THE SPLENDOR OF GREEN...THE COMFORT OF FRESHNESS

-Boses ni Ina-

My childhood centered in my life at the farm where almost everything is off-colors and styles, simply put “baduy”. In fashion yes, but never in the beauty of nature because I enjoyed the luxury of rivers and creeks, the splendor of green trees which I often climbed, the fragrance of flowers that I often plucked for “love-me-love-me-not”, and the comfort of freshness of the air. I have live in simplicity and austerity, so I tend to know what sustainability is all about. As a mother, I am like a parrot repeating reminders on NOT to leave a light on, keep the faucet running while brushing, and leave unplugged television.   Everything was reused, recycled by giving, and nothing was extravagant, nothing was unnecessary. I learned this sustainability education decades ago, and still goes on and pass on to my kids, not only to save money but to protect our environment in simple ways.

I learned too that little changes can make a big impact. One must never get tired of doing little things because these little things are the big things that initiate and support environmental awareness. Phrases like “going green”, “eco-friendly”, and terms such as “global warming” and “climate change” may seem large scale to you. But there are many ways that you can do to protect the environment with minimal effort that is sure to go a long way. I may not have the basic knowledge on climate change and global warming but here’s the list of my simple, easy ways to contribute in environmental protection through the GREEN approach:

• Go green. Green is the fashion today. Landscape your home, office, surroundings. Plant,plant, plant! Planting is the most potent way of protecting our environmentt. It’s a good deed indeed! Here, you can develop your “going green and eco-friendly attitude. Besides, it’s a win-win situation for everyone.
• Reduce energy. The idea that leaving an appliance in standby mode or a computer on is more efficient than turning it off has become deeply uneconomic myth. Learn to unplugged equipment and switch off unused lights. You may also hang your clothes out on the line instead of putting them in the dryer, ooooppps, if weather permits.
• Enjoy freshness. Appreciate the environment you want to protect by visiting parks, taking nature walks and encouraging family bonding through outdoor picnics. Fall in love with nature!
• Educate kids. Doing good can be a habit. Encourage your kids to go green by saving energy (flipping off lights and unplugging tv, dvd, computer, and electric fans) and reducing water consumption (shutting off faucets when brushing teeth, using basins when washing dishes, and limiting the use of shower spray/faucet). These are just small steps that may endure as they grow. Who knows, our children may turn out to be tomorrow’s environmentalists.
• Ncourage “reuse” and ‘recycle’’. Reuse things that can still be repaired and segregate your trash by putting together things that you can sell in junkyards. This yuletide season, donate old clothings, toys, and other items. Your trash may be someone else’s treasure.

On a larger scale, our country today is facing environmental problems that adversely affect the lives of Filipinos. These issues arose due to lack of understanding and concern about environment. This has led, among other things, to exploitation of natural resources. Remember the impact of “Ondoy”, “Pedring”, “Quiel”, and “Ramon”? The flashfloods and weeklong of floods should remind us that nature always find ways to fight us back to protect itself from destructive human activities. How about the badly disposal of wastes that created air, water and soil pollution? We felt environment’s displeasure too through the global warming and climate change that greatly affected agricultural endeavors due to increasing temperatures in various regions and increasing extremities in weather patterns.

May this serve as a motivational shift to become environmentally aware contributing to protect Mother Earth. Anyway, we are meant to live harmoniously with nature and not to struggle on our interaction with natural resources. Here’s hoping….