Tag Archives: Earth

High Hopes For The COP 28 – UN Climate Change Conference 2023

Posted on by

The COP 28 or the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference is currently being held in the United Arab Emirates, which commenced on November 30, 2023 and will end on December 12, 2023. Here’s what we can expect from the Conference of Parties for this year:

“High on the agenda for COP28 is the conclusion of the first-ever Global Stocktake (GST), the main mechanism to assess progress on the goals set in the Paris Agreement. The GST will be an opportunity for countries to assess their climate efforts so far and to identify the gaps in current climate action.  

Beyond making COP 28 the “most inclusive” ever, the UAE has also announced three additional priorities for COP28:

  1. fast-tracking the energy transition and slashing emissions before 2030;
  2. transforming climate finance, by delivering on old promises and setting the framework for a new deal on finance; and
  3. putting nature, people, lives and livelihoods at the heart of climate action.” – Global Witness

Despite man’s inability to avert the impacts of climate change, I still remain hopeful that global leaders and respective government agencies will be able to help us adapt and mitigate all the risks involved.

Environmental Meltdown

The World Economic Forum shared this video and I believe it speaks volumes to all of us – ecological destruction has already reached its tipping point. The accelerated melting of ice caps in the Arctic region has drastically increased sea levels and it looks like the “Waterworld” scenario is no longer a far-fetched reality. Decreasing snow caps exacerbated warmer seas resulting in a high percentage of deaths of marine species and disrupted habitats.

Here in our hometown, which is a coastal area, there is already a decline in seafood supply. When I was young, wet market stalls were always teeming with different kinds of fish on any day of the week. Only a few of them are available now, and the sizes are also getting smaller.

I’m afraid an imbalance in the supply and demand, coupled with overfishing, climate change, political and social instability, and an increasing population will indeed confirm what experts have predicted that it is not possible to solve the problem of food insecurity by 2030. The question that all of us are asking now is what kind of climate action are we taking?

I am sure we’re all familiar with Greta Thunberg and all other climate activists who made waves in the internet for desperately calling out to the world that we are already in a climate emergency. It is no longer imperative that we look for ways to halt Earth’s degradation. Our approach now is more centered on how to survive the looming threats of climate change.

Combating Food Insecurity

So how do we prepare for the global food shortage? Let’s take into account our current world population that already reached 8,045,321,447 as of 2023. If marine biodiversity can no longer offer us with an abundant supply, we might have to consider indoor aquaculture.

During extreme heat waves and droughts, we can explore cultivating edible plants that grow in deserts and can withstand extended periods without irrigation. During the rainy season, floating gardens are a great alternative. We might also have to improve our hydroponic systems to make them more wide scale.

In the coming decades, we can expect more scientific breakthroughs and discoveries in bioengineering, cloning, and genetic modifications. We are racing against time, and I have high hopes that climate financing will focus on these developments because experts will need to work double time if we want to ensure the survival of humanity.

Btw, I am no scientist and environmental expert, though if I am given an opportunity (kun dire ako polpolon sa Math 😅), my preferred branches of Science to study are Biology and Botany.

A Collective Effort, Better Together

I hope our farm will be able to contribute towards climate change mitigation efforts. My family and I have a series of projects in the pipeline and yet I am asking God when and how we execute them. The tasks to do are a bit overwhelming, but I always make it a habit to start with small, achievable tasks related to these projects. And most importantly, we follow God’s timeline by seeking His will in every plan.

I support the idea that you have to be diligent and disciplined enough even in doing mundane tasks and routines in order to get good results. And if you want excellent results, you have to equip yourself with the necessary skills and knowledge in order to make modifications as needed.

One farming component that I am particularly interested in now is Bokashi composting. I see it playing an integral role in our farming activities to make our farm more sustainable. Although just like what I’ve mentioned in my previous articles, the fulfillment of some of these plans might not take place during our lifetime. But I firmly believe that God will assign people from the next generations to continue what we have started. And yet, not our will but let God’s will be done always.

