Ramon Magsaysay Award Response Speech of Atty. A. Oposa Jr.

Once upon a time, there was a group of islands so rich and so beautiful it was called Perla del Mar de Oriente (Pearl of the Orient Sea). Its people had ready smiles, generous spirits, happy hearts, and a healthy respect for the Earth. They knew that the land, the air, and the waters were the sources of their life.

One day, men from foreign lands came with swords and symbols. They taught the happy people that to be happier, they must have more things -- things to be taken from the Earth as quickly as possible. In time, the islands were skinned of their life, disemboweled for a few pieces of silver, and the seas scraped of all life. And they called it economic development.

My friends, I am only a story-teller. Law is the medium by which I tell the story that the environment is not about the birds and the bees, it is about Life and the Sources of Life -- Land, Air, and Waters (LAW). The Land and the Soil are the skin and flesh; the Trees and the Forests are the lungs, and the Seas and the Rivers are the blood and the bloodstreams of Life.

The economic mindset of uncontrolled extraction and consumption has brought us to the environmental crisis we now face – among them clear and present dangers of climate change. To get out of it, we need the opposite economic mindset – that of conservation, protection, and restoration, or CPR. This is also known as the Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation of the vital organs of life.

Today, the good Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation gives me this great honor. Thank you from my inmost heart of hearts. Thirty years ago, I met an accident and went through unspeakable pain and humbling suffering. It taught me one important lesson: Honor and fame, like power and money, are important not for what it is, but for the good that it can do.

This honor belongs to all our co-workers in the environmental movement, especially to my fallen friend Jojo de la Victoria. This award also belongs to the Supreme Court for reminding humankind that we are only the trustees of the Land, the Air, and the Waters for the benefit of generations yet come.

Together, we Filipinos send a message to the world: Everything that we have done so far was only warming up. The main event is about to unfold.

Together, we launch a movement to enlist Ten Million Filipinos for change. Not a change of the personalities in power, rather change within each and every one of us. Today, we also launch a revolution – a turn-around – in the government’s priority for the Sources of Life.

Together, we will spark the natural genius of Filipinos and of Asians and restore our respect for the Sources of Life. Yes, we Filipinos and Asians are geniuses in our love for Nature. After all, we live in the richest and most beautiful country, and region, on Earth.

In this revolution, our weapon is not violence. Rather, it is the sword of reason, the fire of passion, and the will, the force, and the power of the Law. We cannot have peace on Earth unless we have peace with the Earth. Together, we send this simple message to our leaders: Environmental security is the highest form of national security. Anyone who does not understand that has no right to aspire for any position of political power.

Ten Million, my friends, ten million … And that is only the beginning.

Yes, I am idealistic. But then, my friends, so is each and every one of you. In the veins of every Filipino runs the blood of idealism and greatness, waiting only to be awakened. Let us remember, my friends, that “ideals are like the stars; we may not reach them, but we can look up, see their beauty, and always try to follow where they lead.”

Daghang salamat at magandang hapon sa inyong lahat.

NEEDLE CAN SAVE THE LIFE OF A STROKE PATIENT

From a Chinese Professor.
Keep a syringe or needle in your home to do this...It's amazing and an unconventional way of recovering from stroke, read it through it can help somebody one day..

This is amazing. Please keep this very handy. Excellent tips.
Do take a minute to read this. You'll never know, ones life may depend on you.

My father was paralysed and later died from the result of a stroke. I wish I knew about this first aid before. When stroke strikes, the capillaries in the brain will gradually burst. (Irene Liu) When a stroke occurs, stay calm.

No matter where the victim is, do not move him/her.Because, if moved, the capillaries will burst.

Help the victim to sit up where he/she is to prevent him/her from falling over again and then the blood letting can begin.

If you have in your home an injection syringe that would be the best.

Otherwise, a sewing needle or a straight pin will do.

