Oct 15, 2009

[Blog Action Day] Climate Change

It's that time of the year again, folks - Blog Action Day! And this year's topic is eerily timely for Filipinos like myself - Climate Change. I say this because of the obvious reasons of the recent typhoons Ondoy (Ketsana) and Pepeng (Parma) that have ravaged the country and have caused hundreds of deaths and billions of pesos worth of property and crop damage.

We live in frightfully interesting and unusual times when the weather just isn't the same as it used to be. We're seeing stronger and stronger storms and typhoons around the world with increasing frequency and even the season seem somehow misaligned. Our winters are colder than ever before and last longer than they used to in some places. Our summers have gotten dryer and come earlier than expected and cause massive droughts or killer flash fires.

So yes, Climate Change is a very important topic for discussion and something that we all need to be aware of. More so, it's something that demands true action in these turbulent times and no one country should wait around for the others - we all need to act in order to address the changes in our climate.

For the unaware, Climate Change refers to the gradual shifts and changes in how our weather systems work across the world, something that can be natural given certain factors like shifting tectonic plates or other events of that nature. However in a more modern context, Climate Change refers more to the current shifts in our planet's climate whose origins lie in our own behaviors and industries, perhaps better known as Global Warming.

Top: Increasing atmospheric  CO 2             ...Image via Wikipedia

A lot of politicians still argue whether Climate Change is real or not, but we know it to be true. We've seen the shrinking of the glaciers and ice caps at the poles and we've observed the increasing rise of sea levels around the world. We've measured increased greenhouse gases in the air along with significant changes in average temperature around the world. More so, we've seen all these more radical changes in weather patterns and storms and typhoons when we were never expecting anything of that magnitude.

There is no one cause to climate change and thus there's no easy fix either. Politicians continue to drag their feet to execute effective legislation directed at addressing this growing threat and continue to focus on irrelevant issues like the protection of major corporations, continuing their wars at home and abroad and other stupid things. In the meantime, things are getting worse a lot faster than they're getting better and a holistic solution is needed soon.

When I talk about a holistic solution, I'm referring to addressing many changes needed across countries and industries. This means capping global carbon emissions, shifting sufficient funds towards cleaner energy solutions and technologies and better educating populations about their role in all this. It means seriously promoting conservatism in everyone's lives and responsible use of our resources.

As citizens, our responsibilities are twofold. First, we need to live more responsible lives, try to save energy and use products that support climate change initiatives. Second, we need to speak to our governments by writing to our officials, participating in legal protest actions and ultimately voting for politicians who are committed to addressing this agenda.

Climate Change is real. The danger is real. Do your part today! Let's fight global warming together as one planet before it's too late!


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