in retrospect…

protecting and sustaining the environment is not a job just for one person or government… this is a big job for all of us living in this one earth… i called up Magic 89.9 earlier today and talked about this with the hosts of the show, Mo and Grace, and Mo brought up one important question: how can a poor person even think of preserving the environment if he has nothing to eat?

again, we do not HAVE to go out there and preach about preserving it full time… there are so many little things we can do, that when you add them up, will have a great impact on the environment… here are a few:

…and a host of other things one can do to help preserve the environment… again, if we do our own little part, that will add up to a great deal…

Ciao, sweetie…

Tags: [ environment | preservation | An Inconvenient Truth ]

An Inconvenient Truth: A Global Warning

yes, this is the most terrifying film i have ever seen to date, and i have seen almost all of them… i am terrified for my son, for my son’s sons and daughters, and for all future generations that will come after me…

this film, featuring Al Gore, former vice-president under the infamous Bill Clinton, talks about the climate changes that is happening all over the world… changes that happen due to our misuse of the environment and everything that it gives us… and these changes bring us problems, not good tidings…

Hurricane Katrina, Typhoon Frank, Cyclone Nargis, and a host of other natural disasters are happening year after year, and the earth is crying out for help… a little melodramatic, i know, but that is the only description i can find as far as the global disasters happening all over are concerned…

and all of these are happening because of all our technological advances… global warming is due to the presence of 4 greenhouse gasses, namely carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and chloroflourcarbons… all of which are man-made… CO2 is brought about by the burning of fossil fuels… car emissions, coal burning, and forest fires instantly come to mind… methane comes primarily from garbage dumps [remember Smokey Mountain?]… nitrous oxide arose from our use of nitrogen-based fertilizers, and finally, chloroflourcarbons or CFCs come from using airconditioners and other refrigerants too much…

question now is: must we leave all technological advances we have made in the past 3 decades or so just to save the one earth we live in?? simply to preserve the future of our future? my answer to that is no, we should not… but we must also learn sustainable development and teach what we learned to everyone concerned… and by everyone concerned, i meant, every man, woman, and child that you come in contact with in your every waking hour… of everyday, for the rest of your life…

i am not saying that you stop driving a car… stop driving those gas-guzzling-big-American-made cars, and go for the environment friendly ones… or better yet, ride in mass transports and save up on gas… decrease your use of electricity and go back to the basics… and many others each one of us can do to help save the environment…

yes, there will be major changes to our way of life, i agree, but if we want to continue living in this one earth of ours, i suggest we do just that… and immediately… nature will NEVER wait for us to wake up and finally do what must be done… it will go its natural way, whether there is a person in its path [and more often that not, there are people in its path] or not… our storms will continue to rise in intensity, our summer heats will continue to rise no matter what, and our hurricanes will get stronger and stronger if we just sit on our fat asses and do nothing… the time to go forward and let your voice be heard is now… blog about it… talk about it amongst your friends… teach about it to your students… spare an hour a day explaining about it to your employees… but whatever you do, DO IT NOW!! before your way of life comes to an abrupt end…

Tags: [ environment | global changes | disasters | An Inconvenient Truth | Al Gore ]

while the wife and i were on the way home, i decided to pass through Kapitolyo Village in Pasig City because of too much traffic along Shaw Boulevard… for all those who know that area, you’d have to pass by a circle in front of the Rizal Capitol, then go around that circle to cross over to Kapitolyo… found out later that the traffic was right after that circle, good thing i decided to go through Kapitolyo Village instead…

anyway, we were right at the circle when i noticed this:

campaign posters were all over that circle!! posted on the lower half of the concrete, strung between trees, probably nailed on the trees themselves, too!! shet!! tama ba ito?? for more of pictures like these, go here… these are just so… despicable!! not to mention ugly!!

ito ba ang klase ng mga tao na iboboto mo, botante?? oh, i am sure it was not the actual candidates who did these… and if they reason out that they cannot control what their people do, how can they hope to lord over control the rest of the population, then??

mga shet talaga kayo!! the candidates/partylists from the pictures are the following:

• Cesar Montano [Team Unity] — running for senator
• Mike Defensor [Team Unity] — running for senator
• Prospero Pichay [Team Unity] — running for senator
• Tessie Aquino-Oreta [Team Unity] — running for senator
• Miguel Zubiri [Team Unity] — running for senator [may pagmamahal sa kalikasan, according to his tv ad]
• Chavit Singson [Team Unity] — running for senator
• Win Rivera — running for mayor of Pasig City
• Bandila Partylist
• Abante Partylist
• Kabataan Partylist
• Anakpawis Partylist
• AngGalingPinoy Partylist
• A Teacher Partylist

i’d not vote for any of them if i were you… if they cannot care for the environment [and your health] as early as now, do you think they’d care once they are in position??

hoy, Governor Casimiro M Ynares Jr, di ka ba naiirita na paglabas mo ng kapitolyo e yan ang bubungad sa yo?? isa ka pa, letse…

Ciao, sweetie…

Tags: [ May 14 elections | politics ]

my cousin Aileen from the US, sent me an email today [actually, an email for all family members]… she said that she just watched the 100 minute documentary The Inconvenient Truth of which i also blogged about before…

anyway, she has some pleas which she wanted to get across to us… here’s her email

Hello everyone! I hope you are well!