1. Place the needle/pin over fire to sterilize it and then use it to prick the tip of all ......10 fingers.
2. There are no specific acupuncture points, just prick about an mm from the fingernail.
3. Prick till blood comes out.
4. If blood does not start to drip, then squeeze with your fingers.
5. When all 10 digits is bleeding, wait a few minutes then the victim will regain consciousness.
6.. If the victim's mouth is crooked, then pull on his ears until they are red.
7. Then prick each earlobe twice until two drops of blood comes from each earlobe.

After a few minutes the victim should regain consciousness.

Wait till the victim regains his normal state without any abnormal symptoms then take him to the hospital.

Otherwise, if he was taken in the ambulance in a hurry to the hospital, the bumpy trip will cause all the capillaries in his brain to burst.

If he could save his life, barely managing to walk. I learned about letting blood to save life from Chinese traditional doctor, Ha Bu Ting, who lives in Sun Juke.

Furthermore, I had practical experience with it. Therefore, I can say this method is 100% effective.

In 1979, I was teaching in Fung Gaap College in Tai Chung.

One afternoon, I was teaching a class when another teacher came running to my classroom and said in panting,
'Ms Liu, come quick, our supervisor has had a stroke!'.. I immediately went to the 3rd floor. When I saw our supervisor, Mr. Chen Fu Tien, his colour was off, his speech was slurred, his mouth was crooked - all the symptoms of a stroke.

I immediately asked one of the practicum students to go to the pharmacy outside the school to buy a syringe, which I used to prick Mr. Chen's 10 fingers tips.

When all 10 fingers were bleeding (each with a pea-sized drop of blood),after a few minutes, Mr. Chen's face regained its colour and his eyes' spirit returned,

But his mouth was still crooked. So I pulled on his ears to fill them with blood. When his ears became red, I pricked his right earlobe twice to let out two drops of blood. When both earlobes had two drops of blood each, a miracle happened. Within 3-5 minutes the shape of his mouth returned to normal and his speech became clear.

We let him rest for a while and have a cup of hot tea, then we helped him go down the stairs, drove him to Wei Wah Hospital . He rested one night and was released the next day to return to school to teach.. Everything worked normally.
There were no ill after effects.

On the other hand, the usual stroke victim usually suffers Irreparable bursting of the brain capillaries on the way to the hospital. As a result, these victims never recover.' (Irene Liu)Therefore, stroke is the second cause of death. The lucky ones will stay alive but can remain paralysed for life.

It is such a horrible thing to happen in ones life.

If we can all remember this blood letting method and start the life saving process immediately, in a short time, the victim will be revived and regain 100% normality.

Species Pledge Set to Fail 2010: AFP (Paris) - Thursday, July 2, 2009

The world's paramount authority on species loss has warned that pledges to roll back the threat to biodiversity by 2010 were running into the sand.

The goal set by UN parties under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) to reduce biodiversity loss by 2010 "clearly will not be met," Jean-Christophe Vie of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) told AFP.

In its new report, issued on Thursday, the Swiss-based IUCN said Earth was hurtling towards a mass extinction.

Out of 44,838 species on the IUCN's famous "Red List", 869 are considered to be extinct or extinct in the wild, it said.

This tally rises to 1,159 if 290 critically endangered species that are tagged as possibly extinct are included.

Nearly one third of amphibians are at risk of being wiped out through habitat loss, fungal infection and other risks.

More than one in eight birds are threatened with extinction, with Brazil, Indonesia and oceanic islands spearheading the peril. Nearly a quarter of mammals, especially hunted species in Asia, face a similar threat.

"Overall, a minimum of 16,928 species are threatened with extinction," IUCN said in a press release.

"Considering that only 2.7 percent of the 1.8 million described species have been analysed, this number is a gross underestimate, but it does provide a useful snapshot of what is happening to all forms of life on Earth."

The IUCN analysis, Wildlife in a Changing World, was issued just before a deadline governments set themselves to evaluate their success in achieving the 2010 target.

Vie, deputy head of the IUCN's species programme, called on governments to tackle the biodiversity crisis with the same urgency with which they tackled its economic crisis.

