Who Will the Trees, Birds and Fishes Vote For?
International law recognizes that if pollution or climate crisis crosses national borders, the country where it originated is responsible for the damages. For the first time in the history of our country, the non-stop series of six super-typhoons that has continuously battered our country in just a period of forty-five days, can be traced to the continuing emissions of greenhouse gases. Scientists began to receive signals that “the Pacific Ocean is warming intensely, boosting the risk of heat wildfires, heat waves, droughts, floods, super-typhoons and tropical cyclones around the world especially in the worst hit Pacific Islands, including the Philippines. The El Nino conditions in the Pacific Ocean set the stage for a period of global calamity outside the bounds of modern human experience.” Thus, based on that truism, it is scientifically established that the El Nino phenomenon is due to the massive emissions of greenhouses gas that has caused the warming of the Pacific Ocean that brought forth super typhoons that devastated our country. As concluded by climate experts, i.e., Eric Holthaus in his book, The Future Earth, that “The United States has the greatest responsibility for climate change. It is glaringly established that while the United States with only 5% of the world’s population, is the top country in the world with more than 30% of the 52 billion tons of greenhouse gas emission annually. Worse, the 19 fossil fuel companies are the ones gaining enormous profit of some 16 trillion dollars annually or 10 million dollars every minute from coal and fossil fuel business. In a world where the richest 85 people in the world own as much wealth as the bottom 3.5 billion people and the wealthiest 10% produce 49% of all emissions, these super rich have stolen our planet’s habitability for themselves. It is also the finding of these climate experts that, “China is the world’s largest producer of greenhouse gas emissions.” Glaringly, the United States and China are the ones causing ecological catastrophe. Thus, these two very powerful countries must be the target of revolutionary change to save Mother Earth with a strong appeal to lower the 52 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually to zero, otherwise life on earth will end.
Glaringly, as the rule of law categorically stated, “if you make a mess, you must clean it up or you be made accountable.” But these powerful countries and their captains of industries don’t care as they follow the distorted imperialist worldview of earth’s domination, like a hungry lion ready to eat a cornered prey. Never shall we allow that as it is the sufferings of the Filipino people which pay for the luxuries of a few super rich.
What a pity that several regions in our country have been continuously ravaged by at least 6 series of super-typhoons and more ecological disasters are horribly coming as the climate crisis has become a matter of survival to our poor, struggling people. Thousands of lives have already perished not to mention the tens of thousands of families now rendered homeless. For those who survived, they are now living in hunger and extreme poverty, devoid of basic needs and livelihood. No less than the government should act like a loving father to provide the much-needed assistance, which should not just be limited to provide AYUDA but the rehabilitation and security of the victims for a secured and dignified life. But how can that be? Being immersed in foreign debts, subsisting in the minutest of budget where children are going to dilapidated school-buildings without books and patients are going to DOH health centers without medicine, not to mention some corrupt officials like vultures pocketing millions if not billions of government funds as exemplified by the Napoles Scandal, we have no choice but to forge our oneness as a people to make accountable those responsible in consigning the earth in survival mood. We must do what millions of people are doing in several countries to decry that indeed, our civilization is being sacrificed for the opportunities of a very small number of people to continue making enormous amount of money. But these tens of millions of passionate environmentalists from Sweden, Switzerland, European countries, India, etc. are launching a compassionate revolution for Mother Earth as they are one in feeling the anguish of the victims of environmental disasters. If they are protesting on our behalf, why don’t we?
Those responsible for the unimaginable sufferings of our poor but struggling people should be made accountable which must be officially initiated by our elected officials as such is a heinous crime against humanity. But I doubt if these leaders will make these corporations and the United States as well as China accountable. You know how these powerful countries have exploited our country in cahoots with powers-that-be. In fact, such is glaringly the subject of Congressional Quad-Com inquiries with regards to China. These leaders are even giving so much favor to these so-called “Masters of Mankind,” giving them preferential treatment in transforming Mindanao into massive plantations. In fact, recently two corporations namely, the Kennemer Food International, Inc. and the Asia Pacific Precision Agricultural Group were allowed by the government to replace thousands of farmers from their farmlands after the farmers’ forcible eviction.
