Alliances

Some alliances are just to good to be true. Others are shrouded in mystery and lies. Others are made in heaven and while others last even beyond our lifetime.

Same is true with all forms of emotions like love, happiness, joy, hate and still holds true with relationship and friendship. But the end of some alliances can foster also the beginning of new ones.

We always learn from our mistakes which has brought man this far. The strongest foundations on earth were built from the mistakes and learnings of the past. Only time can tell on how far we will go and how far civilization will take us into the future.

Again, I have always been telling people this, "Our greatest responsibility is to pass on the wisdom, knowledge, the skill and good experiences that we have to the next generation". We are just stewards of this earth and that what we pass on to the next generation is our greatest gift to them.

Environmental Program

Today I had a taste of my first radio interview. It went quite well. The program was one hour. The discussion were more on environmental programs of the city. When I was with ICT, I was just at the back burner. No media interview, no nothing. This time, I get to interact with the public more. ;-)

This new job seems to be getting more and more interesting everyday. And it's true, one does not have to be a scientist to be an environmentalist. You just have to have a lot of common sense.

I will be writing about other activities here in the coming days related to Environment and hot ICT an a tool can enable better efficiency in preventing loss of life and property. Being close to environment has its advantages. I have more articles to write about and discovery and learn new things. ;-)

On Organic Farming and Junior Foresters...

I never realize three weeks have passed since I last blogged and in just a few days we have done several major activities. I can't discuss all of them in one blog so I'll just mention two for now.

First we went to one of the mountain Barangays to do forums on organic farming with the local farmers in the area. The community organizers were very accommodating and hospitable.

When we arrived the pilot area, freshly cut coconuts fruits coupled with some steamed japanese sweet corn were already set at the table. The place was a bit far but accessible. Farm to market road where already built although some of it need immediate repairs due to constant soil erosion and earth movements in the area.

The program started with a prayer, then the national anthem and acknowledgement of guests. Then the Barangay Captain/Village Chief gave his brief welcome remarks. I meet an old friend, a former City Administrator of which he said this is the first time he has ever set foot there. Same with me. ;-)

One the main reasons why this place was chosen as pilot for organic farming was because the use of pesticides is rampant in the area. As the discussions and presentations continued so did the temper of the people present in the forum. Most of the farmers were not convinced with the method of farming presented by one of the resource speakers. One farmer even strongly opposed to the idea and made a mockery out of it. I never realized that it was this tense. Fortunately, we were able to diffuse the arguements and all went well. I just hope we would be able to set an actual pilot area so that we can have a prototype and prove that organic farming can be economically viable, feasible, efficient, earth friendly and productive.

Second activity was the awarding of 77 school children with school supplies. Prior to this, they were given school supplies. The objective of this program was to encourage children to grow their trees planted several months before. The children were very happy getting their school supplies. The school supplies was in cooperation with one major telco company. Children were reminded to protect their trees and was designated junior foresters. They all agree and were very receptive to the activity. We hope that this will encourage other children to participate in this new program to plant, protect and grow trees. ;-)

The Scare! Earthquakes and Fake Tsunami Alarms!

I can't imagine how scared most people were. A powerful 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit the city around lunchtime sending people running out to the streets. I was outside walking towards the office when the earthquake struck. I did not feel anything. Maybe I was to close to the ground, to close to the environment. ;-)

I even did not know what was happening when I saw them running out of the building and asking what went wrong. At first I thought the building was on fire then I asked one fellow and he said it was a powerful earthquake. About 30 seconds they say.

I called Mariposa to check on her because she's in another neighboring island. The epicenter was on her island but she was safe. Called my mom and sisters and they too were ok. Then the lines went down. The communications network was flooded with numerous calls. I can't call anymore but the internet was still accessible.

I went back to the other office to get my things. Work was already suspended at time. Nobody was allowed to enter the building. I saw my friend and she offered to clean my nails of which I said, "ok ;-)". A few minutes after, text messages started coming in. There was a tsunami they say. People started running like crazy looking for higher ground. I on the other hand continued with my activity not knowing the mayhem happening outside. When we were done, I went to the plaza and saw some of my friends and asked, "Why is the plaza empty?". He said, "all of them have fled to higher grounds because there is a tsunami". The office by the way is near the shore, so I went out to the shore and checked. It was clear! It was a fake tsunami alarm. I was laughing then got upset a few minutes after with the thought on how people believe these stories.

First, you can not out run a tsunami if ever there was one. Second, the only thing that you can do is look for the nearest higher ground or hold on to something and pray. Funny thing is it's impossible to have tsunamis in our place because, first we are not facing a large body of water or an open ocean and second we are surrounded by other islands. Tsunamis also happens just a few minutes after an earthquake. They got the alarm a few hours after which I find oddly stupid.

It really is a big advantage if you know your environment well or you get to know the environment you live in. We are responsible for our own actions and we have to give people the right information, not take advantage of the panicky situation. With that you don't have to panic like most did. It did more harm than good. ;-)

Three Weeks... ;-) IT and Environment!

So far so good. The three weeks being environmental officer has been fruitful. Challenging and demanding at best but fruitful none the less. ;-) I guess I can still put this as another feather on my coat. We just finished our first major environmental activity for the year. Thanks to the KITA Environmental Cooperative and Dr. Kogi Takakura, the man and the mind behind the Takakura Composting Method. I'm not a subject matter expert on this but you can try searching for it on the net. There are plenty of resources online on how make one and the benefits of going into this composting method. Before I forget, Thanks to the Chairman or woman who I believe is the source of my inspiration right now for the Environment. Thanks Councilor Nida Cabrera! Thanks also to her very supportive staff and thanks also to the SWMB Secretariat Mai and Ryan. Thanks also to the one and only Environmental expert of the city, Engr. Maria Concepcion Encabo. Cheers guys and gals!

Next challenge? A new office which the City Administrator promised me. Well let's see if promises are not made to be broken. Crossing my fingers! A much bigger challenge though is the upcoming Environmental Summit. For a person with an IT background, I still have to probe further on what are the things IT can apply to help the environment. In my opinion initially, Information campaigns and research, research, research! ;-) Wish me luck on my next project! ;-)