"Economies are utterly dependent on species diversity. We need them all, in large numbers. We quite literally cannot afford to lose them."

He added: "Governments should put as much effort, if not more, into saving nature as they do into addressing the economic and financial sectors."

2 trillion tons of land ice in Greenland, Antarctica and Alaska have melted since 2003

WASHINGTON – More than 2 trillion tons of land ice in Greenland, Antarctica and Alaska have melted since 2003, according to new NASA satellite data that show the latest signs of what scientists say is global warming.
More than half of the loss of landlocked ice in the past five years has occurred in Greenland, based on measurements of ice weight by NASA's GRACE satellite, said NASA geophysicist Scott Luthcke. The water melting from Greenland in the past five years would fill up about 11 Chesapeake Bays, he said, and the Greenland melt seems to be accelerating.
NASA scientists planned to present their findings Thursday at the American Geophysical Union conference in San Francisco. Luthcke said Greenland figures for the summer of 2008 aren't complete yet, but this year's ice loss, while still significant, won't be as severe as 2007.
The news was better for Alaska. After a precipitous drop in 2005, land ice increased slightly in 2008 because of large winter snowfalls, Luthcke said. Since 2003, when the NASA satellite started taking measurements, Alaska has lost 400 billion tons of land ice.
In assessing climate change, scientists generally look at several years to determine the overall trend.
Melting of land ice, unlike sea ice, increases sea levels very slightly. In the 1990s, Greenland didn't add to world sea level rise; now that island is adding about half a millimeter of sea level rise a year, NASA ice scientist Jay Zwally said in a telephone interview from the conference.
Between Greenland, Antarctica and Alaska, melting land ice has raised global sea levels about one-fifth of an inch in the past five years, Luthcke said. Sea levels also rise from water expanding as it warms.
Other research, being presented this week at the geophysical meeting point to more melting concerns from global warming, especially with sea ice.
"It's not getting better; it's continuing to show strong signs of warming and amplification," Zwally said. "There's no reversal taking place."
Scientists studying sea ice will announce that parts of the Arctic north of Alaska were 9 to 10 degrees warmer this past fall, a strong early indication of what researchers call the Arctic amplification effect. That's when the Arctic warms faster than predicted, and warming there is accelerating faster than elsewhere on the globe.
As sea ice melts, the Arctic waters absorb more heat in the summer, having lost the reflective powers of vast packs of white ice. That absorbed heat is released into the air in the fall. That has led to autumn temperatures in the last several years that are six to 10 degrees warmer than they were in the 1980s, said research scientist Julienne Stroeve at the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colo.
That's a strong and early impact of global warming, she said.
"The pace of change is starting to outstrip our ability to keep up with it, in terms of our understanding of it," said Mark Serreze, senior scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colo., a co-author of the Arctic amplification study.
Two other studies coming out at the conference assess how Arctic thawing is releasing methane — the second most potent greenhouse gas. One study shows that the loss of sea ice warms the water, which warms the permafrost on nearby land in Alaska, thus producing methane, Stroeve says.
A second study suggests even larger amounts of frozen methane are trapped in lakebeds and sea bottoms around Siberia and they are starting to bubble to the surface in some spots in alarming amounts, said Igor Semiletov, a professor at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks. In late summer, Semiletov found methane bubbling up from parts of the East Siberian Sea and Laptev Sea at levels that were 10 times higher than they were in the mid-1990s, he said based on a study this summer.
The amounts of methane in the region could dramatically increase global warming if they get released, he said.
That, Semiletov said, "should alarm people."

hello dear..

you sent me a very long message...

but thank you anyway..

keep me posted ok..

ciao caesar..

Water Bankruptcy: UN- WEF

Date: Saturday, February 7, 2009, 9:55 PM


Agence France-Presse

DAVOS -- The world is heading toward "water bankruptcy" as demand for the precious commodity
outstrips even high population growth, a new report warned Friday.

In less than 20 years, water scarcity could lose the equivalent of the entire grain crops of
India and the United States, said the World Economic Forum report, which added that food
demand is expected to sky-rocket in coming decades.

