Fix Square

The rainy has come late in the Philippines this year. This is due to delayed effects of the El Nino phenomenon that has brought the worst drought the Philippines has encountered. The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical services administration (PAGASA) has forecasted that the country is expected to get more rains during the last quarter this year and the first quarter of 2011.

The country has been experiencing rain but it is less than expected during the rainy season. There are still hot days in between days with rain showers. Though this is better than having rains with a magnitude like Ondoy where a month’s worth of rainfall was brought down in just a couple of hours. Last September 26, 2010, marks the first year anniversary of the horrific typhoon where hundreds of lives were lost and the damage to properties were massive. It took months in the several areas for the flood water to dissipate.

You may blame global warming but the only thing responsible for the massive flooding last year. Man made activities such as land pollution is also another factor. Pervious leaders failed to plan for the drainage system decades ago. The current governments said that the country is more prepared if in case another typhoon as strong as Ondoy hits the country. But are the preparation enough?  Steps have to be made to fight global warming on a global scale.

Flooding is not uncommon but recent flooding in Philippines and Pakistan has shown that it might intensify in the future. Pakistan recently was hit by a massive flood that has claimed the lives of at least 1400 people. Last year Typhoon Ondoy (International name Ketsana) caused massive flooding that has submerged eighty percent of Metro Manila and killed at least 400 people. It is said the amount of rainfall in the Philippines during Typhoon has been  the highest in the last four decades.  Asian Leaders easily point the finger to climate change. Of course climate change is a big factor but it is not the only reason. People seem to ignore the fact that human activities are also a factor to the flooding.

Human Activities such as deforestation is one of the reasons why the frequency of flooding increases. A study by Australia’s Charles Darwin University and National University of Singapore stated that 10 percent decrease in forests is the reason why the frequency of floods increase by four to twenty eight percent.

Another factor is Pollution. Millions of homes have been erected along flood plains and water sources. Large amount of garbage are improperly dispose especially in the Metro Manila area. Garbage disposal has been a problem and no concrete solution has been proposed or made in the last few years. The garbage clogged up the sewage and waterways magnifies the flooding.

Waste management has always been a problem in the Philippines. Public officials have always had a problem in finding a suitable place to dump Metro Manila’s garbage. They should look on how to improve waste management. Proper land management is also needed to minimize pollution along flood plains. But the most important thing that they have to monitor is the deforestation. Illegal logging has been  a problem for years. They should create strict laws on how to deal with this problem and assign people to management the country’s natural resources properly. Planting one three at a time may seem like a lost cause. But the China reforestation efforts in the 1980s is one the reason why forest cover in Asia is somehow increasing.

The planet is getting warmer. The temperature for the last five years has been the hottest in History. Some people believe that human activity is the main culprit for the planet’s rising temperature while some choose to ignore the signs. I am not a scientist but I know that the climate is changing and it is changing rapidly based on the worldwide abnormal weather behavior in the last few years. Storms are getting stronger. The amount of rainfall has increased in some countries and has decreased in others. Last year the Philippines was hit by Typhoon Ondoy (International name Ketsana), and the amount of rainfall has caused massive flooding in several urban cities. Marikina City was severely hit and according to residence, it hasn’t rain like that in the last 40 years.

Just this year, 14 million Pakistanis had to be evacuated away for their homes due to massive flooding. 12 inches (300 millimeters) was poured in one 36-hour period and is considered as the heaviest monsoon rains in Pakistan. 2007 IPCC report has said that Pakistan is expected to experience greater flooding this century and rains have grown heavier in the last 40 years over North Pakistan

China is also experiencing the worst floods in decades. The recent floods have claimed the lives of 1,100 people while 600 people are still missing. According to the 2007 IPCC report, a 33 percent increased in the amount of rainfall in Northwest China since 1961 was recorded. Nationwide flooding in China has also increase significantly since 1950 and is still forecast the flooding would be more frequent this century.

In the Iowa United States, three nights of rain has caused hundreds of people to evacuate their home.  International climate panel also projects stronger rainfall this century in the United States (except for states located in the Southwest of the country)

This year Russia has experience the hottest summer ever recorded where Moscow temperature s has reached as high as 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 degrees Celsius). Massive wildfires erupted that has cause toxic smog to blanket Moscow for six days.

Just recently a large mass broke off from Greenland’s Petermann Glacier. It estimated that ice mass could hold enough amount of water to fulfill the tap water supply requirements of the whole of United States for 120 days. Melting of the large of miss is causing the 60 percent accelerating rise in Sea levels worldwide.

There are still a lot of people out there who doesn’t believe that Global warming is true. Some believe that the Human activities are not the cause for the increase in the Planet’s temperature and that it is natural occurrence for the temperature to rise. I believe otherwise. I think that the planet has limits. Humans are taking away too much from the planet and in return the only thing that we give is pollution. Humans have to take responsibility. We couldn’t simply say that all the carbon emission from cars or coal plants doesn’t affect the planet.  It would cause a lot for government to switch to environment friendly source of energy but they should start now before it is too late. World leaders shouldn’t ignore signs. Climate change is happening now and it is happening at an alarming rate.

On August 6, 2010, a 43-mile-long mass of Ice has broken off Greenland’s Petermann glacier. According to scientist, this is second largest glacial breakaway of the Pertmann glacier and is four times the size of Manhattan. It is also said that it hold enough water to supply US tap water flowing for 120 days. Another large chunk of ice broke off the same glacier in 1962 though it is still unclear which of the glacial breakaway is bigger. The Petermann glacier is located 620 miles south of the North Pole. A Glacial geophysicist, Regine Hock, said that the glacial break up is a normal process that happens all the time. What is unusual is the size of chunk of ice that broke off.

Global warming is one of the suspected reasons for the acceleration of the mass ice break up. It is said that the rate in which the glacier in Greenland slides towards the sea is around 220 percent faster in summer than in winter. If the Greenland ice completely melts off, there is a possibility that the sea level would raise by 7 meters or 23 feet. Nobel Prize winner Al gore has stated in his film “Inconvenient truth” that a lot of highly populated low lying areas is at risk of being submerged.

In 2007, the United Nations panel of climate experts said that there are unequivocal evidence that Global warming is the caused by human activities in the past half century mostly by burning of fossil fuels.  They have said that there might be a possibility that the Himalayan Glaciers might all melt 2035. Some say that the 2007 climate change research was exaggerated while several members of the US National Academy of Sciences defended the said research.

Some people choose not to believe that global warming is becoming a big threat to the planet. Some countries prioritize their own economies over the environment. Something has to be done about it. Certain parts of Philippines is at risk of being submerged if Greenland ice melts. It is high time to do what is right rather than what is profitable.