As the mid-term elections is fast approaching, it is with sense of urgency that the people should exercise their constitutional right with a firm belief that in a Democratic and Republican State, “Sovereignty resides with the people and all governmental powers emanate from them.” As the sovereign people exercise their right of suffrage, I wonder if trees, birds and fishes are also allowed to vote, whom will they choose? It is in this spirit of oneness with nature that the voters should choose whom they believe nature will choose, if given the privilege to vote.
The forest, rivers, agricultural lands, bays and all those that form the ecosystems will all outlast us for we are just transient occupants of GAIA (Mother Earth). Each passing generation has the absolute responsibility therefore to nurture and enrich these life support systems which are only ours to protect for those who will come after us. It behooves upon all of us to use these God-given resources in such a manner as not to jeopardize the ability of the coming generations to provide for their own needs. But I am afraid that we have miserably failed in standing up to that responsibility as God’s stewards of His creation.
Today, the fury of nature is upon us. We must now take cognizance of that ecological warning to heal the blighted land back to life or perish. As we are now in the frenzied pace of choosing those who will rule us, I am just wandering that if the eco-systems, which have also the right to life, were given the right of suffrage, whom will they elect? NO ONE! Who among the crop of candidates have passionately fight for Mother Earth? Who among them have dared to stand against logging? To stop illegal fishing? To stop against illegal mining? To stop the industries which have treated the bays as their waste pits? To stop the use of toxic chemicals in farming which have polluted our watersheds and harmed the health of the consumers? Their respective tract records can clearly speak for themselves. In fact, when we have arrested five well- armed illegal Chinese nationals in their campsite in Tumpagon, Cagayan de Oro in 2014, they were just detained in prison for a week and were allowed to go back to China, accompanied by a KAGAWAD. Listen to these candidates’ speeches, don’t you not feel nausea? They deserve our freedom of spit!
I am challenging our politicians to make accountable those who have wantonly exploited our renewable resources in utter disregard to ecological integrity and the future of the coming generations. Don’t you know that of the 13 major bays in the country, 10 are already biologically dead? Of the 25 major rivers, 15 have already dried-up or polluted? This is the reason why our coastal communities are now living in hunger and extreme poverty. Politicians, where are you? In fact, many of you are in cahoots with these illegal miners, illegal loggers and powerful corporations that are killing the sanctity of nature, the reason why we have lost paradise, now transformed into hell through EXTRACTIVISM by powerful oligarchs.
Amidst the unimaginable sufferings of our people through ecological disasters, the urgent call of the time now Is environmental justice! Let us now organize the people to join the global protest against climate change which is attributed to extreme greed of these powerful corporations described as the “Masters of Mankind,” and the United States as well as China having caused the tremendous sufferings of billions of earthlings, including the victims of the series of typhoons in our country. Unless the 52 billion tons annual emissions of greenhouse gases be stopped, life on earth will surely end before the 21st century ends as the earth has been described by thousands of climate experts worldwide as just “ONE MINUTE BEFORE MIDNIGHT.” Before the beautiful blue planet finally succumb to death that will end all life on earth, we the sons and daughters of GAIA should launch a revolution of compassion for ecological justice and for our love to sacred nature,. Thus, in one voice, we now shout, WE LOVE YOU GAIA! FEEL THAT INTENSE LOVE AND GAIA WILL FEEL IT TOO BECAUSE AS CONSCIOUSNESS, WE ARE ALL ONE. THAT ONENESS WILL PRODUCE A NEW EARTH. GAIA, You are a mother to us all and if necessary, we will die for you! And if that happens, we will end up in God’s loving embrace. INDEED, PROTECTING GOD’S VANISHING CREATION IS THE HIGHEST FORM OF WORSHIP!
