ANOTHER LOOK AT THE PLANET WE LIVE IN

By Alejandro Bustillos

I call the month of April the Earth month because on April 22nd marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970. That was 42 years ago but saving the planet was never the cause for agitation among the young population. Almost all sectors of world life are on rampage on destroying the environment. There was a prelude to this movement. The movie Silent Spring which was shown in 1962 and that the main thesis of the writer was that the total control of nature was conceived in arrogance. There was an increased public awareness of what would happen to the environment and public health with pollution and destruction. In 1973, another film came out and entitled Soylent Green. It is an American science fiction film which depicts the investigation into the murders of a wealthy businessman in a dystopian future suffering from pollution, overpopulation, depleted resources, poverty, dying oceans and a hot climate due to the greenhouse effect. The population survived on processed food rations including “soylent green.” More than 4 decades after, these films seemed to be prophetic as we travelled to the new century. Problems as perceived before are now the problems that are faced by the population in this present times. It is such mind-boggling to ask why man did not listen to himself when he himself prophesied that these things will happen today.

Every year thereafter, people on all walks of life go out on the streets and rally behind the preservation and conservation of mother earth. Countries come together and sign accords to decrease emissions of pollutants in the air. Countries zero-in on projects that would result to a sustainable effect on the preservation of Mother Nature. The alarm has been sounded and countries from different parts of the globe , be it a powerful and big country, be it a poor or third world country, have started to work on strategies to stave off the effect of global warming. Island countries most specially the small ones at risk of getting erased in the map of the world as the water level rise up. No one is safe. Everyone is at risk.

Even pageants have stressed the need to protect the earth. There is a Miss Earth Beauty Pageant that is geared towards creating more consciousness amongst the people in terms of environmental protection and preservation. In the Philippines alone, pageants sprouted with the title “Binibining Kalikasan” (Miss Nature) in their aim to create more awareness about the environment. Even other pageants have activities that are geared to protecting the environment. The Miss Tourism pageants are geared to promoting beautiful sites in the places where it is held especially China but in so doing, they highlight that the beauty of these places cannot be fully appreciated without protecting and preserving the beauty of nature and even the history that goes with the place.


The saga for the protection of our environment continues and it is a phenomenon that needed urgent response as every day we get to experience the effects of the destructive climate change. We would like you to share with us your experiences regarding climate change and how you responded to such. Let us help one another to build a better future for our children.