Earth Day (April 22, 2020) Celebration Feature: APOSTLES FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

Earth Day 2020 Feature: 
Apostles for the Environment
Dr Abe V Rotor

Living with Nature - School on Blog [avrotor.blogspot.com]

Graduate students in Environmental Science pose with their professor ( second from right) on a field lecture on the university campus.

UST Botanical Garden is the oldest plant sanctuary in Manila, originally UST Pharmacy Garden.  

Apostles for the Environment

1. When spring comes without stir, “don't go gentle into the night,” rise and find out where have all the birds gone that herald the new season, and the new beginning of life.

2. When the monsoon ends too soon, summer sets early, the land scorched, the rivers and ponds dried up, warn of the coming of a severe El Niño, a cyclical phenomenon.

3. When algal bloom in make-believe proportion spreads in lakes, sound the alarm of fish kill coming in order to avert losses and hunger, and to save the ecosystem. 

4. When people move to cities in exodus, convince them, advise government, it is a tender trap that takes them away from the real Good Life on the countryside.

5. When clouds simply pass over the landscape, take the lead to reforest the hills and mountains, restore the watershed with a million and one trees.

6. When flood sweeps the land taking with it lives and properties, and eroding soil fertility, be part of rehabilitation and planning; believe that flood can be tamed.

7. When you find an abundance of lichens of different types on trees and rocks, and fireflies at night, assure residents of the pristine condition of their environment, and help them in preserving it.

8. When and where wildlife areas are shrinking, backyards and idle lots can be developed as alternative wildlife sanctuary, initiate this as a community project.

9. When asked what vegetables are safe from pesticide residues and chemicals from fertilizers, promote native species like malunggay, kamote tops, gabi, saluyot, and the like, they are also more nutritious and easy to grow. And promote natural or organic farming, too.

10. When asked of Nature's way of maintaining the ecosystem, explain the role of nitrogen-fixing microorganisms, composting, symbiosis, and the like.  These  natural processes and cycles have been taking place even before the arrival of the human species.

11. When additives are found in food - MSG, Nutrasweet or any artificial sugar, salitre in sausage, sulfite in white sugar, melamin in milk, formalin in fish, warn the public against taking these, initiate through legislation and campaign to ban these additives.

12. When children spend too much time before the TV, on computers, and other gadgets, offer alternatives more favorable to their upbringing and well-being by getting close to nature like camping, gardening and other outdoor activities.

13. When old folks talk about traditional wisdom and values, demonstrate native skills, listen and translate them into useful applications, disseminate these in school and through extension. 

14. When animals are restless, reptiles and rodents coming out of their burrows and dens, fish attempting to escape, fowls noisy, suspect the coming of a force majeure such as  earthquake.  Be alert to face possible consequences, and to extend assistance.  

15. When epidemic threatens an area, say bird flu, hepatitis, dengue, cholera,  initiate community cooperation with health and other institutions to arrest the spread of these diseases.

16. When a child has little concern about the environment, teach him, guide him to explore the beautiful world of nature, and make him realize his importance and his role in maintaining a balanced environment.  

17. When there is a worthy movement to save the environment, such as Clean and Green, Piso sa Pasig, or any local campaign, lead and extend your full support.

18. When there are farms and fishponds neglected or abandoned, find out how these are put back to their productive conditions, or converted into a wildlife sanctuary.

19. When at rest or in confinement for health reason, explore natural remedies with herbals, through  pet  therapy, aromatherapy, and other proven remedies, in  consultation with your doctor.  

20. When in doubt if civilization is disguised evil, which is the root of war, poverty, environmental degradation, and the like, remember that it is also civilization that is responsible in building the great institutions of mankind, so that it is the obligation of each member of society to maintain the integrity of these institutions – indeed a noble mission to lead.

