Sunday, August 19, 2007 Sun.Star Essay: Save the planet By Erma M. Cuizon
CAN you ever have enough of talk on global warming?
Everybody’s talking about it some but not enough to show alarm. Exactly, what is global warming?
“Did you say lobat warning? No battery, girl!” says a party-going friend.
“Global” refers to the earth, Tellus, Gaia, terra mater, Mother Earth (if you look up a desk encyclopedia).
The Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the fifth largest. Imagine this creation of God breaking into pieces.
It’s a long story but, please, listen. Do you know that the Arctic sea-ice is melting?
“I heard. Oh, then, they won’t have any problem with water, huh?”
One of the suggestions on what the world can do to prevent global catastrophe as a result of global warming is education down to the last man in the street, even to the last kid in the block. Humans must put things a bit back in shape after messing them up.
There are suggestions of teaching it to children, and the media can do so much to make a difference, too. At this point, I also can’t understand it completely, although I am aware that I can’t.
Still, there’s never enough reason to stop talking about global warming.
Trust that there’s truth to the fact that the world is getting hotter in some places, the ground cracking, and from this heat glaciers are melting the North Pole (frozen for 100,000 years). With the heat trapped in the air, the typhoons, tornados, tsunamis will always come stronger, oftener. And the rising ocean is creeping to the land.
And yet, suggestions of what to do to prevent the earth-shaking disaster are little things, but more than Alexander Lacson’s 12 tips on what you can do for your country. On the dangerous climate change, tips on what to do would be for the world.
And it’s not as though there’s nothing we can do. If we begin now, we might see a miracle.
Our politicians could agree on this, God help them, instead of they politicking from sunrise to sunset. There will be laws needed, such as one that would require warnings on products inimical to earth’s existence.
Yes, the government can do much---like give tax incentives to emission-free fuel industries, or tax rebates for those using solar power. Why not require car dealers to give out fact sheets on the pollution levels of cars, and let car buyers be aware of what they’re buying?
Another interesting suggestion is the labeling of appliances. This would make buyers aware of the problem. Say, using colored marks, such as red, for the most harmful to the environment.
Norway has such a labeling law since 1996. Appliances are required to carry a label showing their energy efficiency class and energy consumption. (But media could probably help people develop the habit of reading labels, in the first place.)
New ways of living brought on us by climate change could touch on lifestyles, even culture. Say, like what Grandma would have told you to do to be healthy, as in the old days with old ways---minimize driving or don’t drive (so that there’s less emission in the air), ride public transport or walk or run or bike. Don’t leave your yard shorn of green; plant shade trees, “save a forest,” as tips go.
In the house, use fluorescent light bulbs, not incandescent, to reduce carbon dioxide, but also, best of all, the energy bill! You can inspire the industries of more energy-efficient electronics, appliances and vehicles if the sales improve because more are buying them.
Children in school should know what the fight against global warming is all about, if a bit roughly. If not in the curriculum for high school or college, the schools could regularly line up guest speakers to talk about it, especially to children.
But, as suggested, you can begin small---walk or run.
