Climate Change Adaptation

by Juan Echanore

Adaptation is complex, since the severity of the impacts will vary considerably from region to another region. Concrete measures will range from the relatively inexpensive to the very costly, including the fields of agriculture, climate research, technological innovation and disaster preparedness. The involvement of all segments of society, business and the public is essential in the further development of adaptation strategies.


photo source

Is Climate Change to blame?

by Sahlee Bugna-Barrer
  
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has warned that warming oceans could lead to the intensification of tropical cyclones. in a warmer climate, the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events become stronger and more frequent. their impact on the Asian monsoon could lead to high inter-annual variation in rainfall characteristics.

Tropical cyclones could become more intense. when combined with sea level rise, this would result in an enhanced risk of loss of life and property in coastal low-lying areas in cyclone prone regions.

Damages to livelihood and propetry can affect millions of already poor people and stress government resources necessary to help those in need.

The developing countries of Asia, where impacts of climate change are likely to be felt most severely because of resource and infrastructure constraints.

Photo source

More Perfect Storms

Climate change + Biodiversity loss = disaster in Asia

by Sahlee Bugna-Barrer

Meteorologist used the term the Perfect storm to describe a rare combination of two powerful weather fronts and a hurricane that created the storm of historic proportions that hit the US in 1991. Since then it has been used to describe weather so extreme that they wreak maximum damage on people and the environment.

Tropical cyclones could become more intense when combined with sea level rise, this would result in an enhanced risk of loss of life and property in coastal low-lying areas in cycline-prone regions.

photo source

"We must kick the Carbon habit"

by Mr. Ban Ki-Moon
Asean Biodiversity
news Magazine

Addiction is a terrible thing. It consumes and controls us, make us deny important thruts and blinds us to the consequences of our actions.

Our dependence on carbon-based energy has caused a significant build-up of green house gases in the atmosphere. climate change is happening, and we know that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases is the cause.

The cost will be borne by all. the poor will be hardest -hit by weather-related disasters.

We are all part of the solution.....

We must kick the carbon habit.....

Photo

Ondoy and Climate Change

According to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), Ondoy brought Metro Manila its highest amount of rainfall in the last 42 years.
“In 1967, a typhoon brought Metro Manila 334 mm of rain in 24 hours,” said Pagasa spokesman Nathaniel Cruz in an interview. “Last Saturday’s storm brought us the 334 mm of rain in just six hours. ‘Ondoy’ brought us a total of 453 mm of rain in 24 hours.”
Cruz said it may have been “a manifestation of climate change.”
Climate change, however, is not the root: it is itself merely a manifestation of much worse things.
The Fourth Assessment Report of the Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), released in 2007, states that human activities have contributed to climate change through increases in the emissions of four principal greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and halocarbons (a group of gases containing bromine, chlorine, and fluorine).
Carbon dioxide emissions increased from the use of fossil fuels (e.g. petroleum, coal, and natural gas) in the manufacture of cement and other goods, transportation, and building heating and cooling. Decaying plant matter also emits carbon dioxide.
Methane is emitted from landfills, as well as from natural gas distribution and a few activities related to agriculture.
Fossil fuel burning and fertilizer use cause the emission of nitrous oxide. But natural processes in soil and the oceans can contribute to nitrous oxide emission.
Among the principal halocarbons are the chlorofluorocarbons, which have historically been used as refrigeration agents and for other industrial purposes.
Based on the IPCC’s research, the emission of these gases have increased since 1750, or the start of the industrial age, and particularly in the previous century.
Changes in the emission of these principal greenhouse gases affect the presence and amounts of ozone, water vapor, and aerosols in the air.
The increased emissions of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and nitrogen oxide have increased ozone in the troposphere, the atmosphere’s first layer, leading to increase in temperatures in a number of areas. On the other hand, high halocarbon emissions have depleted ozone in the stratosphere (the second atmospheric level), leading to cooling in some areas.
The amount of water vapor in the air is a significant determinant of the general warmth or coolness of an area; more water vapor means a warmer atmosphere. Methane undergoes chemical destruction when it reaches the stratosphere, thus producing water vapor.
Aerosols are small particles present in the atmosphere that vary in chemical composition, concentration, and size.
The burning of fossil fuels and biomass has increased the amount of aerosols with sulfur and organic compounds, as well as black carbon (or soot). Surface mining and some other industrial activities have increased dust in the atmosphere.
The IPCC further stated that carbon dioxide accounts for 80 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, mainly resulting from the burning of coal and crude oil.
Ninety percent of carbon dioxide emission is from countries within the Northern Hemisphere. The Group of Eight (G8) countries – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the UK, and the US – and several other European Union member-countries are historically responsible for 65 percent of carbon dioxide emissions, with the US accounting for 20 percent of emissions in 2003.

