Reflection

Climate change is a global issue that has affected the world for a long time. It is a problem that is not going to go away anytime soon. The world is changing and we need to change with it. We need to be more aware of the things we do and how it affects the environment. This project mainly explores the effects on coral reefs, but in reality, there are many other things that are affected by climate change. I hope that this project brings more awareness to the issue and that people will continue to take action to help the environment. I’d also like to give credit to the people who are already taking action to help the environment. They are the ones truly making a difference and I hope that more people will join them. If everyone can work on the issue, I’m sure we can alleviate, or even eradicate, the climate crisis. All the little things matter.

I admire people who are willing to put their words into action, and I think they are true heroes who are trying to slow down climate change. People always say they are worried and concerned about global warming, however, they didn’t do anything to try to change the circumstance. Maybe when we forget about environmental protection, we always think that our own mistakes will not exacerbate the current situation. However, we did not expect that when everyone thinks this way, the severe abnormality of the climate will be close to our daily life certainly. In Taiwan, there are quite a few typhoons in August every year, but this August (2022) there was no typhoon at all. Such anomalies are happening, and they are not what we want to see. The reduction of typhoons will have a severe impact on Taiwan’s water resources; the absence of typhoons will definitely do more harm than good. Climate change is also directly related to coral bleaching, which is another story. As the old saying goes, it’s better to sit up and walk. The world will finally change only when we are willing to contribute and sacrifice ourselves for the greater good of all.

Climate change is closer than most people realize yet humans still refuse to pay attention to those global warnings like coral bleaching. This conflict affects a large portion of marine life, since corals have been habitats of many animals underwater. The loss of habitat will then lead to an increase in endangered animals, affecting the marine ecosystem. However, coral bleaching is only one part of climate change; there are so much more crisis happening around the world and humans need to start saving our world. Through our visit to the Nature Miffy, our team not only learned how to make plastic-free products but also fully understood its beneficial impact for the Earth. Even if the products may be more expensive due to its handmade quality with costly materials, everyone should be willing to spend more money in exchange for a healthy environment. In the trip to beach cleaning, it was also disappointing to see so much trash spread across the coast. Even if our team is able to clean the area that day, the environment will still be as dirty as it is before if nobody really takes action to stop climate change. In schools, teachers teach about climate change; parents alarm you about it; public icons encourage a more sustainable life. But are we actually helping the world by sacrificing convenience in materials like plastic or harm it by ignoring our surroundings?

Climate change is a topic everyone probably heard of countless times by now that it sounds pretty cliche. However, the reason why our team and the many organizations still advocate for this topic is because we realize people have not changed must to solve the problem in the status quo. In recent years, the impacts brought by global warming is horribly terrifying. Coral bleaching, mass extinction, drought, strong, and many other extreme impacts are caused by climate change. It’s true that people are fully aware of the problem we are in but many simply feel less convenient. This keeps the majority to continuously polluting earth without limit. Be that as it may, just like what Nature Miffy told us during the interview, “The first step to protecting the environment is to prevent excessive shopping. Given the mechanisms of the supply and demand, consuming products are way too convenient. Thus, people buy more than they need easily. To cherish the what you have is the new mindset everyone should be in. As long as we cherish items, we will use products such as plastic straws and disposable utensils less frequently. Even if there are times where we must use those disposable goods, we may find a way to reuse it instead of throwing it away. If people are willing to cherish what they have, the earth could be cleaner and healthier. Protecting our one and only earth is never the as hard as it seems. No one can escape from the nightmare we got ourselves in, and only if we start to take actions can we change the potential fatal fate.”

The problem of climate change is a non-ending trend ever since the 21st century. Humans began to develop numerous innovations that marked an era like the renaissance. However, what is the cost? Our team dwelled deeply into research and through the interview with the eco-friendly workshop Nature Miffy, we found that it all depends on us, we are the ones that needed a change. As humans, we share behaviors such as throwing plastic utensils and plastic wraps after a single meal and considering using them for a year, which generates at least 1095 pairs of plastic utensils and wraps. If only one person on this earth can refuse to use these plastic utensils for a year, our earth will have less of this plastic waste, it means a lot even if it’s a small quantity. It’s simply the fact that people don’t cherish what they have because all they know is that they are able to get a new pair of plastic utensils even without spending any money. Especially in our culture, the Taiwanese culture, of having free plastic utensils whenever we go because it’s very convenient. We use disposable chopsticks, plastic straws, and lots of plastic wrappings in terms of convenience stores. We only have one earth so let’s take care of it without pushing our responsibilities away, we’ll have to face the problems anyways because our human species might not be able to survive if we continue to leave the mess as it is.

Nowadays, millennials and Gen Z are focusing significantly more on the issue of climate change as people start to realize the irreversible impacts of our environment harming actions. Although activists and organizations are advocating the use of environmentally friendly products and tools, and governments are implementing policies to alleviate the impacts of climate change, there is still quite a long way to go. For example, coral bleaching is still a tremendous issue in Taiwan and many other countries. This problem causes other severe environmental crises, such as the increase of extreme weather and rapid ocean acidification. Evidently, it is crucial for people to become aware of climate change, starting from a daily basis. Hence, during this project, our group visited and investigated a workshop in Taipei that produces and sells eco-friendly daily commodities. The materials the workshop owners promote are not only natural, but also sustainable despite its relatively high cost and inconvenience. However, this quality allows us to learn to cherish our possessions instead of disposing huge amount of low quality products that contributes to increased pollution. If the mass public value the importance of solving environmental issues, ecosystems would be more sustainable, and the world would be a better place.

Coral bleaching is one of the many irreversible effects of climate change. There are many more devastating impacts of climate change that not only affects the environment, but also humans. Many of us are aware of climate change but few are willing to take action. By doing this project and actively participating in beach cleaning and the bamboo weaving activity, I hope we can set an example for our generation. People have to take action, and I’m seeing actions being taken. Starting this semester, our school has decided for all classes to turn off the lights for an hour during lunch and nap time everyday in order to reduce carbon footprint. Although our school is a small community and this might not help the environment a lot, it educates students from a young age to cherish the resources we have and help protect the environment. Doing the little things may seem insignificant and inconvenient, but it take every one of us to decelerate global warming and stop the climate crisis.

Nowadays, pollution has become one of the main problem we face. Topics about recycling, using sustainable materials, promoting public transportation in order to decrease greenhouse gas emissions are popular amongst our daily lives. In around August, an unfortunate news alarmed our whole country, the increase in climate change worsened coral bleaching, issuing alert level 2 in the southern part of Taiwan. The news alerted a lot of people, and more are willing to participate in helping the environment. Architectures are build with more eco-friendly materials, public transportation became cheaper, and schools even participated in saving electricity by turning off the lights at noon. The environment has resulted in what we see now due to our selfishness and if we continue to ignore the damage we’ve done throughout the decade, the Earth will be consumed by all kinds of pollution. Participate in eco-friendly activities, push away unnatural materials, and by taking part of these actions, we can all make the world a better place.