Nature's Babel

ESSAY WRITING CONTEST – ENGLISH
FINALIST - DIVISION LEVEL ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE CAMP


NATURE’S BABEL

ANGELIE ANN LLANTOS
II – Diamond

ROLLY B. CAIDIC
COACH/TRAINOR

Boooom! Booom!
A massive destructive sound awakened Maria one morning. Followed by the shaking of the ground, she tries to get up from the bed to get ready for school. Mining has started again in their town and scene like this is no longer a surprise to them. Almost three fourths of the hill has already been literally flattened and miner’s job seems not yet done.

Crasshhh... creaaak... rrumble...
Big rocks and trunk of woods toppled down the slope. Destruction of our natural resources and mass consumption of fossil fuels lead to global warming and extreme climate phenomena. In fact, the year 2005 was recorded as the hottest in recorded history and over the past century human industrial and agricultural activities have started to the build-up of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases which traps earth’s outgoing radiation leading to an enhanced greenhouse effect and a warmer earth.

Education is still an effective vehicle for bringing global warming into our collective consciousness. Knowing the how’s and why’s of our mother earth could lead to better understanding about frightening warm weather, extreme floods, extinction of animals, and even melting of the polar ice caps. Youth plays an important role on mobilization of everyone.

Whoosshh…
Don’t let Maria’s dream of a cool fresh breeze of air be a dream forever. Working together with our peers and the community can address the problem of our mother earth. This is the role of youth-led initiatives in the green economy. Young people are not only the future, they are also the now. More than 45% of the world’s population is under 25, with 1.3 billion young people living in developing countries. Over the last two years, consultations and research work with youths have demonstrated that they can make a difference in fighting earth’s destruction through their actions and advocacy activities in youth organizations. Youths are key agents of change.

Roaar… croaak… tweeet…
Nature’s harmonious sounds, do we still hear these today? Or the future lies on the ipod’s and flat screen TV’s just to experience these natural wonders. Don’t let this happen especially for our future generations. Let us put these technologies into a better usage. It depends on our hands on how to utilize these inventions and where we could apply our knowledge to help our mother earth’s calling for a better place to live in.

Ticktock... ticktock...
Earth’s clock is running out and its calling everyone’s attention before it is too late. Climate change is one of the biggest threats of our time, like a big bomb waiting to explode, don’t let this happen to the world we live in. The alarm of hope is ringing and it’s calling our awareness, this is the perfect time to act now before it’s too late. Solutions are lying within the hands of our future generations. Green economy such as environmentally sustainable enterprises, technological innovations (new sources of clean renewable energy), energy efficiency measures, etc... Youth can contribute! And yes! There is hope for Maria and her town.