SCIENCE

FIGHT OR FLIGHT:

Nature’s Plea For Humanity

by AMARA VALLE

Time can be our enemy, and the future is at stake. With COVID-19 having affected the world, death and infection rates continue to increase; economic activity falls behind, governments succumb to desperate measures, individuals and corporations struggle to adjust to new normalcy— the impact of human-caused climate change remains alarming. Only three years are left to prevent the worst consequence of the climate crisis, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has warned.

More than 1,000 scientists from 25 nations protested, stating that immediate reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are vital before 2025 to mitigate catastrophic effects. NASA scientist Peter Kalmus urged people to listen to climate change scientists’ urgent warnings on April 6 in Los Angeles. “We’ve been trying to warn you guys for so many decades,” Kalmus adds, his voice breaking. “The scientists of the world have been ignored. And it’s gotta stop. We’re going to lose everything.” In September 2019, a series of international strikes and protests took place to demand climate change crisis’ reforms; however, the COVID-19 pandemic has shifted the world’s focus away. Drastically, the outbreak has hindered the ongoing progress of companies switching to more eco-friendly industrial practices. Businesses are expanding their usage of single-use products for safety and have become less eager to invest in sustainable methods due to COVID-19 uncertain effects (WHO, 2020). The failure to hold governments and corporations accountable for their poor contributions or inaction in combating the climate disaster stays a challenge. As stated by the Scientist Rebellion organization, their protests “highlight the urgency and injustice of the climate and ecological crisis.” Cagayan de Oro City is already experiencing adverse effects of global warming; a case study conducted by UNHabitat shows evident changes in rainfall patterns and increased temperature in the city. The city government and the Climate Change Commission (CCC) implemented the Twin Phoenix Project in 2012 and reinforced urban development by conducting its greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory in 2016. Sensing the growing public concern and the social media mass hysteria, global environmental agencies took measures. “Let’s rally more to be part of the climate movement, and let’s continue fighting for the world that you and I imagined and make it a reality for us all,” Nazrin Camille D. Castro, The Climate Reality Project Philippines (TCRP) Branch Manager, stated during a webinar advocating climate action last April 22. As climate change worsens, scientists risk their lives and freedom to warn and inform us before it is too late. Increased international and national advocacy must propagate. Establishing environmental-friendly economic resilience remains a priority; equally, ensuring worthy investments is necessary. Operating with climate and disaster expertise is essential to consider COVID-19 recovery packages as part of their business, provide ideas for climate co-benefits, and hold governments and large corporations accountable for industrial development compatibility with climate commitments.

Yield of Technology

What this country needs

by AMARA VALLE

Despite continuing to be the dominating sector in the Philippine economy, agriculture–and farmers, for that matter–remain struggling against a plethora of issues, be it water supply, pests, typhoons and drought, among others. All of that, coupled with strenuous manual labor and traditional farming methods still in use today.

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) reported that more than half of the Philippines’ 113 million people live in rural areas, and 36% of them are poor, relying on agriculture as their primary and, in several cases, the sole source of income. Furthermore, the World Bank published a report titled “Transforming Philippine Agriculture During COVID-19 and Beyond” in June 2020, thus emphasizing the need to modernize the Philippines’ agricultural sectors. Practices in farming are constantly influenced by technological advancements now and throughout history. Humankind has developed new methods of increasing farming efficiency and yield productivity. Nevertheless, struggles still persist. In an interview, Menisio Omongos, a 67-year-old farmworker in Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon, expressed his dissatisfaction and hopelessness in the industry which he has worked for in more than 40 years, “Lisod gyud kaayo, labi na ang mag-labor, tigulang na kayko ug dugay rako gahulat sa gobyerno, kanang, mga technology para sa uma pero wala jud,” he said, detailing the struggles of being in the agriculture sector. “Sukad sa COVID, naapektuhan jud ug ayo akong income sa harvest. Ubos ang presyo sa mais kay tungod sa ekonomiya nato, grabe jud na kalisod.” Apart from the devastating impact of COVID-19 to the sector, typhoons in 2020 also destroyed “agricultural equipment and other livelihood resources, significantly affecting those who are dependent on farming” for an income, as reported by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). That, along with the need–and lack thereof–for technology to be employed in these fields, therefore aiming to empower their farmers and fishers to be more digitally enabled, the Philippines’ Department of Agriculture (DA) understands and acknowledges the need for accessible technological advancements. “I would like to focus the intervention of the Philippines on what we think are the policy commitments that need to be embedded within the agri-food systems to ensure greener and climate-resilient initiatives, given key challenges such as the pandemic, agricultural pests and diseases, and climate change,” said former agriculture secretary William Dar. Per the Department of Agriculture DA, Progress is developing in the sector, albeit slowly. Agriculture is critical to both the Philippine economy and the livelihood of every family. Struggling in a fast-changing generation, the modernization of the agricultural sector with the assistance of institutions and organizations provides hope for the country and marginalized individuals. Other organizations have focused on the same initiative as the Philippine government and the World Bank to digitalize the agricultural sectors. Rebuilding Philippine agriculture toward dynamic and innovative technological advancements is imperative to achieving faster economic and environmental recovery, poverty reduction, and growth.

