Too many young people dying

Over the past couple of months, so many people from well-to-do families with a number of them still relatively young have been dying. Just the other day, Miguel Vasquez, the son of Danny and Ising Vasquez and a very health conscious executive, died during the international triathlon in Camarines Sur. Miguel was just 53, and he kept an exercise regimen which is why many were not surprised to hear of him joining a physically rigorous contest like the Ironman triathlon.

A couple of weeks earlier, 52-year-old Cris Lim suddenly died of a heart attack at the Manila Polo Club while playing squash. And very recently, Marie Catherine de Mesa Lloren, the daughter of Bank of Commerce president Raul de Mesa, passed away due to an aneurism. What do all these deaths mean? While people may die of a heart attack or an illness or disease, there’s no question in the minds of many that global warming and climate change is inevitably a factor in the early demise of people, many of whom are in the prime of their lives.

The heat has gotten worse than before, and the erratic weather patterns are making people sick. Experts also point to global warming as the culprit for the emergence of new diseases. As a matter of fact, the Wildlife Conservation Society came out with a list of diseases called the “Deadly Dozen” – said to be as potentially destructive as the Black Death or the 1918 flu pandemic which killed more than 50 million worldwide.

These include the avian flu virus (which has cost more than $100 billion in economic losses), cholera, the ebola virus, tuberculosis, Yellow Fever (with mosquitoes spreading the disease into new areas along with the changes in the climate). The list even includes Babesiosis, a malaria-like disease spread by ticks which is endemic in countries with hot climates, but is now found virtually everywhere including Long Island in New York. While it is not considered deadly at this time, it may worsen as the weather gets warmer, experts cautioned.

Of course, there’s the AH1N1 flu virus. Although there is no tangible evidence at this time, it is widely believed that the spread of the swine flu disease may be directly connected with global warming. Worse, high population density can exacerbate the spread of the virus.

Just recently in the US, several governors were briefed by the Climate Change and State Stability Program of the National Intelligence Council about the threat of global climate change over the next 20 years. Other than droughts and floods, the changes could threaten US national security interests since aside from degrading the environment, climate change could exacerbate poverty and potentially destabilize susceptible governments all over the world.

During the briefing, retired US Air Force Maj. Gen. Richard Engel said that while the US will be “less affected and better equipped” than most nations in dealing with climate change, it may still face a wide range of challenges, from the cost of controlling emissions to combating terrorists who may take advantage of countries trying to pursue nuclear power as an alternative energy source. Participants all agree: the environment, economy and national security are interconnected issues.

Here in the Philippines, we have not been very conscious of the potential harm posed by climate change. The only time people pay heed to the environment – more often than not with a very short attention span – is when lives and property are destroyed due to flashfloods and other natural disasters. The World Health Organization had already warned that more people are dying due to extreme heat, while the United Nations had reported that the poor would be the most vulnerable to climate change. And yet, we still have to see local government executives exerting serious effort to protect the environment by cleaning up the esteros or evicting squatters living along riverbanks and other bodies of water.

It’s this kind of apathy that has prompted environmentalist-lawyer and UP professor Tony Oposa to file contempt charges against several Cabinet secretaries for ignoring the Supreme Court’s directive to clean up Manila Bay. Oposa first filed a case in 1999 to compel government agencies to clean up the bay after coming across a study showing that “it could feed Metro Manila with enough fish” if it is properly cared for.

On the strength of an obscure 1977 Presidential Decree 1152 that says it is the duty of government to clean up bodies of water when they are polluted, Oposa engaged in a legal battle which many must have thought to be a Quixotic quest. But after almost a decade, the Supreme Court ordered the government to clean up the bay in December 2008.

Like Oposa, Gina Lopez is dedicating a lot of time and effort to clean up the Pasig River, starting at the source of domestic pollution by relocating squatters along the Pasig River and its tributaries. So far, Gina seems successful with the relocation efforts, since relocatees are provided with livelihood opportunities.

But at the end of the day, everyone should be conscious of the dangerous consequences in neglecting the environment. People must not only rely on government or concerned private sectors to exert efforts in taking care of the environment for the future of our children. The effort should start from each and every one of us because like a “thief in the night,” death can come. Worse, it can happen to someone dear to us like our own child.

* * *

Email: [email protected]