BERNALES, Jonathan Rem Carlo L.

2008000220

2nd yr. Political Science Section 2 October 16, 2009

-Enlightenment through Natural ScienceNatural Science is one of the most important studies of science I have encountered. It gives information about the composition of the Earth, the possible origin of things and rich information about the things happening within, on the surface and outside the Earth. During the First semester of our study, many concepts, theories, topics were discussed, there are those about the solar system, the planets, the rock formation and its cycle and many more. As the title goes The Relationship of Concepts in Natural Science, I would like to reflect on the relation of the concepts in Natural science themselves and its relation to mankind. Among the many, I have chosen two concepts to reflect, The Hydrosphere or Oceanography and the Ozone Layer. Ocean, Seas and other bodies of water are also known as the Hydrosphere, it covers 71% of the Earths surface. They are vital parts of the entire geologic process; they are responsible for the regulation of many processes that occur on the surface of the Earth, they are considered as one of the major food sources in the world, It represents a place of recreation were people enjoy the calming feeling and other diverse activities that can be done over and under water, it is also used as a mean of transportation, during the early civilizations, these bodies of water were the help of voyagers to discover new land masses. One of its capabilities is to be able to absorb heat directly from the sun and other heat excreting materials. Our generation is tending towards globalization and industrialization. People are developing land structures, making other useful technological devices, producing cosmetic care products and the like without knowing that they are abusing and destroying some of the Earths layers. Factories which produce these products emit excessive harmful wastes and free radicals which ruin the Ozone Layer. The ozone layer acts as a shield that protects us from direct excessive solar radiation, without it people may suffer from different kinds of sickness. These developments are good in purpose but have some bad effect. During these past few years, research shows that our ozone layer is being attacked by many free radical components which make the ozone layer unstable, Its capacity to protect humans from direct radiation decreased and may decrease in the years to come. This Situation leads to the entrapment of heat inside the Earth; because of this the bodies of water were warmed causing the ice shelves and other ice formations to melt, which leads to the overflow of water in the world. It is said that if this would continue there would be a possibility that our world will submerge into the water. This past few years, I have witnessed the sudden change of our weather and climate, Knowing these facts, as a Thomasian student, I admit that I neglected and also contributed to what is happening right now and in fact for 17 years I have been using such materials. This semester was cut short because of the suspension of classes due to typhoons, diseases, flood and other Health, Geophysical, and Political reasons. These were all -aside from the political reasons- are the consequences of the prevailing method of modernizing the world. People may be aware of these consequences but neglect them and continue to do such things. The most devastating and memorable calamity I have ever experienced was with Typhoon Ondoy, and the spread of AH1N1 Influenza case, this incident made me realize of how big the damage people has done in the world. Through the study of Natural science I was able to be enlightened and be reprimanded of the things a human must do in order to preserve the Earth, it may be hard and too late to start, but this study encouraged me to help and be a better person by protecting and preserving the land in my own ways. It may be little but I believe that it can contribute to prolong the life of the Earth. As my mom said, People do things for their own good, they pretend that they do it for you, but in reality they do it for themselves, and in fact through the expense of others. So build a new image of man through your own little ways.