Saturday, April 30, 2016

LIVING WITH NATURE Top 10 Countries, pageviews April 30 2016

 Internet-Radio Tandem: Living with Nature [avrotor.blogspot.com], and Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air 738 DZRB-Philippine Broadcasting [www.pbs.gov.ph]



Dr Abe V Rotor 
Living with Nature - School on Blog [avrotor.blogspot.com]
Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) with Ms Melly C Tenorio
738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 evening class, Monday to Friday [www.pbs.gov.ph]

Thank you for your continuing trust and confidence. We strive to make the Program more responsive to your needs as a learning supplement and source of valuable information for functional literacy.  
 

Thursday, April 28, 2016

Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde - Who is not?

 Dr Abe V Rotor 
Living with Nature - School on Blog
Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid with Ms Melly C Tenorio
738 DZRB AM, 8 to 9 evening class, Monday to Friday
Dr Jekyll and My Hyde is a novel written by Robert Louis Stevenson
in 1885 
while convalescing from an illness. The original idea occurred
to him in a nightmare. Stevenson wrote other novels like Kidnapped

and Treasure Island a favorite stories for children.

Dr. Jekyll became the monster Mr. Hyde,
Away from friends and his calling;
When he returned he could no longer hide
The brute in his human being.

We examine ourselves since man was born,
And weaned by the Tree of Knowledge;
Outcast we became - in a world of our own -
Jekyll and Hyde hanging at the edge.

Which one is mask we're wearing, we may ask,
In the morning, at the end of the day?
Which is not mask in others whom we trust?
Friend Janus let us pass, we pray.~









Tuesday, April 26, 2016




Ecology’s Dilemma Today

Dr. Abe V. Rotor
  It looks like man has been able to trace the source of the water that comes from the proverbial Pierian Spring, the secret of health and long life. For years it was believed that the spring lies up in Shangrila atop the Himalayas, or according to the Greeks on Mt. Olympus, or the Egyptians in the Pyramids. One does not have to go there now. 

Pristine environment such as the Loboc River in Bohol is becoming rare


Even today the average life span of man is mid 70. It will not be a surprise if one out of a hundred individuals will be a centenarian. One report claims that the life span of man can be increased up to 140 years by the middle of the millennium. How long did Moses live?


• But cancer is on the rise, so with AIDS, and the spread of genetically linked defects and illness. Work-related and stress-related deaths will likewise increase with heart and severe depression as the leading diseases, followed by the traditional diseases like respiratory and diarrheal diseases. Already there are 15 million people who have died of AIDS and 40 millions more who are living with HIV, the viral infection. A pandemic potential with up to 1 billion people to become affected with HIV has started appearing on some crystal balls and this is not impossible if it hits populous Asia.




Street children rehabilitation center. Bahay ni Kuya, Cubao QC

• Cloning, the most controversial discovery in biology and medicine, will continue to steal the limelight in this millennium, stirring conscience, ethics and religion. It is now sensed as the biggest threat to human society, and if Frankenstein is back and some people regard him as a hero instead of a villain, we can only imagine the imminent destruction our society faces - the emergence of sub- and ultra- human beings. On the other hand, there are those who look at cloning as an important tool of medicine to enable doctors to save lives and increase life expectancy. They also believe that cloning in situ (on site) will do away with tedious and unreliable organ transplants.


• Gene therapy is in, medicinal healing is out. It means diagnosing the potential disease before it strikes by knowing its source. Actually diseases are triggered by specific genes. Reading the gene map of an individual, the doctor can “cure” the disease right at it genetic source. We call this gene therapy, the newest field in medical science. But the altered gene will be passed on to the next generation. Playing God, isn’t? Definitely it is, and it is possible to use this technology not only for the sake of treatment but for programmed genetic alteration. Another Frankenstein in the offing? But scientists are saying gene therapy can be a tool in removing permanently the genes that cause cancer, AIDS, and genetically linked diseases like diabetes, Down’s Syndrome, and probably alcoholism.


• We are in an age of test tube babies. There are now 100,000 test tube babies in the US alone since 1978, the arrival of Louise Brown, the world’s first test tube baby. The industry has just started booming with sperm and ova banks established and linked with the Internet and other commodity channels. Not only childless couples can have children, but even a sixty year old woman can - through what is coined as menopausal childbirth technology. Surrogate mothers for hire, anyone?


• If diseases can be predicted and successfully treated, and life can be prolonged – these have indeed grave consequences to population increase. Already there are 7.7 billion people inhabiting the earth today, and we are increasing at the rate of more than 80 million a year. After 2150 we shall have reached 13 billion, the estimated maximum capacity our planet can support. Is Malthus right after all? It looks like the ghost of this English political economist and priest is back to warn us, this time more urgent than his 1789 prediction that our population would grow until it reaches the limits of our food supply.


• Our Earth is getting warmer, and this is not any kind of comfort but destruction. We have experienced seven of the ten warmest years in the past decade and we are heading toward another Noah’s episode. Low lying areas where the rich farmlands and many big cities virtually squat will be flooded. Heat is trapped by the carbon that we generate from our cars and industries creating a “greenhouse effect.” As the world’s temperature increases, the polar ice will melt, more rains and climatic disturbances will ensue. Climate scientists have predicted that by year 2100 the earth’s temperature will go up from 1 to 3.5 degrees centigrade. But wait, the worst is yet to come. Global warming will plunge us ultimately – towards the middle of the millennium – into another ice age! There will be a buildup of ice at the polar regions as the ocean currents fail to carry warm water to the poles and back.