"The world simply cannot manage water in the future in the same way as in the past or the
economic web will collapse," said the report.

Water has been consistently under-priced in many regions and has been wasted and overused, the
report said.

Many places in the world are on the verge of "water bankruptcy" following a series of regional
water "bubbles" over the past 50 years.

The report said that energy production accounts for about 39 percent of all water used in the
United States and 31 percent of water withdrawals in the EU. Only three percent is actually
consumed, but competition for access to water will intensify over the next two decades.

Water requirements for energy are expected to grow by as much as 165 percent in the United
States and 130 percent in the EU, putting a major "squeeze" on water for agriculture, said the
WEF.

The report said most glaciers in the Himalayas and Tibet will be gone by 2100 at the current
rate of melting, but they provide water for two billion people. About 70 major rivers around
the world are close to being totally drained in order to supply water for irrigation and
reservoirs.

The WEF said that within two decades water will become a mainstream theme for investors --
even better than oil.

Speaking at the Davos forum on Thursday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said: "The water
problem is broad and systemic. Our work to deal with it must be so as well."

Corporate chiefs at the forum have also expressed concern. "I am convinced that, under present
conditions and considering the way water is being currently managed, we will run out of water
long before we run out of fuel," said Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, chairman of Swiss food
conglomerate Nestle.

"The only way to measurably and sustainably improve this dire situation is through broad-scale
collaborative efforts between governments, industry, academic, and other stakeholders around
the world," said Indra Nooyi, chairman and chief executive of PepsiCo Inc, the US drinks major
that makes huge use of water.

Dominic Waughray, the WEF head of environmental initiatives, said "management of future water
needs stands out as an urgent, tangible and fully resolvable issue for multiple stakeholders
to engage in."

Climate change could devastate Philippines: NASA scientist 03-FEB-2009 Intellasia | AFP
Feb 3, 2009 - 7:00:02 AM


Climate change could have a devastating impact on the Philippines, leading to widespread destruction of the country's flora and fauna and flooding the capital Manila, a NASA scientist warned here Friday.

The continued melting of Arctic ice caps, brought on by climate change, could cause sea levels to rise by seven metres (23 feet), said National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) physicist Josefino Comiso.

Children play in the white powder sand in Boracay, one of the world's most famous beach resorts, south of Manila in this February 3, 2008 file photo. (Reuters)
He said the country's fish stocks would be depleted and many species of plant and animal life would die because of the change in ocean temperatures caused by climate change.

Comiso said the slow melting of the ice caps should be more than "just an item of curiosity" for Filipinos.

"The Philippines is a country that is among the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change," Comiso said.

"Slight changes in ocean temperature will lead to coral bleaching which will impact on the coral reefs on which the country's fishes feed."

Fish species are already starting to disappear from Philippine waters as delicate coral reefs, some of the biggest in the world, are destroyed in the archipelago, according to the international marine watchdog group Reef Check.

In a report last year the group said coral reefs were already suffering from severe bleaching.

Only five% of the world's reefs --which shelter and provide food for a vast number of marine species --are still in pristine condition, according to Reef Check.

Comiso said the melting of the polar ice caps meant the sun's rays were no longer being reflected, but instead going into the Arctic waters and warming them up.

"Currents from the Arctic waters travel around the world to all the other oceans, including the waters surrounding the Philippines.

"Such warming would encourage the growth of algae in the world's oceans, which would gravely affect the world's food chain," he said.

He also noted that rising temperatures could reach a point where "various living creatures" would start to die in large numbers.

"Such temperatures would vary from species to species," he said.

"But the deaths of these creatures would gravely affect the food supply chain."

Comiso, a senior research scientist at a NASA centre that monitors the effects of global warming, made the warning after attending a conference of the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical Astronomical Services Administration.

He said he was working on a project, to be funded by the Manila government weather station, to monitor the effects of global warming in the Philippines.

The project, which will be based in a state university outside Manila, will coordinate its research with NASA.

