Extending Help to Typhoon Victims

Its been days that I have been hearing and watching disheartening news about the calamity that hit Cagayan de Oro, Iligan and other parts of Mindanao.   The scene reminds me of the Ondoy disaster that hit Metro Manila in 2009.  It was on the night of December 16, 2011 when typhoon Sendong (with international name Washi) affected the areas with heavy rainfall causing massive floods.  As of this writing, the death toll has reached more than 700 and several hundred more were missing.  Based on the report from Philippine Red Cross, drowning was the main cause of death.  Raging floodwater cascaded from mountains that inundated rivers and ravaged the homes of the residents.  News evidently showed illegal logging activities as one of the culprit in this flash floods as dead bodies were pulled underneath mud and piles of logs.  We have been taught how important trees are, that without enough trees to hold the water from the mountains, there is really a very high risk of flash floods.   An unusually heavy rainfall was also recorded which could be attributed to the effects of climate change.  It is so sad that we have to go through another calamity like this one, another lesson we have to learn the hard way.  I wonder if we really learn from it all or if we really take the lesson by heart.

The damage has already been done and worthless deaths have already been included in the statistics, all we could do for now is to help those who are affected by this disaster.  While thinking of the best way to help them,  I  received an advisory from my mobile network on how Globe subscribers can extend their help.   Globe subscribers can give donation to the victims of typhoon Sendong via Red  Cross.  Just text RED amount  to 2899. The amount can be in 5, 25, 50, 100, 300, 500 and 1000.  Smart subscribers can also donate, text RED amount and send to  4143.  The amount can be in 10, 25, 50, 100, 300, 500 and 1000 pesos.   

If you are not a Globe or Smart subscriber, you can send your donations to Philippine Red Cross' through online means via Paypal, Greenpeso, Bancnet and GCash.  There are also bank accounts where you can deposit your donations. You can refer to the Philippine Red Cross website for more information on how you can donate for the victims of typhoon Sendong, visit http://www.redcross.org.ph/donatenow.

Green Philippines for Earth Day: Today and Beyond

Yippeee!!!! It’s another weekend, and that means precious time to spend with family and all those activities that I only get to do when I am away from my forty hours a week of paid toiling. At least I was able to sneak some time to attend an event for Earth Day last Thursday with friends and distinguished individual who has the same concern for Mother Nature. Before that I checked out the website for Ten Million Movement and made a personal commitment to plant indigenous plants and trees.  There are simpler tasks that one can pledge and I think it should be innate in each of us and need not be included as a commitment.

So what was Earth Day event like? It was no tree-planting or street-cleaning event (should I be disappointed or what?) but a show that seek to entertain and to create awareness. It was a presentation of the previous string of earth-day related activities by certain organizations, the various laws enacted by the government and what it has accomplished over the years when it comes to protecting the environment. It showcased a motorcade with Ms. Earth beauties, speeches from distinguished personalities with the likes of SM Supermalls President Ms. Annie Garcia detailing SM Supermalls contribution in the conservation and preservation effort, an Earth Day message from the Chairperson of Earth Day Network Philippines Ms. Elisea Gozun, the Report on the Green Philippines Program presented by DENR Secretary Horacio Ramos, a song number from singers Corita and Heber Bartolome, a performance by the world-renowned Banda Kawayan, awarding ceremonies for government and private organizations for their exemplary commitment and for those prized works-of-art of talented children.

What was I thinking during the show? Oh, the experience was not something new but I wonder how much percentage of people who attended that event will ever get to put into action what the speakers talked about. Would our actions be far greater than the carbon emission that we put through to pollute this earth? I saw there were much more people interested in shopping inside air-conditioned mall than care to attend this event outside an open-air function hall. Probably one would say, “Holy heat! I’d rather relax in a cozy room than listen to their speeches and be tortured in heat and sweat.” And with that I must be glad for those industrious farmers and street sweepers who continue to endure agonizing working conditions under intense heat. It sure is Earth Day for them every single day.

