If I Was Senator
I have said it before and I will say it again, Ondoy wasn't a freak occurence. The floods caused by the monsoon rains will happen again sooner than later and we only have ourselves to blame.
I have no background in politics, the constitution or international law. I only know what I see.
What I see is that there are too many people. The Earth is crowded, overpopulated and abused on a daily basis. There is too much greenhouse gas being emitted and not enough trees to absorb the impact. Polar icebergs are melting causing a rise in sea level and everyday, we just accept this fact and let it happen as if we are feeding the epic tragedy that is our extinction.
Add to this the amount of garbage we throw out on a daily basis. The little plastic wrappers thrown out of car windows without as much as a second thought. All these pile up into an enormous amount of trash. Sad to say that most of the people living along the rivers and who were greatly affected by this flood are most probably also the cause of their own misery. They have turned the rivers into their own personal toilet and trash bin. I don't know how to solve this problem. The only solution I can come up with right now is for the government to make sure that no one builds on these areas again. A river needs room and allowance for swelling so it flows naturally.
Flooding is a worldwide problem that will keep on happening if we don't start and do something major about it and that is why if I was senator, I would try my best to pass this bill (if there is an existing bill that I am not aware of then maybe it need more strict implentation):
I have no background in politics, the constitution or international law. I only know what I see.
What I see is that there are too many people. The Earth is crowded, overpopulated and abused on a daily basis. There is too much greenhouse gas being emitted and not enough trees to absorb the impact. Polar icebergs are melting causing a rise in sea level and everyday, we just accept this fact and let it happen as if we are feeding the epic tragedy that is our extinction.
Add to this the amount of garbage we throw out on a daily basis. The little plastic wrappers thrown out of car windows without as much as a second thought. All these pile up into an enormous amount of trash. Sad to say that most of the people living along the rivers and who were greatly affected by this flood are most probably also the cause of their own misery. They have turned the rivers into their own personal toilet and trash bin. I don't know how to solve this problem. The only solution I can come up with right now is for the government to make sure that no one builds on these areas again. A river needs room and allowance for swelling so it flows naturally.
Flooding is a worldwide problem that will keep on happening if we don't start and do something major about it and that is why if I was senator, I would try my best to pass this bill (if there is an existing bill that I am not aware of then maybe it need more strict implentation):
- Vacant lots - there is an abundance of barren vacant lots all over our country that the owners must pay taxes for annually. If I was senator, I would pass a bill stating that all lot owners who plant trees in their vacant lots will be given a tax discount. The older the trees, the higher the discount. Idle land will be penalized with a higher tax equivalent.
And lastly, if I was senator I would pitch this to the UN or whomever is in charge of creating international laws:
- All cities must have an x number of wooded parkland for every x amount sq.m of developed land.
If I was senator, I would try my best to make this happen but I am not so I am writing this instead in the hopes that someone in power or someone who knows someone in power can do something about this and read my suggestions, improve it, take it to heart and try to pass it.
It's starting to rain hard again and we can't control that but we can control our own personal actions. Baby steps people and don't chastise those that are trying to make a difference.
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