Ondoy (Ketsana) - Climate change impact in the Philippines 2

Ondoy Pushes Tens of Thousands of Families Into Severe Difficulty, Long-Term Poverty. The depletion of the world’s forests has also significantly affected climate change. The growth of forests causes the removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and its absorption into leaves, soil, and wood. Based on data from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), deforestation worldwide took place at the rate of 13 million hectares a year for the period 1990-2005 – with little signs of decrease over the years. As of 2005, 3.95 million hectares or only 30 percent of the planet’s total land area was covered with forests.
Based on the IPCC’s research, the increased carbon dioxide emissions have been the biggest contributor to what is now known as global warming. The increase in the emissions of other principal greenhouse gases have contributed to warming trends experienced in many parts of the world.
Global warming is a significant factor in the increasing frequency and intensity of typhoons.
Typhoons develop from the heat that dissipates when water vapor from warm sea surfaces condenses and forms cloud drops. The strength of typhoons increases when sea-surface temperatures are higher than 26°C, and goes down at sea-surface temperatures below 26°C.
Based on data from the socio-economic think-tank Ibon Foundation, the Asia-Pacific region has experienced in recent decades a general trend toward warming, which is consistent with global temperature patterns. Southeast Asia has warmed by 0.32°C over the past three decades.
“It is unfair that people in the Philippines should be the ones paying a greater price for the damage that developed countries have wrought on the environment,” said Amalie Obusan, Greenpeace climate and energy campaigner, in a statement.
“The plight of vulnerable developing countries such as ours should put forward a strong moral imperative for early and decisive action” Obusan also said. “The threat to our people’s survival is a harsh reality that should inform the actions of the industrialized world’s leaders.”
At the ongoing intercessional meeting of the United Nations Framework on Climate Change Convention (UNFCCC) in Bangkok, UN climate chief Yvo de Boer said the floods wrought by Ondoy in the Philippines highlight the need for an international agreement on climate change. “One of the reasons why countries have gathered here is to ensure the frequency and severity of those kinds of extreme weather events decreases as a result of ambitious climate change policy,”

"We must therefore prepare for the next typhoon coz it might be as strong or even stronger than Ondoy"

