Everyday is Earth Day!

 “The earth is not something we inherit from our ancestors. It is what we pass on to our children’s children.”  Yes, this may be a cliché. This quote may be familiar to a lot of people.  Who could not have heard this or read it somewhere?  But have we really contemplated on what it really meant?

The earth day is annually celebrated on April 22. It is intended to inspire people to develop appreciation for the environment and to care for mother earth.   Earth Day was first celebrated in the year 1970 in the United States of America. Over 20 million people participated in this event lead by a United States senator and a popular environmental activist at that time, Gaylord Nelson. Today, the whole world continues to fight the battle Nelson and his colleagues started and this battle has never been easy.

The aim of this celebration is to remind Filipinos to care for the earth on a daily basis. It aims to remind the people to do green acts everyday and not just during earth day. 

 There are lots of ways to celebrate earth day. A simple act of segregating your trash and throwing it in the right place is already an act of giving importance to mother earth. A simple act can lead to something great. “Tiny drops of water can merge to form a river. Regardless of how small a helpful act seems, when pooled together, can become a formidable amount and enable one to accomplish a great deal” Greenacts. Org stated in one of their online articles.

In the end of it all, it really doesn’t matter when we celebrate earth day. What is important is we know in our hearts that we are sincere in doing so. It is not when but how that matters more.  All we need is to take care of the earth and appreciate the beauty of the environment is a sincere heart that truly cares. Let’s make everyday a day for the earth!

              Experience the beauty of nature through these eye-catching photos by Xeph Suarez, a 2nd year Mass Communication Student of Ateneo De Zamboanga University. 

DENR seeks more solid waste management school practices

JANUARY 1, 2012

in ENVIRONMENT

MANILA, Dec. 30 – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) aims to have, in the third national search for eco-friendly and sustainable schools, more of learning institutions' respective solid waste management (SWM) initiatives so there can be additional models which people can either adapt or innovate on to help better handle and reduce the estimated 36,000 tons of garbage generated nationwide daily.

"This search is a very effective way for people to understand the importance of SWM and the environment," said Director Juan Miguel Cuna of DENR-Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) which spearheads the competition.

He raised the point as authorities said indiscriminate garbage dumping in water bodies causes such areas to overflow, contributing to flooding incidents nationwide.

National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC) also reported local level compliance with Republic Act 9003 (Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000) still needs improvement.

Open dumps still exist in almost 64 percent of 1,610 local government units (LGUs) nationwide even if RA 9003 already bans the facilities in favor of sanitary landfills, NSWMC noted.

NSWMC also observed waste segregation, recycling and re-use remain lacking in communities even if RA 9003 promotes such practices.

By holding the search, DENR helps provide exposure to schools' SWM practices so people can learn from these and contribute towards addressing the country's garbage problem.

"Sharing of practices can lead to ripples of change in our society," said DENR Assistant Secretary Corazon Davies.

She believes such change is urgent particularly as experts warned climate change is threatening sustainability of life on the planet.

DENR will spearhead in 2013 the third edition of the search for eco-friendly Philippine schools.

The agency and its partners previously held the search in 2011 and 2009.

Earlier, DENR raised need to sustain conducting the search, believing this project is helping increase public awareness of and action on environmental protection.

"We feel the need to continue this type of project," Cuna said as the agency reported monitoring increasing implementation of environment-related initiatives in schools nationwide.

He re-assured DENR-EMB's technical services so that more Philippine schools can undertake such initiatives.

For the 2011 search, winners in the elementary school category are first placer Iliranan Elementary School (Negros Occidental province), second placer Kibawe Central School (Bukidnon province) and San Mariano Elementary School (Oriental Mindoro province).

In the high school category, the 2011 winners are first placer Camarines Sur National High School (Camarines Sur province), second placer University of San Jose Recoletos High School (Cebu province) and third placer Daniel R. Aguinaldo National High School (Davao City).

The 2011 college category winners are first placer De La Salle University-Dasmariñas (Cavite province), second placer Palawan State University (Palawan province) and Ateneo de Manila University (Quezon City).

DENR-EMB and its partners Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education and Smart Communications recognized such schools for having the best sustainable environment-related initiatives among learning institutions that joined this year's search.

The first batch of eco-friendly schools that emerged as national champions in the search are Penablanca East Central School in Cagayan (elementary category), La Castellana High School in Negros Occidental province (high school category) and Palawan State University in Palawan province (college category). (PNA) LAP/CJT/utb

source : http://bayanihan.org/2012/01/01/denr-seeks-more-solid-waste-management-school-practices/

  I Was Dreaming!!

© Surega Rajan

It Was Beautiful

It was Green and Clean.

The smell of Fresh Air

The sound of the river flowing

I love everything happening there.

I pinched myself to see if it was real.

That was when I realized I was dreaming.

Couldn't it be real!

Now all wasted.

The color is just awful.

The smell of pollution is killing me

The sound of traffic is giving me a headache.

I wanted my perfect dream to come through.

But again, I was dreaming!

Source: I Was Dreaming!!, Environment Poem http://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/i-was-dreaming#ixzz1iaHZmOrX 

Family Friend Poems 

       Look Outside

© Josie Greveling

Look Outside, see the trees

Watch the flowers in the breeze

Things won't be like this in a year or two

If polluting is all we do

Seize the night

Seize the day

Things won't always be this way

Thousands of people are dying

In the night you hear children crying

Let's stop the war

Our people are sore

The world can't help itself

Who cares about your wealth

Help me to help you

Show the world what you can do.

Source: Pollution, Look Outside, Environment Poem http://www.familyfriendpoems.com/poem/if-polluting-is-all-we-do#ixzz1iaH3wMdx 

Family Friend Poems