“In spite of us humans being the most intelligent of all species that have roamed this vulnerable planet of ours, we might end up being the ones to destroy it”
We are now experiencing global warming and climate change in real time.
Never has the temperatures been as high and will only get worse to become the new normal.
The world’s climate has gone bonkers.
We are witnessing flooding in desert cities where there used to be very little rain and agricultural lands in countries with enough rain becoming parched like ours.
People dying due to extreme temperatures are also no longer uncommon.
Even in Baguio City whose temperature has always been comfortable the whole year round has become much hotter and uncomfortable.
We have been talking about global warming and climate change for more than two decades now but, as usual, it was all about attending international climate conferences and issuing communiques and not much action.
We, like many other countries, did not believe in our own warnings and consequently failed to prepare to deal with the challenges of global warming more effectively.
The scorching temperatures the past few weeks is now wreaking havoc to our agriculture, power supply, education, and productivity.
Yet, all that the DENR can do is to perform cloud seeding.
Is that really the best that we can do?
Why don’t we just do a rain dance?
It might prove to be better.
Besides, we do not have to spend anything because it is free.
It is really a shame that in spite of all the natural disasters that strikes the country every year, we have not done our homework and prepared to mitigate the adverse effects that climate change will do to our country’s well-being.
Our country’s total power capacity remains inadequate to service surges of additional power due to the boiling temperatures that we are now experiencing.
Damage to our agriculture due to the El Nino is driving prices up and if the scorching temperatures will last two or three more weeks, there is no telling how much more damage it will do to our agricultural crops.
And how are we preparing for the rains and floods that will come due to the La Nina phenomenon?
Even our educational instruction whose quality is already being criticized is further under threat because DepED had to mandate on line learning instead of face to face instructions due to the heat.
This is not to mention the loss of productivity which is undoubtedly substantial.
To be fair, no country is immune to the destructive effects of climate change but the fact that we are more vulnerable than other countries, we should have done our homework better.
As we know, this is a problem that can only be mitigated with every country participating.
But with all the developed countries unwilling to make the sacrifice to reduce carbon emissions at a much faster rate, the problem can only get worse.
This was clearly shown in the last climate conference convened in the Middle East earlier this year.
Oil producers refused to set a date when they will stop exporting fossil fuel and transition to renewable energy.
Developed economies also refused to stop using coal for power generation ensuring that climate goals will not be attained as scheduled.
The resulting communique amounted to nothing.
It is, therefore, all but certain that global temperature will go up by more than 1.5 degrees Celsius before this century is over.
In fact, the rise will almost be much higher.
The biggest losers are developing countries like us but those countries in the South Pacific whose lands are now being swallowed by the ocean due to rising sea level are in a much worse predicament.
The future is grim but there may be still time to mitigate what is coming if all countries will only cooperate.
Unfortunately, in spite of us humans being the most intelligent of all species that have roamed this vulnerable planet of ours, we might end up being the ones to destroy it.
Powerful countries continue to think of themselves instead of cooperating to try to save the world from the impending climatic catastrophe.
For those of us still alive today, we probably can cope with warmer temperatures. But how about those who will follow after us?
What kind of a world will we be leaving them?