source

Ondoy and Climate Change

According to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), Ondoy brought Metro Manila its highest amount of rainfall in the last 42 years.
“In 1967, a typhoon brought Metro Manila 334 mm of rain in 24 hours,” said Pagasa spokesman Nathaniel Cruz in an interview. “Last Saturday’s storm brought us the 334 mm of rain in just six hours. ‘Ondoy’ brought us a total of 453 mm of rain in 24 hours.”
Cruz said it may have been “a manifestation of climate change.”
Climate change, however, is not the root: it is itself merely a manifestation of much worse things.
The Fourth Assessment Report of the Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), released in 2007, states that human activities have contributed to climate change through increases in the emissions of four principal greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and halocarbons (a group of gases containing bromine, chlorine, and fluorine).
Carbon dioxide emissions increased from the use of fossil fuels (e.g. petroleum, coal, and natural gas) in the manufacture of cement and other goods, transportation, and building heating and cooling. Decaying plant matter also emits carbon dioxide.
Methane is emitted from landfills, as well as from natural gas distribution and a few activities related to agriculture.
Fossil fuel burning and fertilizer use cause the emission of nitrous oxide. But natural processes in soil and the oceans can contribute to nitrous oxide emission.
Among the principal halocarbons are the chlorofluorocarbons, which have historically been used as refrigeration agents and for other industrial purposes.
Based on the IPCC’s research, the emission of these gases have increased since 1750, or the start of the industrial age, and particularly in the previous century.
Changes in the emission of these principal greenhouse gases affect the presence and amounts of ozone, water vapor, and aerosols in the air.
The increased emissions of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and nitrogen oxide have increased ozone in the troposphere, the atmosphere’s first layer, leading to increase in temperatures in a number of areas. On the other hand, high halocarbon emissions have depleted ozone in the stratosphere (the second atmospheric level), leading to cooling in some areas.
The amount of water vapor in the air is a significant determinant of the general warmth or coolness of an area; more water vapor means a warmer atmosphere. Methane undergoes chemical destruction when it reaches the stratosphere, thus producing water vapor.
Aerosols are small particles present in the atmosphere that vary in chemical composition, concentration, and size.
The burning of fossil fuels and biomass has increased the amount of aerosols with sulfur and organic compounds, as well as black carbon (or soot). Surface mining and some other industrial activities have increased dust in the atmosphere.
The IPCC further stated that carbon dioxide accounts for 80 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, mainly resulting from the burning of coal and crude oil.
Ninety percent of carbon dioxide emission is from countries within the Northern Hemisphere. The Group of Eight (G8) countries – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the UK, and the US – and several other European Union member-countries are historically responsible for 65 percent of carbon dioxide emissions, with the US accounting for 20 percent of emissions in 2003.

"It is therefore the fault of man why the effects of continued rain has been so devastating"

source

Ondoy (Ketsana) - Climate change impact in the Philippines

The Philippines strongly urged developed countries to cut greenhouse gas emissions to stem the impact of climate change in the wake of its worst flooding in decades.
Tropical storm Ketsana dumped the heaviest rain in more than 40 years on Manila and its neighbouring areas over the weekend, killing 246 people and affecting more than two million.
"Tropical storm Ketsana is clearly a manifestation of the consequences of global inaction in addressing the immediate impacts of creeping climate change,"
Rich countries must act "to moderate these storms and spare the whole world from the impoverishing and devastating impacts of climate change, especially to low-lying archipelagic island-nations like the Philippines,"
The Philippines is calling for developed countries to make "deep and early cuts of emissions" of more than 30 percent from 2013 to 2017 and more than 50 percent from 2018 to 2022, pegged to 1990 levels.

"The wrath brought by typhoon Ondoy to the Philippines is a very good waking up call not only to the Filipinos but most especially to its leaders, to act immediately to mitigate climate change"

Source

Efforts to combat Climate Change

Climate change is the most alarming issue of the modern time. Carbon dioxide warm the planet naturally by trapping solar heat in the atmosphere.

This is the good thing that keeps out planet very habitable.However, we have dramatically altered the gases in the atmosphere.

Thereby increasing the temperature of the earths surface. we are now seeing changes, glaciers are melting, the number of severe storms and droughts are increasing. we have to take our action NOW...

These are our photos to Mt. Blit. when we were having our tree planting..
It was one of the most exciting ride I ever had.
We traverse a very rough road.

This is where I planted my first seedling along the steep slope of Mt. Blit to help mitigate climate change.

How about you when will you do your part?

Climate change and agriculture

by Sen. Edgardo J. Angara

Agriculture is intricately intertwined with climate change. Depending on how it is managed, agriculture can either aggravate or mitigate the climate-change problem.

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, 70 percent of freshwater use in the world goes to agriculture, compared with industry use (20 percent), and municipal and domestic use (10 percent). In Asia, agriculture accounts for 80 percent of freshwater withdrawals.

An International Food Policy Research Institute (Ifpri) recent study estimates that agriculture contributes about 15 percent of the annual greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions warming up the globe. The World Trade Organization projects an even larger contribution—it estimates that all agriculture—related sectors combined is possibly emitting up to 25 percent to 30 percent of the annual GHG emissions to the atmosphere.

