What Breaks My Heart

Hi, I'm Nathan and am a high school senior. I am taking a Digital Multimedia and Global Citizenship class where I blog about certain topics. 

As a sophomore, I took AP Environmental Science, and absolutely loved the material we covered. I have always loved being outside. One of my earliest memories is going to a pier in Maryland to fish with my grandpa. Now, I love to fish, hike, and camp. I really like anything "outdoorsy".   

Yesterday in class, I was asked to create a Heartbreak Map. If you don't know what a Heartbreak Map is, let me explain. We picked a subject that we were very passionate about. Something that we loved. Can you guessed what I picked? There are three levels to the Map. The first level is what you love. The second level is what breaks your heart about it. The third level contains solutions to the heartbreak. 

We essentially mapped out what we love and how to fix the problems with it. I enjoyed this activity because it made me reflect on why I love the outdoors and what I can do to make it better. This activity was a "call to action". If you are passionate about something, of course you would be willing to fix the problems with it. If not, it is not your passion. 

Here is a picture of what my Heartbreak Map looks like. 

So let me explain what this means to me.

I am passionate about the outdoors, I always have been. This passion was strengthened when I took APES because it brought awareness to the problems in the environment and how we can fix them. 

What broke my heart about the outdoors and the environment is that it is slowly dying. Things like pollution, global warming, climate change, and even ignorance takes away from the beauty of the outdoors. 

Rainforests are being cut down. Habitats are being lost. Cities are filled with smog. The Arctic is melting. The weather is getting hotter. The oceans are getting dirtier. 

One thing I learned from APES is that most of these problems are caused by not knowing the consequence of your actions. For example, if you throw a piece of plastic out your car door, you think "It is not that big of a deal. It is only one piece of trash" But did you know that plastic does not degrade like natural products. In other words, that plastic will still be recognizable in a 100 years. And if everyone throws a piece of trash out of their car every day, let me tell you, that is a lot of trash. If we can bring awareness to these kinds of problems, we can change the environment to become cleaner and safer. 

If you throw trash out your car window often, use this easy solution: keep a grocery bag on the armrest of your seat. When you have trash, instead of tossing it outside, put it in the bag. When it gets full or too old, take it when you get home and throw it in the trash can. Simple solutions like this can have a big impact on the environment. Before you throw your plastic bag into the trash, look into the bag and pat yourself on the back. You just helped the environment become a cleaner place. 

Bring Awareness. Clean up after yourself. Set an example. That way, you can change your lifestyle as well as others to have a positive impact on the environment.