How Do We Celebrate “World Environment Day?” 2 Related Answers: “We Believe Farming Is The Biggest Job On Earth” – BASF. “Everyday Is Environment Day For Me!” – Frank A Hilario

We have ignored “World Environment Week” and it’s time to pay attention to it. All the more reason because wars of all kinds are going on all over the world, and I am scientifically convinced that the kind of environment we have, or the kind we cultivate, propagates such wars.

The inclusive date for “Environment Week” according to Jenica Dizon is 20-27 March (upper image). Differently, the Government of Virgin Islands says it’s 04-10 June (lower image from  bvi.gov.vg via YouTube). What? We don’t even have a single inclusive date! We mortals do not care much about our environment to celebrate it, do we?

Not the issue of the inclusive dates, what I want to tackle here is what we mortals can commonly do to truthfully celebrate World Environment Day/Week.

The above image I saw on Facebook, the post “Be Green, Be Great” by Waves For Water PhilippinesCountry Director Jenica Dizon,“highlights the importance of caring for issues facing our environment.”

I have always cared much about the environment. I am an agriculturist and already for half-a-century proselytizer for the environment, starting as Information Officer of the Forest Research Institute (FORI), an agency of the Department of Natural Resources, in 16 April 1975. In FORI, I brainchilded 3 publications: monthly newsletter Canopy, quarterly journal Sylvatrop, and quarterly color magazine Habitat. I encouraged myself in conservation, even brainchilding Communication for Development (ComDev), as I saw UPLB’s Development Communication (DevCom) paradigm was neglecting development.

So: Even as I am a graduate of UPCA (now UP Los Baños), BSA Ag Edu, my working firstenvironment was Forestry! A non-conformist, I never had a regular job in an agriculture office, except for 1 year at the Farming Systems & Soil Resources Institute (FSSRI), which was under Director Elpidio “Pids” Rosario, a classmate of mine and a believer in my communication skills, plural. Thank you, Pids!

“We believe farming is the biggest job on earth” – BASF (agriculture.basf.com). So do I. I have my 2016 photograph of Rolando Andres’ techno-demo hybrid ricefield in San Manuel, Pangasinan, with a BASF tarp saying almost exactly that: “Farming, the biggest job on earth.”

Now then, any week is Agriculture Environment Week for me!

There is the practice of Agriculture in the whole world, whether we know it or not, where Agriculture is the single biggest culprit in generating greenhouse gases (GHGs), so it must receive the biggest attention of all. That is all because of chemical agriculture.

Now then, environment-wise, I submit that we must practice organic agriculture, whether this is the World Environment Month or not – it should be World Environment Day every single day!

Organic agriculture isregenerative, returning to the soil what man has taken from it: natural wealth. Regenerative brings again and again these 3: healthy soils, healthy foods, healthy environment. No GHGs.

Me, meanwhile I will celebrate World Environment Day everyday by writing about organic agriculture as much as I can!@517

My Intellectual Shift From Being Creative-Critical To Creative-Cheerful, Now Dedicated To Communication For Regenerative Agriculture

Since 16 April 1975, the first day I worked for the Forest Research Institute and on to become founder & Editor in Chief of its 3 major publications – monthly newsletter Canopy, quarterly technical journal Sylvatrop, and quarterly popular magazine Habitat – in the last 47 years up to 11 days ago as I write this, 10 Feb 2022, I have been simultaneously creative & critical; that is, if I disagreed with you, I would point out your error in logic – that wasn’t very nice, was it? What took me so long?!

How creative-critical has Frank A Hilario been? In the Dec 1980 issue of Habitat, I came up with an original theoretical paper titled “Development, The Eternal Spiral Staircase” (16 pages, 93-108), with which I presented a new theory I called Communication for Development (ComDev). Though I did not directly state it, this was clearly in opposition to the prevailing Development Communication (DevCom) paradigm of the UP College of Agriculture (now UP Los Baños) – obvious in the acronyms. I could have come up with another name and acronym to avoid what looked like an insult. [Thankfully, I have come up with the new concept-term Communication for Village Development 2021 (CoViD21); see my essay, “Regenerative Thinking… Regenerative Agriculture In The Philippines,” 26 Nov 2021, Primate Change, blogspot.com]. Meaning, I rethought my creative-critical self only 2+ months ago. But never too late to be nicer – and bigger!

