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| How can this happen twice within three years? With human actions, nothing is impossible. |
History has always indicated that
man adapts to nature. Some rules are not meant to be broken. This is one of
them.
If there was any doubt about the current
phenomenon of climate change, the previous week should have erased them from
your thoughts. Make no mistake about this: we have just witnessed what has been
termed by the government as the “new norm”. And it’s scary. Really scary.
Why shouldn’t you feel this way? As
if the fact that the amount of rainfall brought by a mere southwest monsoon
(with an assist from a typhoon outside the Philippines) exceeded the
precipitation output of typhoon Ondoy in a shorter amount of time is not
enough, the same effect is replicated for almost a week. The gap of three years
between two destructive calamities of the
same nature in the same area is rarely recorded (if not previously unheard
of) in the history books.
To make things worse, the history
of Metro Manila has the words poor urban
planning written all over it. The geographic location of Metro Manila as a
whole has made it a key location for economic activities in the Asia-Pacific
region, effectively drawing people to opportunities within the new center of
the archipelago. To accommodate the increase in population, subdivisions and
slums alike are built along the mouths and banks of the rivers. The population
boom brought about an economic boom, which allowed people to consume everything
like there’s no tomorrow. Unfortunately, this also led to accumulation of a lot
of waste, necessitating the construction of a metropolis-wide sewage system.
However, the low elevation of Metro Manila made this practically improbable,
leading to poor waste management where the poor people threw their garbage into
the rivers and canals and the more well-to-do subscribed to non-biodegradable
plastics without giving a thought about recycling. Oh, and do not forget all the
deforestation and the pollution that ensued as the by-products of all the chaos
in the metropolis for the past 100 years or so.
If this is the situation in the
supposedly most developed part of the island (and the whole country as a whole),
the scenario in the nearby provinces just gets worse. While these areas are
certainly greener than Metro Manila, it is safe to say that significant
portions of the provinces are urbanizing as well, which does not bode well for
the flora and fauna in the area. The lack of a proper waste management system,
along with a general lack of flood control system, just makes the situation
more gruesome in these areas.
Add all of these elements up, and
what is the end result of this massive recipe for disaster in 2012? Hundreds of
thousands of families misplaced and deprived of basic necessities outside
relief goods and evacuation centers. Entire villages submerged in meters-high dirty
floodwater. Billions of pesos worth of damage dealt to agricultural,
commercial, and residential properties. A million more traumatic memories added
to the getting-longer-by-the-minute list of disaster-related stories of
survival.
Could this be a glimpse of what
the Mayans have predicted about the end of the current world as we know it?
Probably, but what they could not have seen is how we will respond to the “new
norm”. And there is a way to adapt to the changing climate.
The first things that come to
most minds in terms of solving the flood control issue, and the rest of the
man-induced environment problems, are “building a proper waste management
system”, “constructing an appropriate flood control system”, “building more
dams to control the flow of floodwater”, “clean up the clogged rivers and
canals”, and “relocate the residents living in the slums to areas more suitable
to both their needs and the environment”.
But these are activities that
need a lot of money, time, and manpower to do. What can a common Filipino do to
adapt to the changing climate?
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| Maybe if environmental science is introduced into the curriculum, then the entire nation will probably go green ... |
Everything starts with having the
knowledge of everything you need to know regarding how to deal with the “new
norm”, which is why it will be for the best if the subject of Environmental Science is introduced to
the basic curriculum of both grade school and high school students.
I am not a fan of the newly-introduced
K+12 system of education because it exerts more pressure on the poorer families
to keep up with the rising costs of education, despite a lack of improvement of
standard of living across all sectors of the Philippine society. And I
understand that introducing yet another subject in the list of fields that
young minds have to absorb (most of whom simply want to get a job after they
finish studying) in a way contradicts with my stance of extending the number of
years a Filipino child has to study. I also know that questions such as “Where
do we get the teachers?” and “Where do we get the resources?” are valid points
of contention in terms of questioning the feasibility of such undertaking.
However, allow me to respond to
such questions. First, unlike the perennially disputed Mathematics courses like
geometry and calculus, there is no question that an Environmental Science
subject is absolutely necessary at the current context of our society despite
having not much been thought upon by many in terms of practical areas of
knowledge. This is why I question the proposal to not introduce Science to
Grade 1 and 2 pupils; if the youth are not at least made aware of how the
natural wonders of the world work at such an early age, then how will they be
able to effectively comprehend the things going on around them when their cognitive
functions begin to fully develop, by the time they have to critically think?
Second, with regards to the
resources, I am aware that not many teachers and other related professionals
are familiar or possessing full comprehension of the terms and concepts
necessary to understand environmental science because of the overall poor state
of the Philippine education system. However, I would like to suggest a more
localized approach in terms of teaching environmental science concepts to students.
