Ethanol Power Plant for Nature Conservation?

I posted comments sometime ago in The Palawan Sun Newsweekly where I read a report about the City of Puerto Princesa considering a plan to build an ethanol-fired power plant to help improve the power situation in the city. The Committe on Environmental Protection and Natural Resources head said that ethanol is an environmental fuel and is well suited to a place like Puerto Princesa where nature conservation is a priority. I don't have a problem with nature conservation if that is the only aim of the city. What I am afraid of is the lack of information on the part of the city council or the people of Puerto Princesa on how ethanol as a biofuel is processed. My comments before delved on the subject of carbon emmissions and the hectares of land to be cleared in order to produce ethanol. Because of the prohibitive crude oil prices it is no wonder that people are smitten by the biofuel fad or what is popular these days. However, while reading the March issue of Macleans I was convinced that ethanol will just worsen the situation as far as food security and our economy are concerned. Why? Because you have to put more energy to increase food production and convert food production to energy which is biofuel. You have to use more diesel fuel for tractors and nitrogen fertilizer which uses natural gas to increase corn and wheat production in order to produce ethanol. Do you follow me? And why the economy? An increase in food production does not mean cheaper prices because greedy farmers will sell their crops to the biofuel industry instead of feeding the mouths of the people and the farm animals which are our primary sources of protein. With increasing demand for grain as animal feed and food for the populace prices will naturally soar to high heavens. And who suffers? The common tao who finds out that the grocery bills are hurting the pockets. In the US, 20 per cent of their corn crop in 2007 were converted to ethanol and it only provided 1 per cent of the country's fuel needs. It did not help the US to be energy independent at all. What is worse is that it drove the price of everything else up. Isn't it expensive to be green this way? This is not ethical and it is false economic sense. Can the city council imagine denying our people the pan de sal because of the ethanol boondoggle? There are other energy alternatives to stay green which I mentioned in one of my posts even prior to the city's ethanol plans. I am just hoping that the city council will do an extensive study regarding this proposal and be guided by ethical, moral and economic standards for the benefit of our people and other people of the world that also suffer indirectly as a result of other people's mistakes and indecisions. I am afraid that the head of the committee's suggestion to give powers to the city mayor to negotiate with the ethanol company is a big mistake. I smell big money and politics with that kind of suggestion and the green objective or nature conservation pronouncement is just a smokescreen to further your dark deeds. Hey, we already have new commercial solar energy technology, wind farms, geothermal energy(Puerto Princesa may have one with lots of hot springs in the city), ocean/wave energy, etc. to choose from.

Is Eco-Tourism Really Green?

Technorati Tags: eco-tourism,carbon footprint,ecology,tourism,green,environment,environmental,Puerto Princesa,Palawan,mining,carbon emission,carbon,manila,philippines

Is Eco-tourism really green? Did anyone ask this question before? I thought of this last night when I was calculating my carbon footprint which is equivalent to 2.3 planets. This equates to an ecological footprint of 4.15 hectares and a calculated carbon footprint of 8.98 metric tons per annum. I was amazed to find out that 75 per cent of my ecological footprint is derived from home and stuff that I use everyday. Only 9 per cent is attributed to travel which is obvious because I don't travel much and I drive a compact low emission vehicle. The remaining 16 per cent is derived from food. Back to the question of whether Eco-Tourism is really green, is it really green? I pose this question to the eco-tourism capital of the Philippines which is Puerto Princesa or Palawan in general. I don't know if you know the answer to this question. I know that majority of the people there including the green-minded eco-tourism proponents don't know how to answer this question. Is it because they can't physically see the direct or indirect effect that eco-tourism is contributing to our ecology which I think is true, or they do not know at all? Since you are promoting the city and the province as an eco-tourist destination, it is fair to say that you expect to see an influx of visitors to the province,right? And how do you expect people to get there? By air, of course. Let me give you a calculation of how much eco-tourism directly or indirectly contributes to global warming. Puerto Princesa is about 306 nautical miles or 566 kilometers southwest of Manila. An eco-tourist will have a roundtrip to complete his or her itinerary which is equivalent to 1,133 kilometers by air. A short-haul airplane will emit 100 grams of carbon per passenger-kilometer. Based on the Department of Tourism figures for 2006, there are 99,000 visitors to the province in that year alone(2007 figures are not yet available). And we still expect the figures to rise. Multiply 100 g/p-km by 99,000 visitors by 1,133 kilometers you get 11,216,700 kilograms or 11,216 metric tons of carbon emission to the atmosphere. This equates to an ecological footprint of 5,183 hectares. This is only the short-haul leg of the visit. The land and the long-haul legs of the visit is not yet included in the calculation which can easily double the figures. Do you follow me? Figures are staggering! What is scary is that you can't see them carbons in the atmosphere. The carbon emission outlook for the province will get worse with Puerto Princesa being developed as an international gateway and the prospect of tourism boom in the province. How about the Asian Motocross being hosted there? The hectares of land cleared in Sta. Monica for the Motocross championship and the exhausts from the bikes. This is eco-tourism? I really am confused. Don't let Eco-Tourism end up as a green joke or better be, stop branding it as a green initiative. Always make sure that you people know what you are promoting and talking about. And also, don't forget to see those that can not be seen. The name is carbon. This is different from seeing mining which is the most notorious subject in the province right at this moment.