Comiso was part of the United States Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change which shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with former US vice president Al Gore.

LETTER WRITTEN IN THE WATER YEAR 2070 (by Ria)

Article published in the magazine "Crónicas de los Tiempos“, in April 2002.

This is the year 2070, I have just turned 50, but I my appearance is of somebody of 85. I suffer from serious kidney problems, because I do not drink enough water. I'm afraid I do not have much time left to live. I am one of the oldest people in this society.

I remember when I was a child of 5. Everything was very different then. There were lots of trees in the parks, houses with beautiful gardens, and I could enjoy having a shower for half an hour. Nowadays we use towels with mineral oil to clean our skin.

Now, we have to shave our heads to keep them clean without the use of water. Then, my father washed his car with water coming out of a hosepipe. Now, my son does not believe that water could be wasted that way.

I remember there were ‘SAVE WATER’ warnings on outside posters, radio and TV, but nobody paid attention. We thought that water was to last forever. Now, all the rivers, lakes, dams and underground water beds are either dry or contaminated.

Industry came virtually to a standstill and unemployment reached dramatic proportions.
Desalination plants are the main source of employment and workers receive part of their salary in drinkable water.

Assaults at gun point on the streets for a jerry can of water are very common. Food is 80% synthetic.

Before, the recommended quantity of water to drink for an adult was 8 glasses a day. Nowadays, I am only allowed half a glass. We now have to wear disposable clothing,
and this increases the amount of litter. We are using now septic tanks, because the sewerage system does not work for lack of water.

The outside appearance of the population is horrible: wrinkled, emaciated bodies, due to dehydration, full of sores caused by ultra violet radiation, now stronger without the protective shield of the ozone layer. Skin cancer, gastrointestinal infections and of the urinary tracts are the main causes of death.

Due to the excessive drying of the skin young people of 20 look like 40. Scientists investigate, but there's no solution to the problem. Water cannot be produced, oxygen is also degraded due to the lack of trees and vegetation, and the intellectual capacity of the new generations is severely impaired.

The morphology of spermatozoa in many men has changed. As a consequence, babies are born with deficiencies, mutations and physical deformities.

Government makes us pay for the air we breathe, 137 m3 per day per adult person. People who cannot pay are expelled from the "ventilated zones", with huge mechanical lungs driven by solar power. The air is not of good quality, but at least people can breathe.

The average life expectancy is 35 years.

In some countries, where there are still some green zones crossed by rivers, these are guarded by heavy armed soldiers. Water became a very coveted treasure, more precious than gold and diamonds.

Where I live, there are no trees, because it seldom rains.

When it happens to register some precipitation, it is of acid rain. The seasons have been severely affected by the atomic tests and by contamination from the 20th century polluting industries.

We were warned to look after the environment, but nobody cared.

When my son asks me to talk about my youth, I tell him about the green fields, the beauty of the flowers, the rain, how pleasant was to swim and fish in the rivers and dams, to drink all the water we could, and how healthy people was.

He asks: Daddy! Why there is no water?

Then, I feel a lump in my throat!

I cannot help feeling guilty, because I belong to the generation who contributed to the destruction of the environment or simply did not take into account all the warning signs.

Now our children pay a very high price!

I sincerely believe that within a short time life on earth will not be possible, as the destruction of nature reached now an irreversible stage.

How I would like to go back and make mankind understand…

...that we still had time to save our Planet Earth.

U.S. President Barack Obama Inaugural Speech

"My fellow citizens:

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because we the people have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.

These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land -- a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, that the next generation must lower its sights.

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America -- they will be met.

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.

We remain a young nation, but in the words of scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the fainthearted -- for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things -- some celebrated, but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path toward prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.

For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sanh.

Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions -- that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act -- not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions -- who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them -- that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works -- whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account -- to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day -- because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control -- the nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on the ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart -- not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our founding fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and we are ready to lead once more.

