Earth Day: More than just awareness

Today, we join the rest of the world in celebrating Earth Day. 40 years since the event was first recognized, the world as we know it finds itself in greater peril. We can no longer remain ignorant to the reality of our environmental problems. We can no longer remain deaf to Mother Nature’s plead for help. We have heard about calamities abroad, and have felt nature’s wrath, firsthand, here at home. Typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng have brought an immense amount of devastation that is still affecting most of our fellow Filipinos to this very day. Global Warming is continuously causing polar ice caps to melt, causing sea-levels to rise and threatening to submerge our coastal communities. It brings the disastrous typhoons to our land during the rainy season, and enhances the El Niño phenomenon in the summer. Earth’s problems are real, and there is a serious need to address them. 

We are glad to know that steps have been initiated towards defending and caring for Mother Earth. The Climate Change Commission, chaired by no less than the President, has been formed and tasked to search for ways to produce clean and renewable energy; allowing industries to function with minimal impact to the environment. We also remain hopeful for the government agencies working on programs to protect the environment and prevent its further degradation.  

Two decades ago, Sec. Heherson Alvarez (who was a senator during the time) started the nationwide celebration of Earth day in the Philippines. The event not only promotes the need to protect our environment, but also gives due recognition to individuals who stand to be nature’s heroes. This year the Fr. Neri Satur Awards For Environmental Heroism was composed of seven categories, honoring   nine recipients.

They are: Category I - Leadership in Climate Change Initiatives, Cagayan de Oro Archbishop Antonio J. Ledesma; Category II - Eco-Urban Planning, Architect Felino Palafox, Jr.; Category III- Heroism amidst a Climate Change Disaster, Muelmar Magallanes (posthumous); Category IV - Eco-Cultural Communications through Art and Cultural Leadership Lugardo Abad and Iliac Diaz; Category V - Eco-Cultural Communications through Broadcast, “Born to be Wild” (GMA 7) and Miss Earth Philippines, Carousel Production (ABS-CBN 2); Category VI - Eco-Friendly Business (Publication), Philippine Daily Inquirer; Category VII- Academic Center for marine and Coastal Conservation, Siliman University (Dr. Ben S. Malayang III).

We applaud the awardees, as well as the organizers led by the Climate Change Commission, Earth Savers Movement, Philippine International Theater Institute Center, and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts for sustaining the awards - named after a patriot priest who died protecting the forests of Bukidnon from illegal loggers.

Earth Day is about awareness. And it saddens us that after 40 years of being “aware”, the Earth is still in a state of continuous deterioration. However, we must not view this as failure. Instead, we must take it as an opportunity; a motivation to do better and a chance to finally heed Mother Earth’s call. It is not too late, but we must act now. A wise man once said that “We do not inherit the earth from our parents, we borrow it from our children”. So let us all do our share. Let us protect our world and save our Earth. If not for ourselves, then perhaps for the sake of our children.