MANILA, Philippines - For the past month we have been witness to the awesome power of nature and our inadequacies and failures in addressing environmental issues. This is most evident in the damage wreaked on Metro Manila and the surrounding provinces by Bagyo Ondoy, and the damage to Northern Luzon by Bagyo Pepeng.
The concerned citizens of the Philippines should now speak up and take charge of our communities in addressing this most urgent of matters. In this tragedy we have seen the best of the Filipino people rise in unison for a greater purpose, just as they united after the deaths of President Corazon Aquino and Bro. Ed Manalo of the INC. Now we must once again rise up and unite to change the very fabric of society, lest we wait in denial for nature to once again wreak havoc upon our country.
A green agenda philippines: Now!
The single most important issue the human race is facing is its own extinction due to effects created by the damage of our natural environment. From pollution to the degradation and loss of natural resources, such practices risk the very survival of our people. And if we do not address these concerns immediately, we will face the greater effects of global warming, the shrinking of resources (famine), wars over food and water, diseases brought by pollution, mutations, and much more.
No government — not even the United Nations — can address this problem with its long-term, large-scale impact, unless whole populations take the initiative and undo the damage to save ourselves.
Today, we ordinary Filipino citizens can no longer deny that our environment is unstable due to human disregard, and now threatens the lives of all sectors of society. In this realization, we must take matters into our own hands for a truly community-based social-environment peace revolution.
This revolution starts now, with the 10 Million Movement, initiated by the Earth Day Network Philippines as an online petition for people to signal their participation in the environmental awareness movement.
In this re-launching of the 10 Million Movement, we seek to create a network of people and communities that will reclaim their stewardship of the planet and actively work to create a Green Philippines. And we, the Filipino people, will become co-creators of a world that we will truly want to live in, through the process of self-empowerment and collective action.
From this network, we seek to build a new society that breaks the old paradigms of neglect, abuse and conflict, and create a green agenda that revolves around a humanist national community with a sustainable socio-economic culture.
Now we urge you not just to sign up for the 10 Million Movement but to also take that great step towards a green Philippines and in the future, a 90 million-strong Filipino green revolution by 2012.
So add your signature to start living the green life: please sign up at http://10mmovement.ning.com.
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For more inquiries on joining in and making a change, send e-mails to Prof. John Paul Olivares at lakan70@hotmail.com.