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Friday, March 29, 2024

A token advocacy

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Upon the first sunrise of 2016, what greeted us was the volume of trash left strewn on the streets of Metro Manila after the New Year revelry.

There were also various photos circulating online showing the mounds of garbage—boxes, leftover food items, pieces of paper, beverage bottles, cigarette butts, among others—that were left after the skies had cleared and the noise had died down. 

It is easy to attribute the resulting ugly, morning-after sight to the fact that it rained all throughout the celebrations, and that garbage collectors were not able to do their jobs efficiently and immediately because they were catching up on sleep after welcoming 2016.

It would be a lame excuse.

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The past year saw Filipinos’ increasing awareness of the devastating consequences of climate change. Erratic climate patterns which give way to worse droughts and stronger, more frequent typhoons that brew over warmer oceans in turn result in disaster. To a population with varying degrees of preparedness, these disasters occasion great loss and upheaval. 

Along with the rest of the world, we rejoiced at the results of the climate change conference in Paris last month where nearly 200 nations signed a much-awaited, although imperfect, climate pact. Finally, countries of the world agreed that something had to be done, targets should be set and commitments have to be delivered if we want to save the future generations from the catastrophic effects of global warming.    

Many also keenly followed the encyclical of Pope Francis wherein he called the earth humanity’s common home and exhorted Catholics to care for the environment.

And yet, the garbage. 

Being knowledgeable about disaster risk reduction and management and climate change adaptation amounts to nothing when not translated to concrete action in mundane things. Six years ago, we saw, after Ondoy, how trash clogs up waterways, contributing to the flooding that seemed to take everybody by surprise. 

It’s an embarrassment to wake up to the first day of the year and see how, despite our lofty pronouncements about the earth and our duty as stewards of it, we can be so rude and indifferent to the common streets we share with our neighbors. 

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