• The trend of lifestyle will be toward the simple and natural, even in the midst of high tech living. More and more people will go for natural food and natural medicine as they become conscious of their health. The media and the information highway will provide more people access to entertainment and information. Remote management and distance learning will greatly influence business and education. But people will still seek greener pastures in cities and in foreign lands.


• “Save the earth!” has yet to be a denominator of cooperation and peace among nations. The failure of the Earth Summit some years ago at Rio de Janairo, and the first summit before in Stockholm, has produced valuable lessons leaders must learn. There is only one ship in which all of us are riding. Let us all save our ship.


All in the name of Progress


It is all in the name of progress that nations are pursuing. The West insists of pushing the frontiers of technology into the so-called “third wave.” The East, the Asian Pacific region, insists on industrialization in order to catch up with the progress of the West, while the Middle East has yet to undergo a major socio-cultural and political transformation while aiming at lofty economic goals.


Progress, it is generally believed, is the aim of globalization, and globalization is building of a world village. Isn’t this the key to peace and cooperation? Sounds familiar to scholars and leaders.


Maybe, but the greatest challenge lies in the preservation of a healthy Mother Earth, a common denominator of concern irrespective of political, ideological and religious boundaries. It is the saving of the environment that will be the biggest challenge to this and the coming generations.


Poor Rating of Earth Summit

The recent Copenhagen Earth Summit renewed basically the agenda of previous summits. But demonstrators expressed pessimism over the sincerity of world leaders on environmental issues. 

Idyllic rural life.  People tend to go and live in the city. Painting by the author. 


They had in mind what happened to the promises made by leaders from 178 nations who gathered in the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro some years ago. These are the four areas of accord: biodiversity, climate, deforestation, and population.


On the biodiversity accord signed by 161 countries (except the US), ecosystems continue to be assaulted and fragmented. On arresting global warming as a result of emissions from industries and vehicles, developing countries on the path of industrialization have exacerbated the problem. Deforestation virtually knows no limits and bounds as long as there is wilderness to conquer. Every year forests are lost the size of Nepal. Asia has lost 95 percent of its woodlands.

There are now 7.7 billion people on earth. Every year about 85 million people are added. This is slightly bigger than the Philippines’ total population. Although birth rates are going down in the West as well as in the NICS, there is a boom in babies in rural Asia, Latin America and Africa.


What is the score of the Earth Summit? Rhetorics and promises can not be relied upon. It is in this area that globalization should be reviewed. Globalization should be defined in economic, cultural and environmental terms. This triad approach has yet to be addressed to all members of the global village. And there should be a new world governance, more credible than the UN, to undertake this gargantuan task.


“Hundreds of millions of people will starve to death,” warned Paul Ehrlich in his book, The Population Bomb. This is an echo of the Malthusian Theory raised 250 years ago. This means farmers, in spite of biotechnology, can not keep up indefinitely with increasing food demands. Yet there is a great disparity in food distribution. While the average adult needs 2200 calories a day, an American consumes 3603 as compared to the intake of a Kenyan which is only 1991 calories.


Degradation of the land, the breaking up of ecosystems, are resulting to modern day exodus of ecomigrants who cross borders, invade cities and build marginal communities, threaten security of nations, and creates other socio-economic problems. Desertification, soil erosion, overuse of farms drive multitudes to search for greener pasture, many in the guise of overseas workers, settlers, refugees.


The birth of megacities is a human phenomenon in modern times. The world’s cities are bursting at the seams. Half of the world’s population live in urban areas today, and more are coming in. In developed countries 75 percent of their population live in cities. By year 2015, 27 of the world’s 33 largest cities will be found in Asia, with Mumbai and Shanghai bursting with 20 million each. Today the most populous city in the world is Tokyo with 27 million people. New York has 16.3 million which is about the same as Sao Paolo. Metro Manila has 10 million.


On global warming, figures show how the world fares under greenhouse effect. This phenomenon is attributed to the severity of the last three episodes of El Nino in the last three decades, and to the prevalence of deadly tornadoes, hurricane, floods and natural calamities.


A hole in the sky was caused by damaging chemicals that tear down the vital atmospheric ozone shield that keeps us from too much heat and radiation. The size of the ozone hole about the Antarctic region is estimated to be like the whole continental US – and is still expanding. CFC use is now restricted in most countries, but there are other damaging chemicals used by agriculture and industry. Methyl bromide for one is 40 times more destructive to ozone than CFC.


Indeed, this millennium is the deciding point whether we can save Mother Earth - or fail. Already a decade has passed, and the trend of destruction has even increased. If we fail it is also the doom of mankind and the living world. It is yet the greatest challenge to civilization. ~

Monday, April 25, 2016

Vital Environmental Concerns for Halalan 2016

Dr Abe V Rotor
Living with Nature - School on Blog [avrotor.blogspot.com]
Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) with Ms Melly C Tenorio
738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 evening class, Monday to Friday [www.pbs.gov.ph]
                                                             Floating Garbage, Manila Bay 
                                                               Dump Site, Payatas, QC

In the three presidential debates, the agenda of each of the candidates as far as environment is concerned, have not been defined, much less presented to the people. Yet environment is very basic to progress and development. Here are issues to look into as vital concerns for policy consideration and program implementation.
  
1. Desertification - Unabated expansion of arid areas formerly croplands and pastures, likewise former forests and woodlands. Remember the Great Dust Bowl of the Dakotas and Kansas in the US in the 1930s. The edges of deserts of the world  called Steppes are expanding at an alarming rate causing famine and eco-migration. 