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Earth Day Philippines 2010

This will be the first time that I will be attending an event for Earth Day. This will be held tomorrow (April 22), 9AM at the SM Mall of Asia – Music Hall in Pasay City, Philippines marking the 40th year of the global celebration for Mother Earth. Here in the Philippines, a national environmental holiday is scheduled to be celebrated every 22nd of April as Earth Day through Presidential Proclamation No. 1481.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) together with Earth Day Network Philippines (EDNP) are the main agencies involved for the “10 Million Movement” campaign which seeks to collect 10 million commitments by individuals for the conservation, preservation and restoration of the environment which is in line with the celebration of Earth Day 2010. If you want to know more about this campaign or you want to make your pledge, you can visit http://www.10mm.ph/ .

Just can't wait to see how is it like to be part of this global event and what worthwhile things I could learn and earn from that. Are we going to plant trees, clean the metropolis or just be an spectator? Hhmmm, I'll just wait and see :-).

Seeing Beyond the Camera Lens

Here is the second note in the plans I wish to get done:

"Get back at those activities I want to indulge in (if my time allows it)"

Gosh! It has been more than twelve years since I last touched my unfinished cross-stitch project, my favorite pastime during my younger years. I evaluate myself if I would be able to devote much time doing it. With kids and all, I really find it difficult to complete it so after much thought, I decided to finally give it away to someone who has the luxury of time and the craving for this activity instead of leaving those materials in my drawer taking space and collecting grime.  Some things really changed and so are my yearnings for things I want to do. Now I get to enjoy reading more on days when I love doing it and I discovered the passion for writing especially when I need to relieve myself from stress, (just take the time to read my posts in this blog). I also get to indulge in activities that my kids and I will get to enjoy together like traveling, gardening, some cooking here and some decorating there and the list just keeps on growing. Oh… and did I mention photography? I really like to do that now and so are my kids. As a matter of fact, my little girl was too keen on doing it that she always seizes the camera to have her own photo op. It helps to support and nurture what your children are interested in but certainly there are drawbacks for that as my kid already broken two point and shoot cameras (thank goodness it was not DSLR (digital single-lens reflex camera) and thank goodness those are old models). Now I am into scouting for repair centers for Kodak EasyShare and Sony CyberShot digital camera :( and I guess that will make me busy in the coming days. Need to have them repaired as I need to return the Sony to my cousin and I will surely need my Kodak when my kids’ indulgence kicks in again.

By the way here are some pictures taken during my family's recent travel and short vacation in the countryside, just some earth images using Sony DSC-W70 before it was broken. I chose that theme for my kids and other kids to learn how climate change affected this one part of the planet. This is not just an indulgence but an advocacy that my family is willing to do for our precious earth. May we see beyond the camera lens and start to commit one part of ourselves into doing something valuable for our precious habitat before everything goes into ashes.

    intense heat and temperature ranging from 30 to 40 degrees celcius

 

   soil too dry and eroded,

    dying plants and trees

   green grass no more, nothing for the goats and cows

   Part of Sierra Madre Mountain used to teem with green flora but is now mostly rock, soil and houses

   too parched to survive....

   I hope we will not reach a day when our earth will become like this....

Neither a Drop to Drink?

It’s been over a week now since I last heard tweets from my neighbor’s African lovebirds, they used to wake me up every five in the morning but it seems that they already succumbed to untimely death due to El Nino.


Aside from plants and humans, animals too have been badly affected by El Nino as there are reports of death affecting piggery and poultry farms and fish kill in many parts of the country. The situation is really getting worse since several frightful effects of this phenomenon have been evident every day and it looks like we are in for a game of survival of the fittest where the lame and the weak would be the first to go.


Another record was set at about three PM today to be the hottest temperature for the year at 35.5 degrees centigrade and I hope it will not get any hotter than that or we will sure to suffer the consequences of drought considering that summer season is just starting and is expected to last until the months of April and May. Cloud seeding operation to produce rain artificially has not been successful. Most dams are fast approaching critical level and rivers have started to dry up which are the sources of household and irrigation waters thus adding more burden to the agriculture, power and business sector.


Some weeks ago I was only wishing to escape the city for some refreshing time at the beach but I think I need more than that, the whole country needs hope and earnest prayer for rainwater that will be enough to fill up the water reservoir. It will be a big question whether we will have enough safe water to drink in the coming days, I just hope we will not reach a time when we have to struggle for a drop of water. The situation is not only a test of our tolerance but also a test of our faith.

