A few thinking points, some directly related to climate change, some indirectly..no apologies for the anger that you may think I feel in some of these items.
1. Throw garbage properly
2. Reuse, recycle, reduce!
3. Stop freaking feeding fish with rice and bread so that you can see all the cute fishies!! SHEESH!
4. Turn off the damn light when you leave the room.
5. Walk a little more, drive a little less
6. Carpool, its not so bad you know.
7. Eat less AMERICA! Talk about excess.
8. Help other people more
9. Stop whining about your life, be productive somehow. Even if it is to just make your own bed.
10. Lighten up, enjoy life more, enjoy your people more, appreciate it exactly how it is.
What can you do to make the world a better place?
Showing posts with label thinking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label thinking. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Captain Planet
You don't need to be a climate change specialist, or a scientist for that matter to know that the weather we are experiencing around the world is intensifying. Bigger floods, bigger devastation during earthquakes, larger land slides..
I am WELL aware that its cyclic...the problem is we are hastening the pace, we are modifying the normal cycle,...which is where the problem lies.
And yes, its easy to go all gloom and doom and say its climate change, but its a little more complicated and a little more related to you than that.
Why are 'riverside luxury apartments' so coveted? Ahh yeah, because of the river view. And the ocean front villa...why not invest in areas that are set back and leave the beaches and river fronts free of structures? So that when the floods arrive (which are natural in flood plains mind you) won't cause so much devastation.
Why do we construct buildings in earthquake prone areas that are not built for earthquake zones? Why do these buildings get approved? Ahh kase its only a 1 in 25 year event...so the odds are good..except when the earthquake happens..
Why live right in the valley, right at the edge of the mountain..ahh, because its the best area to cultivate, and then cut down the trees so that you can plant things, and then when the rain comes, the soil isn't stable and causes land slides...and we wonder why??
In Laos, in Manila, I still see people throw garbage in the streets, people throw garbage in the river/ocean..and we wonder why the sewers are clogged?
I know, I know, the governments also have responsibilities, but so do you. To use the aircon a little less, to turn your computer off when you aren't using it, to use your car less, to reuse and recycle.
I guess calamities are a wake up call. Nature is bringing attention to itself. Its time we paid attention.
Captain planet is a cartoon--need I state the obvious?
I am WELL aware that its cyclic...the problem is we are hastening the pace, we are modifying the normal cycle,...which is where the problem lies.
And yes, its easy to go all gloom and doom and say its climate change, but its a little more complicated and a little more related to you than that.
Why are 'riverside luxury apartments' so coveted? Ahh yeah, because of the river view. And the ocean front villa...why not invest in areas that are set back and leave the beaches and river fronts free of structures? So that when the floods arrive (which are natural in flood plains mind you) won't cause so much devastation.
Why do we construct buildings in earthquake prone areas that are not built for earthquake zones? Why do these buildings get approved? Ahh kase its only a 1 in 25 year event...so the odds are good..except when the earthquake happens..
Why live right in the valley, right at the edge of the mountain..ahh, because its the best area to cultivate, and then cut down the trees so that you can plant things, and then when the rain comes, the soil isn't stable and causes land slides...and we wonder why??
In Laos, in Manila, I still see people throw garbage in the streets, people throw garbage in the river/ocean..and we wonder why the sewers are clogged?
I know, I know, the governments also have responsibilities, but so do you. To use the aircon a little less, to turn your computer off when you aren't using it, to use your car less, to reuse and recycle.
I guess calamities are a wake up call. Nature is bringing attention to itself. Its time we paid attention.
Captain planet is a cartoon--need I state the obvious?
Climate change and I
I'm having trouble coming up with a title for this one..I want to be encouraging, optimistic, but I can't seem to find the words.
I first came across the climate change concept in 1989 or 1990, I was hmm 13? It was the big time magazine article...and it changed my life. From then on, i was an advocate for reduced usage of natural resources, throwing garbage in the right place, reducing waste and energy efficiency..I wanted to be part of something that made the world a better place..
Its now 24 years later..and where am I with this crusade of mine?
I went into Marine Biology, focusing professionally on resource management. I was and will always be an activist NGO kid at heart..fighting for the rights of the animals and plants that can't speak...BUT I realized after a while, that there are some of us that can fight the demon from within. We have to be realistic..I realized that NGOs do many many great things, but its the big companies that do all the damage, that can get away with things..and I realized that I still need to make a living, and eat, and survive in this dog eat dog world..
I got into consulting, so that I could take on projects and make a difference in the projects that I do. One of my clients was a coal fire power plant..but they were doing their part, trying to maintain environmental standards, trying to do things the right way...I was advising companies to invest in sanctuaries and protected areas...
