My friends, I am here to tell you about something subtle; subtle because the earth is resilient to our abuse on it. We may have made our lives easier, but we fail to see the long-term consequences of our actions. Before realizing what we’ve done, it is already too late…

Let me start by telling you about my work experience in the Philippine Eagle Center. There, I found a letter by a banana plantation manager to our executive. Earlier, our executive petitioned to the manager to stop the expansion of their banana plantation. The manager’s reply stated vague reasons on why they cannot simply put a stop to the plantation’s expansion. Why should they? They have greatly improved our economy, by the way. This issue was again cited when I joined a press conference in Marco Polo. Heated arguments arose between the economists who uphold the benefits of banana exportation and the environmentalists who want to put a stop to the plantation’s harmful practices. But more voice was given to the economists stating that stopping the plantations was going to be dreadful to the economy.

According to hydrographical surveys done by the DCWD, our water goes through a 50-year cycle in our watersheds. That means we can no longer drink potable water in less than 50 years; and so it is if the plantations continue to cut 50 hectares of trees everyday and their chemical pesticides leaching through our water. We may have a richer economy, but if our water is already dangerous for drinking, our soil no longer able to supply food, and the animal species die, we cannot eat money. Remember, our city is just one in five cities around the world whose natural drinking water is still safe.

Environmentalists have worked so hard to find alternatives. Organic farming is one, which eradicates the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Multi-crop farming is another that enables the earth to replenish itself. If the plantations continue to turn a deaf ear in changing their farming system, the threat of a dreadful future is inevitable. But there is still hope. We must choose leaders who care about these issues. We must also be mindful of what we buy – so buy organic. We could be a force that can create miracles. But there is so much to do, my friends, and so little time left. We cannot waste precious time any longer.