The two broods – one concentrated in US Midwestern states and the other in the South and Midwest, with a small area of overlap in Illinois – emerge together only once every 221 years.

Here is an explanation of what is expected to occur during this “dual emergence.”

What is a cicada?

Cicadas are relatively large insects – 1-2 inches (2.5-5 cm) long – possessing sturdy bodies, bulging compound eyes and membranous wings. There are many different kinds of cicadas.

Using needle-like mouthparts, cicadas feed on plant juices, called xylem, drawn from the roots of deciduous trees and shrubs. They spend much of their life cycle – years on end – underground as nymphs feeding on roots and drinking xylem.

After they emerge, adult males “sing” to attract females using special organs called tymbals on the first segment of the abdomen. The song pitch, tone, frequency and volume are specific to individual species. Cicadas live as adults for just a few weeks, then die after reproducing. Numerous birds and mammals eat cicadas.

How do periodical and annual cicadas differ?

With annual cicadas, some individuals emerge during any given year. They spend one to nine years underground as nymphs, varying by species, and do not have a synchronized emergence. Instead, they emerge on a staggered basis.

Periodical cicadas have more specific and longer lengths of time spent underground as nymphs – generally 13 years or 17 years – and a synchronized emergence. That means that all members of a particular brood emerge the same year, from late April into June, depending on their location. All of the periodical cicadas sharing the same life cycle that emerge together in a given year are called a brood, although any one species may be part of different broods.

There are more than 3,000 species of cicadas worldwide, but only nine are periodical, and seven of those – of the genus Magicicada – are found in North America. In India, a periodical species of the genus Chremistica emerges every four years, while in Fiji, a periodical species of the genus Raiataena emerges every eight years.

What 2 broods are involved in this year’s dual emergence?

Brood XIII, on a 17-year cycle, is restricted mostly to northern Illinois, eastern Iowa, southern Wisconsin and a few counties in extreme northwestern Indiana, according to entomologist Floyd Shockley of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington. Brood XIII includes three Magicicada species.

Brood XIX, on a 13-year cycle, is widely distributed from Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia – a total of 15 states, according to Shockley. Brood XIX includes four Magicicada species.

These two broods together span parts of 17 states but overlap only in a small area in central Illinois. They are close enough potentially to have some interbreeding between broods.

When will this dual emergence occur?

Periodical cicadas are expected to begin emerging in the southern parts of their geographical distribution in mid-April. The emergence continues northward into June. Given that most broods produce localized population numbers exceeding 1.5 million cicadas per acre (0.4 hectare) in densely populated areas of their distribution, there easily will be more than a trillion cicadas during this emergence, according to Shockley.

When was the last such ‘dual emergence’?

This will mark the first time that a 13-year brood emerges in the same year as a 17-year brood since 2015. The last time that adjacent 13-and 17-year broods emerged in the same year was 1998, according to University of Connecticut evolutionary biologist John Cooley. Brood XIX, one of the two popping out this year, emerged in 1998 at the same time as Brood IV, which spans Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas.

The next time two 13-and 17-year broods will emerge the same year will not be until 2037 and the next time adjacent 13-and 17-year broods emerge together will not be until 2076, Cooley said.

What do cicadas do when they emerge?

The cicadas begin emerging, mainly at night, once the soil warms to about 64 degrees Fahrenheit (17.8 degrees C), according to George Washington University entomologist John Lill. These nymphs crawl up any hard surfaces – tree trunks, fences, vegetation – and molt into adult winged cicadas.

After a few days, adults fly into the tree canopy, where males form loud “choruses,” calling to females by vibrating their tymbals. Males have rather hollow abdomens, serving as echo chambers to amplify their calls. Cicadas are among the loudest insects. Females that are attracted to a particular male’s call respond with wing flicks, which also make a sound. Pairs then mate.

Once mated, female cicadas seek pencil-sized branches of trees and shrubs in sunny locations to lay their eggs into slits they cut in branches, according to Lill. These eggs develop for about six to seven weeks, after which hatched nymphs drop to the ground and burrow to begin the next generation of periodical cicadas.

When will this bug-tastic event occur next?

These two broods last emerged in the same year in 1803. The next time is set for 2245. – Rappler.com

The case, filed on Wednesday, March 13, at the Tournai commercial court, is the first climate change-related lawsuit in Belgium to target a multinational company.

It follows a case in which thousands of citizens successfully sued the Belgian government to demand stronger greenhouse gas emissions cuts.

A spokesperson for TotalEnergies declined to comment on the case.

Hugues Falys, who farms a herd of cattle in the municipality of Lessines, argues that, as one of the world’s top 20 CO2-emitting companies, TotalEnergies is partly responsible for damage extreme weather did to his operations from 2016-2022.

During that period, successive droughts reduced the yield of his meadows where he grows fodder for the animals – forcing him to buy feed and, eventually, reduce the size of his herd.

“We are an activity completely dependent on the climate,” Falys told Reuters.

He argues TotalEnergies has failed to comply with Belgian law, which states anyone who causes damage must make reparations for it. It is a similar argument to the one used against the Belgian government in the previous climate case.

Falys and three campaign groups joining the legal action are seeking an injunction that would force TotalEnergies to overhaul its business plan.

Their demands include that the company immediately halt investments in new fossil fuel projects, and reduce its oil and gas production each by 47% by 2030.

