Babe's Eye View article

Finally, we have something to look forward to that could help us breathe cleaner air with the signing of the Biofuels Act of 2006 by GMA. This is something that we have been waiting for all this time, because it would help us in eventually cutting down our dependence on imported fuel and accelerate efforts to lessen air pollution.

The legislation, authored by Bukidnon representative Juan Miguel Zubiri, will require car manufacturers and owners to use gasoline or diesel blended with 10 percent bioethanol within four years after effectivity of the law.

The energy security pact recently signed by leaders of the ASEAN together with dialogue partners Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea underscores the need to reduce dependence on fossil fuels from the Middle East, and the necessity of looking for cleaner and more environment friendly fuel alternatives.

Aside from unstable oil prices, the signatories also cited environment and health problems associated with gasoline emissions and the urgent need to address issues related to global warming and climate change. A glaring example is China and its alarming health and environment problems caused by toxic mercury from its outdated, coal-fired power plants and the emissions from its more than 31 million vehicles.

While coal is the cheapest energy source, it is also one of the dirtiest, and China has set aside billions of dollars for more efficient power plants that could produce clean coal. As a matter of fact, one plant that was recently launched and located near the city of Wenzhou costs $2.3 billion, but it's expected to significantly reduce sulfur dioxide discharges that are major air pollutants.

Experts say that toxic emissions from China are blown across the Pacific, causing acid rain in South Korea, Canada and Europe. Let's not kid ourselves. When the winds coming from Northeast Asia blow towards the Philippines, we also get a lot of the pollution from China. As a matter of fact, there are reports the pollution go as far as the American West Coast, specifically as far as Seattle.

The world cannot turn away from the serious effects of air pollution. The doomsday scenario in Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" is an absolute truth, because clearly, the effects of global warming and climate change are already upon us. In Africa, a lake has dried up; the polar caps are melting; floods, storms, hurricanes and tornadoes wreak havoc and devastation on many countries, the Philippines included; incessant rains pour in places where it's sup posed to be sunny and bright; the weather continues to get warmer and warmer, and we are told that this year could be even worse.

The upsurge in malaria, dengue and other mosquito-borne diseases are being attributed to global warming because of increasing mosquito populations in tropical areas. Worse, people are dying prematurely because of asthma, pneumonia, tuberculosis and other lung-related diseases.

According to the World Health Organization, air pollution kills two million people every year. Experts say 400,000 Chinese prematurely die yearly because of sulfur dioxide emissions. In Metro Manila, which has been identified as one of the 20 areas with the dirtiest air sheds in the world, 98 percent of residents indicate they are affected by air pollution, with 82 percent experiencing eye, nose and throat irritations, 57 percent have trouble breathing, while 27 percent attribute skin problems to pollution.

In the United States, there's a lot of pressure on President Bush to rethink his position regarding the Kyoto Protocol. The US has consistently refused to sign the Kyoto Protocol which calls for countries to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases by 25 percent.

But it looks like the American president is getting warm to the idea when he admitted last year that "the surface of the earth is warmer and that an increase in greenhouse gases caused by humans is contributing to the problem." Even "traditional enemies"—science and religion—have put up a united front and sent a statement to Bush urging for policy changes and putting pressure on businesses to opt for environment-friendly practices.

In Brazil, cars that run on "flexi-fuel" (any combination of ethanol and petrol) now make up more than 77 percent of the market. It took Brazil more than two decades to reduce its dependence on imported oil through a "pro-alcohol" program that promoted the use of ethanol as an alternative fuel for vehicles, but that has paid off. Today, Brazil is acknowledged as the world's largest producer of bioethanol using sugarcane as raw material, and I don't see any reason why we cannot do the same.

We have sugar-producing areas like Negros which can supply the raw material for ethanol. We will not only reduce air pollution, but the local coconut and sugar cane industries will also benefit with livelihood for people, especially farmers. Industrial giants like Japan's Marubeni have long been interested in putting up at least five ethanol plants in the country, and investors have just been waiting for the passage of the Biofuels Act so they can put in fresh capital in the industry.

Compared to other countries, the Philippines is blessed with rich sources of alternative and renewable energy. The Bangui Bay wind farm in Ilocos Norte, the first in the Philippines and the biggest in Southeast Asia, produces 24.75 megawatts of energy that can supply one third of the needs of the province. According to a study by the UP National Engineering Center and the World Wildlife Fund Philippines, the country has more than a thousand wind sites that could produce close to 7,500 MW of wind power which could supply the needs of 19 million households.

The Philippines is also the second largest producer of geothermal energy, with plants in Leyte and other areas in Luzon and Mindanao that supply at least 20 percent of our energy needs. Right now, there are only two companies involved in the development of geothermal energy—Philippine Geothermal Inc. and the state-owned PNOC-Energy Development Corp.—harnessing only 1,931 MW of installed capacity out of 2,047 MW proven reserves and 4,790 MW potential reserves, but there are more opportunities now for expansion and more private sector involvement.

Clearly, with all these potential resources plus the passing of the Biofuels Act, the Department of Energy can now try to aim for its objective of 60 percent energy self-sufficiency by 2010. It won't be easy, but as the old saying goes, "it is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all." In this case, perhaps we can say it is better to aspire and aim, than never to have tried at all.