2. Deforestation - The foothills of Mt Makiling have been converted into subdivisions, commercial centers and resorts. Mt Apo and Mt Pulag, two highest mountain in the 
Philippines have lost their once thick vegetation. Deforestation pf Mangrove is as rampant.  Mangroves are natural barriers against tsunami and tidal waves. 

3. Pirating rivers and coastal areas  and converting them into resorts, fishponds, and settlements - formal and informal (squatters), creating bottlenecks that impede flood waters, swamps that breed pests and diseases, and depriving freshwater and marine life. destruction of fish nursery.

4. Protection of threatened and endangered organisms. Remember Pamana (juvenile Philippine Eagle), our national symbol and pride. Hundreds of plants and animals belong to these two categories.  The world has lost thousands which are remembered only by their fossils and in the archives. 

5. Preservation of our natural gene pools - Establishment of natural gene banks, such as botanical gardens, modern concept of zoos (simulated natural wildlife) of native plants and species.  Uphold strict regulation against genetically modified crops and animals such as Bt Corn and Golden Rice.  Uphold Supreme Court decision to suspend indefinitely researches on genetic engineering. This is security from experimental genetically modified biological warfare.    


6. Over fishing - regulate catch, fishing gears, observe off-season, protect fish sanctuaries, adopt quota system by area, by fishing unit, prosecute dynamite and other destructive illegal fishing. 


7. No Garbage Importation. No to imported garbage, special mention of the controversial 2500 tons of garbage from Canada (See succeeding post). Earlier Japan did the same to us.  We imported their garbage! The Canadian Garbage issue has not been resolved to date. (Check Internet)

8. Close down Payatas QC dump site. IT IS POLLUTING THE LA MESA RESERVOIR main source of drinking water for Metro Manila. A sub-culture has grown in this area which tourists are curious to visit.  The site is a breeding place of criminality, sub-human subsistence, diseases, and toxic materials which include dioxin, the most poisonous substance ever created by man. 

9. National and local waste management needs updating (state-of-the-art, like in Germany and the US), and strict implementation. Biogas generation, controlled incineration, compost fertilizer manufacture, more efficient recycling. 
Landfill must be reviewed of its effects to health, ground water supply and long term consequences such as sink holes, liquefaction in case of earthquake.   

10. Deteriorating and shrinking watersheds.  Squatting and illegal fixtures, intrusion and other violations. are rampant.  The life of our dams such as Ambuklao, Magat, Angat, Pantabangan, Binga is apparently being reduced, so with their efficiency in providing electricity and water supply.  Destruction of their vegetative cover results in erosion and siltation. Their ability to attract clouds to become rain is reduced, thus there is less water to impound. 

11. Air pollution. Metro Manila has the worst air quality, what with daily heavy traffic. There are solutions but they are easier said than done.  For example, implement the Clear Air Act (Law), or decongest.  Establish residence in less polluted areas, i9n the province. There are a number of solutions. List down those that every citizen or home should do. 

12. Natural farming eliminates much of the preservatives and pesticides that destroy our environment. Natural products enhance good health and balanced environment. Save the animals.  Bring back the natural predators of destructive pests like frogs, house lizards, spiders and ladybugs. 

13. Water Impounding - Small Water Impounding Projects (SWIP) for irrigation, electricity, fisheries and wildlife conservation.  Rainwater impounding is complementary on-farm and in urban areas. A series of small dams (China model) saves runoff water that otherwise flows out to sea or wasted along the way. We have a number of SWIP models in the Philippines (Sta. Barbara, Iloilo).  

14. Parks and reservations on the national, regional and barangay levels for wildlife sanctuary, ecological, educational and recreational purposes. Proper maintenance is vital, so with updating the concept of parks and reservations, and not merely for pasyalan o pang turista lamang. These should be integrated with educational, research and other institutions.  Models are found in many countries, which we may modify according oto our conditions.        

15. Sanitation and orderliness - Our towns and cities need to be presentable on the standards set by many countries.  Public places and markets, schools, government offices, transport stations, comfort rooms, are deplorably ill maintained. Epidemic breeds on dirty places. Informal communities are hardest to tow the line in the absence of a comprehensive program.     


Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Richest Bank Note - 100 Million Yen


Dr Abe V Rotor 
 Living with Nature School on Blog
Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid with Ms Melly C Tenorio
738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 evening class, Monday to Friday

 A WWII bank note of fantastic value.  We called it yapyap or Mickey Mouse money
 - toy money.  A big joke? Not really. it was a tool of war -  economic sabotage.   


"If I were a rich man" a song;
I would dream of it, too,
but it's not my own,
but my people's,
  my enemy's pawn. ~

Children at Play Mural


Living with Nature - School on Blog [avrotor.blogspot.com]
Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) with Ms Melly C Tenorio
738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 evening class, Monday to Friday [www.pbs.gov.ph]
Composite wall mural at the Philippine Children Hospital, Quezon City. Photos enhanced with Adobe Photoshop.
There are at least three games played by these children: hoola hoop, yoyo and "mix" sipa (foreground).

A duel of two spiders is a favorite game of children, and also adults.

It takes skill and practice to walk of a pair of stilt. Tail of a kite can be seen at the at the background.
This boy wears a slingshot (tirador), a popular plaything for targeting and hunting birds and fish. The carabao is for work and also for game. Travel on its back and you can even take a nap on it while it is docile.

Palo sebo is climbing a greased bamboo pole and getting the prize awaiting at on top.

Skipping rope, wooden scooter and many other games, are both for boys and girls. They provide balanced upbringing of children under a normal social environment.