At the same time, agriculture, through biodiesels, increases the options for renewable energy.

Practices such as increasing crop production, introducing carbon sequestration and providing for effective land-use management can mitigate agriculture’s impact on climate change.

On the other hand, climate change has been affecting harvests because the frequent and extreme changes in the weather have ravaged farms and crops.

Thus, our country, which is still largely agricultural (over a third of our work force is engaged in agriculture and agriculture-related activities), is particularly vulnerable to the dynamics between agriculture and climate change.

Such huge decline in harvest will ultimately lead to food-price increases like what we experienced last year.

"Filipino farmers will definitely the ones will be hit by these changes, hence the government must empower our farmers."

Article source

Philippines loses billions to climate change

 

 

            Climate change impacts have been manifested in the Philippines by extreme weather occurrence such as floods, droughts, forest fires, and an increase in tropical cyclones. These extreme weather events associated with climate change, and the disasters these have wrought, have caused losses amounting to billions of pesos. From 1975 to 2002, tropical cyclones have resulted to losses of 4.578 billion pesos due to damage to property, including damage to agriculture worth 3.047 billion pesos. Drought in Southern Mindanao in 1998, the 2nd hottest year on record, incurred crop losses amounting to 828 million pesos. And damages due to four successive tropical cyclones towards the end of 2004 cost the nation an estimated 7,615.98 million pesos.

        ”The impacts of climate change will be most catastrophic to countries who are the least able to cope,” said Greenpeace Southeast Asia Climate and Energy campaigner Abigail Jabines. “The Philippines will lose billions of pesos to climate change. As it is, this is money that we can ill afford to spare.”

       "There are already a lot of losses, lets not wait for another day to do our small contribution to mitigate the effects of climate change here in the Philippines'

Article Source
Photo Source

Climate change impacts and the Philippines

The earth is definitely warming. Signals of a changing climate, including increasing trends in temperature, sea level rise and extreme climate events, are already evident in the Philippines. And as the warming continues, the effects will become more catastrophic.

With climate change will come water shortages and decreases in agricultural productivity and food security. Our health will be threatened by heat stress and increased chances of exposure to infectious diseases. Those living in low-lying coastal areas may become climate refugees as their homes are destroyed. And tourism, an important source of income for many, will decline.

"Every Filipino must be prepared for the on-going changes of our climate"

Article source

Philippines: leading Asia in Climate Change

By BETH DAY ROMULO

Blessed with such alternate clean energy sources as geothermal, hydropower, wind, solar and ocean waves, the Philippines got off to a head start on clean energy by developing geothermal plants in the 1970’s.

But the momentum was not sustained. The cost of bringing in a plant was high, and when oil prices dropped, the program stopped. The Department of Energy’s 10-year plan, which was adopted in 2003, aims to achieve 40 percent self sufficiency in renewable energy and is already at 33 percent, with 22 percent of that from geothermal power.

The Renewable Energy Act of 2008 was the first such legislation in Asia, and paved the way for rapid development of alternate energy sources. Besides cutting back on carbon emissions, it saves on the cost of imported oil, and is an important source of foreign investment. On President Arroyo’s recent trip to Brazil contracts were signed for developing bio-energy and bioethanol plants.

Today a beach in Ilocos Norte is the site of the first and largest wind farm in southeast Asia, built by Danish Northwind Power Development Corporation. The Philippines has a potential of 76,000 megawatts of wind power.

Great Britain has been an investor in energy, and the latest contract by Global Green Power Corp., is to develop three 15-MW biomass plants simultaneously in Panay, Nueva Ecija and Pangasinan which will provide 900 jobs and extra income for local farmers for agricultural waste.

At the forum British Ambassador Peter Beckingham commended the Philippines for tackling Climate Change with its Renewable Energy Law, which supports the goal of 60 percent self-sufficiency from alternate energy sources.

