The Green Bandwagon

People never get tired of jumping on the bandwagon. We always go with the majority, always out with the old and in with the new. We hate to say it, but this bandwagon mentality has, in fact, become apparent even in our fight for sustainability.

The world is slowly coming to an end. With this realization, people suddenly find themselves environmental advocates trying to tell others what to do and what not to do. They blame others for not using environmentally friendly products and refuse to see that they, themselves are to blame for this world’s degradation.

We are saddened by the fact that people pretend to be environmentally friendly. Even corporations dub themselves “green” just to promote their products and increase their profit; little do they know that being environmentally responsible is more than just self-proclamation. It’s about letting their actions do the talking.

Yes, going green has become a bandwagon and people have chosen to jump on it for the wrong reasons.

We know how cynical it is to believe that most people only care for the environment because they see their favorite celebrities promoting their environmental advocacy on TV, that they pretend to care because it’s the “it” thing. We know it is skeptical of us to believe that this “green” thing is just like a fashion trend that will soon go out of style and like any other fad, people will grow tired of it. And for once, we really do hope that we are wrong about all these beliefs. We hope that this bandwagon effect isn’t real.

We are in no position to tell you what to do or what not to do, for we, too, are guilty of polluting our world..

 But we have this desire for change—in ourselves and how we perceive this world. Slowly, let us work on improving our actions that affect the environment.

As of this moment, let us oblige  ourselves not to use Styrofoam products (which take 500 years to decompose) and plastic straws (roughly about 5% of pollutants in Pasig River) not just because we want to but because by doing so, We’ll be able to reduce the burden that our world is bearing and somehow stop environmental degradation.

Let us be aware that our every action, no matter how insignificant it may seem, affects this world and all the things (living or non-living, big or small) that live in it.But only compliance with it will bring our vision of a “Healthy Earth” into reality.

Most of you may have reacted violently against it, but we assure you that there is a greater good that lies beyond our decisions not to use styro products. It gives us hope that somehow, in some way, we can bring back the beauty this world had back when it was unpolluted, bountiful, and young. It gives this world a chance at life, at perfection.

Mother Earth needs us. She needs us to stop being villains who slowly poison her with our selfish acts and start being heroes who will save and preserve whatever is left of her beauty. If we could only feel her pain, we wouldn’t have second thoughts about helping her. If we would only pay attention to her calls, we would stop being indifferent.