Book of Days » environment

Troubled :(

sarahness — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 02:29:24 +0000

I’m deeply worried by the latest happenings in the world today. The chaos in the middle east is not yet resolved then Japan was hit by a 8.9 earthquake following a tsunami which claimed the lives of 10,000 people as of this writing.

Buildings burn in Yamada town, Iwate prefecture (state) after Japan's biggest recorded earthquake hit. Photo by Associated Press

I wish I could shut this thought for I still have to finish my reaction paper on both of my subjects for this term but no matter how hard I try to focus my attention on something else, my paranoia keeps on peeking in my reverie.

I love this planet, and I don’t wanna see it like this. I’m aware of the fact that earthquakes are natural occurrences but it’s really tragic to know thousands of people died and are slowly dying. It is also sad to acknowledge that we human contributed to the destruction of our own environment. Instead of devicing a way to slow down the destruction, I think we even intensify the effect of nature’s wrath. This, I believe, is because of our selfishness and most importantly, our lack of discipline. I wish we could care more about our environment and the future generation.

Last Saturday, I went to witness the Pyromusical Competition in Mall of Asia. I admit it was very nice to see fireworks display in the night sky but upon seeing the smoke the event has created, I kind of pondered on the possible effects of this on our atmosphere. And to make things worse, a lot of food wastes were scattered everywhere. I thought we have learned from Ondoy but I guess I was wrong. I was wrong to assume that the past calamity that ravaged our country has left a meaningful message for us all to remember. People seem to forget about that already.

innocence amidst the debris

So when are we gonna really learn to take good care of our environment??

My Real Tree Planting Experience

sarahness — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 06:07:21 +0000

FTSP President with other Japanese managers

I signed up in our company’s tree planting activity. I wanted to contribute something in saving the environment for the future generation. I’m actually glad that my present company have this kind of activity. It only shows that we are not only concerned about the latest buzz on the tech world, we also wanted to save earth and make it a better place to live.

A day before the tree planting day, I was advised by my roommate of the things to bring but that day I also rendered overtime and came home late and very tired that I was not able to pack my things. Come the actual tree planting day, I was hurrying like mad packing my stuff. I do not want to be late and be the last person to hop in the bus so I just grabbed the things I think I needed. I even forgot to snatch the sunblocks.

When we arrived at the place I was awed by the beauty of it. I feel calm and relaxed right away. The water is so inviting you want to plunge on it immediately. I regretted not being able to bring swim wear.

The people of the Barangay are very hospitable and generous. Since it was scheduled on Independence Day, we were asked to sing the National Anthem then they proceeded with the explanation on how to plant mangroves. Despite the scorching heat of the sun, we marched to the planting site and began our quest to save mother earth. I must admit, planting may seem a simple task to do but believe me it’s not.

treeplanting

I must commend the efforts of our Japanese managers and President not only on the activity but on the whole save-the-environment pursuit. I even saw Mr. Kamimura picking up plastic trash thrown on the place. Shame on those people who just throw their junks anywhere.

The tree planting activity is really an exhausting one but after seeing the rows of mangroves you and your colleagues have planted and envisioning that one day these trees will make a difference, I must say that the efforts and time dedicated to this activity are all worth it. I’m looking forward to more earth-saving activities.

Why 2012 Is Not The End of The World

sarahness — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:30:57 +0000

I’ve heard countless speculations about December 21, 2012 being the doomsday or the end of the world. It’s just sad. I remember my grade school days when our science teacher told us that if the sun dies, the earth also dies and so are we. It’s very upsetting. I mean, I grow up knowing earth as it is. And growing up I kind of feel and thought that our dear planet will be here forever not until I gained knowledge about things around me. And well, that’s science. Although, it’s a really great effort for our scientists to go beyond our system even our galaxy to search for an earth-like planet and save humanity, somehow, it’s really really sad to know that time will come and earth will eventually cease.

I have keep in touch with this piognant feeling last Sunday when I happen to watched a documentary in History channel about 2012. They showed destructive calamities, lives lost, and other unsightly scenes. Below is the first part of that documentary.

A few hours ago, someone tweets about how 2012 is not the end of the world. I followed the link and it has taken me to NASA’s FAQ’s page where they try to answer some of the questions.

According to them, NASA, the 2012 scare will be just like the Y2K scare during the dawn of the millennium. Remember the millennium bug? It came and went without much of a whimper because of adequate planning and analysis of the situation.

When asked about the threats to the earth in 2012, NASA responded that nothing bad will happen. Our planet has been getting along just fine for more than 4 billion years.