More than 1 week ago, 11 Feb 2022, I created this new blog, For A (Happier) Philippines! (blogspot.com) where you find this essay, to remind me always to be of cheer even in the midst of uncertainty or displeasure. Thus, I will remain creative, unwelcome my own criticism, and welcome cheerfulness in saying something about anything.

Note the image above; the date is “17 September” and when I checked my image files, the year was 2019 – it was one of the many images accidentally collaged by my Windows 10. Why is that date important? It’s the birthday of this Virgo.

Everything is turning up roses!

Note also the time: 3:13, or 13 minutes after 3 in the morning – I took that photograph so, yes, I usually work very late at night and wake up very early. (I set my Windows 10 to military style of telling time of 24 hours, 0-24, midnight to midnight; if it were 3:13 PM, it would have instead said the time was “15:13.” I am meticulous– that is one of the characteristics of a Virgo. (And yes, Angel Numbers says “313” means “that your life has the potential to be better. You need to boost your self-esteem” – Erica Jensen, Ipublishing.co.in.)

So, from now on, with a symbolic 3-leaf green seedling on hand, I will offer mostly happy choices, mostly on the broad subject of what is now known as Regenerative Agriculture – with emphasis on Organic Farming.

And oh yes, I sometimes talk politics, but I always make sure I do it to promote agriculture. For a Happier Philippines – via a Happier Organic Agriculture!@517

Do You Know How To Argue Admirably? Here Is An Enlightening Exchange On Facebook Involving Ilocanos: Me & BBM

Fair Warning: I was born a “pilosopo” – wise guy, wisenheimer, smart alec, walking encyclopedia – and that came out in high school. And in college, I received a perfect grade of 1.0 from my UPCA (now UP Los Baños) professor in Western Thought, Mr Bituin.

Now comes this Facebook exchange (shortened), beginning with the text in above image:

Jim Leandro: There will be people who take arguments out of context and exaggerate it. Haha. Basta sure ako, di nakatapos ng degree Si #Cheetahmad kahit may resources… siya ng bansa. Weak.

Jim Leandro denies Bongbong Marcos (BBM) finished a degree even with resources at his father’s command (President Ferdinand Marcos). Actually, that is not the beginning of this exchange; Jim Leandro and Dave Manalo had earlier written on Facebook against BBM and I felt that they were unkind. So:

Frank A Hilario: Why do you love adding insult to injury, guys?

Jim Leandro: Merely stating facts. If he (were) running for Mayor, I wouldn't care. But he's running for the highest position in the land. There is a weight of responsibility (in) that position. For him not to finish his studies with the resources of the country at his disposal IS AN INSULT to the country.

Dave Manalo: The intention is to inform using the truth, not to insult. The truth will set people free. The truth may be an insult to loyalists.

FAH: Why don't you, Jim and Dave, talk instead of bigger, higher things, like Vision, Mission & Strategy of a national leader – then you can select who is the most qualified, without insulting anyone by negative comments true or false. Truth is not enough! Remember the Rotary 4-Way Test: Is it True? Is it Fair? Is it Goodwilling? Is it Beneficial?

DM: Anyone can talk about grand vision, mission and strategy. In fact all of the candidates can present excellent (VMS)… However, presidency is not just about vision. It’s also about track record. If one was not able to get a degree for himself despite all the abundant resources given to him, how can you think he can perform well to achieve the greater vision for the country?

FAH: You ignore the fact that not one of (the) candidates have come out with VMS! (And how can track record be a gauge when you have never been a leader or President?)

DM: Do you mean track record lang ng pagiging presidente ang mahalagang basehan?

DM: And you suggested to me and Jim to talk about vms and use it as basis (for) selecting who is more qualified, and now you're saying not one of the candidates have come out with a vms. So ibabase namin sa wala ang aming selection? Mukhang hindi mo na Alam sinasabi mo, Mang Frank.

