TODAY I saw beautiful things and had wonderful reflections. Waking early, I got to swim with whale sharks, then take in the wonder of a waterfall, eat on a mountain with ocean views, and nap under the serenity of my uncle’s organic farm.”
“It was the most wonderful day. And through it all I couldn’t help but think about how endlessly beautiful the earth is. From the small blue fish I saw to vast ocean and valleys full of coconut trees. Yet we don’t treat the earth with the reverence it deserves. I’ve unfortunately had to also go by dry riverbeds in what should be the beginning of the rainy season and seen the devastation to the local farmers. Climate change is happening and people are really suffering. The earth is suffering.”
“I felt incredibly blessed that we get to call this beautiful planet home and I am constantly awed by the splendor of the universe, by the amazing things that happen when atoms combine in all the right ways. Can we start to treat the earth with the reverence it deserves…?”
My niece, Elizabeth Carvajal Huff, posted this reflection on Facebook coming home from a fun interaction with whale sharks and a dip at gossamer-like Tumalog falls, all in Oslob, and a nap at my farmhouse in Colawin, Argao. The moment I read it I just knew I had to share it. It is such a timely call for earth’s children to give the reverencea mother deserves.
Climate change which brings extremes of weather like devastating floods we’ve had and killer droughts we’re having can ultimately be traced to humankind’s abuse of earth. We need to give the earth the reverence it deserves before it is too late. Among other things we need to:
--Conserve water and minimize floods through reforestation, recycling of waste water, storage of excess water from rains, springs, waterfalls and rivers.
--Use clean renewable alternate source of energy such us water, wind and sun. Carbon emissions from fossil fuel warm the earth, causing extremes of weather, and pollutes the air causing respiratory diseases.
--Dispose waste properly and not dump plastics and toxic materials into waterways resulting in the latter’s death. Beyond dredging biologically dead rivers, LGUs should think rehabilitation and bring these rivers back to being able to support the life forms that used to thrive in them.
--Above all, banish the scourge of hunger from the face of the earth. Life forms, the highest of which is human life, are the pride of mother earth. All lifemust be given effective access to its right to food.
We don’t really know when it will be too late to save awesomely beautiful earth and all creatures that call it home. But if we start giving earth the reverence it deserves it might just never be too late.