when darkness turns to light

Sunday, May 20, 2007

After reading and understanding the topics, it all boils down to the question..
"CAN THE EARTH BE SAVED?"

Why should the Earth be saved? It is because Earth is the only place human beings and living things can live in, thus we must do our best to protect and save it! Saving the Earth would also mean all living organisms and humans will be able to carry on with life and not face extinction! Other than that, in the 1st place, it was mankind who destroyed and detoriate Earth's natural beauty, thus it is only right that humans bear the responsibility and fix up what they have done.

Why shouldnt the Earth be saved then?! Since the Earth has already been destroyed by mankind, it is highly unlikely that people will try to save the Earth now! People overwhelmed with greed will neglect the environment for their own interests. For example, if there is an increasing demand in wood furniture, people would be cutting down trees so fast the trees would have no time to regenerate! The Earth now is already polluted ,facing global warming and much of the beautiful scenery and vast canopy of trees have far become just a mere imagination in our minds. This kind of scenery has already almost been "extinct" in this society now. So why not let the Earth detoriate further rather then to fix up wad mankind has done to Earth themselves?

In my opinion, yes, the Earth can still be saved if countries all around world cooperate and stop further destruction to the Earth. The 1st step to saving the Earth is to educate other countries that the Earth does not only belong to one country, it belongs to every country regardless of its size! Every country has a part to play. Furthermore, countries should make an effort in saving the environment and not develop an ECONOMY first, than ENVIRONMENT mindset! A lot of things are needed to be done to save the Earth and it is a worldwide effort.

Firstly, we all know the government & media is the most influential source of letting people be informed of upcoming campaigns and stuff. This can let people know about the Earth's situation now and create more awareness in protecting the Earth. For example, the government can establish campaigns on saving the Earth (eg; 3R's campaign) and the media can telecast documentaries and talk shows on the future of mankind and the environment if people keep on destroying the Earth. this is to inform people about its seriousness if the long term damage done to Earth carries on.

Secondly, Industries have also a part to play. These highly-specialized industries (eg;chemical industries) need to find ways to reduce the pollution they have given out.

Thirdly, People around the world should also do their part. For example, Drivers should have the courtesy to install catalytic converters on their vehicles to reduce pollution too. Some people might think "if i do not install a converter in my vehicle, it wont make much of a difference in dealing with pollution, its only ONE vehicle." This mindset is totally wrong because if 100,000 people think this way and do not install converters to their exhuast pipes, the pollution will still
add up to a large amount. Besides that, people should be more careful when handling toxics. Oil spills, chemical plant leakage can all be avoided if workers are more cautious while handling their work.

Fourthly, Technology also have a part to play. In general, technology is the relationship that society has with its tools and crafts, and to what extent society can control its environment. Yes, it is true that the world is facing problems such as water shortage, pollution and spread of diseases, all partly due to technology improving at a fast rate. As technology advances at a fast pace, many technological processes produce many unwanted by-products and deplete natural resources to the detriment of the Earth and its environment. These by-products will create pollution in water,land and air. There is no perfect solution to wipe out pollution completely even but doing away with technology, but there are ways to REDUCE pollution. For Example, since technology has created cars for human uses, air pollution can be reduced by placing catalytic converters on the exhuast pipes of cars.

In water pollution, humans also have a part to play in reducing water pollution. No doubt, technology has done a big part in contributing to water pollution by its fair share of emitting hardmful chemicals to water, but humans too should stop throwing waste into the sea and contaminate them with chemicals and toxins. Chemical industries should handle their chemical waste properly and not discard them into the seas, lakes or rivers. This causes marine life to be affected and when humans consume seafood(eg; fish) they will get food poisoning!

However, on the other hand, technology can help some of these problems the world is facing! For example, In the past, Singapore had to rely on Malaysia for its water supplies. But now, Singapore can reduce the cost of buying water from Malaysia since it has its own desalination plant. A desalination plant might be an invention, but it requires a certain amount of technology to apply it into usage. Certainly, this doesnt mean Singapore can totally stop buying water from Malaysia, but it is a solution to stop Malaysia from thinking that they can exploit Singapore by increasing the water prices. All this is given credit to the technological advances which has enabled clean potable water to be produced from dirty water. In this way, Singapore can solve its water shortage problem and can still provide short term water supplies to the citizens in case of emergency. From what i understand, campaigns such as 3R's ( reduce, reuse and recycle) have been established in attempt to control or reduce pollution in the environment.

Last of all, the spread of diseases can also be reduced and managed well without doing away with technology. Instead, we should be grateful to the technological advances because it has helped us reseach and find cures of some diseases early people have faced. For example, Tuberculosis(TB) was once a 'deadly' disease which the early people couldnt cure. This was because technology wasnt as advanced at that time. Now, tuberculosis can be easily treated with antibiotics. Besides that, the recent SARS(Severe acute respiratory syndrome) a few years ago has shown the effectiveness of technology. A SARS vaccine was produced not long after the pandemic and the disease was controlled not long after.To conclude, everything has its two sides of a coin. This also applies the same to techonology. We cannot totally wipe out technology in the world, and these pollution and water shortage problems can be reduced with the cooperation of countries by working together to reduce these problems.

Lastly, farmers should reduce the use of pesticides(CFC's) on their crops because pesticides are poisonous and if an extensive dose is used on the crops, comsumers will get food poisoning. Other than that, these pesticides contain CFC's which harms the ozone layer! Similarly, households who spray a lot of pesticides when they notice bugs around should do so LESS OFTEN and can adapt a more 'hands-on approach' when it comes to dealing with bugs.

To summarise, it is still possible to save the environment by observing the small details we tend to ignore(eg; installing catalytic converters in vehicles) and be more environmental friendly to save OUR environment.
TOGETHER, WE CAN SAVE THE EARTH :D

My mind's unweaving/ 4:04 PM