Earth Day 2024: Planet vs. Plastics

image credit to earthreminder.com

Our planet is engulfed in plastics. From the deepest oceans to the highest mountains, plastic waste has left its mark, causing irreparable damage to ecosystems and posing a grave threat to wildlife and human health. The statistics are alarming—more plastic has been produced in the last decade than in the entire 20th century, and the production is only expected to increase.

Earth Day 2024 is set to be a pivotal moment in the global environmental movement, with the theme "Planet vs. Plastics" taking center stage. This year, Earth Day-April 22, 2024, transcends beyond a celebration of our planet—it's a call to action against one of the most persistent pollutants of our time: plastics. The call aims to unite students, parents, businesses, governments, churches, unions, individuals, and NGOs in a commitment to call for the end of plastics for the sake of human and environmental health. 

The "Planet vs. Plastics" theme for Earth Day 2024 is not just a slogan; it's a battle cry for change. EARTHDAY.ORG, the global organizer of Earth Day, is leading the charge with a bold demand: 

This year's theme demands a 60% reduction in the production of plastics by 2040 and an ultimate goal of having a plastic-free future generations. This advocates for the recognition that plastics pose a threat to human and the environment, and the climate as well. This ambitious goal underscores the urgency of the situation and the need for immediate action.

Mobilizing the Masses

To achieve this significant reduction, a multifaceted approach is necessary. It involves promoting widespread public awareness, phasing out single-use plastics, ending the affliction of fast fashion, and investing in innovative technologies and materials. Everyone from students to businesses, governments to NGOs, is called upon to play a role in building a plastic-free future.

Health at Stake

The health implications of plastics are as concerning as their environmental impact. Microplastics, which break down from larger pieces of plastic waste, have infiltrated our food and water sources, carrying with them toxic chemicals known to cause cancer and disease.

The "Planet vs. Plastics" campaign emphasizes the need for more research and transparency regarding these health effects.

The "Planet vs. Plastics" campaign emphasizes the need for more research and transparency regarding these health effects.

Innovative Solutions

The fight against plastics is also a fight for innovation. Alternative materials, recycling technologies, and sustainable practices are the keys to unlocking a plastic-free world. Earth Day 2024 serves as a platform to showcase and support these innovations, inspiring hope for a cleaner, healthier planet.

Joining the Movement for this Earth Day, we are all called to join the movement against plastics. Whether it's through participating in local clean-up events, advocating for policy changes, or making personal commitments to reduce plastic use, every action counts. Together, we can tip the scales in favor of our planet and pave the way for a future free from plastic pollution.

 

As we look forward to Earth Day 2024, let's embrace the theme of "Planet vs. Plastics" and commit to making tangible changes in our lives and communities. It's a day to reflect on our relationship with the environment and to take decisive steps towards a sustainable and plastic-free world. 

What We Need To Know About El Niño & La Niña

With the ending phase of El Niño and the coming of La Niña, everyone seems to be bothered about what it would cause to the environment and the food supply in a certain country as well as its economy. El Niño is a Spanish word that means "The Little Boy" or "The Christ Child", and was used since the occurrence emerge of Christmas. Whereas, La Niña (also called"El Viejo") is the counterpart of El Niño meaning "The Little Girl", this is the ENSO (El Niño Southern Oscillation) cold phase or event. El Niño occurs every 3 to 5 years and is almost always followed by La Niña.

      *oscillation > movement from one position to another.  

   

What is El Niño?

     El Niño is the warm phase of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), it is characterized by warm ocean temperatures that develop in the equatorial Pacific.

What causes the El Niño?

     It is caused by the warmer waters of the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

Why the waters are warmer?

     As the trade winds lessen or reverse their direction, winds from the west push the warm surface of waters to the east in the direction of South America, such that there are lesser cold waters pulled up from below due to increase in warmer waters.

Watch this >> Animated Video on El Niño

What are the effects of El Niño?

Changes in weather patterns

• temperature changes
• precipitation changes
• storm track changes
• changes in currents and ocean temperature

These changes lead to other consequences such as:

fires, drought, flooding, economic changes, price of heating and food, a crash of fisheries, famines, plagues, insect population explosion, and crop failure.

However, there are also positive effects  brought by El Niño such as,

fewer hurricanes and other tropical cyclones in the North Atlantic, milder winters in southern Canada and the northern continental United States, replenishment of water supplies in the southwestern United States, and less disease in some areas due to drier weather like malaria in southeastern Africa.

======================

What is La Niña?

