CELINO, DIANNE A. August 21, 2021
Bachelor of Arts in English Language 2A MST 22 People and Earth’s Ecosystem
Chapter 1
ENGAGE:
Take time to step outside your house. Observe any environmental issue that is present in your
community. Reflect on these by discussing in not more than 10 lines how relevant this issue to
you and to your community, and how should this be addressed. Your answers will be assessed
based on the rubrics in Appendix A.
WASTE BURNING
I, being another resident living in the City of Pines for nearly two decades or my entire life
to be precise, have witnessed several environmental problems that needs addressing in, but not
limited to, the community of our neighborhood. One of the most disturbing environmental issue I
observed recently within the community is the practice of open waste burning despite having
scheduled garbage collections on particular days in a month. The fact about open waste burning
that leads to dangerous consequences such as the risk of increasing black carbon emissions and
exposure to cancer-causing compounds and other toxic substances which bring negative impacts
on humanity as well as the environment is common knowledge among human beings. The latter
reveals that even those who are knowledgeable and aware of its consequences do not refrain
themselves from burning wastes out in the open for reasons they consider to be acceptable. In
order to address this, the local government must take initiative by imposing stricter policies,
regulations, and necessary measures that aim to avoid the negative consequences from open
waste burning as well as to reduce pollution that is associated with it in the very least. The
expected results from an implementation of stricter rules or policies, however, might be difficult to
achieve given that the practice of waste burning occurs in different individual households of our
barangay, that which makes the problem more complex and harder to address. Still, the local
government and the barangays should be responsible as to exert adequate effort to propagate
awareness about significant human health and environmental impacts brought by waste burning
to ensure that it does not contribute to climate change and the safety of our community remains
unthreatened. This can be done through engaging in outreach programs within the target
community to encourage waste prevention and educate the public on the dangers as well as
consequences of open waste burning that, in turn, can win their cooperation to comply with the
rules, policies and measures implemented by the government to address this particular
environmental problem. Further, our local government can also support waste management
systems that involve proper waste segregation in order to lessen the frequency of having tons of
garbage around the streets and even improve waste collection in our community. I believe that
as individuals, and as adults for that matter, it is very important that we should not be negligent of
our responsibilities as members of a community and as part of the environment for the main
reason that health and safety of people as well as the condition of the environment we live in
depends heavily on our acts and behavior towards nature.
ELABORATE:
Based on the article "EASTER ISLAND", answer the following questions. (20 POINTS)
1. What are the main lessons to take from Easter Island’s history?
The dark history of Easter Island reveals to us the importance and necessity of
careful preservation especially during times of crises like the one we are currently
experiencing today. I think the article reflects how rapid population growth exhausts the
world's natural resources from which human beings take advantage of for food production,
a scarcity of resources in economic terms. As the population grows in an exponential pace,
an increase of food production is required to take place. The latter would mean that the
Bachelor of Arts in English Language 2A MST 22 People and Earth’s Ecosystem
Chapter 1
ENGAGE:
Take time to step outside your house. Observe any environmental issue that is present in your
community. Reflect on these by discussing in not more than 10 lines how relevant this issue to
you and to your community, and how should this be addressed. Your answers will be assessed
based on the rubrics in Appendix A.
WASTE BURNING
I, being another resident living in the City of Pines for nearly two decades or my entire life
to be precise, have witnessed several environmental problems that needs addressing in, but not
limited to, the community of our neighborhood. One of the most disturbing environmental issue I
observed recently within the community is the practice of open waste burning despite having
scheduled garbage collections on particular days in a month. The fact about open waste burning
that leads to dangerous consequences such as the risk of increasing black carbon emissions and
exposure to cancer-causing compounds and other toxic substances which bring negative impacts
on humanity as well as the environment is common knowledge among human beings. The latter
reveals that even those who are knowledgeable and aware of its consequences do not refrain
themselves from burning wastes out in the open for reasons they consider to be acceptable. In
order to address this, the local government must take initiative by imposing stricter policies,
regulations, and necessary measures that aim to avoid the negative consequences from open
waste burning as well as to reduce pollution that is associated with it in the very least. The
expected results from an implementation of stricter rules or policies, however, might be difficult to
achieve given that the practice of waste burning occurs in different individual households of our
barangay, that which makes the problem more complex and harder to address. Still, the local
government and the barangays should be responsible as to exert adequate effort to propagate
awareness about significant human health and environmental impacts brought by waste burning
to ensure that it does not contribute to climate change and the safety of our community remains
unthreatened. This can be done through engaging in outreach programs within the target
community to encourage waste prevention and educate the public on the dangers as well as
consequences of open waste burning that, in turn, can win their cooperation to comply with the
rules, policies and measures implemented by the government to address this particular
environmental problem. Further, our local government can also support waste management
systems that involve proper waste segregation in order to lessen the frequency of having tons of
garbage around the streets and even improve waste collection in our community. I believe that
as individuals, and as adults for that matter, it is very important that we should not be negligent of
our responsibilities as members of a community and as part of the environment for the main
reason that health and safety of people as well as the condition of the environment we live in
depends heavily on our acts and behavior towards nature.
ELABORATE:
Based on the article "EASTER ISLAND", answer the following questions. (20 POINTS)
1. What are the main lessons to take from Easter Island’s history?
The dark history of Easter Island reveals to us the importance and necessity of
careful preservation especially during times of crises like the one we are currently
experiencing today. I think the article reflects how rapid population growth exhausts the
world's natural resources from which human beings take advantage of for food production,
a scarcity of resources in economic terms. As the population grows in an exponential pace,
an increase of food production is required to take place. The latter would mean that the