21.  When appreciating the vastness of creation such as the seas, valleys, mountains, and entertain the idea that their resources are unlimited, view these in their  microcosm like a pond or hill - for what can happen to this minuscule could be the same on a larger scale and proportion – be the prophet, but not of doom.

22. When you shall have found success in scholarship, wealth, power, family, etc., the task of integrating all these for the purpose of sharing with those in dire need, and for posterity and sustainability, becomes a greater challenge, indeed  this is the price of success. 

     

23. When devoting your time and energy and talents to the service of community and environment as dictated by your profession and as a good citizen, do not neglect your obligation to yourself and family, and by so doing, build a model on which you are looked up to by those you serve.

               

24. When hope dims in this troubled world, with continued disregard to protect Mother Earth, human abuse and indifference in pursuit of economic gains and affluence, violation of order and harmony of society, degradation of values, “don’t go gentle into the night” – be the sentinel ever vigilant, the guardian ever righteous, for opportunity awaits you in your greatest hour. 

25. When on a fine Sunday morning you hear birds in the trees, fish splashing in a pond, and plants blooming, say a prayer of praise and thanksgiving in music and verse, painting, or simply through reflection of the magnificence of creation. ~

University of Santo Tomas – The Graduate School First Semester, 2012-2013

Environmental Science – Professor: Dr Abe V Rotor   

.

1. ADIVOSO, Angelica Cyril Cruz  “AC” Faculty, College of San Benildo, Cainta, Rizal,

2. ARENAS, Minerva C “Mines”  Faculty, Nueva Ecija High School, Cabanatuan City

3. CALIPJO, Arleen M “Arlene”  Faculty, Cavite State University, Silang, Cavite                                    

4. CHAO, George Y “George” Faculty, College of Engineering, UST

5. DE GUZMAN,  Romualdo B Jr “Jun” Faculty, Bataan Peninsular State University

6. DELIMA, Precila C “Precy” Faculty, Isabela State University,  Cauayan City, Isabela

7. DEMAUSA, Mary Joy C “Mary Joy” Staff Laboratory, University of the East, Caloocan

8. MANUBAY, Frederick Ray A “Fred”  Faculty, High School,  UST

9. ORDOñEZ, Maria Manuela P  “Marie” Faculty, San Sebastian College,  Recoletos, Cavite City

10. PANGANIBAN, Citadel  Faculty, Lyceum of the Philippines University, Batangas

11. SANTOS, Hetdiliza  A “Hydie” Faculty, Navotas National  High School

                       

12. VILLANUEVA, Laarni M “Lani”  Faculty, Lyceum of the Phil U,  Batangas

NOTE: To my students in particular, please recruit twelve (12) followers from your family, community and organization, who believe and are willing to carry on the tasks we have set. Send the list with basic information through  avrotor@gmail.com or through the Comments of this Blog, or through Mail. These 25 tenets serve as guide in your recruitment and selection.  This invitation is open to all viewers here and abroad.

Autumn in a Forest in acrylic by AV Rotor 

Re-posted: Earth Day 2016, 2018 Celebration 

"The Four Waves" that are Transforming Our Society - Self-Administered Test (True or False - 25 Items)

Dr. Abe V. Rotor

avrotor.blogspot.com 

"The illiterate of the 21th century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn."  Alvin Toffler

1. Alvin Toffler is an American writer and futurist (Future Shock, Eco-Spasm), known for his works discussing digital revolution, communications revolution, corporate revolution and technological singularity.

2. Actually Alvin Toffler’s work is a joint undertaking with his wife – Heidi Toffler – also a writer and a futurist.

3. If there are three most influential voices among business leader, they are Alvin Toffler - after Bill Gates and John Rockefeller.

4. “Society needs people who take care of the elderly and who know how to be compassionate and honest.” Says Bill Gates one of the richest man on earth. “Society needs all kinds of skill that are not just cognitive; they’re emotional, they’re affectional. You can’t run the society on data and computers alone.”