They also seek damages – which, if awarded, Falys intends to donate to a sustainable farming organization in Belgium. – Rappler.com

“While the recent landslide tested our resilience, it also strengthened our commitment to help our hosts and [impacted] barangays build a better fortress against the threats of nature,” said Luis Sarmiento, president and CEO of APEX Mining Company Incorporated (AMCI), during a hearing at the House of Representatives on Tuesday, March 12.

He added: “As our 54-year history has shown, we are here for the long haul.”

Sarmiento also told the members of the House committee on disaster resilience that AMCI follows sustainability mining practices and international standards on safety and transparency. Aside from rescue operations, they have also provided the local government a temporary relocation site, Sarmiento said.

“Much remains to be done. We continue leveling the ground zero and helping the evacuees go back to their normal lives. We have lent our property in Malamodao to the LGU as a temporary relocation facility.”

The landslide at Barangay Masara in Maco town killed at least 98 residents including nine mining employees. It happened just 570 meters from the mining site’s gate and two to three kilometers from active mine operations.

Environmental groups said that AMCI must be held responsible for what happened and demanded an investigation into the link between mining operations and recurring landslides in Maco town.

Gabriela Representative Arlene Brosas said large-scale mining destroys not only the environment, but kills workers and deprives people of their homes. She called on the administration to “suspend all large-scale mining companies in the country to prevent the destruction of our environment.”

“Mamamayan ang bumabalikat sa matinding epekto ng large-scale mining habang ang malalaking kumpanya ay patuloy na kumikita,” Brosas said.

(It’s the people who bear the brunt of the harsh effects of large-scale mining, while huge companies rake in the profits.)

Must Watch

Rappler Talk: UPRI’s Likha Minimo on lessons from the Davao de Oro landslide

Status quo

While AMCI continues operations, progress in permanently relocating residents away from the landslide-prone areas is slow.

The disaster renewed discussions on the implementation of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau’s (MGB) recommendation to declare the landslide prone area as a no-build zone.

During the hearing, the MGB said that while they have been doing regular geohazard assessments since 2008, they could only make recommendations to the local government.

Meanwhile, Maco Mayor Voltaire Rimando said MGB permitted the local government through geohazard certificates to rebuild the Masara Integrated School in 2017 and a new barangay hall in 2021.

“We consulted the stakeholder concerned, such as the MGB, to ensure that opening the school in the geohazard area will be safe…as a result Masara Integrated School resumed its classes after 9 years,” said Rimando.

“In 2021, [a new] barangay hall was established in Zone 1 which is the ground zero of 2008. The same was cleared in the MGB.”

Before that, in 2011, Rimando said the barangay council of Masara submitted before them an adopted resolution urging the local government to allow the displaced residents to return to their homes. Attached to the resolution is a signature petition from the displaced residents. At that time, Rimando said “the Sangguniang Bayan decided not to act on this matter.”

Despite the geohazard certificates presented by Rimando during the hearing, Cagayan de Oro 2nd District Representative Rufus Rodriguez said that responsibility still falls on the local government to protect its people.

Rodriguez said the MGB does not have police power, and the local government has autonomy. “The power…is in the Sanggunian,” said Rogriguez. “It is your obligation not to allow any building.” – Rappler.com

Many candidates will target the youth vote despite being quite old themselves.  In India, a nation with a median age of 27, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is 73. US President Joe Biden, age 81, is looking to young people to secure his second term in November’s election, a presidency that he would complete at 86.

The votes of this youthful demographic were crucial in February’s Indonesian election, where candidates narrowed in on TikTok and the community’s affinity with K-Pop to get young people to vote for eventual winner, 72-year-old Prabowo Subianto.

However, it’s debatable whether courting young voters will extend to listening to them about the world that they wish to live in.

Reactionary voices tend to undermine the advocacy of young voters due to their supposed inexperience of hard times. From clickbait articles calling Gen Z lazy, all the way back to Aristotle, who termed young people “high-minded because they have not yet been humbled by life.”

Yet, when it comes to climate change, hundreds of thousands of young people have made their beliefs clearly felt.

In 2018, 15-year-old schoolgirl Greta Thunberg sat outside the Swedish parliament, demanding climate action. Six years later, Thunberg’s solo protest has grown into a global youth movement, involving millions of young people from around 270 countries.

In 2019, Thunberg told the European parliament that “our house is falling apart and our leaders need to start acting accordingly.”

In 2024, young people across the world are marching in the streets, launching school strikes, petitioning politicians and taking governments to court in a bid to get climate action.

In Australia, a student-run network made history with a 350,000-strong rally across the country in 2021, the largest climate mobilisation in Australia’s history. The protesters ignored pleas from the government to stay in school, arguing that more action is needed to address the climate crisis.

As the window to curb global warming to 2 degrees Celsius closes, more young people are getting angry about climate change. And researchers think that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Climate anger and other emotions

Anger is a common emotional response to a perceived injustice, immorality or an obstacle to a desired goal.

Psychologists associate anger with a moral violation, often attributed to external agents who intentionally act against or fail to act towards a preferred objective.

People concerned about climate change often mention feeling angry or frustrated, which experts refer to as ‘climate anger’ or ‘eco-anger’.

A 2022 study discovered that climate change evoked feelings of anger, shame, guilt and disappointment among its 530 respondents aged 16 to 24 in the UK. They felt guilty about their own contributions to climate change and were uncertain that their actions to combat it would have any significant effect.

Researchers in the US also reported an increase in climate anger among young people. Drawing from a survey of 20,000 respondents, they found younger generations felt greater anger because they felt their futures were at risk, blaming older generations for the crisis.

