Applauding the western world for sharing with us this way of thinking, I have read books and watched documentaries about sustainability and other related topics. Fascinated about my new passion I started my own awareness campaign through my family, friends and the social media.
When Typhoon Pedring hit Luzon it was very reminiscent of Typhoon Ondoy which experts attribute to climate change. All the more I was interested in the pursuit of carbon mitigation. However, raising awareness level is not enough in solving the problem, I have to raise the accountability level as well. Coincidentally, I watched a documentary about the Chaos Theory where it was mentioned that weather phenomenon doesn't necessarily affect the location from which it has originated from.
It occurred to me that these typhoons may not have been caused by the carbon emissions of our country. However, the catastrophic damages were immense. I had a change of heart and concluded that while environmental and sustainable design is vitally important it cannot outweigh weather-resilient solutions that is urgently needed to potentially save Filipino lives.
With annual recurring typhoons in our country, and probably wouldn't be over anytime soon, I think it would be more cost effective if the government will allocate more resources in preventive measures in calamity prone areas rather than throwing basic amenities or offering relocation during relief operations. It would even be a social injustice to relocate calamity victims somewhere that food and job security is not guaranteed while giving them just a few thousand pesos to get by.
Going back to the Green philosophy it may have been a conspiracy that developed countries sensitize over us to prioritize a zero-carbon footprint lifestyle because it will help rehabilitate this world that they themselves destroyed, while they already have the resources and preventive solutions, that when disaster strikes it would only do minimal damage to them. A lot of our local projects that are well funded are focused on renewable energy or tree planting to combat climate change. However, these projects take time to mature. We need to take immediate action plans that will dramatically lower our casualty rate during typhoons. There is no excuse for the death of our countrymen.
It is good that we are implementing eco-friendly designs and investing in renewable energy but I think that the most humane thing to do first is to empower Filipinos to climate change adaptability and make it a priority program not only of the government but the whole society. The damage to our environment has been done, calamities will regularly strike, thus, climate change is something that we have to live with. Green architecture would only be a part of the climate change adaptability program in which the design considerations include structures that will be able to withstand calamity re-occurrence, to be able to sustain the basic needs of its inhabitants during calamities like having a rainwater harvesting system for potable water and the rebuilding process, if necessary.
We are living at a time where a lot of community leaders are sprouting nationwide in effort to better our lives. We are very blessed to live in this society that we have the access to all necessary knowledge and we have the capability to make informed decisions to change the course of history. The worst thing to do is do nothing, and as a citizen of this country I am taking personal responsibility and accountability to whatever happens to the society I live in, and if most of us will, it may create lasting positive change in our beloved Philippines.
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