This particular course has provided me a lot of insights about the ongoing environmental issues worldwide. With this, I have given the opportunity to engage even in the simplest ways that I can do to contribute a little change. As always, I am drawn to the issues particularly on waste disposal and the major damage it can cause in biodiversity as a whole. Thus, I have chosen to be one of the volunteers in a cleanup activity in our community.
As early as five in the morning, all of us volunteers gathered along the roadsides bringing our own garbage containers. We were given the list of designated areas to be covered by our activity. The organizers provided us the brief introduction and the mission of the cleanup program. Our task was to collect the garbage, segregate them according to their kind, and sort them if they can be reused or recycled. Garbage posts were placed and sorted too where we can dispose our collected garbage. I gathered lots of food wrappers, plastic bottles, and paper sheets.
This activity has provided me a maximized interaction with the nature and those people who hope for a different change. I became aware how people cause the problems they are facing, yet most of them fail to recognize the consequences of their actions. A socially responsible citizen does not only stop in learning the right things to do, but having the attitude to apply them in every situation. Community engagement activities help in reaching out the people to actively share their responsibility as a united group with a definite goal towards the environment. It is an effective way of reminding everyone of their personal responsibility and the kind of sociological impact each one has.
The people’s actions are shaped by the kind of ethical beliefs they are cultivated with. The environmental issues raised ethical challenges that relate with people’s point of view, their ability to weigh cause and effect, and their ability to deal with questions of choice and obligation in the face of uncertainty (Clowney and Mosto 325). Engagement activity like roadside cleanup provides a real-life scenario on how most of the people behave and respond to environmental issues. Corresponding effects happen with their simple daily activity such as eating a piece of candy, buying a drink in a plastic bottle, or purchasing meals from fast food chains. These pieces of trash can be seen everywhere, and basically one of the common reasons of pollution. Such problems are personal doings and require efforts mainly from every individual, and not solely taking the government accountable. Their daily consumption points to a direct impact on the resources being used and consumed. The way people perform their actions correspond to how they became part of the problem and of the solution.
Being part of the cleanup activity has given me a different sense of fulfillment which I need to continually pursue. Improper waste disposal is just one of the environmental issues that are threatening the planet that we have. More actions have to be taken knowing that these problems are not only affecting our natural resources but other life forms as well. Being in charge as a steward, I deeply care for the lives of other creatures being loss every year. It is quite alarming, and these things should be minimized at least, if it can’t be totally stopped. After such realization, I know my participation doesn’t stop with this cleanup activity. I am looking for more of possible ways in which I would be able to take part and influence others in doing so. Every change is achieved through actions and a willing hand.
Works Cited
Clowney, D., and P. Mosto. "Air pollution and climate change." Earthcare: An anthology in environmental ethics. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc, 2009. 325-326. Web. 22 July 2015.
