We only have one Earth and this planet is our home. No matter how far we'll wander- to the moon? Or to the Mars?... we will always go back to the place where we belong because there is no place like home, that is our planet. There is no other place than can support life as what Earth does. And as residents of this planet, we are given the responsibility to take care of it and make it better for future generations.
But the endless quest to living a covenient, fast paced and comfortable life led to the destruction of our environment. Our lifestyle contribute so much to our carbon footprint. Everyday activities like eating, travelling, or the simple doing of the household chores can increase our carbon footprint. This contributes to the global rise of temperature. source
Climate change is real. Some maybe are still in denial and wouldn't recognize this change but it's here, we feel it, we witness it, we experience it.
Being in a country that lies in the Pacific Ocean, we experience first hand the effects of climate change. Weather conditions are more violent and more destructive than ever. Maybe, our first taste of the worst weather condition was the strongest, most destructive and the deadliest supertyphoon that ever hit the world, Supertyphoon Haiyan (Yolanda) that hit the Visayas region in 2013 wherein over 6000 estimated lives were lost and more people were still missing. And after that more deadly typhoons hit the country like supertyphoon Odette (Rai) in 2021.
Even heavy rains now is as dangerous. The National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) had even deviced a warning system that informs us of an impending a heavy rainfall so we can prepare for the worst case scenario.
And in 2022, in my province,we experienced a tropical storm that brought so much rain and took away around a hundred lives due to landslides in April. We continued to experience heavy rains during the month of April and May last year, which was supposedly the driest and hottest months of the year. who wouldn't agree that climate really has changed?
Though it may sound overwhelming to begin, knowing that climate change is here, it's not too late to do something about it. We can contribute to saving our planet by the simplest things we do everyday.
Perhaps, my simplest contribution to help minimize carbon footprint is bicycling my way to the workplace.
In a generation where cars and motorcycle are the common mode of transportation and everyone seems to be driving their own, it's easy to give in to the convenience it provides.
But there is more to biking than just convenience. Knowing that I would be able to help the environment gives me satisfaction of the choice I made. Aside from that I am able to appreciate more the beauty of nature as I breathe in fresh air, feel the heat of the sun and even soak in the rain and seeing those greeneries around me as I pedalled my way to work. It connects me more to nature. Bicycling also helps me save hudreds of pesos since I don't need to buy fuel or pay for fare. Maintaining a bicycle is also cheaper compared to motor vehicles.
Plastic free environment is nearly impossible. But as much as I can, I say no to single use plastic. Instead of using plastic bags when I go grocery shopping in town, I would bring my own ecobag which is better because it's biodegradble and you can reuse. If there are instances that I can refuse the use of plastic, I would do it.
When I want to purchase something that is more of a want and not a need, I usually contemplate if it is worth spending. I let some days pass before trying to see if I would still want to purchase that item. And it usually works because after a while of not thinking about it, the urge of buying it subside. I realized that this practice is indirectly helping reduce climate change. At first the sole purpose was to cut my spending and save. But it can also help reduce waste of energy and resources because most of these wants will add up to unnecessary things at home. As time goes by these things will just go to waste.
A screenshot of items I added to cart on my online shopping app but end up not buying them after some thoughts and realizing I don't need those and I can still go on living without those things.
We have to start with ourself if we want to reduce climate change. If not now, when? Let's not wait til we lost the most valuable thing on earth before we realize we need to do something.
