Pinoy Is Environmentalist Because of Poverty.

Although Pinoy has a low grades when it comes to caring the environment, due to poverty, they unwittingly contribute in making the world green.




In some small supermarket and grocery stores, wherein the customer mostly from lower and middle class, you will notice that they will opted to have their goods be placed on a cartoon box rather than a plastic bags because they can sell the cartoon boxes in a Junk Shop. This is in contrast with big supermarket like SM Supermarket and Robinsons, wherein most of the customers came from upper class. You will not see any customer requesting the items they bought to be placed in a box, that is why plastic were the one mostly use in this big supermarket.

Majority of Pinoy use Public transportation because majority cannot afford to buy a car and most of the low income workers go to work in a bicycles.

Used clothes, shoes, tires and appliances, are very sellable in the Philippines, avoiding the carbon emission of manufacturing a new one.

Mr Green's view of Philippines Environmental Program.

I have mentioned on my previous topic that there is lack of information drive on how Filipino can contribute in easing out Global warming. But this doesn't mean our government is not doing anything at all. There is also a program that being implemented only not as aggressive and remarkable as it should be.

Some local government led a campaign to use re-usable and bio-degradable “bayong”. However, it doesn't serve it purpose. Commodities still wrap in plastic bag when they put it in their bayong. The bayong only serve as reinforcement to the plastic bag and not being used to limit the use of it. And right now only few Pinoy use the bayong, many still prefer the latter. They better redesign the bayong, it should have a partition so that goods will not mix, the main reason they still wrap the goods in plastic bag, or since they cannot stop using plastic bag, why not encourage them to reuse the plastic bag instead.

Philippines government also requires motor vehicle to undergo emission testing before the certificate of registration can be renewed. Majority of Pinoy believe that this is just a waste of money, since no one is failing the emission test. Emission Test Center is being run by private individuals, since there is a competion, Emission Test Center will not usually give a failed emission test, for fear of losing a customer. If they want to enforce this law, it should be the Philippines government that will do the testing, and it should be free to avoid corruption.

Pinoy's Environmental Awareness in Mr. Green's Point of View.

During my tricycle driver days, me and my fellow trike driver had a conversation about the government plan of banning two strokes motorcycle. We don't agree to that plan, not only because it will severely affect our livelihood but also on our belief that two strokes motorcycle is not hazardous because it has a white smoke. For us, its the jeepney that need to be banned because it has a black smoke.


A picture of a two strokes motorcycle with sidecar, usually called tricycle or trike in the Philippines. This is one of the common type of transportation in the Philippines.

We have this crazy perception maybe because we were influence so much by the Mr Clean(a brand of detergent bar in the Philippines) commercial wherein they portray white as a sign of cleanliness and also by some television shows and movies showing angels or good people wearing white, while the evil one wearing black. LOL.

I am not trying to insult the intelligence of the ordinary Pinoy like me. I just want to show how we lack the proper information about taking care the environment back then or even up to now.

Lack of knowledge in the worsening pollution is very imminent in Filipino's walk of life. Every day there are thousands of jeepneys out on Philippines street. Jeepneys are blamed as one of the major pollutants in the Philippines. You may say that every street in the world is clogged by vehicles, why Philippines is different. Jeepneys are built from the engine of second-hand Japanese trucks, which is euphemistically known as "surplus". Most of these engines already considered as garbage in Japan and no longer being used because it emits large black smokes.

Another major pollutants plying the streets of the Philippines is the two strokes motorcycle. Although they have fewer moving parts and have a higher power/weight ratio, 2-stroke engines usually do emit more pollutants.

Not only this vehicles emit to much pollutants, but sometimes they are also being painted by a lead paint. They are using this paint as a primer before the original paint will be applied. This is mostly use to coat galvanized sheets and iron pipes to prevent rust. Lead paint is already banned in the US for years now. Here, there are still a lot of people who don't know that lead is toxic and can pose serious danger to our health. Filipino prefer this kind of vehicles because it is cheaper and easy to maintain but unfortunately, environment is clearly being disregarded.

Most Filipino also are not aware of the importance of a tree. I have a neighbor who advised me to cut the tree in our front yard because it litters a lot. Majority of Pinoy no longer plant tree in their backyard, they prefer to have their backyard concreted and covered with roof. Some business establishment also cut the tree on the street that is blocking their front view. If they only knew that tree absorb some of the poisonous carbon dioxide and plants and grass does not absorb heat unlike concrete and galvanized iron sheets.

Addition to those mentioned above, burning of garbage, rampant use of plastic bag, throwing of hazardous chemical and waste in the bodies of water, and lack of information drive on how to take care the environment from the government and some media entities are indication that we have a poor environmental awareness.