Reducing carbon footprints: A New Year's resolution

This year, 2009, in Copenhagen, member countries of the UN must negotiate a new climate deal. Together with the rest of the world, we can avert the tipping point of irreversible climate change.

In Poznan, at the United Nations Climate Change Conference, pursuant to the directive of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to support the move to an 80 percent reduction of greenhouse gases, as suggested by IPCC, Secretary Heherson Alvarez, Presidential Adviser on Global Warming and Climate Change and head of Philippine Delegation to Poznan, called for a climate risk insurance for food production and livelihood systems such as irrigation, croplands, fishponds, fish ports/ wharves and fruit-bearing tree plantations like mango, mangosteen and pomelo through a Multilateral Adaptation Fund out of a carbon levy program being pushed by Switzerland.  

As Secretary Alvarez stressed in a ministerial session of 189 world leaders, “global support for repair and adaptation programs against early brunt of creeping climate change especially for archipelagic and small island states would be a fulfillment of fair play and common humanity passage from Poznan to Copenhagen .”

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for the Philippine government is making a strong policy expanding our vast renewable energy resources and reforestation projects. Congress has just passed the renewable energy and bio-fuel act.

Indeed, all nations must do their part to be a carbon-neutral country. Secretary Alvarez, in his New Year’s message, encourages all citizens to reduce our personal carbon footprint because as he appropriately points out: “The times call for total mobilization of the people in the war against global warming and climate change. Every citizen, young and old can do their share.” 

Alvarez, who has been dubbed by Washington-based Climate Institute president, John Topping as the “Al Gore of the Philippines”, is disseminating a New Year’s list of climate change solutions based from a UNEP-NGO program that has been translated into Pilipino by Professor Tomas Ongoco, a Father Neri Satur Awardee for Environmental Education.

The collective will for survival must be our best New Year’s resolution. These are simple earth-saving things we can do right now to cut our carbon footprints:

1. Kuryente tipirin/ Ilaw ay baguhin/ Kay dali lang gawin.

Change your light bulbs into fluorescent lamps! Turn off unneeded lights. Bring natural sunlight into your home when it is feasible.

2. Kotse’y ipakumpuni o palitan na ito, kung gas ay minumumog, at mapagbuga ng CO₂.

Tune up your car or drive a different car altogether if yours is a gas guzzler. Walk, bike or use public transportation.

3. Ang lamig sa bahay na bigay ng aircon, diba sapat lamang ang bentilador.

Your House should not be too hot, or too cold! Clean vents, close unused vents, and change filters in the vents. Ceiling fan can reduce your cooling costs by more than half.

4. Ang refrigerator ating katakutan. Sa gamit kuryente ay ating rendahan.

Tame the refrigerator energy appetite! Don’t send the thermostat too high. Even one degree will make a big difference.

5. Ang mga appliance na para sa tubig at kuryente ay may mga lyabe ng pampapatipid. Ito ay gamitin.

Big users of energy are your hot water heater, your washer and dryer, and your dishwasher.

6. Magtanim nang magtanim ng mga punong kahoy at pangalagaan ang gubat na baga ng bansa. Tayo’y magtipid sa tubig na pandilig.

Plant trees / help grow and protect community forest parks which are carbon sinks. Water your lawn sparingly or use recycled water to conserve energy.

7. Ikaw ay gumamit ng enerhiyang lunti. Mula sa katas ng mga halaman at ng enerhiyang di nakasisira sa sapot ng ating buhay at kapaligiran.

Buy Green Energy, and invest in green stocks. Encourage use of electricity from renewable sources like solar panels, geothermal and wind power.

8. Isantabi kemikal na pestisidyo na pumupuksa rin ng tao, gamitin ng mga organikong pataba na nagpapalusog sa tao.

Chemical pesticides kill off micro-organisms that keep carbon contained in soil. Use green charcoal, a Philippine substitute to charcoal from burnt wood.

9. Tangkilikin ang recycled na yaring mga produkto. Malaki rin ang katipirang maidudulot po nito.

Buy recycled, you’ll help create a market. Before you buy, check to see if the product or its packaging can be recycled.

10. Maging simple sa pamumuhay, maging mapagtipid tayo. Salot sa buhay ang luho.

Buy less, re-use in creative ways. Join the Earthsavers Movement “Fast for Mother Earth,” and contribute to Pondo Pinoy.