When publicists of businesses e-mail me with invitations to take part in this and that event, I rarely respond. On those rare occasions that I do respond, I say no thanks. There’s a new one in my inbox about the launching of a restaurant. Give it up, people, I’m the wrong person to invite.

But when I receive legitimate concerns, I take note. Manny of the EcoWaste Coalition, for instance, has been a constant source of information and tips about how, as individuals, we can help reduce ecological threats. Their list of Christmas tips was a wonderful starting point for a column last December.

A few days ago, I received an e-mail from Greenpeace about the encroachment of dump sites on the waters of Laguna Lake. Normally, I don’t pay attention to the usual slogans and propaganda but there was a note that photos taken from the site were available and I responded and asked for permission to publish the photos on my blog. Right, show me the proof and I’ll do my share.

Greenpeace Water Patrol activists in protective suits display a water sample taken from beside a dump site in Angono, Rizal Province, 30km east of Manila in the eve of Earth Day. The dump site is one of many which has taken over the banks of Laguna Lake, Southeast Asia\'s 2nd largest freshwater basin.

Here’s a portion of the press release:

The Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) disclosed last December that dumpsites in four municipalities—Paete and Biñan, Laguna, and Angono and Taytay, Rizal—are located close to Laguna Lake’s shores. Meanwhile fourteen dumpsites various other nearby towns compound the lake’s water pollution problem. Although the LLDA has asked the concerned local government units to implement the Ecological Waste Management Act of 2000 (RA 9003) the dumps continue to pollute the lake. Toxic leachate from the said garbage dumps are expected to ooze into the lake for years to come, even after the dumps are successfully closed.

The dumps in Angono and Taytay, in particular, occupy the lake’s waters in blatant violation of the Clean Water Act of 2004 (RA 9275), and RA 9003. The Angono dumpsite was supposedly declared closed by Mayor Aurora Villamayor last January 2008, but Greenpeace Water Patrol investigations encountered garbage trucks delivering fresh garbage to the site just a week ago. The Taytay dumpsite, on the other hand, is still fully operational.

Laguna Lake, also known as Laguna de Bay, is the country’s largest lake, and the 2nd largest freshwater basin in Southeast Asia. It is being eyed as a potential source of potable water for Metro Manila. However, according to the LLDA, the lake is in danger of dying in five years if no steps are taken to improve its fast deteriorating water quality.

Last I heard, Laguna Lake is dotted with fish ponds. Tilapia, bangus all all sorts of freshwater fish are being raised there. I look at that bottle of water in the photo and… that’s the kind of water that the fish are raised in?

Beyond the environmental concern is the human angle. Calls to save the environment don’t make sense to me unless the advocates clearly point out that saving the environment is saving man. That’s where so many advocacies fail. You have to humanize these things. That’s why I don’t go for things like “save the Philippine eagle” campaign. The extinction of any specie is part of evolution. If the extinction of one specie lessens man’s chance for survival, then it’s another story. But to fight for something just because it’s fashionable to fight for some cause is silly.

So, when we say we want to save the environment — that we ought to, really — what we’re really fighting for is our own survival and not the preservation of some geographic location. That’s what makes Laguna Lake, our forests and seas worth saving.

← Toxic colors It’s matter of attitude →