SO many things have been said to happen this year -- 2012 -- the year of the Water Dragon. Should you follow the prophecies and predictions of the Mayans and what Nostradamus wrote then, the end of our civilization and the planet as we know it should occur. The signs are showing that this may be possible.

As I write this, economies, particularly Europe and the countries of the North, are being frozen by a severe winter. Their transportation and their way of life are being affected. The manifestations will be felt and the consequences are immense.

With all that, the Earth’s biodiversity continues to be raped and destroyed. The same development model, battered as it is, seems to be moving up for even higher gear. It continues to be “Business as usual.”

Meanwhile, in China, people cannot seem to even see that they face slow death with toxic poisons in the air. This black cloud of pollution will likely enter the atmosphere and spread worldwide.

It is said that the radioactivity that hit the nuclear power plant in Fukuchima, Japan, is spreading following the Gulf and Jet Stream. This radioactivity will spread and will in some way affect marine life and the atmosphere.

From my standpoint, the only things that seem to be growing are desertification, population, hunger and poverty.

In our country, the cold temperature has spread, although we are still recovering from the recent typhoons that hit Mindanao. Just a few days ago, Cebu and Negros were hit by a severe earthquake. The entire population of Cebu City was in panic. The earthquake damaged property and killed many people. An advisory was sent out for a tsunami warning.

The signs are indeed being manifested.

The Rio Plus 20 Earth Summit is around the corner and the way things are going, dire predictions may be close to reality.

We must all act with resolve, or face the consequences.

Our planet’s life is in peril.

Do your rightful share to save Mother Earth -- for the planet cannot take much more.

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(Antonio M. Claparols is President of the Ecological Society of the Philippines, IUCN- Member IUCN-CEESP. Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ; This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ; http//www.esp.org.ph).