But why, oh why, Daddy? A non biodegradable in a biodegradable bin??? But because you’re 83 years old already, love you still, Dad. 😀

I am praying for more breakthroughs in organic farming and the successful integration of climate-smart farming practices here on our farm. Even David Beckham is starting his own organic farm. If we are to do this as a collective whole, the impact will be greater compared if only a small number of individuals or organizations are performing their climate change mitigation initiatives in order to achieve sustainability.

We act now, then we let God lead us to do the rest according to His timeline. 🙏

P.S. In case you see me looking like a man and acting so manly and all, pls. don’t ever think I have gender issues or an identity crisis. lol I was driven by circumstances to behave in such a manner due to a lack of males in the household. 😃

This is how I cope with and adapt to a very masculine industry in order to survive. I can also be girly, cute, and sweet, but I actually have a Kraken inside me that I am trying so hard to keep hidden and is just waiting to be unleashed. lol Thanks to my faith, I have managed to keep it hidden in most circumstances. 😉

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” – Galatians 6:9

Where Do Souls Go? | Allhallowtide 2018 Special

Posted on by

This topic came to mind when I was making my personal editorial calendar last July. I had no idea what to write for this topic back then, but I just thought the title was suitable for the occasion. So methinks I’ll allow the Spirit’s leading. Little did I know God had already prepared the contents of this article beforehand. 😀

I got the idea for this content from last Sunday’s preaching. There was a part of the message where Pastor Rev (as in Rev from “revelation?” I’d better ask him next time :-D) explained the events in Revelation 21. I thought I’d dig deeper into this topic. Thus, this article.

Do Souls Really Linger in this World?

I searched the web about where souls stay or go. I ended up reading the entire chapter of Revelation 21 yet again, as well as all other sources I could find on the internet. Indeed, it was all a “revelation” to me.

Ah yes, 5 years of being a Christian, and yet there are still a lot of things in the Bible that aren’t clear to me or have to be revealed to me yet. I guess this is part of every Christian’s walk and spiritual journey – wisdom is given not in one single bulk, but through a series of learnings.

So here are 3 ideas I have discovered today while doing my research on this topic though there are different perspectives about where souls go after death depending on the Christian denomination:

1. Souls of believers go to heaven right away to be with God.

Most Christian denominations agree that when believers die, their souls go straight to heaven and are now with God. Our mortal bodies will be left here on earth when we pass on.

But these mortal bodies will one day be resurrected from the graves to be made new and will be joined to their respective souls who are with God in heaven.

During the Rapture, these resurrected bodies / souls of the dead, along with Jesus, will meet midway with the believers who are still alive and who will also be given immortal and glorified physical bodies once they ascend.

According to Scripture,

“The dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.” – Ecclesiastes 12:7

The Return of the Lord

“And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.

We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God.

First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words.”

– 1 Thessalonians 4:13‭-‬18

2. Our souls as believers will be judged based on how we lived, and we will be rewarded accordingly.

There will be two judgments: The Judgment of Believers and the Judgment of Unbelievers. For the former, we will be granted rewards or inheritances in heaven depending on what we did as Christians and as believers when we were still alive.

For the latter, this judgment is for the unbelievers only, and it will take place much later. While doing my research, I have found this timeline of events during the last days:

The Complete Order of Events:

  1. The Rapture (Believers are taken to heaven)
  2. The Bema Seat Judgment / Judgment of Believers (Happens in heaven while earth experiences the Tribulation)
  3. The 7-Year Tribulation (Takes place on earth)
  4. The Second Coming (Jesus returns to earth to end the Tribulation and the Battle of Armageddon ensues where Satan is defeated and sent to the bottomless pit)
  5. The 1,000-Year Kingdom (Jesus reigns on earth and at the end of this period, Satan is released for a short while, but Jesus defeated him once and for all and cast him to the lake of fire) 
  6. The Great White Throne Judgment / Judgment of Unbelievers (Final judgment for unbelievers at the end of time)
  7. The New Heaven and the New Earth

The New Jerusalem

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”

And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End.

To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life. All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children.

“But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars—their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

– Revelation 21:1‭-8

3. The souls of unbelievers only have one chance to get to heaven. And that is to repent and accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior before their first earthly death.

“And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” – Rev 20:15

Indeed, heaven is God’s home, and we need to settle our “accountabilities” first here on earth before we can enter in His Kingdom.

