I thought carefully about my topic for this Saturday and, after careful discernment, I decided to write about climate change and its fearful impact among the general population around the world.

Why do I connect it to Holy Week? I believe that as most of us will meditate about Christ’s passion and death , we can connect the climate change challenge in our lives as we pray to God to enlighten us on how best to mitigate the onslaught of the ravages on our Earth .

Climate change is defined as the phenomena which include increased temperature levels caused by global warming but also encompass changes in rising sea levels, the shrinking and melting of mountain glaciers and ice melt in Greenland , Antartica and the Arctic, and shifts in flower and plant blooming time .

The University of Bath recently published the results of its 2023 Climate Action Survey. Among the 5000 respondents, 19 percent of the students and 25 percent of the staff said they were” extremely worried” about climate change, while 36 percent of the students and 33 percent of the staff replied that they were” very worried”.

Climate change negative responses were higher this year compared with recorded responses from the last three years. In 2021, a global survey of how children and young adults felt about climate change found similarly high levels of worry, and most of the 10,000 participants ages 12 years and older reported feelings of sadness, regret, anxiety, anger, powerlessness, helplessness, guilt and depression.

The above survey results tell us that most of the world’s population is truly worried about the impact of climate change in their lives. We can see it and feel it . There is no denying the fact that the Earth is tired and getting devastated day in and day out by the wanton disregard and disrespect for our environment.

Let us therefore think about this issue very carefully and think of the best ways we can stop the devastation. I have thought of ways to mitigate the impact, and I have come up with several simple ways we can do to help prevent it.

1. For our households: Segregate our waste and garbage into three garbage bins : wet, dry and recyclable.
2. Let us not waste water. Let us be mindful of its use. Let us recycle used water for watering the plants and washing the cars.
3. Turn off the air-conditioning units when the temperature is cold ( use the timer) and turn on the electric fan to contain the cool.
4. Check all the faucets at home and in the offices and ensure that there are no leaks. Fix the leaks as soon as you find them.
5. Turn off the lights when not in use.
6. Educate the young at an early age on the right ways to saving the environment. Instill in them the values of respect, protection and love for the Earth.
7. Hold forums, seminars and dialogs in barangay centers, schools, community centers and universities on the subject of climate change and ways to mitigate its impact.
8. Let us remind government leaders to lead the way by the mindful use of their vehicles and aircraft to monitor gas emissions .

Climate change affects the social and environmental conditions affecting our health such as clean air, safe drinking water, sufficient food sources and secure and safe shelter.

In the Philippines, we are so highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change such as rising sea levels, increased frequency of weather events , rising temperature and extreme rainfall.

Let us, therefore, all be mindful of these climate change challenges. Let us love, respect and protect this Earth because there is no turning back. All we can do is sustain and protect what we have now and do all we can to prevent the further erosion of our environment.

Let us meditate on this subject this Holy Week and ask God Almighty to forgive us our wanton ways and abuse of our environment. And hopefully we can still save what we have today.