     La Niña is the cold phase of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), it is characterized by cold ocean temperatures in the equatorial Pacific.

What causes the La Niña?

     It is caused by the build-up of cooler-than-normal waters in the tropical Pacific, the west coast of South America.

Why the waters are cooler?

     The unusually easterly trade winds and ocean currents bring these cold waters to the surface, known as the process of upwelling.

Watch this >> Animated Video on La Niña

What are the effects of La Niña?

• drops in the ocean temperature
• cold currents rise up along the coast
• extended rains
• higher than average rainfall
• hurricanes and cyclones
• flooding

These effects can also have consequences on the agriculture and food supply of countries, as well as on private and insurance costs for crops.

There are also positive effects such as enhanced growth of fish populations and marine life due to the nutrients brought about by upwelling cold currents, thus fishermen get a good catch.

Click to watch more >> Observing El Niño

Beware of Mosquito-Borne Virus

     Seven years ago, my son contracted a mosquito-borne viral infection, the dengue virus. Three days of high to low fever, had me suspected of dengue fever. On the fourth day, I have seen that he had bleeding gums, right then I decided to take him to a hospital since I know how fatal dengue is. It pays to be informed of every disease that could snatch out the ones we love. Though he survived that fatal disease, it leaves a traumatic experience for him due to intermittent blood extraction to check on his platelets. I have come to know through doctors that there are four (4) strains of dengue infection in which you cannot be immune if you have had the other one. My son had strain I (DEN-1) and strain IV (DEN-4), meaning he is still not immune to strain II and III.

     After five years, I contracted another mosquito-borne viral infection. Fever, headache, and massive joint pains which I suspected then as dengue. I am taking chances with my life then before seeking the doctor's help, if my gum bleeds that was it. Joint pains is unbearable for me then because I was not able to walk, so I consulted my doctor and was diagnosed having the chikungunya virus. Though this one is not fatal, the extreme pain of the symptoms as well as taking antibiotics was hard for me. 

     The onset of another mosquito-borne virus is in our news nowadays, the zika virus urges me to do some research on the four most known mosquito-borne viral infections aside from malaria, yellow fever, dengue, chikungunya, and zika virus.

Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease transmitted by infected mosquitoes. 

• Incubation is 3-6 days. 
• The 1st acute phase occurs with fever, muscle pain with prominent backache, headache, shivers, loss of appetite, nausea, and vomiting. 
• The 2nd phase, the more toxic phase, high fever returns, and several body systems are affected.
• Jaundice, abdominal pains, vomiting, and bleeding can occur from the mouth, nose, eyes, and stomach.
• Blood also appears in the vomit and feces. Kidney function deteriorates. Patients who enter the toxic phase die within 10 - 14 days. 
• Vaccines are available. 
• No specific treatment but can be treated with antibiotics.

Dengue Virus is transmitted by a female mosquito of the species Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. The former is usually widespread in tropical and subtropical countries in Asia while the latter is in cooler temperate regions of Europe. 

• Aedes aegypti is a day mosquito that bites early in the morning and before dusk in the evening. 
• Incubation is 4-10 days.
• A high fever of up to 40°C/104°F, headache, pain behind the eyes and muscle pains, nausea and vomiting, swollen glands, rashes, and bleeding gums are the symptoms but not necessarily all of them.
• Complications that can be deadly are plasma leaking, organ impairment, severe bleeding, respiratory diseases, or fluid accumulation which may occur 3-7 days after the 1st symptoms. 
• Infected persons are the carriers of the disease. 
• No specific treatment but maintenance of the patient's body fluid is critical for its treatment.
• Vaccine is now available 

Chikungunya Virus is also transmitted to humans by infected mosquitoes, the most common are the Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. The name chikungunya is derived from the Kimakonde language in Africa, "to become contorted" since the patient appears stooped due to joint pains.

• The virus is transmitted from person to person by infected female mosquitoes. 
• Sudden onset of fever accompanied by joint pains are the primary symptoms.
• Onset of illness occurs in 4 to 8 days or 2 to 12 days.
• Headache, nausea, vomiting, muscle pain, fatigue, and rash are the common symptoms.
• Joint pain can be debilitating and can last for weeks, months, or even years.
• Symptoms can be the same as in dengue and can be sometimes misdiagnosed in some regions.
• No specific treatment or cure but treatment is focused on relieving the symptoms.

Zika Virus is transmitted to a person through the bite of an infected mosquito, Aedes aegypti, the same mosquito that transmits dengue, chikungunya, and yellow fever.