I finally got the chance to watch the documentary “Inconvenient Truth,” in which Al Gore, “the former next president” of the US, details efficiently our denigration of the environment and the impact each of us has on global warming. Whatever your political leanings are, I do hope you keep an open mind and take the time to watch this 100 minute documentary. I guarantee you will find it an eye-opener if you aren’t already familiar with the topic of global warming. At the end of the movie, you will find steps you can take to lessen the staggering increase of damages we incur on the environment. Please visit www.climatecrisis.net

I’ve just checked with my electric and water services provider (www.srp.net) online on ways I can purchase renewable energy. I’m looking to install a solar-powered water heater that will pay itself back in as little as 3.5 years [typical cost is $4000; net cost is $650 after SRP, state, and federal incentives (SRP will help defray costs, and there are state and federal tax credits!)]. Eventually, I would like to install a solar-powered heating system, as well (typical cost is $21,000; net cost is $9000; payback in 23 years). I’m hoping that future technology will improve these numbers… I could also help to purchase renewable energy for use around the community. Do any of you know of reputable AZ contractors that can help me in my personal quest? If you do, please help! (SRP lists two websites that can help.) Most of you know that I’ve wanted to get a hybrid car for years. I really dislike having to deal with car salesmen and the game of purchasing a car, so if you have any ideas on lessening the headaches, please, I’m all ears :). I know Costco has an auto-buying program, and I’ve checked into that, and it’s just like going thru those darn car salesmen! Ayah!

I apologize for the lengthy email, and I bid you a great week!
Aileen

i guess the things she was asking for are not applicable here in the Philippines as of yet… but we can do something about it now… whaddya say??

Ciao, sweetie…

Tags: [ Inconvenient Truth | Al Gore | environment ]

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY, everyone!!

don’t do what i wouldn’t do…

leaving Manila by 3am, travelling 105 kilometers, spending 180 pesos in toll fees, and another 300 pesos for entrance fee, we finally arrived at Clark Air Base situated in Angeles City in Pampanga for the 4th and last day of the 11th Hot Air Balloon Festival at about 4:30 in the morning…

instead of boring you with my words, let my pictures tell you our story today, instead…

simply click on amy image to go to the gallery…

going back home at around 10am because of the heat, we travelled another 105 kilometers, spent another 180 pesos in toll fees, and around 500 pesos for lunch, it was definitely one of the best days we had so far… here’s looking forward for more…

Ciao, sweetie…

as of this writing, typhoon GLENDA is still battering the Philippines, especially the western part…

classes have been suspended since last night… good thing our school officials had the presence of mind to do that BEFORE classes for the day starts… and not when children are already in school, with no way to get home…

work has been suspended since 3pm… we were told by our HR that i can let my people go… but go where? out in that storm? oh well…

i’d like to say, “Hey, have a good day!” but it seems that it isn’t applicable today…

[Newsflash: heard from a morning show today (20060725) that the original name of this typhoon was Gloria or Glorya... according to PAGASA, they changed the name in deference to the SONA that was held yesterday... how apt...]

Ciao, sweetie…

“if you look at the 10 hottest years ever measured, they’ve all occured within the last 14 years, and the hottest of all was 2005!

…scientific consensus is that we [us, the people] are causing global warming” — Al Gore

and that is the absolute truth… it is us people who are responsible for the extreme heat, and the frigid coldness, we are experiencing… have you heard of el niño and la niña?? yep, them kids are our offsprings…

inconsiderate burning of rubber and plastic materials, indiscriminate emmision of carbon monoxide, and continuous use of chlorofluorocarbons [CFCs] are just some of the ways we contribute to the growing degradation of the environment…

i wish we’d just stop and think if what we’re doing is harmful or not… if it is, we can probably find another way of doing things… like for example, using biogas instead of fossil fuel to run our cars, or making sure our vehicles are clean so that we lessen the carbon monoxide emmission, etc… there are so many things we can do to stop global warming… i know a person can only do so much, but if each of us do our own share, and if we put all of these together, this will amount to such that we will be able to undo what we’ve done…

if we do our share of protecting the environment, our children, and our children’s children, will reap everything mother nature can give… please help… (f)

Ciao, sweetie…