Environmental tweets for UN Climate Change Delegations

This is a simple way to be heard by our world leaders. Send your messages while they are still listening on the final day of the Climate Change conference in Copenhagen (Denmark)... Click the image/photo above to be directed straight to the site. CCCC is an ongoing two-weeks event where leaders from 192 countries convene to discuss an overrated environmental problem, Climate Change.

Climate change is a 100-year problem we should not try to fix it in 10 years. (Cool it, Bjorn Lomborg)

Leaders of the world, there is so much time to do in so little time, so when you make this choice think about the world and how it should end. (Marcos Fernandez, Brazil)

Please expose the false science of global warming that was uncovered via emails sent by the scientists from the University of Anglia (Carlos A. USA)

Climate change is not an opportunity for profit. It is a call for developed nations to pay their historical ecologic debt. (Elysian Bukid, Philippines)

I do hope that the developing countries will get the fair financial deals in reducing the catastrophic effects of global warming (if this is really happening or this is a politically-created crisis). Truly, Im very skeptical about this environmental issue, but having this gathering might increase the awareness of the people to think about saving our Mother Earth's resources for the future's generations.

My Blogspherical World of Living...

My mother portal is changing...having a mega makeover!

It is getting better and you will be part of it!

A long and winding road of higher education abroad…

PURSUING HIGHER EDUCATION (POSTGRADUATE STUDIES) is not a priority option after finishing university degrees fifteen years ago. My mind set during my university life was that I want to finish my bachelor's degree and then find a good paying job! That was it… nothing really in my wildest dreams to pursue higher education or postgraduate programs to be more competitive in the professional world of engineering. Aiming to get higher education abroad or overseas is another thing that absolutely not in my plan during those university years, except that I want to travel abroad either to work or just plainly for tourism purposes.

I was a working student (after I completed by 3-year Civil Technology diploma) while pursuing my BS Civil Engineering degree. It was tough having a full time 8-5 work and 4 hours of studying 6 days a week. Coupled by living alone (boarding house) and maintaining high marks in all my subjects/modules, it was not an ideal life for a young man compared to what the young generations are enjoying nowadays. But no regrets at all! It was a great feeling to earn a living and for having an enjoyable lifestyle not dependent from my family. Coming from a poor family in the central part of the Philippines, living in the city (Makati) was not a trouble-free. But I was lucky to have relatives, including a grandmother who worked hard to look after her children and grandchildren that made life easier during those years. Sometimes, thinking about those academic years, I never thought that I could travel and have a 100% funded higher education abroad.

Why Abroad? Well, one of my professors in college advised me to pursue postgraduate program overseas. I don’t know why he persuaded me but I think he was convinced that I could make it and be a successful professional someday. No doubt, he was right then! Honestly, I could not afford and manage to pursue my postgraduate programs in the Philippines from my own resources. There were limited scholarships in the country available during those years and it was very competitive as well. Again, it was unusual for Engineering graduate to continue higher learning, unless if I decided to be a teacher but which it was not the case. I want to practice what I have learned from the four corners of the classroom. But after gaining four years of solid working experience, I decided to embark in my higher education journey.

The requirements for the application were also tough to comply but having a strong determination and faith I managed to get three (3) scholarship grants: Master's degree in Urban Planning at the Asian Institute of Technology (Thailand) in 1991; Master by Research (MPhil) in Environmental Engineering at the University of Queensland (Australia)in 2002, and PhD in Engineering (Built Environment) at the University of Ulster (Northern Ireland, UK) in 2005.

How did I manage to get scholarship grants? One of the main requirements for funding are the average grades from high school and in college. Since I was an honour student, it was not hard to meet this requirement. The second requirement is passing the minimum score for TOEFL or IELTS – the English proficiency level. Having English as our second language, it was not really difficult to meet the minimum requirement score. For example, IELTS is used by Australia and the UK to check the English proficiency of the applicants. In my case, I took it 3 times already and I got fair bands, except on the second attempt that I got a lowest score in writing (5) which was not really good! Thirdly, endorsements or recommendations from former professors/teachers and boss from work are another documents to support the application. Again, I did have good relationships with my bosses and teachers and seeking for recommendations from them was easy. Finally, it depends on the field of study – civil/environmental engineering (including planning and management) is one of the courses that always on the list for possible funding for applicants from the developing countries. Sometimes, working experience is a primary consideration especially applying for grants thru Philippine government-initiated (National Economic Development Authority, NEDA) application. By the way, age limit is also another issue especially for pursuing PhD programs in Japan, Germany and other European countries.

Getting a grant successfully is not an over-night affair. For example, I attempted 3 applications for Australian universities (1997, 1999 and 2001) but only in 2001 that I successfully able to get the grant from AusAID. On the other hand, my application for AIT (Asian Institute of Technology (Bangkok) was not difficult in some way that I was accepted in just a matter of 3 months. I was really excited for having accepted and this was my travel abroad for the first time. My PhD application's approval in the UK in 2005 was very fast which somehow affected my job and future plans. This was the only application that required a long-distance phone panel interview!

Why pursuing postgraduate overseas? My grandmother once commented when she was still alive that "why I have to go back to school?" after passing my Civil Engineering licensure exam. I explained to her that "it is free and I could travel abroad as well"! This is the easiest way to see the world and to prove that the globe is "flat"! You might disagree about this but I don’t want to explain it here. I don’t have any criticisms to pursue higher education in the Philippines but if the opportunity is there to have it abroad, then why not grab it! In my experience, taking postgrad programs abroad have more benefits than having it locally. Most of the time, the training is tougher (doing own research work) and it is the initial stage for having a successful career overseas getting high paying jobs. If you maintained (as a study leave) with your government employer, then you are obliged to go back to the Philippines serving for 2 years equivalent for one year of the study program. Part time employment is another opportunity while studying. Even though working while studying is stricter in some cases, generally you are allowed to work a maximum of 20 hours a week during school term and up to 40 hours a week during vacation. For example, while pursuing my PhD program in the UK, I was allowed to teach or tutor undergraduate students 3 times a week. Tutorial class is an extra hour for students to do additional lectures and guiding them while during their exercises/seatwork.

But honestly, my motivation why I decided to pursue PhD is because I observed in the Philippines that to get involved in big international funded projects (USAID, ADB, CIDA, World Bank, etc.), you should have a doctoral degree! One thing more, since I do part time teaching for both postgrad and undergrad students in the Philippines, I also planning to continue this and maybe someday could be working full time doing management job (like Dean or Head of School, who knows)…

Finally, the added value of studying abroad is the opportunity to travel! Carrying a student visa, it is not difficult to apply for tourist visas. For example, I had successful applications for tourist visas for US and Scandinavian countries, including Canada, and other countries in Europe. Having time to travel is somehow brings a balance in my academic life, including my blogging also helps me survive from living away from family and friends.

Downsides in pursuing Postgrad? Since my studies were fully funded, then I don’t have much problem financially and I can send some extra money back home to my family. I can save some money for my travels and to maintain my singleness lifestyle. I'm single so there's not much of a problem in terms of adjusting the new environment, but if I have a family, then this is another story! Im not sure if I could cope having a family while studying. I'm not saying here that having a family is a hindrance to pursue postgrad abroad, but it requires more of thinking to pursue or not!

If you planning to pursue it by own funding, then it is really a tough thing to do! You should have a secured funding to ensure a successful postgrad, otherwise you will not be able to finish it, unless your parents could extend their financial support. Having a parttime job while doing a postgrad is hardwork but if you could just have it on a fulltime basis, then you can concentrate and finish in a short period of time. For example, my scholarship package for my master's degree in Australia was worth more than 2.5 million pesos (including tuition fees, conference fees, accommodation and living allowances), while my PhD program was worth 4 million pesos. Thank you very much to my donor agencies! So, pursuing postgrad abroad entails a lot of money but in the long term, it is worth completing it!

Where to get financial supports? There are several options to get funding. From a developing country like the Philippines, international funding agencies always give substantial funds to encourage Filipinos to do further study abroad. For example, the National Economic Development Authority (Scholarship unit) is responsible for screening both government private applicants. With the easy access thru internet, visiting universities websites is another option to get scholarship funding directly from the institutions; including searching thru Embassies is a first try to seek grants. If you have friends who are currently studying or completed their studies abroad, this is another way to seek advice for possible assistantships. Click here for additional information in securing financial assistance/scholarships from various donor agencies and universities.

THERE IS NO SHORT-CUT FOR AIMING a higher education abroad. It is a long and winding journey with bumps along the way! But at the end, there is always a promising result that we could hang on to a brighter and fulfilling life ahead of us.

Higher Learning and Climate Change

WHEN I STARTED MY RESEARCH 4 years ago, one of the motivations why I decided to pursue higher education is to contribute to the knowledge-base on environmental management, specifically on how we could utilise land resource effeciently and effectively. In particular, I want to identify strategies on how to redevelop or regenerate underutilised/unproductive land (greyfields), the brownfields - properties that have been utilised for a single use (industrial, parking, etc) or simply to revitalise downtown areas or urban centres with derelict land and buildings to increase choice, convenience, and vitality resulting in social, economic and environmental benefits. This can be promoted by intensification of land uses through "mixed-use form".

MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT is considered as one of the mechanisms to regenerate these properties into liveable, attractive and sustainable communities. Mixed-use scheme is an integral ingredient of urban redevelopment to promote compactness, social equity, economic vitality and ennvironmental quality. Unfortunately, environmental quality is not directly discussed in my research, however, there are attributes or indicators in mixed-use scheme that are identified that influenced in the performance and optimisation of the mix" of use within the project. These attributes are included in the physical characteristics of the projects such as: functional and physical lay-out, type and quality of contruction materials, provision for parking, air conditioning system, cooling and ventilation, and energy effeciency rating. In addition, there are indicators that describe the environmental setting and condition of the sites (where these mixed-use schemes are located) which also indicate sustainability.

Im very honest in my previous journals that Im not an "avid fan" of Climate Change or Global Warming issues, however I do believe that we have our own little way to protect our Mother Earth. There are other issues that need much greater attention from both the communities and the government that influence the drastic change of our climate.

To this end, continuing higher education is one of the aspects that support environmental protection, preservation and management through the conduct of research in built environment (real estate, property investment, infrastructures, housing, etc.). Providing more funds and resources to pursue higher learning is one way of enriching the knowledge base and sharing information to the public as a whole.

Note: Some examples of mixed-use projects will be posted here very soon!

Efren Penaflorida - Filipino CNN Heroes 2009 nominee

ANOTHER FILIPINO TO BE RECOGNISED AS A LIVING HERO! For more stories, click the image below or the link: HERE.

The DigitalEnvironmentalist - top environmental and civil engineering blog

I AM DELIGHTED TO TELL MY READERS that my blogsite is chosen as one of the top 50 environmental blogsites and at the same time as one of the top 30 civil engineering sites.

The "Online Engineering Degree" site identified and selected blogs that have reference to engineering, particularly in environmental and civil engineering fields; also provides relevant information on engineering education and learning. The site provides a relevant links to these blogs, including my blog, The DigitalEnvironmentalist as listed in top 6 and 14, environmental engineering and civil engineering, respectively.

Having this recognition, it inspired me more to share my professional experiences - helping Mother Earth to be a healthy and safe environment to live in!

Losing shores, losing more...losing a living

THIS WEEK I RECEIVED EMAILS that informed me about the impacts of global warming, mostly in a negative way. I did write before about Al Gore's award from his documentary film and book, entitled the Inconvenient Truth. To be honest, Gore's projects brought inspirations and awareness to everyone, but I was not impressed with his documentaries, and I dont want to discuss it here, maybe in some other time! And besides I dont believe 100 percent with global warming or climate change. Please respect my judgment or my personal opinion about this - a politically motivated environmental agenda of the 21st century.

Yes, there are manifestations of the changes of our weather condition which the scientific community links it to excessive use of fuels from transportation and other factors coming from manufacturing. Early this morning I had a phone conversation with my friend in Manila using my internet connection with LowRateVOIP online provider and I asked him the present weather in the Philippines. He told me that it is raining in the early part of May! It seems unusual to me, because May is always the best time to travel in the country, and the start of wet season really comes only in June (school time). So, it somehow brought me to think that the 21st century is bringing change to Mother Earth!

Then at the later part of the day, I received three emails sent to my different email addresses. One email was sent by my former boss in AIT, Ma'am Teng Suselo (Musings of a Retiree). The message was sent to her and she forwarded it to her friends, including myself. It was not a serious message but it made me laugh - it composed of visual images. One of them is related to global warming effect - not negatively but positively. Look at the photo below (please when you laugh, do it quietly or maybe a smile will do to appreciate this).

The other email was sent thru my AIT Alumni Phillippines Association Yahoogroup account. One of the former officers of the association sent her congratulary message to her son who won third place in just concluded 2009 World Bank Essay Competition. The competition also asked participants to send photos and videos that focus on two themes: "how does climate change affect you?", and "how can you tackle climate change through youth-led solutions? My friend's son submitted a short video clip entitled as partly the same with journal post's title... Losing shores, losing more. It is a simple presentation but with a strong message to everyone. It struck me most because I came from a coastal town in the Philippines (Romblon) and fishing is the main livelihood in the area, and I understand what the video wants to convey to the viewers especially for the young generations. Also, marine ecosystem is a vital resource of the country especially conserving the coral reefs for fish and other marine life to grow and multiply!

