HOT? or Not?

Lately, I haven't been going out of our house, except when I go to the office, do some errands, or visit the malls. I just don't feel like going out because the HEAT is killing me. It's scorching HOT outside and my migraine is killing me whenever the excruciating HEAT is ON!

While it is true that trees give us shade and provide us with what we basically need and that is oxygen, people in the MMDA seem not to notice this fact.

I have never been to Manila for a long long time, and I don't know how bad it has come. I can only imagine myself hustling on the walks because of the heavy traffic, and anxious that MMDA will catch me jaywalking even if I'm on the right track.

If there's one thing I hate about the MMDA, it has come to this point that they cut trees because of the traffic. They prefer to be giving priority to the widening of roads, because according to them, trees must not be in roads.

In Hongkong, recent news is that air pollution is at its worst in that big city. The industrialization has taken the best of HK, especially the environment. The news provides that more than 2,000 people and residents have been hospitalized in 2008 due to the unclean air that the residents are breathing in.

But Manila has trees, i mean had trees that could have blocked out too much carbon dioxide released in the atmosphere. They could have provided more oxygen and absorbed the carbon dioxide that vehicles are adding to the now dirty air of Luzon. Whether they are misplaced in road walks, they are still trees, and must not be pulled out, cut out or whatever MMDA wants to do with them. I heard they wouldn't be replacing them either because they are so called "misplaced trees".

I pity the MMDA, they are much in love with pink than with green which is the natural color for a good and healthy environment.

So what's there to do? No trees for the shade, not enough oxygen in the roads. I guess we just better visit the malls and eat:


Ok, yummy isn't it? And satisfyingly refreshing! Ahhh, sarap ng halu-halo.

*NB.

Huwag pahuhuli sa MMDA habang kumakain nito, baka pati ito matanggal sa menu ng mga restos.

Comments

iluvgreen said…
i so feel you sheng, i hate MMDA too, the expenses they used for the pink fences are better use for much important things like feeding the poor, for education or for health budget.. some of the pink fences are not necessary... true i hate them most when they cut the trees,there are only few trees remaining here in manila and cutting them is a wrong decision, we are aiming for a greener environment, although pink has a lot help in uplifting someone's mood but what we badly need is greener place. with population keep rising, we should all think of solution to lessen the our environmental problems.

for me, MMDA should start replacing the trees that they cut! they owe us!

anyway, i should start my sunday right.

happy sunday sheng!
Anonymous said…
ewan ko nga ba bakit green ang gusto nila! kikay kasi ata si Bayani Fernando. anyway, kahit ata magtanim sila ng punosa edsa mamamtay din dahil sa pollution! we should start with ourselves when it comes to taking care of our environment. it takes discipline to do that, not to mention dapat may pagmamalasakit tayo sa environment.

happy sunday sheng!
Reena said…
we actually have laws to control the level of suspended air pollutants, i.e the clean air act. but apparently the local government units (LGU) are not cooperating with each other to fight the causes of air pollution. we have to remember that air travels and is not confined in one area. so even if lets say marikina implements strict regulations against carbon emissions, it is only solving 1% of the bigger problem.

with regards to mmda, well, they are just one of the agencies tasked to clean the metro. but without the help of other agencies, both national and local, and the active participation of the civil society, then anything it does is piecemeal development. we have no umbrella organization that controls them. what's worse, i think mmda falls under the office of the president.

but then again, pink is bayani's campaign color. mmda is a campaign machinery hiding under massive concrete u-turn projects and pink fences.
Oman said…
i agree. sooo hot. so off to razon i go for their halo-halo.
e[k]stranghero said…
go to the mall. one of the few things during summer na i really enjoy doing. lalo na at malapit lang ako sa trinoma! hehehe.
Heart of Rachel said…
MMDA claim that they relocate the big trees that have to be removed because of road widening projects. I do hope that it's true but I still have doubts if all those trees will survive upon relocation. It's just sad to think of those old trees dying.
Heart of Rachel said…
BTW, that halo halo is so tempting especially in this hot weather.
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Anonymous said…
I saw that from the news coverage last week. About the cutting of trees and they said they're relocating these. I doubt. Summer is kicking off there. I miss Razon's halo halo.
RedLan said…
Malaki talga ang maitutulong ng puno. Una yung roots niya kinocontrol ang baha. Yung dahon naman, as you said..... give us shade and provide us with what we basically need and that is oxygen (quoted).

Masakit sa balat ang sikat ng araw ngayon. Ganda ang finale ng post na to. I love it too! Halo halo. Regards kay Ariel. Galing, he treated you.
pamatayhomesick said…
ay! talap naman dito sa kuwait ang layo pa ng pinupuntahan kong pinoy food para lang makakain ng halo halo.penge!
Jeanny said…
Actually, pag yung location ng tree/s is hindi naman matatamaan ng kahit anong projects, they wont remove it. But if the said tree be hit by any proj. say road widening or making new building the said tree/s be remove and place somewhere safe. Pero I knew before ma place sa ibang lugar ang mga punong yan kelangan pa ng approval ng government. Maganda sana yung ganun, sana nga ganun. Though meron talagang corrupt but I am so sure someone out there meron din naman sumusunod sa rules.

So ayun, dapat yung mga vehicle owners din be responsible for a cleaner air. There are test naman para ma check yung mga vehicles at hindi na mag emit ng pollutions.