InnovatoRS:

Sustainable Ideas Into Work

by DESIREE POJAS

Education is cataclysmic for inclusive growth and innovation. By putting visionary work into action, students from Gusa Regional Science High School – X (GRSHS-X) have created several innovation projects which observe inventive awareness and skill highlighted in the institution’s desired output. The need for innovation that supports enhanced operations, efficient resource flows, decreased waste, and the cost are highlighted in the senior high school graduating batch’s capstone projects.

With the current state of the planet, sustainability significantly than ever before—and much to our fortune, stainability can be sourced from our small actions. As social and commercial demands push clean energy consumption, decarbonization, and larger sustainability measures, science, technology, innovation, and people play a huge role in supporting communities in addressing environmental concerns.

Consumers and businesses are under increasing pressure to participate with sustainability technologies, which are frequently presented by entrepreneurs. In the light of this issue, students from GRSHS-X have devised a self-sustaining keyboard that essentially lowers electricity consumption, ultimately reducing electricity consumption at a larger scale through their study, KuGMoK (Kuryente–Generating Mouse and Keyboard): Application of the Piezoelectric Effect on the Computer Mouse and Keyboard.

“We are in the state of climate emergency. We know that most of the biggest consumers of electricity use non-renewable energy, which is why we want to propose the idea of piezoelectricity to the modern world,” said Jared Melendez, one of the proponents of the study.

In an age where computers are widely-used for both commercial and recreational purposes, this product carves a path in utilizing technology while at the same time maintaining eco-friendliness in the industry and society. The researchers anticipate that this innovation will be a step forward in the creation of a more environmentally friendly and sustainable gadget, as their product demonstrated substantial performance efficiency. As Sarah Long describes, sustainability innovation is the process of emerging and developing new initiatives that provide economic value while also having good environmental and social effects.

KuGMOK is just one of the many product-based innovation studies created by students. Throughout the years, the capstone has been one of the institution’s arduous, yet highly expected projects during the academic year, showcasing young scientists’ brilliant minds through studies that will one day innovate our way of living and put forth new principles into reality.

Nature does not set its own price, but sustainability innovation recognizes the need of conserving ecosystems, natural resources, and biodiversity throughout the world. The researchers and innovators from GRSHS-X thus attempt to improve the way we utilize power in a way that supports both a healthy planet and possible economic growth through their forwardthinking approach to creating a safe and sustainable future for everyone.

NFT: The New Feat of Art Today

by JILLIANA MICLAT

Digital assets are the latest trend this time and NFTs are definitely one of the things you shouldn’t miss out. This new type of digital asset has taken the world by storm and has been receiving a lot of attention these past and recent months. NFT supporters regards this as new step to art collecting in the world history, with a certain benefit to both the artist and collector.

Non-fungible refers to the fact that these digital assets are unique and cannot be replaced or replicated in any way. The Ethereum blockchain is where NFTs are kept. These are the digital assets of the blockchain, with each NFT having its own distinct signature. Blockchain technology is used to record token ownership. As long as you own the NFTs, you can earn passive income. NFTs are not only digital art. They could also be in the form of images, drawings, video clips, music or text. Even tweets and a signature can be bought or sold as NFTs. NFTs have grown in popularity in the global blockchain community. As a result of the sudden explosion of digital art projects minted primarily through the Ethereum protocol are traded on popular NFT marketplaces such as OpenSea. It is even infiltrating elite art auction houses such as Sotheby’s and Christie’s. Because of the rise of play-to-earn games like Axie Infinity, where players use unique digital characters called Axies as NFTs to earn native tokens that can be traded into a cryptocurrency with a corresponding and often appreciating fiat value, NFT adoption is more mainstream in the Philippines. AJ Dimarucot, 46, is one of the few Filipinos who collect and sell digital art on the internet using non-fungible tokens (NFTs). “Whether you’re a small or big artist, you immediately have a way to monetize your efforts and work using NFTs,” he said via Zoom. According to a December online survey conducted by Australian information service provider Finder, roughly one-third of Filipino internet users claim to have these tokens. This new technology has the power to make a starving artist into a millionaire overnight! But because of this it might further hasten climate change. The annual energy consumption used to maintain NFTs was 107.79 TWh, which is the same amount of electricity consumed by the entire country of the Netherlands, and 53.79 Mt CO2, or the same carbon footprint as Singapore. NFTs themselves have no environmental impact, but how they are produced can have significant environmental consequences. Because the crypto art craze is relatively new, none of the data available has been reviewed by outside experts. There’s probably a lot of greenhouse gas emissions tied to NFTs because they’re mostly bought and sold in marketplaces that use the cryptocurrency Ethereum. Ethereum, like most major cryptocurrencies, is based on a system known as “proof of work,” which consumes a tremendous amount of energy. Making a transaction on Ethereum incurs a fee, which is ironically known as “gas.” Finally, artists are the most vocal advocates for change. There is already an artist-led effort to raise funds to reward people who can figure out new ways to make crypto art more sustainable. Anyone who wants to support those artists by purchasing their work can do so by migrating to less polluting platforms, or by purchasing a physical copy of their work.