I also learned that the origin of the prediction was that of the story started with claims that Nibiru, a supposed planet discovered by the Sumerians, is headed toward Earth. It was initially predicted for May 2003, but when nothing happened the date was moved forward to December 2012.

As for me, let us not wait for doomsday to happen. Let us start saving our planet now. ^_^

An Unexpected Trip On the Way Home

sarahness — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 15:26:00 +0000

We were on our way home when Kerikin, my roommate, commented that getting home at past 8 o’clock in the evening is better than going home after office hours since by doing so we we are able to avoid heavy traffic. I was not surprised when the driver of the passenger vehicle we are riding joined in our conversation saying that traffic during that hour is still not okay. Then he asked us if our house was flooded when Ondoy stormed. We said no and he commented that out of several people he asked the same question we are the only ones who answered no. He also added that we were lucky. Apparently, some parts of Pasig are still flooded. A silly thought hit me about those still flooded places being part of a body of water but then rejected the idea blaming the condition to clogged water passages. Then the conversation progressed. I was liking that man’s way of thinking. He was so absorbed on what he was talking. We discussed people throwing garbage anywhere and how it can be blamed for what happened during the storm (And I totally agree with him!), senator’s pork barrel, corrupt officials, people from the province leaving their homes to crowd Metro Manila in the hope of getting a good job to earn money and more importantly he talked daringly about political monopoly and corruption. Our conversation halted when we were about to get off but he advised us to really vote for the right people on the upcoming election. Who are these people?? Well, it’s our responsibility to find out.

Vote wisely! ^_^

Call of Nature: Mother Earth Spoke Through Ondoy and Pepeng

sarahness — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 03:18:00 +0000

Below are some of the horrendous pictures of Ondoy and Pepeng’s aftermath which can be found in flickr.

Bokawkan Landslide

passengers of VLI & PRBL being rescued by the Coast Guard in Carmen, Pangasinan due to heavy flood

October 11, 2009 San Carlos City

Tropical Storm “ondoy” ( Ketsana ), 26 September 2009…Quirino District

Tropical Storm “ondoy” ( Ketsana ), 26 September 2009…SM Supermarket Sta. Mesa, Manila

The thing about us is that we can easily cope up and start all over again during times like this. We tend to easily forget and move on but I hope that what just happened in our country will serve as a wake up call to us Filipinos.

The Girl Who Silenced the World for 5 Minutes

sarahness — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 12:19:00 +0000

If we really don’t know how to fix it, then we should stop breaking it.

I was astonished watching this girl deliver her speech at a U.N. assembly in behalf of other children about environmental issues. And for this very reason, I would like to share this video hoping that most of you guys will watch it and that girl’s message will not fall on deaf ears.

Mull over her words and let’s start doing something for mother earth.

Take Good Care of Mother Earth, A Commitment

sarahness — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 15:18:00 +0000

From now on, we should make a commitment not to throw garbage anywhere. To make the deed easier we should have this mind setting, every time we’re about to throw something, a candy wrapper or anything, we should think that we can be considered a criminal responsible for the loss of so many lives during calamities for this garbage that we’re about to throw can block the passages of rainwater and may cause havoc. Therefore throwing garbage carelessly should be considered as mortal sin.

Also, if we are to do our grocery let’s bring green bags or eco bags so as to lessen the use of plastics.

Please let’s do something for the environment.

What Storm Ondoy Taught Us

sarahness — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 15:14:00 +0000

We have witnessed the rage of Ondoy when it struck Metro Manila last Saturday. Two of the most commonly reported explanations about the storm’s destructive effect are too much rain (455 mm of rain fell in 24 hours) and climate change.

At first take on the issue, heavy rain may seem to be the most obvious cause.., climate change?? Well, yeah.. Maybe.. But watching the horrid scenes left by Ondoy, I could not ignore the wastes scattered everywhere. For me, and I think most of you will agree with me on this, these litters also have come into play in most places wreckage. If drainages were not clogged, water could have flowed through it allowing rainwater to go down easily.

In our dorm in Pasig, we were among those few people who got lucky to be spared by Ondoy’s wrath but just a few blocks from our place, filthy floods were knee-deep inside other’s homes. And because of that, we don’t have electricity for a week!

Somehow, Ondoy managed to teach us an important lesson: to be concerned about the state of our environment. I hope many people realize the grave effect of not disposing wastes properly. I guess they do.. they just don’t have the initiative to really do it as it should be. Let’s be responsible with our garbage and try as much as possible to minimize plastic use. Let’s save our environment for a healthy earth. ^_^