However, people in the Global South feel quite different about climate change.

In a survey of 10,000 young people from 10 countries, more respondents from the Philippines, India and Brazil reported feelings of fear and anxiety than respondents from Australia, UK and France. Heightened worry was lowest in the United States, where only 46 percent of young people surveyed felt concerned about climate change.

The content of climate anger

The anger of young people towards climate change has a few causes.

One is human action or inaction. In a study conducted among 2000 young people in Norway, anger was associated with ongoing activities that accelerate global warming, as well as beliefs about poor government response. Human qualities such as indifference, denialism and prioritising money over the environment also infuriated respondents.

The double injustice of climate change where the least responsible for causing it are most harmed and have the fewest resources to cope with its consequences, also drew anger from younger generations. Other scholars found expressions of anger were related to an inability to create change for the future.

Anger was also relevant when participants felt a lack of engagement from those in power or people in general.

Young people who felt their emotions and concerns about climate change were not listened to or silenced felt angry and betrayed.

Anger as a fuel for action

While conventional wisdom indicates that anger has negative effects on health and well-being, recent studies show that anger is a powerful enough emotion to spur climate action.

Researchers from the London School of Economics stress the power of mobilising anger to increase collective action to remedy a perceived injustice. They claim that anger works as a motivational signal that convinces more people that others will soon act and this makes them want to join.

A growing body of research also indicates that expressions of public outrage are more likely to be re-shared on social media sites than neutral content.

Other scholars contend that collective anger expressed through climate marches helped promote information-seeking about climate change.

A study in Australia further revealed that expressions of anger can help one’s mental health.

Maintaining the rage

Given our climate predicament, young people are right to be mad. Some will eventually feel overwhelmed and burned out.

Providing safe spaces for them to continue to voice their climate anger may help prevent that. Being heard can help address feelings of powerlessness, as well as build camaraderie and support.

The adults also need to do their part. Adult allies who acknowledge intergenerational injustices, validate emotional experiences and support youth capabilities can help provide reassurance and fuel transformative action.

These strategies will help ensure that the fight of our young people for a more liveable and sustainable future will not lose its momentum. 360info/Rappler.com

Dr Justin See is a postdoctoral research fellow in climate change adaptation from the Sydney Environment Institute at the University of Sydney.

Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

Puerto Princesa City, through its City Environment and Natural Resources Office (City ENRO) established an arboretum, a botanical collection of trees within the city’s nature park near the New City Hall which will house both endemic and native trees. The establishment of this arboretum started during a yearly event that nurtures Balayong trees within the city’s Balayong People’s Park back in July 2023.

Carlo Gomez, City Environment and Natural Resources Officer, said the arboretum will serve as a center for research and a bioreserve that will potentially attract visitors, students, and researchers. 

Gomez emphasized that their office focused on planting endemic, native, or fruit-bearing trees because it supports biodiversity and wildlife. 

These include the Inyam tree, the fruit of which is a favorite food of birds. Narra, the Philippines’ national tree, also attracts plenty of insects for pollination due to its fragrant flowers and leaves. Banaba and Bani trees too, with their flowers and canopies attracted pollinators like bees.

The Kamuning tree is also found in the arboretum. Kamuning is known scientifically as Murraya paniculata and is considered a medicinal plant used for gas pains, sprain, bone pain, and snake bites. In Malaysia, its leaves are widely used as food flavor additives for cuisine, specifically in preparing meat, fish, and soup and flavor curries. 

Endemic trees are those only found in Palawan, including the endemic ironwood species known as Palawan Mangkono (Xanthostemon speciosus). 

Other trees that Puerto Princesa City ENRO is prioritizing were native trees known in their local names as Bakawan Gubat, Agoho, Alalod, Balayong, Balite, Batino, Bignay, Bayok, Bogo, Burawis, Bunog, Dao, Ipil, Iniol, Gatasan, Duguan, Kalantas, Kasoy, Lapnisan, Langka, Lanite, Lumaraw  Malabagtik, Malakatmon, Malabakawan, Mulawin, Pangi, Pasi, Putian, Red Nato, Repetek, Sahing, Siar, Talisay, Talisay gubat, Taluto, Ururingin, Tanabag, White Nato, among others, said Forester Sheryl Ampas-Paed.

Senior Environmental Management Specialist (SEMS) Forester Zorina C. Arellano, who heads City ENRO’s Forest Management Division said that native trees are linked to the well-being of insects, birds, and wildlife species that naturally occur in an area, thus it is important to consider native trees compared to exotic and introduced trees. 

She explained that native trees, especially fruiting trees support wildlife and biodiversity like mammals, avian species, bees, and others that form part of the biodiversity. Native trees should be planted and not an invasive introduced species, which might limit biodiversity. Invasive species will dominate an area and cause other trees to vanish.

“Native trees are their habitats, and these birds and wildlife are dependent on them,” she said. 

Protecting the birds, too

Environmental Management Specialist Myla Adriano said that in order to intensify public awareness campaigns they conducted puppet shows in schools and the barangays as part of raising student’s awareness of the importance of birds and wildlife.

She emphasized the need to protect wildlife habitats as they are the animals’ sources of food, For instance, the endemic Palawan hornbill (Anthracoceros marchei) is a large forest bird that is only found in Palawan. Also endemic in Palawan is the iconic Palawan Peacock Pheasant, locally known as the tandikan. 

She explained that birds also take seeds and disperse them through their droppings, therefore bringing plants back to ecosystems that have been destroyed.

