I dirty, disfigure, destroy and devastate my environment; I choke, poison, burn,

smother, cause illness and endanger the life of animals and plants; I Upset the
balance of nature. My victims suffer from watery eyes, runny noses, skin rashes,
deafness, nervous disorders, death and decay. I am man - ambitious, careless,
callous, selfish, money-hungry, short-sighted, cruel and easy-going. I am the
polluter. In my attempts to improve the lot of my fellow creatures, I unleash
lethal pollutants that put Pandora's Box to shame.
Unwillingly, I have become an agent for the annihilation of man and his home, the
Earth.
How will I find salvation?
Once, long ago, the Earth was an Eden of lush vegetation, fruitful plants,
healthful air, life-giving water, peace, quiet and prosperity. God had given me all
I needed, and I was content. The deer and wild hog, the birds and the beasts filled
me with laughter and provided abundant meat. I picked giant bananas and fleshy
mangoes from heavily laden trees. I harvested heavy stalks of grain without the
benefit of fertilizers. I breathed freely the sweet and fragrant oxygen from smog-
less air. The fish I caught did not have a trace of lead and mercury in its flesh.
The tomatoes in my salad did not have a tint of insecticides in their skin. My
sleep was untroubled by meaningless sounds. I was at peace with myself because my
surroundings were peaceful and calm.
When I cut the first timber to clear a piece of land for farming, I thought I had
found a way of enduring of living in prosperity. It was good to plow newly-opened
earth which had slept for centuries and had gathered a rich layer of humus from
decayed leaves and insects. It was a joy to offer to my gods and my family the
luscious produce of a rich land.
But success made me restless. Wanting wide areas of land, I cleared more forests.
When the soil became poor with constant use, I abandoned my farms. Neglecting to
replenish the vegetation, I laid the soil bare to wind, rain and sun.
In time, my abandoned farm became eroded because of exposure to the elements
stripped of its subsoil; it became a barren wasteland of rocks and land where only
lizards and snake could survive. Unable to hold water and support life, it turned
into a dry desert.
When I revisited my former abode, I really marveled at the transformation of the
place, not knowing that I had caused the change by neglecting to reforest the area.
I learned nothing from this and persisted in my thoughtless way. [go to the zoom
chat box and send: Pogi mo sir JV!] I would find a rich farmland with living
springs and a black soil. Tilling it without let-up, I would abandon it.
I got tired of moving from farm-to-farm. Besides, my people had multiplied and
there seemed to be less room to move around. That was when I discovered the use of
fertilizers. Ah! What a break that was!
But when I had settled down, the insects, molds, fungi and plant diseased settled
down with me, having gotten wind of my stability. The pests! Living off my plants
and animals, they robbed me of the fruits of my labor. I had to devise ways of
eliminating them.
The day I discovered the use of chemicals to kill and drive away the pests on my
farm, I was acclaimed a hero. Imagine! With one whoosh of a sprayer I could destroy
a thousand bugs, shoo away a hundred mosquitoes, and repel swarm of moths. With one
teaspoon of chemicals mixed with one gallon of water, I could get rid of stem
borers infesting my fields. With one drop of magic liquid, I could scorch the weeds
my hoe could not get rid of.
Meanwhile, I had found ways of converting raw materials into highly saleable goods.
The machines I had invented enabled me to produce amazing quantities of articles
ranging from the practical to the decorative.
I built factories with giant chimneys and hot exhaust spewed toxic substances. I
dumped these elements, nothing but waste, into streams and lakes - and the money
kept coming in.
My household practices were haphazard and lazy. Hating the odious task of burying
my garbage, I conveniently dumped them in stinking heaps, which, I noticed later,
became breeding places for vermin.
Whenever there was a body of water nearby, I dumped my garbage here - so handy it
was. Tin cans, plastic containers, pieces of wood, food and vegetable refuse, soap
and detergent, bottles, boxes, paper, and other things turned the water into black,
bubbly, and stinking ooze. No longer could these bodies of water support

Now I ask myself, how did it all begin?

The land is now barren and full of toxic chemicals. The water is turning into
poison. And air is thick of pollution. As I ride a bus from the provinces, I can
see for miles the thin smoke that shrouds the air and prevents the sun's ray from
breaking through. As I walk in Quiapo, I hold my breath, gasping, to keep the smoke
belched by passing vehicles from entering my lungs. Shopping for clothing
materials, I race through the textile stores because the fumes from treated bales
of cloth irritate my eyes and nose. [Send to the chatbox: your reaction about the
essay]. Longing for the thin and cool air of the country side, I hurry through my
business transaction in the city to escape its smoke and noise. My head is
throbbing, the prelude to a whopping headache.
In addition to the crimes I have already mentioned, I also bombard my fellow
creatures with noise from the radios, television sets, combos, drilling machines,
sirens, car horns.
I have been warned by ecologist that if I do not do something to curb my practices,
I shall bring about catastrophe; thick and poisonous smog all over the globe,
destruction of all collections of classic art, disappearance of forests; drying up
of springs; lowering of water tables; death of plants; earthquakes; poisoning of
water and soil; havoc on health and the mind.
Yet I could not see the dire consequences of my actions. Therefore, I only laughed
and mocked the alarmists. I continue to strip the land of its forests, to scatter
my industrial wastes, to throw my garbage wherever convenient, to create new
noises. Although the smoke from my factories and cigarettes oppresses my lungs, I
lift not a finger to suppress it. Although I have read about the flash floods, food
poisoning and death due to insecticides, and the upsurge of lung ailments and
allergies, I refuse to heed these warnings.
The evidences of pollution everywhere do not move me.
Then they proposed that I should do more research to discover non-polluting sources
of power, harness the atom, the sun and water; dig deep holes for my garbage;
control plant pests biologically; tone down my radios, televisions, and other
sources of destructive vibrations. They want me to spend precious time, energy, and
money. What if pollution gets worse? It could get me another source of income. I
could go into the manufacture of gas masks. Let the coming generations solve the
problems I have spawned
They made laws to stop my excesses. But I had ways of evading the law. No. did not
listen to their plea. I turned my back on their cry for cooperation. I pretended
not to understand their message.
Then, one day, the truth was brought to my doorstep. My dog which had the habit of
catching shrimps and fish in the river where toxins, empty daily, developed a tic,
a shake, a limp, and an awful paralysis. My chicken which had scratched for worms
in the ground died one by one. My son who was a heavy smoker and a superintendent
in one of my smoke-belching factories developed lung cancer. [Send to the zoom chat
box: I am almost done, yeah!] My wife who used electric, noise-producing gadgets
became nervous wreck. All my grandchildren became asthmatic.
Now, I am afraid. Is there still time to remedy the situation?
Something must be done. And it has got to be me and all the human beings who care
about saving this earth of ours