FAH: My God, you are misunderstanding me – wake up!
(image of “Types Of Fallacies” from Your Dictionary, Yourdictionary.com)

Where is the misunderstanding there? Remember – You must know the rules of argumentation before you judge an argumentation. Fair enough?@517

THiNK! My Journalism Challenge To VERA Files & Rappler & Their Tsek.ph Partners Consisting Of 22 Academic, Media And Civil Society Institutions And Initiatives, Including My Alma Mater UP

To put it mildly, these are challenging times, from the Covid-19-related pandemic to politics trying to defeat heat-seeking, truth-aimed journalism. As a self-taught journalist, I’m out of there!

Meanwhile, ANN has come out with the news, “Bigger Tsek.ph To Be Relaunched Jan 24” (Author Not Named, 21 Jan 2022, verafiles.org):

Consistent in its efforts to counter disinformation through verified information, an expanded Tsek.ph, the country’s pioneering fact-checking collaboration, will be relaunched on Jan 24 in time for the May 9 elections.

It is like Tsek.ph saying, “What’s in a name? That which we call Truth by any other name would smell as sweet!” Except it’s not my species of rose.

The launch will be attended by its partners consisting of 22 academic, media and civil society institutions and initiatives that have agreed to collaborate to provide the public with truthful and factual information regarding the elections by debunking false and misleading narratives from public figures, news media and social media. It will be livestreamed on Tsek.ph and DZUP’s Facebook pages.

VERA Files says, “Truth is our business.” This journalist says, “Truth Journalism (TJ) easily fails the Rotary 4-Way Test.” I became a Rotarian years ago; a Rotarian I will always be. And TJ fails miserably with Zig Ziglar’s THINK test. As a journalist, not simply Truth but THiNK! is my business.
(“Think!” image from Think.gov.uk)

ANN says:

Tsek.ph was initiated by the University of the Philippines (UP) in 2019 as a public service commitment to combat disinformation. It is a project under the university’s Office of the Vice President for Public Affairs and spearheaded by the Department of Journalism under the College of Mass Communication.

UP, bastion of academic freedom. Now then, the likes of VERA Files and Rappler & UP journalists must look at themselves as heroes. But Truth Journalism is not communication for development (ComDev), to which I am dedicated. Not communication for devilment.

In 2019, Tsek.ph united three academic institutions and 11 media partners. This year, Tsek.ph expanded its membership in academe and media and now includes fact-checkers from civil society and multisectoral organizations.

Merriam-Webstersays to “fact-check” is “to verify the factual accuracy of” (Merriam-webster.com). ANN says:

Mr Baybars Orsek, Director of the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) at the US-based Poynter Institute, will deliver the keynote speech at the launch. The IFCN promotes the excellence of fact-checking to more than 100 organizations worldwide through advocacy, training and global events.

Fact-checking is part of journalism’s commitment to provide the public with accurate information they need to become informed citizens. It also plays a watchdog role by holding those in power accountable for spreading false or misleading claims. As the May elections draw near, fact-checkers have pooled their fact-checking efforts to help the electorate choose the right candidates. Tsek.ph unifies these laudable efforts in an online hub.

Nah. Negative. A hard-headed ComDev communicator, I will remain Positive in THiNK! Journalism for as long as I live!@517

How To Wake Up Your Genius: For Good Or Better Or Best, Tap Your Intuition!

Let me start this essay on genius by saying we all are geniuses – we just do not know how to awaken the genius in us!

Have you heard of Harvard professor Howard Gardner’s theory of Multiple Intelligences (MI)? MI lists down 9 intelligences, or geniuses, or smarts: bodily-kinesthetic, existential, interpersonal, intrapersonal, linguistic, logical, musical, naturalistic, and visual-spatial.

So what is 15-year old Nepalese genius Aashish Jung Kunwar saying about the British genius Sir Isaac Newton in “A Tribute To The Supreme Genius And Most Enigmatic Character In The History Of Science: Sir Issac Newton” (04 Jan 2022, imajk.medium.com)? That appears in his own blog “Aashish Jung Kunwar” – notice the mistake? “Issac” should be spelled “Isaac.” This Nepalese genius does not check his own writing! I have created hundreds of blogs; I have committed errors, but I never made a mistake in spelling the name of a person I admire in the title of the article itself!

I’m not surprised, as Nepal is not known to be an English-speaking country. Even so, the very title of his article and he does not notice the error?!

