Bona fide text
Playing mute witness
Last Monday, students and teachers of St. Joseph School (Iloilo), Inc. had the chance to watch three short films at Robinsons Cinema. We watched the "Bamboo Lake", "Panahon Na" and the only Ilonggo short film "Hupa", which captured most of our attention as it narrates the experiences of every Ilonggo when typhoon Frank hit us.
The main meat of the films is the issue on global warming and climate change. In "Hupa", some Ilonggos were interviewed and were asked questions like, "What is global warming?" "Do you think global warming is the cause of the flood that happened last June 21?" It is to my dismay that many of our fellow Ilonggos don't know what global warming is all about.
Browsing the internet gives you million of websites talking about global warming. Sad to say, our country is always, if not the last to know, the last to be educated about this. In European and American countries, the issue of global warming is a much-talked issue about five or more years ago.
According to the USEPA climate change refers to any significant change in measures of climate (such as temperature, precipitation, or wind) lasting for an extended period (decades or longer). Climate change may result from:
- natural factors, such as changes in the sun's intensity or slow changes in the Earth's orbit around the sun;
- natural processes within the climate system (e.g. changes in ocean circulation);
- human activities that change the atmosphere's composition (e.g. through burning fossil fuels) and the land surface (e.g. deforestation, reforestation, urbanization, desertification, etc.)
On the other hand, global warming is an average increase in the temperature of the atmosphere near the Earth's surface and in the troposphere, which can contribute to changes in global climate patterns. Global warming can occur from a variety of causes, both natural and human induced. In common usage, "global warming" often refers to the warming that can occur as a result of increased emissions of greenhouse gases from human activities.
The Earth's climate has changed many times during the planet's history, with events ranging from ice ages to long periods of warmth. Historically, natural factors such as volcanic eruptions, changes in the Earth's orbit, and the amount of energy released from the Sun have affected the Earth's climate. Beginning late in the 18th century, human activities associated with the Industrial Revolution have also changed the composition of the atmosphere and therefore very likely are influencing the Earth's climate.
Have you ever wondered that because of global warming...
...our Summers are getting hotter and our so-called winters are becoming more monsoon-like
...Dengue fever, malaria and other diseases are spreading much farther and faster around the country due to increased humidity
...our shores will soon move closer by a meter or more each year (melting of the icecaps)
...more and more floods are affecting the Philippine islands and surrounding regions
...people hunger because their crops were destroyed in natural disasters such as storms, floods, or heat/dryness
Let's admit. We, Filipinos barely care for our environment. We see plastic wrappers, empty bottles and piles of garbage scattering everywhere. We see people burning their garbage in their backyards and even on the streets. We even love to shower ourselves and brush our teeth with the abundance of fresh water, which could have been saved. These are simple actions we encounter each day and here is the problem, we can now consider ourselves as agents advocating global warming. Well, let's wake up and educate ourselves about global warming and climate change before it's too late. Let us not act as a mute witness with regard to this universal problem that is affecting us now.