Gerald Opiala, a government employee and a landscape designer explained that in landscaping it is important to incorporate water which is vital to birds and wildlife’s existence. 

Landscape with a bird bath or any water features supports wildlife, especially birds and other avian species affected by dry weather and scarcity of water. 

“Meron bird bath kasi ang mga ibon ay nag-su-suffer during drought kaya may mitigation measures tayo. Yun ang support natin sa wildlife natin lalo na sa mga ibon. Ito yung obligation po natin sa nature kasi itong bird bath ay iniinuman din ng mga birds kasi nahihirapan yan sila kung may drought lalo na dito sa urban areas,” he explained. (There’s a bird bath because birds suffer during drought and these are some mitigation measures. This is our support to our wildlife and birds. This is our obligation to nature because birds drink water in our bird baths, especially during droughts in urban areas)

Birds and avian species play an important role in our ecosystem, emphasized Gomez who is also a professional birder and bird photographer, being an official of the Wild Bird Photographers of the Philippines (WBPP).  

He explained that they are indicators of a healthy environment.

“Ang mga ibon ay nagbibigay ng important barometer na healthy pa ang ating environment (Birds give an important barometer of whether the environment is healthy or not),” City ENRO Gomez said. – Rappler.com

Gerardo C. Reyes Jr. is a community journalist at Palawan Daily News and is an Aries Rufo journalism fellow of Rappler for 2023-2024.

The situation was exacerbated during the pandemic, when the government imposed restrictions and prohibited cars and public utility vehicles from plying the roads.

Because of this, many people have turned to biking as an alternative mode of transport. In response, local governments across the country created pop-up bike lanes. The Department of Transportation (DOTr) even opened the 313-kilometer bike lane network in Metro Manila in 2021. 

But just how friendly are Metro Manila’s roads for bike commuters? 

To find out how bike-friendly Metro Manila is, Rappler rode a loop of 120 kilometers around the capital in January for a documentary. Riding 100 kilometers or more is part of the bucket list of many bikers due to its sheer distance and the challenge it poses.

Play Video

The loop covered Pasig, Marikina, Quezon City, Valenzuela, Malabon, Caloocan, Manila, Pasay, Parañaque, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, and Taguig.

The loop went through 21 major roads:

The East Service Road was split into two in the reviews, owing to the completely different conditions of the section from Muntinlupa to Bicutan beside the South Luzon Expressway, and the section from Bicutan Circle to C-5 in Taguig. In the former, there was no bike lane and the road was two-way, making it hard to overtake. The bike lane began northbound after Bicutan Circle.

This brought the total number of assessed road segments to 22.

The accumulated mileage of all roads assessed was 84 kilometers. The rest of the 120-kilometer loop involved inner and connecting roads. 

How we graded bike-friendliness

To assess bike-friendliness, Rappler drew up criteria evaluating the bike lanes using four factors: lane width, road conditions, obstructions, and segregation. 

These are factors that affect a biker’s safety on the road, also take into account the infrastructure the government put in place, and gauge the attitude of other motorists with respect to the lane and the bike commuter.

Only portions of the major roads covered in the loop were measured in the scorecard. 

Lane width was evaluated using the Department of Public Works and Highways’ (DPWH) guidelines. Under Department Order (DO) No. 88 series of 2020, the DPWH prescribes a minimum of 1.22 meters to make way for a one-directional bike lane. The standard should measure 2.44 meters for a bidirectional bike lane. 

Sections without bike lanes were graded an automatic zero. 

Lane widths in Valenzuela and Malabon along Manila North Road differed slightly and were measured separately.

To assess road conditions, Rappler counted the number of manhole covers, potholes, steel plates, and drain grates. 

On sections without bike lanes, manhole covers, potholes, steel plates, and drain grates placed on the rightmost side of the road, or where a bike commuter would most probably pass, were counted.

For obstructions, moving and parked vehicles, pipe laying works, and vendors encroaching on the bike lanes were also counted. 

On sections without bike lanes, parked vehicles, pipe laying works, and vendors on the rightmost side of the road or where a bike commuter would most probably pass were likewise counted.

Rappler did not count moving vehicles sideswiping as there were no lanes whatsoever to count as encroachment. 

We graded segregation based on infrastructure used: dashed painted lines, solid painted lines, solid painted lines with occasional barriers, and solid painted lines with barriers. 

A completely segregated bikeway, as seen only along C-6, got a perfect score. 

We rode the same route another time in February to measure lane widths and assess road conditions. Obstructions were counted from the footage taken by the camera installed on the bike on the day the documentary was filmed in January.

What we found

Ten out of the 22 segments rated poorly – this is 45% of the segments evaluated.

Bike-friendliness of a segment or city does not only rely on infrastructure, but also on quality, maintenance, and people’s attitudes toward active modes of transport.

C-6, which got an excellent score in segregation, failed when it came to obstructions because its wide bike lanes, at 2.95 meters, were predominantly used as parking spaces.

East Avenue in Quezon City was the only bike lane with sections of concrete barriers in the whole loop. It was 1 out of 4 segments that scored the highest under segregation, with a score of 3.

But East Avenue got an average score on obstructions for the same reason, as some of the concrete barriers were already broken – becoming another hazard that bike commuters have to be wary of.

Rizal Avenue, which traverses Caloocan and Manila, scored zero on all factors. The avenue connecting the north to the capital did not have bike lanes.

It had dismal road conditions and many obstructions, such as parked vehicles and several pipe laying works that would push the biker either toward the center or the left lane.

Roxas Boulevard, a major thoroughfare almost synonymous with Manila, got a failing mark. The Manila side of the boulevard did not have a bike lane despite being relatively wider than other roads in the city.

The bike lane along Roxas Boulevard started only from Pasay onwards. Along Parañaque, the lane was just a strip of solid white lines without a bicycle road marking.

Daang Reyna, despite not having any bike lanes at all, scored a 10 because of minimal roadblocks and obstructions. This could be attributed to the socioeconomic profile of the neighborhood, the wide space, and the less stressful environment because of the reduced volume of cars.

Bonifacio Global City (BGC) and C-6 segments scored the highest in the scorecard – but for different reasons.

BGC had better road conditions and little to no obstructions. But while C-6 had better conditions, the segment scored low on obstructions despite having the best segregation among all segments.

In a nutshell:

• Manila – represented by Rizal Avenue and its share of Roxas Boulevard – did not prioritize the establishment of bike lanes. Rizal Avenue got zero on all factors. It had no bike lanes, road conditions were dismal, and obstructions abounded.
• Las Piñas, via Diego Cera Avenue and Alabang-Zapote Road, may have wider lanes than most (both measuring 1.52 meters) but it failed to keep off obstructions. Road conditions were dismal.
• Taguig, via C-6, showed the best bike infrastructure. It was the road segment that got the highest score among others, getting a good rating. However, strict enforcement in C-6 was lacking as vehicles were parked on the segregated bike path.
• Quezon City was the only local government Rappler saw to have ongoing construction of bike infrastructure, while others’ bike infrastructure were slowly diminishing or hardly maintained. It was also the only local government to employ dedicated bike patrollers.
• Almost all of the bike lanes (95%) we passed in Metro Manila only had painted bike strips. Only 4 road segments had the occasional bollards or barriers.

While this report looked at width, conditions, obstructions, and segregation, the bike lane network in Metro Manila could be assessed further by connectivity, materials used on the lanes, and general maintenance.

Nighttime commuting by bike is also a different experience that could be evaluated separately.

Aside from the bike lane network, the quality of the commuting trip of a cyclist also depends on the availability of end-of-trip facilities like bike parking and shower areas in offices and establishments.

A separate road

Painted lanes with no bollards or other forms of barriers still open the bike lane to the encroachment of other vehicles. But this is the only infrastructure that a majority of bike lanes in Metro Manila can speak of.

So what should a bike lane network look like?

“If you want a network, you have to plan the bike lanes,” Jose Regin Regidor, director of the University of the Philippines Institute of Civil Engineering, told Rappler in an interview. “As if it’s a separate road.”

Regidor is one of the research fellows at the National Center for Transportation Studies who helped in formulating the Bike Lane Master Plan back in 2022. This was a joint effort between the DOTr and the United Nations Development Programme.

Even a master plan like this, said Regidor, should be reviewed regularly every three to five years.

Some of the existing popular guidelines for bike lane networks are the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), the Netherlands’ CROW Design Manual for Bicycle Traffic (CROW), and the design guide from the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO).

In the Netherlands, more than 25% of trips are done by riding a bike, according to a 2018 briefer by the Dutch research agency National Institute for Public Health and the Environment.

“The number of bicycles in the country outnumbers the amount of people,” the briefer read. “Cycling is part of our way of life.”

This has contributed to a decrease in air and noise pollution, decongestion of roads, increased physical activity among low-income and ethnic minority adults, and economic benefits for users and establishment owners. 

Gaps in design and mindset

In 2022, at the height of the pandemic cycling boom, the DOTr allotted P2 billion for cycling infrastructure in the country. The budget has since decreased in the following years, going down to P750 million in 2023 and P500 million in 2024.

In the same year, the DOTr opened its active transport office, which started as an ad hoc team.

Without any precedent to follow, the government largely based its bike infrastructure guidelines on NACTO since the Philippines’ road configuration is similar to that of the US.

Because of the novelty of Metro Manila’s bike infrastructure, there were design gaps in implementation.

An example would be the bike lane width. Under DO 88, the minimum width is 1.22 meters, but in the middle of implementation, the government had to revise guidelines to 1.5 meters after it became apparent that a 1.22-meter lane was too small, said Eldon Dionisio, project manager at the active transport office at DOTr.

Dionisio told Rappler that many local government units measured the bike lane from the outer rim of the pavement marking when they should have been measuring by operational width or the open space between two lanes.

Another gap in design is connectivity. Right now, there’s a push to remove bike lanes on national roads like EDSA. But Dionisio said this should not be the case.

“One main principle when you’re building a bike lane network is that it should be direct because cyclists use their own energy to move,” Dionisio said in a mix of Filipino and English. “You should provide them the most direct route.”

Beyond the gaps in design and infrastructure, the bigger struggle lies in entities that do not have active transport in their priorities. Dionisio called this a “misalignment of priorities.”

“We encounter, every now and then, apprehensions from different entities – may it be an individual, a group, an office, an agency – against building active transport infrastructure.”

Better public transport

For the longest time, Filipinos think in terms of using cars or commuting by public transport to go from one point to another.

Other modes of transport, like bikes, are seen as a cause of congestion rather than an additional mode of transport that people can use. A common argument against bike lanes is that they only contribute to more congestion of roads. But the conversation must go beyond car users and bikers, said Regidor.

“We’re always pitting the cars and the bikes when, in fact, the problem is public transport,” he said.

The professor said that there’s a natural synergy between good public transport and a working bike lane network.

