Save The Earth

Save The Earth started out with Veronica Chiongbian from the Philippines. The group now has 2 new administrators from different countries all over the world: Kate Anusuriya (Thailand/ Philippines) Evan Luthra (India) The Save the Earth project functions as a non-profit public benefit group dedicated to the expansion of environmental awareness, human and animal rights and social awareness in our society. As a project committed to raising public consciousness, we are optimistic that our work will have a very positive impact on the efforts currently under way to solve our world's problems.  (Read More) var Care2P_Parameters=["http://www.thepetitionsite.com/xml/petitions/129/272/008/feed.rss", "small", "single", "1007", "0", "#7cbb42", "#eb6924", "#c739e"];

[save-theearth]

Clean-Up Of The Cordova, Cebu Oil Spill. Lend a hand. Take the pledge now! http://www.causes.com/actions/1758790-clean-up-of-the-cordova-cebu-oil-spill# …

[save-theearth]

Metro Manila is now again under ORANGE rainfall advisory.| ORANGE means BE ALERT for POSSIBLE EVACUATION. via Red Cross

  [PHILIPPINES] Luzon Flood: Laguna - 8 cities/municipalities Biñan, Cabuyao, San Pedro, Calamba, Sta Rosa, Bae, Sta Maria and Los Baños are under state of calamity. Entire Cavite was declared under state of calamity PAMPANGA - Guagua, Macasantol and Macabebe are now declared under state of calamity.

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Basic health care services should be a RIGHT and not a privilege. Get to know more about Project LAAN by liking this page! Share what you have to the countless Filipino families in NEED. Like this page NOW!

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From 2 men randomly jumping on a group of friends for no apparent reason, a security guard running for his life, to someone getting shot.  Ryan made it out alive after the incident but lost the battle to hang on to his life last April 1, 2012 due to toxins in his body. (More info on what happened that night, here) If there’s anything you can do to help, please do. The family needs it desperately. Donations are also accepted. You can drop it off the CAFA Building, USC-TC or contact the author of the note above (Benz Cruz). Thank you and I hope someone will do something about this. With “security” like that, it can happen to anyone.

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Help celebrate Earth Hour on March 31st by doing a small gesture. Turn your lights off at 8:30pm. Give the Earth a chance to breath.

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Muslims against terrorism.

“If anyone harms (others), God will harm him, and if anyone shows hostility to others, God will show hostility to him.” - Sunan of Abu-Dawood, Hadith 1625.

In Islam, Muslims are not allowed to kill innocent human beings. They are only allowed to fight back, those who fight them first. And I repeat fight back, those who fight them first. 

It can be summarized like this:

No killing of women, children or innocents - these might include hermits, monks or other religious leaders who were noncombatants;

No wanton killing of livestock or other animals;

No burning or destruction of trees and orchards; and

No destruction of wells.

Please forget about all the misconceptions you have about Islam. Ask an actual muslim about Islam instead of taking your knowledge from Islamophobic sources. If you really want to know how a muslim is supposed to lead a war, then read the free PDF file called “Islamic rulings on warfare”. You’ll understand everything much better. Terrorism, hostage taking, attacking non-muslims first, killing innocent human beings, killing animals for the fun of it, torturing any creature etc. is forbidden. Check out this website called Answering-Extremism. 

Don’t judge a religion based on it’s followers. It’s not religion that motivates these awful actions, but hate. Islam is perfect but muslims are not. If you really want to know who Muslims are supposed to follow & be like, then please watch this video, it’ll mend your heart:The Mercy of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) - Bilal Assad.

Here are also some wonderful websites that refute misconceptions about Islam: Almost all misconceptions, the 10 most common misconceptions about Islam, Islam & Tolerance & Top 10 Misconceptions About Islam.

Remember that every single religion has it’s extremists & misguided followers, Islam is unfortunately no exception.

If you’re not Muslim, please take a second to read this. Even if you might have doubts about something in our religion, just read this or ask someone! We’re nice people, I swear.

[save-theearth]

PollutiOFF

[save-theearth]

Whale Sharks in Oslob, Cebu PH: Grooming a disaster?

It’s been 24 hours since I left Cebu to swim, observe and learn about whale sharks in their area. The experience was very different compared to the last time I swam with a whale shark 6 months ago in the nearby province of Bohol when I was helping this NGO establish whale shark research in the area for the next season. Bohol was once thriving with whale sharks decades ago but the population starts to dwindle in the early 1990s because of excessive hunting. When the national law was passed in 1998 that prohibit catching, killing and selling them, sightings of whale sharks have started to rise not only in Bohol but in other areas of the Philippines as well. The success of the whale shark ecotourism in Donsol, Sorsogon prompted other areas to dwell into this kind of income-generating activity for their municipality. The latest one that jumped to this opportunity is this town south of Cebu.