Recipe for Disaster

I watched a documentary on CBC's Passionate Eye last night about an Anglo-Finnish family of four who were so concerned about the effects of greenhouse gases to the environment that they agreed to do away with anything that involve oil and its derivatives for a year. They were hoping to reduce gas emissions by about twenty (20) metric tons by subjecting themselves as human guinea pigs for this serious experiment. It was of course a hardfought battle as they have to junk all the usual comforts in the world that they are enjoying right now. No cars, no electricity, no plastic products, no plastic wrappings, etc. Can you imagine the number of products that are made of plastics(an oil derivative) or products that have in one way or another, plastics in them ? You can do the math for me. What's worse is that they are living in a sub-zero temp environment. They have to either walk or ride a bicycle to go to work, school, etc. Even shopping is a dilemma because of plastic shopping bags or wrappers. They even have to make their own toothpaste! They lasted for a year and got use to living the kind of life they experimented on that the husband finally decided to take the experiment further but not without the wife's protestations.

I am sharing to you this documentary because I want to make a point on how true environmental awareness works. Oil is a product. It also contributes to global warming. If it is the case, then I am not going to use oil and its by-products. Period. To make a parallel to mining metals or minerals, the same argument goes. If you are anti-mining, then you should avoid the use of any product, whatsoever, associated with mining because it destroys our environment. Period. What are the things that you can do without? Imagine, you have to trash almost everything and life will be at a standstill. This we can not do without, I am sure of that. So please,

all of you anti-mining lobbyists and environmentalists, think and be reasonable. Teach the school children and the rural folks how true environmental awareness works. Be like the Anglo-Finnish family who do not grandstand and achieve political fame by their small gesture to reduce the effects of global warming. Can you duplicate that?

Let's Take A Break From The Mining Debate

A friend sent this to me. All of you guys involved in the mining debate could take a break. You deserve a cold beer. The bottle was once a silica sand, maybe mined somewhere in Roxas, Palawan. Who knows? Anyways, entertain yourselves!

ABSOLUTELY MINDBLOWING ..

1. GO TO THE FOLLOWING SITE :
http://www.tatuagemdaboa.com.Br/

Wait for the lady to appear, then ..

2. WRITE YOUR FIRST NAME IN THE 1st LINE.

3. WRITE YOUR FAMILY NAME in the 2nd LINE

No need to write your e.mail address.

