Archive - Earth Files

Residents share their experience of the flood 28 years ago.

Do Filipinos know enough about climate change and its effects?

BOAC, MARINDUQUE— In a land known to many as poisoned by a toxic mine spillage, there’s a field of green that thrives, harvesting nature’s unadulterated bounty.

One nourishes communities. The other has become a source of distress.

BOAC, Marinduque— The hike around a tiny part of the nearly 9,000-hectare Marinduque Wildlife Sanctuary is not easy, especially if you’re forty-something and lack exercise. But Mother Nature will reward you for your effort.

Heavy metal runs through Racquel Logatoc’s veins. The 52-year-old village chief of Bocboc, Marinduque suffers from skin irritation, fatigue and body pains. Tests done in 2013 and 2017 detected the harmful substance in her blood. In February, she was back at the Batangas Medical Center for further monitoring.

BOAC, Marinduque—The people of this island province have endured the brunt of the worst mining disaster in the country, but the bigger heartbreak in their two-decade long quest for justice might just be the wait for redress that is not sure to come.

Locals like Mang Onad are ambivalent towards the avalanche of visitors. More tourists mean more income. But, at the same time, they are aware of the damage a careless snorkeler, a novice scuba diver, or an irresponsible visitor can cause especially to underwater sites.

A different kind of battle is now being waged at Manila Bay.

The sea turtle, commonly known as pawikan in the Philippines, is an endangered marine animal yet it continues to be harvested and slaughtered for its meat, eggs and shell, which are sometimes openly sold, proof that humans pose a serious threat to its existence.

An app developed by a group of Filipino information technology professionals to assist local fishermen in their daily work has been named one of six global winners in the NASA Space Challenge, an announcement made on Feb. 16 said.

Come Feb. 10, when the townsfolk of Bacolor go to the San Guillermo Parish Church for their fiesta celebration, they will enter the worship place through the upper windows, as what they have been doing the past 28 years since Mt. Pinatubo erupted and altered their lives in ways they never imagined.

In the past, being kulot automatically gave them special treatment in the military base.

Mt Pinatubo exploded in a spectacular display in 1991 and buried everything around it in ash and other volcanic debris. She heaved everything out with such force that the peak collapsed into itself, plugging the crater and creating a caldera that eventually filled with water.

Filipino Information Technology enthusiasts are hoping that the temporary reopening of U.S. government operations after a 35-day shutdown would pave the way for the announcement of the winners in the NASA Space Apps Challenge, where one of the finalists is an app developed by a group of Filipino IT experts.

Vera Files President Ellen Tordesillas was giving a background on the Earth Journalism Network to the 20 journalists attending a safety seminar when they heard a loud, insistent knock on the door.

It was a public relations event that became a PR crisis as the threat of an environment disaster loomed.

An app that would enable fishermen to receive scientific data without Internet connection developed by a group of Filipino Information Technology professionals is one of the 25 finalists in the the NASA Space Apps Challenge, global level, after a three-day hackathon held recently at the De La Salle University in Malate.

Philippine environment officials see more work to transform into reality what has been agreed upon by over 20,000 delegates from 195 countries in Katowice, Poland last weekend.

It’s no longer “It’s the content, not the wrapper that counts” when giving Christmas gifts.

The head of the Climate Change Commission urged Filipinos to take a stronger commitment to the protection of environment because studies show that Filipinos are among the worst affected by climate change.

Two weeks after it reopened a cleaner Boracay to tourists, the government fulfilled another promise it made to the original inhabitants of the resort island: it handed them certificates of land ownership.

Cemetequette is a term coined by environment- advocate EcoWaste Coalition for“Pinoy Cemetery Etiquette.”

BORACAY ISLAND - Upon entering the unlocked gate of the Ati Community Village in Manok-manok, a row of bamboo houses with concrete base meets the eye of the visitor, while the playful laughter of children can be heard. Two cheerful Ati teen girls curiously pass by. An elderly man with a cane sits on a chair nearby.

BORACAY–Residents and employees of tourist establishments wear masks as they pass through diggings, or ride e-trikes over dusty roads to prevent possible health problems resulting from exposure to dust, contaminated water and garbage waiting to be collected.

The number of tropical cyclones entering the Philippines is slightly decreasing, but their intensity is “becoming stronger,” according Dr. Rosa Perez, the sole Filipino lead author of a landmark United Nations scientific report released recently by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

The need to protect the country’s ecosystem has become urgent following the Oct. 8 release of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C, Secretary Emmanuel De Guzman of the Climate Change Commission (CCC), said.

Unregulated small-scale miners are appealing to the government to help legalize their status so they can continue operating under the state’s supervision and not face work suspension, as what happened to the small-scale miners in the Cordillera region.

A mining town now wants a return to farming.

Manila - Metro Manila was spared the wrath of typhoon Ompong (international name Mangkhut), which hit Northern Luzon hard, but the heavy rains caused flooding and the scourge of plastic wastes surfaced once again.