5. The first wave is the society characterized by hunting and gathering – a nomadic society transient and divided – which favored early humans to explore the world in their time. The Fertile Crescent which was later part of Babylon at the confluence of the Tigris-Euphrates Rivers was the first site ushering the beginning of the First Wave or the Agrarian Society.

6. The First Wave Society is characterized by the nuclear family, factory-type education system and the corporation.

7. The Second Wave Society is industrial and based on mass production, mass distribution, mass consumption, mass education, mass transit, mass entertainment, weapon of mass destruction, mass religion.

8. The Third Wave Society is a combination of mass movement and bandwagon with standardization, centralization, and synchronization, often ending up with bureaucracy.

9. Two predictions of the Third Wave by its advocates led by Toffler are paperless office and human cloning. We have already realized this no doubt, in spite of technological barriers and politico-religious conditions have imposed regulations and generated varying opinions and controversies.

10. Third Wave means a post-industrial society. It has generated keywords to unwind the complexity that characterize our society today, some of these are Super-Industrial Society, Information Age, Space Age, Electronic Era, Global Village, Cyberspace, Technotronic Age. These include terms like e-Commerce, e-learning, e-mail, on-line teaching, global positioning, Google Earth, ATM, globalization, and the like.

11. The Third Wave Society is an aging society. It is found in highly industrialized countries where population is coming to a standstill, where longevity breeds octogenarians up to centenarians. There will be need of new medical technologies from self-diagnosis, self-administer therapies delivered by nanotechnology to do for themselves what doctors used to do. Robotics are no longer workers in industries; they are becoming domesticated.

12. “Prosumers” is a coined word – producer and consumer. It means we are eliminating much of the work of middlemen. We are linking production and consumption directly. Examples are freelance work, open source, assembly kit, instant house package, build your own car or plane. These belong to the second wave.

13. The Third Wave changes the concept of retirement (re-tire as good as new tire), child labor (kids are smarter, they can earn and make a living early), education (distance education, on-line, crash workshop), nationalism (citizen of the world, too); concepts of capitalism, socialism, nation-state, so with corporation, cooperatives, entrepreneurship, management, and the like.

14. The Third Wave Society is moving away from international organization to seek its own direction as intended by a particular society, thus undermining the UN and its organizations like FAO, WHO, WTO UNEP, WFO; APEC, EU, NATO, ASEAN, ANZUS, International Court of Justice, North American Union, and others.

15. The Fourth Wave Society is characterized by man's quest for expansion into outer space, possibly incorporating the rise of a second agricultural revolution in an off-world setting; it means reclamation of the desolate regions of the earth; it means creating a prototype superhuman through genetic engineering.

16. Jose Rizal in his essay, The Philippines a Century Hence, prophesied the Philippines as a progressive nation likened to the great nations of Europe.

17. Among the socialists that influenced China are Marx, Lenin, and Engels – who are all Germans.

18. Charles Darwin and Thomas Malthus – evolutionist and futuristic, respectively, changed the world’s thinking regarding demography.

19. Michel Jordan and Yao Ming are towering giants in the NBA, first in NBA’s history to have regular Chinese player.

20. These artists changed China – Picasso for abstract art, Marilyn Monroe for feminism, Mother Teresa for religiosity; Julius Caesar for autocracy.

21. There are great men who became famous for their prophesies - Nostradamus and Malthus. One saw tomorrow, the other saw the four horsemen of Apocalypse.

Population, when unchecked, increases in a geometrical ratio.  Subsistence, increases only in an arithmetical ratio (as shown in this graph)  – Thomas Malthus

22. Philosophy – both ancient and modern – can be traced ultimately to Socrates, be it Platonian, or Aristotelian, and the philosophies of Emmanuel Kant, Marx, Thoreau, Sartre.

23. One man fought a nation, and save a nation, abhorring violence His only weapon: peaceful protest and civil disobedience in asceticism that swept the land, people revering him as father and almost god. His name is Gandhi.

