Global Warming and Climate Change, What Can Be Done?_Writing Contest by @upmewhale

Literally, climate change simply means “change of climate’ of a weather condition in a certain place which was not its usual weather temperature. I prefer to discuss about the changes in weather condition and not on the political side.

When I got married, my hubby and I decided that we live in their place to escape the active city life in Manila. Manila is the place for the fast pacers where different kinds of people from different place to work and earn for their family, notwithstanding the heat and smoke belching of varied transportations in the city. I myself have experienced this situation when I worked in the city. Can you imagine guys, I leave our apartment fresh and cool and when I go home, you can see the thin smoke around, all of which came from the different factories and other machineries.

When we reached my hubby’s place, I was enthralled by the beauty of Mount Canlaon. It was the first time I’ve seen a volcano. The mountain seemed black as it was surrounded by dense forest. The climate was similar to our place in Mindanao. It was branded as “Little Baguio in the South”. This is the reason why I liked Canlaon because it reminds me of home.

When you ride a bus, you will know that you’re approaching and entering Canlaon City because of the cool wind that touches your cheeks. In the early mornings, you can see thick fogs around you that I would wear thick pairs of socks and thick coats while I sweep the scattered leaves outside. Thick fogs still cover the foot of Mt. Canlaon. In the afternoon, I have observed that there was smoke of fire from the foot of the mountain. They said that it was the doings of new settlers who were landless and claiming the land they have ‘cleaned’ by cutting down the trees and sell the lumbers. Actually, the land belonged to the national park, but it seems that the government was not strict during that time. The reason is that they themselves made use of the good lumbers which decorated their homes!

I can still recall when people from that mountain would sell wild orchids and giant ferns, the later of which to be used for ornaments in the garden where orchids are adorned. First class lumbers were sold to the lumberyards and furniture shops. In fact, our old house which was originally owned by my in-laws were made from Narra, Lawaan and Tugas, all of which were classified as first class lumbers. Old furniture was of “Balayong” lumber, one of the most expensive lumber here. Our furniture was also made from red and yellow pine trees

Because of these illegal logging, you can now see that half of the mountain is already filled with crops tilled by the settlers. The soil is rich and fertile and the planters gain more profit without remorse of the end result. It was then that these illegal acts were stopped when DENR started to impose strict rules and regulations when flash floods started to occur and water supply became lesser. There was climate change too. Though our place was still cool, it was not the same as before. Those who went abroad and came home for a short vacation, would say that the weather was no longer as cold when they left the place. It was the sad truth.

Our local government, along with the DENR included tree planting as one of the pre-requirements in school and other government and non-government agencies in order to restore the climatic condition of our community. Schools were required to conduct information dissemination about the proper disposal of garbage instead of burning, which is one of the sources of global warming that is gradually killing our Mother Earth.

In conclusion, educating the youth as to keeping the earth green once again is a must for the coming generation if not today. Forest fires are the chaotic result of global warming and this should stop or else nothing will be left in the future.

This is my entry and I hope that I am on the right track, and thanking @upmewhale for hosting this contest.

*** @Sarimanok ***