Hard to Say Goodbye to Rose

Last December of 2009 on my way to the market, I stumble upon a pushcart vendor selling potted plants. A rose plant captured my attention as it appeared too beautiful to resist with its three deep-red colored blooms, a different variety from my other rose plant. I bought it for P150 (more than US$3) which made me think that I got a great deal as it is very hard to find potted rose plant for sale within the area. As I still need to go to the market, I temporarily placed my purchase at my uncle’s house which was just nearby instead of climbing 40 feet upstairs back home. My uncle liked the plant so he put it right in front of his window.



I read some articles saying that there are rose varieties which are hard to cultivate thus I anticipated that the one I bought might be one of those kind. So instead of bringing the rose to my garden and suffer an untimely demise on my hand, I left it to the care of my uncle who in his own way was able to cultivate one variety of mini roses in his own urban garden thus he is more an experienced gardener than me.

Weeks passed and the rose seemed to be doing just fine though I noticed some white spots growing on its branches. I thought it was nothing to be worried about but after a week when I visited the plant again, almost everything was covered with white flakes including the leaves. It could have been the changing season that caused this to my rose thus I brought the plant to our home to do whatever I can to save it. When I made a research about it, it looks like my rose suffered from a heavy fungal infection called powdery mildew. It is said that powdery mildew develops rapidly during hot weather with cool moist night. Oh, so perfect time as that’s exactly how the weather was the past days. So it is right that the change of season is really causing damage to my beautiful rose. It is being advised to prune and destroy affected parts of the plant thus when I assessed the infestation, it looks like there is little hope left for this plant but since it’s hard for me to say goodbye to something as lovely as this, I better not give up. I tried to follow the instructions stated on the various articles that I read and I hope it will bring a better outcome in the next few days.

Need To Perk Up My Urban Garden

Lately I have been too busy with site development thus I slightly neglected another favorite pastime which is gardening.  If other people find comfort caring for their pet animals, I find solace tending to those emerald beauties.  I used to do gardening with the kids during weekend but since there were minor changes in my to-do list since the start of the year, I left my garden to the care of my house helper.   The other day, my eldest child called my attention because he noticed that I very seldom visit my garden the past days and he told me that some of my plants were already starting to wither despite diligent efforts of my maid to water the plants everyday. Obviously the intense heat is already causing damage to my beloved garden (due to El Nino) so I must act fast and take pre-emptive measures to save it from possible damage.          

From the time we moved in to this apartment, I asked my husband that I wanted to set up a garden.  Later I learned from Ms. Tita, one of my mentors, that it is now being referred to as “urban garden” based on the seminar that she attended. The term was coined to indicate a place for vegetation within the city, which most likely are collection of potted plants since most areas in the city are already paved.    

I told my dad and mom about my plan and asked for some help from them.  They have different kinds of flora back there in our ancestral home but I do not have the time to visit the place 36kms away to acquire some cuttings since my busy schedule wouldn’t permit me.  I called dad to request if he could bring me some cuttings for which he gladly accommodate. I bought gardening tools  and gardening book to satiate my needs for the hobby.  I also bought about 20 kilos of soil for $4 (P10/k) as there is no free soil available in the city.

Later on, my parent-in-law learned of my plan about the garden, at that time, my husband’s mother was replacing her own collection with red-flowering Euphorbia plant and she decided to give away those yellow-colored ones.  My father-in-law painstakingly brought me pots after pots of flora until it filled more than a square meter of the veranda.  Aside from that, friends also gave me some from their own collection.  With that I was more than ten pots of plants richer J  and more than a day happier as I was able to have my garden without much hassle.

 This garden has a sentimental value for me as this has been the result of collective efforts of caring people.  I just so loved these people for nurturing my leisure pursuit and I am thankful to them for lending a hand and encouraging me to keep doing what I love to do thus I cannot just let this garden be left to nothingness.

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El Nino on its way to its peak

The heat is becoming unbearable these days though my temperature reading hasn't changed much since last week at 86 degrees.  I am at 40 feet above ground thus my temperature reading was a little lower than the actual weather forecast.  In case you haven’t heard the news, the Philippines is currently experiencing dry spells due to the onset of the El Nino phenomenon which started since December of 2009.

