Writings - Montalut

How can our recreation save the environment?

THE HARIBON FORUM:MOUNTAINEERING AND BEYOND
September 21, 2006; 6:00pm
Meralco Mini-Theater, Lopez Building, Meralco Center
Ortigas Avenue, Pasig City

Entrance fees are P20 for students and P50 for professionals/non-students.

Mountaineering is more than just climbing peaks, blazing trails, and discovering new horizons. It is more than a hobby or plain recreation.

It is a WAY OF LIFE.

Once a person officially becomes a mountaineer, he signs a pact with Mother Nature, because a True Mountaineer is a sentinel of the Environment.

Mountaineering is not just about conquering the mountains. It is a commitment to the LNT (Leave-No-Trace) ethics. It is taking that EXTRA Step to become an Environmental Advocate.

Join us as we share with you the spirit of mountaineering and beyond through the words of mountaineers who took the EXTRA STEP to become true-blue environmentalists.

Let us share with you what it is we love Beyond Mountaineering.

Be one of us and you’ll know How our Recreation Can save the Environment.

BE THERE!

We request that you confirm your attendance by contacting Vyxz Vasquez at 434-4642 or 0927-3994997 or email advocacy@haribon.org.ph

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The Burden of HOT

Uncategorized

There’s a Bench billboard that makes me stare every time I see it in the morning. Along EDSA, seen in full view from the Fort-Buendia flyover, is a young man in nothing but army briefs, with the single-word copy, “Attention!” Quite far from award-winning, but an effective ad nonetheless: I always get the urge to reach out and touch it, just because it’s sooo pretty.

Guilty pleasure indeed.

A friend helped me rationalize this by saying that maybe the ad affects me the same way a good painting does…that maybe I’m just admiring it (the sculpted male body) as a work of art. I said no. A painting jumps at me because there’s something about it that I relate to—there’s a connection between the art (or artist) and myself, that warm, fuzzy feeling of acknowledgment, or in some distant way, friendship. The HOT Bench model just screams hot. There’s no drama, no lingering question, no conflict, no moment of nostalgia to smile or smirk about or maybe even escape to…objectively hot is just that—meant to be looked at, ogled… “Uy, aliw, ang ganda…Wala lang.”

I wouldn’t want HOT for a boyfriend. I’m a bad snob, but the stereotype stands until proven wrong from firsthand experience: HOT=boring=dull=no personality. Or to be more fair, HOT=distracting. There’s too much going on, too noisy physically, to even attempt to glimpse a personality, what more listen for an honest voice. The possibility of establishing a personal connection is remote, or again, to be more fair, extremely effortful.

Reminds me of Chuck Palahnuik’s Invisible Monsters:

I wrote the first draft years ago sitting in laundromats and the only magazines to read were like Savvy and Mademoiselle, and I think Glamour and Vogue. So I sort of studied the language of those magazines; the language of fashion description, you know; 600,000 adjectives before you find the word sweater at the end. And I thought, why couldn’t you write a book in this language? So I did, and it’s about a fashion model who is always the center of attention until her face gets shot off in a drive-by shooting. And so she becomes culturally invisible and she realizes there is more power in people being afraid of acknowledging your presence than on people focusing on you all the time.”

habits for the busy

Everyday Life

One of the few “peripheral mails” I welcome in my inbox is the Mission Calendar from O, The Oprah Magazine. Last month was an ode to the body:

Renew your body by shaking up routines, opening to new experiences.
When people get busy, they rely on habits–wearing the same clothes,
eating the same food, taking the same route to work–to save time and
thought.

Habits to compensate for lack of time..as a source of relief. Never thought of them that way.

As one whose eyes light up with novelty, I’ve always looked at habits as a burden. What’s more routine for me is to vary my routine.

But admittedly, I do miss the habit of school uniforms, packed lunches, and school buses, when real world concerns were taken care of by Mom and the trivial things that occupied our heads really were the most stupid, most useless (but most interesting) of concerns.

Gawad Kalinga: Leyte

Sustainable LivingTourism & Development

Ateneo/SLB Task Force Noah: Operation Southern Leyte
to shift to Rehabilitation
in cooperation with Gawad Kalinga: Leyte

On February 17, 2006, a massive landslide buried the people of Guinsaugon in Southern Leyte under tons of mud, rocks and debris. The more than 1,800 residents who disappeared and are presumed dead comprise almost the entire population of the once peaceful farming village. What is now left of the place is a vast expanse of mud, and a handful of grieving survivors. Nothing much awaits relief efforts.