In other countries in Europe, for example, commuters can take their bike with them on the train so that their bike commute trip is augmented by public transport.

For example, Regidor said that the current state of bike lanes along Marcos Highway could use some improvement, given that the highway is wide and there’s already a rail rapid transit line in the area. 

Currently, the bike lane along Marcos Highway is 1.14 meters wide. At its widest, the bike lane measured 2.2 meters. But the wide lane was painted on the sidewalk and ended abruptly because of a barrier at a right turn where vehicles turn to enter Marikina.

That Marcos Highway remains congested during rush hours means more people are still opting to use cars.

Are people really shifting from private cars to public transport? We need to determine why they don’t.

Jose Regin Regidor

Making headway

Most bike lanes sprang across Metro Manila during the pandemic, when healthcare professionals and frontliners had to use bikes or other modes of active transport to get around. The national government then came out with guidelines for the establishment of bike lanes.

As restrictions eased and people went back to normal, most local governments also neglected to maintain the bike lanes. Bollards were removed, and paint started to fade. But one local government did the opposite by continuing to establish better lanes.

Even before the DPWH released DO No. 88, Quezon City had already started augmenting its 55-kilometer bike lane network that already existed before the pandemic.

According to Alberto Kimpo, assistant city administrator for operations in Quezon City, they used the AASHTO and NACTO guidelines in establishing the city’s bike lanes during the pandemic.

They used an engineering undergraduate thesis written by a staff member, plotting the ideal routes of bike lanes within the city.

Many advocates say that with the right infrastructure, more people will turn to bike commuting to get around.

But this is a problem that local governments have to contend with. Kimpo said that they are still in the process of generating more bike users. In 2021, they counted 22,000 biking trips in a two-week period; in the following year, the number dropped to 19,000 biking trips.

Aside from generating users, there’s also the issue of making do with the limited space available.

“It is a movement, it is a utilization of space that we really need to push as of the moment and to get more users to benefit from it,” Kimpo said in a mix of Filipino and English in an interview with Rappler.

“The roadways are not designed for active mobility. There is also a constant push for road widening.”

Still, Quezon City is continuing efforts to make bike lanes amid the failure of other local governments to maintain the lanes they created during the pandemic. A master plan is on the way.

Currently, the city is endeavoring to construct a Class I bike lane along the Quezon Memorial Circle in collaboration with the DOTr. A Class I bike lane is a designated protected path separate from a motor vehicle roadway. An existing example of a Class I bike lane in the Philippines is located along the Iloilo Diversion Road.

The Quezon Memorial Circle is set to have an elevated 3-meter bike lane made of red asphalt, planting strips, and another lane for pedestrians.

The push to prioritize active mobility relies on a clear vision and political will, said Kimpo.

“Of course, it also follows that the city takes very seriously its commitments vis-à-vis climate change.”

To a certain extent, political will could prevail over funding issues.

“There’s money,” said Kimpo. “Government will always have resources for these things. It’s really just a matter of channeling it towards the right investments that need to be done.” – Rappler.com

Improving active transportation facilities and policies is part of the call of various groups to #MakeManilaLiveable. On Rappler, we have created a dedicated space for stories and reports about liveability in Philippine cities. Learn more about the movement here.

Since the pandemic, more people have turned to biking to get around. As a response, the government put up bike lanes across the metro. To find out how bike-friendly Metro Manila is, Rappler rode a loop of 120 kilometers around the capital in January for a documentary. Riding 100 kilometers or more is part of the bucket list of many bikers due to its sheer distance and the challenge it poses.

The loop covered Pasig, Marikina, Quezon City, Valenzuela, Malabon, Caloocan, Manila, Pasay, Parañaque, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, and Taguig.

To assess bike-friendliness, Rappler drew up criteria evaluating the bike lanes using four factors: lane width, road conditions, obstructions, and segregation. 

These are factors that affect a biker’s safety on the road, also take into account the infrastructure the government put in place, and gauge the attitude of other motorists with respect to the lane and the bike commuter.

Only portions of the major roads covered in the loop were measured in the scorecard. 

But how safe is Metro Manila for bikers? Rappler’s Iya Gozum biked a 120-kilometer loop in Metro Manila to find out. – Rappler.com

Reporter/writer: Iya Gozum
Producer/field director: Nina Liu
Supervising producer: Beth Frondoso
Video editor: JP San Pedro
Environment editor: Jee Geronimo
Animator: David Castuciano
Graphic artists: Raffy de Guzman, Marian Hukom, Nico Villarete
Director of photography: Jeff Digma
Second camera operator: Errol Almario
Assistant cameramen: Danny Espina, Ramil Cedeno

Improving active transportation facilities and policies is part of the call of various groups to #MakeManilaLiveable. On Rappler, we have created a dedicated space for stories and reports about liveability in Philippine cities. Learn more about the movement here.

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA), the agency tasked with monitoring the reef’s health, confirmed that “a widespread, often called mass, coral bleaching event is unfolding” across the reef.

“While the area’s aerial surveys are showing that the coral bleaching is extensive in the shallow water areas, we will need in-water surveys to confirm the severity of the coral bleaching and also what the depth range is,” Roger Beeden, Chief Scientist at GBRMPA, said in a video message.

Beeden said the bleaching follows on from similar reports on reefs around the world due to elevated sea surface temperatures primarily driven by climate change but amplified by the impacts from the El Nino phenomenon, which usually results in warmer ocean waters. (READ: Australia’s Great Barrier Reef off UNESCO danger list, still under ‘serious threat’)

The news comes after the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration earlier this week said the world was on the verge of a fourth mass coral bleaching event which could see wide swathes of tropical reefs die, including parts of the Great Barrier Reef.