According to reports, the below normal rainfall condition were noted in most of Luzon and Visayas and drier surroundings in parts of  eastern, central and  western Mindanao.  It is currently causing damage in the water sector as most of the rivers, which are the sources of irrigation waters, have started to dry up.  The same condition was observed in major dams that supply water for household and industrial uses as these dams hit alarming level.   The dry spell has also caused damage to agriculture amounting to billions of pesos.  The public has been warned about heat-related illness such as heat stroke and accidents such as fire that may become prevalent.  The government has already issued advisories and carried out plans to counter the effects of El Niño.  We have been through the same problems time and again and lucky for us we are well assimilated being in a calamity-prone country, nevertheless, we should not push our luck too far. Time to be reminded....

Anyways, it only says one thing, the heat is really on, better be prepared for any incident that might happen.  The more I feel the heat, the more I like to escape from the city for a while and hit one of those beautiful beaches or island cove in Boracay, Bohol, Bicol or Palawan. I just can't wait....

Time to be Reminded (While we Still Have a Chance)

It was 3 o’clock in the afternoon and my room temperature reading was at 30C. In the past years during this time of the month, it seems to be the coolest time of the season because of the melting snow from the other parts of the world but I heard in the news the other day that summer time is setting in very early this year. In other countries, excessive snow, torrential rain and flash flood has been the latest news while in the local scene, water shortage due to El Nino phenomenon has been the concern this very hour. It was only some months ago when the country suffered from flash flood and now we must brace ourselves for another imminent possibility of calamitous event.



A lot has been said about this changing weather pattern and most studies point to global warming as the reason for this. Many great plans have already been under discussion, relevant laws have already been enacted and then WHAT? Is there really a way for us to stop or reverse the condition that our planet has been going through? I guess the answer lies in these simple passages…





What have we done?



"I brought you into a plentiful land to eat its fruits and its good things. But when you entered you defiled my land, and made my heritage an abomination." (Jeremiah 2:7)



"Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of your pasture with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink clear water? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet?" (Ezekiel 34:17-18)



What happens if we never stop defiling the land?



"Woe to you who add house to house and join field to field till no space is left and you live alone in the land. The LORD almighty has declared in my hearing: 'Surely the great houses will become desolate, the fine mansions left without occupants. A ten-acre vineyard will produce only a bath of wine, a homer of seed only an ephah of grain.'" (Isaiah 5:8-10)



"The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers, the heavens languish together with the earth. The earth lies polluted under its inhabitants; for they have transgressed laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore a curse devours the earth; its inhabitants suffer for their guilt." (Isaiah 24:4-6)





"You have polluted the land with your whoring and wickedness. Therefore the showers have been withheld, and the spring rain has not come." (Jeremiah 3:2-3)



"He turned rivers into a desert, flowing springs into thirsty ground, and fruitful land into a salt waste, because of the wickedness of those who lived there." (Psalm 107:33-34)



What can we do now?



"'The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants. Throughout the country that you hold as a possession, you must provide for the redemption of the land.” (Leviticus 25:23-24)



"When you are attacking a town and the war drags on, you must not cut down the trees with your axes. You may eat the fruit, but do not cut down the trees. Are the trees your enemies, that you should attack them?" (Deuteronomy 20:19)



"The land itself must observe a sabbath to the Lord. For six years sow your fields, and for six years prune your vineyards and garner their crops. But in the seventh year the land is to have a sabbath of rest, a sabbath to the Lord.... The land is to have a year of rest." (Leviticus 25:2-5)



"If you follow my statutes and keep my commandments and observe them faithfully, I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit." (Leviticus 26:3-4)



Maybe just a while ago you tended your crop in your Farmville, but when was the last time you cared to cultivate a piece of real land for a tree or a plant? Or should we just wait for this earth to become like this?



"It will be made a wasteland, parched and desolate before me; the whole land will be laid waste because there is no one who cares." (Jeremiah 12:11)



The time and the chance is still in our hands, let us not wait until there is no more hope left for us.