Environment – Page 9 – MORE PATHLESS TRAVELS

2012-04-152014-03-21

A myth called Pinoy summer (2)

Author’s note: This was first published on 18 May 2003 under my Pathless Travels column published by Northern Dispatch (Nordis) Weekly. I’m reposting it here in three parts, with some revisions to update my own understanding of the issue, and to make it more timely. This is Part 2. Read Part 1 here.

Philippine climate map showing the country divided into four zones with distinct climate types. Source: Wikipedia

Since the 1990s, I’ve kept some reference files and notes on Philippine climate as part of my general interest in geography and environment. I found two files particularly useful in summarizing the main types of climates in the country.

One describes the four climate types, and lists down the provinces (or parts of provinces) covered by each type. I lifted this file from a popular Philippine almanac, which in turn cites as its source a popular Bureau of Plant Industry crop calendar for various parts of the country.

The other is a Philippine climate map that I bought for 20 pesos from an ordinary bookstore. [Take note that this was in the mid-1990s, when DOST, although it was in the frontlines of building the local corridors of cyberspace, didn’t as yet have much of its PAGASA resources online.] Continue reading “A myth called Pinoy summer (2)”

2012-04-082012-04-19

A myth called Pinoy summer (1)

Author’s note: This was first published on 18 May 2003 under my Pathless Travels column published by Northern Dispatch (Nordis) Weekly. I’m reposting it here in three parts, with some revisions to update my own understanding of the issue, and to make it more timely. Read Part 2 here.

After a couple of false starts, I guess we can now safely welcome the onset of that relentless stretch of scorching days we call “Philippine summer.” You know, school’s out, need to beat the heat, so everyone and their dog head to the beaches or to the mountains.

Invariably, planning one’s summer itinerary soon leads to more talk about the coming rains and one’s school plans at the end of the so-called “Philippine summer.” Invariably, too, the changing of the seasons also revives the long-standing suggestion of changing the Philippine school calendar so that classes start in September instead of June.

The usual argument is that, supposedly, the rainy season is at its heaviest —and thus most disruptive of classes — during the months of June, July and August. Hence the presumed advantage of starting the school year in September.

The other side of the debate objects to the idea, realizing that the proposal will turn April, May and June into school months. “You policy freaks are so killjoy. Get a life! Summer is for kids, so let them enjoy it without worrying about classes,” they will argue. The presumption, of course, is that there’s an unchanging, non-negotiable Pinoy summer.

Continue reading “A myth called Pinoy summer (1)”

2012-02-042021-01-02

Mossy cloud forest, formerly

I wrote this light essay originally as a column piece for the November 17, 2003 issue of Northern Dispatch Weekly. It seems timely that I re-post it here with some minor edits, now that the issue of Baguio City’s rapid deforestation is heating up anew. A giant mall has been intending to cut 182 trees in Luneta Hill, on top of big real estate developers having already cleared up a bigger number of pure pine stands in and around the city in past years.

In a column piece I wrote earlier this year, I confessed to the embarrassing fact that I was a frustrated peasant. A frustrated urban peasant, to be more specific. With emphasis on “frustrated.” At least that’s how I feel, more and more frequently these days.

My wife has more success with her orchids, ferns and peperomias — and to think that she merely used our outhouse-type toilet-bathroom as a rudimentary greenhouse. Without intending it, she turned it into an accidental orchidarium-terrarium, complete with ants, spiders, and lizards that spice up our every visit to the toilet. The only creature lacking is a fruit bat, gecko or baby constrictor crawling along the rough-hewn coconut lumber beams of the outhouse, to give our jungle alcove that extra oomph.

Gecko on house post — The only creature lacking is a fruit bat, gecko, or baby constrictor crawling along the rough-hewn coconut lumber beams of the outhouse to give our jungle alcove that extra oomph.

Continue reading “Mossy cloud forest, formerly”