BY: HAZEL F. GLORIA
CEBU CITY, April 15 (PIA) --- The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR-7) urged the public to be watchful of one’s carbon footprint as a way of observing a Holy Week.
DENR 7 regional executive director Dr. Isabelo Montejo explained that carbon footprint refers to the totality of the impact or effect of all activities done by an organization, group or individual on the environment.
It covers all greenhouse gases that each individual or organization may emit in the atmosphere as a result of its activities, he continued.
“We have been called to do anything with seriousness and urgency to reduce our individual carbon footprint by avoiding food wastage and wasteful consumption of energy and water,” said Montejo.
He also added the rise of carbon emissions in the atmosphere will set off a greater global warming and thus climate change.
He cites a new report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which shows that global emissions of greenhouse gases have risen to unprecedented levels despite a growing number of policies to reduce climate change.
Emissions grew more quickly between 2000 and 2010 than in each of the three previous decades, the report added.
According to IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report, it would be possible using a wide array of technological measures and changes in behavior to limit the increase in global mean temperature to two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
However, only major institutional and technological change will give a better than even chance that global warming will not exceed this threshold.
Montejo also mentioned that garbage problem remains to be a serious environmental issue among the local government units (LGUs) due to the amount of methane gas released from open dumpsites.
Segregating from the source or at the household level and for every office should be a policy by properly-marked trash bins for biodegradable and non-biodegradable wastes
Methane is produced by the rotting of garbage in dumpsites. It is 21 times more lethal than carbon dioxide, Montejo explained.
Reports indicate that the carbon footprint of the Philippines is equal to 0.8 metric tons per capita or 0.3 of one percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
“Energy conservation measures would include turning off lights that are not in use and replacing all old fluorescent lamps with compressed fluorescent lamps (CFLs) which cuts power consumption by up to 90 percent,” he concluded.(mbcn/HFG/PIA-7/DENR-7)