11th Hour

1. Describe some of the emotions you felt during the film. Which aspects of the video had the greatest impact on you and why?

            - The film 11^th Hour is a documentary film which features the present issues that our world is dealing with now. It also gives an emphasis on what the next generation will experience once we continue the destruction of our environment. As the film goes on, the emotion that I had was concern and disappointment. I am concerned for the future humanity because what is transpiring on our surroundings in this present time is really alarming and it might have a dangerous setback on the lives of the people who will live on the near future. Aside from that, I also felt disappointment especially to our leaders. Instead of leading their countries into a clean and green place, they continue to act as if nothing is happening and their ignorance might lead to the extinction of many species. One aspect of the video that has the greatest impact on me is that instead of scaring the viewers on the possible outcome of their ignorance in the surrounding, they emphasized that we should be more concerned with ourselves. The film is quick to point out that the viewers need to act quickly before everything is too late. We all know that our natural resources are only finite and once it runs out, we would be in great trouble.

2. What information contained in the video was new to you?

            - An information contained in the video which was new to me is about the problem on politics. As of now, we are experiencing great effects on the wrath of nature. There are floods, earthquakes, famines, hurricanes, intensity on the increase and decrease of the temperature, and many more. I found out that the governments on some countries are depleting the environment for economic gain. As a human being who works for the government, they have great influence and power over their nation. They also make sure that they will be responsible in the survival of their community and thus it leads in to the development of science and technology. The governments are making advancements in technology without thinking what effects and changes it will bring to the environment just so they have an edge in economic gain.

3. What topics presented in the film would you like to explore further? Do you know what you need to continue learning about environmental issues? If the answer is no, how can you find out what you need to know?

            - I would like to explore further the topic on how the government can build an economy sustainable for economic development. It would be interesting to find out whether it is possible to have a sustainable economy while preserving the existence of the human race with the aid of science and technology. I think that my understanding regarding environmental issue is not yet enough and it would be appropriate for me if I would be curious and start on asking questions to persons who have experience and more than enough understanding when dealing with issues on the environment.

4. Discuss the ways that eating locally produced food is an environmental issue. What can individuals do to support the local production and consumption of foods?

            - Eating locally produced food is an environmental issue. In our modern age, we use different additives and preservatives on our food which would raise concern on the quality and cleanliness of the food. Individuals on a certain community must relay to their neighbours that they should consume their local produced food. They should be able to convince each other that they should eat locally produced food for better health; it would also reduce global warming because it will lessen the pollution caused by the transportation in exporting and importing the goods and it would also help one’s economy when they start eating their local food.

5. Who should see this film and for what purposes? Who might be unreceptive to the ideas in the film and why?

            - Everyone who is a resident of the planet Earth should see this film. It is because more men who are willing to make a change for the environment would be a lot better. The young, the adult, the rich or the poor people, should be a part in facing this crisis so that in due time, we may be able to reap great harvest for the next generations to come.

6. Share one issue or item that you wrote on your index card while you were watching The 11^th Hour.

            - An issue that I wrote while watching the film is about the issue on the water and the land. The film presented that some countries are experiencing food poisoning especially after eating resources from the sea. This is happening because toxins and chemicals are forming on the sea and it is because of the presence of plastics and other sources. The simple and harmful act of throwing garbage into the sea can lead to different sickness and even death to a life of a human being. The film also presents an issue concerning the land. Seventy countries do not have forests already. Illegal deforestations have been made without replanting the trees. Once this happens, land becomes dry due to absence of trees and deserts are formed.

7. As a result of your having seen this film, what, if any, specific actions do you think you will take?

            - After watching the film, I should start on understanding my surroundings. When I find out what problems I am dealing with my community, I would start on relaying to others the picture which I am seeing. I would begin on recycling some materials to lessen the waste which would affect the sustainability of an environment. Picking up trashes from the sea or the land can be of great help also to avoid pollution which are harmful to health. These are some small steps which can be a big help when done by many every day. We should learn to love the place that we live in to save the world.

Sustainability

             Before our generation started, our ancestors experienced what we call a sustainable environment. They experienced clean waters from lakes, a suitable air for breathing, and a surrounding with less waste than we could imagine. Sustainability has been the key for this kind of surrounding. Now, what is sustainability?

The ability of an ecosystem to function and maintain productivity for a prolonged period is what we call sustainability. As a human being, we are truly dependent on our environment for us to survive. Almost everything that we need comes from natural resources. Often times, it is a mistake for a human being to view that the natural resources from the environment are valuable only if they are useful to humans. It means that when we think that one of the natural resources is not significant for living, there is a tendency that humans will waste those resources, thus we are going to have a degraded ecosystem and a diminishing biodiversity.

Sustainability is the capacity to continue to exist. If something is not sustainable, it will cease to exist. For example, a community can be considered as sustainable if whatever resources it consumes should be no more than into what it produces. This is because sustainability is a balance between supply and demand, between what is produced and consumed. A sustainable population ensures that the population of all other species who share the land where they live is also sustained. A population that causes the extinction of another species is not sustainable. It means that human population and the population of the natural resources are dependent on each other so they need to take care of each other and assure the preservation of each.

Some of us think that by being a student we only have limited ways to contribute to sustainability. We can have different and plenty of ways to contribute for the sustainability of our environment. We know that production of sustenance is difficult for large population because of the climate change and increased levels of pollution. It worsens environmental conditions.

As a student, I can prevent the worsening of pollution by joining different activities specifically tree planting. It is clearly obvious that we lack trees especially in the rural areas. Flooding destroys the environment and the natural resources that we need. Just as what I mentioned, we can achieve sustainability by having a balance between supply and demand. Aside from this, we also need to decrease the amount of waste produced so as not to exceed the waste absorption capacity of the environment.

As a student, we can decrease the amount of waste by recycling. It is the process of separating, collecting, and remanufacturing or converting used or waste products, it reduces pollution and helps mitigate global warming, and more importantly, it saves our planet Earth. A population’s ability to sustain itself is not dependent on the number of people, but the relationship between the people and the land they live on. If the people exploit the land, taking more from it than they give in return, then regardless on the number of people, they will soon reach a point where the land no longer sustains them.

As a student, I can contribute to sustainability by thinking and restoring into my mind that there is no unlimited consumption of resources. I will make others realize that resources are finite and will run out at present rates of consumption. 

Sustainability is important because all the choices and actions that we do today will affect everything in the future. The lives of the future generations will count on us so that there would be enough natural resources for them. Let me end by stating a quote from Frank Buchman, “There is enough in the world for everyone’s need, but not enough for everyone’s greed”. It means that even as a student, we should be responsible enough in handling and maintaining sustainability.