Tuesday, November 8, 2011

The Inconvenient Truth


            The video that was shown in class which is entitled, “The inconvenient truth”, really opened my eyes and made me realize the declining status of our world in every aspect. Most people may not notice it but the progression of the place that we have lived in for our whole life has lately been on a rapid downfall. Making us Global Development (GLOBDEV) students watch that film reminded me of the roles and responsibilities needed to be done in society which is crucial in salvaging what’s left of our home.
            One of the main scenes in the video that struck me the most was the part wherein they showed a polar bear with no land to go to, except water. The animal has been travelling for miles and still it has not found a place to rest. The reason for this is the increasing global warming problem of the world. A portion of our atmosphere is being destroyed every second that passes by and until we do something about it there will just come a time wherein even we, humans, would have a hard time finding a place that we could all live in and call home. A small part in the film explained the change of temperature’s effect on us and the different parts of the world. One degree Celsius of increased temperature that we countries near the equator face is already equivalent to twelve degrees Celsius increase in temperature in the North and South Pole. What this implies is that the ice that has been there for thousands of years is starting to melt in a very quick pace. This is the reason why the polar bear that was shown in the early part of the film was having problems trying to find ice/land where it could rest upon. The statement that the host mentioned in the video that has stayed in my mind until now is the declaration that climate change is not really a political issue but rather a moral issue. I strongly agree on this idea because the life and well being of everything around us is really in our hands. People now are starting to be disrespectful and ungrateful of the gift that has been given to us. Having this way of thinking would definitely not help the issue of global warming and climate change that has started to affect us. We may not see what this problem is doing to us right now but eventually we would feel how huge of a problem this is to us and how this kind of problem could change our lives entirely.
            This kind of problem, I believe, cannot be controlled by external environments such as the government because this can also be considered a personal issue. The way we act and handle our decisions greatly contributes to what is happening right now. Let us all keep in mind that every decision we make has a very important effect to our environment and the people around us.
            One thing that I really find amazing and helpful about the film is it ended the whole video with several suggestions on how we can help fight off the changes that have been occurring around us particularly global warming. Not only did it made us see what the status of our world really is but it also gave us ways in which we can, in our little way, help in aiding the situation that we are now in. Nowadays, you would rarely see a documentary dedicated to an issue very important like the one discussed in the video and so I think that viewing this video is very crucial in helping us especially the younger generation to have an extra motivation in trying to save the world that we have lived in our whole life.
            It has been a noticeable trend the past couple of decades that people usually do what everyone else is doing. This is where the term “bandwagon” came from. Initially, I first thought of the term as a very negative idea since I strongly believe that each individual has his/her own beliefs and personality which enables them to choose what they would believe in. This mindset of mine changed when I realized that this could also be a positive thing when you use it to try and encourage people to do something that may positively affect the status of our world. A clearer example of this is by using media and this so-called bandwagon we can influence and encourage the citizens of today to try in helping fight the global warming woes that we have been experiencing the past few decades. Since most teens in our generations seems very interested in issues that attract a large amount of attention we can use that to our advantage by giving them seminars or talks to make them see how huge of a help they can be.
            No one can say that he/she is not a part of what’s happening today since every human being has a responsibility to what is currently happening in our environment. It is impossible for the problems to be solved by a mere group of environmentalists. Teamwork of each and every one of us is the key ingredient and answer to the challenges and obstacles that we are facing. It is actually wrong to look at these things as problems because sticking this idea to your mind will just add up to the pressure of trying to find the solution. We should look at them as challenges and obstacles that could help strengthen and improve our concern for everything that is surrounding us. A little action can go a long way especially if it is a contributed effort by a large amount of people. Every riddle has an answer and it just up to us to look for the answer. We may encounter some stress and frustrations along the way but let us not let them hinder us from accomplishing our goal. The only real threat that we should consider is ourselves. 

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