This video also reminded me of my recent application to the Best Job in the World organised by Queensland Tourism - a job search for the Islandcaretaker of the Great Barrier Reef (world heritage site). I thought that having the job for six months could give me confidence to do the same in the Philippines to promote not only tourism but also to protect, conserve and manage the coral reef system of the 7,107 islands in the long term basis. Unfortunately, I was not shortlisted and not successful to impressed the organiser, instead the job was offered to a British adventurer last week.

Finally, the other email from a review site where Im a member too which contains the link of one of the members' recent post in the site. His article discussed the findings from the World Bank's study that climate change has a major impact to "The Coral Triangle" - being considered as the world's richest marine environment. This marine system encompasses the coasts, reefs and seas of Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and East Timor." Consequently, it affects the livelihoods of almost 100 million people on these areas.

Having these facts, what do you think, can we battle global warming or climate change? Or is this only a political propaganda? In what way you can help? At the end of the day, this is the way I think: There are more pressing issues than GW or CC such as poverty, hunger, education, toxic wastes, human rights, and terrorism!

Hunger and Hope ... a reflection

IM JOINING A GREAT CAUSE TODAY which unite bloggers to contribute on a pressing issue that every nation is battling to solve. For decades, hunger is haunting everyone especially those people in developing countries where poverty is prevalent. Fortunately, Im one of the lucky individuals that have access to the basic needs: food, shelter, clothing, education and health, but some are not. My only contribution for this cause is to share this video clip that will remind us that everyone, one way or another, could share in solving this global problem, maybe driven by any unpredictable circumstances.

On the other hand, I also collected some quotations from prominent individuals, writers/poets and politicians (courtesy of poemhunter.com) that shared their views about hunger, hope and poverty.

There's no sauce in the world like hunger.
[Miguel De Cervantes (1547-1616), Spanish author. Teresa Panza (Sancho's wife), in Don Quixote, pt. 2, ch. 5 (1615), trans. by P. Motteux. This well-worn proverb was attributed to Socrates by Cicero in De Finibus, bk. 2, sct. 90.]

The only remedy against hunger is reasonable birth control.
[Friedrich Dürrenmatt (1921-1990), Swiss dramatist, novelist, essayist. Trans. by Gerhard P. Knapp (1995). Portrait of a Planet (1971).]

Poverty is obsolete and hunger is abolished—
[Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (1836-1911), British parodist, librettist. Utopia Unlimited. . . Oxford Book of Satirical Verse, The. Geoffrey Grigson, comp. (1980) Oxford UniversityPress.]

When Christ said: "I was hungry and you fed me," he didn't mean only the hunger for bread and for food; he also meant the hunger to be loved. Jesus himself experienced this loneliness. He came amongst his own and his own received him not, and it hurt him then and it has kept on hurting him. The same hunger, the same loneliness, the same having no one to be accepted by and to be loved and wanted by. Every human being in that case resembles Christ in his loneliness; and that is the hardest part, that's real hunger.
[Mother Teresa (b. 1910), Albanian-born Roman Catholic missionary in India. "Imitation of Christ," A Gift for God (1975).]

Geo Mashup Competition 2009 runner-up winner

I WAS LUCKY TO BE CHOSEN AS ONE of the winners of the 2009 Geo Mashup competition organised by Northern Ireland's Department of Finance and Personnel, in cooperation with the Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland. This annual event encourages students in Northern Ireland to utilise geographic information (spatially generated data) from OSNI with other datasets.

My colleague (also a PhD student from the University of Ulster), David M. got the grand prize for presenting his project proposal on road tax mapping, while the other runner-up, Daniel also a student from UU (Coleraine) presented his idea on how to improve Translink's travel planner.

On the other hand, my proposal was to utilise the data from two existing projects that monitor and assess the level of noise and air pollutants in Northern Ireland's sensitive land uses (residential, institutional, educational, cultural). As a runner-up winner, I received a high-specs HP Business Compag laptop and a pre-incentive £250 cash.

Click the link for last year's(2008) winner: Aidan Higgins

My detailed project proposal is entitled: AIR AND NOISE MAPPING AND MONITORING PROJECT (ANMMP). Air and noise pollution is a pressing issue worldwide and it is given a considerable attention on the impacts to the public health and the mitigations it require in minimising the adverse effects to the environment as a whole.

In particular, there are two programmes established in Northern Ireland that address this issue: (1) Noise Mapping Northern Ireland project, and (2) Local Air Quality Management (LAQM). The Noise Mapping NI project is initiated by both private and public sectors aimed to meet the requirements set by the European Directive: Environmental Noise Directive (END, 2002/49/EC) in terms of assessing and managing environmental noise in major urban transport service areas in Northern Ireland. On the other hand, LAQM provides the guideline for each district councils in Northern Ireland to review and assess the level of air pollutants against the standards set within the Air Quality Strategy released in 1997.

