Alleba Politics

These past weeks, one of the main issues that I have read and heard about is the depleting water supply in the Angat Dam causing a water shortage. Unfortunately, it may also cause a power shortage. This is, a lot of people contend, due to the climate change phenomenon. And I must agree. Although this is a very alarming emergency, the government and civil society should see this as a golden opportunity to educate the public and move towards a more environmentally-sound governance and public awareness and lifestyle.

As a former Environmental Science major, one of the stories (parables) I often hear is one that of a frog being boiled. If you drop a live frog on a hot boiling pot of water, it will definitely jump out. But if you put the same frog on a pot of water and slowly turn up the water’s temperature, the frog will be boiled to death. This is how most citizens of the ecosystem react to environmental problems. We wait for a big shocking event to see and realize the problem, and take action. We are not bothered by the small but definitely tell-tale signs of a greatly changing environment.

Today, the Philippine Daily Inquirer Editorial talks about the “Weird Weather” in the Metro Manila area:

Metro Manila, the nearby provinces and parts of the Visayas face the real prospect of a water and power shortage in the next two or three months unless the weather radically changes or cloud-seeding greatly increases the water supply.

Scientists and weather experts have said that the dry spell and the “weird weather” in Metro Manila and nearby provinces are the result of climate change — the increase in global temperatures due to greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide, that trap heat from the sun. But we wonder why the scientists and weather experts did not raise the alarm earlier so that remedial measures could have been taken sooner. Did they not see the signs as early as May, when the dry spell began to hit Metro Manila, or were they too preoccupied with the elections to notice?

Everyone has to pitch in and help alleviate the water shortage. This means optimum use has to be made of the available water. For instance, water used in washing clothes could be collected and used to flush toilets, to wash cars and sidewalks.

Household water is not an inexhaustible resource. When we use water wisely and conserve it, we are helping to ensure the smooth functioning of communities and the continuity of life not just in our country but on our planet.

Though I agree with most of the points raised in the article, I don’t agree with the finger being pointed at the scientists and experts not raising the alarm sooner. Scientists, experts, and even former US Vice-President Al Gore through the documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” having warning us. It is most convenient to put the blame on them now. But it is very much misplaced and irresponsible to do so. Yes, the country’s science and technology industry is very much struggling to survive due to lack of support. But they have been doing their part, their very best.

Maybe now, the best thing to do is to examine our selves, the way we live our lives, and how we can change to ensure our survival as a species. Climate change, for sure, will radically change our lives. It is an imminent truth whether we choose to believe it or not. If we do not act quickly, we may not just be facing a dire future, but no future at all. Time and again, life on earth has persisted despite many other climate changes similar to what we are facing. The question here is not the survival of life on earth, but the survival of our species on earth.

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