Saving Coral Reefs

10 Easy Steps to Help Protect Coral Reefs

Do you want to make a difference every day? Want to learn about simple, effective actions you can take to help save coral reefs and the fish, animals, and plants that depend on them? You've come to the right place!

1. Conserve water: The less water you use, the less runoff and wastewater will pollute our oceans.
2. Help reduce pollution: Walk, bike or ride the bus. Fossil fuel emissions from cars and industry raise lead to ocean warming which causes mass-bleaching of corals and can lead to widespread destruction of reefs.
3. Use only ecological or organic fertilizers: Although you may live thousands of miles from a coral reef ecosystem, these products flow into the water system, pollute the ocean, and can harm coral reefs and marine life.
4. Dispose of your trash properly: Don't leave unwanted fishing lines or nets in the water or on the beach. Any kind of litter pollutes the water and can harm the reef and the fish.
5. Support reef-friendly businesses: Ask the fishing, boating, hotel, aquarium, dive or snorkeling operators how they protect the reef. Be sure they care for the living reef ecosystem and ask if the organization responsible is part of a coral reef ecosystem management effort.
6. Plant a tree: Trees reduce runoff into the oceans. You will also contribute to reversing the warming of our planet and the rising temperatures of our oceans. Help us Plant a Billion.
7. Practice safe and responsible diving and snorkeling: Do not touch the reef or anchor your boat on the reef. Contact with the coral will damage the delicate coral animals, and anchoring on the reef can kill it, so look for sandy bottom or use moorings if available.
8. Volunteer for a coral reef cleanup: You don't live near a coral reef? Then do what many people do with their vacation: visit a coral reef. Spend an afternoon enjoying the beauty of one of the most diverse ecosystems on the Earth.
9. Contact your government representatives: Demand they take action to protect coral reefs, stop sewage pollution of our oceans, expand marine protected areas and take steps to reverse global warming.
10. Spread the word: Remember your own excitement at learning how important the planet's coral reefs are to us and the intricate global ecosystem. Share this excitement and encourage others to get involved. Send a free coral reef e-card today!

SQUATTING: Causes and Effects

There have been a lot of studies made regarding the squatters, squatter’s area and people who do not have their own houses or better yet, let us call it homes. These people are not homeless per se, but homeless in terms that they do not own the houses and lots they live in and stay at. Having been able to be exposed in these kinds of people and the places they live in because of the current situation of our country, I have chosen to address this social issue that other people are experiencing right now because these people are majority of our population which is basically the masses. I would like to discuss the different causes, effects and the possible extent of squatters. For some cases in our country, these situations are really being felt and seen in terms of employment rate, fertility rate, different statistics that has something to do with squatters’ existence and also other factors that could possibly be causing squatters. Hopefully this would be discussed in accordance to the different points I would like to emphasize on.

1. What are the causes?

There are different causes to why squatters exist in the Philippines. These mainly are the following: unemployment, overpopulation, governance concern, lack of education, problems in the agriculture section and other social issues too. These things have inter-relationship with each other.

·         UNEMPLOYMENT –The unemployment rate gives us the idea that if there are not enough jobs for every Filipino who graduate or stop from studying, it only means that there will not be enough income for these people to own their own land and houses.

·         OVERPOPULATION – population in the Philippines is 97, 976, 603 and this only shows that the Philippines is so much more populated than the past years. And our lands are not enough as a settlement for everyone, especially if lands are being owned by the richest of the country.

·         GOVERNANCE CONCERN – governance concern is the way our government handles the country. If certain budgets are not allocated as well as they are supposed to be and if these are corrupted, then again, our Filipinos who are settling in areas they do not own will last a little longer in those places and they will never be able to overcome their being squatters.

·         LACK OF EDUCATION –Philippines as we all know is overpopulated more on the side of the younger generation, and we all believe that there are no enough schools for every child being born to be given enough education to. Let us just say that there are schools that we can squeeze in students into, but there will not be quality education. There will only be a formality that these children are brought to school, but not necessarily learning.

·         PROBLEMS IN THE AGRICULTURE SECTION – This has been a very big issue lately in the Philippines, because different farmers who take care of the lands of those rich people. But they do not have their own lands which cause these people to squat in manila to be able to rally and fight for the lands they plow for them to have a partial ownership to these and when they are not granted what they are requesting for, they settle in in the Rural.

·         OTHER SOCIAL ISSUES – I would count poverty, and else into this. If only Philippines is not experiencing poverty, there would be enough budget that could be entitled to these people for their homes.

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2.      What are the effects?

There are a couple of effects that squatters lead us to. A few we could mention is that usually we are brought about different harm and deaths because of arguments between the squatters and the owners of the lands they settle at, more pollution and wastes in a certain place, more beggars, more child labor,  lesser job opportunities in the rural and higher crime rate.

·         Deaths and harm caused by arguments between owners and squatters – sometimes this happens because the places wherein the squatters live in are not theirs, that is why they are called to be squatters. There is such thing as adverse possession, which states that there is a certain period of time that the squatters are required to stay in the land they do not own for it to be their land already, but sometimes, the real owners appeal to these because they have the title. But since the squatters are the less fortunate ones, they are disadvantaged of having to fight for their rights when they have reached the period of time they are supposed to have stayed in there. And with the owners having the land title, there are more advantageous because they have all the means of taking everything to court.

·         More pollution and wastes – There will be more pollution and wastes in a certain place if there are far off more squatters in a certain area because these people are not going to be much concerned when it comes to the trash they see around. These people are more prone to sickness because of this. Another idea is that these people called squatters are not prioritized by garbage men because their trash is not organized as the ones in villages.

·         More beggars and more child labor – Squatters being around the rural means they are living in the area of those people who are educated and are employed in different establishments. This sometimes let them think that there is a chance for them to float above the poverty there is. Families are given a lot of ideas that maybe begging and child labor will help. You will see a lot of street children that sell different goods on the road and more beggars that ask for money without anything in exchange. These people instead of being educated in institutions are asking for money to sustain their living. This usually is the cause of having uneducated people mostly from this sector of society.

·         Lesser job opportunities – This is proven because of their lack in education. There are a big number of unemployed citizens because they were not able to undergo learning. These people become squatters when they start moving to the rural areas of the Philippines. The more that they are considered poor because their income is lower than the minimum wage of the metro. At the same time, the rural usually have only jobs offered to certain people who have been able to graduate from schooling. But since these people are not graduates, there are lesser job opportunities for them, and they still are not able to improve their way of living.

·         Higher crime rate – These people having no means for their living get tempted into finding means through the use of pushing drugs or stealing from people who have the means. They cannot steal from people who are in the same area as they are because these people are the ones they consider as the people they are not supposed to harm which means they will choose to harm those that are outside their squatter society, those who are just walking around clueless that they are the targets.