Kinayt

  That is the list that my family came up with the topic: "What is the worst problem our environment suffers right now?" I think that list is short regarding our topic but most of the things listed there are broad to illustrate the problem that our environment suffers. It's not hard to come up with the list about the topic because we can see a lot of sufferings that causes problems in the environment. But for our list, we just make it as few as possible just to illustrate the most important (I guess) things here. 

First, we tackle about water pollution. Well, water pollution is very evident here in the Philippines. Just go to Manila Bay or some part of the Pasig River. You can evidently see the pollution that the bodies of water here in the Philippines have. Outside the Philippines, there is this part of the Pacific Ocean that is called "The Great Pacific Patch". 

That is a picture of the "The Great Pacific Patch". As we can see, that is a lot of pollution. Too much garbage (plastics, steel, and any kind of shit can be found there). I don't know how did that part of the Pacific Ocean became like that but that is just too much. Do you think there are still marine animals that can live there? No fish can survive in that habitat. 

(a picture of the polluted Manila Bay)

Air Pollution, factories and too much cars

Air pollution is also very evident in the world. A perfect example is in China. There are news articles that says that China is one of the places in the world that has the worst air pollution. I saw pictures that people wearing masks just not to inhale the air that the Chinese atmosphere has. That air pollution is caused by the many cars this world is producing. People are not walking anymore. They buy cars to make their lives easier. Yes it is a benefit for us because cars can make our transportation very easy but we should be more considerate to our environment. 

Air pollution in China

As we can see in the picture, smog is covering the line of sight of the drivers. This smog is caused by the smoke that comes from cars and also from factories. We all know that China is of the tigers in regards of the economy. They have many businessmen that focuses only on money, and don't mind if they hurt the environment. 

Technology, the cities, too much commercialization, and establishments

Technology is rapidly growing. This affects the environment because the production of these technological advancements hurts the environment. Production of goods is not that easy. If there is production, there are waste, and those waste goes to the environment. Water waste from factories, air waste and all the waste of the production of these technologies goes to the environment. The cities in other hand, this is the place where commercialization happens. Commercialization is linked to technology and establishments. The waste that comes from them directly goes to the environment. One perfect example is the waste that comes from fast food chains. All of their goods are served in Styrofoam, plastics and other things that are hard to recycle. And if you think of it, a lot of people are eating in those fast food chains, and if you imagine the waste they will produce, you can instantly see a destruction to our environment. 

Deforestation, illegal loggers and greed

  Those pictures perfectly illustrates the deforestation and the illegal logging that happens around the world. It is very alarming that all the forest in the world are being trimmed down. This deforestation and illegal logging leads to greed of the powerful people. They use the trees for their business and it is not good for the environment because the animals that live on those forest will have no habitat to live and if the there will be a typhoon of some sort, the water will directly go to the people because there will be no tree that will hold up the water from the mountains. Trees are very important for the environment. Many living things uses the forests for habitat, food, and shelter. And if you destroy it, it's like destroying your life.

The Cause of all the sufferings that our environment faces: Its own People.

And for the finale, the root cause of all the problems in the world is the people that lives on it. Yes, we are the root cause of the sufferings of the environment. We created those water pollution, air pollution, technology, greed, commercialization, deforestation, all of it. We are the cause of the destruction of the world. We, the people who benefits from the the world, are the ones who destroys it. 

Based on my Eco Footprint, if everyone lived like me, the world will need 3.3 planet Earth. In my opinion, that is a lot of planet Earth just to sustain my kind of lifestyle. I also take 6 global hectares of the Earth's productive area just to support my kind of living and it will consume a 8.3 tones of carbon. 51% of my Eco Footprint composes of food. 

I'm disappointed with the way I'm living here in the world. Why? Just look at my Eco Footprint. If everyone just lived like me, we will need 3.3 planet Earth to accommodate all the people who live just like me. That's very sad. My life is more focus on the food that I intake. 51% of my Eco Footprint is about food. Maybe I need to lessen that a little. I'm not saying that food is not valuable to us, but it takes a lot of my life. I need to be more productive in everything I do. 

