Is Manila Bulletin The Only PH Media Aware Of Its Responsibility As Far As Climate Change Is Concerned? Asking For A Friend!

The top image is accompanied by Manila Bulletin (MB) with this text: “Webb telescope reveals deepest infrared image of early universe.” (uploaded 11 July 2022). MB is enamored with “deep space” – I ask, what about the world we live in, the hundreds of cities, thousands of villages, and millions of farms?

MB columnist Sonny Coloma is happy to report that that media is not only climate-change aware but is doing some things concrete to help combat Climate Change. He refers to it as the ESG Framework – Environmental, Social & Governance (24 Nov 2022, “ESG: Walking The Talk On Ensuring Sustainability,” Manila Bulletin, mb.com.ph). Mr Coloma’s says:

…  Manila Bulletin is conducting its first Sustainability Forum that focuses on the environmental, social and governance (ESG) framework that has been adopted by many corporations.

ESG is not lip service to MB:

Last month, we revived our face-to-face Sketchfest involving children, youth and budding professional artists in Davao, Cebu and Metro Manila with the theme, “Saving the Earth.” The images they produced impel us to reflect:

Are we are sufficiently aware of the breadth and depth of the sustainability challenge – or as former US Vice President Al Gore cautioned the world nearly two decades ago, are we still looking away at an inconvenient truth?

MB is focusing on Sustainability as response to Climate Change: “The work of attaining – and ensuring – sustainability goes on 24/7; even as we pause.”

I go beyond Sustainability to Regenerativity (my coinage). My research tells me that one of major reasons, if not the major reason that greenhouse gases (GHGs) “continue to rise unchecked” is the continued application of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

And so I journalist in agriculture challenge all of Manila Bulletin to junk “Truth Journalism” and instead engage in what I call “THiNK! Journalism.” (See my 24 Oct 2017 essay “THiNK! Journalism: Calling For Nobler Kinds Of People In Media” (Creative Thinkering, blogspot.com).

What MB needs to do is find out for itself how, and how much GHGs Chemical Agriculture is contributing. Our farmers are our Climate Change enemies themselves!

Mr Coloma says, “We do our part in sustaining the environment.” Thank you, Sir, but you have to do more than “sustain” – you have to help “prevent” the further contribution of GHGs at least from agriculture. After all, MB is the publisher of the monthly Agriculture Magazine (Agrimag), now 25 years old (Oct 2022).

Happy! Today, Saturday, 26 Nov 2022, I find Agrimag publishing “Fighting Climate Change Through Agriculture” (24 Nov 2022):

According to Martin Lemoine, Head of the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Private Sector Agribusiness Unit, methane from farm animals and nitrous oxide from fertilizers are the two main agricultural GHG emissions. However, there are already interventions, such as modified animal feeds, alternate irrigation practices, specialty fertilizers, and the use of biochar as a soil additive that can reduce emissions.

The article is not original; its source is ADB (adb.org) – but I'm glad because it shows Agrimag has woken up!@517