However, a few thousand residents of neighboring villages, and the few residents of Guinsaugon who survived, remain at risk. Their area has previously been declared a geo-hazard zone. People should not inhabit the place at all.

The thousands displaced do not just need relief — rice, noodles and sardines – they need rehabilitation — a more suitable place to live in, and new means of earning a living. They need to find life again.

The Ateneo de Manila University’s joint effort with Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan, the Task Force Noah: Operation Southern Leyte is now shifting efforts from immediate relief operations to the longer term rehabilitation of Guinsaugon and the other affected barangays of St. Bernard, Leyte.

This phase will be undertaken in partnership with Gawad: Kalinga, the organization set up by private individuals now known nationally and internationally for its successful efforts in providing housing, livelihood and a new life to thousands of poor Filipinos.

Gawad Kalinga: Leyte is a call to all people of good will and good fortune – to share their blessings to the less fortunate, to be part of their struggle to once again find life.

Starting Wednesday, February 22,
Please send your donations directly to
Gawad Kalinga National Office

Direct Deposit to BPI:

Current PESO Account: 3101-0973-22
Current DOLLAR Account: 3104-0162-34

Account name: Gawad Kalinga Leyte, BPI Greenhills branch

IMPORTANT: For Proper Crediting of your Donation to the GK Leyte Fund (The bank does not provide us your name):

Please FAX a photocopy of your bank deposit slip to the Ateneo Gawad Kalinga office, fax number 63-2-426-5693 (Please be sure this information is legible on the fax) OR EMAIL the following information to slimuaco@ateneo.edu:

(a) Your name, address, and telephone number,
(b) The deposit amount and date
(c) That the donation is for “GK Leyte Rehabilitation”
(d) How you remitted the donation (direct deposit, bank-to-bank, etc.)

You may also donate in person directly at the Ateneo Gawad Kalinga office, 3rd Floor, Hoeffner Social Training Center, Telephone No.: 426-6001 loc 5024

Members of the Ateneo community and other concerned citizens, can still donate through Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan

*
The Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan will continue to receive cash and check donations at the Loyola House of Studies Frontdesk from 6:00 am to 10:00 pm,

Direct Deposit to SLB account:

PESO Account: 3081-1111-61

Account name: Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan.

Please make checks payable to Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan.

*
You may also give your cash or check donations at Window 16A, Office of the Associate Dean for Student Affairs (ADSA), Xavier Hall, AdMU, 8:00am to 5:00pm.

IMPORTANT: For Proper Crediting of your Donation to Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan
(The bank does not provide us your name):

Please FAX a photocopy of your bank deposit slip to the Office of University Development, fax number 63-2-426-6080 (Please be sure this information is legible on the fax) OR EMAIL the following information to the Office of Student Affairs, Rene San Andres, rsanandres@ateneo.edu:

(a) Your name, address, and telephone number,
(b) The deposit amount and date
(c) That the donation is for the “GK Leyte Rehabilitation”
(d) How you remitted the donation (direct deposit, bank-to-bank, etc.)

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MERRY CHRISTMAS HUG! :)

Uncategorized

Lecture: Regenerating a Coral Reef

Education Sustainable Living

November 18, Friday
9:00a.m. sign in, 9:30a.m. lecture starts
Filipinas Heritage Library

P100 MVP members, P200 non-members.

“95% of RP Reefs Ruined, Says Group” -Front page headline in yesterday’s Inquirer
“Program to Save RP Reefs Launched” -Front page headline in yesterday’s Star.

The plight of Philippine reefs is front page news.
Learn about an award-winning project that regenerates the coral reef from the man who started it, Ernie Pelaez.

Two years ago, Ernesto Pelaez, together with a marine biologist and a dive instructor, set out to restore the badly damaged coral reef in his family’s beach resort. Their project was not only successful in regenerating coral and bringing back an abundance of fish, it also recently won a silver medal in the Holcim awards for innovation in achieving a sustainable environment.

It will be refreshing to listen to a success story about our environment, especially about our coral reefs. Here is a story of three invidiuals “with no high academic background”, in Pelaez’s words, who made a huge difference in only 2 years — Don’t miss it!

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metro pollution

Sustainable LivingLife in Manila

When I was a kid, I’d pass by the Meralco plant in Sucat on my way to school, and the ugly fumes from its big chimneys would greet me everyday. This bothered me considerably, and with my then dream of becoming a scientist, I thought of inventing a chimney cover that would convert bad air into good air before it was let loose in the atmosphere. Come Environmental Class in college, I discovered that my cover had in fact been invented, and was already being used worldwide.

