The government must act with full determination to reverse the current degradation of the environment or face an environmental apocalypse, Sen. Loren Legarda warned Saturday.

In a speech before the Philippine Society for the Study of Nature in Iligan City, Legarda said that the “state of the Philippine environment has deteriorated from a silent spring into the next stage of apocalypse one.’’

The known environmentalist in the 24-member Senate said, “All around us we are witnessing the birth of death, the refusal of life forms to flourish and to thrive, the black curtains that hang over former enclaves of bio-diversity.”

“Only after the last tree has been felled, the last river poisoned, and the last fish caught, will man know that he cannot eat money,’’ she said.

Legarda emphasized that “we have to reverse the onslaught to life, to usher in an environmental springtime, the surge of new life forms, the resurrection of forested mountains, clean air, clear rivers and bountiful seas.”

During the conference, Legarda received a “Kalikasan Award” from the society for her “valuable efforts” in saving and promoting the environment.