Merging the Good Traits of
Developed Countries and the Good Traits of the Philippines
An Environmental
Perspective
by F. Eugenio
Summary: In terms of environmental protection, the Philippines
should emulate the clean government of developed countries. Developed countries
have the education, the political will, and the resources to initiate
environmental programs. The practicality and utilitarianism-oriented
perspectives of Filipino culture is also commendable. Merging the resource
conservationist Filipino culture and the political will and integrity of
developed countries would create a nation that is environmentally friendly.
The Philippines is (until now)
a developing country (I am against the use of the cold-war era term “Third
World Country”). Rampant poverty due to unequal wealth distribution is still a
major problem even in urbanized areas such as Metro Manila and Metro Cebu.
Decades of poverty experience has already partially defined our culture. Sometimes
it’s the other way around, that is, poverty is caused by a defective culture.
The culture of mediocrity is one example. The fate of the country during
election season is always in the hands of the uneducated masses, who will
always prefer the popular ones (usually from showbiz), to anyone academically
or professionally competent. Those incompetent politicians usually look at
their position as a way of gaining more money, thus no political will is
manifested in their term. (Are you still there?) Well, the point is that the
weaknesses of the Philippines and its leaders should be eliminated in the ideal
state mentioned in the summary. The only good thing I see in poverty-ridden
Philippines is that the people are resilient, caring, hospitable, and
family-oriented. The opposite occurs in individualistic-oriented Western
nations. Lastly, there is no overconsumption of resources in the Filipino
culture. In fact, Filipinos are known to be conservative in terms of resources.
A big opposite to Western nations such as the United States, the latter having
21% of its domestic waste made up of wasted (sometimes still edible) food.
(Food is just an example. Look how these countries waste their obsolete but
still useful electronics. Simply put, the American way back then may look good,
but it leads to overconsumption of everything – from resources to energy.)
Looking at the bright side,
developed nations are blessed to have a good government (good compared to the
incompetence and corruption plaguing the Philippine government). Although their
past environmental sins are not yet atoned, their political will in doing eco-related
projects is sufficient. For example, in the United States, their Environment
Protection Agency is dead serious in preventing excessive air pollution, water
pollution, noise pollution and other sources of pollution. Recycling, although still
at a 34% rate in 2011, is still higher than Metro Manila’s 10% recycling rate
in 2010.[1]
(As I’ve mentioned before, the culture of mediocrity combined with lack of
education aggravates the problem.) In the United States, and assuming that
developed countries follow the same, landfills are engineered areas where waste
is placed into the land. These landfills are equipped with liner systems and
other safeguards to prevent polluting the groundwater. In the Philippines,
particularly in Payatas, the landfill’s liner systems have been degraded
already, possibly leaching toxic waste.
Developed countries have
ensured methods to keep the air clean. In the Philippines, virtually you can have
a smoke-belching jeepney registered. Hell, the emission testing phase is just a
sham. You can pay your way to a licence using the ever-benevolent fixers. Water
pollution? You can trust the masses, and most commonly, the squatters (I’m not
against them but it’s sometimes their fault too.) in keeping the waters full of
garbage. I also found out that there is a garbage-clogged river in Jakarta,
Indonesia. Recycling? At least it’s an emerging business here in Manila, as
junk shops do make a good amount of profit from recyclables. More efforts
should be made in educating the masses, and even the rich ones who are careless[2]
in such matters. As the evil saying goes “It’s not my problem anymore.” Wrong!
The state of the environment is our shared
burden. (More of this I discuss in my blogsite and in my other essays.)
Developed countries are not
essentially absolved of any responsibility either. It was through their
ingenious development, skilful advancements in science, and through their unity
that they shaped the modern world. They are the ones who created the eternal
plastic (since it degrades slowly), the heavy-metal laden electronics devices,
chemical pesticides, cancerous food additives, genetically-modified organisms,
and other inventions they sought which eventually brought a lot of harm with
them. Tribal natives do not need to be modern as long as they are happy and
contented (with ample food supply, of course). Therefore it should be also the
duty of developed countries to help their developing counterparts in dealing
with the very things they introduced. As my friend Deus Picar said “That’s the
problem of people. They avoid responsibility.” (Well, the time for such evasion
is over. Join us in the crusade!) These developed countries are sometimes even
divided about the issue of climate change, as conservatives hailing from oil
companies are trying their best to keep the status quo. Climate talks continue
to reap little benefit but I am still hopeful.
The option for change is
essentially ours. If only we can merge the good traits of the developed and
developing countries, then our climate problems will be, if not totally, partially alleviated.
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