To the Apathetic Folks

Hey,

In my effort to embark on a journey of educating folks on issues about the climate crisis, I recovered this message of mine from my archives. It was written last November 2022 during the onset destruction of Typhoon Paeng in the affected areas in our country. Furthermore, this narrative about the climate crisis was featured on my blog, and here’s how it goes.

But, here's my take…

What I'm going to tell you at this very moment might not make sense to you. But what are the odds, the same sense almost all of us lack is the very sense that could save us.  

Geographically, the Philippines is located along a typhoon belt and at the Pacific Ring of Fire. This means that it is normal for the country to experience typhoons, earthquakes, or volcanic eruptions. 

But the course of wind has changed throughout the years, from Sendong, Ondoy, Yolanda, Odette, and now Paeng, among all the typhoons so far as I've come to know. 

Every day it gets worse. Worse than one could ever imagine. Have you observed a sudden shift in weather in a short lapse of time? Today, the day is brighter than that of yesterday. However, it is still evident that there is turbulence in our weather. As I expected, it was normal because Paeng was passing. 

But in the afternoon, there is a sudden rage in the weather which is so familiar to just how Odette had been. Not long after that, the day becomes brighter. I don't think this is normal. For a short lapse of time, the weather shifts just like how it had always been every single day. 

Friends, I don't know if by this time I make sense but it's never too late to realize that there is an evident climate crisis happening here. I do understand that we were never the greatest contributor to this climate crisis and yet here we are frontline victims of its consequences.

But that is apathy, friends. The problem is we are too apathetic to the point that we are becoming hypocrites ourselves. Have we disposed of our garbage well? I bet not. We still burn our plastics in our backyard instead of making compost pits. 

We deny taking part in it but we are contributing to it little by little. Our denials have slapped us hard enough - landslides, flash floods, the wreckage of livestock, destruction of home, and death among others.

This also is a calling for our government. Instead of allotting money to prepare for the upcoming disasters, is there any way we are to act for its prevention? Why are we always preparing for the worse? Instead of focusing on preparations for relief operations, why don't we advocate equally as well for simple practices such as teaching pupils proper waste disposal, 3Rs, tree planting, etc? 

I've known for a fact that there are several SBs that have passed resolutions or ordinances regarding waste disposal, but have they gone and implemented those successfully? There are a lot of potential statutes in the country that have gone to waste because it was passed for the sake of passing it, RA No. 9729 is one of those.

We have RA No. 9729 or otherwise known as the Climate Change Act of 2009, but have we done enough to address the climate change crisis in the country? There are a lot of climate crisis and justice activists all around the world, why can't we work hand in hand?

For once, let this be a shared effort for us to seek a truce with our nature. We've lost more than enough because we have been apathetic. Make this make sense to you. Each of us has a shared part in this - help me, help us, help yourself. 

My deepest sympathy and condolences to all who have suffered the wrath of this crisis. The loss of family, friends, home, and source of income is definitely inconsolable.

Yolanda, Odette, and Paeng might be gone for now.

And yet, there is still more to come.

To emphasize the point of this narrative, I wrote this by the provisions enshrined under our constitution. Section 16, Article II of the 1987 Constitution states that “The State shall protect and advance the right of the people to a balanced and healthful ecology in accord with the rhythm and harmony of nature.”

In consideration of the foregoing, that certain provision alone should encapsulate the breadth of the obligation each of us has in the preservation of our environment. As stated in the case of Oposa v. Factoran, these basic rights need not even be written in the Constitution for they are assumed to exist from the inception of humankind. If they are now explicitly mentioned in the fundamental charter, it is because of the well-founded fear of its framers that unless the rights to a balanced and healthful ecology and to health are mandated as state policies by the Constitution itself, thereby highlighting their continuing importance and imposing upon the state a solemn obligation to preserve the first and protect and advance the second, the day would not be too far when all else would be lost not only for the present generation but also for those to come — generations which stand to inherit nothing but parched earth incapable of sustaining life.

Even young children know the basic concepts of climate change, global warming, and the whole climate crisis itself. However, we are too apathetic to be concerned about anything at all. 

According to the Global Forest Watch, from 2001 to 2021, the Philippines lost 1.34Mha of relative tree cover, equivalent to a 7.2% decrease since 2000 and 0.31% of the global total.

 And despite all the efforts of having to initiate a tree planting program, I do believe that such an initiative is rooted in a false belief that such an initiative can resolve the crisis we have right now. 

This is where all of you should give me a break, at least the benefit of the doubt. It was never meant to criticize the efforts of those who initiated the tree planting program because trees will definitely fulfill the balance of the climate. However, the question is not about the initiative but the kind of effort exerted on this program. After planting the trees, do the participants mind if their trees have grown? Most probably not at all. Just like what happened last 2019 when there was a tree planting initiative inside the Holy Name University premises. I participated in that cause provided that I have advocated long for climate justice. And yet, weeks after the said initiative the planted tree sprouts died a natural death because of the absence of another initiative to grow it. Is planting enough? No, it is not.

This should resonate well with how we take good care of our nature. It takes time, it takes effort, and most especially it takes so much of our self-discipline to make it a routine. The issue of climate change or climate crisis will never end unless people on their own initiative act to at least alleviate it.  It so happens that I came to realize that this dilemma has no inherent resolution. Our preference towards modernity is consequential to this dilemma. As we go along and embrace globalization, industrialization, and any advancement of technology, we pay the price of the depletion of our resources. Truthful to the saying which goes “what goes around comes around.”

So now, do I blame us for this occurring climate crisis? Undoubtedly, we are the contributors that are now in shackles of its consequences without even knowing it. Instead of trying to mobilize the minds that will help us get through this very alarming problem that the whole world is facing, we are limited to sharing these thoughts through papers and podcasts without even acting on them. Would it suffice? Of course not. If people are apathetic about this issue, so is the government. Funny enough that in the United States, which in fact is one of the most significant contributors to this climate crisis, not to mention the Willow Project launched by the Biden Administration just recently, their two-party system has something to do with whether the topic on climate change should be dealt with or not. 

In Ken Stern’s book titled “Republican Like Me: How I Left the Liberal Bubble and Learned to Love the Right”, he abruptly made mention of how one political party thinks of the climate change issue as a myth. 

This leads me to realize that perhaps the political affiliation of people affects their common sense. 

The current heat index is a clear-as-day warning of how worse it could be if we do not partake in looking for ways to alleviate climate change. Our collective effort would surely make a difference. Needless to say, when we commence to give out our micro-efforts it will eventually lead to a macro-effect. I believe the world is expecting this from us, at the very least. And without any political influence and agenda, we can help mother nature and we can help the whole world. 

Lastly, may we be instrumental in creating ways to alleviate this issue. Unfortunately, we have to stick with how we alleviate it because, again, there’s no resolution for this extensive climate crisis. And as to close this narrative, let me seek the attention of the United Nations and as to my present manifestations with how their member countries have been violative with their own rules under their own watch. It was said that the UN family is at the forefront of the effort to save our planet. According to the United Nations, in 1992, its “Earth Summit” produced the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as a first step in addressing the climate change problem. Today, it has near-universal membership. Today is 2023 and 1992 is too old already… So what have you done?

Be the change,

In this LIFE LINE