A Lenten appeal for spiritual commitment: Fast for Mother Earth

As Christian nations observe the Holy Week, my husband, the late senator and former environment secretary, Heherson T. Alvarez always called for environmental penitence—a FAST FOR MOTHER EARTH. It is a call for personal sacrifices by cutting individual carbon footprints to minimize the impacts of climate change, caused by deforestation and the excessive pollution of our water bodies that now manifest in our Philippine river bodies. Our oceans are polluted by oil spills and plastic gyre.Climate change, which upsets the balance and sustainability of the global climate, is primarily caused by the warming of the earth due to excessive carbon dioxide emissions with the abundant burning of fossil fuels, such as coal and oil, and derivatives—diesel and gasoline. In 1995, I joined my husband who was then Senate chair of the committee on environment when he presented the Manila Declaration in Bonn, Germany, the first Conference of the Parties for the protection of small island states.He stressed: “We must minimize the use of our vehicles to cut back on fuel, cut back on food consumption, conserve water, take care of our forests and all other dwindling resources as our selfless penitence for the meaningful celebration not only of Lent but of three other significant environmental events preceding Earth month—International Day of Forests (March 21), World Water Day (March 22), Earth Hour (March 25).”

I must reecho his call “to fast not only with food and drinks but with consumables like perfume and cosmetics, clothes, shoes to cut our fossil energy that process and produce them. A gradual withdrawal from our wasteful consumption habits, even in our food consumption, will provide some relief to our beleaguered environment. It builds the message that each individual is made aware of the extreme consequences of climate change—that a diminished carbon in the global atmosphere could be our spiritual share to diminish death, devastation, disease, and deepening poverty, and generating health pandemics. Rising greenhouse gas emissions will exacerbate water-related risks over archipelagic Philippines.”Our country is ranked third among 67 countries in the world as most vulnerable to climate change in a recent survey done by global corporate giant Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp.

Fast for Mother Earth is an annual program for Holy Week observance during Earth Day Month, initiated by the Earthsavers Movement more than three decades ago. Sadly, a penitence that highlights the need to protect personally the environment seems not to have grown in spiritual dimension as the ruinous impact of climate change is upon us. No continent is spared. I am compelled to keep alive his legacy and pursue his advocacies, such as relentlessly and tirelessly making this appeal every year to remind the public of the grave moral responsibility to protect Mother Earth and help mitigate carbon emissions to stop the destruction of our only common home, Planet Earth, our womb of life.Just think if all the money corrupted were invested to defuse the ecological time bomb of global warming, it would have been possible to prevent climate catastrophes through relevant dynamic application of science, technology, and effective cultural communications. We urgently need the discipline and political will to implement the existing laws to combat climate change that will guarantee a safe, clean, and healthy world. Hope springs eternal. All of us, regardless of color, creed, and social status, must act in concert as global citizens to affirm life. It is heroic to save our ailing Mother Earth.

Cecilia Guidote-Alvarezdirector,

Earthsavers Dreams Ensemble/ Unesco Artist for Peace