24. It is no longer possible for us to return to the Second Wave, much less to the First Wave, and live a less stressful and more meaningful life, because time is irreversible, and epochs and eras have their own specific time - they are now part of history, and there is no turning back. Life is truly a one-way direction, reminiscent of the poem, "I pass this way but once."

25. Little do we know of the unknown great man, like the Unknown Soldier, yet he represents countless people whose deeds are also those of great men and women we revere today. They are us – each one of us.

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ANSWERS: 1T; 2T; 3F; Peter Drucker instead of John D Rockefeller, 4F; quotation from Alvin Toffler's; 5T; 6F; second wave or industrial society; 7T; 8F, still second wave; 9F have not been realized so far; 10T; 11T; 12T; 13T; 14F, the more international cooperation is needed; 15T; 16T; 17T; 18T; 19T; 20F, not among the 50 people listed by Time; 21T; 22T; 23T; 24F, we have the choice to live the kind of life we wish to follow - "I am the captain of my soul, I'm the master of my fate."(Invictus by William Ernest Henley); 25T.

RATING:
24-25 Outstanding
21-23 Very Good
18-20 Good
15-17 Fair
12-14 Passed

A personal reflection in these critical times.

In Thomas Gray’s Elegy on a Country Churchyard, “Full many a gem of purest ray serene, the deep unfathomed caves the oceans bear; full many a many flower is born to blush unseen, and waste their sweetness in the desert air.” This unknown great man did not die in vain, in the same way we should regard ourselves because we – all of us has the capacity to be great.  Bringing up our children to become good citizens, being a Samaritan on a lonely road, embracing a returning Prodigal Son, “plugging a hole in the dike like the boy who saved Holland from being engulfed by the sea,” or living life the best way we can that make other live the same – these and countless deeds make us great, and if in that little way we fall short of it, then each and everyone of us putting each small deeds together, make the greatest ever deed, for the greatest thing humans can do, especially in these critical times, is collective goodness – the key to true unity and harmony, and love and peace.

 - Dr. AV Rotor 

Impressionism and Abstract Paintings of Nature

Impressionism and Abstract Paintings of Nature 

                                        Paintings by Dr Abe V Rotor

Call it Impressionism or Expressionism

of Claude Monet, Vincent Van Gogh, et al;

Fauvism or Surrealism of Dali and Picasso;

they're all revolutionary - bold and tall;

From Cezanne's Cubism to Miro's Symbolism; 

to Avant-garde, the freest art of all.

A Pair of Doves and Parakeets (48"x 58") 2020

Birds Roosting in a Tree (16"x 28") 2012

Bugs (11"x 14") 2012

Bullfight (13"x 24") 2013

 Eyes in the Woods (12"x 24") 2013

Autumn Bloom (22" x 22") 2013

Paint Drippings on a Counter Table (Vigan Paint Center) 2016

Pond Scum (  ) AVR 2018

Seaweeds in the Deep (12"x 19.5") 2018

 

Young artists at work at the author's residence, San Vicente, Ilocos Sur

Bridal Bouquet Many Years After

Bridal Bouquet Many Years After

Painting by Dr Abe V Rotor

Bouquet in a Vase in oil by AVR, circa 1961 (Original painting can be viewed from Living with Nature Center, author's residence at San Vicente Poblacion, Ilocos Sur)

They are not the old sunflowers of passionate Vincent;

Not the poppies in Flanders Field growing row by row;

 Not the hidden ones in the Secret Garden of Burnett;

But wreath from a bridal bouquet of many years ago;  

Hauntingly lovely still of memories once in their scent;

  Oh, art - you bring back the past in a passing review! ~ 

"Bouquet to wreath is a story - the beautiful life of man."

"Bouquet to wreath is a story -  
the beautiful life of man." 

Dr Abe V Rotor

Bouquet in acrylic by the author, circa 1998

Flowers bloom best in spring

grains in summer, leaves in fall;

and in the wintry sunset of life,

violet and roses crowd the pall. 

