I don’t think we’re stupid.

I only got to see half of the documentary. Unfortunately, I had to leave early to attend a family dinner. From what I did see, however, here’s what I think.

I don’t think we’re stupid. The signs are there and have been there for a while. Hurricane Katrina, the Southeast Asian tsunami, and Typhoons Pepeng and Ondoy are clear signs that the planet is, in fact, beginning to destabilize. There was nothing new for me to learn from The Age of Stupid because it only talked about stuff that has been occurring right under our noses. I don’t think people are ignorant when it comes to climate change. I just think that we’re too scared or apathetic to do something about it.

I can also understand why people would choose not to take action against climate change. Aside from the criticism that such an advocacy would yield, the battle against climate change is definitely a costly one as well. Shifting from oil and fossil fuels to alternative energy will cost billions from governments. And in a world that has been powered by oil for the past century, the transition would be terribly drastic.

However, I think that people should learn how to make sacrifices. That’s what we’re unwilling to do, really. We’re willing to sacrifice consumerism. We’re willing to conserve the limited amount of resources that we have. We are selfish and materialistic. We choose to live in the present rather than prepare for the future. Carpe diem shouldn’t just be about seizing the day for ourselves. We should seize the day for our planet, because like all other things the earth has an expiry date. We can’t stop its slow deterioration, but we can slow it down (rather than speed it up, which is what’s happening right now). The truth is inconvenient, but that’s how it is. We’re not stupid; we’re lazy.

It’s about time we changed that.

 

The Age of Stupid, ICARE and Stairway.

Tomorrow I’m watching a screening of The Age of Stupid in my school, partly because I’m part of ECo but mostly because I promised a friend that I’ll be there. I’m not really sure what it’s about, even though it’s been explained to me twice, but I do know that it has to do with the environment, so I’m actually pretty interested. It’s my grandfather’s birthday, though, and there’s a dinner that night so I have to take one of two options. The first option is to sacrifice the documentary in favour of the 4:15 bus and make it home in time to change and go to the dinner. The second option is to finish the movie and commute home, which will definitely be much faster than if I took the 5:15 bus instead. Though the second option is not necessarily the greenest, it might be the one I’ll have to take. MAYBE.

Also, before I forget, I’m going off to ICARE next week! It’ll be at the Stairway foundation in Puerto Galera, which is sort of like a rehab for boys who were exposed to child abuse and poverty. I’m really excited to go there because I’ve wanted to go to Stairway since 8th grade but never got the chance. ICARE is a yearly community service event and last year I went to Mindoro as a freshman and then Hospicio de San Jose as a sophomore. As a junior I think that this trip to Stairway will be my best ICARE ever. And if I like it enough, I might even volunteer next summer, especially since I’m looking for good ideas on how to spend my last summer in high school in a productive manner.

We’ll see.

 

 

Update: Nothing has happened.

I’m sad to say that at this point in time, I have still made no difference.

 

Idea #1: Neighbourhood drive?

I think I’m gonna start a neighbourhood drive collecting plastic bottles, soda can lids, glossy magazines and plastic bags, and probably give them to Project Invisible and/or PCF, which are organisations supported by my school. Not only would it promote recycling of nonbiodegradable goods, but it would also provide for the livelihood for the women in these organisations and education for the PCF children. I feel horrible that I’ve never been to PCF even though I’ve felt very strongly about their cause. Hopefully this can be my way of giving back and making up for my… uselessnes, yet again. I need to come up with an incentive for people to donate and  a method for collecting the stuff. Maybe I can make an announcement during church or something. I’ll see how much I can do about it tomorrow, even though Pista will be one heck of a busy day.

Much love.

 

Do I want to be a political activist?

Last night I was praying for a cause to support, and during lunch today I missed a meeting for the Battle of the Bands (sorry!) to attend a talk in the guidance office, headed by my friend’s older sister, about political activism. It’s not like we’ll be forming some sort of political coalition in the school — the administration wouldn’t be too happy about that — but it was more about taking a stand as an individual and spreading the word to others. Is this the ‘miracle’ I was asking for?

Maybe.

I’m not a very political person, though. I’m not good at understanding how the local political system works. Most of the time I’m just ranting about how much the government sucks and how much Philippine politicians suck and how useless the government is. But what if we could do something about it? That’s something to think about.

Simply ranting about just how horrible something is — pollution, poverty and hunger, the government , some other aspect of the country that just about sucks — wouldn’t be solving anything. It’s about time to take action, raise awareness, get people thinking. I’m not a very political person but I do have some strong opinions about how things should be. I knew it, I knew it. I knew there was something out there for me to do. Could this be it, or at least one of them? Maybe.

I am so happy right now. I’m jubilant. I may not be capable of voting yet, but this is pretty exciting. Where I’m from, everyone’s a hero. It’s time I became part of that group.

 

Why I made this.

I’m pretty sure that I would be better off sticking to the three other WP blogs I have, but this was a temptation because I wanted one that was focused on my desperate efforts at getting something going. The thing is, I’m tired of sitting in my room at 9:30pm and realising that I have nothing more to do. I’d be done with homework, done with my first spread for the yearbook, and then I would find myself sitting there and thinking, now what? And to think that there are so many people in my school who take courses that are far more challenging than mine, are engaged in more activities than I am, and are able to accomplish so much whilst still being able to maintain good grades and balance everywhere. This isn’t limited to my schoool, either. Right now, in the light of last month’s (and the ongoing) typhoon calamities, in the light of the upcoming presidential elections of 2010, there are so many people, most of whom are from my generation, who are taking the initiative and trying to make things happen. There’s the “Ako ang Simula” initiative. There were the relief concerts for Ondoy victims. The t-shirts that said, “Where I’m from, everyone’s a hero” in bolded Helvetica. Last night, after much reflection on my apparent uselessness, I eventually concluded that if they can do it, so can I. That’s why I’m making this blog. Hopefully I can use this as a tool to record whatever process I make in the field of ‘making something happen’.

I’ve been taking a few steps, starting with myself. One of the things that I’m really working on as an individual is trying to reduce my carbon footprint. I’ve cut down on buying plastic bottles as I’ve chosen to bring my own water bottle to school and refill it with free water that’s available pretty much everywhere. I unplug my cellphone chargers, turn the tap off when I brush my teeth. Hopefully these simple tasks can go a long way. However, I don’t want to limit change to myself, because for that something to happen, awareness for a cause has to appeal to a group of people. That’s what I’m working on. We’ll see what happens.