Warning: This is a long rant

Earth Day has gone and passed and though there are still hangovers from the celebration, little has changed. We’re still destroying our planet.

Though things are starting to change, if a little late, the nature channels like Discovery and National Geographic have started to showcase documentaries and programs not just about the environment and nature but how we can protect both. Discovery has their Green Planet programs which so far has been quite interesting. I’ve seen a program about possible solutions to the looming energy/oil crisis.

All of this started when Al Gore’s documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” won several Oscars the year it made headlines. Global warming, the climate change, and saving the environment has taken center stage. But this is in the mainstream media. Where are the eco-bloggers?

In particular, where are the blogs about the Philippine environment?

Blogging has been around in the Philippines eco-blogs must number in the dozens if not hundreds, so I first went to the re-launched TopBlogs.com.ph thinking that it would make my search much easier.

Lo and behold, it doesn’t have a category about the environment or nature. Perhaps it will be added in the next expansion of the site.

Of course this depends on whether environment-focused blogs will come out and flourish in the local blogosphere. And so far, we have a very, very long way to go.

If probloggers have been constantly telling us to find a niche to blog about, this is it. The make money online niche is just so saturated most noobs would just contribute to the ‘noise chamber’. The same goes for the staple niches like technology and gadgets, how to become better bloggers, star/gossip/PBB and others.

Blogging about the Philippine environment would make a lot of sense because our country has been tagged as one of the richest in terms of biodiversity. More insects, plants and animals are found in our islands and no where else in the planet.

We have some of the most diverse and beautiful coral reefs, beaches and lagoons.

“we blog as if everything is fine and dandy in the Philippines”

We also have some of the most polluted cities in the world. Our forests are also one of the fastest disappearing ones. We also have some of the most polluted rivers, some of the worst mining disasters in the world – there are just too much to blog about our environment.

But no, we care more about exotic donuts, cheap notebooks, PBB, expensive coffees, gossip and anime that we blog as if everything is fine and dandy in the Philippines.

I’m starting to rant off and before I go on and on, I’d end it here. Hoping that I would strike some nerves, wake minds and touch others’ sensitive sides, but if it will cause them to start blogging about their neighborhood, their province’s environment situation, our eco-status then all the trouble will be worth it.

We Pinoy bloggers are strong believers in the power of new media and blogging. We’ve already proved that this could change our society. How about we do it once more and this time around, let’s do it to save our environment.

We may not be directly involved but our blogs could be the start of something, good and green.

If not, then to hell with blogging and to hell with the Philippine blogo…oh nevermind.

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• Panganay ng Umaga – Joey Ayala and Noe Tio (3)

Panganay ng Umaga or First-born/child of the Morning is a reminder that we humans are not masters of nature, but rather, an innate part of the web of life. That our skills, intelligence and nature are meant to protect and nurture this planet and all the creatures that live in it, not submit it to our will. Earth Day is officially over but it’s essence and challenge to us remains as urgent now as it has ever been since the dawn of creation.

Let us remember;

“Mankind did not weave the web of life, we are merely a strand in it. Whatever we do the web, we do to ourselves.”

Panganay ng Umaga

ang panganay ng umaga’y
sumilip sa bintana
ako’y dumilat at nagulat
sa lawak ng mundo

mga burol at kabundukan
nakahanay sa abot-tanaw
bughaw na langit at kapatagan
magkasintahang nagtatagpo

lawa ilog dagat
lamig tamis alat
ulan agos alon
haplos sa pisngi ng panahon

sanlibong ulap nagliliparan
kasabay ng agila at lawin
bulong ng simoy awit ng hangin
at sigaw ng buhawi

ako’y tao lamang
taga-bigay ng pangalan
taga-sukat taga-bilang
munting butil sa sanlibutan

ang panganay ng umaga’y
sumilip sa bintana
ako’y dumilat at nagulat
sa lawak ng mundo

—-

You can find more of Joey Ayala’s great and wonderful songs in his own website JoeyAyala dot com

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• Bathala by Joey Ayala (1)
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• Where are the Pinoy eco-bloggers? (4)
• 10 Good things to start this Earth Day (4)

Here’s a list of some common and easy eco-friendly things we could start doing this Earth Day. By ‘start’ I mean start practicing these until the very last days our lives and not just because today is Earth Day and once it’s over, tomorrow we’ll have no guilt in going back to our dirty and earth-destroying ways.

Pick-up your trash – it’s a small piece of plastic candy wrapper or the terta-pak of your drink, for God’s sake the people who live near dump sites have far bigger problems than you do, so pick it up and put it in the proper trash bins.

Sort your trash – you’re either dumb or blind or just plain evil if you cannot put your trash in its proper trash bin. It has been labeled and color-coded properly and so obviously so that you’ll know which bin to throw in your trash.

Recycle or re-use what you can – bring a basket or huge bag whenever you go shopping, in the market or in the mall. You’d be surprised that you’ll no longer have to spend time getting rid of the dozens of plastic bags you brought home with you because instead of putting a small bottle of lotion or perfume straight into your hand bag or basket. If for now you’re too lazy to recycle your trash, bring it to your local junk shop or join a local recycling group in your community. It’s about time you bond with your neighbors for a good cause and not just to share gossip.

