Mama Earth is Crying

So, I have been meaning to blog about this for a few years now. Who would have thought that this would be the trigger that would finally push me to go hit the keyboard and write about it. So, go on. Check this clip out.

What does it look like to you? This isn’t one fun ride to the end of the rainbow where all the gold and gems will be found, and if you’re lucky enough, you can find cute Leprechauns and maybe meet your prince charming there. This, obviously, isn't it.

Does it look awful? It surely does. But hey, I think Mama Earth has all the right to go ballistic and all, don’t you think? We can’t blame her even if she throws a fit and decides to throw us fire balls and bring us to a doom.

Don’t you feel sad walking just a meter away from your house and you’ve already come across a ton of waste? Or when you go to the park and you can’t sit on the grass anymore because 1, there’s no more grass left or 2, our trash has already occupied the space or 3, there’s poop everywhere! (Oh and number 4, it won’t be too comfy to sit anyway ‘coz duh, there’s no more shade because they’ve already ripped all our trees. YEY! Scoffs!) 

Well, this experience brought me to a lot of realizations. (Talking about seeing the good in all the bad, eh?)

Firstly, we are getting used to seeing trash where they aren’t supposed to be. Thus, we are getting used to disposing ours literally everywhere. 

Secondly, we seem to not care much about the amount of waste we produce every single day of our lives and have no image whatsoever of how too much of it affects the world we’re living in.

Thirdly, we have gotten used to living with flood. It is NOT OK and it is not the way to live. No matter how shallow the flood is, it is NOT in the tiniest of bit OK.

Fourthly, we just stopped caring and started believing that there’s nothing wrong with our planet. But let me tell you this. Everything is wrong, and we are the only ones responsible for it.

Lastly and the most heart-breaking of all, even if we already hear the cries of our planet, we REFUSE TO LISTEN and ultimately, refuse to act. And this is so not cool!

The Earth will not clean itself. It doesn’t have its own disposal unit, does it? Are we ready to live amongst the waste that we throw everyday? Are we OK with the idea that our children’s children may have to suffer differents kinds of illnesses or that they may live in an uninhabitable planet? Or they grow up breathing an almost unsurvivable air? Sounds extreme? I sure do hope it's just the extent of my imagination, but I guess it is not far from impossibility.

Now the question is, what can we do? 

Number 1. Consume less, reuse and recycle. We have this culture/habit of buying stuff lucratively even though we don’t really need them. After some time, they just get super old without it even serving its purpose. So yeah, please stop buying TOO MUCH if you think they will just get old in your closet or drawers and eventually, add up to your garbage.

Thrifting and going to second hand shops actually help so much in reducing waste. I have been doing this for a long time now then I found out how helpful it can be from an eco-friendly community called Start the Wave, which was founded by Dominique Provost-Chalkley. Moving away from fast fashion is something all of us can easily do. Also, you can turn your boring clothes into a more fashionable one by tweaking it a bit. 

Number 2. This is especially true to people in the Philippines. When we buy softdrinks at small stores, they usually transfer the drink to a plastic and of course, you need a straw for it. Why not we bring our own glass or reusable bottle everywhere we go? 

What? You find bringing your own reusable bottle to the store ridiculous? What’s more ridiculous than flood with lots of floating plastic, straws and what-not? The way to go? Have your own reusable bottle. Just like these!

I personally bring these bottles with me everywhere I go. 

In Japan, we easily get tempted by all the vending machines and convenience stores that are located every few meters. I, for one, used to just buy drinks as I go. Then I noticed how many plastic bottles I accummulate in a week! Imagine how many plastic bottles all the people in the world throw away every week. I can't. (With British accent)

Reusable bottle is the way to go. You might even save a penny for not having to buy because you already have your home-made drink with you.

There are so many reusable stuff we can use to avoid plastic. Here are some of them:

Metal Straws

Bamboo Toothbrush

Eco-friendly Bags. They come in different sizes and some can even be very stylish! You can even get ones that can be personalized.

Metal Straws. I bring mine everywhere I go. They go with a pouch and brushes for cleaning. Can save a lot of plastics for sure. Plus, some shops have actually stopped providing plastic straws, so these can save you all the trouble.

Bamboo Toothbrush. After overusing them, you can easily dispose them and the bamboo will just go back to Earth. Compared to plastic toothbrushes, there's less plastic here which are the bristles.

Number 3. Seriously, clean as you go. Make every space you use your very own responsibility, and even at least 1 meter of its radius. Come on. It ain’t that difficult. Or the very least, don’t litter. Or if you’re a tad kinder, pick up that tiny little trash on sight.

Guys, listen. Our planet has provided for us in infinite ways, why don’t we give her the respect she deserves? She took care of all our needs, but who takes care of her? We MUST. If we help out each other, if we become more disciplined, if we pay more attention to her cries and if we care more for the habitat of our children and our children’s children, then nothing is impossible. Our planet doesn’t have its own voice, so when we hear it whimper, I beg you, LISTEN. And on top of it all, ACT.

Well I have this theory that when we take the first step to cleaning up our environment, it gives us a very positive energy and it brightens up the world, hence, our minds. There will be a sense of being proper, being correct, and having the proper frame of mind. So maybe, if we live in a green and clean environment, then maybe there will be more goodness in the world.  Who knows? It may even be a cure for some societal problems? 

I’ll leave it here, but what are you going to do about it?