Eating for the Planet

I just visited my sister and saw a June 2009 edition of Sunday Inquirer Magazine, a freebie when you buy the Sunday edition of Philippines Daily Inquirer, a leading newspaper here in the Philippines. The whole magazine was devoted to environment. Two articles catch my attention Green Home and Eating for the Planet.

After reading these two articles, I had to think whether I am doing what were mentioned in these articles. I did some reality check and found that though, I doing great with Green Home, I failed miserably with the other one.

The Green Home article advises us to have a not too big and well ventilated house to reduce carbon emission. I have a small house and it is well ventilated because I have windows everywhere, my two bedrooms, my kitchen, my comfort room have one window each, while my living room have two windows even though I only have a seventy square meter lot and fifty square meter floor area. I even have 4 trees planted in my front yard and one in my back yard. Usually when you have that size of lot, you need to utilize all the available space to widen your house thus sacrificing the ventilation. Due to that kind of house setup and with trees and other vegetation planted in my yard, I can survive the summer heat without using air conditioner. So with that, I can say that I'm doing great with the Green Home thing.

The second article deals on how to become a vegetarian and it benefits to our health and environment. This article struck me most not only because it will greatly help the environment, but will also save lives not only of the human beings but also of some animals. But unfortunately, I am not doing it. Our diet usually includes pork, chicken, beef and fish. Since my kids will not survive with green diets, I am force to eat meat as well because due to budget concern, we cannot afford to have two dishes of food everyday. But I am still trying to device a way that will not hurt our budget and be vegetarian at the same time, so that I don’t always have those guilty feeling during eating time.

Who knew?

I received an e-mail from a friend with a subject line, "Who knew?” I found the information interesting and helpful especially for those who want to save. By following these tips, you can make use of what you already have and avoid buying new products, thus save you money and help the environment. Though, the products mentioned here were not advertised for said usages, and have never been proven effective, I think there is nothing if you will try it. So here it is.

Who knew?

Did you know that drinking two glasses of Gatorade can relieve headache pain almost immediately-without the unpleasant side effects caused by traditional pain relievers?

Did you know that Colgate Toothpaste makes an excellent salve for burns?

Before you head to the drugstore for a high-priced inhaler filled with mysterious chemicals, try chewing on a couple of curiously strong Altoids peppermints. They'll clear up your stuffed nose.

Achy muscles from a bout of the flu? Mix 1 tablespoon horseradish in 1 cup of olive oil. Let the mixture sit for 30 minutes, then apply it as a massage oil for instant relief for aching muscles.

Sore throat? Just mix 1/4 cup of vinegar with 1/4 cup of honey and take 1 tablespoon six times a day. The vinegar kills the bacteria.

Cure urinary tract infections with Alka-Seltzer. Just dissolve two tablets in a glass of water and drink it at the onset of the symptoms. Alka-Seltzer begins eliminating urinary tract infections almost instantly-even though the product was never advertised for this use.

Honey remedy for skin blemishes..... Cover the blemish with a dab of honey and place a Band-Aid over it. Honey kills the bacteria, keeps the skin sterile, and speeds healing. Works overnight.

Listerine therapy for toenail fungus: Get rid of unsightly toenail fungus by soaking your toes in Listerine Mouthwash. The powerful antiseptic leaves your toenails looking healthy again.

and

Balm for broken blisters... To disinfect a broken blister, dab on a few drops of Listerine, a powerful antiseptic.

Easy eyeglass protection... To prevent the screws in eyeglasses from loosening, apply a small drop of Maybelline Crystal Clear Nail Polish to the threads of the screws before tightening them.

Cleaning liquid that doubles as bug killer... If menacing bees, wasps, hornets, or yellow jackets get in your home and you can't find the insecticide, try a spray of Formula 409. Insects drop to the ground instantly.

Smart splinter remover: Just pour a drop of Elmer's Glue-All over the splinter, let dry, and peel the dried glue off the skin. The splinter sticks to the dried glue.

Hunt's Tomato Paste boil cure... Cover the boil with Hunt's Tomato Paste as a compress. The acids from the tomatoes soothe the pain and bring the boil to a head.

