i know. It's long. It's my SA ppr

And I say to myself, what a “wonderful” world I always ask myself why people can’t resist cluttering the environment. Actually, people even mock the clean-as-you-go propaganda of the school. Others say it’s irritating. Others are just so lazy to pick up their trash and do their part just by segregating. And I’m very disappointed when I see Ateneans throw clumps of tissue paper on the streets. Before I go tackling my views on environment, I want to let out my other sentiments first. What I’ve said earlier is basically just an overview of what I really feel about this world. Our environment is so polluted, not just of trash, but also of trashy people. What do I mean about trashy people? These are the people who are walking garbage factories. It seems to me that they don’t have a mind of themselves. They just produce endlessly up to the nth degree! I just hate it when people are so insensitive to the environment. They think that just a piece of candy wrapper won’t do much harm. That’s what they think! And I see the numerous people who buy lots of food and just throw them to waste. They even don’t care how much paper they consume by not being responsible to their photocopied sheets. They get it. They lose it. They photocopy again. What a waste! People just don’t care about their environment. It’s a sad fact. They even smoke continuously. A friend of mine said that she liked a guy who smokes because it would make him look manlier. Hello? It’s not even manly. It’s just covering him up! Men do it so they would “appear” manly but in fact they’re not. Throw them a piece of cockroach/rat and you’ll see that they’re not manly at all. It’s all a cover up. They might even run away faster than the girls. And who says they’re more macho? How would you like a guy who’s very polluted inside? I think it’s all about the culture. People think that being so environmentalist is uncool. They think that it’s cool to smoke. It’s cool to throw trash out of the window. They also think that if you clean up your plate, you’ll look like a hungry beggar. As for me, I so love the environment. But we can’t just go primitive all at once because we are already used to this life. It would be very hard to adapt to an environmental world totally. I mean, for us to be very clean, we should erase all of technology such as cars, factories etc. But it would be insane to just scrap them all so that we can just have this clean environment. It can not be. No one will agree to me even you. But what I am fighting for is a little sensitivity. For every trash we make, someone gets affected by it. I always get depressed when I imagine 10-20 years from now, my children won’t experience the greatness of nature. I am afraid for the future. At present, people always label me as “kuripot.” I am also an environmentalist too. I am a great enemy of Styrofoam. I hate pollution, and unnecessary garbage. What I do to help is to bring some “baon.” I believe that I can save money and lessen trash. As you can see, the cafeteria uses mostly Styrofoam already. And my heart bleeds for every time I myself buy food from the cafeteria. Yes I am full but I have polluted the environment. My heart also bleeds for every food that is being put to waste, and for every unnecessary consumption of gas. Some people even call me impractical already because I am very “kuripot” to the extremes. Whenever I buy fast food, I never buy a chicken meal or a spaghetti meal because they use Styrofoam. The last spaghetti I had was years ago. I just buy a hamburger or fries. I don’t take out. I always prefer dine in. And when I am hungry outside, I just control my hunger until I get home so I wont buy take outs. I take a bath with my lights off. I use a lamp so that I don’t need to open my fluorescent light in my room. I even walk as much as possible to find a person, so as to avoid texting him where he is. I also eat every piece of food on my plate, even the garnish. I don’t usually buy junk food because aside from its being unhealthy, it’s just trash to the earth and into my body. I don’t buy the things I want. I just buy the things I need. If someone gives what I want as a gift then okay! If not, it’s okay too. I write on every space on papers as much as possible. I even write on the “dirty’ side of the scratch paper if what I’ll write is just short or what. I maximize space all the time. I borrow photocopied materials instead of having a copy for myself. I also borrow books so I don’t need to buy one. I also switch my cell phone off at night. And I even sleep without aircon or an electric fan or an opened window. (I may get ill due to this, but I have already trained myself to adapt to that kind of environment.) I even buy the more expensive food if the cheaper ones offer their food with a Styrofoam container. That’s why I either buy shawarma, or a sandwich. I also save water by using a pail, not a shower. If I have dirty water, for example, a fly is there, I just throw it to the plants, and not to the sink. I use sunlight instead of artificial lights. They all look pretty impractical but I tell you, I can live. It’s not so primitive but I am fine. I am happy to be earth’s soldier. My problem is, how can I influence people to help the environment too? I have a plan but I don’t want to tell. I want to keep it as a secret first. I will do it discreetly within the ateneo environment but nothing to be scared of, it’s not illegal. I just want it to be kept secret at the moment. Based on the two plenaries, I always get teary eyed whenever I imagine the future. I want my kids to enjoy God’s glory. What will be left for tomorrow? It seems that our resources are degrading rapidly. I also read an almanac, and just this 2000, a species was declared extinct. I can’t remember what animal it was but I think it was part of the family of doves. It breaks my heart. The two speakers talked about how we should be able to replenish our resources soon so as the future can have something to use. But comparing the rate of consumption to replenishment, there is a large difference. People think that our resources our limitless. But actually they’re not. The fossil fuels, the coals, etc, all of them will be gone forever If we continue to waste them. Once everything is used up, what will happen to our automobiles? All of them will be considered trash as well because they will be of no use. Who can provide another ozone layer to us? No one can and the hole gets bigger every minute. But how can we do this so-called “sustainable development?” I don’t know either. What I mentioned earlier can be ways to help save the earth. Sometimes, I believe that what this world needs is not just mild persuasion. Because I feel this deep anger for trash, sometimes, I believe what this world needs right now is a radical change. But what I’m thinking would be very violent so I’ll scrap it out. But the question remains, how? Specifically, HOW CAN WE WAKE THESE PEOPLE UP? Will they forever remain insensitive to the environment unless they themselves or their loved ones become a victim of nature? Will they become sensitive now if their loved one gets caught up in a landslide? Will they stop ruining the earth if they get caught in a forest fire? Will they help the world if I kill them all if they don’t change? (bad idea but I’m starting to lose hope) The world is scary. I feel very sorry for the mother Earth. All I can do is do my part. And hope for the best. For every technology, there is waste. For every development, there is still waste. Everything has waste. The only thing we can do is to save up as much as we can for the future generations. Sometimes I feel that I have the responsibility to make this world a better place but I get disappointed because I don’t see any change for the better. I feel the calling to place the burden on my shoulders. And every time I am reminded of how the world is degrading, I feel ashamed because I failed. The plenaries reminded me about it and I felt sad. I know that I am no superhero to change this world. But I am striving to make it better by the smallest increment existing. My part is so small yet I know I am helping. But I can’t help it. Sometimes, I still feel discouraged because I don’t see the product of my labor. I just hope other people will join my “vice” in helping the environment.