My whole body is still aching due to my lone adventure yesterday. I walked from Katipunan to Project 2 through Xavierville. One third of the journey I was submerged in 4.5-5.5 feet of murky water. Can't get over it. I remember distinguishing between water, mud and crude oil as I was trudging through the deeper parts of the flooded street, holding on to the grilled fences of houses along the way, hoping to at least elevate myself. When the current became stronger and the water get deeper, I stopped at the middle of the sea and a manong came to help me carry my things. Otherwise, I would have drowned or have stayed there till God knows when...ALONE.
We were at least lucky that our spot here in QC is high enough for the water to reach. The streets not so far from here are all flooded. But the hassle and frazzle that this typhoon has brought upon us is no big joke. I have a few friends who woke up with all their appliances and furniture floating up to the second storeys of their houses. My co-teahcers at Mapua slept inside the campus. I was not able to attend my meeting. I am scheduled to visit my Grandma at Filinvest Antipolo today but it was not possible; Marcos highway is a disaster. My phone is not working yet and my students' school papers are soaking wet.
I don't want to make this a rundown of my personal calamity-related rants. But the thing is, these are all not normal. Everyone are all pointing to that synthetic phenomenon called Global Warming/Climate change... We are being accused that we are all suffering for our incessant desire for civilization that ruined the planet. Before the flood, the bell was rung like hell to save mother Earth. They called for...
energy conservation.
water conservation.
reforestation.
recycle-ation.
SM greenbag-ation.
woe to our salvation!
That is not the point. The real point is to find the main culprit. There are like a hundred companies "chimney"-ing industrial smoke more than all the population of the world's cigarette smokes put together. There are more mining companies spilling out poisonous chemicals in the world's main water sources more than all those homeless people shitting on their shanties straight to the rivers in third world and even capitalist countries put together. There are a lot of government institutions who have let illegal loggers do away with their activities and all that jazz.
I am more than willing to use green bags, conserve water, and turn off my faucets, dvd player and flourescent bulbs. But it can only do much. The people can only do so much. Find the culprit, and uproot the root of the problem. The people have lived long enough under the bridges, under the yoke of poverty. Let us just hope that some people out there would be willing to let go just SOME of their profits for the sake of humanity. That would be more effective than all of our little efforts put together, than all of our efforts facing the effects and not the cause.
"Actions should be measured by their effect on the greater good of the world, not the consequences for the individual." - David Hume
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Post ko ito kahapon. Ngayon, mas marami pa akong nakikitang mga maling kaganapan. Parang hirap na hirap sa rescue operations ng gobyerno. Hindi handa ang gobyerno sa pagharap sa kalamidad. Kulang sa mga rubber boats, at maraming mga lugar ang hindi matunton ng rescue operations.
Totoo ngang may climate change. Pero sapat na ba ang ulan na naganap kahapon para makapagdulot ng ganitong uri ng baha? Well, anong dam ang binuksan na wala man lang patumanggang pasabihan ang mga tao na maghanda!?
Wala lang.
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