Example Of Case Study On The Human Footprint

This video talks about the ever-growing effect of the human race on nature and on the resources that are available to the human race on this planet. First the video talks about how much resources are consumed to produce the everyday goods that people use, and this translates to a lot of trees, water, and other materials. There is special emphasis on the amount of candy and sugar people consume annually, and this also results in the use of an enormous amount of resources. The way goods travel around the world seems to be wasteful also in terms of resources. The enormous amount of soda cans that are simply thrown away is testament to this. Clean water resources are being consumed at a very fast rate, and the lifestyle of people today likewise erodes the resources of the earth. As humans grow older, the footprint gets even larger, as now aside from food, there are other wants and needs that place even more pressure on our dwindling resources. There are tips also on how to save on carbon dioxide emissions, and these steps are as simple as unplugging electrical cords when the appliances are not in use. Other major contributors to the carbon footprint are then discussed, such as cars, airplanes and other forms of transportation. Finally there is a wrap-up at the end of the video, showing how much resources we use during our lifetime, and how much waste is thrown back into the earth during this same lifetime.
One thing that stands out is the amount of packaging that the whole world consumes every single day in the name of convenience, and how much of this is not recycled. Thus humans are not only consuming resources, but are also polluting the planet in terms of the large amounts of trash that are being returned to the earth. Can we not go back to the days of lunch boxes? I have read that in some schools in the Philippines, the cafeterias refuse to package the food orders, but instead require their students to bring their own Tupperware containers, and have provided instead for more sinks and soap so that the students can wash their containers after eating. Why can’t everyone do this?
Another thing that is so haunting about the video is that sometimes we will have to eat a banana that has traveled more than halfway around the world to reach us. In doing so, this single apple will have contributed to so much carbon emissions, whether it was placed on a bus, train, boat or plane in reaching its final destination. Just for one banana for dessert, so much emissions have been released into the atmosphere already. This is part of the price the earth has to pay for globalization – now anyone can order goods just about from any point in the world. Thus people will have to strike a balance between globalization and trying to decrease the pollutants in the air.
Finally, there is the issue of the carbon emissions themselves. As humans, one could say that it is only “human” to travel and enjoy some amount of mobility. In doing so, we contribute to the pollution of the atmosphere and to global warming. The effects of global warming are very clear – the United States is one of the biggest polluters on the earth, yet it does not bear the brunt of global warming. The Philippines is not the biggest polluter on the earth, yet in the span of about a year, the strongest typhoon on earth (Typhoon Haiyan) and another recent super typhoon (Typhoon Hagupit) have wrought devastation on this country. This is one of the inequities in life – smaller nations in the path of destructive typhoons will bear the brunt of global warming, as stronger typhoons at the level of Haiyan and Hagupit are said to become the norm, rather than the exception.
Global solidarity and cooperation will surely be needed so as steps can be taken to reduce the human footprint and thus mitigate the negative effects of global warming. It will be up to the bigger nations (who release the biggest emissions) to take action and lead the rest of the world in this act.