Battling Climate Change through a Computer

Environment   Oct 9, 2016 by Roxanne Maglaya

At this very moment, it’s 10:35 in the morning. I’m sitting on the couch in front of my computer, trying my best to immerse myself in thought for this blog I’m supposed to write. What is this supposed to be for anyway? What am I supposed to write about? Climate change? I’m looking outside my window and I can see the clear skies. I close my eyes and I can feel the cool wind. They say you can smell the foul odor of pollution from a mile away? I can smell nothing, but the sizzling garlic and beef cooking in our kitchen. The news channel is turned on and all I hear are numerous drug cases, various fiascoes happening in our government, and updates on the lives of well-known artists. Nothing about the environment, so what’s the big deal? Clearly, from what I just said, I am very much unaffected by what people are saying is global crisis so why do I have to care? In that sense, do I even have to care? I know the answer to that.

I don’t.

BUT GUESS WHAT. I do. I very much care for what is, Climate change.

The Environment is facing its greatest challenge our generation has ever seen. No matter what we do or how willing we are to start a difference, we will always be subjected to the inevitability of Climate Change.

You can say that Global Warming started even before the age of the Humans. Ever since the Paleozoic, it caused a great number of extinctions and alterations, making the earth it is what it is. That kind of Global Warming came naturally which makes it out of our hands, beyond our control. However, Global Warming in our time today is due to us, humans, living beyond our means. We’ve consumed huge sums of fossil fuels, produced great amounts of methane by breeding livestock, and cut down 49% of our total forests for commercialization. All this leading to the factor affecting our planet in lots of ways: Climate Change.

It is not right to say that I am unaffected by Climate Change because of the superficial reasons I laid out a few lines back. Just because I do not see it, smell it, or feel it, doesn’t mean that it’s not happening, doesn’t mean that it’s not affecting me, even indirectly. Climate change is like the sun. Wherever you are in the world, you will always be under it because it is the only one. Climate change doesn’t choose who to affect or where to affect, it just happens when it happens, where it happens. As stated in one of the ecological principles, “Everything is connected to everything”, if climate change, brought by the irresponsible humans, affects forests, waters, Polar Regions, wildlife, etc... In one way or another, we will be affected. It’s only in a matter of time.

For a clearer image, let’s try to connect the dots.

Forests. As we know from our Science Classes, forests soak up carbon dioxide in the air and help regulate global climate. Imagine having large areas of forests destroyed because of commercial reasons or because of drought brought by warming climate. It would be catastrophic for living beings, both humans and animals alike, and all those depending on the greens. Carbon dioxide is already prevalent in the atmosphere because of different human activities and without the forests, we would be drowning in greenhouse gasses and intense heat. Water. Water is life. Where there is water, there is life. Climate change is affecting the availability of water in different parts of the globe. Other countries already not have enough water for their daily activities, let alone, for their own human consumption. Rising temperatures, inconsistency of weather patterns, and increasing droughts will affect the amount of the different bodies of water and will also affect the water that seeps into the ground to replenish ground water. The Philippines has been subject to various typhoons and a have cost thousands of Filipino lives. Water is a sign of life; a sign of life that can bring about death. Agriculture. Because the Philippines is an agricultural country and the Filipino nation chiefly relies on the water-reliant cereals for staple, such a situation is disadvantageous to the country’s food situation. Climate change could either make the atmosphere too hot to grow crops, and drought due to climate change could reduce the amount of water available for irrigation. Aside from this, Climate Change causes stronger storms and more floods, which can damage crops. Life. Both for animals and man, climate change is happening too quickly for many species to adapt. Whether it be because of the increase in temperature, or the sudden occurrences of typhoons which leads to floods, the inability to adjust and prepare for the events could lead to the destruction, or worse, death. An example of this are the different typhoons happening in the Philippines, or the intense heat in the provinces that result to the depletion of crop-production, resulting to less food for the nation.

Again, Everything is connected to everything and we are all subjected to Climate Change.

For the longest time, I had always said to myself that I am an advocate of the environment. In my own little way, I always strived to make an environmental difference by not turning the faucet all the way, by not taking a bath too long, by recycling paper, by not wasting food, etc... A number of times, I would talk about the environment, write essays on how to prevent climate change and how to adapt to global warming. I had always believed that my actions reflected on my environmental advocacy but after taking the Water Footprint Simulator (http://www.watercalculator.org/), it became clear to me that what I was doing was not enough; what I was doing to protect the environment was the same thing destroying it.