Historically, in the Philippines, an example of “green” architecture is the Philippine “Bahay kubo” a design dictated by the climate, using shade from trees, insulated roofs and cross ventilation. Modern green buildings use natural lighting to avoid electricity, are passively cooled, rather than relying on air conditioning, and collect rainwater to use for flushing toilets. And, like the Bahay Kubo, of the past, they rely on local materials which can be re-cycled.

"Even in the early 1970's Philippines are already on the architecture designs that suits the climate like bahay kubo."

Climate Change Response Framework

This is the Philippine framework for climate change First is mitigation, We have to do our share as part of global community through,
* Climate-friendly energy supply mix
* Policy incentives for renewable energy
* Diverse interventions in:
* Energy Generation
* Energy Efficiency
* Transport/consumer behavior

Adaptation Response Guidelines

* Address vulnerabilities of specific sectors and areas.
* Focus on disaster-prone settlements, high-risk population centers, and food production areas

Financing Interventions

Search for financing mechanisms in support of local and sectoral initiatives.

* ODA funds
* Market-based incentives
* Subsidies targeted at lowering costs for power generation using solar, wind and other clean technologies

Innovative lending schemes

Technology Solutions

* Mitigation: climate-friendly technologies for low-carbon infrastructure for energy, agriculture, industry, transportation and settlements.
* Adaptation: introduce new methods of technologies
* Task Force to facilitate transfer of technology through bilateral, multilateral and regional agreements.

Social Mobilization

Various stakeholders such as:

* Home and Office Builders
* Local Government Officials
* Car Manufacturers
* Mall Owners
* Appliance Makers
* Academe
* Others

Climate Change in The Philippines

According to the Philippine task force for climate change, the Philippines has experienced temperature spikes brought about by climate change. It has been observed that warming is experienced most in the northern and southern regions of the country, while Metro Manila has warmed less than most parts. In addition, the regions that have warmed the most (northern Luzon, Mindanao) have also dried the most. Largest precipitation trends are about 10 percent during the 20th century.

Hot days and hot nights have become more frequent. Extreme weather events have also occurred more frequently since 1980. These include deadly and damaging typhoons, floods, landslides, severe El Niño and La Niña events, drought, and forest fires. Adversely affected sectors include agriculture, fresh water, coastal and marine resources and health.

"The climate is already changing, let us all do our share to adapt if not mitigate the effects of these drastic changes"

Climate change impacts and the Philippines

The earth is definitely warming. Signals of a changing climate, including increasing trends in temperature, sea level rise and extreme climate events, are already evident in the Philippines. And as the warming continues, the effects will become more catastrophic.

With climate change will come water shortages and decreases in agricultural productivity and food security. Our health will be threatened by heat stress and increased chances of exposure to infectious diseases. Those living in low-lying coastal areas may become climate refugees as their homes are destroyed. And tourism, an important source of income for many, will decline.

Climate change will also bring more extreme weather, from floods to droughts, forest fires to tropical cyclones. As extreme climate events increase in strength and frequency, more and more people will risk losing their homes and lives.

"Every Filipino must prepare for this changes."

Source

What Will The Climate Be Like in 2100?

Stanford University climatologist Stephen Schneider discusses what we know and don’t know about the future of the Earth’s climate, and whether it is worth spending trillions of dollars to fight climate change.

What's the old joke? Prediction is hard, especially about the future. What do you have to do to predict the climate of 2100? Well, you have to know how much CO2, methane, nitrous oxide, aerosols - that's dust and smoke - are going to be there, because that changes what we call the forcing - the pressures on the climate system - to be warmer or colder. We know it's going to be warmer. That's virtually certain.


But you don't know what those are going to be on the basis of any history. There's never been a time before when there was six to ten billion people on the Earth, when they're demanding dramatic increases in their standards of living, and when they're using the cheapest available technology - usually coal and oil burning, big cars - to get there. So, before you can forecast how warm it will be in 2100 - and whether it's worth a trillion-dollar investment not to have that outcome - you've got to know a bunch of social factors.

What kinds of social factors?

How many people are in the world? What standards of living do they have? That's population times GDP per capita - a typical measure of standard of living. Then you have to multiply that by how much energy per unit of GDP they consume. We call that energy intensity. It's critically important. And how do we know if people are going to take this problem seriously?

