A looming crisis
Nobody wants to get dehydrated.
‘Dry spell’ is threatening the country. The news says that water levels on major reservoirs have gone down at critical levels. This has brought unfavorable effects to the people especially those living in the Metro and the nearby provinces.
The impact of this unexpected situation has been already felt by the people. This is primarily manifested through the water and power shortages in many areas within and beyond the metropolis.
This condition is bizarre. It is weird that we are still experiencing hot weather whereas the season now is supposed to be rainy. Even the typhoons that were predicted previously show no sign of entering the country’s vicinity. It seems that a bad omen looms over the country.
However, I could say that this phenomenon is not actually new. Metro
Warnings regarding shortages of water and electricity are given by the government through media. Newspapers and TV ads are now flooded with reminders about water conservation. Also, the government is trying its best to do some preventive measures to obstruct more serious effects that this might pose in the future. For instance, cloud seeding operations have been executed to at least add up to the existing low water levels in the water reservoirs. At these points, I could say that the government has not failed to do its job.
The ways that the government is currently undertaking has no assurance to fully solve this problem if the climate condition persists. The question now is, ‘how responsive are the citizenry with the issue?’
It just happened that the present context is different from that of the past. But the issue is still the same – we are experiencing water (and power) shortage. We could not just put all the blame to the government. Or even attribute this problem to the unexpected changing climate condition. Have the people done something to contribute for a solution or are we making the situation more problematic?
It seems that one occurrence is not enough to wake our senses. Now that we are in the state of water crisis, the need to do something is just coming out of our minds.
At some points, crises are really good stimulants. Both the government and the citizenry learn so much from it. Actions become visible at serious times like this. The reality behind the implementation of many of our laws and policies is one concrete testimony. They are mostly event-reactive.
I guess nobody would want to experience more beyond this water crisis. We should count every experience in the past and get rid of the bad ones. We should not wait until we feel the thirst before we realize the need for water. —
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