Will there be tomorrow for our children?

"We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors,we borrow it from our children."— Native American Proverb

We only have one earth and we owe it to our children to preserve it.

Just last week, we were again warned by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) of the United Nations on the damaging effects of global warming to our ecosystem. This time IPCC attempted to shake the world with their "screaming siren" report claiming that this tremendous climate change is man-made.

I agree with them. Global warming is caused by carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions that trap ultraviolet rays in our atmosphere, thus increasing our atmospheric temperature. These gas emissions come from human activities such as industrial processes, fossil fuel combustion or the use of petroleum gas of automobiles, changes in land use such as deforestations, popularly known in the Philippines as kaingin and/or illegal logging and the like. It is crystal clear that the people are indeed to blame for this global environment destruction.

Global warming is not just a simple increase in atmospheric temperature. It has a damaging domino effect on our environment. It causes the melting of ice sheets in the Arctic Region and just recently in the Greenland and Antarctica. This melting causes the sea level to increase, thereby flooding the coastal area, and changing global ocean circulation patterns and precipitation patterns. This brings about severe typhoons, flooding, drought or El Niño and potential new illnesses.

It is so unfortunate that it is at the expense of our environment that we are able to develop our economies. Nicolas Stern, Advisor to the British Government on Climate Change said this could be reversed. "The issue on climate change is not about stopping growth but doing things in different, less harmful ways. We could use the same talents and skills that brought about development to our nations to invent and strategize more environment-friendly processes for the use of fossil fuels".

We should also note that the environmental problem is global in nature. Whatever we do here in the east affects the rest of the world. Whatever the giants do in the West affects the small islands in the Pacific. We should therefore be more responsible with our actions, because however small they are like using our cars or burning our garbage, or using hair spray to fix our hair, billions of people in the world and generations of the future will suffer from their damaging effects.

Global warming is indeed a serious problem of the world that demands collective efforts from all its inhabitants. This is the reason why different international treaties are forged and intergovernmental efforts are staged to preserve whatever could be saved in our environment.

IPCC is strongly urging the governments to implement a significant cut in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in their countries to stop the worsening global warming. We hope the US Administration will take seriously the issue on global warming and act now. As studies show, USA is one of the largest sources of GHG emissions and yet the American Government is brushing aside the issue. Unfortunately, we and the rest of the world will also suffer from their overuse of GHGs. Maybe the thunderstorms and tornado that destroyed hundreds of houses in central Florida last week could be a wake up call for the US government. Note that Florida is normally a dry state. Not to mention the disaster caused by Typhoon Katrina in New Orleans last year.

The Philippines on the other hand has started its efforts by passing the law on biofuel. But more than the law, the government should ensure its effective implementation. And we as a people should take our share in it by patronizing its use.

On the same day that the IPC report was released, five workers were arrested for dumping chemical waste in an open pit in Bgy. Isla in Valenzuela City. A coincidence? Or has destroying our environment become our way of life? Do we want more Remings to visit our country? Do we ant more victims to suffer, like those in Bicol, who until now, are struggling to rehabilitate their lives?

Let us do our share however small we could do. Let us act today. Our children will no longer have tomorrows to look forward to.