The World Wide Fund for Nature-Australia said the fifth mass bleaching event in eight years showed climate change was putting “tremendous pressure” on the reef.

“WWF is very concerned that this bleaching event is unfolding in an area where corals have not been previously exposed to these extreme temperatures. Unless we see a significant drop off in temperatures in the next few weeks, the risk of significant coral mortality is high,” Richard Leck, WWF-Australia’s Head of Oceans, said in a statement.

Bleaching causes corals to expel the colorful algae living in their tissues and turn white. Coral can survive a bleaching event but it can stunt growth and affect reproduction.

Australia has been lobbying for years to keep the reef – which contributes about A$6 billion ($4 billion) to the economy and supports 64,000 jobs – off UNESCO’s endangered list as it could lead to losing the heritage status, taking some shine off its attraction for tourists. – Rappler.com

$1 = 1.5103 Australian dollars

In the Philippines, business tycoons are even teaming up for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility in Batangas, signaling efforts to quickly mainstream energy transition. LNG is often regarded as a transitional fuel between coal and renewable energy sources.

Each passing year, the threat of breaching 1.5 degrees Celsius in global temperature becomes increasingly real. As the world warms, the world becomes more vulnerable to extreme weather events, rising sea levels, food insecurity, and biodiversity loss.

The world relies on the burning of fossil fuels to generate electricity. Because of dirty energy sources, the sector accounts for three-quarters of global emissions.

Now, countries are scrambling to get the critical minerals needed to build renewable energy sources such as solar or wind power to hit net-zero targets by 2050. But the rush to transition could, in fact, harm the environment and workers, especially those employed in the fossil fuel industry such as coal miners.

Clean energy transition needs to happen faster. But first, it has to be just. That’s why the climate movement, while demanding the urgent shift to renewables, also demands a “just energy transition.”

But what does that mean?

It’s a term thrown around in climate conferences, understood mostly by advocates but remaining a buzzword for many people.

Where did the idea come from?

Francis dela Cruz, advisor for policy group Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities, told Rappler in an interview: “The energy transition is about looking after those who will be displaced by the transition away from fossil fuels like coal into renewable energy sources.”

Dela Cruz, who has been advocating for just energy since the 1990s when discussions revolved around consumer rights, said he first got wind of the concept during the 2014 United Nations (UN) Conference of the Parties held in Lima, Peru.

It was the time when the climate movement and labor unions came together, according to Dela Cruz. “That’s why they were talking about retooling, reskilling.”

Simply put, with just energy transition, workers are placed at the heart of a low-carbon economy.

A labor issue

How will this work?

Private companies, for example, will make sure workers of coal-fired power plants slated for closure will get support. Or the government trains displaced workers and women on, say, assembling and operating equipment found in solar farms.

According to the UN, there is no strict roadmap to implement just transition. “Just transition should not exacerbate inequalities and must be undertaken in a way that supports affected workers,” the UN wrote in a 2023 report.

The international body stressed that there needs to be social safety nets in place and that governments must create decent jobs.

It emphasized the role that labor unions play in achieving net-zero targets. Labor unions can initiate dialogues between employers and workers on compensation during transitions, and they can organize to raise workers’ issues to concerned government agencies.

Citing an example, the UN report said, “In the Philippines, a national trade union federation works with energy cooperatives to promote renewable energy.”

The country wants to increase by 2030 renewable sources in the energy mix at 35% then even higher at 50% by 2040. Under the clean energy scenario in the Philippine Energy Plan, transformation in the sector should reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 12%.

Renewables not without problems

Beyond the labor issues, the energy transition will also affect and can damage the environment.

The increased demand in critical minerals needed to shift to renewables will mean more extraction. This could exacerbate labor and human rights abuses and environmental degradation already entrenched in the industry if left unregulated by governments.

“When shifting away from fossil fuels towards renewable energy, the transformation of energy systems must also ensure responsible minerals extraction, and must not simply shift exploitation and land grabs to new areas,” the UN report read.

Solar and wind farms need vast tracts of land. Vast lands, mostly those used for agriculture, are being eyed by investors for conversion. For instance, in Tarlac, a largely agricultural province, rice farms have already been converted to solar farms. A cost-benefit analysis released in 2021 noted that while there are considerable economic benefits in the conversion of rice farms to solar farms, rice supply for more than 200,000 people a year would have to be foregone.

In addition, wildlife habitats are at risk of fragmentation. When tracts of land get converted eventually to solar and wind farms, this could alter birds’ migration patterns.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said offshore wind power development could affect behaviors of marine species, life cycle stages, and release contaminants that could be absorbed by marine life.

Must Watch

Rappler Talk: ACEN CEO Eric Francia on making headway toward a clean energy future

How justice should look

Despite the new problems that arise with the advent of renewables, just energy transition is opening opportunities for humanity to change existing inequalities.

In a report published in 2022, development organization Oxfam International wrote that given the transition, it’s possible for the world to achieve universal energy access, create green jobs, and protect consumers from volatile fuel prices.

“Without a focus on justice, the transition risks undermining human rights and entrenching existing and historic injustices and inequalities,” the report read.

The transformed energy sector that is a product of a just transition must be affordable, reliable, and accessible to the public. How can this happen? There are a few ways:

Poor countries get financing from both public and private sectors. Countries most vulnerable to climate change impacts are often those that are unable to afford the high upfront costs of clean energy.