Monet’s water lilies at twilight,

And Van Gogh's sunflower,

speak of the golden years of life,

faithful to the final hour.       

Fresh and lovely, humble at noon,

gleaming still in the setting sun,  

bouquet to wreath is a story -

the beautiful life of man. ~ 

Two Minuscule Views of the Universe

Two Minuscule Views of the Universe  
We see all around, yet in a minuscule of Nature, the proof of an omnipotent power and will that created our world, in fact the 
universe we peer into the lens, and see fireflies among the stars. 

Paintings and Verses by Dr Abe V Rotor

The Tropical Rainforest - Minuscule of the Universe 

in acrylic by the author, 2020 

We see but a leaf, yet it contains all the elements of the plant; we search through the thick canopy only to be denied of the full view of the forest; above, we see a seemingly endless undulating cover of green;

We see a bird feeding her young, universal of maternal care that ensures the perpetuation of species, both the seen and unseen creatures that comprise the unimaginable diversity of the living world;  

We see the transformation of life in each species following a pattern of life cycle, dictated by the environment and passing of the seasons, and on the long run, by the laws of competition and cooperation;  

We see in a passing review brief moments of  action - metamorphosis of butterflies, germination of seeds, migration of birds, among countless daily events - and in us, within us, the march of time and life itself;

We see the manifestations of life from general knowledge, but never its primary source, how the energy of the sun transforms into matter, more so how matter becomes living cells, onto becoming living organisms;  

---------------------------

We see all around, yet in a minuscule of Nature, the proof of an omnipotent power and will that created our world, in fact the universe we peer into the lens, and see fireflies among the stars. 

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The Milky Way -  Minuscule of the Universe as seen through the telescope

 in acrylic by the author 2020

We see the sky blue in the day, pitch black at night, save a scattering of stars, a waning moon perhaps, a shy curtain of the Aurora Borealis, or a shooting star on which we hastily send our personal wishes;

We see hazy shades of various colors we think are the primordial origin of the rainbow, or fragments of the rainbow as it goes back to sleep only to return some day or hour, to lift the spirit and make kids happy;

We see the planets among the stars, think of stars having also planets of their own, why Mars is red and Venus gleaming white, why Jupiter has rings, Saturn tremendously huge, and Pluto a renegade of sort; 

We see in imagery man walking on the moon, rocket ships sent later and started satellite communications which consequently transformed the way we communicate, the world virtually "wired at all corners;"   

We see our world is but the size of a grain of sand in the vastness of space; travelling with other heavenly bodies into the unknown, on  Planet Earth, our only spaceship which we must take care of properly.~ 

Butterflies in the Woods

Butterflies in the Woods 
Painting and Poem by Dr Abe V Rotor

For Candido and Socorro Raquepo on their 

50^th Wedding Anniversary, Nov 30, 2017

           Butterflies in the Woods in acrylic AVR 2017

They come fluttering in a swarm in Spring,

     In the magic of metamorphosis;

They come in Autumn when trees are bare,

     In the mystery of symbiosis.

The blue sky and brown earth are but one,

     The woods in harmonious unity;

Creatures all, big and small, to freedom,

     Where peace reigns in diversity.

Where does man come in, what’s his part?  

     In a thousand ways we can only guess;

Would Nature be better with his genius?     
    Or simply his awe and reverence. ~ 

Ten Home Remedies

Ten Home Remedies 
Dr. Abe V Rotor

1. Mosquito repellant from bottle brush (Salix sp) 
If there is a way to rid mosquitoes from attacking us without net or special paraphernalia, it is that advertised “Off” mosquito repellant. But the commercial products are synthetic compounds and reports claim that they are carcinogenic affecting not only the skin but internal organs as well since poison can be absorbed by the skin and into the blood stream and other tissue of the body. The researchers collected the volatile oil of the weeping willow which is also known as bottle brush for the formation and shape of the leaves. With ethyl alcohol as solvent, the preparation was tested against house mosquitoes (Culex pipens) in the same manner as the advertised commercial product is used. The result of the study validates the old practice of using weeping willow to ward mosquitoes by rubbing crush leaves on the skin. (Clemente R, Landan RP Luquinario MI and P Padua, UST 202)                                                                           Bottle brush (Salix sp) 

