Crossing the limits : Concerns among Indonesian citizens about environmental awareness

All around us has always been surrounded by beneficial resources that came from nature for sustainability of life itself. Contributes to balancing between living things and non beings so that every cycle completes their roles helping the world to be habitable. It is everyone’s duty to protect and have awareness of the environment, especially that includes needs to survive. However, there are individuals that still are careless about their conditions around them. Not knowing the percentage danger of action affects surroundings, even them not knowingly, it will slowly creep on to those who are negligent to their own kind.

In Indonesia right now, problems continuously keep on happening but the people aren’t lightened up to realize and self-introspect.

Rivers filled with plastics, detergents, or even much organic wastes.

Streets supposed to be stepped by many feets, now dominated by drinking cups and styrofoam food boxes.

Beaches originally made out of sand are now placed to litter trash to see how many people cared enough for nature.

To make things worse, a group of people that actually have nice intentions to clean areas that are polluted. A stranger decided to throw a ‘plastic bag’ when they're collecting trash in a river. How delinquent, it shows the irresponsibility of their own actions.

The thought of ‘garbage the place’ is sadly normalized by big masses of the community in Indonesia, thinking that maintaining a clean environment is a must for the government—or a minority that looks after their cleanliness surroundings. So that they will keep making a mess hoping that someone will clean it up, not knowing it is slowly killing them until the next generation.

In fact, all humans around the world are obligated to have awareness and look after the environment. Avoiding dangerous impacts that could damage the ecosystem and daily lives.

Plastics may be seen as a minor thing that can be thrown anywhere, a simple object ignored by thousands. People have been educated about these problems, yet it is seen to not affect them immediately. Whereas trash that forms into a pollutant will always be toxic. Hurt living things through their organ systems that damages health and prosperity.

One of the proofs that trash is dangerous is the food that we consume.

The ocean is covered in rubbish above all the underwater creatures swimming below. There is high potential that they will swallow the plastic mistaken as food.

And end it on all of our stomachs for energy.

That means, this whole time, we indirectly consume plastics from trash which can lead to cancer and other health problems.

Not only that, whenever we walk into an area that, concerningly, has a lot of trash. It creates an unsettling smell coming from it, the gas name of it is methane. If humans are exposed to much of this gas, oxygen will be decreased inside the body, risk of heart and brain dysfunction.

Maintaining a healthy and clean environment is essential to not only nature but for all of us. Protecting families and friends from deadly risks that can disturb well-being. Life’s faith is in our hands, let’s make better changes for a beautiful future.