• incubation period is not clear
• symptoms include mild fever, rash, and conjunctivitis which lasts for 2 to 7 days.
• some symptoms are similar to other mosquito-borne diseases, including muscle, and joint pains, malaise, and headache.
• no specific treatment and vaccines available

** Zika Virus is reportedly associated with a birth defect of microcephaly due to an increase in several babies born with it in  Brazil. Regarding the matter, World Health Organization (WHO) just released a news statement associating neurological birth defects with the zika virus.

** As we have noticed, the same mosquitoes and symptoms can be observed in all of these diseases. They only differ in the kinds of virus and strain the mosquitoes are carrying and transmitting to humans.

Definition of Terms:

* incubation period - from the time of exposure to the onset of symptoms

* microcephaly - a type of birth or congenital defect wherein the infant's head is significantly smaller due to incomplete brain development.

* plasma leakage - leakage of blood plasma out of the capillaries.

PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE

FOR MORE INFORMATION, LINKS ARE PROVIDED BELOW FOR DISSEMINATION:

*Question and Answers: Zika and Pregnancy

*WHO(World Health Organization) statement on the first meeting of the International Health Regulations (2005) Emergency Committee on Zika virus and observed increase in neurological disorders and neonatal malformations

*WHO Director-General Summarizes the Outcome of the Emergency Committee on Zika

#zikavirus #chikingunya #dengue #yellowfever #aedesaegypti #microcephaly

GreenPeace Green Tips on Recycling Bottles

     I have received a Christmas card from GreenPeace as a token for the great year of action and change. Since I have a passion for landscape photography, I join an organization that would protect something we enjoy and has been entrusted to us. I think nature's wonder should stay for us to enjoy it more. It has been four years since I signed up to be a volunteer for this environmental organization. And being a volunteer is not only limited to donations but to sharing/disseminating the information through social media and joining the fight for a greener and safer environment. Along with the card that they sent me, they are issuing a regular newsletter for their supporters. So there goes my blog about what GreenPeace has just recently sent us on recycling plastic bottles.

     According to GreenPeace, plastic bottles take at least 1000 years to break down. Wow.. it would take iPhone to innovate as many versions as they could have until none. So, what can we do to these bottles? Here are some tips...

Coins/Jewelry /Small trinkets Organizer
1. Cut the bottoms of 2 bottles approximately 5-8 cm but it depends on the type of bottle to be used and what is intended for.

2. Combine the two plastic bottles' bottoms by attaching a zipper between the two ends by gluing them on both sides. You can add up some designs to the organizer.




Candle Holder
1. Cut off the tops of two bottles. Make the one shorter than the other.
2. Glue the two mouth ends of the bottles together, with the bigger one at the bottom.
3. Design with a ribbon or shoelace the glued portion.

 Follow these tips, take pictures
 and send them to us to be featured here.




For any recycling ideas, click  here 

 Join us and help protect our environment

Arctic Region's Role in Climate Change

     Arctic region is found in the northernmost part of the earth and is made up of countries like

Greenland, Iceland, Sweden , Finland, Norway, Canada, USA and some parts of Russia. Different type of animals also make their home in the arctic which includes the polar bears, wolverines, squirrels, birds, walrus and sea lions. Despite its cold climate, the Arctic has a number of natural resources, including fish, oil, gas and various minerals.. and this is where the problem goes...

     Major companies capitalizing on Arctic's natural resources threaten its fragile ecosystem due to offshore drilling and destructive industry, thus, climate change is already affecting Southeast Asia.

How does it affect Southeast Asia?

First, Arctic region plays a critical role in regulating the global climate, acting as the "world's refrigerator" and keeping the planet cool. Second, Arctic's ice acts as a "giant mirror", bouncing sunlight and heat back into the atmosphere, so without it, the effects of climate change will become unstoppable.

     As the ice melts, climate changes are on its way, affecting Southeast Asia with higher temperatures, decreasing rainfall, rising sea levels, greater frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. All these changes lead to widespread flooding, landslides and drought. Climate change is putting more energy in the form of heat, into the world's weather systems. And this energy speeds up the whole system, increasing the number and intensity of storms. One example is the typhoon Bopha (typhoon Pablo) which is categorized as Super Typhoon 5, the strongest tropical cyclone ravaged Mindanao in the southern part of the Philippines.

    Unless we protect the Arctic by voicing our opinions and signing up to make an impact, climate change will become even more severe. I care.. so I have added my voice to the millions who already made themselves heard! If you don't care who else will..

Sign the petition now..

or  Know more how to be a Greenpeace volunteer..