Tenorio, Suzainnevhie R.

GSE-2

2010101267

GEO101P

Prof. Gina May Mercado

January 19, 2012

REACTION PAPER:

On January 12, 2012 our professor in Mineralogy class prepared a short film
entitled Common Ground. I was calm and relaxed by that time because were about to
watched and listen for 30 minutes. At first place, I dont even understand the sound from
the film, It was actually like watching a Chinese movie having no subtitle at all. Well of
course our professor asked my classmate to get a speaker from the faculty room and
that resolves our problem.
When we started to watched the film, I remembered my elementary days when
we have been watching a science film, all of us are curious for what they have been
played. Sineskwela, was the favorite educational film ever played in our school before.
I missed my elementary days.By watching an educational film, it contributes a greater
understanding of science for us. It provided also an alternative way of learning science;
students have been able to gain, to catch up, to visualize and to further understand the
lesson that have been tackled or will be discuss. It also demonstrated the practical
application of science in familiar life situations, in that way, allowing the information to
be easily understood.
By that excitement I felt, I get concentrated and focus for what does the speaker
talked. The first person appeared was Tom Hendricks. According to the film, he is the
owner or the president of the mining company. From the moment that his name
appeared, I immediately wrote his name on a piece of paper for certain purposes and I
thought we will be asked to write a reaction paper, summary or what. And that prediction
is indeed correct.
Honestly, from start until the last seconds of the film, I didnt understand the
speech coming from a narrator and the interviewee. But fortunately, the images are
clear enough to understand and connect the scenarios.
One of the lessons that I remembered is that everything around us is composed
of different chemical elements. Elements are the basic building blocks of our lives.
Elements combine with one another in different proportions to form everything from the
air that we breathe, to the wood that we use to build our homes, to our own bodies. Our

bodies use different chemical elements for different functions. For example, our bodies
use calcium to build strong bones and fluorine makes our teeth healthier. First thing I
have learned from the film that the toothpaste is composed of calcite, barite, quartz,
sodium carbonate and fluorite. It is amazing to know how far that the development of
toothpaste has come. When toothpaste was first introduced, it was mainly used to just
clean teeth. Toothpaste fulfills many functions; both therapeutic and cosmetic or used in
healing burns just I did before. All the minerals used in toothpaste are beneficial in
some way. Toothpaste is a commodity that every household should have, especially if
they want to have clean, healthy teeth and a great smile.
Minerals in the environment and products manufactured from mineral are all
around us and we use and encounter them every day. They impact our way of life and
the health of all that lives. Minerals are critical to the countrys economy and knowing
where future mineral resources will come from is important for sustaining the economy.
Since we are increasingly dependent on minerals to create products that support our
way of life, our health, and the global economy it is important to understand the science
of mineral resources and materials
Some things we use for our favorite hobbies and recreation also rely on mineral
to make them stronger, lighter, and more flexible. Advances in materials science have
allowed bicycles, once largely made of steel, to incorporate parts made of aluminum,
and other minerals that make them lighter and more strong.
One important thing Ive found out is that almost everything we use in our
everyday lives requires mining. With a lot of people criticizing the mining company, I
thought it would be a good time to put forward a few of the positive effects that the
industry has specifically on the global economy. Because the truth is that without the
mining industry, the world would basically stop work as we know it. Mining normally
means an operation that involves the physical removal of rock and earth. Even most of
the food we eat was grown with fertilizers which are made up of minerals that are
mined. Mining industry requires that surface mine operators implement a plan called
Reclamation which means to restore the land after mineral deposits that have been
removed. The work often includes grading, erosion control and plantings.
Each of us must be made aware of the things that can hurt the environment,
such as littering just anywhere with small waste materials, especially everything made
of plastic such as wrappers and drinking bottles. Family members, especially household
help, must be always conscious of proper garbage disposal and to strictly segregate
waste. We should seriously start now because, as we have seen, nature has been
angered by mans recklessness and it has retaliated with fury in the form of disastrous
calamities due to global warming and climate change. Awareness is the key factor in

showing our concern for the environment. By our actions, the present generation will
learn to preserve the wealth of nature and leave a legacy for the future.
By watching the short film, Ive learned that we should be aware in everything
around us, we have to become more sensibly in using our natural resources, as while
we are using our different resources we should add extra care to our mother nature.
Care for the environment is fundamental to the universal good, since the health and
well-being of all life depends on a healthy environment. The full human development of
every human person both now and in future generations cannot be separated from the
fate of the earth. We do not know what the future might hold, were not sure of until
when our mineral deposits would be worn-out. It is in our own hand on how we will be
able to care, to manage, to balance and to protect the entire earth.