[ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS : OUR COMMITMENT TO

PRESERVE THE ENVIRONMENT]

Environment
Conservation

Raquel E. Lizardo Page 1 of 3

We only have ONE Earth to live on. Earths resources and processes are what
satisfy our needs and sustain us humans. It is then our responsibility to do
everything to protect and preserve the Earth.
Over the years, man has both misused and abused the Earths resources in
keeping up with the demands of the 21
st
century living air, water and land
pollution, illegal logging, destruction of forests and wildlife, illegal fishing,
incessant mineral mining Man will do anything to best meet his personal
needs and wants so he could live a more enjoyable and comfortable life. He
has become unmindful and guilt-free of the daily acts of destruction he
commits against the environment in order to achieve such a life
Unfortunately, not all of the natural environments resources are renewable,
not all of the physical processes that maintain life on Earth operate in perpetual
perfection. We have to realize the fact that we now live at a time where some
of the earths primary resources dwindle at a rate we have never imagined
and that certain geological processes dramatically change in ways which
bring more harm than benefits (e.g., climate change as brought about by
increasing amount of greenhouse gases trapped in the Earths atmosphere).
With this realization, we should then come up with means and measures to
regain and maintain the Earths wealth of resources and life-giving processes.
Laws, therefore, have to be enacted and strictly implemented to always
remind us that as Earth inhabitants we are committed to do all things we can
to protect and preserve our environment, and that we are likewise open to
receive penalty in circumstances where we would fail to fulfill such
commitment.
To date, in the Philippines, environment protection/conservation laws cover air
quality management, water quality management, solid waste management,
control of toxic substances and hazardous waste, as well as natural resources
[ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS : OUR COMMITMENT TO
PRESERVE THE ENVIRONMENT]
Environment
Conservation

Raquel E. Lizardo Page 2 of 3
conservation. Simple daily acts and practices could reflect ones genuine
commitment to abide by these laws. These are given as follows:
Air quality management avoiding the use of products which emit
CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) into the earths atmosphere, e.g., hair
sprays, freon in
refrigerators; reducing ones carbon footprint (activities that result to
the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, e.g., too much
use of fossil fuel-based electricity and automobiles)

Water quality management installing proper domestic drainage system
to insure that sewage produced at home would not reach and
contaminate bodies of water, avoiding dumping or disposing of trash in
bodies of water

Solid waste management practicing the 3 Rs of waste management,
i.e., Reduce (minimizing the volume of daily waste produced), Reuse
(reusing non-biodegradable materials such as plastic bottles, spoon and
fork, cups, etc.), and Recycle (transforming non-biodegradable
materials into other products, e.g., hand bags made of tetra packs,
decorative items made of glass bottles)

Control of toxic substances and hazardous wastes properly disposing
of used cellphone and car batteries, rundown home appliance and
electronic gadgets, empty containers of liquid disinfectants, insecticide,
toilet bowl cleaners (muriatic acid), as well as expired medicines and
used wound dressing or bandage

Natural resources conservation participating in tree planting activities
and/or clean-up drives, becoming an active member of environment
[ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS : OUR COMMITMENT TO
PRESERVE THE ENVIRONMENT]
Environment
Conservation

Raquel E. Lizardo Page 3 of 3
cause-oriented NGOs (non-government organizations), e.g., World
Wildlife Fund (WWF), Greenpeace
The essence for which environmental laws have been made must be
deeply engrained in us as environment-loving and -caring Filipinos. We
should always exert conscious effort to strictly abide by these laws in all
places, at all times, under any circumstances, until we reach a point where
we no longer see the demand or the specification of each law as an
order to follow but, rather, a manifestation of both our genuine personal
and concerted commitment to protect and preserve the Earth, the one
and only home that all of us have.