CLIMATE CHANGE: A DAY-TO-DAY PROBLEM

Mother Earth Society

[MOTHER EARTH SOCIETY] Mga higala, maayong adlaw kanatong tanan! In behalf of the Mother
Earth Society, the organization that I am currently part of, I am here today in your barangay, San
Miguel Cordova to speak about an important matter that we all should be educated upon.

[CLIMATE CHANGE: A DAY-TO-DAY PROBLEM] I am happy to have you all here residents of
Barangay San Miguel to listen to my symposium entitled CLIMATE CHANGE: A DAY-TO-DAY PROBLEM.

[CLIMATE CHANGE] I know you are all aware what is climate change, it is the global changes in
the earth’s temperature right? but I want you to know and realize today how serious the climate
change has affected our country and the whole mother earth.

[GLOBAL WARMING] Our country, Philippines is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate
change and one of it is global warming. The rising temperatures of earth due to global warming fires
longer and hotter heat waves, causing severe impacts to us humans, the animals and the whole
environment.

As we all know Philippines is a tropical country so we get more exposure to the sun. When the
dry, hot season comes we keep on complaining because of the heat, so we blast our aircons and
refrigerate cold drinks and other ways to cope up with the hotness. But think of it, our planet is
getting more hotter and hotter all the time because of climate change, global warming. Would aircon
and cold drinks be enough ease the heat we feel? Could we still withstand the heat if this is getting
worse? Our primary concern shouldn’t only be on the rising temperature that we feel, but we should
be alarmed with the consequences of it that climate change and global warming is causing to us and
to our earth. This change is impacting on the planet’s environment, our seas, plants, animals, us…
everything!

If you’re still asking how climate change affects us. I’m gonna tell you.

[DROUGHT CAUSED BY EL NINO; pic] With higher temperature comes, this will cause frequent
droughts or what we call huwaw in bisaya. Since early 2015, more than 40 percent of the Philippines
has been experiencing severe drought triggered by El-Niño, causing the loss of agriculture production
amounting to 3 billion peso or exactly (3,956,090,000) Philippine peso. See how big of a loss is that.

[HEAVY PRECIPITATION; pic] And not only that, climate change can cause large increases in
extreme precipitation or in easy term heavy rainfall, and this can lead to numerous hazards, flooding,
landslides, damages building, and loss of crops and livestock and even lives. The Philippines is hit by
an average of 20 storms and typhoons every year, which typically wipes out harvest, homes,
infrastructure especially to poor areas and this water from frequent intense typhoons can also cause
threat to sea level rise.

[SEA LEVEL RISE; pic] In 2015, The Philippines posted the highest average increase in sea levels,
at 60 cms or equivalent to the height of a two liter soda bottle, against the global average of 19 cms
(0.6 ft) since the year 1901, see the difference, 60 cm and 19 cm. You may say the height of a two liter
soda bottle is too little and not that alarming, but it indicates that a one meter rise in sea level is
projected to affect 64 out of 81 provinces covering at least 703 out of 1,610 municipalities and
swamping almost 700 million square meters of land. The red marks on the figure indicates provinces
that are at threat. One swept of the sea and we all be gone, maybe Cordova no more. Who knows,
but I hope that won’t come but still, we gotta prepare and be ready.

[AFFECTING WATERS] Aside from sea level rise, more intense precipitation leads to increased
runoff in certain regions. We can also expect more pollution to be washed into our waterways,
sediments, nitrogen, from agriculture, disease pathogens, pesticides, and herbicides. Naturally the
pollution loads in streams and rivers will tend to be carried to larger bodies of water, like lakes and
the coastal ocean where more dramatic consequences of heavy runoff can be blooms of harmful
algae and bacteria.

Since Cordova is relying on the diverse marine ecosystem of the sea, fishing has provided the
people with a livelihood and sustenance. As water temperature rises and increase acidity, this tends
to lead to lower levels of dissolved oxygen in water causing more stress on the fish and other aquatic
animals that rely on oxygen. These changes are transforming food chains from the bottom up. In
addition many fish are moving pole ward in search of cooler waters which will cause implications for
the fishing industry in Cordova and people who like to eat fish.

[HEALTH RISKS] Climate change isn’t just bad for the planet’s health—it’s bad for people’s too ,
no matter the age, gender, geography, and socioeconomic status, everyone is affected.

Drought and long term water shortages harm rural and urban areas like their supply of drinking
water and decrease of crop could lead to undernutrition, hunger, and higher food prices. 

More heat can mean longer allergy seasons and more respiratory disease. More rain increases
mold, fungi, and indoor air pollutants. Senior citizens and poor children—especially those already
afflicted with malaria, malnutrition, and diarrhea—tend to be most vulnerable to heat-related
illnesses.

Rising sea levels can threaten freshwater supplies for people living in low-lying areas. More
severe storms can cause city sewage systems to overflow.

Trauma from floods, droughts, and heat waves can lead to mental health issues like anxiety,
depression, and even suicide.

Everything that is happening has a domino effect. If climate change, global warming continues
this will lead to extinction, all of us, no one left. What we did will boomerang to us. And mind you
those are just few consequences of climate change. There’s a lot more and severe that we don’t
experience here in the Philippines but it is happening from other neighbouring countries.

If this continues in the future, maybe there will be no more Brgy. Cordova, no more Cebu City.
Philippines will be erased from the map, basically the whole world will be vanished because we are
slowly destroying it, it is because of us humans.

We are influencing this change on our climate, we are the cause of our problems.

You’re asking how we affect climate change?

[BURNING OF OIL, COAL AND GAS] - These are fossil fuels which used to power factories,
buildings and transportation, when burnt they release substances into the atmosphere, including a
gas called carbon dioxide, which trap heat from the sun and warm up the Earth. This is called the
greenhouse effect.

