Real Sustainability

Last sunday, the family visited the base of Ministries without Borders in Gen. Trias, Cavite. This is a faith based NGO doing educational and health care work in areas of the Philippines. They have a child care program covering abandoned child care and child nutrition. They also have maternity care and work with indigenous communities in Mindoro and Mindanao.

What impressed me this this group was that while they are engaged in the social aspect of development, they are heavily environmental. The buildings in their facility had the proper orientation which allowed for daylighting without heat coming in. They had high ceilings which also alleviated heat. It was surprising to be cool in a building in the middle of rice fields without airconditioning.

Another thing that impressed me was that they segregate. They had big bins for recyclables (tins, bottles). I felt ashamed because I myself don't do it! I agree that this is the right thing to do but I never saw this done in simplicity and dedication as these folks do. They also mentioned that social benefit in that their local workers could get extra money when they sold the recyclables to junk shops.

I guess, there really is something when Christians take something to heart and do it. There is definitely something transformational when a cause is adapted into Christian work ethic which cannot be seen in secular organizations. More power to Ministries without Borders!

Book Review: Discipling Nations by Darrow Miller

I read Darrow Miller's book, Discipling Nations yesterday. I found it engaging that I finished it in about 3 hours ( thanks to Tony Buzan's speed reading). In this work, Miller states that developmental strategies are based on worldviews taken on by agencies. The book clearly compares between the materialistic view of the secular west, the animistic view of the mystical east and the theistic view of the Christians. An stirring example was when a Christian aid worker encountered a dying baby in Africa. The worker took the baby but the mother wanted it to die. The worker had the view that God loves this little child. The mother thought that it was the will of the spirits that he would die. The book also highlights the Malthusian view on population and how it differs with Biblical truth.

As I was reading, I was reflecting on my work as an advocate for sustainable living. I used to swallow American Evangelical thought, hook, line and sinker. It was when I was made aware of the Climate Crisis that I began to question this world view. The Bible says we ought to be like the Bereans and test what we hear. We are also told that we shall know them by their fruits. It is against my conscience to ignore the Climate phenomenon, demonstrated by numerical models, empirical observations and anecdotal experiences of specific individuals. It is against my conscience to ignore a call to live a simple, consciencious, content lifestyle and reject a lifestyle of consumerism, indulgence and hedonism. It is against my conscience to ignore the families affected in Bicol and Panay because of extreme weather.

Miller drives the point that a key difference between theism and materialism is that the former assumes an open resource system while the later a closed one. This just means one considers unlimited resources (open) the other having a "when its gone, its gone mentality" (closed). As a physicist, I'd say the law of conservation of matter remains but what can change is our attitude about it. An open system mentality would think " Land is running out but we can grow food in the ocean or we can use hydroponics" . A closed system mentality thinks "Land is running out lets reduce the number of people". While I'm for responsible parenthood, a mind set like this may lead you away from a culture of life. An open system encourages the evolution of technology to meet a growing population and ensure harmony with the planet.

The Bible says a righteous man avoids all extremes. A lot of folks think its a choice between Liberal or Conservative. Or Saducee or Pharisee. I chose neither...I follow JESUS!

The Sustainability of Ubuntu

I recently converted by laptop from an XP machine to one double booting with Ubuntu (Linux). I initially intended to make Ubuntu my back-up OS in case I had problems with XP. When I finally got to boot and install, I fell in love with look. I had the "hardy heron" desktop and the nice font to match it. As I was setting it up (i.e. getting my wireless card to work,etc.) I came across a video file of Nelson Mandela talking about the essence of Ubuntu.

What is Ubuntu anyway? This is a Zulu word meaning "a person is a person through other people" It involves an open community sharing resources. When asked about ubuntu, Mandela says for him, it is about people entertaining passing travellers even if they don't ask for it. It is the value of community and sharing. It is so much close to our Filipino concept of Bayanihan, where you care for others in your community. It somehow also reflects, the sense of community of heartland America.

It is quite ironic that modern software technology could be used to advocate a traditional human value. Ubuntu Linux claims it is "Linux for humans". Why? Because somehow it goes against the dehumanization of our man resulting from industrialization and urbanization. Ubuntu also makes software accessible. I see it as an enabling tool for the sustainable development of indigenous people. Where they can keep their culture yet be in touch with the world. With wider access of software, we can also reduce the need for transportation and be more efficient in our fossil fuel use.

Using open source software, catalyzes development, that is economically, socially and ecologically balanced.

Mandela talking about ubuntu

The Role of IT in Climate Change

Apart from all the sophisticated modeling of the climate, IT plays a key role in mitigating the crisis. I was talking today to a friend about his connectivity problems. He was still using dial up because he could'nt get cable internet or DSL. I suggested that he use get a USB cable for this phone and get an Edge or GPRS connection. (With your SMART Buddy prepaid phone, you can get a connection for PHP10/ 30mins. ) Later that day, I asked him if all the remote mission stations he was serving had cell phones. When he said yes, I said that we can connect them to the Web. I also realised that my work in participative energy planning could be made more efficient with collaborative technologies like gtalk or skype.

The importance of collaborative technologies is the possibility of avoiding travel, thus reducing cost and carbon of any endeavor. At Intel, we greatly reduced cost by having frequent teleconferences supported by filesharing and chatting. We even had worldwide training sessions using netmeeting. At Sunpower, we aslo used video conferencing and skype. Using these technologies we could pass files if the connection bandwidth permitted. Otherwise, we could post files on web locations for retrieval by anyone in the group interested.

With the emergence of the open source movement more technology options are accessible to developing countries. We improve the lives of the rural folk by linking them to the world and by reducing their need to travel. We can also equip them with real time tools for adaptation and emergency response. IT is indeed a comprehensive strategy for mitigating and adapting to climate change.

Sustainability and Assembly Toy Kits

Was offline for a few days because my PC crashed.  While it was frustrating not to work and blog, it gave me time to finish work on my son's robot arm kit. I purchased the kit at Alexan, 5F SM Megamall Bldg A, for PHP1500.  I got this for his birthday to support his drive to build things.  We assembled the motor modules, put together the sections of the arm/gripper and finally the control box.  After 3 days, we are playing with it.  

How does the assembly of a robot arm have anything to do with sustainability? A whole lot. For one, it reminds us of the hard work of putting things together. It teaches us that resources and effort were put in making one toy.  It also opens our minds to the idea that anything built can be repaired. If you can build it, you can fix it.  Ultimately, it ushers in a mindset of sustainable consumerism replacing our "everything disposable" mentality.  The bonus of a sense of accomplishment of building your own toy comes with it.

I threw my son the idea of building his own toys.  He now wants to build his own remote controlled car.  I told that we can possibly build our own computer.  My daughter wants us to build a Barbie Lifter (i.e. Whatever that is..) for her birthday.  

With all this things, I hope and pray that the next generation becomes a better steward of God's planet.

Robot Arm kit from Alexan