latest

article titled “World Wildlife Day 2020: 7 animals that went extinct in 2019”, 7 different animals officially

went extinct primarily because of CLIMATE CHANGE. Animals were losing their natural habitat.

What causes climate change is also a major threat called pollution which in effect, brings drastic,

destructive, horrible changes that humans just see it as an illusion. What more? As stated by BBC

news massive bushfires in parts of Australia killed people, burned 11 million hectares of bush, and

nearly saved endangered species such as kangaroos and koalas. My country, the Philippines, a
study showed that cities in parts of Metro Manila said that it will be in underwater in 30 years

(Inquirer.net, 2019). Bottom line whose fault is this?

Stating the few of many current threats of biodiversity loss all lead to human beings.

Continuing to be destructive consciously or unconsciously not until we see or even realize it. The

thing is, no change will ever happen if one does not act, and how exactly we can make people act?

It came in my thoughts that in the nature of human being, they need something or someone that

influences them. Ones who are responsible to lead. Of course, I stand that the government is a first,

indeed Philippines still has poor governance concerning environmental issues. They need to

consider implementing new policies and regulations to reduce pollution and at the same time

would still help the economy to grow. As simple as starting to change consumer behavior. A good

idea from the article I read posting signs at schools like “please turn off the engine when waiting

to pick people up”. Another is imposing subsidies for renewable energy sources, such as solar

energy. This is to encourage people to engage in environment friendly alternatives instead of

burning coal (Pettinger, 2019). It’s a simple regulation but can change big.

I have also come to know about ‘Carbon Footprint’ which is the total amount of greenhouse

gases that are produced by our actions. Basically, it says how our lifestyle would greatly affect the

environment. How often we travel by car or air, the clothes we buy, or the consumption of food

we intake in a day. The more developed a place is, tonnes of carbon footprint is produced. As the

population increases, the more we demand on nature. I do think that little changes can be practiced

in our household and apply it to everywhere we go. Practices such as growing our own food, this

is really something that I wanted to achieve too. I already am not the type of buying new clothes

from those of production companies but I certainly thrift a lot to save clothes just thrown out on

landfills.
 The consequences are certainly not a joke. We have been more focused on developing,

building progress through industrialization. We continue to build, build, and build but where’s the

balance? Do producers that keep on extracting the resources ever thought of restoring back? The

abuse of Earth equates to the abuse we are also doing on ourselves. Nature slaps us with abnormal

weather changes, again with unwanted floods, landslides, decreasing sea ices, drought etc. All of

which has in effect increasing poverty, food shortage, and most importantly, our health. Nature

and humans are interdependent with each other. We rely on nature that much but it needs justice

for what it has infinitely giving.

I don’t know what in the hopes that this would magically reverse back to the way it used

to be. I have been aware of what the world has gone through but I do admit that I lack in some

ways. This paper reflected me in that our actions do matter in the things that we consider on what

matters to us too, Our Earth. Now, would I take my steps even further?

I’d rather take a step forward for change than leave a footprint for the next to suffer.
REFERENCES:

[Article about calculating your carbon footprint]. (n.d.). The Nature Conservancy.
https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/carbon-footprint-calculator/

Australia fires: A visual guide to the bushfire crisis. (January 3). BBC News.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-50951043

Pettinger, T. (2019, May 26). Policies to Reduce Pollution, Economics Help,

https://www.economicshelp.org/blog/11077/environment/policies-to-reduce-pollution/

Rising sea levels likely to sink Metro Manila cities by 2020 – study. (2019, November 7).
Inquirer.net. https://technology.inquirer.net/92179/rising-sea-levels-likely-to-sink-metro-
manila-cities-by-2050-study

World Wildlife Day 2020: 7 animals that went extinct in 2019. (2020, March 3). India Today.
https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/world-wildlife-day-
2020-here-are-7-significant-wildlife-species-that-went-extinct-in-2019-1652013-2020-
03-03