Climate Update

By: Maria Kristina Salientes BrutNature recently uploaded a video featuring a man from New Zealand mussel hunting by the beach. The man found it extremely appalling, with every step hearing the crunch of all the breaking mussels exposed and dead on the shore. No longer does it smell like the whiff of the sea; it smells of the dying ocean and its creatures. This marks one of the most alarming effects of the changing climate. It is repeated countless times how detrimental climate change’s effects are, and how it comprises the world we are inhabiting. It is sad how we cannot urgently tend to such an extenuating situation. It is sad how people tend to ignore such a predicament. People live different lives in the very same world. This difference makes it hard for us to understand that a disruption in one area of the planet disturbs the world as a whole. This makes it difficult for one to understand the other. And those who do not understand tend to show apathy. We believe that there is nothing we can do about something we cannot grasp. There is always something we can do; our small but worldly acts of kindness and deeds for the environment is a tremendous start. It should never be considered monotonous mentioning climate change; it might be common knowledge and should be announced to the general public. But what may be lacking is empathy for the world’s damages, especially the damages that lie far from home. Ignorance is bliss, but only to an extent because we are all interconnected. Cannibalism in the animal kingdom is no new information, but cannibalism in the arctic is more than alarming. It can be seen how much polar bears are distressed: lack of food, resources, melting of ice. The reason for this extreme distress is that the melting of the frost had occurred earlier than anticipated. Animals have timetables for events that can happen in a day, month, or year. They have adapted by regulating their bodies based on the times of certain natural events. But presently, everything on that timetable is dismantled with many convolutions. Natural occurrences can appear earlier or later than what is expected. Penguins can be seen sopping in mud when they should have been playing on ice. These drastic vicissitudes make waves in social networking sites and features in National Geographic’s Instagram page. Only a number took notice. It seems challenging to attend to our responsibility of keeping track of what is really happening outside our social lives. In the last few months, we have experienced a slew of sudden, unexpected events. Bushfires, wildfires, chains of volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, are just a few of the many others that should be mentioned. It was as if chromatic Australia turned to dust and grey. It is heartbreaking how much life was taken. We cannot discredit the deeds of the people who helped and funded the rehabilitation of Australia. Philippines’ fuming volcano, Taal, brought damage to the whole city of Batangas, and most of Luzon. Such an episode does not only carry the peril of a volcanic eruption but also negatively affects the health (physical and mental) of the residents in the area. Such volcanic activity can last for months, and any tectonic actions linked to the volcano can again trigger an eruption. This is a series of unfortunate events indeed. Nonetheless, we cannot blame this on anyone, for these are natural occurrences, it is the work of nature itself. We are but oxygen, carbon, and other elements, we are a part of nature. To achieve harmony in nature, it is hard. It is hard, for we are compromised by our own destructive actions.