On a more recent note, this article on cleaning big cities in National Geographic made me a little more hopeful in the restoration of Manila air. Excerpts below:

Cleaning Big Cities’ Air “Not Rocket Science,” Expert Says
John Roach
for National Geographic News
October 27, 2005

Large metropolises have some of the dirtiest air in the world. But experts say technologies that have existed for decades could help solve the problem—if utility companies are willing to use them.

The high altitude and ample sunlight of Mexico City create an ideal environment for pollutants to accumulate and linger, Molina said.

One major culprit, ground-level ozone, forms due to a sunlight-fueled chemical reaction between nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds. Commonly called smog, ground-level ozone causes a host of respiratory ailments, according the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Particulate matter is the term applied to the tiny bits of dust, soot, dirt, smoke, and liquid droplets that accumulate in the air and give smog its color.

Breathing particulate matter also causes respiratory ailments. In addition, it adversely affects the environment by changing the acidity of lakes, streams, and forests.

According to Walke, existing pollution-control technologies include:
• So-called scrubbers, which typically use chemicals or water to remove sulfur from gases produced in coal-fired power plants.

• A process known as selective catalytic reduction, which relies on the use of chemicals like ammonia to start a reaction that removes nitrogen oxides from tailpipes and smokestacks.

• Baghouses—cloth bags used to filter gas streams, which can remove particulate emissions from smokestacks.

• High-temperature incinerators that can destroy toxic pollutants.

“Merely requiring uncontrolled [coal-fired power] plants to adopt technologies that have been around for 10 to 20 years would solve air-pollution problems in this country, at least as far as smog and soot are concerned,” he said.

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nature awareness

Sustainable Living

While looking for adventure last summer, a friend referred me to the Nature Awareness & Conservation Club, Inc.

Although I have yet to apply for membership myself, it makes me happy to see people who are impassioned travelers/environmentalists and, at the same time, generous with what they know.

Below is a recent info drop on resource persons for Solid Waste Management and Environmental Education:

Environment Awareness and Education
MRS. ELENIDA BASUG
Chief of Environment Education
Department of Environment and Natural Resources
elenemb2002@yahoo.com
look for Ms. Eva Borja at 9202251 or 9284674
They give away FREE Materials for Environment Education.

Environment Management Service of Solid Waste
MR. CASIMIRO A. YNARES III MD
Executive Director
National Solid Waste Management of DENR
look for Ms. Raquel Tandug 9202250 or 9202279 or 09179239742
Senior Environment Management Service
mailraqs@yahoo.com
They give FREE training and directories of Recycling Institutions.

The Nature Awareness & Conservation Club, Inc Membership
Ms. DINAH PIZARRO
Board of Director
Membership Development and Special Projects
Dinah 09215736776 drcpizarro@yahoo.com

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dapdap trees are dying!

Sustainable LivingLife in Manila

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Greenmeadows Ave., QC

Also along C-5, Pasig

One of the many (about 40?) full grown trees in Julia Vargas and Greenmeadows Ave., Quezon City that have fallen ill. A friend told me that it is a phenomena not limited to the Philippines, also happening in Hawaii..suspected culprit is a wasp that migrated from Africa, and they’re hoping its natural predator will come to the rescue. Soon please.

More on the Erythina Gall Wasp (thanks to mads for the link)

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vision

Everyday Life Enterprise and Wealth CreationFlow

Gouache on paper, 2005

Recently picked up “Entrepreneur’s Helpline” by AIM Dean of the Asian Center for Entrepreneurship, Alejandrino Ferreria, and was pleased to be reminded of the importance of vision—be it for a business, company or oneself.

He says vision is not invented but discovered, the fundamental question being “How do you see yourself many, many years from now?” Always in reference to the future, to something better than the status quo (He says an entrepreneur must find the status quo unacceptable).

Yesterday, I tried motivating 15 high school kids from Cavite to flesh out their personal visions, using Ferreria’s guidelines and various self-mastery tools I’ve picked up from advertising and creativity classes:

List your core values: Include universal, cultural, and personal values which are important to you; shortlist to 5; subject them to a stress test (if you rate honesty as a non-negotiable, would you return money that you found in a cab? P1,000,000? What if it’s an even bigger amount? If your answer is consistent, then you’ve found your core value).

Ask yourself:

Where am I?
Why am I here?
Where am I going?
How do I get there?
Am I getting there?

