Reflections Of Environmental Concern And Sustainability Gleaned From Al Gore’s “Earth In The Balanceâ€
Volume 3 - Issue 9, September 2019 Edition
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Author(s)
Thị Thu Ha Phung, Maria Luisa A. Valdez
Keywords
Al Gore, Environmental Concern, Environmental Stewardship, Flashback, Foreshadowing, Filipino and Vietnamese Educators, Sustainability
Abstract
Nowadays, an enormous number of environmental problems that threaten the continued ability of both natural and human systems to flourish is generated by human action. Solving the critical environmental problems of biodiversity loss, global warming, pollution and water scarcity are perhaps the greatest challenges of the 21st century. The challenges posed by these four environmental problems and the forces that drive them seem insurmountable. Thus, this qualitative study was conducted to analyze the reflections on environmental concern and sustainability gleaned from Al Gore’s literary work pointing out the implications of the findings of the study in teaching environmental stewardship. Findings of the analysis revealed that global warming is the greatest environmental threat of this time. Gore’s literary work portrays vivid reflections and deep concerns on environmental issues and continues to confront men with reflective challenges. To give deeper meaning on the concept of environmental stewardship and logical framework to his work through language as well as to motivate the readers’ imagination to visualize the characters, scenes and situations more clearly, Gore employed literary devices such as foreshadowing and flashback in the selected literary pieces. Through Al Gore’s writings, this environmental steward could inspire educators specifically the Filipino and Vietnamese academicians to do their share to support this advocacy by adhering to the concepts that promote environmental education and by utilizing the appropriate pedagogical strategies associated with them.
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