art by JIREH MAE CASIÑO

Mind and Matter:

by DESIREE POJAS

One of the many riddles of the universe is the understanding of vibration, and how it resonates with our very existence. As scholars and studies probe the conclusion to this riddle for decades, a sliver of it has been made clear with the fact that the physical universe is vibration circumscribed within every space around us—and this is all transpiring to a very fundamental degree.

We feel it when we encounter the endless movement of the innumerable oscillations within us and the limitless heaps of waves surging within. Although vibrations have been known to be used medically such as to target cancerous cells and improve the longevity of telomeres among people, the connection between the mind and vibration is a road not commonly tread by scientists.

A Brief History

The Pythagoreans developed vibration theory around the fifth century BC. According to the Law of Vibration, everything in the cosmos is always moving. These motions are referred to as vibrations, and the frequency at which they occur is referred to as frequency. The sole difference between two objects is the pace at which they vibrate. This theory branched many other theories from several sectors.

When diverse vibrations come into close contact they typically begin to vibrate at the same frequency within a short period and sometimes synchronize in strange ways. In his 2003 book “Sync: How Order Emerges from Chaos in the Universe, Nature, and Daily Life,” mathematician Steven Strogatz uses examples from physics, biology, chemistry, and neurology to show sync - his name for resonance. These examples include how certain species of fireflies congregate in big groups and begin blinking in sync in mysterious ways, and how lasers are created when photons of the same strength and frequency synchronize.

Beyond Sound and Sense

Could the way objects vibrate have something to do with consciousness? Jonathan Schooler and Tam Hunt, both of the University of California, Santa Barbara, have proposed a resonance hypothesis of consciousness. It implies that resonance – another name for coordinated vibrations – is at the heart of human awareness, animal consciousness, and physical reality in general. Certain frequencies can resist sickness, while certain frequencies can eradicate disease, according to science, medicine, and philosophy. Everything in nature has varied vibrational frequencies. Quantum physics portrays the cosmos as nothing more than a collection of vibrating energy threads. Different regions of our body have their unique sound signature, according to scientific studies.

Everything in the cosmos, including our thoughts, is made out of energy. Factors such as the nature of the thought make it vibrate at different frequencies. Our ideas are cosmic waves with such strength that they can travel through space and time, and the vibration of our bodies is controlled by our ideas and feelings. By controlling and regulating our ideas, we have the ability to control the frequency of our consciousness—therefore, the vibration of your body is determined by your emotional condition. To a considerable part, these vibrations determine how you live your life because they create resonance with everything that vibrates at the same frequency.

Root of Physical Encounter

The universe is divided into an infinite number of subjects and objects for each of us. Through vibrations, we feel the rest of the world outside of our personal experience. These empirical observations are tantamount to the hypothesis pertaining to the connection between consciousness and matter. This universal law scientifically expounds quantum physics and neuroscience in a more profound manner. In quantum physics, vibration suggests that everything is energy. Every moving matter are vibrational entities that move at specific frequencies. The study of quantum physics has developed over time and has helped to illuminate the truth’s major ramifications.

In the brain, on this physical plane, thoughts are formed as electrochemical chains of atoms and molecules. The three interdependent components of the conventional space-time continuum model are space, time, and energy. Each of the three depends on the other two and cannot exist independently. With regards to the inquiry regarding conscious thought and how it connects to vibration, researchers have discovered that vibrations appear to be crucial to human consciousness and, in fact, to the existence of all things.

Physical mechanisms that connect mind and matter and provide a degree of perception underlie conscious representation. Each atom throughout the cosmos must experience some sort of tug or push from the many forces operating around it in order for it to be considered to exist. Every physical item, including you, is likely vibrating and oscillating, according to Hunt and Schooler. Our relationship to the world around us is more intricate and our consciousness is more advanced scaling with how synced our vibrations are.

As Albert Einstein said, “Everything in life is vibration.” Indeed, vibration is exactly how we experience life itself. You are a sphere of living energy. Your body is made up of energyproducing particles that are constantly moving. As a result, you, like everything else in the cosmos, are vibrating and producing energy.

This mystery is still an iceberg, and we only have surface information. What lies below it, however, is a vast knowledge that cannot be simply perceived by the eye—and the universe of vibration presents a new range for humankind to discover.