Vinegar to heal bruises... Soak a cotton ball in white vinegar and apply it to the bruise for 1 hour. The vinegar reduces the blueness and speeds up the healing process.

Quaker Oats for fast pain relief.... it's not for breakfast anymore! Mix 2 cups of Quaker Oats and 1 cup of water in a bowl and warm in the microwave for 1 minute, cool slightly, and apply the mixture to your hands for soothing relief from arthritis pain.

Positive Change

There is a positive change in our company in terms of being green. We were surprised when our company starts distributing a very cute stainless steel mug. We thought that it is an early Christmas gift but it is not, it turns out to be a replacement to the disposable plastic cup that we are using for drinking. We are consuming approximately 1,000 plastic cup everyday; this will be a big reduction in the company's waste and carbon emission. It is sad that it is not a welcome development for some, because it is inconvenient for them to bring the mug everyday and they feel that the company only wants to save money. Though money might be the real reason by for doing so, but they should think the benefits of it to the environment and later on to them. This should be praised and imitated by other company, because the more people not using plastic cup, the better for the environment and us.

And according to study, plastic bottles, cups and any other plastic container contains chemical that is harmful to human. Plastic contains Bisphenol A (BPA) chemical which can cause harm to the brain and reproductive system. Plastic also contain benzene and vinyl chloride which are known to cause cancer, while many others are gases and liquid hydrocarbons that vitiate earth and air. Plastic resins themselves are flammable and have contributed considerably to several accidents worldwide. And how about to our environment, once they become litter, plastic bags find their way into our waterways, parks, beaches, and streets. And, if they are burned, they infuse the air with toxic fumes. Being a non-biodegradable substance, composed of toxic chemicals, plastic pollutes earth, air and water.

So stop thinking negative, the removal of plastic cup is not a reduction in our benefits but rather an additional intangible benefits that is very beneficial to our environment and to our body as well. Imagine how much we will spend in hospitalization due to the sickness that we may get from plastic cup and polluted environment. And who knows, the money that our company were able to save will be added to the salary or benefits that they are giving to us.

Celebrating All Saints Day

Its All Saints Day again, and as usual Filipinos flocked the cemetery around the Philippines. Of coarse we will not be left behind, we prepare all the things we need and leave before lunch time. We already moved to another town that is why we need to drive for an hour before we can reach the cemetery where my father is buried. This also our chance to visit our relatives we rarely see since we moved to our new residence. We have our lunch at my mother in law's house, have a little talk for few minutes and then head to the cemetery where my father is buried.

Usual scene welcomed us in the cemetery. People were chit chatting, eating and lighting candles. It is midday that is why we wear a hat to protect us to the scorching heat of the sun. It is an old cemetery that is why it is already jam packed and the heat being emitted by the lighted candles contributed to the already hot temperature. The front of the tomb of my father is already occupied, that makes me feel that no more air coming on our location, you cannot also see any green in the surrounding, and all you can see is concrete and steel.


Cemeteries in the Philippines is almost made of concrete, this is the reason why the heat from the sun is being absorbed instead of being reflected back to outer space. The dead is not being buried in the ground but rather being inserted in a rectangular concreted tomb above the ground. And usually they put a roof which usually made of concrete or galvanized iron. And the surrounding lot is also paved to avoid muddy surrounding.


These scene force me to think again the environment, that the current setup of the cemetery in the Philippines is not environment friendly and make me wish that all future cemeteries that will be built, will have an environment friendly setup and people will change a little on the way they celebrate all saints day, like offering flower instead of lighting candles. The way I see it, millions of candles were lighted all over the Philippines, imagine how much greenhouse gases were added to our atmosphere.

We haven't consumed yet an hour staying there, but my kids already asked me if we can already leave. I didn't ask them the reason why, I'm sure they are not enjoying the place because of the heat and not appealing surrounding. It is sad that we need to leave early because we are not comfortable of the place and we are cutting short the honoring of our deceased relatives.


I just hope that someday all future cemeteries that will be built will have an environment friendly setup. A cemetery that look like a park, wherein the ground is cover with grass, only the headstone is appearing and there is lot of tree that will cover us from the sun. So that when my turn comes, my kids will stay there for a long time comfortably and of course I want them to celebrate it without harming the environment.