Corsega, Joy Camille M.

SOEN 1 BSA 2-H

The world that I envision by 2030 is akin to a cold and barren wasteland, possibly
engulfed in flames. What’s more disconcerting about this is that the references I used
for my drawing are from real-life wildfires that have occurred over the past few years,
most of which are still very much burning today. Climate change has never been a
myth, and its effects to humanity are made even clearer as more news outlets cover the
increasingly volatile weather disturbances and natural disasters all over the world.
It is quite baffling how Pope Francis’ “Laudato Si”, written in 2015, is all the more
relevant in the recent years than it was back then. The Pope’s encyclical letter is
essentially an urgent call for all, not just Christians, to face the ongoing environmental
crisis that we have brought onto ourselves. One section in the letter mentions how
humans have the tendency to see the natural environment as a means to an end, and
not as a co-creation of God. With the amount of excessive consumerism in modern
times, nature has been continuously taken advantaged of and seen as merely existing
for the benefit of mankind. The Pope, in his letter, urges us to acknowledge our
atrocities committed to nature itself, as a result of our irresponsible handling of God’s
creation, of whom we were supposed to be stewards of. It is also in the environmental
degradation we have caused, that humanity’s least fortunate bear the brunt of nature’s
wrath. The affluent have secure homes and food stability that they are less concerned
with the natural catastrophes, whereas the homeless, poor and marginalized
communities suffer and do whatever they can to stay alive. The amount of people who
close their eyes and ears to these unfortunate incidents is also a major problem. As
members of society, and even just as human beings, we should be more concerned and
empathetic to the welfare of the less fortunate and not be so self-absorbed; we all hold
equal value in the eyes of God, after all, and therefore should enjoy the same blessings
in life. The letter has discussed the interconnectedness of everything in this world with
the phrase “the book of nature is one and indivisible”, which is true in the sense that all
of human action affects nature and our fellow kind. Human greed knows no bounds, and
that is precisely what brought on the atypical acceleration of climate change, which was
supposed to span over a thousand years more but has now come close to being
irreversible. Still, hope exists for as long as humanity bears the willingness to change
and acts toward reversing the effects of our own doing.
Corsega, Joy Camille M. SOEN 1 BSA 2-H

In Laudato Si, the Pope encourages everyone to harness technology as a means

to combat the current ecological crisis. Human creativity and innovation has led us to
societal progress, thus we can continue to use technology to create solutions to
society’s overwhelming issues, especially ones that evoke sustainability. Social
entrepreneurship is among the best methods to contribute to society in a way that
cultivates creativity, provides opportunities for others to help, spreads awareness on a
particularly urgent community issue, and even to earn profit through a rewarding
experience. It doesn’t take one, but the effort of everyone and the unity of mankind to be
able to make a significant difference to truly make the world a better and safer place for
everyone and the generations to come.