...slowdown of human consumption, production & movement as a result of community quarantines and lock downs have shown to most of us what greens have been saying all this time -- that with less human actions, our environment recovers. This recovery could be continued and has the potential of saving us from the climate crises which the world has so far failed to ACT on effectively. |
Second, that slowdown of human consumption, production & movement as a result of community quarantines and lock downs have shown to most of us what greens have been saying all this time -- that with less human actions, our environment recovers.
This recovery could be continued and has the potential of saving us from the climate crises which the world has so far failed to ACT on effectively.
I have chosen the EARTH (green and blue) YIN YAN symbol here to emphasize that the current disaster brings with it opportunities. But we must be able to recognize these opportunities and move towards it NOW. Not later.
My proposition is for us to ACCEPT, first and foremost that the COVID-19 is NOT the only but will be ONE of many more global virus pandemics that will plague this generation. Furthermore and more importantly that diseases & viruses are just one of many more negative impacts of climate change that will challenge human societies NOW and in the immediate future.
The community quarantine and lock downs that have brought us back to our homes, families and local communities may be a long term way of life rather than a mere temporary, emergency response. Not because of mere necessity for survival but because such "sacrifices" -- slowdown in consumption, production and movements of human actions; to which the entire socio-economic and political infrastructure of our modern human society is built upon -- brings about the LONG TERM SOLUTIONS of the climate crises that is bringing all of these to fold.
The OPPORTUNITY before us is how we will RE-ENGINEER our lives, our society and our way of life, quickly enough towards this changes that need to happen NOW. Otherwise, we will not survive.. And I am not talking about surviving the COVID-19. But the virus that is human unsustainable lifestyles fueling over consumption, over production, unsustainable movements that in turns depletes our natural resources and the balance of the natural world.
I would like to RECOMMEND that we consider the following ACTIONS:
1) We STAY, LIVE and THRIVE from home and our NEAREST COMMUNITIES that can sustain us. This means local water supply & rainwater collection, local food chain from production & supply & household, community gardening to Barangay Talipapa, local supply of medical requirements & remedies including herb gardening . Home or online schooling. As we expect our public health system will be over run by the sheer volume of those who will contract COVID-19, now more than ever, we need Barangay level field clinics to provide care for those afflicted and nurse them to recovery since by it seems most COVID-19 victims do get well with proper medical attention. In a sense, we must transform as many of our Barangays and as soon as possible into self-sustaining GREEN COMMUNES.
2) As almost all of our local communities (Barangay) are not self-sufficient and therefore not sustainable, a lot of work from the household level to the Barangay level have to be done to make it as viable, sustainable communities. Foremost of this is the capacity of Barangays to produce sufficient food and clean water. Farming, coastal and those with agroforestry or aquaculture will have better chances at this. Thus, there will be Barangays that will no longer be viable. A majority in fact since the decades of urbanization have moved almost half of our population to unsustainable cities that require it lifeblood from resources from other areas.
Their isolation to natural processes have also created generations that is grossly insensitive and sometimes totally ignorant of the laws of nature and our symbiotic relationship with it. THUS, I also seriously recommend that its time for us to DE-URBANIZE and move out of cities and go back to Barangays that have the best chances of being transformed into GREEN COMMUNES. While I believe that to some extent, urban communities can also become GREEN COMMUNES, given the current pace of the crisis, it might be easier in the immediate to move out and go back to our ancestral communities or our provinces, if we have and if our family or friends have farms or coastal, agroforestry or aquaculture features, that we secure our movement there, now.
3) I have no expertise on finance and currency but I can imagine, if one is employed or self employed in a job that can be one working from home, virtually using the internet, then being the cash economy would still be viable as these persons will still receive salaries or other form renumeration. As for the majority that may not have this opportunity, we may need to have a totally new system of valuation of WORK and outputs of WORK. Perhas a local currency system per GREEN COMMUNE.
4) FINALLY, for my own organizations, to whom I have an obligation to our members, I would like to CALL that we seriously consider the following possible CHANGES in the way we operate:
4. 1. Household EcoActions (ecowaste, gardening, etc) documented in Vblogs or photo or report to be shared through social media
4.2. Online Crowdsourcing to raise funds for Brgy-level health & enviroment initiatives (including supporting field clinics/recovery centers) - recipients will be Brgys where active AK members/leaders can coordinate
4.3. Module development, online library and online training to support 1 & 2
4.4. Most importantly, in the WORST CASE scenario as it relates to our GREEN CARE COMMUNES that we have an internal advocacy among members to start looking into options to bug out to farming or sihing communities where each of us can sustain our families and how transport may be arrange when movement becomes possible and necessary.