Philippine Daily Inquirer: Global warming is upon us full blast
By Neal H. Cruz, Philippine Daily Inquirer
3 October 2011 Global warming is upon us almost full blast. The series of unusually strong typhoons, heavy rains, storm surges and, in summer, very hot droughts are proof of that. And weather disturbances will get worse as more greenhouse gases trap more of the sun’s heat and melt the ice caps. The huge volume of melted water will raise the levels of the oceans and seas. Islets and islands will be submerged, including Boracay, and waves will swamp coastal areas. This is already happening in Australia where residents of low-lying islets are being evacuated. As for the Philippines, it will cease to be an archipelago of 7,100 islands. The remaining islands will be very much lesser in number. Meanwhile, the storms will be stronger, the tides higher, the floods and droughts more severe. Have you noticed that unlike before, floods and landslides have become more frequent? Areas that were not flooded before are now being submerged in deep waters. And houses at the foot of steep slopes are no longer safe. Blame the loggers for that. By cutting the trees in mountainside forests, the loggers removed the roots that hold the soil together. When the soil can no longer absorb excess water, then mud, rocks and water cascade down the hillsides and bury the villages below. After several days of heavy rains, the soil is supersaturated, and floods and landslides follow. That is why even when it is no longer raining and the sun is shining, floodwaters continue to rise. Do not blame the release of water from the dams as the cause. The waters are coming from the Sierra Madre and Cordillera mountain ranges. It takes a while for the waters to reach the valley of Central Luzon. That is why it is only now, when the sun is already shining, that the low-lying areas of Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan, and parts of Metro Manila are being submerged. […]
