@LucyStephanie 27 July 2021 edited more from that month

Disastrous Floods Are Everywhere Thanks to Loss of Mangroves?

All over the world people are deliberately or unknowingly destroying mangroves and the coastal ecosystem. No wonder we are experiencing various worldwide problems in recent years. Why do we always learn our lessons too late? It is because we are lazy to learn how to take care of our environment until we are directly affected by it. If not lazy then too busy to even bother doing a quick online research. Thus we continue to suffer and some even jeer at environmentalists and scientists. Ignorance is definitely bliss to many people. In my previous article I shared 5 reasons why destruction of mangroves is irksome and dangerous to everyone. If you haven't read it yet you can do so here. It's the second part of my series on the "secret" global problem" we are facing. Now I will tell you more about why heavy floods have been happening worldwide. But first, a trivia! https://read.cash/@LucyStephanie/5-reasons-why-destruction-of-mangroves-is-irksome-and-dangerous-to-everyone-b8056f24 https://read.cash/@LucyStephanie/the-secret-global-problem-most-people-dont-know-about-55fc0d3b Did you know in 2010 it was reported that many shrimp and fish farms have contributed to the decline of mangroves? Guess who is the culprit? We the people on Earth! We just loooove to eat and earn money but many of us don't even love taking care of our planet! 🥴🤦‍♀️ https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mangroves-idUSBRE8AD1EG20121114 ♦ Catastrophic Effects of Solid Waste, Pollution, Mangrove Reduction, and Climate Change https://read.cash/@LucyStephanie/wow-i-heard-the-oldest-bamboo-organ-in-the-world-86dacd0e#the-las-pinas-bamboo-organ In India, a decrease of 40% of wetlands including mangroves have been noted from the early 1990's to 2005. Various residential and commercial development projects/settlements plus sewage and garbage dumps along their creeks and rivers were done during that period. The end result? The devastating Mumbai floods of 2005. Aside from that, it caused a shortage of clean drinking water. https://watertales.wwfindia.org/water_story_mumbai.php

https://www.dw.com/en/saving-mumbais-natural-mangrove-buffer-against-rising-tides/a-47992557 Not only does pollution kill people, it also kills plants and animals! Someone dies every 10 seconds because of dirty water so I'm sure the number is higher for other creatures. It is one cause of death around the world so we have to prevent and reduce water pollution now. https://www.theworldcounts.com/challenges/planet-earth/freshwater/deaths-from-dirty-water/story Even mangroves are sensitive to pollution and the change in ocean salinity. We shouldn't wonder why these plants are dying at a faster rate! Mumbai's 2005 flood was caused by pollution and complete disregard to mangrove forests, do we want that to happen in Bulacan province, Philippines? Then again, **there is a bigger problem here, much more than the mangrove/land reclamation issues** in our country. It's all connected and we are all to blame for our problems. Simply put: Human activity + pollution + solid waste = loss of mangroves = rising temperatures = climate change = loss of biodiversity + more diseases + more deaths. And yes, those important plants have already been noted as dying in Bulakan, Bulacan due to constant flooding and water pollution in the past decade. Why put an airport in a place that causes mangrove depletion and has a big possibility to sink? Do we have to see before we believe when it is already happening in other countries? (e.g. Kansai International Airport, Japan) https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1047256/pariahan-a-community-sent-to-extinction-by-climate

https://www.airspacemag.com/flight-today/how-to-save-a-sinking-airport-180968985/ Early this year Rappler reported how HazardHunterPH shows Barangay (Brgy.) Taliptip, Bulacan being in danger from tsunami, storm surges and adverse effects of earthquakes. https://www.rappler.com/environment/aerotropolis-airport-heightens-disaster-risks-communities-bulacan https://hazardhunter.georisk.gov.ph/ In the same report, Narod Eco, a geoscientist and researcher at the Marine Science Institute of the University of the Philippines (UP), warned in a ​forum in June 2020 that Manila Bay reclamations such as the planned construction of San Miguel Corporation's (SMC's) New Manila International Airport (NMIA) will only aggravate these multi-hazard conditions, inevitably putting people in harm's way. https://www.facebook.com/CEC.Phils/videos/3007499809348025/ As proof I found some articles that past and recent typhoons have continuously been damaging said area for years. Apparently residents in Brgy. Taliptip have been experiencing floods since 2011. Some communities have partly sunk too. Still there are residents who choose to live in partially submerged areas like Sitio Pariahan, Brgy. Taliptip. https://www.vice.com/en/article/59n973/sinking-philippines-town-flooding-pariahan-bulacan-global-warming-climate-change There used to be dikes near their fishponds but those got damaged/destroyed by typhoon Mina (international name: Nanmadol) back then. In addition, there is still an ongoing overextraction of ground water in the area thus Bulacan has been slowly sinking for years. All of that causes the knee- to waist-deep floods everytime a typhoon arrives and the tide rises. Add the continuous cutting of mangroves since 2018 plus those dying from water pollution and guess what? https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1047256/pariahan-a-community-sent-to-extinction-by-climate

