Haneen Alqatanani - Mankind's Ecological Imprint

Mankind's Ecological Imprint

David Schaller defines Ecological footprint as a tool that evaluates the influence that either whole societies or mere individuals have on the environment. Evaluating the influence supplies us with a straightforward tool that helps to study the impact of the human beings’ expenditure model. “The amount of productive land and water needed to support the production of resources we consume and absorb the wastes we create can be considered our ecological footprint ” (Schaller). Because all humans, and countries can be measured according to their ecological footprint, every single citizen should take an action towards keeping the earth safe.

Wendell Berry, an author of more than forty works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, discusses different actions that must be taken by each individual in order to keep the earth safe from the human footprint. He states them as follows; “ First, we must not work or think on a heroic scale. In our age of global industrialism, heroes too likely risk the lives of people, places and things they do not see. We must work on a scale proper to our limited abilities. We must not break things we cannot fix. Second, we must abandon the homeopathic delusion that the damages done by industrialization can be corrected by more industrialization. Third, we must quit solving our problems by moving on. We must try to stay put and learn where we are, geographically, historically, and ecologically. Fourth, we must learn, if we can, the sources and cost of our own economic lives. Fifth, We must give up the notion that we are too good to do our own work and clean up our own messes. It is not acceptable for this work to be done for us by wage slavery or by enslaving nature. Sixth, by way of correction we must make locally adapted economies, based on local nature, local sunlight, local intelligence, and local work. Seventh, we must understand that these measures are radical. They go to the root of our problems; they cannot be performed for us by any expert, political leader, or corporation”  (Berry)

 A very important issue that Berry brings up is that everyone, each individual, must take these steps. In addition, we should not be relying on well-known politicians or scientists to take the steps for us. We should all be responsible towards keeping out mother earth safe and adapt these steps as a part of our everyday life.  

Before watching this video, I always felt that I do not have a part in doing anything that would keep the earth safe. I always said that the world is too big to be affected by me; the earth is too huge to be harmed by my tiny waste. Following this further, I believe that many people think the same way. But it is time to take an action and be a part of the change, humans have harmed the earth a lot and time has come to repair it. I can make a difference, as well as you. From now and on, I will rely on myself until I see a difference in the world, i will keep working as hard as i can to follow, as many steps as i have to .As I just realized that we all live on this earth, its not only the scientists that devote their lives into saving earth and fixing problems that are caused by us.

Since I watched that video, I have been google-ing ways to save earth. I have come across very interesting sites and one of them illustrates on saving earth. I will bring up 4 steps out of the 49 given by the website. Use less water, turn off the lights, separate your garbage, and take fewer showers. I found them to be very interesting because I used to think that there was NOTHING I can do to save my mother earth. (Neuman)

Work Cited

Poet Wendell Berry on mankind's ecological imprint. Berry, Wendell. The Washington Post. Web.11 May 2011.

     Schaller, David. “American Consumption Patterns Destroy the Environment.”. Ed. Laura K. Egendorf. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2005. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Web. 21 May. 2011

Neuman, Matt. “49 Simple Things You Can Do to Save the Earth”. Web. 2 June.2011