Word spreads quickly that this town is offering a swim with whale sharks to tourists. What makes this different with other places in the Philippines offering this tourism activity is that they feed the whale sharks with “uyap” (small shrimps). While vertical feeding, tourist flock around these whale sharks to see them, feed them, photographed with them or just be amazed with their huge-ness. Only with its initial implementation, a lot of comments and disgusts have been posted in the newspaper and social networking sites on the conduct of their tourism activity. I received several emails and tagged comments about this and surely needed more information on how this came about. And as if the universe conspires for things that need to happen, it cuts my trip in Cagayan de Oro and led me to this town in Cebu to investigate the whale sharks in cooperation with a television network.

The first day was exhilarating as it was easy for me to do my photo-identification research in clear blue water with my subjects doing vertical stance for quite some time gulping for the every instance of food being thrown directly to their mouth. As I moved from one shark to another, I felt the excitement die down. Where is the thrill of swimming along side with them? Is this really how they should behave? These are just some of the questions that popped into my head at that moment and I know that the succeeding days would be allotted in finding answers to most of my questions.

In order for this tourism activity to be sustainable and beneficial in the long run, it needs to consider three factors namely the social, economic and environmental aspects. Would this activity be able to sustain itself without posting any risks to the environment so that the future generation would be able to enjoy the same resource? It will only be possible if we try to find a way to learn more about it so that we could manage it properly. Here are some of the issues and observations on the three aspects that I noticed while I was in the area.

Environmental aspect

Feeding the whale sharks is one of the most common complaints of tourists (mostly environmentalists) on the practice in this town in Cebu. While it is understandable that humans have the compassion to try to feed the ones that are hungry, it is sometimes that this good-natured intentions would do more bad than good in the situation. In the case of whale sharks in Cebu, the practice had led to a change in behavior of these creatures which may be detrimental to their population. The whale sharks tend to associate the presence of these boats with food. Our little experiment had shown that they quickly appear when boats started to show in the area. I’ve seen some instance that they would approach the boat and nudge them slightly as if begging for food. While begging is not an acceptable behavior it is also on these behavior that whale sharks gets scratches from hitting the boat and outriggers (I’ve seen a lot of scratches on the head part with evidence of paint). That begging behavior may pose a threat if they do it somewhere else. That behavior may be thought as other fishermen in other parts of the Philippines as an aggressive behavior and might be the reason for them to be hit by these unfamiliar fishermen or on the worst case, fishermen may have an easier chance to kill them for food (some remote coastal areas in the Philippines still doesn’t know about whale sharks and the law regarding them). The feeding practice also teaches the whale sharks to be lazy and may not have the ability to find for their own food and just rely to the ones given by humans. What if the humans run out of food to give these whale sharks? If they get accustomed to this, they might die from starvation. And I wonder and got concerned when we can’t get out because of the typhoon Sendong and I’ve been seeing the tails of the whale shark above the shallow waters. What if the typhoon lasted for days and the fishermen can not get out to feed them? The threat of the whale shark being always in the shallow waters frightens me as the strong ocean current and waves might push them more inshore and get stranded.  Their continued presence in the shallow water may hinder them to fulfill some of their ecosystem and/or life functions in deeper waters. They can dive deeper than 1.5km, they wouldn’t have that capability if it doesn’t have a purpose to their being. If they continue staying on the shallow waters, we are hindering their capability to do maybe important things (i.e. what if they mate at certain depths) … and it makes no difference in putting them in a large aquarium … yet still not enough for these giant creatures. Another observation is that the feeding practices might teach them to be “greedy”. I’ve seen some whale sharks stayed on for hours vertically just gulping every food that is thrown to their mouth. Who knows how much food can a whale shark take in a day? I don’t. But I know there is a limit to everything. If we don’t know the limit, wouldn’t it be safe that they get much less and let them find the remaining needs by themselves rather than getting full and overboard of just one kind of food? Is there a difference between a live "uyap" with a dead "uyap"?What if they have dietary needs not being supplied by the fishermen through the “uyap”? All I know is, it is bad for the health if you are just eating McDonalds and Jollibee everyday … probably the same with the whale sharks. The large volume of dead small shrimps being scattered attracts other fish species as well other than whale sharks. One local diver told me that they had sightings of other fish species normally found in pelagic areas that finds it ways to the area. The implication suggests the shifting of their habitat that may pose a danger to tourists if their presence continues. What if smaller fish that are prey to other dangerous sharks finds its way to the area? Don’t you think the sharks would follow soon after? So far the big mouth mackerel are showing up and who knows what bigger animals comes next. I do hope it is not the dangerous sharks … but the thing is, it may happen. The increasing concentration of “uyap” also increases the presence of small jellyfish that feed on them. I got stung several times during my swim and luckily they are not the poisonous ones and the sting lasts only for a couple of minutes. Yet, I am afraid that the dangerous ones might find its ways there also. As you can see, the feeding does not only affect the whale shark itself but the whole ecosystem as well. The drastic changes may have irreversible effects that we will regret later on.

Studies show that human-whale shark interaction poses a threat to the whale shark exhibiting mostly avoidance and immediate dive behavior. So far, it is not yet evident in Cebu. But caution should be taken into account as Donsol whale sharks tend to get disturbed easily nowadays while in Southern Leyte, sometimes whale sharks doesn’t show the whole year and be seen in the nearby island of Limasawa. The weakness of the existing rules and the lack of system and protocol have led to the non-compliance to the regulations. Enforcement has been a major problem since stakeholders’ responsibilities has not been laid out in the conduct of the tourism. If such practices persist, it would be long that this town in Cebu may experience the other faults of other areas offering the same services. It is sad to learn though that the municipality is focusing more on the topic of establishing fees rather than the smooth operation of the tourism which includes the regulation. These brings us to the next two aspects social and economic aspects.

Social and Economic aspect

I sometimes find it to separate one from the other as both entails humans yet in different magnitude. It is imperative that people in the community will be given a source of livelihood in order to survive. And this source of income will benefit the municipality in a way as part of its economy. While it is not yet established whether this income-generating activity (whale shark interaction) is seasonal or not, I guess we should look into this as an alternative livelihood for now. People should still continue with their fishing. It is obvious that dwelling to whale shark interaction tourism will benefit both these two aspects but for how long can the municipal government sustain this benefit? Are the people ready to face the influx of tourist in the area? Do they have the necessary skills to ensure the smooth operation of the tourism? Will the LGU and/or the fishermen consider the welfare of the whale sharks in their implementation or do they see them as a resource that needs to be exploited? Sometimes lack of awareness and knowledge hinders them to make the right decision. A lot of people in the town does not know about whale sharks and their behavior. They don’t even know how whale shark interaction was even implemented in other areas. Sometimes they only rely on secondary information and easy accessible information that are most of the time unreliable. Some divers and fishermen were lectured about whale sharks and the reason for the regulations (i.e. why it is prohibited to touch them etc.), while the same offer was given to the municipality, I didn’t see the interest for them to learn more about it. It is sad to know that the regulations/implementation set up for the tourism does not involve public participation and consultation especially the fishermen. In a community where one sector does not have a voice, any activity that concerns them would become a failure if they are not represented properly.

Sustainability

This is such a difficult task to attain knowing the ever changing condition of each aspect. However, it is not possible more so if the governance is strong in the area. Without the baseline of the existing resource in the area, it is necessary to employ the precautionary principle in making decision for the moment. We do not assume that it is OK for the whale sharks to eat “uyap” everyday or assume it is OK to touch them regularly like a dog or assuming that it is OK to let them eat bubbles from scuba divers deceiving them that those are food but in reality just air or assume that it is OK for them to stay in the shallow waters for a long time. The more assumptions that we will have, the more likely that it would be a failure … and it will just be a matter of time that we will feel the effects of our actions. If we take into consideration the natural way of things, whale sharks that supposedly evolved in the era of dinosaurs was able to withstand several climate changes without human intervention and live for a hundred or years or more. One such act of human intervention (i.e. feeding) whether done with good intention or not might lead to the unfavorable effects on whale shark population. Sometimes we just need common sense for our decision and not wait for science to find answers. If we continue to mess around with our nature, there will surely be another disaster waiting to happen. And don’t tell me that I didn’t warn you. (via Elson Aca, a researcher from WWF Philippines who has since focused on Whale Sharks and is the research coordinator of the Whale Shark Project in Donsol, Sorsogon)

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First photo: A very tired dog was fighting sleepiness, dozing off but fighting very hard not to fall to the dirty, muddy floor.

Second Photo: One of the greatest displays of heroism during the aftermath of Typhoon Sendong.

As a dog-lover, this melts my heart. Even animals need fresh water to drink, food to eat and some blankets to keep them warm! 10,000 people were affected, and who knows how many animals were abandoned. 

WATER SUPPLY HAS BEEN CUT OFF.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE head over to xpsycho.tumblr.com/donation to donate ANY amount at all. Just click donate and enter the amount you like. REBLOG!!!!!

EVEN 1$ HELPS! 1$ = 43 Philippine Pesos.

xpsycho.tumblr.com/donation

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To view proof or results of my food fundraiser, click here xpsycho.tumblr.com/ (It’s the post with a photo of a receipt and some boxes of noodles)

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Smiles don’t wash away. Photos from different places in Cagayan de Oro City, where victims of flash floods share their smiles despite of the situation.

