Home Sweet Home

  

            

            Have you ever thought of losing your home? It would feel as if you’ve lost something valuable in your life. Your home is somewhere you grow up with, shared many memories with your beloved family and friends, a place where you feel comfort and safety, a place where you can be yourself. Did you know that your house is only a small portion of our environment? Your house stands on the ground and the ground is part of our environment. The environment is everyone’s home as well as the animals. Losing our home is like getting thrown out of the earth and we would all end up being dead. There was a quote from the internet that caught my eye: “What’s the use of a fine house if you haven’t got a tolerable planet to put it on. - Henry David Thoreau”. The quote tells us that even if you have the prettiest house in the entire world, you wouldn’t have a good place to put it on. The environment is our home, but because of some people’s misdeeds our home is slowly fading away and we should find ways to protect and care for our environment, our home.

            The environment is where everyone live, it includes all living and non-living things. Our lives depend on our environment, that is why we should protect and care for it because it provides us everything we need in order to live a great life here on earth. God created us in order for us to fulfill one role and that is to take care of his other creations. This is why we blame our kind for the environment we are living at today. We should all be disciplined and think about our actions and how they can affect the environment and the lives of others. There are still many people who aren’t disciplined, as if they do not care about their environment at all. They would just throw their trash anywhere, cutting of trees and other deeds that badly affects the environment. Remember that by hurting the environment, you are hurting others. Many people and animals around the globe are badly affected by our own deeds.

            Environmental issues are done by man and calamities are done naturally but they becomes worst because of man. We couldn’t avoid typhoons, tsunamis and other natural disasters but we can lessen their effect. Natural disasters cause greater destruction in our community if we’ve acted badly towards the environment. For example, your community can get flooded because the drainage is blocked or clogged by wastes that have been thrown away by people. It is basically coming back at us at some point, like if you cut down trees and do not replace them, then a landslide can happen. Pollutions caused by us affects our health and the peacefulness of our community. In order to have a peaceful, safe, healthy and beautiful home, all of us should unite and protect our environment even in the simplest ways.

Here are 6 simple ways to protect and care for the environment that both kids and adults can manage to do:

1. Use the 5Rs. This includes refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle and rot. Refuse means to avoid, resist and minimize the use of plastic and non-recyclable products. Reduce refers to the reduction of the use of harmful, wasteful and non-recyclable products, in order to save money as well as the environment. One way to reduce the amount of waste to throw out, learn how to recycle. Recycle items like tin cans, plastic bottles and newspapers and turn them into something new. Another way is to reuse items, use them again for another purpose or you can use them for the same purpose and avoid throwing them away if they are still useful. Lastly learn how to turn kitchen wastes and organics into fertilizer (rot).

2. Proper waste segregation. Proper waste segregation is the same as using the 5Rs. You should avoid mixing biodegradable and non-biodegradable in one trash bin or trash bag and learn how to separate the two. Learn how to separate things that you find recyclable and reusable. Of course, keep in mind that you should avoid throwing your trash anywhere and learn how to throw them in the proper bin to avoid blockage of the drainage if there is heavy rain or typhoon. To put it simply, learn to throw your wastes properly to lessen and stop pollution.

3. Lessen the activities that create smoke. Activities like burning, smoking and smoke from vehicles cause air pollution wherein people have difficulty in breathing and is one of the reason for the depletion of the ozone layer. If you are going somewhere near, walk or ride a bike instead of using your vehicles. Stop burning wastes and learn how to segregate them. Stop smoking, it’s not only you who can be affected by also the people around you and the environment.

4. Save water and energy. By conserving water, you are conserving energy because energy is needed to filter, heat and pump water to your home. Also conserve energy by turning off all switches and pull out the plug if you are not using them. Avoid using appliances that gives out greenhouse gases that causes global warming and climate change.

5. Take care of plants and plant trees. If you cut a tree replace it. Taking care of your garden is already caring for the environment. Care for the environment by simply watering the plants and planting more trees in order to lessen the possibility of a landslide to happen. Trees are a habitat for many animals, they give off oxygen for us to breathe, it gives us shelter and resources as well.

6. Inspire and educate. Share your knowledge with everyone. Educate them on why we should care for our environment and the effects of environmental issues. Inspire and motivate people to help out in protecting and caring for the environment. Also become a role model for children so that they can learn how to care for the earth at a young age.

                Of course in order to pull out the given ways to care and protect our environment, we should all unite and work together otherwise everything would be pointless. I doubt anybody doesn’t want a peaceful, safe and healthy place to live in, even the cruelest villains in the real world want a peaceful, safe and healthy place for them to live in, they are still human after all and every living thing that is here on earth are dependent on the environment for it provides us everything we need: food, clothes, air, water, other resources and a home to live in. The environment always gives us anything that we need, so let us at least pay it back simply protecting and caring for it, the environment is our home sweet home after all.

Resources:

“HENRY DAVID THOREAU”. Retrieved October 29, 2021. https://www.alexrovira.com/en/soluciones/articulo/henry-david-thoreau

“The Importance of the 5Rs of Waste Management”. Retrieved October 29, 2021. https://cleanmanagement.com/blog/the-importance-of-the-5rs-of-waste-management/

“5 Rs to Build a Better Tomorrow: Rethink, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Revive”. Retrieved November 08, 2021. https://www.sustainability100plus.com/msite/abinbev-article-page/5-rs-to-build-a-better-tomorrow-rethink-reduce-reuse-recycle-revive-6955451.html

“People sorting garbage into recycle bins” Retrieved November 08, 2021. https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/people-sorting-garbage-into-recycle-bins_3198216.htm

“Practical ways to save water and electricity” Retrieved November 08, 2021. https://www.4-you.gr/index.php/en/save-water-and-electricity.html

“Smiling women take care about plants watering tree” Retrieved November 08, 2021. https://www.vectorstock.com/royalty-free-vector/smiling-women-take-care-about-plants-watering-tree-vector-22399048

“Top 7 Benefits of Environmental Education”. Retrieved November 08, 2021. https://www.ecomena.org/benefits-of-environmental-education/

“Big Hero 6 — Scott Watanabe” Retrieved September 28, 2021 https://www.pinterest.ph/pin/838795499354797043/

https://www.pinterest.ph/pin/838795499354840847/