Global Warming -- Who's to Blame?

Joan Narvaez
2004-36564

       I think it was just about a year or two when I first realized through observation that the climate is not the same as it used to be. I wasn’t alarmed. It just weirded me out, since, to tell you honestly, I was not that aware of climate change and global warming issues then. Or maybe I just didn’t care. But that was before. I see things now much differently. Going back to what I have observed, it was mostly change in the rainy season. It seems that it came earlier than expected, and lasted much longer than it should have. Just this summer, I remember myself going home from my summer job under a very heavy storm. It was a hassle. That was in April, and I thought, isn’t it supposed to be, well, summer? It’s November now, and we can see that it still rains much often. From what I remember during the earlier days, it doesn’t usually rain during the “ber” months. It’s just cold. But I can see that that’s not the case anymore. Though, in between the rainy days are also hot days. It’s confusing, really, but I can just conclude that the seasons have changed their usual patterns. Observing the weather for a day, I also see a difference at present. It’s just unnaturally much hotter than before. For some days, I can also experience the extremes—very cold at night, and too hot during the day. For this year, particularly, there has been this frequent pattern where it rains at night until early morning, then it becomes very very hot at noon, then rains again at night. It’s just… unusual, and occurred almost frequently. It is undeniable that there really is a change in our climate, not only in the Philippines, but also throughout the globe. Global warming has been vastly creating a chaos in our world. And as nature turns its back on us, can we take the blame for this?

       Watching these two documentaries on global warming and its effects truly opened my mind on the problem that the world is facing right now. I feel like I’m carrying the world at my back, as they say. That’s how heavy it feels. I felt guilty that I was not aware of this very big of an issue before; I didn’t care then. And thinking about the future—it’s scary. Because, honestly, it’s very hard to trust the common people anymore. There’s just too many who shrug these issues away. There’s just too many who don’t care. And there’s too much who just don’t know.

       It’s not just the “heating” of the earth that happens, as most of us would think what global warming is. This phenomenon won’t just irritate us as it increases the global average temperature by 1o. What I learned is that this “warming” has side effects; too much that the population may not be able to handle them. This temperature increase has been wildly affecting our vegetation, the oceans, lands and the people. Lesser crops are harvested. Some trees bear fruit later than expected. Ice caps in different parts of the world are melting. The oceans rise. Corals are bleaching. Hurricanes, storms and typhoons have been stronger and much destructive. Abrupt flooding in low areas occurs; at the same time that drought is experienced in other areas. Diseases have been spreading. In other words—it has bad effects on everything, and we are the ones who will suffer in the end. What have we done to deserve this?

       The same effects are happening all over the world—you can see this from the seen documentaries by Al Gore and GMA News and the Current Affairs. The difference I saw, however, is how each country perceives this phenomenon. For the United States, it is a political issue as it is a social one. That is maybe because the USA is one of the leading countries in the world, in whichever aspect, so they feel obligated in helping solve this issue. And maybe adding to that the fact that this country has been the worst contributor to the problem, as they also claim. Politicians’ campaigns on this issue have been very strong. For the Philippines, it is not much of a political issue, mainly social, but it is also being considered as a moral issue, as mentioned in the short film. Who really is responsible, then? We may not be able to answer that in particular. Nevertheless, every single one must act to take this back.
Yes, I do believe that we are truly to blame to what has happened to the earth. We, I mean, the people in general. It is not because of our improving technology, but because of our habits, how we took the consequences of our technology for granted. It doesn’t matter whether we are from the United States, Japan, European Union or Russia, who are the top contributors to global warming; or from the Philippines, India, or other relatively small countries. We are all suffering from this now, and somehow every country and every person has had contributed to this. But at this point in time, does it matter who to blame? I know you know the answer to this. As we accept this fact of what our existence and search for ease of survival has done to our habitat, we can’t just go to the corner of the room and wait for the destruction. We need to stand up and do our responsibility—and right our wrongs. It’s not yet too late.

       Global Warming is a problem, so big, that made me question myself, “How can I help solve this problem?” This is not a joke, because it is not just my life, my future, nor my future family’s existence which is at risk here, but the world’s. This is the world we’re talking about here. I thought, if I did the things to help ease global warming, will that be enough? Just thinking about the other people out there who don’t know, who don’t care…will one person’s efforts be enough?
A professor of mine once said, that as humans grow older, we seem to forget the simplest and good things that were once taught to us when we were young. Like elementary arithmetic, as she said. Or being polite, as I thought. Or just simply throwing trash in the proper places, not picking up flowers, recycling, planting trees, turning off the lights when not in use, conserving energy… Or even praying. It’s an awful truth.

       We must reflect back on the simple lives we used to have before. We must think how we lived simply and survive then. We must be strong enough to get a few steps back on how we live now, and change the life patterns we have been accustomed to. This is a worldwide problem, and so the solution must also be worldwide efforts. No, a single person’s efforts will not be enough. Not unless he knows that the others also know the problem and are doing a way to help solve this. As students, we may think that we cannot do something about this, and that is definitely wrong. I am personally starting my campaigns and acts now. As and engineer-to-be, I think more on how much I can help in this issue as I become a professional, as I can have a say in the society—and I can’t wait.

       These two documentaries have the same main point: for the people to know…and for each one to act accordingly. Move now. We have lives ahead of us to save.