2. Here are simple remedies for sore eye.
Breast milk as eye drops is effective. Another effective remedy is to apply with first urine in the morning. Be careful not to rub it. Stay indoor. Keep away from people – it is contagious. Avoid heat and dust.

3. Postnatal care at home
“Lola Ayang is a partera or midwife. I listened intently to her story on how she attended to childbirths, and how she gained the confidence and trust of a whole village.  I came up with this observation.    

• Girdle made of man’s sando cut at the sleeves
• · Cover head, feet socks
• · Vaporub on kasukasuhan, joints, neck to stem cold and keep body warm,12 days of    daily hilot
• · Hot stone simmering in a concoction of herbs
• · Herbs – lagundi, banaba, sampaloc leaves
• · Guava leaves concoction as feminine wash

4. Succulent pod of radish is a local remedy for ulcer.

It is in a public market of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) I found young pods of radish (Raphanus sativus) sold in bundles. We also relish young radish pods as salad or mixed in chopsuey. How true is it that it can cure of stomach ulcer?

Lourdes Jorge tested radish seeds for anti-ulcer properties on albino rats as her masteral thesis in medical technology at UST.  Result: Radish seed extract is effective and is comparable to commercial Cimetidine or Tagamet in the treatment of gastric ulcer.

5. Sukang Iloko (Ilocos Vinegar) is a home remedy for sore throat and fever.

By the way, “vin- egar” means wine that has gone sour. It is oxidized ethanol or ethyl alcohol. Nowadays the vinegar we commonly find in the market is glacial acetic acid, an industrial acetic acid. Sukang Iloko on the other hand, is natural vinegar, a product of fermentation of sugar from sugarcane. Doctors may be adamant in prescribing it, but they recognize is effectiveness as home remedy, especially in the Ilocos, its origin.  Vinegar cure is included in herbal medicine books, and was used by the Egyptians, Greeks, and Chinese and other early civilizations. Old folks use sukang Iloko as gurgle to relieve sore throat.  To lower fever, they add equal amount of tap water and wipe it with cloth all over the body of the patient. 

6. Are you a victim of Monday morning blahs and blues?
That feeling of tiredness you experience on Mondays after a particular active weekend is directly related to your sleep/wake cycle. It is because any disruption of your regular sleeping habit, which consists of the ideal number of hours of sleep, the ideal bedtime and wake-up time, disturbs your biological clock.
By staying up late or sleeping in, or snoozing on a Sunday afternoon in a hammock can turn the circadian (weekly) cycle inside out. Take the case of my good friend Inciong who has the habit rushing up to finish his article for a weekly column deep into the night of Sunday. By Monday morning he feels out of sync and short of sleep, resulting into the blahs and blues. Often this feeling continues into Tuesday and Wednesday, as the body tries to reset to the weekday schedule. Thus, the ideal way to avoid the Monday morning tiredness is to stick to your regular sleep habits. But many of us, like Dell et al can’t resist staying up on weekends, working or socializing, or going out to a concert.

We are all candidates to this syndrome, but I have noticed that old folks are less affected by it. At one time I wondered how a farmer whom I have known for many years, manages to wake up early and attend to his chores with little sleep the Sunday before. “Don’t you feel sleepy?” I asked.
“Babawi ako mamayang gabi. (I’ll make up for it tonight),” he replied.