4. Press the VISUALIZAR bar.

My Comment to the " No To Mining Policy" of Palawan

I don’t know if these so-called environmentalists know what they’re talking about. Mining is either undergound or surface. Deep underground mine could retain surface vegetation. Some coal mines in the UK are even underneath the city . Surface mining of course require clearing the vegetation. That’s why we have mine reclamation, rehabiltation, revegetation and reforestation works as the mine progresses. Mines in New Mexico in the US have reclaimed and rehabilitated thousands of acres of lands for grazing better than what they were before and gave them back to the Navajo First Nation . In the developed nations, Mines have a dedicated Environmental Group and they do a lot of work . They monitor and maintain water and air qualities,etc., better than acceptable levels. You should see how mine reclamation and reforestation in conjunction with mine develepment and production is done in Kalimantan, Indonesia. They, too, have a dedicated environmental group, a one big department. No wonder Indonesia is still supplying coal for the cement and power plants in the Philippines. And you could see a vibrant and progressive community as a result of doing responsible mining practices. And in the Philippines? Of course this will not come into fruition because of so much talk ,hypocrisy, ignorance, crab mentality, politics, grandstanding, protests, corruption, rubbish mine operators, etc., etc. Please, please, open your minds to realities. We have modern, ethical and responsible mining methods today. I don’t buy your argument which is more or less an uneducated guess as to how mining is done. We simply don’t pick minerals from trees. We have to explore them, evaluate their technological and economic potential as well as their social and environmental implications before we do exploitation. Don’t be hypnotized by the sad Quicksilver experience and all the rubbish mine operators in Palawan right now. It is the government smart guys fault in the first place, anyway. No one is to blame here except the corrupt officials who allowed these mining idiots in Palawan.There are too many mistakes already. Don’t tell me that the government can’t formulate stringent mining and environmental regulations here as a result of these mistakes. I don’t believe however stringent your mining and environmental laws are, as long as corruption is not eradicated the problems that you are facing now will always be there. And please, stop Small Scale mining in Palawan. It only helps a few corrupt individuals and is not good to the environment. And before I forget I have to remind you guys that the Ford Expedition or Ford Explorer was a mountain of mineable ores before it was churned out into a sleek, comfortable and cool product. Environmentalists should not have permitted the massive mining operation involved with this product which I am sure is helping a lot in the mobility of our environmentalists. Hey, truth hurts.

Hypocrisy or Ignorance

It took me a while to make another post due to the fact that I went back to work sometime during the third week of January. My work didn't prevent me however, to finding out what's happening in the Philippines especially Palawan these past few weeks. I am subscribed to the Palawan Report so that I won't miss the latest developments in the province. Reading through the blogs, however, prompted me to post comments on topics concerning mining and the environment which I think are almost always news on Palawan Sun. I applaud the efforts of people advancing the cause of environmental protection but I am saddened by the fact that they are bent on preventing the province from exploiting the natural resources of which they themselves have benefited from the products derived from mining mother earth. It doesn't matter now where on earth these products were derived from. As environmentalists, they too, have the moral obligation to question as to where the origin and how the raw materials of the products they are using on a day to day basis were exploited. If they can't do this, they too, don't have the right to prevent things from happening in Palawan nor they have the right to use the products that make living a lot easier. This isn't right, however. We need the necessary comforts. And it is also especially difficult to ignore to find greedy operators in cohorts with corrupt individuals doing rubbish practices in your backyard. I think it is right to police our premises from environmental malpractices. But the buck stops right there. Leave the natural resource exploitation and environmental management of the province to the experts which I'm sure the province lacks. Be realistic and reasonable. If you truly believe that mining can't be done responsibly then why on earth are you enjoying the benefits of mining? Did you ask yourself why? If not, this is utter hypocrisy or plain ignorance on your part. And I will not believe anyone of you people who are masquerading yourselves as protector of the environment.

A friend has sent an article from the FOX Business Network

I am excited to share this press release to the people of the Philippines and especially Palawan. This is about the commercialization of the concentrated solar power tower technology and molten salt storage system developed by Rocketdyne. This green renewable energy/technology is the answer to Palawan's nagging power problem. We could finally get rid of the diesel fired power plant which is unpredictable and inefficient. With oil futures in the $100 per barrel level who wants to operate a diesel fired power plant these days? To the government of Palawan I think you have a good investment in this technology. Part of your 6 to 12 billion pesos of revenue shares of Malampaya gas should be invested for power generation. A single installation is capable of producing up to 500 megawatt of peak power according to SolarReserve. To Governor Reyes, this project will leave a legacy to your administration which is unprecedented in the history of Palawan. To say the least, you will achieve your green objective as you will eliminate the carbon emmisions from the deisel plants,majority of the people and industries will benefit from it as well as more investors will set up shop in the province with the availability of clean and renewable energy. I am pretty sure that you will not pass up this opportunity. I could only foresee the positive cashflows that the province will realize with this honest to goodness investment. What more could we ask for? It's environment friendly, people friendly and industry friendly! Common guys. Don't waste your time . Click on the link and see for yourself. You will thank me for sure!

http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/industries/industrials/article/hamilton-sundstrand-expands-green-energy-thrust_421242_6.html