Water Hyacinth and Floods

The rains provided the water, the Water Hyacinths provided the flooding. Some waterways in Cotabato were clogged with the aquatic  plant preventing proper flow. The waterways swelled and flooded the city. Amidst televised stories of woe and political recriminations was a backdrop of people laboriously dragging plants out of the rivers.

Like past flooding, quite a bit of this disaster seems to be man made. Although water hyacinth is a prolific invasive species, it grows better when fed. Sources say waste from human activity provides ample fertilizer for their growth. Also, they don't grow overnight, which means this problem had been building up over some time.

Jeepneys are Unsustainable

A recent World Bank report concluded that the Jeepney was an unsustainable transport solution for Cebu. I'd like to read a copy of that report. I suspect the same judgement applies to other cities as well. We all have a first hand experience with the effect of jeeps on the road. The constant weaving, slowing and stopping hinders traffic flow. When traffic density is low the effect can be ignored. At higher densities, the effects tend to compound.

The question then is: what do we do with the Jeep. Should we keep it around and suffer the consequences? Do we get rid of it and lose a part of our culture?

White Space for Water Ways

I encountered the term white space after reading Malcolm Gladwell's Blink. White Space is a security concept that essentially means room for action. White Space is any condition that allows a person more time to react to a situation. White Space thus includes keeping crowds away from VIPs or cops standing behind a stopped driver instead of beside the driver-side window.

This concept should be included in our design paradigms for managing public spaces. Part of our enforcement problem is the lack of space to detect and deter wrongdoing. Poorly lit areas and twisty alleyways provide cover for criminals. A lack of convenient pedestrian walkways encourage jaywalking. Residences directly abutting streams and rivers encourage pollution.

Fight vs Malnutrition

I find it apalling that the incidence of malnutrition in this country should be so high. We have several local plants containing numerous nutrients that it should be easy to gain access to them.

Take the malunggay. This plant grows well in the country, tolerating most local soil and weather conditions. It propagates quickly. It packs a lot of vitamins and minerals in its leaves and fruits. A whole tree can grow from one branch. Cut branches quickly regenerate. We had a few trees in our garden and we tried to incorporate it into our diet. Despite the frequent cuttings, the tree still grew too fast. Eventually we had to cut them down to size or the top branches would be too high to reach. Within a few days, new shoots emerged from the cut trunk.

Live Sharks Are Worth More

Palau declared its terrotorial waters as a shark sanctuary and for good reason. The Australian Institute of Marine Science and the Uniiversity of Western Australia estimates that one thrasher shark is worth $2m throughout its lifetime. That's tourist revenue  for the country of Palau. (National Geographic Article)

That's a huge tourist draw. Plus the shark is a self generating resource so long as we let them breed. It's like people visiting a tree in your back yard and generating two million dollars over 20 or so years. And they make more of themselves!

I want to spread the word because we have similar resources, the most well known being the Donsol Whale Sharks. That resource needs to be protected from ignorance and greed: