Make a difference

[daphneosena]

I'm having a bit of a rough week. My back is acting up (is it my age? my post-partum adjustment? posture? or the new excercise routine I'm doing?). I've been through this before, after every childbirth. Things are out of whack in my body. And the only one who can whip it back into shape (at least for my insides) is my therapist. I need to see her

Comments

[sweethopia]

A week before Ondoy hit Manila, I participated in the International Coastal Cleanup. The amount of trash I saw in Manila Bay was depressing. It was my first time to volunteer and I brought tongs thinking I would be picking up small candy wrappers and bits and pieces of trash, nagulat ako parang landfill pala :(

http://mommyandmoney.blogspot.com/2009/09/intenational-coastal-cleanup-2009.html

Here's another tip: buy things that are meant to last. I used to be guilty of buying cheap shoes that do not last beyond a couple of months. When we were at the coastal cleanup, our small group collected 108 pieces of chinelas and shoes in just 1 hour.

coastal clean up

[daphneosena]

I used to scuba dive and in every dive I'd always see little sachets of shampoo. I also saw the garbage depot in Boracay back in 1996. Back then they used incinerators (tsk tsk). There were so much plastic water bottles! Can you imagine how much there is NOW.

tabloids

[alvillaraza]

My back hurts too and I can't find a comfortable sleeping position.

Anyway, there is a lot of eco bag use promotion in the blogs. But last time I checked, only 1% of the Philippine population has internet access. The most widely-read media is still the tabloids, followed by entertainment media like Yes! magazine. For a very big impact, someone should start an anti-plastic campaign in the tabloids.

Re: tabloids

[daphneosena]

you're right - tabloids and maybe AM talk radio.

we also need some serious policy changes. all these eco bag programs are becoming just marketing blitzes. it has to go beyond that.

Re: tabloids

[alvillaraza]

Maybe impose high taxation and fines ... for excessive plastic use. Or caning. In Singapore they cane people who litter and destroy public property.

On a global scale, if a country is categorized as a developing nation, it is exempt from being fined ... for having no climate change efforts. So the Philippines has no incentive in terms of laws / agreements.

Natural calamities should serve as a huge incentive though. It's good to pray. But I believe that efforts should go beyond prayer.

[sugarchef]

In my line of work I go to the grocery every so often and come home with at least 6 shopping bags, depending on the assignment. Because of this I bought several Baggus online last year (they weren't available on Multiply here yet :)) and I've gotten so much mileage out of them. I do my best to encourage friends but they almost always say "I have one, I just keep forgetting it at home." Can't blame them -- I've forgotten mine at least a couple of times myself. Doing your share, or finding a way to contribute... it's a conscious, conscious effort I think.

conscious, conscious effort

[daphneosena]

so true..

[povilicious23]

I'm on graveyard shift and I often go to convenient stores. When I buy there, I refuse having the stuff that I bought bagged in plastic. I just carry it out with the receipt.

[lullleepop]

Strange, had the same problem with my back shortly after Izzy was born. I was so mad since our 3K bed is not even 3 years old. It's so much better now though...with proper stretching and ocassional relaxant when it's really unbearable.

I have eco bags in my trunk all the time. I've even ran out to the car in the middle of grocery shopping b/c I forgot my bags :)

my back

[daphneosena]

it started with the first kid. my posture went bad during breastfeeding, i thought. but my therapist said my sciatic nerve got twisted during childbirth. and she was able to put it back in place - no medicine, no bone manipulation. just by working on my pressure points.