Karen Ibasco

Medical physicist Karen Ibasco became the first scientist to win the Miss Earth crown on Nov. 4 at SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City. Ibasco, the fourth Filipino woman to receive the distinction, graduated cum laude from University of Santo Tomas. The 26-year-old mathematics teacher impressed the judges during the questionand-answer round of the competition, when she was asked “Who or what is the biggest enemy of Mother Earth?” She replied: “I believe that the real problem in this world is not climate change. The real problem is us, because of our ignorance and apathy. What we have to do is to start changing our ways, to start recalibrating our minds and redirecting our steps because together, as a global community, our microefforts will have a macroeffect to help save our home, our planet.”