Ecology and Environment

The Earth needs an ecological conversion. We, humans, must do it without waiting for it to proceed without us: we are the ones responsible for its degradation, pursued against the rest of living things almost to the extreme. But we…

It was a long time ago. I still have the sense of wonder [that I felt] when a sensational news story wafted through the media press: “The Earth is alive.” Or, “Our Earth, a living thing.” It was as if…

27 April 2023, Quezon City.  As the devastating impact of the oil spill from the sunken MT Princess Empress on coastal and fishing communities and the ecosystems continues to unfold, environmental and legal experts put forward important policy recommendations addressing…

Argentina is the first country in the world to eat genetically modified bread. The company Bioceres-Indear reported that GM wheat is already being mixed with conventional wheat in 25 mills. With no labelling of genetically modified foods, it is already…

It has started, and it’s fierce… Monster Heat! “It’s a ‘monster heat spell like none before,” according to climatologist and weather historian Maximiliano Herrera, describing Asia’s heatwave as the worst in history. (Source: Extreme Heat Scorches Asia, Affecting at Least…

Can the world handle a climate that exceeds the far-reaching excesses of 2022 when the entire world turned upside down with unprecedented flooding, fires, and drought? NOAA and climate researchers in Germany and China believe an El Niño, starting in…

“As the increasing use of chemicals becomes indispensable, so do the risks associated with human health and the environment. The shift from highly industrialized to developing countries of chemicals production, use, and disposal is concerning while Asia also produces half…

Earth Day poem #2     Before the old streetsweeper comes I take a lingering look at the leaves now burnt brown crusty and curled on their new concrete bed down their original home still standing up to the clearing…

Earth Day poem #1     This morning, I picked flowers on the wayside as the sun tarried with its light, pinched off a stem with orange blooms just dotting palm-sized leaves, then a solitary hibiscus queenly in yellow and…

On April 22 [2023], the UN celebrated Earth Day 2023. All indicators show the extent of contempt that the world’s most powerful rulers, especially the “Western” ones, have for the Earth and its inhabitants (human and non-human). Take, first of…