Garbage greets the New Year (and what PH destination is on NatGeo's list)

TSK, tsk. Will people ever change? Why is it so difficult for us Filipinos to segregate garbage, or just throw refuse in the proper disposal bins? Leaving garbage strewn about is so 80s!

Magbago na sana tayo...2011 na!

At the Rizal Park, this photo from BusinessWorld:


Caption reads: A family that eats together... doesn’t mind the garbage. Filipinos flocked to Luneta Park in Manila yesterday (Jan. 2, 2010) to enjoy the last day of the New Year break. Photo by JONATHAN L. CELLONA

While in Boracay Island, this photo courtesy of the Boracay Chamber of Commerce and Industry:



This is the stinking garbage of EPIC, a new club in Boracay, sitting on the beach pathway on Jan. 1, 2010, after its New Year's party. The club is located on Station 2, where Hey Jude! used to be, and is owned by the same people who set up the controversy-riddled Embassy at The Fort, and now Republiq at the Resorts World. Why am I not surprised that these guys have bad habits?

This island will continue to die w/ irresponsible entrepreneurs from Manila let loose.

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AND this is probably why, Boracay will probably not make it to any foreign publications' travel list this year. It has become ordinary. Commercially overdeveloped, noisy, and dirty. I used to call the island my second home in the mid-80s to early 2000s. Now, it's just so sad to go there esp. during peak season.

But at least there's still one Philippine destination that made it to National Geographic's 20 Best Trips of 2011. Palawan.

On the main island (also named Palawan) near Sabang, hike the three-mile (five-kilometer) Monkey Trail to Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park's navigable underground river. The five-mile (eight-kilometer) coastal rain forest route is home to long-tailed macaques, blue-naped parrots, and other indigenous wildlife. In the province’s northern Calamianes islands, Coron Island is considered one of the world’s top scuba diving destinations, offering World War II-vintage wreck diving and snorkeling in calm, crystalline waters. (Read the rest here.)

Our pal Al

(Al Gore receives a plaque of appreciation from Hans Sy, president of SM Prime Holdings. SM Prime Holdings brought the former US Vice President to the country for the third leg of the Leadership Conference Series, with the theme "The Leader as Environment Steward." Photo courtesy Campaigns & Grey)

FOR those who’ve been asking, no, I don’t have a photo with former US Vice President Al Gore. The Nobel laureate was in town on Tuesday giving an updated Asian version of his global-warming lecture.

Unfortunately, unlike last year when former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair came over and I managed to have two photos taken, there was no press conference that followed our pal Al’s lecture. I understand a provision in his contract prohibited press interviews. (Suplado naman.)

So sorry, friends, you won’t be seeing any photos of me and Al showing up on my Facebook profile anytime soon. True, I could’ve attended the postdinner lecture and photo-op with him, but duty called and I had to write the news story about his lecture. Rats. (Click Something Like Life for the rest. My column is published every Friday in the Life section of the BusinessMirror.)

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WHILE work commitments prevented me from attending the festivities after the lecture, I managed to get hold of the much talked about "sustainable menu" of dishes served during the cocktails which was prepared by the Makati Shangri-La Hotel.

"Sustainability-Makati Shangri-a's social responsibility extends to the way we value history, tradition, culture and environmental impact.

"This evening's glocal cocktail menu prepared by our creative chefs celebrates Filipino ingenuity at its best - social entrepreneurs that bring only the best of locally-grown Filipino ingredients whilst catering to an exquisite global palate."

Menu

Seared yellow fin tuna with wasabi mayonnaise of japanese cucumber
-Sourced from the fishermen of Mindoro, traditional hand-line fishing method was used to catch the tuna as opposed to open cast net - the first sustainable fish source from the Coral Triangle.

Kesong Puti with Cherry Tomato Salsa
-The kesong puti is sourced from organically-fed water buffalos in the province of Laguna

Blue cheese flan with caramelized onion and candied walnuts
-the low-emission blue cheese is sourced from a local cheese maker in Bulacan

Shredded Pork Adobo Puff
-Meat is sourced from a local piggery farm in Rizal.

Strawberry tartlets, calamansi sacher lollipop, tres leches and banana crumble stew
-The organically grown calamansi and banana are sourced locally from the province of La Union and Pangasinan while the sweetness of the strawberries are grown naturally from the highlands of Bukidnon

Sustainable cuisine is the current rage among environmental folk and these are dishes basically made from ingredients that have the least impact on the environment, i.e. beef from cows not injected w/ hormones, organic vegetables, fish raised from fishponds, etc. Not only will these help protect the environment, the dishes are supposed to be healthier as well as the ingredients don't have any of those preservatives and pesticides normally found in meats and greens.

So congratulations to the Makati Shang's chefs for coming up with these interesting pica-pica. I hope I have the chance to try the same in some future event. But first, can someone please explain to me just what "low emission" blue cheese" is about? ;p

No one to save us but ourselves*

(Slums of Manila. Photo by Laine and Lucas at Travelblog)

"Our thoughtless throwing of garbage into canals and the remaining estuaries in the metropolis has also been cited as one of the culprits of the recent flooding. With all that much waste clogging the waterways, there was no way for the floodwaters to exit rapidly out onto Manila Bay. To this day, residents in a few areas in Pasig and Marikina are still dealing with knee-high floodwaters." (Click Something Like Life for the rest.)

*Expanded from a previous blog entry.

Ate Vi vs the fish cages

(Ate Vi being interviewed by Howie Severino. Photo from Sidetrip w/ Howie Severino.)

I BELATEDLY stumbled on Howie Severino's interview of Ate Vi, este, Gov. Vilma Santos Recto, and she tells how difficult it is to convince fish cage owners in Taal Lake to dismantle their cages and turn to other livelihoods. It's unfortunate I missed GMA 7's feature on the issue in its iWitness program. I hope the episode gets uploaded on YouTube. (Read excerpts of the interview here.)

The fish cages are a blight not only on one of the country's more famous tourist sites - the Taal Volcano - but an environmental hazard to the lake itself. With the unabated construction of fish cages, the lake will likely be depleted of its oxygen and result in more fish kills, as has happened in the last few years. This will only imperil the future income stream of the residents in the area who depend on their fish cages for livelihood.

(Taal Volcano and lake circa 1950, fish cage-free. A view from the ridge of Taal Vista Lodge. That's my mom at the right btw. Click to enlarge)

(Taal Volcano and Lake, circa 2008, also from the ridge of Taal Vista Hotel. The small dark dots on the water are the fish cages. Click to enlarge.)

As Gov. Santos Recto says, dismantling the fish cages isn't easy. But someone has to do something right now. This is a test of true grit, and her star power. Can she parlay her celebrity status and movie star appeal into convincing the mayors and the residents that reducing the number of fish cages will ensure a better future for them? I wish her luck. And if she does manage to get the job done, maybe she can work wonders even outside Batangas. Ate Vi for President? Why not? Stranger things have happened.

Dunno what to do w/ your junk?

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Happy weekend people! :)

Clean coal is an oxymoron, says NBC

LISTEN up DENR! There is no such thing as clean coal. You cannot burn coal and expect clean smoke. But there is a way to capture all that dirty emissions.

Watch.