Depending on the location and climate of the areas the students are living in,
the concepts more applicable to their local environments should be emphasized
more so that they will be more able to adapt to the times when disasters
happen. As examples, for the youth living near the rivers, lakes, and other
bodies of water, topics such as the water cycle, water pollution, and waste
management should have more focus, while concepts such as landslides and deforestation
must be emphasized to those living in the mountains.
I would also like to suggest a
more hands-on approach should environmental science be accepted into the
curriculum of primary and secondary schools. Making activities more interactive
and creative can surely attract the attention of students of all interests and
personalities, enough for them to be engaged in learning and understanding
environmental science. For instance, it will be good to see that the
cleanliness-and-orderliness staple of schools across the Philippines receive even
more emphasis from the school principals and teachers by encouraging the kids
to segregate and recycle. The pupils can even explore their inner da Vinci by
making artworks out of recyclables. Planting seeds and taking care of the
sprouting plants can also be a fun yet effective way of reminding grade school
and high school students alike of both the privilege of seeing nature work
right before their eyes and the responsibilities they have in terms of
protecting the environment. It would also be good to see students in the
metropolis go on field trips to nearby natural hills and rivers, if their
resources permit them to do so. Even trips to the nearest zoo will help them
grow fonder of other creatures that will be affected by the threat of climate
change. For those in the provinces, as they are generally nearer places such as
marshes, grasslands, lakes, and mountains, going out on the fields to
appreciate the beauty of nature will not be as hard as for those in the cities.
I know that this does not apply
to all areas of the country, but the power of social media and the Internet can
also aid in educating the young minds in the field of environmental science. The
Information Age has gifted humanity the ability to search for and use
information anytime, anywhere … as long as you have an Internet connection or
access to Wi-Fi. By being able to communicate with other professors,
researchers, and other related professionals, as well as read the latest news
and study the latest findings by scientists around the world, the pool of
knowledge of the teachers will deepen, and as long as they are able to communicate
well with the students, the understanding of the youth regarding how to take
care of their environment will be enhanced as well.
And while schools are the primary
institutions for academic education, it is still important that they receive the
practical education at home as well. If the parents and other older relatives
can share their first-hand accounts of their encounters with the currently-rapidly-changing
climate, if the siblings and cousins can bond with the younger ones in doing
chores such as sweeping the floor, wiping dust off furniture, and cleaning the
dishes, if the family can find ways of spending quality time together without
unnecessarily using energy by going out more and seeing the blessings of nature
…
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| Only by taking the risk on a full-blown environmental education can we help ourselves achieve this ideal equilibrium. |
That is a lot of ‘IF’s and ‘AS
LONG AS’s for this scheme to prove effective. And there are still quite a
number of issues regarding the implementation of this plan that I have yet to
discuss. Perhaps the biggest of these problems will be the language to be used
as a medium of communication. Most of the environmental science concepts are
currently expressed in English in the Philippines, with terms too complex and
deep at the moment to effectively place the plan into action for the
foreseeable future. There are already enough issues with the usage of English
as a primary medium of instruction outside the cities, where the cultural
identities of communities remain strong; effective communication can be a
headache for everybody involved.
Another issue can be the
willingness of certain government officials to implement the curriculum
effectively. What do they have to lose, you’d ask? Well, should environmental
science be instituted in the curriculum of grade schools and high schools, the
money that comes along with its implementation is simply a treasure waiting to
be poached by these no-good authorities. They seem to have the philosophy of “money
as the only green that matters in my life”, which spells trouble for all of us.
Yet we have to take the risk. The
threat of climate change has never been more evident than the past three years
in Luzon, where two powerful downpours of rain stopped all kinds of normal
activity amongst the populace. The “new norm” has begun. If we do not try to
increase the awareness of the succeeding generations about what happens when we
try to ignore nature with our reckless behavior as soon as possible, then what
happens to our children and grandchildren years from now?
No matter what other people say,
the Philippines is a democratic nation. If the government ever expects to see
the nation rise up from every storm that strikes it and stay up as much as
possible, they will need the support of all Filipinos. And the Filipinos will
only be able to understand exactly what is going on around them if they have at
least a full basic knowledge of just about why the things happening around them
actually happen. In the same way, if the Filipinos expect to improve their
chances of living the best quality of life possible, they may have to listen to
the government and follow the authorities during times of evacuation and relief
operations. They will need the government for help and support, whether there
are calamities or not.
And in the middle of all of this,
a simple ounce of awareness can prevent all of these from happening again. The
words environmental and science has never been more relevant … and
necessary.
We have two strikes. Should we
wait for the third to strike us like a poison that kills a nation?
