Most Urgent Environmental Problem Interview.

I have interviewed a student in our school about the most urgent environmental problem for her. Based from the interview she explained that too much waste in the Philippines is the problem. Also, she recognizes the immense growth of population which leads to many informal settlers. Watch the video here!

Waste Management Act!

Environmental problem is one of the most widely known issues of our country Philippines. Aside from political issues environmental problem is one of the topics that are being taken seriously. There are a lot of studies and invention created to solve the environmental issues, specifically the waste management problems. The Ecological Solid Waste Management Act or the Republic Act (RA) 9003 passage measures to promote a more acceptable system based on waste problems that are country is facing.

RA 9003 aim is to provide solutions to minimize waste, and implement proper waste disposal. Republic Act 9003 adopts the environmental practices in ecological waste management and does not recognize burning of wastes as an ecological option.

 Waste management is necessary solve and  minimize the garbage and other problems of the country.  But waste management is still seen as the responsibility of government. For me, waste management is not just responsibility of the government but it should also be done by individuals like me. Since garbage problems starts from every one's household waste management should start from it as well. Also,  avoidance is one way of decreasing the garbage problem in the country. Making ideas and using environmental friendly things, I believe we can help in decreasing and most importantly solve the waste problems in our country.

The Rise of the Tectonics! – Earthquake

A little bit of history! Our country Philippines is known to have several earthquakes occurring throughout the century but the question is what causes these frequent earthquakes that happen in our country? First of all, Philippines is located within the "Pacific Ring of Fire" which is a series of interconnected seismic plates that cause earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The Pacific Ring of Fire is vast belt of seismic and volcanic activity that stretches all around the Pacific Ocean. The Philippine Plate is also seen to be one of the involved seismic plates that caused the magnitude 8.9 earthquake in Japan.

         Situated on the Pacific Ring of Fire, Philippines experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity and around 20 earthquakes are registered daily, though most are too weak to be felt. There are many active volcanoes such as the Mayon Volcano, Mount Pinatubo, and Taal Volcano. The eruption of Mount Pinatubo in June 1991 produced the second largest terrestrial eruption of the 20th century

You should be wondering what the most destructive earthquake to hit the Philippines is. The deadliest earthquake to ever hit the Philippine is the 1976 Moro Gulf Earthquake and Tsunami killing about 8,000 people. It was very devastating because it occurred just after midnight when most people are asleep.  However if we are talking about recent events which happened in the last decade, The earthquake in Luzon occurred on Monday, July 16, 1990, in the Philippines was the most destructive earthquake. 

The important question is how should we prepare for such calamity? If there’s anything to learn from this experience, it is that we need to know about how to be prepared because our lives could depend on it. This picture beside gives us a idea on what the seven steps are. For me, we should always be reminded how much a strong earthquake can have disastrous effects in the Philippines.We must do everything in order to prepare for such  calamities!

State of Philippine Waters!

Our country Philippines is comprised of 7,110 islands with a land area of about 300,000 square kilometers. Our bodies of water covers approximately 1,934,000 km² and moreover, we have number of lakes, rivers, falls and sources of ground water and we could say that we are rich in bodies of water. But from this lies the problem. Philippine waters are polluted and are slowly dying. Population growth of the country isn't helping this problem, and it is even aiding in the destruction and pollution of our waters.

               One of the most polluted rivers is the Pasig River which is an important way of water through the center of Metro Manila, which provides the main drainage for most of waterways. But in the course of time it has been polluted by the settlers near its river banks. Although rehabilitation of the Pasig River is being implemented some major improvements in the quality of its water can already be seen.

Another remarkable body of water in the Philippines is Laguna de Bay. It is one of the largest lakes in Southeast Asia and the largest and one of the most vital bodies of water in the Philippines. Laguna de Bay is estimate to receive approximately 74,300 tons per year of pollution. Another body of water that faces pollution are the ground waters.. Bacteria presence in drinking water supplies can cause water diseases which can affect humans and animals alike.

But wait! If you think the bodies of water with bacteria are enough, well think about the living organisms that live in those waters. Most get poisoned then die and there are even cases of destruction of habitat such as the destruction of coral reefs which fishes need to live. We have a lot of polluted body water in the Philippine and our ecosystem is slowly being destroyed. From all the knowledge about the state of the bodies of water in the Philippines, we should not should not lose hope and take some necessary actions to save our bodies of water!

USE & Re-USE!

BEFORE

 When we go shopping or just purchase some stuffs like foods or items, we always come to find ourselves with the choice of using either paper bags or plastic bags.  Many of us find ourselves with that kind question and wonder what is the responsible choice for the environment.

