GREENPEACE Joins F5

A convocation for the joint commemoration of the founding anniversary of the five colleges in the Polytechnic University of the Philippines with the theme "F5: Propagating A Global Concern for the Environment" was held at the PUP gym on February 6, 2009 with Executive Director Von Hernandez of GREENPEACE South East Asia, an international environmental organization committed to saving Mother Earth from destruction, as the guest speaker.

It was attended by hundreds of students as well as the F5 deans: Dr. Nenita F. Buan of the College of Arts; Dr. Dominador L. Gamboa of the College of Business; Prof. Rosita E. Canlas of the College of Computer Management and Information Technology; Dr. Corazon P. San Juan of the College of Languages and Linguistics; and Dr. Liceria D. Lorenzo of the College of Office Administration and Business Teacher Education.

The event was a part of the F5's joint celebration of their founding anniversary to minimize too much disruption of classes should the commemoration he held one after the other. The F5's activities have started on February 2 with a flag raising ceremony followed by different activities held in the respective areas of the different colleges.

In the speech delivered by Exec. Dir. Hernandez, he talked about toxic pollution and climate change that the world is experiencing right now. He said that the planet earth is like a spaceship and we are the passengers. He also compared the earth to a bus running at full speed towards a concrete wall. "That is the present condition of the earth; moving very fast towards its destruction because man does not know how to protect the environment or simply does not care," Von explained.

He further said that modern society is sacrificing biodiversity for consumption but our consumption contributes largely to climate change brought about by toxic pollution of our environment. Industries and factories provide man with their necessities and luxuries using fuel that give off toxic waste in the air, water and land; thus destroying the environment and depleting our natural resources. It is said that approximately 760,000 tons of waste daily is produced in Metro Manila and 1.8 million pesos is spent for its waste management; still the problem of pollution remains.

He mentioned that we live in a linear society where the cycle of life is "extraction" from natural resources to make possible "production" of man's needs and luxuries. Next comes "consumption" after which will end in "waste" that definitely needs to be thrown away; so "waste disposal industry" comes in the picture followed by "waste regulation industry" and on and on. Unfortunately, anything taken from nature goes back to nature again in the form of waste which becomes man's biggest problem at present.

Because of this vicious cycle, the world seems to be experiencing an apocalypse now evidenced by the increasing frequency of floods, landslides, drought and extreme weather events. The world hears and reads about the unusual melting of polar caps and shrinking glaciers in the Antartica. This in turn results in rising sea level that is feared to erase lowlands in the future not to mention the shrinking forests and agriculture lands. These are irreversible loss to mankind because of man's mindless destruction of our ecosystem.

He presented an advertisement in the 1990's which aimed to attract foreign investors to the Philippines: To attract companies like yours, we have felled mountains, razed jungles, filled swamps, moved rivers, relocated towns to make it easier for you to do business here. Von looks at the ad as a very serious crime against Mother Nature. "We have only one planet so let us love and conserve its resources because once they are lost, we cannot replenish them anymore. If we go on playing deaf to the call of environmentalists, we will continue experiencing the impact of climate change and global warming which is in the offing. We must not rob our children and grandchildren of the resources and the good life they can possibly enjoy in the future," he admonished the crowd.

GREENPEACE is an international organization that started its campaign against nuclear weapon in Alaska, ships hunting for whales, deforestation, quarrying and policies harmful to the environment. Its campaign is non-stop in seeking for non-violent ways for effecting changes and urging the government not to look the other way so as not to see the evil when wealthy corporations submit policies beneficial to themselves only but harmful to the environment and to mankind.

The convocation ended with the closing remarks of Dr. Corazon P. San Juan, the College of Languages and Linguistics' dean, thanking the audience who listened until the very last number of the program and those who would walk out of the gymnasium wiser, more informed and concerned with the conservation of our Mother Earth.