There are maybe not many things better than having a good cold long shower in the afternoon. Shioook.
I wish people can still do that in the future. Too bad there are a lot of good things that might disappear, as everybody starts to take note.
I have contributed to the waste of resources but I have some defense, ugh..? My defense is I have been feeling guilty of it for a long time, since not many people are really care about it or make it into a Hollywood movie. Not to throw plastic bag away is one of my pathetic way, use it for rubbish or if not, fold it and keep it for another use. It’s quite tedious, because it piles up. We didn’t cook everyday and not cooking is definitely one of the ways not to use many plastic bags.
The other thing is the water. Having long bath also makes me feel guilty, although I don’t do it too often and I tried to use water economically when washing dishes etc.
But I’m really guilty in consuming energy for air conditioning, it can get bloody hot here and aircon is my ultimate friend at night, another main reason is also because my bedroom is located so close to opposite block that there’s really not privacy at all even for ..uh…nose digging for example. But we use friendly temperature that so called can help electricity aka energy, for selfish purpose of course, pay less for bill.
Food waste, it’s scary to know maybe food source like seafood will vanish in short time. Blame the documentary channel; we kept stumbling through tuna hunting program that lead to the fear of their extinction. It’s really not pretty to see those big fish being caught on the net and then whacked and dragged to the boat by big metal hooks. It sucks, but on the other hand, Japanese food is also our favorite food.
It’s indeed hard to imagine the comparison of number of fish caught and consumed everyday with the number they are in the ocean. So far, big school of fish are not common sight except in well-known national park. Naturally it’s correct that big fish and schooling fish like sardine and tuna are mostly found in open sea, but even so, it’s depleting real fast. Maybe in the future, I won’t see dolphin following the big boat in the open sea anymore, or flying fish accompany the journey.
Chinese culture is quite horrible. Shark fin is for festive and celebration and social status. Turtle soup and egg is good food. Napoleon Wrasse lips is expensive delicacy. Dried sea horse or even Tiger testicle are believed to have miracle sexual effects.
Back then, sometimes we had shark fin soup for New Year reunion dinner, but since everybody, actually me, started roaming around, we missed a couple of reunion dinner. When we finally get back to gather again on New Year, we have left out the dish. I’m not really sure why, but I don’t think it’s because of my nagging also. Or is it? Actually I didn’t nag, sometime ago I just declared like a stubborn old lady that I don’t want to eat shark’s fin anymore. It’s horrible to see how the fishermen slaughter the shark to get its fins. They catch the shark, pull them half out of the water, slash dorsal, pectoral, tail or whatever fins and throw them back to water. I also saw the gory picture of a diving site with the reef, full of dead finless sharks. Some of them had their stomach open, with their dead shark babies inside, finless too. Documentary.
It’s kind of funny actually when I told my dad not to buy shark’s fin again. It’s not easy to explain things that I saw on paper on TV to parents, sometime language barrier (I don’t know all vocabularies from my mother tongue) but it might not really difficult also once they believe that I’m not just another annoying preacher. But my dad first reaction was, Why? We eat sharks, because shark is bad, shark is mean and like to eat people. So I have to explain again that actually bla bla that is what the bloody writer of Jaws tried to put and succeeded. Having been roaming the jungles for almost three decades, maybe he has seen more animals than what I’ve seen in documentary, so perhaps it’s easier for him to believe me.
But I guess it’s not so easy to help the environment, at least for the time being.
At the very least, everybody has started to talk about this global warming thingy without being associated with church member standing on the front door or talking to you in the public and try to spoon fed some believes to bystanders.
Shops has taken action also, although I’m still fail to see how serious they are. Big shops are selling recycle bag for shopping purpose. But the things is, it’s sold at a price. How difficult is it for the people to choose between going home with free plastic bag than have to pay for the bag.. Even if they charge for the plastic bag, they have more purpose on the marketing side rather than for environment. If only they can distribute the bag for free, to avoid recycle bag opportunists, they can give it for free maybe if you buy certain amount of things or do it some other ways. The company can advertise on the bag and everybody carrying it around will help the marketing! Two flies at one go?
It’s also quite dilemmatic to do something good. For example, we like to use kitchen towel for cleaning the messy table after dinner. Spray, wipe and throw. But then it’s a waste of paper although that is exactly the purpose of kitchen towel, but if we use the washable cloth, we also contribute waste as detergent and we also use more water to wash the cloth! Hm?
Also, sometimes there are still a lot of weird methods to do things against wasting unnecessary resources. For example, some of my lecturers demand us to do our assignment one page for each paper, instead of front and back, or skip a line for every line written in the exam. Some stupid variety shows are wasting food for game. Some streets are really really ‘overlighted’ that it burns our scalps. Some goverment demands money from others to take care of their own forests..And so on, and so on..
Perhaps, as long as everything is done and consumed moderately, I think we shouldn’t lose sleep over it? Enjoy cold looooong shower once in a while?
Like they say, we can keep trying, one paper at a time, one can at a time, one knowledge at a time, one action at a time, one tree at a time.
Just hope that for those with stronger power can do more or do less..
Who reaches with clumsy hand for a rose must not complain if the thorns scratch.
- Heinrich Heine
The sun will set without your assistance.
- The Talmud
A tree never hits an automobile except in self-defense.
- Anonymous
There’s so much pollution in the air now that if it weren’t for our lungs there’d be no place to put it all.
- Robert Orben
Our task must be to free ourselves...by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty.
- Albert Einstein
Man masters nature not by force but by understanding.
- Anonymous
