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When man started to live in this world, it was at its blossoming days, with trees and animals in their serenity, humans in their naiveté – the stepping stone for evolution, and for improvement. The nature, man in majority, has chosen to grasp the beauty of the world rather than to hold what was there to be taken care of. Man first chopped trees to make fire, then to make houses, then to have furniture, and now to have space for smoke-producing companies. Man then, drank the water of lakes, bathed and branded these waters as safe, the waters now, are there never to be drank, never to be touched. With man’s desire for improvement, it is evident that certain prices have to be paid, and certain things have to suffer. As man continue to long for something better than what he has, what man has now will soon be gone.

In line with Leonardo Dicaprio’s “Eleventh Hour”, man’s current inquisition led to certain mishappenings that will seemingly be experienced by this and future generations. This film presented the infamous global warming – its effects, causes and some solutions.

Man should be held liable for what he experiences today – that is a remark often spoken, a rather assertion of a “karma” system with which complaints will be considered stupid. It is the man who first chopped the trees, threw trash on the lake, built smoke-producing companies, invented gadgets that required the use of fuel, and ignored the prior signs of this global problem. If it is man who started this, then man should experience the consequences of what he has done, nothing is to be questioned, no one is to be blamed but those who blame themselves.

Yes, it is man who surrendered to the force of societal improvement, but admission of fault is not enough. Admitting and asserting that man is guilty and is deserving of what is currently happening is just an illogical statement to banner-up humor to a serious problem. Maybe that man is the proponent, but that fact alone is just an in-the-air line that strikes people with its cruel irony that will eventually cause the lives of everyone. Yes, it maybe that man is the abuser in this story. There are those who intentionally neglected the laws, nonetheless, the responsibilities of a sensible citizen. There are people who chose to cut down trees, use harmful products, fire-up the engines of their cars without considering the precautions and warnings given by those in the academic community.

Again, admission alone is not enough; it can only be the first step towards a good thing. What the world needs now is action.
Some people say: that what’s the use in abstinence or following the rules, when there are still those who chose not to; some say that it’s too late to turn around and it will be more practical to just live what the world is now to the fullest. Statements like these are those that prohibit society from improvement, solutions and life. These are rather pessimistic assertions made by those who either know little about the current situation or know nothing about what to do. If man “caused” these problems, then man can certainly find the answers.

I believe that the populace, in general, has the ability, the knowledge, the resources, the machinery and the will to solve this long-term problem. “Eleventh Hour” cited some solutions that are consequentially doable, but nonetheless pointing to the right direction, answers provided by those who know. However, these solutions are just intangible, inexistent and far-fetched terms and jargons that would mean nothing unless executed. That is, I believe, where man comes in. It is up to the “average-Joes”, to the “working-man”, the “college-boy”, the “housewife” and the rest of the society to make these solutions answers to the problem. Statements as those mentioned are just minor set-backs when one look at it.

If man has the arms, the legs, the heart and the mind, and if global warming is a massive problem against the human race, then responding to this problem would require billions of arms and legs, a billion of burning hearts and understanding minds.