Courtesy of Philippine Children's Hospital QC
x x x


Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Earth Day 2016: Beat Summer with Calamba Water


Water remains cool in earthen pot (calamba or caramba) even in hot weather.
Dr Abe V Rotor
Living with Nature School on Blog
Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid with Ms Melly C Tenorio
738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 evening class, Monday to Friday
Centerpiece of Calamba, Laguna, the birthplace of Dr Jose Rizal. The town is named after the traditional calamba (caramba Ilk) or claypot for storing drinking water. Lower photo, original calamba still being used in rural areas. Claypots are universal, They are among the first inventions of man.  They have many domestic uses from cooking, to storing grains and other goods.  Claypots are indispensable in primitive and traditional rituals and ceremonies.  

Notice that the earthen pot “perspires” because it is porous. Like sweat it keeps the body cool. Cooling is the after effect of evaporation. Fanning increases the rate of evaporation, so with cooling.
-------------------------------------------------
Keep your savings from bottled mineral water and refrigeration in a safebox.  It's a fortune at the end of every month. And most important, you and your family are healthier.
-------------------------------------------------
Why don't you keep a calamba of cool water at home? It will entice you to drink plenty of water everyday which is good to health. One thing good with calamba water is that it's just cool enough to be refreshing, unlike refrigerated water. Sometimes the water is too cool, its bad to teeth and stomach.

Notice too, calamba water has a tinge of sweetness. It is because green algae grow on the perspiring pores. Even under indirect sunlight, algae photosynthesize and deposit simple sugar on the pot which then leaks slowly into the water. This is something old folk enjoy - cool and sweet drinking water. Compare it with plastic flavored mineral water. Or chlorinated "Nawasa juice," as some people jokingly call water from the faucet.

Note the double function of the claypot placed on this window tunnel: ventilation helps cool the water in the claypot, while the claypot cools air that passes through into your dining room or kitchen (air-conditioning principle)

There's one reminder though. Scrub off the algae - in and out - now and then to renew their growth and to keep the pores of the pot open. Don't allow crust to form. And if the calamba has long been in use, it's time to replace it with a new one. You may use the old one in the garden.

Enjoy calamba water. There is no brand in the market you can compare its unique quality. Move over mineral water. ~

Acknowledgement: Photos from Internet

Monday, April 18, 2016

San Vicente IS Series: Homecoming - "I am waiting for you, my child"

 San Vicente IS Series: Homecoming - "I am waiting for you, my child" 
Dr Abe V Rotor
Living with Nature - School on Blog
Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) with Ms Melly C Tenorio
738 DZRB AM, 8-9 evening class Monday to Friday

  I am a modern day Prodigal Son. I spent fifty long years searching and searching for a place I may call my own in the whole wide world. Yes, fifty long years of my youth and in old age – twice longer the fiction character Rip van Winkle did sleep – and now I am back to the portals of my hometown, to the waiting arms of my father.


St Vncent Ferrer, Patron saint

The proverbial Lamp I still hold flickers, but it is but a beacon in embers now, for it had spent its luminance in the darkness of human weakness and failures, it beamed across the ocean of ignorance and lost hope, it trailed the path of many adventures and discoveries, and it kept vigil in the night while I slept.

And what would my father say? He meets me, embraces me, and calls everyone. “Kill the fattest calf! Let us rejoice.”

San Vicente is my home. It is the bastion of my hopes and ideals. At the far end on entering the old church is written on the altar, faded by the elements of time and rough hands of devotees, Ur-urayenka Anakko – I am waiting for you my child. When the world is being ripped by conflicts or pampered with material progress, when mankind shudders at the splitting of the atom or the breaking of the code of life, when the future is viewed with high rise edifices or clouded by greenhouse gases – my town becomes more than ever relevant to the cause for which it has stood through the centuries - the sanctuary of idealism in a troubled world, home of hundreds of professionals in many fields of human endeavor.

“Kill the fattest calf,” I hear my father shout with joy. It is celebration. It is a symbol of achievement more than I deserve. But my feeling is that I am standing on behalf of my colleagues for I am but an emissary. Out there in peace and trials, in villages and metropolises, in all endeavors and walks of life, many “Vincentians” made their marks, either recognized on the stage or remembered on stone on which their names are carved. I must say, it is an honor and privilege that I am here in humility to represent them that I may convey their unending faith and trust to our beloved hometown.

The world has changed tremendously, vastly, since I passed under the town arch to meet the world some fifty years ago. I have met wise men who asked the famous question “Quo vadis?” -where are you going? I can only give a glimpse from the eye of a teacher, far for the probing mind of Alvin Toffler in “Future Shock,” or those of Naisbitt and Aburdane, renowned modern prophets. Teachers as I know, and having been trained as one, see the world as it is lived; they make careful inferences, and take a bird’s eye view cautiously. They are conveyors of knowledge, and even with modern teaching tools and communication technology, cannot even qualify as chroniclers, nay less of forecasters. I have always strived to master the art of foretelling the future, but frankly I can only see it from atop a misty mountain. How I wish too, that I can fully witness the fruits of the seed of knowledge a teacher has sown in the mind of the young.

Limited my experience may be, allow me to speak my mind about progress and developments in the fifty years I was away from home, but on the other side of midnight, so to speak.

1. The monster that Frankenstein made lurks in nuclear stockpiles, chides with scientists tinkering with life, begging to give him a name and a home.

2. Our blue planet has an ugly shade of murk and crimson – fire consuming the forests, erosion eating out the land, polar ice shrinking, flooding the shorelines.

3. One race one nation equals globalization. How we have taken over evolution in our hands. We are playing God, is Paradise Lost II in the offing?