More on Self-discovery- Fill in the blanks:

I really enjoy… (15 things)
I am really good at… (15 things)
I am interested in… (10 things)
In ten years, a famous paper is to do a feature on me, planning to interview three people closest to me–a parent, sibling, friend. What do I want them to say about me?
I admire… (3 people)
I secretly admire… (3 people)

These tools are to help one formulate his/her vision, which is a statement that must be unique (it can’t be anyone else’s), and it must excite (inspire, not frustrate: “Mukhang imposible, pero kaya!”).

My personal question (quest?) now: WHAT IS THE FILIPINO VISION? Among the Presidents I’ve lived through, I can remember Ramos as the only one who provided a vision (operative word: provide). I know Malaysia and Korea had contemporary leaders with visions…

Off the bat, I would start with this–The Philippines: politically and economically efficient, ethical and resilient, with a citizenry united in the pursuit of everyday excellence.

The World Challenge

Sustainable LivingTourism & Development

BBC, Newsweek and Shell have teamed up to give entrepreneurs a chance to win US$20,000 for their projects on community development:

The World Challenge is a competition aimed at finding individuals or groups from around the world who have shown enterprise and innovation at a grass roots level. This competition is all about finding entrepreneurs whose projects are making a difference to communities.

Among the 12 finalists this year is Juboken Enterprise, a Pinoy company that makes COCONETS, surrogate tree roots made from waste coconut husks to prevent landslides.
Cast your vote here!

Other finalists:
ELEPHANT PEPPER,
Growing chillies: the solution to a jumbo-sized problem?
ZAMBIA, Africa

CAMEL MILKING BASKETS
Selling baskets made by pastoralists is giving women an income for the first time
KENYA

REAL IPM
Bringing down the cost of eco-friendly pest management using natural predators
*IPM stands for ‘integrated pest management’ – the use of natural predators to control pests.
KENYA

ORGANIC LEATHER FASHION
Badly produced leather can cause cancer – an organic alternative is on the market
UNITED KINGDOM & SLOVINIA

FAT CHANCE, BIO POWER
Cleaning up the Maltese coastline by turning cooking fat into a diesel-substitute
MALTA

RIET VELL: ORGANIC FARMING AND NATURE
Bird-friendly farming
SPAIN

MEN ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD
Improving the job prospects and quality of life of roadside labourers
SOUTH AFRICA

WEDDINGS THAT GIVE BACK
‘I Do’ Foundation: Americans spend $70 billion on weddings a year – a little is now going to charity
USA

REEF REHAB: RECHARGEABLE BATTERY PROJECT
Rechargeable batteries are restoring coral reefs in the Pacific
VANUATU

RESIN-BONDED ROOFTILES
Recycling plastic waste for indestructible roof tiles
UKRAINE

IRULA TRIBAL VENOM CENTRE
Supplying venom for medical needs
INDIA

Voting is open until 5pm 16th October 2005.

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birdwatching in the city

Sustainable LivingLife in Manila

American Cemetery and Memorial
3:00-5:30pm, June 19, Sunday.
Free Entrance.

First time to go birdwatching (also birding) today. Was a quiet afternoon, good slow way to start paying attention to detail–one of the essentials of a meaningful life!

Birding is “the activity of observing wild birds in their habitat,” and it’s a nice alternative to spending your weekends, even in the city.
Time to allocate: 2-3 hours.

* * *

Email invitation from the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines:

Do you know what are Golden-bellied Flyeaters,Yellow-vented Bulbuls and Pied Fantails?

These are some of the most common birds found in Metro Manila.

Join the members of the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines on a guided bird watching trip at one of Metro Manila’s best kept parks this Sunday, June 19 and discover the wonderful world of birds.

Assemble at the visitor’s parking lot of the American War Memorial in Fort Bonifacio at 3:00 pm. We will start with an orientation for first-timers and walk past the green lawns to look for Zebra Doves (Bato-bato)and Barred Rails (Tikling). Walk under the shade of the acacias to look for Collared Kingfishers (Kasaykasay), Lowland White-eyes (Matang Dulong) and perhaps a Philippine Pygmy Woodpecker (Karpintero).

Participants are advised to wear rubber or walking shoes. Please bring water, snacks, sunblock, umbrella (in case it rains) and/or insect repellant.

The guided trip for first-timers is free, however the club rents out binoculars at P50.00/pair. If you bring your own pair of binoculars, no other charges apply. Slots are limited and interested parties need to sign up and indicate the number of slots to be reserved, binoculars needed and contact numbers for confirmation. Please get in touch with Mike Lu via email at myckle@thenet.ph or text 0917-3350325.

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