To the government of the Philippines: Throughout 2010, signs of the effects of global warming were very evident, if not super obvious. There were the water shortages, the severe droughts, the lack of storms that entered the Philippine area of responsibility, and the landslides and flashfloods despite light rainfall, among others. Entering 2011, we were greeted by the freezing of crops in Northern Luzon and the unusual chill at 7 in the morning. And then there were the martyrs who have to needlessly sacrifice their lives to protect the forests in Mindanao.
Sir, Ma'am, do we need to wait for more people to be homeless, more lives to be lost, more hearts to be broken? Do we, the people, have to doubt if this is truly a government of the people, by the people, and for the people? Do we have to wait for another ONDOY-and-PEPENG 1-2 combination to deal a fatal blow to the Filipino morale?
I am sure the job of taking care of everything concerning your area is tough, and you are human beings just like we are, but since you ran for those offices you currently hold (or get appointed by these people), we expect you to perform your duties to the best of your abilities (with minimal errors in judgment), give solutions to the most critical and urgent of problems affecting your jurisdictions, and pave way for the development and progress of the programs being implemented and to be implemented. Of course, this includes the preservation, conservation, and restoration of the environment. PLEASE SUPPORT THE GREEN MOVEMENT. PLEASE.
To the businessmen: Money makes the world go round. It does not make up what it is made of, though.
Despite my lack of deep knowledge in economics and management, I am sure there is a way to balance economic advancement with environmental protection. I believe so; I am an Environmental Science student. Almost all of you spend a lot of time whining, b*tching, and moaning about how you are going to fall in debt or earn less money to sustain your lives, while all the time you may never have thought about the long-term effects of an environmental crisis on both your businesses and your very own lives. Trust me, there is still a way, if not many ways, to live comfortably within the confinements of today's highly advanced society and not sacrifice the numerous resources surrounding us.
Just imagine this. Let's say you are the owner of the largest chain of malls in the world. You dream of expanding your establishment to knock out competition and fill your bank accounts with millions of dollars. Thing is, think of all the ingredients you will need to make your recipe the most appetizing to your target customers - tons of electricity and fuel per day to keep your machineries running and your shoppers chilling; mountains of fruits, vegetables, dairy products, wheat, and other grocery items to build your gigantic supermarket; towers of parking lots for the vehicles of your visitors to rest on. And the products of all of these? Piles of every single kind of waste you can think of. Tremendous pollution filling the outside, and on occasion, the inside. All of these things will accumulate and within 15 years, natural catastrophes will come back to haunt you.
I appreciate the effort being made by some of the big names of the business sector to help the GREEN cause. Biodegradable plastic bags, more efficient operations of the establishments, sponsorships of planting of new trees and cleaning up of rivers, and so much more. Thing is, this is not enough. Too much of anything is never good, but this time, in a country where basically the rich have a bigger say in how things work around the nation, we need your cooperation. We need our guarantee. We need your hand.
To the professionals: Since you are (theoretically) experts in your chosen fields and received special training in your desired expertise, you should know at least around 75% of the basics and advanced things related to your profession, including the environmental aspect of your jobs. Whether you are an environmental scientist yourself, or a award-winning, world-class actor, you know you can use your profession in some way to take part in helping save the environment.
It might sound weird, but what can an actor use his profession to save the environment? It doesn't sound weird at all. It is like asking "Why should we learn Calculus in high school?" The answer: there is more to life than what meets the eye.
We all know what an environmental scientist can do to help the GREEN movement: be an environmental scientist. Go on a trip, observe phenomenon, record and analyze data, make conclusions, report to the concerned agencies for discussion on the implications of the findings. But the actor? Well, he can use his fame to rally support for the cause. Make a commercial about this environment-friendly item or straight-to-the-point promote the GREEN movement. Maybe even make an environment-related movie that serves as both a warning and an inspiration to the viewers to join the campaign. If Filipinos rely on celebrity endorsers instead of platforms as their basis for voting, why not do the same for the environment?
To the religious leaders: Just like the celebrities, you too can help spread the word ... and love for the environment. Seeing as nature is God's creation (just like we all are), He would try to protect it at all costs. So should you. Helping the cause personally will not be bad. Occasional mentions in sermons will not be bad, either. Even better, you can lead us to pray not only for the saving of the environment, but also for the best on everything (as long as it is morally good and reasonable).
(This especially goes to the Catholic Church) Please support the Reproductive Health Bill. It does not legalize abortion at all. It does not require everyone to use artificial methods of family planning. It does not try to change morality to the liking of the authors of the bill. Why would the government push through a bill that would massively affect the country in a negative way? If that was the case, then every single administration might have resigned before they can serve their full terms. Besides, if you really are pro-life, why are you only emphasizing the salavation of the lives of the unborn babies? Why not also think about the lives of those who are already living on Earth and the effects of adding more pieces to the puzzle in the long-term? The puzzle board can only carry so many pieces; similarly, the Earth has a carrying capacity. Too many people already are poor and living in conditions a few of the non-poor citizens could possibly survive. If there are even more Filipinos to accomodate to, wouldn't it make the situation even worse? The more people, the more we exhaust our resources, the faster waste accumulates, the shorter our life spans could be. In short? We all lose.
To the hardworking common man: You might be wondering, what is all of this to you?
Let's cut to the chase and look at it this way. So what if the higher-ups have part of the say in what goes on in this country? So what if you (possibly) earn only minimum wage? So what if you just pack shirts into boxes in a factory or clean the streets of Metro Manila? So what if you live in a small house? So what if you (possibly) did not finish college? So what if you (possibly) failed to lure your goddess-like crush into being your girlfriend? SO WHAT?
You can still do something to help the GREEN movement. Great things start in small beginnings, so to speak. Save electricity, for the energy resources. Turn off your faucets, for the water resources. Throw your waste the right way, for the land you step on. Check your cars (if you have any), for the air you will breathe.
Most importantly, let your voice be heard. Remember, without your vote, the authorities would not have either the people to truly serve or (hurts to say, but) the fools to steal money from. Without your patronage, these businessmen would not have any businessesin the first place. Without your needs, the professionals would just stay in their farms yielding crops or in their households mopping floors. Without your presence, the religious leaders would not have any reason to believe that God exists.
So what if you are just a hardworking common man? YOU CAN DO something about it.
To the students: Someday, we will be the authorities. Some will be the professionals. Some will be the businessmen. Others will be the religious leaders. Others will work as hard as they can. Again, no matter what you want to pursue, we can do something about it.
We have the advantage of history. We can look at the past natural events and use this knowledge as to how to better prepare for future occurences. We have the advantage of technology. We can utilize all these machines ad equipment to take better care of the environment. We have the advantage of manpower. There is just so many of us, we can work together and accomplish every good thing we want to do, especially saving the environment.
We can start by practicing, and eventually doing, simple activities that can help the GREEN cause. Less TV, more fun with family. Less time in front of computers, more time with loved ones. Less excess water used for baths, more water to drink. Hey, we can even do all of these with the help of our families and friends. That would be more fun, right? Every little thing you do will affect the environment in some way. So why don't we start somewhere? THIS IS OUR FUTURE.
To me: With all of these blabbering about how everyone around me should improve their pro-environment personas, I hope I can do the same thing.
2011: New Year, New Beginning, New Hope ... for the environment and, in the end, for the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment