the politics and geology of climate change, a roundup

strange things are happening. mother nature is acting up.

seemingly though, every government's answer is firefighting. long-term solutions are still at bay. words but no action. promises that remains as such. perfect pitch yet no bite.

speaking of firefighting, the conflagration of the densely droughted forests of australia is both horrifying and regrettable. not only did it burned acres of foliage but claimed lives as well, humans and animals alike (http://tinyurl.com/coapgn). the past years have been marked with similar occurrences from america to greece. will this continue to persist?

the island country of maldives, famous for its pristine beaches and breathtaking geoscapes, is fearing it would be landless soon, should the sea levels continue to rise at unprecedented rate. its current president gears up to find land and relocate his entire country, seriously (http://tinyurl.com/5usvrq). how many more islands will fear its existence? i think the philippine rep to the miss universe will have to seriously consider recalculating the number of islands we will have soon, high tide or low tide.

recently, the red river of the north midwest is experiencing record floodings due to saturated ground and melted snow worsened by rain and snow storms. the looming swelling of the river, though, witnessed a determination of human spirit as residents helped one another in putting sandbags to heighten their dike and protect their properties (http://tinyurl.com/dhuuwk). the good news is that the water level is beginning to mellow a bit.

then the north pole. the meltdown is real and previously impassable straits are beginning to open up (http://tinyurl.com/d82wmy). both astonishing and haunting is this development, are we ready to be accustomed with an iceless north pole? but more than that, the race is on in tapping the vast, oil-rich potential of the arctic. and russia have already, appallingly, dropped the flag in its seabed.

even mountains are wearing out. italy and switzerland consider redrawing their borders with the changing of the landscape of the alps (http://tinyurl.com/cujqyu). will we no longer see mountains but hills?

i don't mean to be a prolific apocalyptic but i am afraid. my generation is afraid. i can only put forth small steps.

blame it on 19th century for the industrial revolution, thus, the continued emission of carbon. blame it on high-yield economics that industries conspire to reap and benefit from mother nature. blame it on all governments for failing to act. blame it on apathy or the lack of urgency.

mother nature is about to make the biggest shift, geologically. she will still persist. but can we?

are we about to witness in shock and awe as she makes this transformation? 

nevertheless, strange things call for meaningful and prompt acts. it maybe tough one but everybody's got to do it. one venue is the copenhagen climate conference. the penguins are watching.

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can one hour affect the climate?

but can one hour make a difference? 

hell, yes!

the coordinated response to the call to vote earth by switching off the lights last march 28 was overwhelming. unprecedented, even. a billiion people were expected to join the switch off by 830 pm local time, the philippines reportedly leading with record participation of 650 communities across the archipelago (http://tinyurl.com/cjeeqp).

familiar monuments and cityscapes are flipping the switch. imagine the eiffel tower of paris, the big ben of london, bird's nest of beijing and the egyptian pyramids, off. the bustling lights of hollywood, hongkong, sydney, off. how would earth look like from outer space at that moment? could be that darkness when we haven't discovered light bulbs and neon lights yet. an interesting wonder.

and yeah, so what?

although the switch off has a minute effect or no effect at all to the continued changing of the climate patterns across the globe, this act is more than a show but a call to all governments to make meaningful and sustainable steps to address the issue of climate change. and it should be done with a matter of priority, of urgency.

and america, being the gargantuan consumer of fossil fuels, and inevitably the leading carbon emitter, must make big steps. abandoning the kyoto protocol was its biggest mistake. sin no more for mother earth, mr. joe. not only america, but china, india, japan, europe are on the watchlist. the copenhagen conference climate (http://tinyurl.com/bq77mj) is pivotal as the world will watch how these governments intend to act on this issue.

we cannot afford a status quo.

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surviving the 5k condura run

after two weeks of ten-lap swimming as my preparation, the day of reckoning beckons. condura run at the fort. and the beneficiaries are my cetacean friends of the deep. the ultimate is 21k. i just cannot fathom the distance. so we stuck it out with 5k.

haven't had a good sleep, or didn't at all. can't tell. must be the espresso the night before.

my stomach is feeling funny. but it recovered with a hotdog sandwich.

with me are friends cum activists for the whale sharks, ivy, gala, jb and cathy.

when i saw the starting line, i already set my eyes on the prize. i will ace this. my whale shark friends will be proud of me.

when the gun broke loose, i started to set my pace. for a few minutes, i was ahead with my friends but not with everybody else. not yet. haha. after a while, i was feeling the fire. outran people with my chin up. i felt powerful, superior, them useless. 

but then weakness got the better of me. i couldn't catch my breath. it felt like i was on life support, panting, breathing heavily. suddenly, i was brisk walking then walking. people now outpace me. and they do that with their chin up. there goes my inferiority complex reeling in.

then i saw the hydration pit stop. the clutter of plastic cups are everywhere. what a shame! these people are forgetting what they pledged for. you synthetic bunch of peanuts! in a fit of aghast, i muttered 'huy, basura mo' when i saw one throwing his consumed cup, like he was running on a dump site. then i zoomed and ran...hehe

pain is good that's why you have to do it. i passed by the quote and it didn't console or inspire me at all. i was so damn tired running, i might get caught by the fellow runner i could've pissed off earlier.

the feeling of a good run is better than sitting wishing you were running. yeah, right. but the road quote might've signalled i'm almost there. then i start to brisk walk and walk again. it felt good. at least it's better than sitting wishing i was running. a few minutes later ivy and gala caught me pacing like in a trance.

hopes are getting high that this will be over soon when i saw serendra. then i saw the big 'start' banner. weeeeh! i forgot to see the clock. but i surmised we did a good 20 minutes of run and walk and pace. but it surely is a run overall. by the way, jb was ahead of us, said he managed 16 minutes. and cathy was in 3k.

apparently, i was on a delirious fit in acing 5k, imagining myself breaking the finish line first with arms wide open...haha but the certificate handed to me was an achievement enough. that i survived my first run for a cause.

p.s. my other site is savethebutanding.multiply.com. it fits the bill...hehe happy!

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the dichotomy of nicole

"i can’t help but entertain doubts on whether the sequence of events in subic in november of 2005 really occurred the way the court found them to have happened." - nicole

the recantation (or is it?) revealed the true nicole sans her pixelated face on tv then. the rape then lies, no pun intended, in the deepest recesses of her cerebral cortex. did she really consent to the sex? it is only she who can answer that question. thus, the second affidavit. 

but there are a lot of implications and subliminal messages to her purported about-faced statement. it made her less of a 'rape' victim, reduced to a woman who succumbed to her physiological needs. but more than the 'sex' or the 'rape', the legal process made her entire experience, and the nation's as well, a circus. a parody of sorts. and many turned their backs on nicole.

i am not one of them. i am not yet convinced.

so how authentic is the second affidavit? who crafted this fine piece of statement? why do i find it hard to believe nicole wrote this? or said this? the snoopster should come out and tell all. if not nicole, some mole should know more. 

i would understand why nicole left for good, to the home of the offender. america, that is. considering the apparent number of lawyers we have here in the country, we have a sinister approach in defending the offended. seems like our justice system believes in the cliche that time heals all wounds. and money can cure the wounds of the afflicted. it is just so appalling how people can numb their ethics to the smell of the bucks.

her transit out of the country is an emphasis of resignation that her justice would not be served to her best interests. it is served to the interests of the powerful with appreciable shots of milk and honey. one obama call rattled the snakes out of malacanang. is it an indication of something messy? like sulfur, rotten egg smell-messy?

i am definitely aghast as to how things turned out. dirty, dirty tactics. dirty, dirty lawyers. i could empathize how hard the jim carey character went through in telling the truth in the movie, liar, liar. you guess it right, he was a lawyer. 

there could only be a few lawyers left here with dignity. stand proud and propagate the very essence of your profession. we wouldn't know. you tell us what is justice. then show us.

the conspirators may have been successful in staging nicole as the bidang kontrabida. but her rape not only violated her anatomy but the whole nation as well. 

so much for telenovelas. and the show may not be over yet.

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