4. The world is wired, it travels fast on two feet – communication and transportation. The world has shrunk into but a village. Homogenization is the death sentence amid a bed of roses for mankind.

5. Man-induced phenomena are too difficult to separate from those of nature. We take the latter as an excuse of our follies, a rationalization that runs counter to be rational. Only the human species has both the capability to build or destroy – and yet we love to destroy what we build.

6. The dangerous game of numbers is a favorite game, and our spaceship is getting overloaded. Man’s needs, more so man’s want, become burgeoning load of Mother Earth, now sick and aging. Will Pied Piper ever come back and take our beloved young ones away from us, as it did in Hamlyn many years ago?

7. Conscience, conscience, where is spirituality that nourishes it. Where have all the religious teachings gone? Governance – where is the family, the home? Peace and order – Ukraine, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan – another Korea, another Vietnam, only in another place, in another time.

8. Janus is progress, and progress is Janus. It is Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It is The Prince and the Pauper. Capitalism has happy and sad faces – the latter painted in pain and sadness on millions all over the world. It is inequity that makes the world poor; we have more than enough food, clothing, shelter, and energy for everybody. What ideology can save the world? Capitalism or socialism? – No, not Terrorism.

As I grew older I did not only learn to adjust with the realities of life as I encountered it but to grasp its meaning from the points of view of famous philosophers and writers. I studied it with the famous lines from William Blake’s famous poem, Auguries of Innocence.

To wit.
To see the world in a grain of sand;
And a Heaven a wild flower;
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour.”

                                                                     - William Blake, Auguries of Innocence

If ever I have ventured into becoming a “redeemer” armed with a pen, I too, have learned from Blake’s verse of the way man should view the world in all its magnanimity yet in simplicity. If ever I have set foot to reach the corners of the Earth, and failed, I am consoled by the humble representation of “a grain of sand” that speaks of universal truth and values.

And beauty? If I have not found it in a garden of roses, I dare not step on a flowering weed. And posterity and eternity? They are all ensconced in periodicity, a divine accident of existence – to say that each and every one of us is here in this world by chance – an unimaginable chance – at “a certain time and place” which I believe has a purpose in whatever and however one lives his life. But I would say that a lifetime is all it takes “to see the world” and be part of it. It is a lifetime that we realize the true meaning of beauty, experience “infinity and eternity”. Lifetime is a daily calendar of victories and defeats.

While the world goes round and around . . .

The world like in Aristotle’s time continue to struggle with the preservation of values; the species will continue to evolve as postulated by Darwin; culture will express itself more fully since the first painting of early man dwelling in the caves of Lasceaux in France.

Ancestral home of the author in San Vicente IS

Trade and commerce will continue to progress, reaches a plateau and declines - a normal curve that goes with the rise and fall of civilizations. Yet leaders do not see it that way. Not even the Utopia of conquerors like Alexander the Great whose global economic vision two thousand five hundred years ago is fundamental to the great powers of today – the United States, European Union.

The great religions will continue to bring man to his knees and look into heaven amidst knowledge revolution and growing complexity of living, Man’s infinitesimal mind continues to probe the universe. Never has man been so busy, so bothered, so confused, yet so determined than ever before, and trying to fill up God’s seventh day.

As I go on reflecting I came across the book of Pope John Paul II, Crossing the Threshold of Hope, 1994. He warns us succinctly.

“This world, which appears to be a great workshop in which knowledge is developed by man – which appears as progress and civilization, as a modern system of communication, as a structure of democratic freedom without any limitations – this world is not capable of making man happy.

- Pope John Paul II, On the Threshold of Hope

Now I am home, my father, my hometown. I do only wish for comfort. Thank you for you have taught me and instilled in me the spirit of virtue and fortitude. Thank you for making me a Vincentian.~

 St Vincent Ferrer - Confessor, Angel of the Last Judgment  Confessor, Angel of the Last Judgment


Born 23 January 1350(1350-01-23)
Valencia, Kingdom of Valencia

Died 5 April 1419(1419-04-05) (aged 69)
Vannes, Brittany

Venerated in Roman Catholic Church, Anglican Communion
Canonized 3 June 1455, Rome by Pope Calixtus III
Major shrine Vannes Cathedral

Feast 5 April
Attributes pulpit; cardinal's hat; trumpet; captives; Bible
Patronage builders, construction workers, plumbers

Vincent was the second son of William Ferrer (an English immigrant to Spain) and his wife, Constantia Miguel. Legends surround his birth.

He would fast on Wednesdays and Fridays and he loved the Passion of Christ very much. He would help the poor and distribute many alms to them. Vincent decided to join the Dominicans when his father gave him a choice whether to enter into secular, ecclesiastical, or a religious state.

University of Santo Tomas Chapel

Ferrer entered the Dominican Order at the age of eighteen and studied philosophy and theology. He prayed and practiced penance. For a period of three years, he read solely Sacred Scripture, and eventually committed it to memory. He published a treatise on Dialectic Suppositions after his solemn profession. He eventually became a Master of Sacred Theology and was commissioned to deliver lectures on philosophy. He was then sent to Barcelona and eventually to the University of Lleida, where he earned his doctorate in theology.

Vincent later claimed that the Great Schism had such a depressing effect on his mind that it caused him to be seriously ill at the age of forty. He claimed that God healed him and instructed him to go out and convert many. For twenty-one years he was said to have traveled to Aragon, Castile, Switzerland, France, Italy, England, Ireland, and Scotland, preaching the Gospel and converting many. Many biographers believe that he was endowed with the gift of tongues, as he could speak only Catalan.

