Use your power to break free from fossil fuels

By Justin Nathen C. Federigan
Our one and only earth is currently dying due to the effects of climate change. The cause of this life-threatening phenomenon is the increase of green house gases (GHG) such as carbon dioxide, methane, ozone, and water vapor. In the Philippines, currently we are using less renewable energy. We are mostly into non-renewable energy such as coal, gas, and oil, known as fossil fuel as sources of energy. Fossil fuels are non-renewable energy, which means that coal, gas, and oil are minerals that are consumed faster than it can be naturally replenished by the environment.
Dr. Jean Lindo, a Dabawenya activist, once said, “there is no such thing as clean coal.” Yes, I myself agree with Dr. Lindo. Coal is not clean and will never be clean. Coal is just one of the three fossil fuels used to be turned into energy. The other two are gas and oil. Coal, gas, and oil, also known as fossil fuels, contain a huge amount of carbon (C), and once it is in the atmosphere where oxygen (O) is present, it will turn into carbon dioxide (CO2). The more we burn these fossil fuels and turn them into energy the more we pollute the atmosphere with increasing amount of carbon dioxide.
We cut down trees and we do not replace them. The more we do these, the more carbon dioxide accumulated in our atmosphere and the temperature at the surface of mother earth. Why? It is because carbon dioxide traps the heat from the sun causing the atmosphere to be warm. This is what you call the “Green House Effect.” The increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere causes the extreme increase of temperature at the surface. This is “Global Warming.”
Recently in Davao City, two coal-power plants were launched and each power plant can generate 175 megawatts (175MW). These two power plants are part of the Phase II of AboitizPower’s Therma South Incorporated’s (TSI) Project. However, rotational brown-outs in Davao City are still happening. Aboitiz mentioned that the reason for the rotational brown-out is that the water level in major National Power Corporation-Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (NPC-PSALM) hydro power plants is below the critical level due to the extreme heat caused by El Niño. Surprisingly, El Niño is one of the effects of climate change. So what/who really is the cause of climate change? Sad to say, it is us, humans, who cause all of these to happen. The increase of institutions emitting extreme carbon to the atmosphere, increase in cutting down trees and not replacing them, these mistakes we do increases the effects of climate change which includes, global warming or known in our country as “El Niño”.
Climate change is here to stay from now until tomorrows have you heard about the quote “The Youth is the hope of the future”? This single quote shows that the youth can still do something about it. Even if you are young, do not be afraid to do your best in saving our one and only earth. Young or old, we can still make a difference. It is never too late to start helping one another. There is still time. There is still hope. We can still make a difference. So, I urge each and every one of you to reflect on our daily lives and see how we can change the way we live. The change in the way we live will not definitely stop climate change but it will slow down its effects. Let us use our youth power to try to stop, try to help, and do our best to make our one and only earth a better place to live in.