In order for me to lessen my Eco Footprint and be able to help not only myself, but also the world, i need to do the following according to Global Footprint Network (www.footprint.org):

Dynamic Earth Assessment Test

(photo from www.skyscrapercity.com)

Turtle Islands is located at south of Palawan, Northwest of Tawi-Tawi mainland and northeast of Sabah, Malaysia. This island is right on the dge of the international treaty limits the separates the Philippines from Malaysia. Turtle Islands is composed of seven islands namely Boan, Lihiman, Langaan, Great Bakunggan, Taganak, and Baguan.

The islands have an aggregate land area of 308 hectares. The smallest island, Langaan, measures about 7 hectares. The largest island , Taganak, is about 116 hectares. Taganak also has the highest point of land, which is approximately 148 meters above sea level. Langaan, the smallest island is relatively flat and nested on an extensive coral reef platform. A unique feature of the islands is the presence of "mud volcanoes", the most prominent of which is on Lihiman, where violent mud extrusions have formed a 20-meter crater on the hill at the northeast portion. The islands are mostly tadpole-shaped and elongated along the northeast-southwest direction, with the highest portion in the northeast.  

Five of the six islands have permanent residents, and on them land cover in large areas is dominated by houses. Like the typical rural ares in the Philippines, human settlements are mixed with agriculture. Natural land cover types are classified as wooded, mangrove, brush/shrub, grass and bare. Most of the areas used for agriculture are planted with coconut. Turtle Islands is an example of a marsh wetland because of its grassy composition. 

(Photo courtesy of Private Islands Online)

The northeast and southwest monsoons prevail from November to March and from June to September, respectively, governing the climate of the Turtle Islands. Meteorological data from Cagayan de Tawi-Tawi show that the wettest period in the southwestern Sulu Sea is during the transition season (October from November), while data from Sandakan indicate that the high rainfall occurs during the early part of the northeast monsoon (December and January). The Turtle Islands has warm and humid conditions. Data from Sandakan weather station indicate a mean minimum temperature range from 22.06°C to 23.69°C and a mean maximum temperature range from 28.59°C to 32.87°C. Relative humidity averages 70% because of the high temperature, high rate of evaporation, and heavy rainfall. The islands have a fair hard coral cover (28-46%) and high coral diversity (24-27 genera) which is a good habitat for small fishes. 

PLANT LIFE

Seaweeds (ex. Halimeda macrolaba, Udotea geppii, Caulerpa serrulata)

Seagrass (ex. Halophila ovalis, Cymodocea rotundata, Halodule pinifolia, H. uninervis and Syringodium isoetifolium)

Woody species (ex. Terminalia catappa, Desmodium umbellatum, Pandanus tectorius, Premna serratifolia, Hibiscus tiliaceus)

Trees (ex. Macaranga tanarius,common name Binunga)

Note: Numbers 1 and 2 are marine flora and 3 and 4 are terrestrial flora.

(a picture of Binunga)

ANIMAL LIFE

non-branched Acropora corals

branched Acropora corals (A. bruegemanni, A. echinita)

reef fishes (ex. Pomacentridae also known as damselfishes and Labridae also known as wrasses)

Avian species (ex. Lesser Fridateird, Common Sandpiper, Grey Imperail Pigeon, Chestnut-cheeked Starling, Pied Triller, Philippine Turtle Dove)

Mammalian species (ex. large fruit bat)

Sea turtles (ex. Green Sea Turtle, Hawksbill Turtle)

Malay Box Turtles

Snakes (ex. Sea snakes and terrestrial snakes)

(a photo of Green Sea Turtle)

Mostly of the plants and animals listed are commonly found all-over the Philippines, like the sea snakes and terrestrial snakes or the large fruit bats. The Green Sea Turtle is considered endangered here in the Philippines.

Since it is a wetland, many of the plants, especially the algaes and sea grasses grow abundantly here because of the large water content of the island and that's what the plants need in order for them to grow. Just like I said in the earlier parts of this blog, small fishes, reef fishes can live here because if the large coral reef area of the island. 

The Turtle Islands is regarded as the only major nesting ground (with more than 1,000 nesters annually) of Green Sea Turtle in the whole ASEAN Region. Also, Malay Box Turtles has also been seen visiting it shores. Malay Box Turtle has never been seen at other islands. 

*Note: Sorry for the names of some of the species listed here because there are still no common names for the scientific names given to them.

Laws that protect the Turtle Islands

It was proclaimed as Wildlife Sanctuary under Proclamation No. 171 on August 26, 1999 and identified as Extremely High (EH) for biodiversity conservation. 