"It seems that the climate in the next century would really be different, we might not know how different it is."

What Is The Greenhouse Effect?

Our atmosphere is but a tiny layer of gas around a huge bulky planet. But it is this gaseous outer ring and its misleadingly called greenhouse effect that makes life on Earth possible.

The sun is the Earth’s primary energy source, a burning star so hot that we can feel its heat from over 150 million kilometers away. Its rays enter our atmosphere and shower upon on our planet. About one third of this solar energy is reflected back into the universe by shimmering glaciers, water and other bright surfaces. Two thirds, however, are absorbed by the Earth, warming land, oceans, and atmosphere.

Much of this heat radiates back out into space, but some of it is stored in the atmosphere. This process is called the greenhouse effect. Without it, the Earth’s average temperature would be a chilling -18 degrees Celsius, even despite the sun’s constant energy supply.

In a world like this, life on Earth would probably have never emerged from the sea. Thanks to the greenhouse effect, however, heat emitted from the Earth is trapped in the atmosphere, providing us with a comfortable average temperature of 14 degrees.

"Thanks to our thin layer of atmosphere that makes life habitable here on earth."

RP seeks $140 million from G8's $20-billion food production fund

By Marianne V. Go

MANILA, Philippines - The government will seek up to $140 million in funding from the $20-billion Food Production Fund of the Group of Eight (G8) nations for two projects involving food production and climate change.

The first project involves a $120-million joint program to be implemented by the Philippine Rice Research Institute (Philrice) and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) for the development and distribution of climate-ready seeds.

The second, with a lower funding need of $20 million, is for a joint Philippine-US geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing project which will allow production planners a smarter way to implement food production, coastal and municipal fisheries and climate change adaptation programs.


The US is now applying a new framework in addressing global food security wherein farm productivity is improved rather than traditionally extending just emergency assistance.

US President Barack Obama and fellow G8 leaders recently unveiled the fund on the last day of their summit in Italy to help feed people in developing countries and extend aid to economies most vulnerable to the global financial crisis.

The G8 is comprised of the US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Italy , Japan , Russia, as well as the European Union.

Agriculture Secretary Arthur C. Yap relayed the funding request to US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack last week in Washington.

According to Yap, Philrice and IRRI are presently collaborating on testing and distributing seeds, that are, among others, resistant to the salinity in rice production areas near coastal communities that have been saline-invaded or drought-prone areas that will require 30 percent to 40 percent less water than what regular variety rice plants need.

Yap revealed the project is not proceeding as swiftly as it should since it is currently confined to field trials only.

To accelerate the project’s implementation, Yap said additional funds are required to acquire modern facilities that can undertake stress analysis in controlled conditions.

Meanwhile, the joint RP-US GIS and remote sensing project will allow production planners a smarter way to implement food production, coastal and municipal fisheries and climate change adaptation programs.

Aside from the two projects, Yap and Vilsack also discussed possible investments in the biofuels and biotechnology sectos as well as in food production.

Yap noted, the US appears keen on “using the Philippines as a staging ground for exports to the region for food and bio-technology.”

"The funding could help the Philippines on its combat to adopt on climate change."

Source

What is Global Warming?

Global Warming is defined as the increase of the average temperature on Earth. As the Earth is getting hotter, disasters like hurricanes, droughts and floods are getting more frequent.

Over the last 100 years, the average temperature of the air near the Earth´s surface has risen a little less than 1° Celsius. Does not seem all that much? It is responsible for the conspicuous increase in storms, floods and raging forest fires we have seen in the last ten years.

Out of the 20 warmest years on record, 19 have occurred since 1980. The three hottest years ever observed have all occurred in the last eight years, even.

But it is not only about how much the Earth is warming, it is also about how fast it is warming. There have always been natural climate changes – Ice Ages and the warm intermediate times between them – but those evolved over periods of 50,000 to 100,000 years.

Scientist were saying that the earth should now be in a cool-down-period.But as what we were observing temperature increase in the most prevalent.

