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IT is
Environment Month and Earth Day is just around the corner.
For once—or on April 22, which is Earth Day—can we do
something for the planet? Each of us can take a moment to
ask ourselves what we have done or contributed to solve
the alarming and inevitable changing environmental
conditions. The Earth is the only one we have.
A morbid
fever
Thirty
years ago, Dr. James Ephraim Lovelock, an environmental
scientist, checked the Earth thoroughly after it was
diagnosed with a morbid fever. There was an aggressively
metastasizing tumor and he biopsied it. Lovelock’s
prognosis is that the planet has 10 years to put its
health act together, or suffer from the irreversible
damage that human abuse has caused.
The fever,
as it were, can last up to as long as 100,000 years. Can
we imagine what would have become of the
3-billion-year-old Earth by then? Can the Earth be too hot
for comfort? Or, would it already be in coma, too deadened
to feel or react to anything?
Revenge of
Gaia
Reflected
in his book, The Revenge of Gaia (Gaia is the Greek
goddess of the Earth), Lovelock makes us realize that
now—right now—we are already past the point of no return.
However, expressing hopefulness, he realized that there is
still something that can be done to save the organism
called Earth.
In the
book, Gaia remains optimistic that anything still alive
has the chance to enjoy even a smidgen of good health in
spite of all the depressing findings in the face of the
reality that because of men’s activities, temperature is
rising abnormally.
As the
warming of the Earth continues and the terminal illness
grips Gaia, the Earth is still breathing.
Global
warming
Humans
could only care less if aerosol- and carbon-emitting
actions contaminate the atmosphere.
As of
2007, according to the United Nations Development Program
Human Development Report, carbon-dioxide emissions
worldwide were measured at some 27.3 metric tons. The US
and China topped other countries with 22.2-percent and
18.4-percent fuel emissions, respectively. The Philippines
had 0.3-percent fuel emissions.
Climate
change, according to the report, defines development
change. No country will be spared from damaging setbacks
nor be immune to the impact of global warming.
While it
is true that these kinds of pollution reduce global
warming by temporarily blocking off direct sunlight, when
it disperses, men become directly exposed to hazardous
ultraviolet rays.
The
cooling effect is fleeting. Most of the time, it is
sweltering. This “fool’s climate” has catastrophic
consequences.
Imagine
the ice in the Arctic regions as fast melting. That leaves
poor polar bears and other animals that thrive in colder
habitat to face the inevitable: extinction. Climate change
has triggered a tsunami in Southeast Asia, killing
thousands. A hurricane as damaging as Katrina left
New Orleans
and neighboring states cut off from the rest of the most
developed regions of the world. And right here, tropical
Typhoon Milenyo swept most part of
Luzon with extraordinarily howling winds. Elsewhere, sea level is
rising, heat waves are more intense, droughts are the
world over, and wildfires are frequent.
The
Philippine climate has gone haywire these past years. We
experience either drought or too much rain. But just the
same, water reservoirs are often in the critical level.
Climate-change scenarios destroy opportunity and reinforce
inequality, the report added. It is a fact.
Inconveniently true
If we
remain apathetic to this environmental reality and
continue to abuse Planet Earth not only in emissions that
damage the environment but more so in logging, mining and
unplanned industrial developments, what will become of the
human race at the turn of the century?
“Climate
change,” according to Nature Magazine, “could result in
the extinction of more than a million terrestrial species
in the next 50 years.” This could include man, if we are
not vigilant.
Watching
former US Vice President Al Gore’s The Inconvenient
Truth documentary definitely sends shivers down one’s
spine.
“Each
passing day brings yet more evidence that we are facing a
planetary emergency, a climate crisis that demands
immediate attention,” says Gore, rallying those concerned
to act fearlessly, immediately and with prudence before it
is too late.
Greening
the Earth: The ultimate remedy
ONLY men’s
concerted efforts can make a difference in finding an
ultimate remedy to save Planet Earth from further
environmental degradation and relentless abuse. Global
warming is for real and exists.
Until
Hurricane Katrina, the US was not paying too much
attention to global warming. The rest of the world was
already taking concrete actions and preparing for its
impact. The Netherlands was one of the first to act and
set up the strongest flood defenses; it is still exerting
more efforts to make these stronger.