[WASTE] The way we disposed our waste often adds to these harmful emissions. Even food
waste creates another greenhouse gas called methane when it rots.

[DEFORESTATION AND URBANIZATION] - Urbanization is when more people start living in cities
and this urban growth feeds increased commercialization and industrialization which will increase the
use of fossil fuels. Massive urban sprawling can bring about more habitat destruction, greenhouse gas
or carbon emission and deforestation. Trees help us by absorbing carbon dioxide but then when we
cut them down they release it back into the air again. The amount of carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere has a strong correlation with rising temperatures

[OVERPOPULATION] Every additional person increases carbon emissions. The growing number of
people in the world means more demand of oil, gas and other fuels mined or drilled from below the
Earth’s surface that when burned, release enough carbon dioxide into the atmosphere to trap warm
air inside like a greenhouse.

[CAR EMISSIONS] Car pollution contributes significantly to climate change which results from a
buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Burning fossil fuels in cars release carbon dioxide
too.

[BURNING PLASTICS] Burning plastics releases black carbon which contributes to climate change
and air pollution. Everyone knows what causes climate change is and that is fossil fuels. What’s less
known is that plastic is also a climate polluter, as it is made from fossil fuels such as crude oil, coal and
natural gas. Burning plastics creates the most carbon emissions among any plastic waste management
method.

Even the use of air conditioning represents an increase large proportion of electricity
consumption in the building sectors. Using the AC more, we produce more emissions and more
warming. it is responsible for the 12% of the sector’s carbon emission worldwide. They consume large
amounts of electricity produced mainly using coal, which results in high CO2.

Because the primary cause of recent global climate change is us, humans, the solutions are also
within the human domain.

So what can we do to fight climate change?

There are plenty of things individuals like us can do to help mitigate climate change. As the world
warms, extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and intense, sea levels are rising,
prolonged droughts are putting pressure on food crops, and many animal and plant species are being
driven to extinction. It’s hard to imagine what we as individuals can do to resolve a problem of this
scale and severity. But the things is, we are not alone in this problem. People, communities,
businesses, and other organizations are taking action. We’re fighting like our lives depend on it —
because we do. But, as individuals we can slow down global warming by implementing small more
sustainable actions within our community.

Let’s start of with reducing our emissions

1. Reduce emissions
Use your car less, whenever possible, instead use sustainable transportation, such as bicycling, or use
public transportation more often like the ejeeps or just walk. In the case of long-distance travel, even
though we don’t have it here, trains are more sustainable than airplanes, which cause a great deal of
the CO2 emitted into the atmosphere. If you're into cars, remember that every kilometer that you
increase your speed will considerably increase CO2 emissions and expenses. Each liter of fuel that
your car uses, equals 2.5 kilos of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere. So be a responsible a car owner.

2. Save energy
Consider making some or all of these small changes. Together, they can really add up.
 Taking a look at the labels on your appliances, and never leave them on standby. 
 Always adjust the thermostat for heating and air conditioning.
 Swap your gas stove for an electric stove, which will also lower indoor air pollution
 Unplug computers, TVs and other electronics when you’re not using them
 Wash clothes in cold water. Hang-dry your clothes when you can. I think you are all practicing
this already
 Change to energy-efficient light bulbs and many more
By being careful how we use home appliances, we can save energy and, of course, money at the end
of the month.

3. Put the 3 R's of sustainability into practice

So what are the 3 R’s? REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE
- To reduce: we consume less and more efficiently.
- Reuse: take advantage of second-hand markets, to give new life to items that you don't use anymore
or find something that someone else has gotten rid of that you need. You'll be saving money and
reducing your consumption.
- Recycle: packaging, waste from electronics, etc. Did you know that you can save over 730 kilos of
CO2 each year just by recycling half of the garbage produced at home? So let’s start recycling and
saved our earth guys, come on.

4. A low-carbon diet results in smarter consumption:

I know this I going to be hard since we all love meat, aren’t we? But by reducing your meat
consumption we can mitigate climate change as livestock is one of the biggest contaminators of the
atmosphere and instead just increase your consumption of fruits and vegetables as shifting towards
plant-based diets would help mitigate and adapt to climate change.
- Eat food that is local and in season: read the label and eat food that is produced in the area, avoid
imports which create more emissions due to transportation. Also, eat seasonal items, to avoid less
sustainable production methods.
- Avoid excessive packaging and processed foods as much as possible.

5. Act against deforestation

-- Plant a tree! Throughout its life, it can absorb up to a ton of CO2.
We need tress because as it grows, they help stop climate change by removing ton of carbon dioxide,
from the air storing carbon in the trees and soil and releasing oxygen in the atmosphere
- If you want to buy wood, choose wood with a certification or seal showing its sustainable origin.

6. Make demands from the government

Use your voices to demand that they take measures toward a more sustainable life, any way that you
can: promote renewable energy, promote more sustainable public transportation, promote the use
of bicycles and other non-polluting transportation methods in the city, correctly manage
waste through recycling/reuse, etc....

The population has more power than it realizes to demand measures from governments to raise
global awareness of the global warming problem. Think globally, act locally. Your actions are needed
in the fight against climate change.

Now that you all are aware of the causes, consequences and things we can do to deal climate change.
What’s lacking is our will to take actions. Why aren’t you doing something? Don’t wait for another
day, today is the right time to act. With our combined cooperation we can make a change. I am Jalen
Rose T. Saldua from Mother Earth Society. If you start to make a change, we can save mother earth.
Even the smallest thing we do can make a bigger change to save our planet. Thank you and have a
good day.