The time lapse

                'I was waiting for my parents to pick me up at BTS the electric train station after school when I spotted some activities not so eco-friendly. It's like 3 years time lapse of the negative changes.'

                I usually catch the BTS to go home after school because it's more eco-friendly and I don't have to waste my time in the traffic jam. My home is not really in Bangkok, the capital city. It's near the fringe of Bangkok which means I need to get down from the train at terminal station. I noticed that there's a canal below the station with trees and fish and turtles. It's like the perfect eco system in urban and I like to watch the fish and turtles in the canal swimming while waiting for my parents. But after three years of using this route, I noticed some changes around here which are,

                Firstly, I saw the canal turning dirty. The owner of a house near that canal may want to reconstruct their house. So, I saw workers started to mix the cement in big bowls. I would see the bowl full of cement in the morning when I catch the train to school. But in the afternoon, when I got to the terminal station, I saw empty bowls next to the grey canal. One day I actually saw the workers washing the cement bowl and dumped the leftover into the canal. The cement diffused in the water, turning the part surrounding the house opaque grey. However, in the morning, the canal turned back to its normal color. But I know that the pollution is still there. Cement can turn the pH of the canal lower and it may affect the living things. Now, the shallow part of the canal surrounding the house is completely covered by grey cement and the workers left without cleaning anything.

                Secondly, I saw people trying to catch turtles in the canal. In Thailand, there's believe says if you let some turtles go in the stream, you'll be blessed. However, this religious believe created a new business. People sell turtles in religious days to let the customers buy them and let them go. However, the turtles that were set free can enjoy its freedom in less than 5 minutes before the same merchant caught them again and sell them to the next customers. So, I think people I saw at the canal may be finding the turtles to sell to these merchants. They have frog-like baits that they swung into the water and drag it over the surface with string. They did this several times and the turtles started to gather around and follow them. That was when I knew what they were actually doing. Fortunately, when they tried to catch the turtles, they were all gone under water. This time, how hard they tried to lure them out again with the frog baits the turtles never came to the surface again. I think it's against the law to hunt turtles and do business this way. Some campaigns are launched to stop this behaviour, I hope it will work.

                Thirdly, the biggest change to notice. Since the BTS cut pass the place, it has turned into business town! Condominiums businesses are blooming and big condo buildings blocked all the vision around the station. Some buildings are fully constructed while others are still finishing up. Boards of advertisement are being put up. Several condominium advertisements hung high and big. There are already 3 or more condominiums there. It has turned noisy. The traffic is getting worse. Advertisements are everywhere. Another route of BTS which is planned to go over the terminal station is being built. I think we are taking advantages of nature and if we don't stop now, our world will turn into the dead star like 'Star Wars'.

                My mom used to tell me story about future. She said the sky will be hidden from our sight because of the roads are built and tangled up above us like ribbons. Trees will be gone. Oxygen from trees will be substituted inside masks we wear to keep out radioactive and pollutions. The world will be changed in negative way. I used to deny accepting that prediction of hers. But now, as I see the gradual but stable changes we are doing to the earth in 3 years, I'm not so sure myself. We are still young and cannot just walk toward the workers who polluted the nature or the turtle hunters to tell them to stop, as much as we want to. If we observe the environment around us, we will realize how bad the situation nowadays is. However, we can help in our way by little actions we did everyday that persuade the better future. It's not too hard to plant a small tree in your garden every week. To be an Eco-generation Regional Ambassador is one way for me to express my environmental awareness through my writing. I admires all my Eco-generation friends for the great efforts and great reports. Finally I would like to thank all my  fellow ambassadors for suggesting and commenting on my reports. You guys are so inspiring.  I believe we can do it together. Let's raise concerns in the environmental issue and try our best to help as much as we can when we still have strength to do so!