Reducing our carbon footprint is a major step in healing our wounded earth. Fossil fuels are not infinite. With all the talk about global warming and the depletion of our natural reserves, we must sustain the highest quality of life on earth until kingdom come.
Many nations now advocate harvesting energy from renewable sources. No doubt, solar energy can—and probably should—replace our dependence on fossil fuels. While there are other sources of renewable energy, nothing beats the sun’s power, as it stands as a constant source of renewal for the earth. In fact, our ancestors worshipped the sun—at one point in history—because they so associated it with life. Without the sun, there would be no light to start the process of life and growth.
When God created the world, it was in chaos, for there was darkness. Then, He said: “Let there be light!” Unknown to man, the sun that cast light on the earth was created by God so that we may all bask in the goodness of all creation. Now that God has revealed Himself as the supreme Creator of all things, we must thank Him for this source of energy that has the capacity for an endless supply of light that we can harness to keep the earth from eating itself alive, so to speak. If we continue burning fossil fuels, our only home is at risk of causing its own demise.
The world is made up of individuals that constitute societies and whole nations, grouped into regions and continents. On the very basic level on which continental societies stand is the family.
Since the dawn of civilization, the world has not seen the damage we have done to the earth until recent years—in terms of rising temperatures worldwide causing global warming. Within my lifetime, I have seen how the global heat index has been thawing glaciers unprecedentedly, causing rising coastal waters, and turning storms into super typhoons with greater intensity every year.
So, imagine every family on earth reducing its carbon footprint; every factory and company, nation, region, and continent favoring renewable sources of energy to reduce the emissions from burning fossil fuels. We will have given the earth time to reverse the havoc we have created.
Certainly, this effort does not happen overnight and will amount to nothing unless governments educate their citizens down to every household. Our country can only be as good as we are as families and communities.
I am glad that our school—a family, as it were—is making a difference. We are literally reaching out to the sun to energize our school, in part—for now—until we fully transition from burning fossil fuels to harnessing renewable sources of energy, one step at a time.
As of now, the Our Lady of Montserrat Building is powered by solar panels. Our partnership with ACEN has transitioned our campus energy to renewables from solar, wind, and geothermal sources nationwide, complemented by our rooftop solar installations. And I see more EVs entering our campus.
With this trajectory, we hope to encourage more families to follow suit. God bless all our efforts!
