Editorial: Humans, a double-edged sword

TWO whales have been found dead along the coast of the Davao Gulf in less than a month. One died due to ingestion of over 40 kilograms of plastic wastes while one died after being a victim of dynamite fishing.

Meanwhile, our water sources in Davao City are in danger due to urbanization and the abusive use of it. The coastlines are littered with plastic wastes and other scraps.

In various parts of the region, we see how some forest areas are being cleared to accommodate more land for agriculture and residential areas.

Environmental degradation is happening right before our eyes. Yet, the general public are only up to sharing social media posts on protecting the environment. We have to be more active in our personal lives when it comes to the protection of the environment.

As for the government, there is a need to add more teeth to the current environmental laws that we have. There is also a need to review these laws too if it is still relevant to the current times.

Implementation of these laws have to be improved too. Whether it is Boracay or in Davao City, there are a lot of environmental violations happening around us. If the government cannot implement these laws properly, then our environment is on the right track of dying.

For years, we have abused the environment and the resources it gives to us. The environmental degradation we are seeing around us is a clear result of our abuses.

In Love, Death & Robots, an animated anthology by Netflix, there is an episode entitled "Three Robots." Set after the destruction of humanity, three robots were touring an abandoned city trying to understand how we humans lived.

It was never explained at the beginning of the episode how the destruction of humans came to be. However, towards the end of the episode, one of the robots explained how the humans were destroyed.

"Indeed, it was their own hubris that ended their reign. Their belief that they were the pinnacle of creation that caused them to poison the water, kill the land, and choke the sky. In the end, no nuclear winter was needed, just the long heedless autumn of their own self-regard," the robot said.

It then summarized its statement, saying "Nah, they just screwed themselves by being a bunch of morons."

We are the cause of the environmental degradation happening around us but at the same time, we are also the ones who have the ability to save the environment from being destroyed.