“Our House is on Fire”

by Juliah Marie I. Española

“Our house is on fire!”, those were the exact words from a 16-year-old Swedish climate
activist Greta Thunberg, said during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Sweden. Words that
have not left my mind after hearing that empowering speech from a leader of our time and
generation. She is right- our house is on fire, but no one seems to be screaming inside. No one
seems to even care and act to put down the flames that we have caused ourselves.

The beauty of nature is indescribable. It has a profound effect upon our senses, those
gateways from the outer world to the inner. It gives us the feeling of awe, wonder, and amazement.
Trees, the beautiful breeze, butterflies, those delights, they are mother nature's gifts. They were
beautiful, they were at peace. But now? Now what? Despite her beauty, generosity of providing
us things to breathe, to live, and hospitality, so many people seem to take mother nature for granted.

Recently, news broke out that the world’s largest forest and the lungs of the earth, the
Amazon in Brazil, is burning faster than ever seen and recorded after alarming and shocking
satellite images were released by NASA. Emergency and flash reports from different international
agencies about the devastation happening in Brazil have swamped all major news media. Photos
of once lush green spaces turned into smoldering black and gray, have been circulating in and out
of Facebook feeds and Twitter timelines. Trends and hashtags are calling in to #PrayforAmazons.

Also recently, a local headline report came out that the Philippines is losing a staggering
of P50 Billion to the illegal wildlife trade. Thousands of species of both flora and fauna are being
pushed further into the brink of extinction, from endangered Palawan pangolins to the graceful sea
turtles found in the Visayas. Birds, fish, reptiles being put into nests and cages are illegally stored
and shipped away from the islands from which they come - transformed into profit by majority of
those only in the winning end.

It is not only happening in Brazil. It is also happening in our country. Imagine that it took
millions of years of evolution throughout geological history of our planet to develop the
incomparable complexity of biodiversity that can only be found in the Philippine Islands and the
forests of Brazil’s Amazon – has now gone from a single flame. A flame, which is us, humans.

We thought monsters were scary, monsters were mean. but we are describing our being. It
takes one drop of straw to suffocate a turtle and it takes one drop of plastic to pollute the water.
All it takes is one cigarette thrown at a truck window to ignite the fire and lead to deforestation. It
takes a single fire to take down all the plants and trees and to take down oxygen. Imagine pointing
the gun in your head, and pulling the trigger. That is similar to what you do to mother earth.
Ruining mother earth is like taking away your own life.

But the truth is, we do not need more thoughts and prayers. Our generation is tired of these.
We need concrete accountable actions and solutions from our government and businesses. We
need changes in our environmental policies, and a stronger enforcement of laws if we want to
make a significant dent on what we are currently seeing day to day. We are the only living creatures
smart enough to foul our own nest. To know the destruction and end, we are causing to both nature
and humanity, but choosing to remain silent and ignorant. Maybe, this is what we deserved. It is
because we, as humans, never learned our lessons to be socially responsible and socially-
disciplined inside our homes, in our community, in our school, and in our society.

To those who are nature lovers and stewards in protecting our environment, who will
become future presidents, senators, mayors, politicians, CEOs, industry leaders, media officials;
when do you think is the right time? You, me, and all of us can make a difference. Please do
yourself a favor and be the leader that our world needs, not just for people but even for the tiniest
seed. Foster empathy, work smart and never be greedy.
 Ten seconds. Only 10. But enough for you to wonder. “What is happening? What is
wrong?” Enough time to make you feel upset. Saddened. Upset and saddened are exactly what our
mother earth is feeling right now if we will not act. In a few hours after this event, we are all going
to go through the exit doors of this gymnasium. We are all here so that we can put these words in
each speech into actions. There is hope in our actions. There is here, now, something left to hope
for. Mother earth’s problem is not one story. It is our story; of coming together; of unity and
participation and representation. It is a story. That starts with one person on one day. With a voice.
With a choice. A choice among three things. And this choice is yours today. You can continue
this story in protecting our environment, our story, you can help end it, or not at all.