Environmental Degradation in Pop Culture, Represented

"When the last tree has been cut down, the last fish caught, the last river poisoned, only then will we realize that one cannot eat money."

The proverb is a common saying from Native American. Sadly, just like most flowery, wise sayings, it only ends in Instagram and twitter and facebook timeline, gets responded by retweets and likes before being swiped and forgotten. Bottom line: people hardly take it seriously.

I always believe one must show their commitment by tangible action. (Avoid the word "concrete" cause it's a political word.) If you say you're not ignorant to environmental problems, show your commitment by reducing plastic bottle and use of electricity. Earth doesn't need words, you know. It never asks, "Thank me for the vegetables, the meats, the water," everytime we get our consumerism gets in the way.

Since Earth is a silent figure, I love how these creative people try to express what Earth is feeling to our millennials. They portray the chaos when Earth starts being infertile, when Earth is hurting.

BOOK

Not A Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis

Open this book and you will be transferred to a world where water is a scarce resource. Survivability is at stake. Humans hunt and kill each other for unpolluted ponds and streams. 

Our heroine, Lynn, takes turn to sleep with her mother every night, with riffle by their side. They must watch for greedy intruders who wish to steal water from their pond, the only thing that keeps them alive. Over days, many people die from thirst. Lynn and her mother stay in the edge of civilization, far away from other polluted communities. They risk being frozen and starving at winter, because collecting appropriate winter meals will mean traveling to other side of the region, which means nobody guards their precious pond. 

This book is not an easy read for me, because of the explicit depiction of killings and violence. But it's real. It's hella real. What Lynn experiences can be a prophecy for humanity, if we continue our unsustainable lifestyle. Now watch the tag of your clothes. Can you imagine how many waste your goods produce until they arrive in your hand? How many detox, with the same color as your favorite bomber jacket, is dumped to our river each day? 

Rethink. Reflect.

MOVIE

Moana directed by Ron Clements

I will surely dump Frozen and Tangled for this! I'm betting you and your cousins have already watched it too, and frankly, I can't blame you. Aside from its feminist heroine and sick soundtracks, Disney finally portrays one rare thing: environmental degradation caused by human's greed. Maui, motivated by his ego, stole the heart of Te Fiti (which, for me, is the portrayal of Mother Earth). Te Fiti turned infertile and cranky since then: it stops providing Moana's people food and spreads plague to the land. Maui lost it all, his fame as hero, his power, and only when he restores the heart of Te Fiti, he could repair everything. 

What I don't like from this movie: the "repairing" part is kinda surreal. If we don't take action now, it will be too late for either repair or regret.

VIDEOS

She's Alive... Beautiful... Finite... Hurting... Worth Dying For by Bittu Sahgal

This video is so good. I love how Sahgal portrayed Earth as the absolute mother figure. She nurtures, feeds, shelters, grows. Equally. She has a place for everybody, every creatures. We take so much from her without giving her some payoff. Sounds familiar, right? 

We continue to take her for granted. She's hurting, the way Malin Kundang's mother hurts. So before one day, her anger is boiling and she curses us to our doomsday, you'd better rethink; reflect. 

Loved Clothes Last by Fashion Revolution

I discovered this video lately, and was enchanted by the relatability of this video. As hard as I try not to splurge on clothes (books and travel still top my spending), I still occassionally buy fashion stuffs I don't need just because it's cute or trending or simply because I need one with particular color to match my other fashion items. Now I know the hobby is not healthy, for my wallet and for my environment.

Fashion shows identity for most our kekinian millennials. But darling, thousands of labors in developed countries are paid poorly to make your favorite croptop, your elegant cullote, items you'll get bored with when the season ends. And after you dump your clothes, they end up in landfill. So the next time, before you buy... please rethink. Reflect.

PHOTO STORIES

 A Daughter's Freedom Weighed Against Her Siblings' Lives by Zohra Bensemra 

Drought has hit Africa again, and the impact left a mark on Zeinab. The 14 girl was forced into marriage in exchange for dowry from her wealthier husband. The dowry, her family wished, could help them survive the drought and buy their basic needs, which came scarcer and pricier.

 

I don't know about you, but this photostory disturbed me a lot. The prospect that I enjoy air-conditioned rooms, opening my laptop and playing YouTube, while a girl's freedom could save her family from starvation is just unacceptable. In the end I try to rethink and reflect, and reduce the use of my electricity (our electricity, my friends, is sourced from PLTU, which uses coal to generate our electricity; the generation process produces bucks of of carbondioxide which contribute A LOT to global warming). I also learn to not dump my meals. 

This photostory transformed me, and I hope it does its magic on you too.

This Is What the World Looks Like Without Water by Kate Bubacz 

The theme is the same: drought. The country is different: Bolivia. The effect is different: many people lose their jobs due to drying lakes. 

As a citizen whose city is flooding everytime it rains, I was left in shock. But then my shock turned into misery, knowing the drought was partly caused by global warming, and how our continuous actions support the phenomenon.