        To give a more clearing to this, I will begin to explain the difference between Papers and Plastics. Some advantages of Paper Bags is that they are easier to carry than plastic bags, holds more items than plastic bags = fewer bags to handle and more importantly it is environmentally preferred. But most people use plastic bags because plastics are made from a renewable natural resource and can be reused again and again.

NOW

       To help minimize our waste each day, I have come to a decision that instead of arguing on using whether plastic or paper bags I will instead use a more efficient way of minimizing waste by the use of “Reusable Bags”. By using reusable bags, I can go on several shopping without having to use or waste plastics or papers. I have come to think that if every shopper starts to take the importance of reusable bags then the much will be achieved.  Plastic waste, carbon footprint will be reduced and more importantly the earth will achieve more sustainability.

 I have reflected after learning this, I am definitely going to take reusable bags instead of plastics or papers to the stores even when I go shopping for clothes and other things besides food. Even if I forget to take my reusable bag, I will put what I have purchased that can fit to my bag. I will also encourage some of my relatives, family members and friends and also to you fellow readers to adopt this kind of habit.

State of the World 2010: Transforming Cultures

"State of the World 2010: Transforming Cultures is breaking new ground. We are paying a high price for ignoring the issues of consumption and consumerism for so long. What a wonderful book this is to guide us into the years ahead."

“State of the World 2010: Transforming Cultures: From Consumerism to Sustainability” is a book by Worldwatch Institute, published by W. W. Norton & Company and examines the institutions that the goal is to shape culture. There are 26 articles from 60 experts on the topic of consumerism, sustainability and cultural change. The book provides information on how we can make develop change from consumerism to sustainability. Sustainability is defined as the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the potential for long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions.

In State of the World, it has shown not only how people could make a change but also shows the ways to transform consumerism into a culture that is based on sustainability. All in all, there are six Chapters which include education, business, the media, government, traditions and social movements that present possible solutions to global environmental problems, which focus on institutions that are the principal engineers of culture, such as governments, the media, and religious organizations.

State of the World 2010 explains that while the human population has grown, consumption has grown even more and is almost three times more. A quote coming from the book: “Consumption has grown dramatically over the past five decades, up 28 percent from the $23.9 trillion spent in 1996 and up sixfold from the $4.9 trillion spend in 1960,” written by Erik Assadourian, a Senior Researcher and Project Director of State of the World 2010. . If we continue to not stop and still adopt this kind of living, the Earth would soon dramatically decrease in only sustain people. While people focus consuming, cultural orientation on the other hand plays a bigger role for society and the planet. Finally, I observed that the book it is written clearly, it provides new ideas and opinions regarding the state of the world. It presents a clearer view of our fast changing world that we, and more importantly the leaders, cannot afford to ignore. 

The Story of Stuff

Story of stuff is written and narrated by Annie Leonard. It tackles about critical review of consumerism and its effect on the planet. It offers ideas and delivers information regarding the process of making goods and how our obsession with stuff is trashing the planet. Story of Stuff describes the process in which resources are gathered and removed from the planet in several amounts and. It goes on to explain how the government is behind the manufacturing and production. Finally, it discusses how the most important and influential part of the process, consumerism, leads to the destruction of our environment.

Story of stuff states that people create more than 5 pounds of trash per day and will be equal to almost 5 billion pounds of harmful chemicals released per year in order to produce the goods that we consume.  The scenario led me to think about how much we are affected by those chemicals that we produce and led me to think how the environmental exposure and human diseases are related to each other. Both the environment and the global economy are affected by this widespread consumerism. Due to this, pollution and hazardous waste materials continue to rise, while our natural resources continue to decline.

If consumerism still continue and does not slow down, the natural resources will eventually run out, leaving planet earth and mankind to destruction. Consumerism has come to the result of our natural forests being destroyed. Hundreds of trees will disappear from forest due to people’s greed. Therefore, actions must be done to make differences we need the most and as citizens of this planet, we cannot afford to wait more until it’s too late.

I thought that most of the sights and information in the video was interesting. It was my first time to see it for me I was very shocked to see the current situation that we are facing right now regarding consumerism.  The story of stuff made me stop and think of the future and what will happen and what action are we going to do for our environment and for the people that live. We should always care and start doing appropriate and necessary actions and just because we don’t realize they are suffering doesn't mean that we should not care. I believe that it is my priority to take actions in the future and I will do it helping the environment through activities. Recycling our water bottles, throwing trash in its proper disposal or recycling the paper would help.