viewpoint by racquel m. caldez

Cleaning the Air for a Safer Climate: What would it take?

By racquel m. caldez

Air is the most essential nutrient for human life. We must have it on a moment to moment basis. We have been designed to run on it.

In fact, the earth is a home to about billion masses of air. We have so much when we think of it in quantity. But quality-wise, are we still doing fine? What kind of air are we feeding ourselves? Are we thinking of the air that we hear from our ancestors?

We are knowledgeable that the air we breathe nowadays is far from being ideal. With the presence of various and several factories, smoke from cigarettes, smoke belching vehicles in the country, the quality of air has decreased greatly.

We have a polluted air that threatens the human health. And to a large extent, we have a polluted air that lead to global warming and climate change. This makes the climate unsafe for everyone. And we have no idea of the damaging impacts it might have.

Now, we no longer treat air pollution and climate change as distinct problems because the two are very closely related. Air pollution affects the regional and global climate. We have felt the world has gotten warmer while the atmosphere is becoming more and more pollution-filled.

Media exposes the scenarios of El Nino and La Nina Phenomena. And there will be more frequent and more intense floods or droughts. It is a common knowledge that floods and droughts already cause more deaths, gloom and damage in economy than any other type of disasters we know. And increase in their frequency or intensity could be the most damaging impacts of global climate change.

We all are affected by these negative effects on our environment. Is there still hope of reversing this situation? Are we fated to die gasping for fresh air and praying for a healthier environment and a safer climate? Yes, we have the hope in our hands. We can still have a safer climate by doing some essential actions. We can still breathe clean air and we can still enjoy a clean environment.

But improvement in air quality will not happen automatically. Steps to fight air pollution must be central to any work that targets climate change and global warming.

Ten years ago, the Senate and House of Representative of the Philippine Congress enacted the Republic Act No. 8749 or the known, "Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999." It declared that the state shall protect and advance the right of the people to a balanced and healthful ecology in accord with the rhythm and harmony of nature. The State shall also promote and protect the global environment to attain sustainable development while recognizing the primary responsibility of local government units to deal with environmental problems.

It also emphasized the rights of the citizens to breathe clean air, to utilize and enjoy all natural resources according to the principle of sustainable development.

But at the same time it gives the citizens the responsibility to participate in the formulation, planning, implementation and monitoring of environmental policies and programs and in the decision-making process.

We are then to engage in the business of solving the problem with the climate through civic engagement, education and effective policy.

Thus, we all have a role to play in improving air quality. There are many small and simple things we can all do to reduce the amount of air pollution we produce. Together, these small actions can add up to have major benefits for our climate and the environment. We have to do something. This is what it takes to have a safer climate.

In Region 2, the government, and other sectors of society such as the academe, religious groups, NGOs, business sector and private organizations are doing something. Citizens can do something.

Since everything starts at home, it is but proper that inside our home, we can already do our part. We can conserve energy by decreasing consumption of electricity which contributes to the burning of fossil fuels by power plants that contributes to global warming.

Outside our home, we can plant shade trees, we can avoid burning our garbage, debris and leaves in our backyard which contribute to harmful emissions resulting to smog. We can also be an environmental warrior in our workplace to help reduce their carbon emissions by using public transport, and walk and cycle where possible, and use a fuel-efficient car as transport. Or we can spearhead efforts in our community of cleaning the air that we breathe through the democratic process, encourage local and national government to deliver policies that properly take the environment into account.

In fact, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Region 2 started with its action by promoting 'Kalesa' for smoke-free transportation in the region to reduce and subsequently eliminate air pollutants.

These are just some of the most common ways by which we can help. By doing our part, the air and the environment, in general, will be on its way to a rapid recovery. We will all be living again in a safer, cleaner, better place.

But this remains a challenge for everybody. For the media to provide better information about likely climate change and its various local impacts, for governments, to set the necessary policy, for business and industry, to seize the opportunities for innovation and use of ‘clean’ technologies and for all communities and individuals in the world, to support the action being taken and contribute to it.

Earth is everybody's home and nobody likes living in a dirty home. Together, we can make the earth a cleaner, healthier and more pleasant place to live.