About the pink naman, we've attended one seminar na sya ang speaker, someone asked about it and he said, they used pink colored signage, kasi it can easily seen.
Jeanny said…
hay I almost forgot....the halo halo looks so divine. Lapit na summer, excited na ko!
Anonymous said…
oh wow sarap naman niyang halo-halo mo. iniisip ko kung gaano kahirap ang buhay kung walang aircon. LOL. sheng gusto mo nung query? ano mailing address mo papadalan kita. send it to me at prinsesa_fajardo@yahoo.com
Kayni said…
the halo-halo looks so refreshing =). send some warmth here. we need it badly.
ms firefly said…
hmm, the opposite can be said here. send me some sun, bilis!!! hehe

i miss halo-halo though, when it snowed here, i was thinking of scooping some snow for my halo-halo. ^-^
Anonymous said…
that's one thing i really love about malaysia -- it's so green everywhere, even in the middle of the city.

the malaysian version of halo-halo is called ABC (air batu kacang - 'air batu' means ice, 'kacang' means nuts/beans). but it pales in comparison to halo-halo with pinipig, leche flan, macapuno, mango, kaong, langka... *sigh* i miss halo-halo.
Dee said…
Hi. Yeah, it's really been very hot lately. And getting polluted everyday. I like the provinces more because of the fresh air and non-congested streets. :D
Anonymous said…
pink and green simply doesn't match, so i guess those horrid looking pink thing should be replaced... we need trees, when will they understand? and i hope it's not going to be too late... great post... just had halo-halo at abe's last night, and it was ok... anything to beat the heat... :)
Anonymous said…
hay naku, they just got rid of the remaining trees along katipunan. how can you 'stroll and enjoy' katipunan now except during the evening? hay naku... despite the number of vehicles, i used to love walking along katipunan under the trees in the late afternoon. it wasn't as hot because of the shade the trees provided. ngayon, hay naku! the businesses along katipunan should prepare for more 'peak' and 'off-peak' hours. *inis*
How I wish I am there for the Halo-halo, not for the MMDA.. Hmmn, yummy..
Alice said…
It is also very hot here. That dessert looks very good...
Eds said…
aww. sarap naman ng halo-halo. it's soooo hot here!
Anonymous said…
and to think that it's only february! just imagine hotter it could get by march or april. whew! it makes feel hot just thinking about it :)
Lantaw said…
sobrang init na nga! lets leave the city to the city dwellers, mag beach na tayo! :D
Perky said…
You know what I find to be ironic? Developing countries such as yours and mine are so eager to cut down our trees, and yet well developed countries such as the U.S. and Australia are busy trying to plant theirs back bcoz they realize the danger of global warming.
Garando said…
There's this thing called "clean air act" that the government implemented. I've seen some random emmission tests where officers would flag down private vehicles running on diesel engines while letting the bulok jeepneys and buses spewing black smoke pass through them like they didn't exist.
Di ko talaga gets. Enjoy your halo halo! it looks good! :D
sunny said…
hahahaha! u got it right! pink n pink na tlga metro manila pero ang init ng hangin...hay, ganyan tlga life we would never knw the importance of a thing unless nawala na, baka kapg me bayad na hangin saka aalagaan mga puno! hhehehehe! my quick visit mi amiga! tc tc!
Anonymous said…
Naku Sheng, ang hirap nang mag-jeep sa Manila. Hindi ka makahinga. Kung may astma ka, parang mamamatay ka. Ganun na kalala polusyon sa Manila. Buti dito sa Paranaque hindi pa masyado.
Michael Peligro said…
Actually ang MMDA at DPWH mahilig sa color -- of money. Alam nila makakabawas ng carbon dioxide ang puno, alam nila na sisipsip ng flood water ang mga ugat ng puno. Kaya lang, walang silang pagkakakitaan if they leave these trees in place. Bakit?

If there are no trees, there will be flash floods. To control flash floods, the DPWH and MMDA will create "drainage" projects. You know, like burying those huge, oversized concrete sewers underneath the streets. Digging and installing these sewers will require large budget and intensive labor, leading to long project deadlines. The more expensive and time-consuming the project, the better. So that they can milk large kickbacks from these exorbitant project costs.

Contrast these with trees. Once the trees are in place, they will be efficient in sucking up flood water and polluted air. As long as the trees are in place, the only maintenance you will need is to periodically trim their branches.

Trees are indeed cost-effective in the long run, but there's more kickback from "drainage projects".

Sigh...
escape said…
that's really sad. looking at manila in the morning when you're in antipolo, you'll really be depressed. you'll see smog covering the skyline.

pero tama yan. maghalohalo na nga muna tayo.
Anonymous said…
As far as I know, PINK does not belong in the standard road signs. PINK is actually used for uncident management and in other cases, for telling people that a certain area is being surveyed.

I don't know where MMDA Bayani Fernando got the idea that PINK is an appealing color. Maybe with little girls, they are, but not to adult drivers. Pretty soon, those PINK signs will all turn gray due to pollution. The Metro will be so polluted and dusty that we won't be able to see those sight-for-sore-eyes PINK signs.
sunny said…
hehehehe! pink means governemnt owned areas! tama diba?lol! i think so!
Reena said…
hey there. i don't know if you've done the tag yet, so i added you to the list of people i tagged...tnx for the comment!

i dont like uniforms too. hahaha. what if pink yung uniform. oh no!!!!
Anonymous said…
halo-halo is my all-time fave during summer. sarap! naku, so the heat is on huh?
Anonymous said…
It's true, it has been so hot the past few days. I work part time in Cuba in the mornings, and the pollution and heat at that place is unbearable! Good thing here,in Makati, where I work in the afternoon, there are still a lot of trees around, in between the tall buildings. There are parks with green grass and flowering plants and tall trees that we can go to whenever we need a whiff of fresh air.
Anonymous said…
yaan mo na mmda sheng. basta. masarap ang halo-halo. :D

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