Vincent is said to be responsible for the conversion of many Jews to Catholicism. One of his converts, a former rabbi by the name of Solomon ha-Levi, went on to become Bishop of Cartagena and later Archbishop of Burgos. Vincent is noted to have contributed to anti-Semitism in Spain, as violence accompanied his visits to towns that had Jewish communities. One of Vincent's achievement was in converting a synagogue in Toledo, Spain into the church of Santa María la Blanca.

Vincent was very loyal to the Avignonese Pope Benedict XIII, better known as "Papa Luna" in Castile and Aragon, remained in steadfast loyalty to him, and believed that Benedict XIII was the true Pope. Vincent died on 5 April 1419 at Vannes in Brittany, and was buried in Vannes Cathedral. He was canonized by Pope Calixtus III on 3 June 1455. His feast day is celebrated on 5 April. The Fraternity of Saint Vincent Ferrer, a Pontifical religious institute, is named after him.~ (Wikipedia)

Earthquake Month. What should I do before, during, and after an earthquake? Remember Japan Earthquake (April 12, 2011) and Nepal Earthquake April 25, 2015



Over 900,000 earthquakes occur worldwide each year. Fortunately, the vast majority of them are magnitude 2.5 or less, and great earthquakes (magnitude 8.0 or more) only happen about once every 5 to 10 years. Not anymore. Global warming continues to raise the sea level causing strain on the earth's crust. Plates inevitably and unpredictably move along their faultlines or fissures under such tremendous pressure resulting in more frequent, and more severe earthquakes. 

Dr Abe V Rotor

Living with Nature - School on Blog
Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid with Ms Melly C Tenorio
738 DZRB AM, 8 to 9 evening class Mon to Fri

Five Major Earthquakes in a Row (April 13 to 18, 2016)

  • Zamboanga del Norte April 14, 2016 (6.0)
  • Myanmar earthquake April 13 and 15 (7.0 - 7.8)
  • Southern Japan April 15, 2016 (7.0)
  • Ecuador Earthquake April 16, 2016 (7.8)
  • Tonga, April 18, 2016 (6.1)

Earthquake intensity is geometrical. Five earthquakes which took place in a span of one week (Myanmar, Zamboanga del Norte, Southern Japan, Ecuador, and lately Tonga,  fall under the deadly range of 6 to 8. 

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The Fukoshima earthquake of April 11, 2011 which triggered a super tsunami killing thousands across its path was measured about 9 and 10. In Japan alone there were 15,894 deaths, 6,152 injured, and 2,562 people missing, as well as 228,863 people living away from their home in either temporary housing or due to permanent relocation. The World Bank's estimated economic cost was US$235 billion, making it the costliest natural disaster in world history.
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 Southern Japan earthquake April 16 2016 photos (Internet)

 


Earthquake measuring 6.9 in magnitude jolts Myanmar, tremors felt in parts of India 


 What to Do Before an Earthquake

  • Make sure you have a fire extinguisher, first aid kit, a battery-powered radio, a flashlight, and extra batteries at home.
  • Learn first aid.
  • Learn how to turn off the gas, water, and electricity.
  • Make up a plan of where to meet your family after an earthquake.
  • Don't leave heavy objects on shelves (they'll fall during a quake).
  • Anchor heavy furniture, cupboards, and appliances to the walls or floor.
  • Learn the earthquake plan at your school or workplace.

What to Do During an Earthquake

  • Stay calm! If you're indoors, stay inside. If you're outside, stay outside.
  • If you're indoors, stand against a wall near the center of the building, stand in a doorway, or crawl under heavy furniture (a desk or table). Stay away from windows and outside doors.
  • If you're outdoors, stay in the open away from power lines or anything that might fall. Stay away from buildings (stuff might fall off the building or the building could fall on you).
  • Don't use matches, candles, or any flame. Broken gas lines and fire don't mix.
  • If you're in a car, stop the car and stay inside the car until the earthquake stops.
  • Don't use elevators (they'll probably get stuck anyway).

What to Do After an Earthquake

  • Check yourself and others for injuries. Provide first aid for anyone who needs it.
  • Check water, gas, and electric lines for damage. If any are damaged, shut off the valves. Check for the smell of gas. If you smell it, open all the windows and doors, leave immediately, and report it to the authorities (use someone else's phone).
  • Turn on the radio. Don't use the phone unless it's an emergency.
  • Stay out of damaged buildings.
  • Be careful around broken glass and debris. Wear boots or sturdy shoes to keep from cutting your feet.
  • Be careful of chimneys (they may fall on you).
  • Stay away from beaches. Tsunamis and seiches sometimes hit after the ground has stopped shaking.
  • Stay away from damaged areas.
  • If you're at school or work, follow the emergency plan or the instructions of the person in charge.
  • Expect aftershocks.
What to Do to Help
  • Extend assistance without delay. Join rescue and medical teams.
  • Assist in the emergency operations.
  • Donate, send fastest means, preferably through reliable organizations. 
  • Help defuse fear and anxiety, boost morale and restore hope among families of victims and children.  
  • Use social media to connect and reach out. Be part of a continuing rehabilitation.
 Ecuador Earthquake April 17, 2016 photos from the Internet

 
 
Equador April 17, 2016 eathquake (Internet photos). Death toll jumps to 238; more than 1,500 injured as of this writing.
 
