LIghts Out

On 29 March 2008 the Philippines will join countries around the world as we literally "turn the lights out" for Earth Hour - an event that will fuel awareness on climate change and prove that when the people of the world work together, they can make a difference in the fight against global warming.

Earth Hour will take place throughout the Philippines from 8 to 9 pm on Sat, 29 Mar. 2008. WWF invites you to participate by shutting off lights for 60 minutes, organizing your own "lights-out" event or by forwarding the message in this blog to your friends, workmates and family.

View Earth Hour Video

Launched in Australia on the 31st of March 2007, Earth Hour moved 2.2 million people and 2100 businesses in Sydney to turn off their lights for one hour. This massive collective effort reduced the city's energy consumption by 10.2% for one hour. With Sydney icons like the Harbour Bridge and Opera House turning their lights off and unique events such as weddings by candlelight, the world took notice. Inspired by the collective effort of millions of Sydneysiders, many major global cities are joining Earth Hour in 2008, turning a symbolic event into a global movement.

Today's buildings account for:

12% of world's water use

40% of world's greenhouse gas emissions

65% of world's waste output

70% of world's electricity consumption
Green Buildings save:

• 30% in energy
• 35% in CO₂ emissions
• 30–50% in water use
• 50–90% in waste costs
  beneficiALI. An Ayala Land Campaign for Sustainability.
  
  YOUR participation will go a long way in spreading the message that we, as individual droplets working collectively – can create an impetus far more powerful than the mightiest of rivers. For more information, log on to the WWF Earth Hour page at: www.earthhour.org.

Disturbing Weather Disturbances

In our earlier post, we expressed our surprise with the weather that we have been experiencing lately. Rains have continued to pound various parts of the country and as a result, flash floods rampaged through villages leaving dozens dead, farmlands destroyed, families homeless and precious infrastructure ruined. We do not see the rains abating soon and it is supposed to be the dry season!

The rains are being attributed to a weak La Nina prevailing over the equatorial Pacific. As this condition persists, the rainy days will remain, even extending up to the month of March.

Question. What should we expect next?

Scientists say that the La Nina and El Nino are the manifestations of different stages of a cyclical pattern known as the Southern Oscillation. Tracking of the patterns were started in the early 20th century and the cycle was observed to occur roughly every six to seven years.

What is disturbing is that La Nina and El Nino are now occurring more frequently and with more ferocity. What is causing this?

A lively debate still rages on whether or not global warming has exacerbated the cycle. As I do not have the most recent empirical data on the subject matter, I am withholding comment on this.

Suffice it to say that I still maintain that we are the keepers of this planet, our only livable planet. We should always remember to take responsibility for our actions that may have an impact on the viability of this place we are living in.

Flash Floods in February

It used to be that the onset of the two seasons in the Philippines is so well defined. The rains would come in June and stop by November. The dry season would then start and culminate in the merry month of May. Many activities were time bound to the two seasons then: rice planting is scheduled in time with the rains, road building is fast tracked during the dry months, even elections were purposely set by the Constitution to be on the second Monday of May just so that the politicians won't be forced to campaign during the muddy season. (I swear that this is true. Honest)

We really never paid attention to weather patterns; we somehow conveniently thought that the rains would come by June. (After all, during the religious fiestas in May we practically prayed for rain everyday!) We also knew that by November, the rains would have abated and we could start looking forward to dry spells.

NOW, NOT ANYMORE.

The rains came down hard on Samar and Leyte the other day. As a result of the off-season rain, flash floods occurred in numerous towns, more than 5000 families were evacuated, at least 8 people died and various infrastructure were severely damaged.

Eastern Samar Governor Ben Evardone, (a colleague from the College Editors Guild of the Philippines so many summers back) was quoted as saying that we may be seeing the effects of global warming.

Global warming is the most apparent manifestation of climate change that we know. Environmental studies indicate that such change is human influenced. Putting it rather bluntly, this change that we are now seeing is caused by irresponsible human acts. Increased carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere is being pointed to as the main cause of such increase in global temperatures.

What are the leading causes of such increased carbon dioxide emissions? First is fossil fuel burning, second is land use change including massive deforestation and third is cement manufacturing. (Carbon dioxide is released when calcium carbonate is heated to produce calcium oxide or quicklime. Quicklime is a basic ingredient in cement).

Another factor in rapid global warming is the increase of other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. What is doubly problematic is that the prime contributor of such gases is the livestock industry. Livestock releases nitrous oxide and methane into the atmosphere and these cause chaos in the ozone layer. We need the livestock industry in order to combat hunger but while we are engaging in it we are creating another problem.

The Philippines is a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol, an output of the Convention on Climate Change, which is intended to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. We should expect to see that our government policies adhere to the provisions of the Protocol and to what we have agreed to in the treaty.

What is more important though is to take individual action on reducing the emissions of harmful gases into the atmosphere. Here are some of the things we can do: one, let us reduce the use of motorized vehicles; two, let us be more prudent in the use of energy; three, let us practice recycling and re-using and four, let us plant more trees.

There is an endless list of the little things that we could do in order to slow down the effects of climate change. The key here is to take personal responsibility for the environment so that more results could be effected.