Genius on genius, on Tuesday, 04 Jan, that young Nepalese genius says (edited):

On this day (in) 1643, a great physicist, mathematician, astronomer, theologian, philosopher and author was born, (Isaac) Newton, the greatest man to ever grace the world of science…

Newton’s fame grew even more after his death, as many of his contemporaries proclaimed him the greatest genius who ever lived.

Newton: “the greatest genius who ever lived” – I genius do not think so! Nepal’s young genius himself says:

Of course, Newton was proven wrong on some of his key assumptions. In the 20th century, Albert Einstein would overturn Newton’s concept of the universe, stating that space, distance and motion were not absolute but relative and that the universe was more fantastic than Newton had ever conceived.

See?

Genius is more fantastic than this Nepalese genius has ever conceived!

In answering the question, “Who was smarter, Einstein or Newton?” (Quora.com), Peter says, “(Newton’s) Principia is really the book that said, ‘We can solve science problems through math.’” Therefore, I genius say Einstein was smarter, because Newton could only handle scientific thought already brought out, while Einstein greatly used intuition, which I think is the real mark of genius. So, Einstein did not arrive at his Theory of Relativity by logic – he intuited it first.

Ruth Umoh says (29 Jun 2017, “Steve Jobs And Albert Einstein Both Attributed Their Extraordinary Success To This Personality Trait,” cnbc.com):

Steve Jobs… Albert Einstein… both the visionary co-founder of Apple and the most influential physicist of the 20th century agree that one trait was at the heart of their success: intuition.

Einstein and Jobs, entirely different fields, exactly the same path of genius: Intuition. The secret of how I have so far blogged 7 million+ essays totaling 7 million+ words is that I learned to use my intuition. How to invoke your intuition? Wait till I come out with my digital magazine!@517

Bounty Country Magazine, I Propose – Growing Lives, Glowing Loves!

Go, Grow, Glow! Lives to Grow: people, plants, animals. Loves to Glow: families, villages, islands, country.

Our reality: I have been reading about the business success of Chooks-To-Go oven-roasted chicken and the Good Samaritan ways of Ronald Mascariñas, President & General Manager of Bounty Agro Ventures Inc (BAVI), the knowledgeable producer of Chooks.

My fantasy: BAVI coming out with Bounty Country, a revolutionary monthly magazine.All-Digital – with me as all-virtual Editor in Chief. Selling point? No Agrochemicals Ever (NAE), 100% Organic Farming. Ultimate targets: 10 million Filipino farmers.

Above: My glowing photograph taken 03 December 2016 early evening, 06:18 PM, the Chooks-to-Go store fronting the plaza of my hometown Asingan, Pangasinan in Central Luzon, Philippines. It’s been there for 5 years already – we Asinganians know what’s healthy chicken for us!

With the almost-unbelievable financial success of Chooks-to-Go organic chickens, already Mr Chooks personally knows that organic farming is doubly healthy:

(1)   Healthy for bodies.

(2)   Healthy for bank accounts.

I call him Mr Chooks to remind us that it was he who grew The Chicken That Could where there was none before – clucking over all those chickens from Jollibee, McDonald, Magnolia, Mang Inasal, and above all the chicken that built a house: Max’s!

Success must build success. With its organic origin, Chooks can now more convincingly lead the Philippines in the widespread adoption of organic agriculture. And it will be sweet.

Mr Chooks says on Facebook, “We take pride as the only company in the country who is able to produce ‘No Antibiotics Ever’ (NAE) chicken on a commercial scale.” The other chickens are grown with antibiotics designed to make them grow faster than natural – so it’s mostly quantity, not quality!

On the inset image above, behind Mr Chooks, it says in Tagalog, “Sarap kahit walang sauce” (My free translation: “Saucy even without sauce.”) Mr Mascariñas describes the Chooks meat as “a bit sweet, like a sweet ham” (14 March 2013, Apisit Buranakanonda, “Philippines’ Chooks To Go Is A Bounty Success Story[1],” Poultry World, where the image comes from).

Mr Buranakanonda says, “After just five years in business, Chooks-to-Go has climbed to the number one spot in the Philippines’ roast chicken market.” I say it’s taste: sweeter than sweet, than the others; it’s fact: healthier than the others.