More than $1.7 trillion was invested in clean energy in 2023, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). The trend continues to increase as powerful countries make strides in investments and energy and security goals.

However, the IEA found that investment remains uneven across the world. Leading the investments is China, followed by the European Union, then the United States (US). China and the US are among the top polluters in the world.

“Advanced economies and China account for 80% of global spending and for almost all of the growth in recent years,” the IEA wrote in its report.

Majority of these investments come from the private sector, according to the IEA.

During the last UN climate summit in Dubai, several countries and organizations launched the Coal Transition Accelerator, which aims to “unlock new sources of public and private financing to facilitate just transitions from coal to clean energy.”

Financing will not only support the establishment of renewable sources, but also the improvement of a weak grid infrastructure that delays connections of already existing farms. This is a problem that pesters not only the Philippines but other countries, too.

This is the same underlying principle of the loss and damage fund, where rich polluters help vulnerable countries mitigate the harmful effects of climate change. (READ: Phaseout of fossil fuels an aspiration ‘we need to afford,’ says DENR chief)

A responsible extractive industry that recycles. The extractive industry is undeniably at the core of the energy transition.

The industry provides the critical minerals needed for components in clean energy, like batteries and solar cells. For example, most electric vehicles now use lithium-ion batteries.

While damage can only be minimized, it will make more economic and environmental sense to recycle the materials mined. For instance, copper, used in cables, turbines, and generators, could be recycled without loss of properties.

Recycling materials can help advance a circular economy in the mining and metals industries, minimizing waste and making sure emissions are not for naught.

However, recycling efforts must be increased to keep up with the fast-tracked extraction of minerals.

Groups, communities should benefit and have a say in development. This does not only mean indigenous peoples and women perfunctorily attending public consultations.

Oxfam International said in a 2022 report that these meetings should “harness local knowledge and real-world experiences to improve the design of [programs] and make them more relevant to affected communities.”

Under Philippine law, indigenous peoples are given agency through free and prior informed consent (FPIC), a mechanism that attempts to enforce their rights over development projects intruding on their territories.

A decade ago, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and German development agency Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit came out with an assessment of the FPIC in the Philippines.

The report said the country’s FPIC is vulnerable to circumvention because of “tricky” mechanisms like community-initiated projects or the certificate of no overlap.

More recent stories on mining and dam projects showed that nothing much has changed in the usual accounts of indigenous peoples imperiled by development projects. Vast ancestral lands are often regarded as spaces that can be utilized for further development. (READ: Indigenous rights clash with solar power project in Ilocos Norte)

Aside from including communities, they should be given energy access, too. When communities can access reliable and cheap power, Oxfam said this could boost productivity of local enterprises, help children finish school, and empower women to work outside the home.

A case study in the report is the off-grid Hilabaan Island in Eastern Samar. Oxfam and a local organization partnered to install six solar-powered streetlights and an off-grid solar-powered system.

The report said the system had been servicing 124 households, increasing security at night, and making care work more efficient for women.

Detecting this problem to be nationwide, Senator Risa Hontiveros filed a bill back in 2022 establishing a solar home system financing program in remote and rural areas in the Philippines. The bill remains pending at the committee level.

“Transition is not without negative impacts,” said Hontiveros during the launch of the Responsible Energy Initiative in January. But she also added that there’s no going back to the old ways, as “relying on fossil fuel is not only [unsustainable] but [also] anti-consumer.”

The Responsible Energy Initiative Philippines, consisting of groups across the renewable energy supply chain, seeks to shape an “ecologically safe and socially just renewable energy transition.”

Must Read

[OPINION] Making a case for 100% renewable energy: The 1.5°C goal in the PH power sector

Making a living

A just energy transition should not only account for fossil fuel industry workers or residents in need of affordable sources of renewable power; it must also power the farmers and fisherfolk who rely on transport and electricity to eke out a living.

Dela Cruz said a fisherman from Suluan Island in Eastern Samar, for example, will not care about the amount of greenhouse gas emissions he emits by using a diesel generator if that enables him to fish out at sea.

“The context of energy is not just climate, right?” he said. “It’s livelihood.” – Rappler.com

The MethaneSAT sattelite will add to a growing fleet of spacecraft in orbit that are meant to help fight climate change by publishing data on emissions of the invisible but potent greenhouse gas.

While the European Space Agency and another satellite-based tracker called GHGSat are already providing methane emissions data, MethaneSAT will provide more detail and have a much wider field of view, its backers say.

The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) said the data will bring accountability to the more than 50 oil and gas companies that pledged at the Dubai COP28 climate summit in December to zero out methane and eliminate routine gas flaring, and help those preparing to comply with forthcoming methane regulations in the EU and the US, including a methane pollution fee.

“We’ll be able to see who the laggards are, but hopefully they will use that information in a constructive way to improve their performance,” said Mark Brownstein, senior vice president for energy transition at EDF.

MethaneSAT was developed in conjunction with the New Zealand Space Agency and Harvard University, among others, and its data will be available to the public later this year, EDF said. Google Cloud will provide the computing capabilities to process the information.

Methane emissions – which come from oil and natural gas production, agricultural waste, and landfills – are many times more potent than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas.

Oil industry group the American Petroleum Institute said emissions data from third parties should not be used for regulatory purposes without verification.

“The environmental regulator is still going to be paramount here as the authority in terms of validating the data,” said Aaron Padilla, API vice president of corporate policy. – Rappler.com