Floods leave 400,000 homeless in Philippine south

MANILA - Floods triggered by heavy monsoon rains have killed at least one dozen people and forced about 400,000 to flee their homes and farms in the southern Philippines, an army spokesman said on Monday.

Troops deployed rubber boats, amphibious vehicles and trucks to evacuate thousands of families marooned in low-lying areas of Mindanao, Colonel Jonathan Ponce told reporters.

"We're praying for the rains to stop and for the water level to subside so these people can go back to their homes," Ponce said, adding floods had destroyed hundreds of houses on riverbanks in Sultan Kudarat town and Cotabato City.

Ponce said floodwaters had risen to about 3-4 metres in some areas, destroying crops and property, due to almost a week of heavy rain. A dozen people had drowned after they were swept away in a swollen river, he added.

Ponce said the floodwaters also affected the marshland areas, where soldiers fought rogue Muslim rebels for nearly a year, displacing nearly 350,000 people since August 2008. Both sides agreed on a truce last month.

Landslides and flash floods are common across the Philippines during the monsoon months from May to November. The country is also usually hit by an average of about 20 typhoons a year but that number may rise due to climate change, officials have said.

"The effects of climate change is very evident in the low lying areas of the Philippines especially the Cotabato - Maguindanao Provinces. According to some of the residents that it was there first time after living for so many years in Cotabato City to experience flood where water entered there houses."

Family planning may help reduce “carbon footprint” of people

WASHINGTON - A study by statisticians at Oregon State University (OSU) in the US has determined that family planning is important to reduce the “carbon footprint” of people.

According to the study, some people who are serious about wanting to reduce their “carbon footprint” on the Earth have one choice available to them that may yield a large long-term benefit - have one less child.

In the US, the carbon legacy and greenhouse gas impact of an extra child is almost 20 times more important than some of the other environmentally sensitive practices people might employ their entire lives - things like driving a high mileage car, recycling, or using energy-efficient appliances and light bulbs.

The research also makes it clear that potential carbon impacts vary dramatically across countries.

The average long-term carbon impact of a child born in the US - along with all of its descendants - is more than 160 times the impact of a child born in Bangladesh.

“In discussions about climate change, we tend to focus on the carbon emissions of an individual over his or her lifetime,” said Paul Murtaugh, an OSU professor of statistics.

“Those are important issues and it’s essential that they should be considered. But, an added challenge facing us is continuing population growth and increasing global consumption of resources,” he added.

In this debate, very little attention has been given to the overwhelming importance of reproductive choice, according to Murtaugh.

When an individual produces a child - and that child potentially produces more descendants in the future - the effect on the environment can be many times the impact produced by a person during their lifetime.

Under current conditions in the US, for instance, each child ultimately adds about 9,441 metric tons of carbon dioxide to the carbon legacy of an average parent - about 5.7 times the lifetime emissions for which, on average, a person is responsible.

The researchers make it clear they are not advocating government controls or intervention on population issues, but say they simply want to make people aware of the environmental consequences of their reproductive choices.

“Many people are unaware of the power of exponential population growth,” Murtaugh said.

“Future growth amplifies the consequences of people’s reproductive choices today, the same way that compound interest amplifies a bank balance,” he added.

"In deed the present trend of over exploitation of the natural resources both renewable and non renewable is caused by the increasing demand of the population"

Renewable energy projects

By Pia Lee-Brago

MANILA, Philippines - The United Kingdom has commended the Philippines for taking steps to tackle climate change with its Renewable Energy (RE) Law which supports the country’s goal of 60 percent energy self-sufficiency by 2010.

British Ambassador Peter Beckingham said the RE Law could open doors for the Philippines to capture part of the more than $70-billion investments in renewable energy development world-wide by providing incentives to investors, equipment manufacturers and suppliers.

Beckingham urged local government units (LGUs) to push for alternative sources of energy for their constituents by opening their municipalities to investors in renewable technologies.

The British Embassy Manila funded a forum held recently attended by municipal mayors from across the nation and representatives of development agencies to build links between local government units (LGUs) and local investors in coastal areas to explore sustainable, low-carbon energy solutions.