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort -- even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West -- know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to the suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude thosebrave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service, a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment, a moment that will define a generation, it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends -- honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism -- these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility -- a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

This is the source of our confidence -- the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.

This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed -- why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.

So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

"Let it be told to the future world ... that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive ... that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet" it.

America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America.

Maps show RP on road to climate change catastrophePosted (By: Bonar Laureto, LNF Glaccier)

Manila, 4 April 2007--The Philippines is on its way to a major climate change catastrophe--that is, unless the government takes urgent and ambitious action to avert a disaster that will put millions of Filipinos at risk. Greenpeace issued the warning today during the release of never-before seen maps that illustrate the extent of climate change impacts on the archipelago. The group additionally called for strong measures to mitigate the worst effects of climate change to help the country avoid certain disaster.

The maps accompanied the briefing paper "The Philippines: A Climate Hotspot" which gives an overview of how extreme weather events and sea level rise threaten the country's people, economy, species, and ecosystems. Notably, the new Greenpeace report shows how: 1) only 1 of the 16 regions of the Philippines is not vulnerable to a one meter rise in sea level, 2) the regions and provinces most susceptible to sea level rise, extreme weather events, and landslides are also among those with the highest poverty incidence, and 3) the cost of the impacts of extreme weather events brought about by typhoons and increased rainfall, already in the hundred millions, is steadily rising.

The paper was released ahead of the conclusion of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) meeting in Brussels this week which updates its assessment of the global impacts of climate change this Friday.

"As experts predict that climate change impacts will continue to worsen in the coming decades, the question is how much will the country be affected. Unfortunately what we've discovered is that the stakes are much higher than what we've originally imagined. The entire Philippines is a climate hotspot, vulnerable to the worst manifestations of climate change. And unless this disaster is averted, the costs in human lives and economic losses will continue to rise to catastrophic proportions," said Greenpeace Southeast Asia Climate and Energy Campaigner Abigail Jabines.

The maps also show how climate change can irrevocably alter the country's coastline. An indicative one-meter rise in sea level for example is projected to affect 64 out of 81 provinces, covering at least 703 out of 1,610 municipalities and inundating almost 700 million square meters of land. A one meter rise in global sea level can occur sooner with the melting of the Greenland and West Antarctica ice sheets if global carbon dioxide emissions are not immediately curbed. In the worst case scenario involving the complete melting of the said ice sheets, global sea level is projected to rise from between seven to twelve meters.

"As a developing country with very little access to vital resources, the Philippines has a low ability to adapt and a lower ability to cope with disasters brought about by climate change impacts. Aside from recurring typhoons and drought, sea level rise is a major threat to marine ecosystems and to coastal human populations and their livelihoods. But another grim reality is that climate change not only exacerbates the Philippines' socio-economic and environmental problems, it also threatens the country's rich cultural heritage, as well as some of the rarest and most diverse fragile ecosystems in the world. And still grimmer is the fact that climate change will amplify the socio-economic burdens already shouldered by Filipino families, such as hunger and water scarcity," said Jabines.

But, Greenpeace says, it's not too late. There is still time to avert the worst impacts of climate change--if we act decisively now. As a start, immediate measures must take into account how local governments can adapt to the worsening forecasts through effective coping strategies and disaster preparedness. However, the stronger and more necessary solution is the global reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2050. To help reach this goal, the Philippines must start reducing its dependence on fossil fuels, particularly coal, for its energy source. The country must embrace renewable energy and promote energy efficiency to cut carbon dioxide emissions by as much as 30% by 2050. And to achieve this, it is imperative that the government implement policy mechanisms, such as a strong Renewable Energy Bill, to initiate the change.

"Being among the most at risk, our country must make greater leaps toward lasting solutions. Thus, while our government must anticipate and squarely face the worst of the impacts, it must above all choose an energy development path built on clean and renewable sources of energy and energy efficiency to pave the way for a truly secure and
sustainable future," added Jabines.

Greenpeace is an independent campaigning organization that uses non-violent creative confrontation to expose global environmental problems to force solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future.