GUEST POST: Going green can be profitable

By Lauren Wong*

I came to the Philippines ten years ago, and all I can remember are the white-sand beaches of Palawan. It was the most beautiful place I had ever seen, and I imagined the rest of the Philippines to be just as gorgeous when I boarded a plane bound for Manila. My summer internship with Ashoka Philippines would last for two months; I found that natural beauty abounds, but not in the sprawling mega-metropolis where I live and work. The city, like so many others, is a hub of urban pollution. Luckily for me, there’s life outside of the city limits.

Aside from interning with Ashoka, I got to spend some of my weekends in non-urban areas. Trekking up Mount Pinatubo, planting trees near a dam in Zambales, and spending an afternoon in an isolated village in Negros Occidental reminded me of the breathtaking natural beauty of the Philippines. In those little villages tucked in the folds of mountains, people live in communion with their surroundings. Villagers fashion umbrellas out of palm leaves, make useful rags out of tattered clothes, and let no scrap of food goes to waste. The ones I’ve met still remember how to live with the earth, not simply on top of it. That kind of mentality stands as such a contrast from the lives most of us urbanites live.

We need to remember what it feels like to not pollute the earth. As climate change becomes a more present danger, we (being Filipinos, Americans, and every other citizen of the world) have got to reconnect with our environment. Some of that starts small, like bringing cloth bags when shopping or, if not, use all of those plastic bags for garbage cans. We could put pride in Filipino-grown food rather than preferring goodies from Switzerland. We could make a conscious effort not to litter and demand a comprehensive recycling program. The biggest environmental concerns here in the Philippines happen to be large structural issues like diesel-belching buses and inefficient energy grids, but that shouldn’t dissuade the average citizen from trying to do their part. People and communities around the world are finding ways to “do their part”, and the Philippines should see if others’ innovative models can be applied here.

Between 1990 and 2006, Sweden reduced its carbon emissions by 9 percent while still growing at 44 percent. The nation has installed a carbon tax on gasoline to give its citizens a financial incentive to reduce energy consumption, and a southern city in Sweden is running its electric station with wood waste from sawmills. San Francisco separates garbage into recyclables, food scraps, and trash; while it takes away recyclables and food scraps for free, residents must pay to have their trash picked up. That way, people will be more willing to throw away only what is absolutely necessary. UK-based G24 Innovations is bringing electricity to Rwanda using lightweight, durable, and low-cost solar cells. In Chicago, the City Hall’s 20,000 sq. foot rooftop is covered with vegetation to save $25,000 in energy costs. Copenhagen streets bustle with more bikes than cars and have even installed traffic lights especially for its bikers; it also has about 2000 bikes around the city that you can rent for free, within its city limits.

The Philippines is starting to show off some if its own environmental innovation. In Makati, a few electric-run e-Jeepneys roam the roads. Eco-tourism is beginning to take off in the Philippines with 32 key sites, but it should be encouraged to go much farther. With all the dazzling natural landscapes that span the Philippines, the archipelago could easily become one of the world’s new tourist hot spots, showing that going green can also be very profitable.

There are other avenues to seek environmental solutions, such as solar energy, hybrid cars, carbon cap-and-trade, and more efficient vehicle standards. With the looming oil shortage in the not-so-distant future, innovators in the renewable energy field will be in extremely high demand. The trend to “go green” in wealthy nations has also created a market for organic, sustainable, and carbon-free goods, even at high prices.

The Philippines has the potential to once again become an economic heavy-hitter while also saving the earth, but only if it makes the environment a priority for everyone. Filipino citizens, whether they live in tiny farming communities or the ritziest neighborhoods in Makati, must connect with the land rather than take it for granted. One day, you won’t have to fly to Bacolod to see dazzling nature in its finest; you’ll just need to step outside of your urban apartment.

*Lauren is an intern at Ashoka.

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