Just in
time for last year’s Environment Month, Time Magazine came
out with a special issue with the cover story “The Global
Warming Survival Guide,” among other environment-related
articles. Mark Hertsgaard’s “On the Front Lines of Climate
Change” cited flood and coastal-defense management efforts
of developed countries like
Britain,
Finland, France and Spain. Even Bangladesh has taken
action.
Meanwhile,
having learned its bitter lesson, the US is working on the
post-Katrina New Orleans to make it one of the safest
coastal cities in the world.
Making a
difference
While Gore
rocked the world with his Inconvenient Truth
documentary on the Planet Earth’s morbid-fever dilemma,
Time claims the planet is “trashing through the
alternating chills and night sweats of a serious illness.”
The
magazine article “51 Things You Can Do To Make a
Difference” enumerates simple tips for all to contribute
to avert global warming. The Earth, which is 3 billion
years old, must be kept healthy and fit to live in. The
grave illness gripping the planet may allow it to live
another 100,000 years. We will only be too anxious to
conjecture as to the condition of the Earth then. Humanity
and living things must have been wiped out long before
that time.
While we
look at the certainty that we will all be responsible for
the Earth and suffer the consequences, we cannot discount
the possibility that massive or community action can make
the difference.
The
survival guide
According
to the Human Development Report, countries of the world
lack neither financial resources nor the technological
capabilities to move others to action. “What is missing is
a sense of urgency, human solidarity and collective
interest” to address the problem.
The report
succinctly argues that climate change poses challenges at
many levels. All people of various influences and
preferences must confront the actual issue of managing the
environment of the one thing we all have in common: Planet
Earth.
Deep and
immediate cuts in greenhouse-gas emissions must be
initiated now.
Time’s
down-to-earth guides offer ideas of how each of us can
help save Planet Earth. Some may find the suggestions
ridiculous but, on the whole, each one sets a direction.
Tip No. 26
is as simple as “Plant a Bamboo [Fence].”
Great
difference
Indeed, as
contributor Maryanne Murray Buechner has written among the
51 tips, bamboo makes a beautiful and convenient fence
because it grows fast.
As plain
as the tips may seem for making a difference, planting
only as much as your lot can accommodate cannot
dramatically reduce CO2 in the community. But for sure,
bamboo will serve its use as a carbon sink for the lot
owner. In the long run, a seemingly negligible percentage
of carbon emissions that a clump of bamboo in your yard
can sequester will make a great difference.
Rotary
initiative
With
shared vision to save and preserve Planet Earth, the
challenge promptly and collectively undertaken by an
entire human community matters a great deal.
Rotary is
one of the civic organizations moving its members to act
in saving the planet on a long term.
In 1917
Arch C. Klump, Rotary International (RI) sixth president
and founder of the RI Foundation, had in mind the future
of next generations. In establishing the foundation, Klump
envisioned: “We should think in terms of years and
generations. Rotary is a movement for centuries.”
At the
forefront of the bandwagon, Rotary positions itself with
major and long-term environmental projects through
stewardship of Planet Earth.
The Rotary
Club of Makati Central (RCMC) under District 3830 forwards
bamboo advocacy for the future generation. RCMC has tapped
government agencies, local government units, private
groups, the academic community, chambers of commerce and
other Rotary clubs to sustain this endeavor to plant and
propagate bamboo.
On April
26 and 27, approximately 1,000 cyclists will bike around
Laguna de Bay for the biggest situation-awareness campaign
dubbed “Save Laguna Lake Bike Caravan.” Laguna Lake
Development Authority (LLDA) and RCMC hope this will be a
continuing project, a small contribution to save Planet
Earth.
Why
bamboo?
PLANET
Earth is in peril and mankind must act fast. The solution
is to make it green again.
Our
forests are denuded and watersheds are barren, causing
massive floodings. Half of the Philippines’ 30,000,000
hectares are identified as forest areas and, of these,
1,382,881 hectares are proclaimed watershed reserves.
However, as we see it, most of our forests need to be
replanted now, or else....
But trees
will take 10 to 20 years to mature. Why not plant bamboo?
Without doubt, bamboo is the fastest means to regreen our
forests, as affirmed by Dr. Romualdo Sta. Ana, president
of the Philippine Bamboo Federation. Then-Environment
Secretary Angelo Reyes had the foresight to integrate
bamboo in the country’s reforestation program as a
substitute to timber.
Bamboo,
which, by the way, is not a tree but a giant grass, can
grow to as fast as four feet a day, reach its full height
in about two months, and fully matures in four to five
years. Some 1,500 varieties of bamboo grow naturally in
temperate climates. Bamboo propagation requires very
little maintenance, attention and capital.