Mayor Elmer Codilla of Kananga, Leyte related the economic benefits to his municipality of hosting a number of geothermal plants which provide 40 percent of the power requirement in Luzon.

From 1992 to 2008, Kananga has received over P200 million in royalty shares based on the gross receipts of the Energy Development Corporation, in addition to the millions in annual taxes paid by the operators.

“Such huge revenues and benefits enjoyed by the host LGU has paved the way for the elevation of Kananga, Leyte into a first class municipality. Because of this, the (municipality) has embarked on projects in education, health, agriculture, infrastructure and other priority programs with the use of proceeds from EDC,” Codilla said.

Beckingham added that Britain has taken advantage of the demand for green projects, which opened major opportunities for British businesses to create jobs in the new low-carbon economy.

“This has grown into a £3-trillion market employing nearly 900,000 people in the UK. The Philippines can do the same,” he said.

"The renewable energy law can strengthen our economy and boost our goal of a clean and sustainable environment"

Phil. Geography on Climate Change

     In Australia the region focused on dry and wet tolerant crops. Since they are used to unpredictable rainfall patterns. Filipinos on the other hand is not used to shifting rainfall patterns. A farmer in Cagayan Valley was complaining that their corn crops was destroyed by a fungus due to unseasonal heavy rains. The same unexpected rainfall ruined the manggahan festival in Guimaras. Jared Diamond of UCLA says that the economic development is much hampered by the climate and geography of the region.

     The issue of climate change means seeing beyond the increasing concentrations of green house gases in the atmosphere and fluctuating global surface temperatures. We imagine how and why these concentrations have risen and how human societies can and will cope with changes they bring. Just as importantly, we imagine who has been and will be benefiting and who has been and will be losing, and where they are.

     Climate models predict an increase in global surface temperatures that can translate to more destructive storms, extreme drought conditions, sea level rise and highly stressed ecosystems—changes in local conditions that will inevitably impact food production, infrastructures, economies and communities everywhere. We know that not all countries in the world may have mechanisms to adjust and cope with these conditions. Not all places and communities are equipped to survive in drastic changes in the immediate environments. And not all countries have contributed to all these the same way.

     This is where one realizes that all are interconnected at the local, regional and global levels. That what you do to the strand you do to the web. I hope that we all will realize the significance of our individual action to mitigate the climate change.

Battle for climate change

     President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is seriously recognizing that the effects of global climate change will have an impact on Philippine society.

     In her meeting with the US President Barack Obama climate change is on the top issues to be discussed. President Arroyo are seeking funding for a $120- million dollar facility to assist the IRRI and PhilRice in accelerating the field testing of "climate ready seeds" adaptable to climate change.

     The Philippine economy is very dependent on Agriculture. According to the Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap "The climate change is greatly affecting our planting and harvesting schedule. We need seeds that don't need too much water and seeds that have short gestation periods".  The dramatic changes in rainfall patterns has produced a new set of refugees. Population displacement is next big problem of the Philippines.

   The shift in rainfall patterns and unpredictable monsoons are affecting the historically productive areas such as Central Luzon, and South Central and Eastern Mindanao in to marginal environments. Food security of the nation will be pressured.

    Environment is the 3rd E in the synopsis of  achievements of the current administration, the first E stand of economics. Today's trend on climate change is "adaptation" but the present administration focuses on mitigation. Either we choose to address climate change, one this is for sure it will surely hit us. Or it might be hitting us already.

Climate Change Efforts of the Arroyo Administration

In the edge of her presidency, President Arroyo is hoping the next leadership would continue her efforts on climate change. The current administration hopes the incoming government would also rally behind the 80 percent reduction of greenhouse gases, assistance on climate programs, and more concrete incentives for financial and technology transfer to developing countries like the Philippines.

Today President Gloria Macapagal - Arroyo will be meeting with the US President  Barack Obama. climate change is on top of the issues to be discussed being the  first president to be invited in the white house she would be speaking on behalf of the region on its efforts to combat climate change.