For now, let’s remember those who have already joined our Creator in His glorious home during this 3-day observance of Allhallowtide. <3

If Fred Flintstone Is Here…

Posted on by

 

I have long been an advocate of protecting Mother Earth. I grew up surrounded by nature in its luscious state. Nope, please don’t get me wrong. I am no Tarzan nor Jane. *wink*

I just happen to grow up in a humble home (our ancestral home in the province) with a garden containing all sorts of flora and fauna courtesy of Mom and her best helper, Dad. Yup, he is the one in charge of the upkeep of the lawn with the lawn mower – it’s a guy thing. 😀

That is their quality time together as husband and wife on a weekend – tending the garden. The children are the ones in charge of picking the flowers for their own agenda and end up being scolded by Mom. lol

Okay so I am pro nature. Does that make me an anti urbanization? I have my own praises when it comes to industrialization. It is, I believe, in God’s plan that man will benefit from his own toil and hard labor resulting in a convenient life. Imagine Fred Flintstone and the difficulties of Stone Age and the primitive days. I am grateful I am not living in a cave and have to deal with bats and snakes or any squishy, wiggling, crawling, flying, spurting creature every night when I sleep.

But are we maintaining the balance? I was wondering what would Fred Flintstone say if he is with us and sees all the modernity around. I think the time has come for our industrial engineers, landscape architects and land developers to consider creating a change in this rapid momentum of skyscrapers being built everywhere especially in the city.

I see it as an idol, a temple. Not of God’s but of something else. It destroys what God has originally built. I no longer see God in those buildings, nothing God-made was retained.

I believe it is man’s obligation to maintain and preserve what God has built. We have been given free will which gave us opportunity to gain knowledge. Knowledge gave way to innovations. Innovations made life easier. BUT too much of it will destroy the very core of life in this world – Earth. Unless of course those innovations are nature-friendly.

If not, there really is indeed a possibility Earth will be nothing more but a rubble in the future and we’ll be living in spaceships. Ever watched the movie Transcendence? It’s basically the same.

I love Science. I enjoyed watching Sci-fi movies. My Mom was my grade school Science teacher and I was usually the one representing our school in Science quiz bees and competitions. I had that thirst for worldly knowledge back then and I grew up being inquisitive of everything around me.

I started asking the “why”  questions which later on I found out that Science has no answers for all of them. Too many unanswered questions brought me to questioning the reason even for my very own existence.

Good thing there was faith – I was saved from the disillusioned self. Now everything has meaning, everything has an answer, everything has a purpose. That made me understand not just my part but how each living and non-living thing created by God are interrelated.

This now brings us to innovations. Are they really supposed to be part of the picture?

I have been sharing on Instagram those that are all natural or which pertain to nature. I saw the beauty of them that transcends beyond the skyscrapers and high-rise buildings that speak nothing else but of man’s creations.

This made me ask again. Is man trying to outwit, outplay and outlast God?

If we are to compete with God in the Survivor game show, there’s no doubt we’d be eliminated first. Can God create buildings? Of course, He can. So why didn’t He create skyscrapers and a whole lot of them for His creations to live in alongside Earth when He created everything?

Too much is detrimental. It speaks of greed – hunger for power and to acquire more than what is necessary.

I have no control over the industrialization age. But I can help the younger generation appreciate what could be the last remnants of God’s creation at its best and original state – nature. I am hoping the younger and future industrialists, architects and engineers will take it to themselves to preserve what is left of God’s creation.

If they wouldn’t make the change then there’s nothing left for our great grandchildren and the children after them to marvel at when it comes to showing them how God created the world. Garden of Eden for them will just be a far-fetched concept or worse, a myth.

And yes, they will be missing out so much. *sigh*

And yes too, this is the first time I am ending my article with a sigh. BUT with a smile – still hopeful. ☺

P.S.

My Dad, by the way, is a retired civil engineer. He builds bridges and dams and facilitates in the irrigation of rice fields with the National Irrigation Administration. He did these not to destroy nature but to help in nourishing it so nature in return can help the farmers make good use of the resources.

If only man would learn to settle with contentment.

*sighs again*

*smiles again*

“A psalm of David. The Earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to Him.” – Psalm 24:1