Friday 16 October 2009

Blog Action Day 2009: Climate Change is Not the End of the World



Today is Blog Action Day. That's the day when bloggers get together to effect change and this year's topic is Climate Change.


Which is super relevant to me because next month, my short story How to Build the Perfect Sand Castle is going to be published in Under the Weather, an anthology about Climate Change published by Frances Lincoln.


My short story is based loosely on the plight of an island in my native Philippines where the effects of a one degree rise in sea temperature and uncontrolled development have caused the rapid erosion of its beautiful white sand beach.


I live in England where Climate Change feels like this horrible thing that lurks somewhere in the far future. It is a dystopian fantasy, a worst case scenario that exists on the websites of environmental campaigners and mealy mouthed politicians.

Well last month, Climate Change made a personal appearance in the Philippines in the form of Typhoon Ketsana (locally known as Ondoy), which created a deluge that was biblical in proportion.

To mark Blog Action Day I made this video reflection on the epic flood. I took liberties with photographs and videos posted on the internet for which many thanks to the various sources (including my friend Mike Alcazaren and my brother Randy Quimpo).

The text is an excerpt from the powerful re-imagining of the Noah's Ark story by Geraldine McCaughrean, Not the End of the World. The music is Dapithapon by Joey Ayala from his Lumad sa Syudad album.


If you can't see the video go straight to its page on YouTube

Please give to the Red Cross Philippine Floods Appeal



2 comments :

  1. I was there! I was one of those! Lagpas tao sa kalye, hanggang dibdib sa loob ng bahay. Lumutang ang ibang kasangkapan, lumubog naman ang iba. Ang akala ko katapusan na ng mundo. Humupa din ang tubig sa may amin pagkaraan ng maraming oras. Hindi kami magkanda-ugaga sa pagtanggal ng putik sa loob ng bahay. Binuksan ko ang TV kinabukasan. Nanlumo ako sa nakita ko, nalungkot, natulala, napa-isip. Tumutok ako sa aming telebisyon. Ano daw??! Climate change daw, global warming daw...? I used to be blithely about the issue, but after these storms, I thought to myself I need to do something too. I think to solve the global warming problem, it must be stormed at the national and international levels. Sana nagkakaisa. Pero ang total success is built upon the action of every individual, regardless of nationality, to conserve energy and focused on living in a greener, cleaner community. Thank you for this post. Mabuhay tayong lahat! Happy Blog Action Day! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Candy, your video is so moving, I've just watched it and have tears in my eyes. Great choice of text (beautifully read too)- makes the point extremely powerfully. I've been a bit pathetic and self-pitying today and you have just given me some much-needed perspective... Clare x

    ReplyDelete

Comments are the heart and soul of the Slushpile community, thank you! We may periodically turn on comments approval when trolls appear.

Share buttons bottom

POPULAR!