MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / Nov. 19, 2012) – Tiktok Pilipinas, a movement for climate action founded by the Dakila Artist Collective and Oxfam, joined The Firefly Brigade on the 14th Tour of the Fireflies.
The tour, which kicked off Sunday at Tiendesitas in Pasig City and culminated with a program that featured performances from The Jerks, Nityalila, Jeepney Joyride, Color it Red and messages from Climate Action Advocates.
“Fireflies have been known to live only in areas where air is clean, and so it is difficult to find them in polluted cities such as in Metro Manila. But, not only are fireflies sensitive to air, they also only live where there are abundant sources of food. And so, this 14th Tour of the Fireflies, we try to address the issue of climate change, which severely affects not only our environment but food security as well,” Tina dela Cruz, President of The Firefly Brigade, said in a statement sent to the Mindanao Examiner.
Climate change is caused by carbon emissions and some of the biggest culprits are cars and machines. Tiktok Pilipinas supports the use of Bicycles as Environmentally Sustainable Transportation that will contribute to lessening carbon emissions.
“Like fireflies, we not only need clean air to breathe, we also need enough food for us to survive. Carbon emissions have contributed a lot to climate change, leading to problems in food supply of the country,” Nityalila Saulo, Tiktok Pilipinas advocate and cyclist said.
“We can do many things to help our country become more food secure. For example, we can shift to brown rice or unpolished rice which has less wastage during production and buy locally produced food so that we can lessen carbon emission for food transport,” Saulo added.
According to the international development and humanitarian organization Oxfam, climate change has led to more erratic weather patterns and shifts in the seasons making it more difficult for farmers to decide when and what to plant and limiting fishers time to fish in the sea.
The 14th Tour of the Fireflies happened on the eve of the weeklong celebration of the Global Warming and Climate Change Consciousness Week from November 19-25 as declared by the government.
It was also held just in time before the UN Doha Climate Change Conference which will convene 194 countries and 7,000 representatives of non-government organizations on November 26-December 7.
“Hopefully, the Doha Conference will make sure that all countries have a chance of winning against climate change. We all know that developing countries like the Philippines are most vulnerable, leaving us with more damage but taking us a lot of time before we can recuperate,” said Miko Aguilar, also a Tiktok Pilipinas advocate, musician and cyclist.
“While governments and public officials meet in Doha, we, in our own efforts, also try to make a difference. By cycling, we are making a statement that we want climate justice and food security,” Aguilar added.
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