Ces Dimalanta says Mr Chooks says (24 April 2018, “On Healthier Choices: Bounty Agro Brings All-Natural Antibiotic-Free Chickens To The Market[2],” Manila Millennial):

As part of our commitment to nurture the health of the nation, we are continuously finding ways to innovate and offer only the safest chicken choices. The launch of NAE in the country is one of the steps that we are taking towards giving healthy and quality food choices at affordable prices to Filipinos.

About Frank A Hilario? UP Los Baños graduate, self-taught digital writer. Turned 81 Sept 17; since 2000, an unbelievable indefatigable blogger – here’s a short “About Me” – https://communicationfordevelopmentphcomdev.blogspot.com.

The Bounty Country Magazine slogan is: “Healthy Foods For Thought.” Yes Sir, Mr Chooks. My NAE is healthy food for your thoughts!@517

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[1]https://www.poultryworld.net/Home/General/2013/3/Philippines-Chooks-to-Go-is-a-Bounty-success-story-1195658W/

[2]https://manilamillennial.com/2018/04/24/bounty-agro/

The Oblation As The Symbol Of UP Is Correct – And It Is Wrong!

On Facebook, writer Jose Y Dalisay Jr has come out with “The Freedom Of Intelligence[1]” (published 3 years earlier, on 22 October 2018). Wikipediasays, “He has won numerous awards and prizes for fiction, poetry, drama, non-fiction and screenwriting, including 16 Palanca Awards[2].”) He was UP Vice President for Public Affairs when he delivered that piece at the “39th Anniversary of Health Sciences Center Autonomy and the 36th UP Manila Day.”

I’m very glad to be here in UP Manila, which I consider to be UP’s historic home, the cradle of its spirit, of its ideals and traditions. In keeping with that spirit, I’ll speak today about the freedom to think, to speak, to study, and to teach – things which we in UP tend to take for granted, but shouldn’t, and I’ll tell you why.

I am a UP graduate, BSA major in Ag Edu, 1965, weighted average 2.36 and yes, I can vouch that at UP, we have the freedom to think, to speak, to study and to teach.

It’s no big secret that rebellion and resistance are coded into UP’s DNA, because we have always encouraged critical thinking, which in turn encourages – at least for a while, until complacency sets in – an attitude of dissidence, of anti-authoritarianism, of rejection of the status quo. That’s how knowledge happens, that’s how it begins, as every scientist since Galileo has affirmed.

At UP, Mr Dalisay says, “We have always encouraged critical thinking.” That is correct – and that’s exactly what’s wrong with UP! My alma mater encourages mostly critical thinking – when it should be encouraging mostly creative thinking. The UP Oblation offers all of himself to critical thinking!

Galileo is nobody. UP has never learned from Einstein, critical mind plus creative genius. He did not argue himself into his Theory of Relativity, E=MC² – he intuited it first. You create first so that you have something to defend. Otherwise, you defend the status quo, and you will never get out of that rut.

In the sciences, education & law, UP does not teach creativity. At UP Los Baños, they teach scientific thinking, which is logical thinking, critical thinking. They do not teach how one may arrive at a scientific theory where there was none before – they do not teach the dual genius of Einstein.

I learned my creative thinking on my own, starting in high school at my hometown Asingan, Pangasinan, in the library of Rizal Junior College where I voraciously gobbled the Reader's Digest, among other digestible matters. In 1974, my Pacifica copywriter friend Orlino A Ochosa gifted me his copy of Mechanism Of Mind by Edward De Bono, published 1969 – that opened my mind to unbelievable creativity that, as the above inset text says, since 2000, I “have blogged neatly composed 7,000+ essays: 7M+ words.” Which explains my intellectual tease: “How about a Nobel Peace Prize for Non-Fiction Writer Online? Wake up, Digital Nobel!”

My unsolicited advice to my alma mater UP Los Baños: “Cultivate minds even as you cultivate soils!”@517

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[1]https://up.edu.ph/the-freedom-of-intelligence/?fbclid=IwAR1XO4CcQmTFd9G2GnuTefuMTg96TI8E7-1lXBowkAqJYk5XTeLxnZbuOoM

[2]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jose_Dalisay_Jr.