 

 Tonga Earthquake 6.1 April 18, 2016

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 Nepal Earthquake April 25, 2015 photos from the Internet




 
Aftermath of 7.8 earthquake in Nepal,  April 25, 2015
There were  more than 100 aftershocks that have occurred since the magnitude 7.8 earthquake in Nepal on April 25, 2015. The largest aftershock is a magnitude 7.3 on May 12, 2015
Acknowledgement: Internet photos.  

At least 3,617 people are now known to have died in a massive earthquake which hit Nepal on Saturday, police say. More than 6,500 people have been injured, according to the National Emergency Operation Centre. Dozens of people are also reported to have been killed in neighbouring China and India. More than 200 climbers have been rescued around Mount Everest, which was struck by deadly avalanches in the 7.8-magnitude quake. 

Vast tent cities have sprung up in Nepal's capital, Kathmandu, for those displaced or afraid to return to their homes as strong aftershocks continued. Thousands spent Sunday night - their second night - outside.Officials have warned that the number of casualties could rise as rescue teams reach remote mountainous areas of western Nepal. Initial reports suggest that many communities, especially those close to mountainsides, suffered significant quake damage. BBC.
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Animals are uneasy before an earthquake strikes


Paco fish at home

There was something very peculiar with our fish pets at home before a massive earthquake hit Japan and caused a deadly tsunami last March 11, 2011.
For three consecutive days our Paco and Hito (catfish) in our garden ponds refused to eat, and were uneasy as if looking for a way to get out of their confinement. All of a sudden I felt they were no longer tame. They were jittery and nervous. Were they telling me of something?

I thought it was the water getting foul with an over growth of green algae. But it was not. I changed their food with another brand. And feed them at any opportunity. Still they didn't respond. I felt sorry for them if they would inevitably end up on the grill. Which my children and I adamantly decided. Our hito, five of them, have been our pet for some three years now, while our paco, ten for them, make easily one kilo each.

Then a flash news came. Japan was hit by the worst earthquake in living memory with an intensity up to 9.0 - so strong it made the earth's rotation faster, and the Japan plate to move.

I remember when Chile was hit by an 8.0 earthquake (which increased the tilt of the earth), our hito which were a year old then, exhibited the same behavior as they did before the Japan earthquake.
Can animals - and other living things for that matter - predict the coming of an earthquake? I know there are organisms that warn us of a coming rain (hovering horde of dragonflies), or flood (earthworm abandoning their burrows and moving to higher ground - PHOTO). A colony of ants on the move with their young and eggs means siyam-siyam (nepnep Ilk) has arrived. This is characterized by nine days of continuous rain, followed by another nine with a respite of good weather in between. Even plants warn us of a coming drought, such as the kapok when it is heavily laden with pods.

This is the expertise of old folks, and scientists agree with them to a certain extent based on scientific evidences.

Animals are sensitive to the vibrations preceding an earthquake. They perceive the small numerous crackling of the earth before the final break (tectonic), which is the earthquake. As a means of self-preservation they try to escape from stables and pens, seek shelter, run to higher grounds, or simply escape to areas far from the source of the impending earthquake.

Snakes come out of their abode, reptiles move away from the water, horses neigh and kick around, elephants seem to defy the command of their masters (like in the case of the 2004 tsunami in Sri Lanka). We humans can only detect such minute movements on our inventions such as the Richter Scale.

More about Nature’s Biological Early Warning System

• When jellyfish come to the surface of the sea there is an earthquake or tsunami coming - PHOTO. It is when the epicenter of an earthquake occurs under the sea that tsunami may follow. Marine animals as well as land animals can detect minute tremors preceding an earthquake. Because of this they seek for safe areas usually moving upward shallower waters. (NOTE: Such vibrations are generally imperceptible to humans. They are monitored by his invention, the Seismograph, instead.)

• When cockroaches are flying about, there are plenty of fish to catch. This is not limited to cockroaches (PHOTO). Other insects do swarm at certain stages or seasons of the year. For example, termites swarm at the onset of the heavy rains (monsoon or habagat); honeybees swarm when the queen bee dies, or when a new queen is produced from an old hive. Gnats or gamu-gamu swarm when their population shoot up due to freedom from predators. Locusts coalesce and migrate if driven by drought that destroys their source of food. Fish are abundant when there are plenty of insects since insects constitute their main food.

• Sporadic and massive brush fire accompanies dry spell or predicts the coming of the El Niño phenomenon. Usually it is at the end of the rainy season that grasses like talahib (Saccharum officinarum) and cogon (Imperata cylindrica) reach the end of their life cycle. In the absence of subsequent rains, these ignite into brush fire, so bad in certain cases that even trees and whole forest burn. Worst scenarios are forest fires as what happen in Australia last 2006, and Indonesia in 2000, the latter sending smoke as far as the Philippines.

Let's heed the biological signals of animals, which contributed to their fitness to survive evolution - and become part of our living world. Indeed they are living sentinels of the dangers we face. ~

Reference: Living with Nature, AV Rotor
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Largest Earthquakes in the World Since 1900


The lists and statistics on this webpage have not been updated since December 2012. Many of these will be updated and available when we have completed the transition into the new earthquake database. We hope to provide this sometime in 2015.
Largest Earthquakes in the World Since 1900
KML file Google Earth KML