The grass
of hope
More than
5,000 uses of the different parts of bamboo directly
benefit people from Asia, Africa and South America.
In China
alone, the production value of bamboo has contributed some
$6.4 billion to the government coffers in 2005 and $950
million for the same year in product export. The great
value of bamboo was studied and validated by the
International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBaR), a
35-country organization based in Beijing that promotes
sustainable bamboo development for livelihood and
environmental protection.
Often
ignored and given little importance, bamboo is the most
available abundant resource in the countryside, he said.
Income can
be derived from all the parts of bamboo in lesser time, as
multiple harvests a year can be made from the second up to
its 120th year. Imagine how many generations can benefit
from one bamboo plant.
Various
parts—from the roots to the leaves to the tip—can be used
as building materials with the strength of steel, weapons
(first rocket was a bamboo tube stuffed with gunpowder),
fuel, furniture, writing and musical instruments, food,
clothing, and medical and cosmetic products, among others.
Because
bamboo planting does not harm the soil, intercropping of
cash crops is another source of immediate income for the
farmer.
The bamboo
advantage
The
incessant problems gripping mankind are environmental
degradation and global warming as a result of carbon
emissions.
Bamboo is
scientifically proven to be a carbon sequestrator by many
groups. INBaR validates findings that one hectare of
bamboo plantation could seize 12 tons of CO2 in a year. In
fact, as this is being written, a conference, entitled
“Living in a Low-Carbon World,” is being held in London in
response to the looming environmental crisis.
Other
advantages in propagating bamboo are that the plant can
effectively protect riverbanks and hill slopes against
soil erosion. Its root network can spread up to 1,000 sq m
to hold the soil and water, strengthening watershed areas,
and that it is a great substitute for pulp in
paper-making. Bamboo yields six times more cellulose than
pine trees.
Bamboo’s
nutrient-rich shoots contain amino acids, vitamins A, B1
and C, carbohydrates, glucose, phosphorous, potassium and
protein. China’s income from export of bamboo shoots alone
is worth more than $120 million a year.
Other
specific parts of the plant may be produced as
construction and building materials, furniture, décor and
handicrafts, textile, and medicine and cosmetic products.
Byproducts such as sawdust and strips can be manufactured
as fuel, clothing, paper and lumber boards.
Pinoy
ingenuity
Byproducts
of bamboo can be crafted besides the lumber boards. For
instance, natives of Surigao del Sur gained fame and
fortune innovating with various designs of long
surfboards.
A sell-out
and winner in the 2006 International Longboard Surfing
held in Lanusa, Surigao del Sur, the Pinoy ingenuity paid
off. Lanusa is the surfing capital of the country.
The Pinoy
bamboo surfboard is a favorite among Australian and
European surfers.
Who said
bamboo is a poor man’s timber?
Resilient,
beautiful bamboo
For many
years, farmers have been fascinated by forests planted
densely to evergreen bamboo. They look at this as a
peaceful and magical place. As the wind blows, the
flexible bamboo bends gently and without breaking, poles
click and leave a whisper.
Legend has
it that the first Filipino man and woman emerged from a
giant bamboo stalk.
Si Malakas
at si Maganda
are so
named after the significant traits unique in Filipinos.
Displaying strength and resiliency despite adversity and
trials; as well as beauty and grace—like Filipinos, the
bamboo is so described.
Dumaguete
conference
IN
February bamboo-industry stakeholders from all over the
country gathered for a three-day conference in Negros
Oriental to discuss the role of academe in developing the
bamboo industry and the role of bamboo in attaining the
Millennium Development Goals.
Livelihood
and environment topped the plenary agenda. International
groups, like INBaR, which advocated the propagation and
use of bamboo, also gave counsel on the future of bamboo
propagation and end-products.
This 5th
National Conference on Bamboo established a strong
cooperation among stakeholders, industry and
private-sector partners, the government and the media.
They drafted an action plan to assure the implementation
of this collaboration accord.
Beyond
Dumaguete, it is hoped the advocacy to propagate bamboo
will grow even stronger—not just for this country but for
Planet Earth.
• The
author is the general manager of the Laguna Lake
Development Authority and president of the Rotary Club of
Makati Central for RY 2007-08. RCMC is in the forefront of
the Bamboo Advocacy. | 
