Our dying planet

What can I say? The weather has changed so much over the years that you cannot predict what is coming next. Droughts and floods, extreme weather patterns and climate calamities are a common occurrence. Heat waves and water shortages are common in many countries. All the fuss about climate change and the many global COPs have not really changed atmospheric carbon dioxide emissions much.

The last 15 years have been the hottest years on record and greenhouse gases are rising. We have been fighting climate change for decades and yet the planet has gotten warmer and ice sheets are melting.

The oceans are warming and yet they absorb 75 percent of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Gyres and dead zones are increasing as well, making the oceans unable to absorb carbon dioxide.

Our forests continue to be felled and not enough has been done to protect them. While in London last month, we experienced their wettest March ever. Worst are climate refugees and the many Arab Springs and wars in the making.

The war in Ukraine by Russia is making grain exports more difficult. The Ukranian heartland, the richest country in agriculture, has become a wasteland.

The civil war in Sudan and other countries are testament of what is to come.

I worry about the future of our planet and it is my wish and our duty to protect Mother Earth.

Sadly, our generation has failed and the new generation just doesn’t realize the importance of conservation. We are at the tipping point and yet fossil fuels are being used like never before. The sea change must come sooner than ever; otherwise we will have catastrophic consequences and people will cease to exist. – Antonio M. Claparols, president, Ecological Society of the Philippines