A Speech of a Fourth Year Student Who Cares for Her Environment

This was my speech on our English class during the second quarter. It tackles environmental degradation. I'm posting this to share to you wha's really happening in our world today. Enjoy & criticize by putting comments. :) Thanks. This is all for my fellow youth. For my fellow youth who have much care for our environment. Who have much love for our planet. And who have much love for every person living. A month ago, our country went through a distressing catastrophe and thousands of families were affected. Typhoon Frank didn’t just sink M V Princess of the Stars but also part of Luzon such as the provinces of Iloilo, Albay and other parts of Metro Manila. This latest disaster left more than a thousand people dead including those in the vessel. Are you aware of the hail happened last year in Quezon City and the tornadoes in Bulacan? These calamities are unusual in our country. Isn’t it? These are some signs of climate change. And for what reason? Environmental Degradation. We are abusing the gifts of our nature. We are not taking care of our environment. This is very alarming since it concerns the place we live in. As said by Conrado de Quiros, a columnist in a famous newspaper, “I do not know which is more frightening, the death toll from those disasters or our factoring of it to a point where we now find a hundred people dead ‘normal’.” What am I trying to point here? See, what our country experiences is only one of the effects of environmental degradation. Our world is surrounded by lots of problems—food crisis, oil crisis, climate change, and deterioration of our nature. The degradation of our environment can be seen anywhere in our world. Hurricanes in United States, earthquakes in China and Burma, super typhoons in our country, landslides in Infanta, Quezon. Examples that our nature is being abused by us, people. Have you ever think of the bigger hole that this problem could bring to our world? Have you ever think of ways on how to mend the holes our world already contains? Or are you one of those people who contribute terrible things that obliterate our environment? In our country, we’ve experienced lots of effects because of the deterioration of our environment. First, flood. When raining. Just raining. You need to go through a flood already covering your car’s wheel in order to pass through that street. I, personally, experienced going through this kind of flood and I say that it is really inconvenient and hassle. We cannot only see floods in Makati but also in Manila particularly in Navotas. Classes were being suspended there just because of the flood reaching their bodies just because of a 30-minute rain. I know you already distinguish the cause of this inconvenience. Garbage. Let me ask you. Do you think your trashes at home being disposed properly? Where do you think your trash goes when eating in McDonalds or Jollibee? Yes, in the dump truck then landfills. Isn’t it? Once those landfills have already been occupied by garbage, there would be problems in locating our wastes. Second effect, climate change in our country. Like I said earlier, our country already experienced hails and tornadoes which are very unusual in our country. These are some effects of climate change that resulted to stronger typhoons each year. Too much pollution can alter our climate. Every day when going to school, I go through EDSA and I felt awful because I can barely see the cars a kilometer away from us because of air pollution. I know all of us are bothered with this. Right? Third effect, landslides. Our country is rich in mountains. Beneath these mountains are homes of thousands of families. These families are in danger every time our country experiences typhoons. Landslides could occur because of the undisciplined individual who never cares for our nature and still cuts trees without the approval of those in authority and they, too, never replace those. We, the youth of this generation, could do something. We could contribute something. I suggest 5 simple solutions that we, especially the youth, can all act to in renewing our planet. First, the using of straw. Is using straw really necessary? I am proud that my friends and I do not use straws because we think of the possibility on where that straw might be after we use those. It could be thrown in the rivers or could be the reason of clogging of the canals. By simply not using straws could be of great help in lessening our garbage. Second, the zero-percent people who smoke. I’ve noticed young people smoking. They smoke for the reason of getting “in” in a certain group. Isn’t that shallow?!? I, personally, really, really hate people who smoke. When people smoke, I disgust them. Do they think of the effects of smoking in their health and in the society they live in? This could only give them lots of diseases and could decrease their life span. Besides, it is just a single stick of disgusting nicotine that doesn’t contain any benefit to a person. If only our country would be free from people who smoke, our air pollution would definitely decrease. Third, disposing our trash in proper place. It is better if we only throw trash which is non-biodegradable. We must dispose our trash into proper location especially when in public places. We should not only avoid doing this but we must do it. It is just simple. Throw your trash in the garbage can and if there’s none, keep it first to yourself and then throw it if you find one already. Fourth, recycling. Recycling is as easy as playing computer games and checking our multiply and friendster accounts. If we enjoy those things, we will enjoy more recycling. In recycling, you pick anything that could be recycled and then make something that can be another product of it. You could even sell your finish products. You already have money and you do something fruitful for our environment. Lastly, planting trees. As I’ve said, lacks of trees are source of landslides and floods. As young member of this world, we are all called to plant one tree anywhere in this world. The more trees planted the better. Isn’t it? Also, those that are biodegradable could be buried in soils as fertilizers for trees. Instead of throwing them, they could be use in a better way. Trees are very important especially when we have floods. These are just 5 simple ways in renewing our world. With the participation of each individual, we could alter our world into a cleaner one. We are all involved in this terrifying issue. We are responsible for our world. Our weather is messed up and our life is fragile in all parts of the world. We do not know when the next disaster will strike. If we do not do something, more catastrophes will occur in our country. The typhoon Frank is just a warning for each of us that there would be a stronger typhoon that would hit our country. More lives would be in danger and we could be one of those. Our country, perhaps our world, is dying because of carbon emissions and our mineral resources are near to depletion. Things would be getting worse if we do not do anything. Let us all change our lifestyle. Let us not only rely on our government. Some of those in positions may be busy doing something. We need a responsible leader. We need a truthful leader. We need an honest leader. Even though, we only have several of them, we, as the youth, can do something. We could do something. We must do something. Let us all do a share in saving our planet.