Help the environment via the power of one!

Last Saturday the world leaders finally approved a non-binding agreement to tackle global warming, but with near apologetic words that this wasn’t the accord that environmentalists wanted the 120 world leaders to sign as there were no long-term targets to cut emissions nor any legally binding treaties signed. In short, Copenhagen was a dismal failure, which I would like to say is a true reflection of the United Nations (UN) as a world body! Perhaps the problem is that the people of this world just relied too much that the UN as a world body would have delivered a deal that would have been what the human race needed in order to save the earth from ourselves.

While we would have loved to see a binding accord in Copenhagen, however with the reports of “Climategate” that was exposed just a week before the Copenhagen Summit, where it was revealed that certain statistics being used by the UN from the University of East Anglia were “doctored” in order to make it appear that global warming was now on an alarming level. The mainstream press tried hard to “suppress” this report, which some environmentalist insist was maliciously timed effort to scuttle the Copenhagen Summit. But then, just the same, the world got nothing in that summit.

We’ve grown old, sick and tired seeing much of the world’s problems remain unsolved because the UN hasn’t exerted any effort to solve these problems. The first amongst the many unresolved UN problems is the Palestinian question. After World War II when the United Kingdom finally gave the Jews their own homeland, they did this at the expense of the Palestinian people. Until now, despite earnest efforts by world leaders to resolve this problem, it continues to be one of the world’s hot spots.

Another unsolved UN problem is a remnant of World War II, which is the still divided Korean Peninsula, which is considered more dangerous than the Mideast problem, more so that North Korea is hell-bent in securing a nuclear capability and it’s a no-brainer what their intentions are… to nuke its Southern neighbor. Indeed the Korean Peninsula is the first War under the auspices of the UN, which ended in a very uneasy truce because for all intents and purposes North and South Korea is still at war.

Then there’s the various wars or uprisings in the African continent, where warlords with weapons often take over failed states. A look at Somalia will give you an idea of how the UN has become so inutile. It is now a pirate’s paradise where millions can be “earned” from shipping companies that are just too willing to negotiate with the kidnappers or hi-jackers for the return of their crew and their vessels. Now individual Navies are patrolling the Horn of Africa and even then, there are no laws that the UN ordained to make piracy a crime.

With the Copenhagen Summit all but finished, it just makes me wonder what next would the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) would do next? As the Greenpeace banner screamed “Copenhagen Summit: Failure is not an Option!” I fully agree!

We can only suggest that if we truly believe in helping restore Mother Earth, let’s not wait for the UN to do something as a World Body… let’s not even wait for the National or local Governments to do something, let’s just show our indignation against jeepneys, trucks or buses that are smoke-belching. Learn to use your electrical appliances sparingly, use your air conditioner less and the electric fan more. These are just some of the things you can do on your own… so at least we can still do something to help our environment via the power of one!

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Today, all ports, airports and bus terminals are packed to the rafters of people trying to fly, sail or ride to their home provinces in order to spend Christmas with their families and friends. Indeed, it is the peak of the peak of the travel season as stressed by Cebu Pacific Air (CEB) Marketing and Distribution Vice-President Candice Iyog who sent me this travel tips.

CEB suggests that all their passengers check-in earlier than the usual 45-minutes before closing time, preferably two-hours before so passengers can beat the street traffic and get their seats. Indeed, it is better to be waiting in the airport earlier than waiting for your car to move in traffic.

CEB also suggests that passengers refrain from wrapping gifts in metallic foil since this makes the gift solid during security checks, which would certainly alert the security people and ask you to open the package. Also it is better for passengers to wear shoes that can be easily removed so as you won’t cause added delays in the X-Ray machines. They suggest that passengers don’t wear belts, but unfortunately, people like me need belts. Finally, it is always wise for passengers to put identifying marks on their luggage to spot them easily as it speeds up the process in retrieving your bags.