The main output of the Noise Mapping NI is the production of noise maps piloted in 2004/2005 for Belfast area. These detailed maps are generated in various categories covering sound levels both night and day periods. The noise data are plotted using the Ordnance Survey map of Northern Ireland (Crown copyright).

There are 8 pollutants monitored in 2006 from the LAQM's 40 air quality monitoring stations. The data from these stations are combined with the emissions information provided by the UK's National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory (NAEI) which provides a comprehensive record of ambient air quality across the country.

On this premise, the Air and Noise Mapping and Monitoring Project (ANMMP) intends to consolidate the data from the Noise Mapping NI and the LAQM inventory into one detailed map. In terms of originality and adding value to the data from the agencies involved, the author tends to incorporate the existing sensitive land uses of Northern Ireland (or a pilot area within Belfast City) which will be generated as a new dataset for ANMMP. The sensitive land use map will be derived from actual visual survey and will be plotted to form a composite map. The composite map provides a mechanism to investigate the concentrations of noise and pollutants in Northern Ireland; consequently highlights areas for immediate management and planning controls particularly in sensitive land uses.

Some of these mitigation measures will be incorporated into the project site planning and design such as: orientation of building openings, orientation of open spaces associated with sensitive land uses and road networks; construction of perimeter sound walls, provision for setbacks and buffers and restriction of vehicle speeds. This map is essential in the promotion of alternative travel modes in town/city centres like pedestrians and bicycle lanes as well as the promotion for alternative fuel for residential heating and cars. In addition, ANMMP could be the basis for the prioritisation of road infrastructure improvement in terms of the type of materials for roads and acoustic barriers between roads and sensitive land uses (like houses, schools, medical facilities).

Urban vs Rural... which do you prefer to live?

A clever short clip of a poetic comparison between a countryside and a city. A place where green leaves dominates the skyline and a busy place where I earn a living. It is indeed a difficult choice but to tell you, it depends on what you are looking for in life. I was born in the countryside and then when I finished my high school for college I have to live in the city. I still miss my hometown where the sun and the ocean meet every day but I have to stay in the city to survive and support my family who lives in the countryside.

Poverty and Hunger

A short film that depicts the reality of life. It reminds me of my parttime work in one of the biggest food chains in the world. I work until closing time of the store and there is always leftovers of chicken! Sometimes I would ask the manager if I could eat some before I left the store or in some extent I brought it home to eat them next the day. As part of the policy, staff are not allowed to bring them home because these stuff will be checked by the area manager following day as part of the inventory and for health/safety reason. Anyway, Im sharing this true story captured briefly in a film. I dont want to elaborate but you can contemplate what this film is all about. Maybe to some extent, there might be exaggeration from the reaction of people being filmed, but Im sure the message is real that poverty is the root cause of hunger. Personally, I will give my own title for this clip: Chicken Recycling!

Synopsis: This film is about the hunger and poverty brought about by Globalization. There are 10,000 people dying everyday due to hunger and malnutrition. This short film shows a forgotten portion of the society. The people who lives on the refuse of men to survive. What is inspiring is the hope and spirituality that never left this people.
Director: Ferdinand Dimadura Genre: Drama Produced In: 2005 Location: Philippines

Island Reef Job - My quest for the best job in the world

It became a sensational news on how Queensland Tourism Australia advertised a prospect job in one of the world heritage sites, The Great Barrier Reef - to be the caretaker of the one of the islands of this marine system.

While reading the post in the internet, it seems the requirements for the application is easy and manageable to comply. I immediately decided to prepare my one-minute video clip showcasing my qualification for the job! As the days passed, contemplating my decision to apply and what things to be put into the video that interest Queensland Tourism to be shortlisted or eventually hire me for six months, Im a little bit worried on the screening process for physical and psychological tests which entails rigorous group activities. Well, I think this as soon as I already shortlisted in May.

Finally, I came up an idea and edited the video containing vital information about myself. It is simple and I like it... It was fun doing it in a serious quest for the best job in the world.

Watch the clip and support my quest for this rare opportunity to be home again - like the place where I was born - fresh air, white sand, clean water and the place where the sun and the ocean meet every day.

(please click here to watch again and vote!)

Honestly, this is not my dream job or the ultimate work of a lifetime, but Im sure this ultimately he job that will change my life - for a better and responsible islandeer!


If you are interested to apply, then hurry up and click the link, IslandReefJob before 22nd February but the deadline might be shortened due to numerous responses.