I am now involved in the most controversial hydropower project. Controversial for its impact on the communities, on the environment, and controversial because its the first hydropower project that the WB and ADB are backing in a realllllly long time. And for this, we have gone a bit overkill on the social and environmental measures that have been put into place, but still, people criticize and complain about our efforts.
I came to work here knowing the challenges..but my point on leaving my comfort zone was to push myself to the limit. To be a catalyst from within.
It has been said that the concerns about the environment are 'the worries of the rich', as the rich have the luxury to think past the basic water food and shelter necessities..in some ways this is true. Rich nations are quick to stipulate rules on usage of natural resources, casting a blind eye on what made them rich in the first place...What needs to happen is, as the girl who spoke in the UN meeting articulated, we need to work as one earth, one world, all in it together..
I love my job, as I am a cog in the wheel of change. I don't need to be a major piece of the puzzle, all I know is if I do my part, and if everyone does theirs too, then we'll all be doing our part in making the world a better, happier and peaceful place to live in..
Forget the 'hoax' or 'conspiracy theory' concepts...forget the economic perspective too..this is not a race, this is not a competition of who is strongest, who is biggest, the environment doesn't understand politics.. the logic of everything in moderation is really, the most intelligent thing I have ever heard of. If you drink too much, you get drunk, if you eat too much you get fat. Cause, and effect. Do we really need to wait until the effect is much worse than the current catastrophes we've had to live through to start living responsibly?
Have a think about how you live your life. Are you doing your part?
I first came across the climate change concept in 1989 or 1990, I was hmm 13? It was the big time magazine article...and it changed my life. From then on, i was an advocate for reduced usage of natural resources, throwing garbage in the right place, reducing waste and energy efficiency..I wanted to be part of something that made the world a better place..
Its now 24 years later..and where am I with this crusade of mine?
I went into Marine Biology, focusing professionally on resource management. I was and will always be an activist NGO kid at heart..fighting for the rights of the animals and plants that can't speak...BUT I realized after a while, that there are some of us that can fight the demon from within. We have to be realistic..I realized that NGOs do many many great things, but its the big companies that do all the damage, that can get away with things..and I realized that I still need to make a living, and eat, and survive in this dog eat dog world..
I got into consulting, so that I could take on projects and make a difference in the projects that I do. One of my clients was a coal fire power plant..but they were doing their part, trying to maintain environmental standards, trying to do things the right way...I was advising companies to invest in sanctuaries and protected areas...
I am now involved in the most controversial hydropower project. Controversial for its impact on the communities, on the environment, and controversial because its the first hydropower project that the WB and ADB are backing in a realllllly long time. And for this, we have gone a bit overkill on the social and environmental measures that have been put into place, but still, people criticize and complain about our efforts.
I came to work here knowing the challenges..but my point on leaving my comfort zone was to push myself to the limit. To be a catalyst from within.
It has been said that the concerns about the environment are 'the worries of the rich', as the rich have the luxury to think past the basic water food and shelter necessities..in some ways this is true. Rich nations are quick to stipulate rules on usage of natural resources, casting a blind eye on what made them rich in the first place...What needs to happen is, as the girl who spoke in the UN meeting articulated, we need to work as one earth, one world, all in it together..
I love my job, as I am a cog in the wheel of change. I don't need to be a major piece of the puzzle, all I know is if I do my part, and if everyone does theirs too, then we'll all be doing our part in making the world a better, happier and peaceful place to live in..
Forget the 'hoax' or 'conspiracy theory' concepts...forget the economic perspective too..this is not a race, this is not a competition of who is strongest, who is biggest, the environment doesn't understand politics.. the logic of everything in moderation is really, the most intelligent thing I have ever heard of. If you drink too much, you get drunk, if you eat too much you get fat. Cause, and effect. Do we really need to wait until the effect is much worse than the current catastrophes we've had to live through to start living responsibly?
Have a think about how you live your life. Are you doing your part?
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
It's time to go for now
I've given it much thought, and have been bribed in different ways to change my mind. From mere guilt trips to offers of loan disregard to a very inticing payment of my PhD but, I have decided, for at least the next six months from July, that its time for me to move on.
Unlikely that its forever, and I will probably be home more often that I think, but I need the development work to fuel the drive that I have in conservation and development, I need the cash (ha ha ha ) to sustain my bad habits and to save at long last, and..quite importantly, I need the space.
I am a nomad by nature, waiting for the time when I would be gently coerced into settling, not down but just settling in place..not stationary but steady.
one day, and as tancio said, it will all fall into place.
Unlikely that its forever, and I will probably be home more often that I think, but I need the development work to fuel the drive that I have in conservation and development, I need the cash (ha ha ha ) to sustain my bad habits and to save at long last, and..quite importantly, I need the space.
I am a nomad by nature, waiting for the time when I would be gently coerced into settling, not down but just settling in place..not stationary but steady.
one day, and as tancio said, it will all fall into place.
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