Indeed there is a scientific basis this practice, practice as it may sound. Try this. To avoid the Monday morning tiredness, stay up as late as the need arises or as you wish, but make sure you get up at your regular wake-up time. Don’t sleep in, and don’t take naps during the day. When night comes you will not find it difficult to fall asleep at your regular bedtime. In this way you reset your body clock back to its regular time.

This formula applies as well on any day of week, so that if you want to stay late, say on Wednesday, be sure to wake up on your regular wake-up time on Thursday. Then just what Tinong said, make up for it come night time at your regular sleep-time. You will feel refreshed on Friday and in the days ahead, until your sleep pattern is again disrupted. This is one way to avoid or overcome insomnia. 

7. Pollen Allergy is often the cause of sneezing fit and asthmatic symptoms. 

It is true. It is called allergy rhinitis There are people who are highly sensitive to pollen grains. And their allergy is specific to certain plants, and at certain seasons these plants are in bloom. Plants belonging to Family Poaceae or Graminae which include rice, corn, wheat, sugarcane, talahib, cogon, and the like generally bloom in the last quarter beginning October when dry season the habagat season is about to end and dry season starts.

Here are tips to prevent or minimize pollen allergy. · Keep away from flowers and flowering plants 

• · Stay home to prevent exposure to pollen 
• · Avoid touching eyes and skin to prevent spread of allergy. 
• · Don’t bring in flowers and plants inside the house. 
• · Use mask and proper clothing. 

There is a pollen calendar developed by the late Dr. Lolita Bulalacao of the National Museum, a pioneer in palynology (the study of pollen grains) in the Philippines. The calendar warns us people who are susceptible to allergy to keep away from pollen coming from certain flowering plants in season and from specific areas that may cause allergy. The symptoms of allergy rhynitis are generally relieved by antihistamine, which comes in different preparations and brands, as tablet or ointment.

8. Simplest remedy for diarrhea.
Diarrhea claims the lives of 3 million people, with nearly 2 million of them children under five years old. Yet a simple and inexpensive treatment can prevent many of those deaths. Here is a simple formula for oral rehydration:  fistful of sugar + a pinch of salt + a jug of water. 

This old home remedy is now recognized by the World Health Organization which claims that it has saved some 40 million lives, and hopes to demote diarrhea as the second leading cause of death among children. 

9. . When you cut your hand, raise it above the level of your heart to minimize bleeding. Following the law of gravity that “water seeks its own level,” elevate your wounded hand higher than your heart to reduce flow of blood, keep calm and focus on how to get first aid. You may lower your arm as blood clots and seal your wound. 

10.  Pansit-pansitan is effective cure of arthritis, lowers uric acid.

Pansit-pansitan or olasiman-inhalas (linlinna-aw Ilk) (Piperomia pellucida. It is a succulent weed growing in moist and shady places. Pellucidus means waxy or translucent which is characteristic of this common annual plant. I can vouch for the effectiveness of this herbal 
remedy. This is how it is used. 

• Gather the fresh plants from around the house, usually among potted plants. Leave the main stem and roots to grow new shoots for the next harvest. 
• Wash the stems and leaves with running water. You may remove the elongated floral part which bears plenty of tiny black seeds. 
• Boil two cups of water for three minutes. Three to four stems make a decoction. Allow it to cool.                              
• You may add honey or sugar while decoction is still hot. 
• Add hot water for a second or third serving. It may be taken liberally at anytime or until ailment subsides. 

There are other ways pansit-pansitan is prepared. In Vietnam’s Ho ChiMinh public market it is sold in bundles as salad vegetable. It reaches a length up to two feet. It is usually served fresh or blanched. I found out that pansit-pansitan can be taken with coffee by simply adding to it while it is very hot. Or simply dip into a cup of to piping hot water, and allow it to cool. 

Pandan mabango (Pandanus odoratissimus) may be added to flavor the drink. Patients may find relief in a day or two. If there is any allergic reaction such as diarrhea or palpitation, discontinue the treatment and see your doctor. ~

Pansit-pansitan, Pandan mabango