Location Date UTC Magnitude Lat. Long. Reference
1. Chile 1960 05 22 9.5 -38.29 -73.05 Kanamori, 1977
2. 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake 1964 03 28 9.2 61.02 -147.65 Kanamori, 1977
3. Off the West Coast of Northern Sumatra 2004 12 26 9.1 3.30 95.78 Park et al., 2005
4. Near the East Coast of Honshu, Japan 2011 03 11 9.0 38.322 142.369 PDE
5. Kamchatka 1952 11 04 9.0 52.76 160.06 Kanamori, 1977
6. Offshore Maule, Chile 2010 02 27 8.8 -35.846 -72.719 PDE
7. Off the Coast of Ecuador 1906 01 31 8.8 1.0 -81.5 Kanamori, 1977
8. Rat Islands, Alaska 1965 02 04 8.7 51.21 178.50 Kanamori, 1977
9. Northern Sumatra, Indonesia 2005 03 28 8.6 2.08 97.01 PDE
10. Assam - Tibet 1950 08 15 8.6 28.5 96.5 Kanamori, 1977
11. Off the west coast of northern Sumatra 2012 04 11 8.6 2.311 93.063 PDE
12. Andreanof Islands, Alaska 1957 03 09 8.6 51.56 -175.39 Johnson et al., 1994
13. Southern Sumatra, Indonesia 2007 09 12 8.5 -4.438 101.367 PDE
14. Banda Sea, Indonesia 1938 02 01 8.5 -5.05 131.62 Okal and Reymond, 2003
15. Kamchatka 1923 02 03 8.5 54.0 161.0 Kanamori, 1988
16. Chile-Argentina Border 1922 11 11 8.5 -28.55 -70.50 Kanamori, 1977
17. Kuril Islands 1963 10 13 8.5 44.9 149.6 Kanamori, 1977

Deadliest earthquakes on record
Deadliest earthquakes
Rank
Event
Date
Location
Fatalities
Magnitude
Notes
1
1556 Shaanxi earthquake
January 23, 1556
Shaanxi, China
820,000–830,000 (est.)
8.0 (est.)
Estimated death toll in Shaanxi, China.
2
1976 Tangshan earthquake
July 28, 1976
Hebei, China
242,769-655,000
7.8

3
1920 Haiyuan earthquake
December 16, 1920
Ningxia–Gansu, China
273,400
7.8
Major fractures, landslides.
4
526 Antioch earthquake
May 21, 526
Antioch, Turkey (then Byzantine Empire)
240,000
7.0 (est.)
Procopius (II.14.6), sources based on John of Ephesus.
5
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
December 26, 2004
Indian Ocean, Sumatra, Indonesia
230,210+
9.1–9.3
Deaths from earthquake and resulting tsunami.
6
1138 Aleppo earthquake
October 11, 1138
Aleppo, Syria
230,000
Unknown
The figure of 230,000 dead is based on a historical conflation of this earthquake with earthquakes in November 1137 on the Jazira plain and on September 30, 1139 in the Azerbaijani city of Ganja. The first mention of a 230,000 death toll was by Ibn Taghribirdi in the fifteenth century.
7
2010 Haiti earthquake
January 12, 2010
Haiti
100,000–316,000
7.0
Estimates vary from 316,000 (Haitian government) to 222,570 (UN OCHA estimate) to 158,000 (Medicine, Conflict and Survival) to between 85,000 and 46,000 (report commissioned by USAID).
8
1303 Hongdong earthquake
September 25, 1303
Shanxi, China
200,000 (est.)
8.0 (est.)
Taiyuan and Pingyang were leveled.
9
856 Damghan earthquake
December 22, 856
Damghan, Iran
200,000 (est.)
7.9 Ms (est.)

10
893 Ardabil earthquake
March 22, 893
Ardabil, Iran
150,000 (est.)
Unknown
Reports probably relate to the 893 Dvin earthquake, due to misreading of the Arabic word for Dvin, 'Dabil' as 'Ardabil'. This is regarded as a 'fake earthquake'.
11
533 Aleppo Earthquake
November 29, 533
Syria
130,000
Unknown

12
1908 Messina earthquake
December 28, 1908
Messina, Italy
123,000
7.1
The ground shook for 30 to 40 seconds around 5:20 am, and destruction occurred within a 300 km radius. 93% of structures in Messina were destroyed and ~70,000 residents died. Rescuers searched for weeks, and whole families were pulled out alive days later. A 40-foot (12 m) tsunami struck nearby coasts. Reggio Calabria on the Italian mainland also suffered heavy damage.
13
1948 Ashgabat earthquake
October 6, 1948
Ashgabat, Turkmen SSR (modern-day Turkmenistan)
110,000
7.3

14
1923 Great Kantō earthquake
September 1, 1923
Kantō region, Japan
105,385
7.9
This earthquake with an epicenter beneath Izu Ōshima Island in Sagami Bay, shook the Kantō plain on the Japanese island of Honshū at 11:58 am. Shaking duration reported between 4 and 10 minutes, devastating Tokyo, Yokohama, Chiba, Kanagawa, and Shizuoka.[5Shaking slid the 93-ton Great Buddha statue at Kamakura almost two feet forward. Casualty estimates range from 100,000 to 142,800, the latter figure including ~40,000 missing later presumed dead.
15
1290 Chihli earthquake
September 27, 1290
Ningcheng, China
100,000
6.8 Ms

16
2005 Kashmir earthquake
October 8, 2005
Muzaffarabad, Pakistan
86,000–87,351
7.6
Affecting an area (mostly rugged terrain) of about 30,000 km2 [11,600 sq mi], this earthquake damaged about 6,440 km [4,000 mi] of roads, and 50-70% of services, including power, water and sanitation. Approximately 400,153 houses, 6,298 schools and 796 health facilities were damaged or destroyed (UN 2006). Death toll estimates range from 86,000-87,351, with approximately 138,000 seriously injured and 3.5 million people displaced.
















Acknowledgement: USGS Internet