And you thought saving the earth was just about saving those cute, endangered animals?

Most people think protecting the environment is about protecting trees from being cut, and adorable animals like tarsiers and dolphins from going into extinction. We forget the most important creatures of all: we human beings who have the greatest power to protect or destroy nature, and who are also the most affected by environmental change.

 

Every human being has the right to live, we say, but how can anyone live without clean food, water, and air, and an environment safe from disease and disasters? The right to live, then, means the right to a healthy environment, and the right to access and use natural resources, whether we’re rich or poor. Here are four major resources that not only affect the cute animals, but also shape the quality of our lives, with the life-saving principles to adopt when we use these resources.

 

ENERGY: Stop the Killer Fumes

We need energy for everything--driving our cars, cooking our food, turning on our airconditioners, even charging our cell phones. The problem is when producing this energy also produces carbon dioxide, nitrogen and sulfur, which stay in the atmosphere to create acid rain and disrupt natural climate patterns. (Think hurricanes in Cebu and El Niño every other year.) These are what fossil fuels produce when they are burned. Coal power plants, in particular, are considered the dirtiest source of energy, as they emit not only soot, but also mercury, arsenic, lead, and other lethal substances that can enter our bloodstream.

 

Clean, renewable energy sources like hydroelectric plants, wind farms, and solar panels are the best solution, producing energy without actually consuming any resources. Because of this, they don’t emit pollutants as byproducts and can be used again and again. The initial cost may be great, but in exchange for normal weather, clean air and longer lives? No contest.

 

FORESTRY: Reap Only What You Sow

The Philippines is on the world map as a megadiversity spot, because it is one of the 17 countries where 60 to 80% of all the world’s species can be found. Biodiversity is the variety of species in a habitat or ecosystem. The higher the biodiversity, the more species there are to take on essential ecological roles, and the easier it is for the system to recover from stress. The interaction of so many species also creates the right setting for other species to survive and provide humans food, medicine, shelter and, more importantly, a constant supply of clean air and water, and protection from floods and droughts.

 

Forests have evolved into such smoothly running systems that cutting them down in one sweep is sure to result in a sudden imbalance in nature and major disaster for us humans. When the habitat itself is destroyed, all the species that work together to support life also disappear. It takes decades for a forest to grow complex enough to provide us all its benefits, but only a few days to be cut down. The system has no time to adapt. The result? Flashfloods and landslides during typhoons, parched crops and wells in summer.

 

If we need wood, let’s plant what trees we need and harvest these instead. Let’s not kill the goose that lays the golden egg; let’s not destroy the very thing that keeps us alive.

 

MINERALS: Filipinos First

A country rich in minerals is also bound to be rich. Minerals are used to make buildings, machines, and practically everything else that modern civilization can’t do without. The Philippines has lots of minerals, but why isn’t it rich?

 

Almost everything we mine leaves the country, with nothing left for our direct use. What minerals come back arrive in the form of expensive products like cars and laptops. Now the Mining Act (RA 7942) allows 100% foreign-owned companies to mine as much as 81,000 hectares on land and 324,000 hectares at sea. Once the minerals are mined and shipped out, they’re gone for good. What’s left in the country are ugly remnants of mountains, contaminated farmlands, rivers and seas, and displaced families and cultures.

 

If we DO need to mine, let’s make sure the dirty job is done far from life-sustaining forests and farms, with Filipinos, instead of foreigners, benefiting the most. Above all, Filipino communities should be the first to know if any mining is to be done in their backyard—and, if they think it’s a bad idea, have the absolute right to say no to it.

 

FISHERIES: Least Should Have More

The Philippines being an archipelago, it’s no wonder 50 to 80% of the country’s protein comes from the sea. We may not realize it, but most Filipinos actually live along the coast, relying on healthy coral reefs, mangroves, and seagrass beds to survive.

 

These coastal residents lose their daily meal when big fishing boats fish where they’re not supposed to, like in the shallow waters less than 15 km from shore. In one operation, they can harvest tons and tons of fish, destroying coral reefs in the process and leaving nothing for the smaller fishers to catch. Poor families only become poorer.

 

The Fisheries Code (RA 8550) says that fisherfolk have a greater right to fish in their town’s waters. Because they don’t have enough money to buy bigger boats, they have exclusive rights to fish nearer the shore. This somewhat evens out the playing field so that everyone (not just the rich) can have fish enough to eat for a long, long time.

 

Environment-—it’s not just about trees. It’s about people.

 

http://www.elac.org.ph

 

PS June is World Environment Month. i have a one-page version of this with graphics for distribution, if you want to help make more people aware about their environmental rights. just leave a message here or on my homepage.