April 3, 2016
By Attorney Gloria Estenzo Ramos
By Attorney Gloria Estenzo Ramos
...The Haiyan/Yolanda tragedy (click here) where more than 7000 lives were lost should have been a long-overdue wake up call for citizens and authorities alike to reexamine the failure of the government to put in place the necessary response to climate change through a genuine community-based planning and preparation for mitigation and adaptation to the climate crisis, which should include the urgent restoration of the devastated life support systems.
We have enough strong laws to protect our rights to life, health, a healthy environment and to build the resiliency of our people to adapt to the drastic food and national security threat that humanity faces. We were commended to be one of the first in Asia to craft laws for good governance and local autonomy through the revolutionary Local Government Code.
We were likewise one of the first in the world to craft what could be an effective climate response through the Climate Change Act and the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Law. The national framework for our collective action to climate change was launched amid great celebration....
Where the climate crisis is most felt are in countries least able to protect from it. The USA is always there to help, but, it would be better if the First World would realize a return to far lower greenhouse gas levels is the best policy.
In this case the first paragraph of the article stats a confrontation between two farmers and police resulting in their deaths. They were distraught over the lack of help due to the drought.
Yes, a drought.
Where people do not have resources to survive the worst of the climate crisis there is unrest, decent and in the case of Syria violent overthrows of government.