https://www.vice.com/en/article/59n973/sinking-philippines-town-flooding-pariahan-bulacan-global-warming-climate-change Maybe in a few decades the place they plan to put an airport on will already be underwater. However a February 2019 news report says the abandoned fishponds will be filled in to avoid that from happening, especially once the project is complete. Residents fear it will cause higher floods. Tried to check if it could happen but I'm not an engineer so my research ends there. https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1082516/denr-allays-fear-of-flooding-once-airport-rises-in-bulacan All I know is, **the marginalized people will always be the first to suffer if we keep abusing our natural resources.** It is unthinkable how some people even hire murderers and bribe the police/government officials just to dispose of any opposition to certain projects! Lord have mercy on us all. But wait, we are not alone in this environmental concern. Canada and Taiwan are also fighting against building an aerotropolis in their area. Ugh why don't they all just build a floating airport like others are building literal houseboats? https://antiaero.org/2020/05/28/aerotropolis-2020-visions-vs-realities/

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-57867773 Recently in Germany and Belgium (Western Europe), people got surprised upon experiencing extreme floods. They blame it on climate change, lack of warning and clogged sewers but we all know who is at fault here. Apparently China also experienced harsh weather and floods in recent weeks. Meanwhile here in Southeast Asia we regularly experience storms most of the year. Looks like extreme flooding is slowly becoming the norm. Do we really want that? Are we prepared to spend millions or billions in dollar equivalent annually just to recuperate from the damages or will we take action to change our ways now? https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0043542 May we be reminded of what we all need to do by the recent events that's been happening. In the past week, typhoon Fabian (international name: In-fa) landfalled in the Philippines bringing continuous rain. The prolonged rain caused heavy flooding in various areas so evacuation of around 15,000 people was done. About P38.6M worth of damages have already been noted by our government agencies since yesterday. That's just in Bulacan alone! https://mb.com.ph/2021/07/26/monsoon-rains-leave-p38-6m-damage-to-infra-agri-fisheries-in-bulacan/

https://mb.com.ph/2021/07/26/monsoon-rains-leave-p38-6m-damage-to-infra-agri-fisheries-in-bulacan/ The funny thing is, I discovered something residents of Brgy. Taliptip have been doing due to the recent flooding. People are actually fishing in the flood waters of said area! Whoa! 😅 Not sure if they do it everytime but still it's something worth mentioning. https://www.facebook.com/kisdulo/videos/245222230559379 Ah if only the wealthy and powerful can be open to learning how to build projects sustainably without having to destroy our natural resources. Maybe then people will not need to protest and fight such environmental atrocities. Maybe then less of humanity will suffer from escalating natural disasters. Let's stop the band-aid solutions and get to the bottom of it please. Thoughts on How to Lessen Solid Waste and Water Pollution There are many kinds of waste and pollution happening in the world. Some of them are food waste and plastic pollution. What can each of us do you might wonder? Let me give you the short version. (This is me trying not to make this article too long again. Still I had to split this one into two. Hahaha.)

We should use technology the right way especially in protecting our natural resources. We can offer support and/or volunteer to any of the environmental organizations or get involved in cleanup drives. We must educate our children and the youth to be environmentally conscious and socially responsible. We can reach out to our congress representatives to take further action in protecting mangroves plus developing a more sustainable land/sea farming system, etc. We should spread awareness to others and be vocal about it to our friends and loved ones aside from our social media accounts. And there you have it folks! The above are actually common knowledge but we all know what we do with such right? This is why the above still needs to be mentioned and shared from time to time. What do you think? Care to share your thoughts on this? I have one more article in this mangrove series. I will be sharing more about the brouhaha over the Bulacan airport next. Stay tuned! 😁 XOXO, @LucyStephanie https://read.cash/@LucyStephanie * * * Lead image from Pixabay. Previous articles: 5 Reasons Why Destruction of Mangroves is Irksome and Dangerous to Everyone https://read.cash/@LucyStephanie/5-reasons-why-destruction-of-mangroves-is-irksome-and-dangerous-to-everyone-b8056f24 The "Secret" Global Problem Most People Don't Know About https://read.cash/@LucyStephanie/the-secret-global-problem-most-people-dont-know-about-55fc0d3b The Trouble With Riding Bicycles During the Pandemic https://read.cash/@LucyStephanie/the-trouble-with-riding-bicycles-during-the-pandemic-c53462a1 Nature's "Hidden Gem" in Quezon City: La Mesa Ecopark! https://read.cash/@LucyStephanie/natures-hidden-gem-in-quezon-city-la-mesa-ecopark-d68f0237 **8 Never Have I Ever... Environmentalist Edition** https://read.cash/@LucyStephanie/8-never-have-i-ever-environmentalist-edition-3040d83e **About Me** https://read.cash/@LucyStephanie/hello-readcash-im-new-here-85679156 *Not a member of read.cash yet?* *Come join us**!* https://read.cash/r/LucyStephanie