An Opinion Response to Human Footprint - Paper Example

A mental picture of how much of everything we need, spread through over the course of ones life does not seem mind-blowing. Trying to imagine it delivered all of it at the doorstep; we would barely have room for move around freely. The documentary The human footprint follows this approach. It tries to show the human life in a way not thought of before. The narrator follows the average life of two British children from birth to their death, every aspect of their life. Consequently, the film is divided into three sections, the first section addresses all the food human beings taken in, and the resulting wastes. The second phase deals with the human beings pursuit of desires, meeting and relating to other people, as they grow older. Desires and choices made have an accompanying effect. Lastly, it is about the phase where human beings accrue material wealth (Brinkworth, Neville, & Watts, 2007). The film is a comprehensive assessment of impacts of human beings leading just an average life. This essay presents thoughts inspired by the sheer volume of products each person is likely to use alive.

Perhaps the most profound thing coming forward from the documentary is the provoking thoughts of emanating from the inherent need to survive another day. The pursuit of survival, I feel conceals the impact we deal the planet just to provide our bodies with the energy just to look for food again. Although indirectly, the content shared in that documentary calls unto everyone to come and witness the pollution they cause. No one probably notices their impact since compared to the planets land mass, they are negligible. However, there are billions of people on the planet and the cumulative effect of, say, meeting a single days meals for everyone gets many systems going. Trying to understand this happening daily for say a year one wonders how the planet is still functional and not choking with pollution.

Changing times have brought with it specific needs, products needed for human consumption are produced from one part of the world, and processed in another (Environment, 2011). The product is not yet ready for distribution until packaging from yet another destination arrives. It appears that the improved quality of life provided by production activities carries attached cost- pollution. Agrochemicals used in farmlands all over the world kill microorganisms at the very core of soil conditioning. Furthermore, mechanization of food production compacts the soil unusable. In the urban areas, food-processing industries contribute to air pollution and thermal pollution (Rosa, Diekmann, Dietz & Jaeger, 2010). Urban household plays their part by disposing of the various product packaging contributing to landfills that are not a pretty sight anywhere in the word. All manner of cleaning in these households, including the use of other personal hygiene products, comes with an environmental cost; adding more chemicals to the planets water cycle. Human activities result in metric tons of solid waste and volumes of gaseous and liquid wastes. All that can be averted if human beings lead an environmentally conscious life.

Caring for the environment is achievable through our social groups. Brinkworth, Neville, and Watts, (2007) extensively expound on the human language. These spoken words are the tools for driving the environmental discourse as among the living. Living and dying are not enough. Alongside the demands for modern life, inventions and technologies that contribute to environmental conservation should be upheld.

In conclusion, The Human Footprint raises pollution concerns. All of the human activity comes with a hidden environmental cost even before the end user gets the product. Carbon dioxide emission is rife especially with transportation, landfills are springing all over, and electronic waste is rapidly emerging. In a time of democracies, exercise one's power as a voter and demanding for proper policies is lifesaving.

Reference

Environment. (2011). Education, 92(8), S6-S10. Retrieved from http://library.capella.edu/login?qurl=https%3A%2F%2Fsearch.proquest.com%2Fdocview%2F892501665%3Faccountid%3D27965Rosa, E., Diekmann, A., Dietz, T., & Jaeger, C. (2010). Human footprints on the global environment. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Brinkworth, M., & Neville, G. .(Producers), & Watts, N. (Director & .Producer). (2007). The Human Footprint. [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.veoh.com/watch/v14272337NXkjNrmY/blackpoolminiseries