For a little background, the Water footprint test contains an average person’s everyday activities and assesses the gallons of water consumed from that. It was a surprise for me to know that despite me cutting down on my water consumption, I would still be consuming an above average number of gallons of water. This simulator making is far from irrelevant because activities such as taking a bath, doing the dishes, eating/consuming food, travelling to work or school is something really done on a daily basis which contributes to accuracy. It also indicates that you will assess on a household perspective so although I am not driving any car, the test for water consumption still applies. In a way, it does not only pose a challenge on the person himself/herself but on the entire household.

We would often rely and blame every unfortunate occurrence to our government. Aside from protecting the people and the economy, they have this responsibility for the environment as well. However, after playing the Climate Change Simulator (http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/hottopics/climatechange/climate_challenge/index_1.shtml), I realized that it is far from easy to be a government official, balancing what is wealth, popularity, and the environment. Taking the government test, it reminded me of the Philippine government because it is their line of work to decide on what to do and how to make sure the community, the land they chose to serve, is in good condition in all aspects from the economy to the physical health and happiness of the people to the safety of the nation. It is not irrelevant because I am part of the Philippine community and I am one of the recipients or the ones on the other end of the stick from their words, actions, and deeds. I would really love if the government made eco-friendly decisions and I am sure that they are trying which is why we have DENR in the first place.

One may think that because I am a student, the act itself may seem a little out of context. I am not yet in the right age to be deemed as a government official, but then it trains students on how to be sensitive and how to be responsible leaders, in general. ((If you want to know the complete story of my Climate Change Simulator, visit http://encounters.tiged.org/blueyouth/discuss/view/1196117)). After playing the game, I came to 6 life conclusions:

1.Take one step at a time. Focus on one aspect per round. As a leader, you must address the needs of the people, as much as possible, in the most Eco-friendly and efficient way there is and sometimes, to do so, you need to swallow all that you are as a person and make a decision and stand-by that decision.

2. As a leader, you cannot yield to your people’s approval. Sometimes, you are going to have to empower yourself and maximize your position for the benefit of a greater purpose. It’s not about you. It’s about everything else, but you. Not all you decide on, as a leader, would win the hearts of all your constituents. However, again, you can only make such a decision once in a while because let’s not forget that you are a leader for the people. Hence, you make decisions that are for their greater good. You cannot make decisions for their benefit if they do not like you so you will always have to balance it out.

3. If ever you will make your people unhappy, balance it out with something that will make them happy and will help the environment all together. Not only are you supposed to care for the environment and the economy, but you must prioritize the people who live in it as well.

4. Set standards to regulate people. You will have to make sure that your people are well-regulated and well-managed because as we all know, “Too much of something or too little of something Is both bad.” You should make them realize that with their freedom, they should do what is right and just and for the benefit of the people around them.

5. Never give up. There are really a lot of things you can do to help save the environment. As a leader, you are presented with all these suggestions that can benefit one sector of what you are trying to flourish. Just remember that giving up would lead to nothing, no progress, no change. Who will take the first step if not you? Who will inspire others if not you?

6. Bringing people together and patching the way for collaborative work. “I am a leader. Once I am a leader, for my group and for the group of another, I will still be a leader because it is in my heart and in my soul to lead.” In anything, working together is better. Supporting each other is best. What is unstoppable is having leaders with a purpose, a goal, a dream, together. If all are motivated and willing to sacrifice and give their best to make a difference in the world, then what a lucky world that would be.

All this from a simple simulation game.

With this, I am proud to be part of the Advanced Environmental Class in St. Theresa’s College, Quezon City, because through this, I am able to learn new things, have new realizations and actually make a difference on a global scale.

“The history of life on Earth has been a history of interaction between living things and their surroundings. To a large extent, the physical form and the habits of the earth’s vegetation and its animal life have been molded by the environment. Considering the whole span of earthly time, the opposite effect, in which life actually modifies its surroundings, has been relatively slight. Only within the moment of time represented by the present century has one species -man- acquired significant power to alter the nature of his world.”– Rachel Carson (author of Silent Spring)

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