Stop burning your trash – it’s the lazy, Earth-destroyer way. Plus think of all the troubles you give your neighbor whenever you burn stuff on your backyard, front yard, sidewalk or even out on the streets. So you’re not a cave man so throw your trash in the proper bins.

Start composting – They say a great bulk of household trash is leftover food. Do the garbage collector a favor, bury your leftover food in your backyard, a pot or drum of soil and turn it into a compost. It’s your first step to gardening or a great boost if you’re already in it.

Not using it? Turn it off – unplug appliances and devices whenever it is not in use. It will shave a lot off your electricity bill, minimize the risk of having your house burned down and prolong the life of your appliances. Charge your cellphone, iPod, laptop and other gadgets only when the battery is low, it’s called rechargeable for a reason.

Clean up your engine and go for a tune-up – you may not fancy bio-diesel but the least you could do now is to make sure your engine is clean and in the right setup to maximize fuel efficiency. Once “green” cars do become available for the masses go get one. Remember, driving a vehicle is one of the most polluting thing we humans could do today.

Car pool or take the public transport – it doesn’t only save you on gas money but it also brings you closer to the community and less sin to Mother Nature. You would sometimes find it a more relaxing trip to just sit back and relax instead of driving a vehicle yourself.

Join the campaign to save our planet – we’re not asking you to go and duke it out against the whalers or careless oil, mining companies etc. Just become aware of the state of our environment and you’d find simple ways you can help clean it up and save it. Join a local environmental group or start one. God, Mother Nature and your grand children’s great grand children will remember you as a saint and hero.

Watch the “An Inconvenient Truth” later on HBO tonight at 9pm, we’re not saying you to worship Al Gore, we’re asking that you listen to what he’s going to say and what he’s going to show you. Trust me, it will spark something in you.

• Where are the Pinoy eco-bloggers? (4)
• Bathala by Joey Ayala (1)
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• Join the Earth Hour 2008 (1)
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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 in the evening on Saturday night, 29 March 2008. WWF invites you to participate by shutting off lights for 60 minutes, organizing your own “lights-out” event or by forwarding this mail to your friends, workmates and family.

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.

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.

Will you join?

Try it. It wouldn’t hurt for one hour that you would turn off the lights and everything else in your home. Heck, we Pinoys are used to power block-outs (brownouts as we call it) for hours even days on end. This may not be the solution to combat global warming and our alarming environmental degradation but what’s important is you’ll have something to start on.

Awareness is the first step.

Many bloggers have already blogged about this pledging their support. Kutserong Kulot, Josh Spear, Chemistry for a Sustainable World, Sasha Writes, Sonnie’s Porch and many more.

Of course there are also those who are against the Earth Hour and the anti-global warming movement, called skeptics and right-wing pundits, pseudo-pundits and bloggers who doubt or do not believe in anthropogenic global warming at all.

Samantha Burns has even started an on-line petition to campaign against the Earth Hour. Though she has not substantially explained why she is against it, she’s against it anyways. And some bloggers have supported her as well. More on this side of the Earth Hour movement on a later a follow-up post. I myself has a few thoughts about the methodology of the Earth Hour and will be sharing them until then.

For now, what’s important is that there’s a movement to do something to save the planet and address our worsening environmental situation.

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• Panganay ng Umaga – Joey Ayala and Noe Tio (3)
• 10 Good things to start this Earth Day (4)

Today is Blog Action Day wherein bloggers all the world are blogging about one topic. This time around it’s about the environment and how we could do something as bloggers to help protect it.

Particularly, the issue of global warming is at the headlines of today’s environmental discussions, debates, movements and blog posts. Movies, documentaries, papers, studies have been produced in order to send the message across; human actvitiy has reached a level of scale wherein we are now a major single player in the planet wherein our movements are now having dramatic impact upon the Earth’s ecology.

That message is also clear in saying that we must do something now, if we are to save our planet, the many beautiful creatures living in it especially our children, and their children and their children in turn.

Progress, development, industrialization and poverty alleviation are all good things, good things only if they do not put at risk the future generation’s chances of having a planet that is still habitable and able to provide for the needs and survival of that generation. Bringing sustainable development into a working reality is great task. We bloggers could help by increasing awareness and conciousness about it. That’s why I’ll share a song, a Filipino song done by one of the Philippines’ best artists and champion of true Filipino music, culture and of the environment; Joey Ayala.

From his album “Mga Awit ng Tanod-Lupa” (Songs of the Earth-guardian) Bathala – which is the supreme creator in Tagalog mythology – is a song about the Earth-guardian or Tanod-lupa, prays for his fellow humans whom because of greed and lust for material wealth and so-called development, have sinned and committed crimes against his fellow humans and the environment. He is alsopraying to the creator for strength, courage and wisdom as he fulfills his task of caring for the environment of which he is an integral part of and from which he came from.

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