[save-theearth]

Philippines: I just received a message from the people of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan that it would be better to donate food, especially water, rather than clothes. Water is scarce in these affected areas and people are fighting over it. I hope those who are about to donate will look into this. Thank you so much and Merry Christmas! :-)

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(via paololololol)

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:,(

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Prayers for those who were affected by Sendong. 

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Now imagine People Power 3 coz we wanna take the president down for his incompetence? Ironic right lol whatever to you guys. We can do this without you.

[save-theearth]

Filipinos to PNoy and Kris Aquino: WHATEVER!

Kris Aquino: "Ngayon, 'yun namang party ay matagal nang naka-schedule 'yon. Siyempre, may mga masasamang nangyayari at may malungkot but then, life should go on. Hindi naman pwedeng huminto na lang ang buhay at magmukmok na lang tayo." (Now that party was planned and scheduled a long time ago. Of course there are bad things that happen and it's sad and unfortuante but then, life should go on. We shouldn't just stop everything we do in our lives and grieve all the time)

Now Kris, how about those people that have been on your side from the start. You guys go way back. Starting with your dad, then your mom and they voted for your brother as president because they thought he was our source of redemption (obviously not). When your parents passed away, millions of filipino mourned with you and your family and now you can't give the same care and sympathy back to the people who have never left your family's side just because of a stupid party? 

When there is loss, we grieve. That is normal. That is human. I don't know what you are but we are NOT like you, thank goodness. We now know that we can take care of ourselves. Your brother is just an accessory and a sick excuse just to have someone in the country as president. (Story here)

We're doing this with or without an incompetent president. So far, we're doing well without him. So why stop? Don't mind all the drama he and his sisters are causing. Right now, just focus on your brothers and sisters who need your help. This is a good start.  http://www.redcross.org.ph/donatenow

[save-theearth]

Philippines: Cebu City Hall. Press Conference with Mayor Rama

"Abag para CDO and Iligan" will start tomorrow. this is in cooperation with McDonalds.

A JCI collections site for donations will be set up @ Mcdonalds Jones branch tomorrow.

On Friday Dec.23 will be the first batch of collection, all JCI members are encouraged to give out your donations in cash or in kind at our JCI booth which will be at Mcdonalds, Jones branch (parking area).

All the collected goods will be gathered and a hand over ceremony to Cebu City will take place with Mayor Rama.

Also on Dec.30, 2011, (friday), we are working on joint project "A concert for a cause. This is also in cooperation with Cebu City Office and McDonalds. Updates will be posted.

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MANILA, Philippines – The death toll from tropical storm “Sendong” (international name: Washi) has breached the 600 mark, government data showed.

As of 12 noon Monday, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said it has counted a total of 632 fatalities, mostly from the hardest hit areas of Cagayan de Oro City and Iligan City in Region 10.

In Region 10 alone, the NDRRMC has recorded a total of 580 fatalities. Officials said 84 bodies have yet to be identified and claimed by their relatives.

The NDRRMC said search and retrieval operations continue to find more bodies after the floods.

The agency noted that the number of missing persons went down to 82 from 260.

In Cagayan de Oro City, 30,403 individuals are now staying in 19 evacuation centers, while in Iligan, there are 9,640 individuals in 15 centers.

Mass burial

The NDRRMC and several local governments are eyeing mass burials for the bodies of flood victims, saying the stench of decomposing bodies could affect the residents’ health.

The local government of Cagayan de Oro, meanwhile, has distributed materials such as plywood and nails to residents with deceased relatives so they can construct makeshift coffins.

Funeral parlors were not able to accommodate the massive number of bodies being brought to them. Even cadaver bags have run out, forcing some residents to cover the bodies with sacks and cloth.

Health Secretary Enrique Ona suggested that the bodies be placed inside freezers. He also said any mass burial must be conducted properly so the bodies will be easily identified in the future.

Damaged structures

Rescue and relief operations were also hampered as several roads and bridges remain impassable.

In Negros Oriental, Amlan and Tanjay bridges, and a steel bridge in Valencia remain impassable to any type of vehicle.

Meanwhile, in Cagayan de Oro City, a clearing operation is underway for the Mangalay Bridge. The Mandulog Bridge I, on the other hand, has remained impassable.

Landslides have also rendered several roads in Apayao impassable.

Presidential visit

President Aquino is set to visit Cagayan de Oro and Iligan City on Tuesday, December 20.

Aquino earlier ordered a review of the government's disaster response amid the high number of casualties from the tropical storm.

The President wants a more accurate weather tracking system so areas in the path of a typhoon will have enough time to prepare.

"We should come with a system that has a stronger warning system in the local government units to mitigate disaster," Aquino had said. - with dzMM

Source: ABS-CBN