On May 31, 1996, a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the Republic of the Philippines and the Government of Malaysia was signed declaring Turtle Islands as Turtle Islands Heritage Protected Area (TIHPA) aiming for the conservation and protection of the area. 

Not all wetlands are the same. Turtle Islands is different from Agusan Marsh or Manila Bay or Apo Reef or any other wetlands. Each wetland has its own characteristics and composition. Turtle Islands is a place of nesting for different kinds of turtles while Agusan Marsh holds the largest population remaining of Crocodiles. In that sense, we can say that wetlands are very different with each other. They are different with the elements it contains because these elements describes the species that lives in that particular wetland. So in short, they are different from each other. 

From the name itself, the Turtle Islands is a nesting place for Sea Turtles, like Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas) and Hawksbill Turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata). It is its ecological significance. Green Sea Turtles are endangered species and Turtle Islands is a very good place for them to reproduce because it is not that commercialized and the island is not overpopulated. If this island can be preserved from opportunistic people, this can be a key for the turtles to populate more. 

Wetlands should be protected just like how we protect our brand new iPhone 5 or your 36" LED TV. It is part of our environment, and the environment is where we live in. If these wetlands will be destroyed, this can greatly affect our ecological system and these can result to disasters or famine (worst cases scenario). We should realize that the environment is the best thing that God has given to us and we should preserve and protect it from destruction, because we will benefit from all that we do to our environment. If we destroy it, we will be also destroyed and if we preserve it, we can live happily every after. That's some basic logic. 

All the people should protect and preserve all the wetlands not only in our country, but all over the world. We should follow all the rules when we are in a wetland. Throw your trash in the proper can, basic rule that can very much help the environment. It is just simple, follow the rules, be a disciplined citizen of the world and appreciate the beauty that God has given us.

"Earth has all the time in the world and we don't" - Oren Lyons

That line struck me the most after watching the movie, The 11th Hour. It is a part of a quote that Oren Lyons, a known advocate of indigenous rights, said in the last part of the movie. In my opinion, that line sums up the movie. 

The 11th hour is a documentary that talks about how the world is getting destroyed by it's own people. The 11th Hour discusses the importance of the world to all the people who lives here, mainly because we live here and we all benefit from everything the world possess. By destroying the very Earth we live, we are also destroying our lives. We destroy the next generation of humanity and practically, we destroy the future. 

I came to a list of the things that I will start doing, the things that I shall stop doing, and the things that I need to change:

Things that I will start doing:

1. Throw my every trash in their proper trash can. This leads to segregating my trash base on its category. This also lead to recycling, and recycling can do a lot for our environment. 

2. Encourage my family members to do same so that the recycling can start at home.

3. Save Electricity. We all know that most of the electricity we use in our homes come from burning fossil fuels, coals and oil. This burning leads to the destruction of our ozone and adding greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere. Saving electricity means lowering the demand from the source and lessening the hazardous waste we put in our atmosphere. How can I save electricity? reducing my time in using computer, don't use the television, and reducing the use of cellular phone.

4. Re-use the papers we use in the classrooms. This is a very simple thing but it can greatly help the cause of our environment. Re-using the papers we used in class, especially the papers that only has writings in front, can help lessen the paper consumption in the world. 

Things that I will stop doing:

1. I will stop smoking. I'm in the process of completely stop doing this kind of thing. Smoking is very bad for everyone's health. This can destroy your life if you intend to do this thing. I've also realized smoking also affects our environment. Mainly because of the smoke that comes from the cigarettes that I use in my addiction(I guess before). This will not improve my health, but also it can help the cause of the nature by not putting hazardous waste in out atmosphere.

2. Using plastics and Styrofoams. This is a movement that is starting here in our country. I guess many cities have issued ordinance that lessens the use of plastics and Styrofoams. This two items are two of the hardest items to recycle because it requires great processing (heat treating, thermal depolymerization and monomer recycling). Heat treating will cause hazardous smoke that can largely affect the atmosphere. So as a citizen of this country, I should stop overusing plastics and Styrofoams. 

What will I change?

My outlook in life. It is because that I've realized the very existence of humanity, and that is because we have a planet to live in.

I will savor every moment in my life, but I will make sure that it will not affect the environment. I will do my best to help save our planet and the people living in it.