Nation-building through Biofuel June 7, 2007
Posted by northwolf in All, Legally Opinionated and Jurisprudent.add a comment
The world is beginning to acknowledge today that we should rely less and less on fossil fuels as a source of power to drive human industry and activity.
These are for a myriad of reasons, including environmental (the release of greenhouse gases), economic (the dwindling supply of fossil fuel, which is a non-renewable resource), and political (no country wants to be reliant on oil-producing nations for its energy needs.)
Although there are likewise myriad alternative energy sources, such as solar energy, nuclear energy, wind power, and the like, of particular interest for its power yield and low-technology requirements is the oft-acclaimed biofuel.
Simply explained, biofuel is a kind of fuel derived from organic sources such as plants, animal manure and animal carcasses, as opposed to fossil fuel which is derived from mineral resources, i.e., the unprocessed oil lodged deep within the earth resulting from the naturally processed decay of dinosaur fossils (hence the term “fossil fuel”).
In the Philippines, which is a country that does not produce its own oil (not yet anyway), we have taken steps to ensure that the country relies less and less on fossil fuel imported from abroad and instead, have looked inward to its rich natural resources in the form of biofuel. This move is formalized by the passage of Republic Act No. 9367, or the law more commonly known as “Biofuels Act of 2006.” The salient feature of this law provides that by the year 2008, at least 5% of bioethanol fuel must be included in the mix of all gasoline fuel actually sold and distributed within the country. By the year 2010, this mix must have increased to 10%.
To date, the law has already taken effect, mandatorily requiring a mix of 1% bioethanol in all diesel fuel actually sold and distributed within the country, increasing to at least 2% by the year 2009.
Furthermore, the law stresses that this bioethanol must derived from sources found within the Philippines, and it is only when there is a shortage of local sources, can the local oil companies import bioethanol from foreign countries, but only to the extent of the local shortage.
Personally, I am quite enthusiastic with this development, not only for ecological reasons, but more particularly for economic ones. Take note, biofuel comes from organic sources, meaning things which have to be grown and farmed, such as animals and plants. Stated otherwise, this will have a huge domestic spill-over effect on our agricultural industry, providing jobs and much needed profit to our poor farmers. It will bring development to our much-neglected rural provinces that have no infrastructure to speak of to spur them to economic gain.
On other matters, it will also spur our country’s investment in science and research-related industries, as we will need to come up with the technology to properly harness efficiently the energy yield of these organic crops. It is no secret that our Filipino scientists have great potential as one of the world’s best and most creative researchers. It’s just that we need a core activity to spur investment into our scientific and technological talent and encourage them to come out with breakthroughs.
However, it would be simplistic to say that since it is environmentally sound, biofuel comes fool-proof. In the first-place, biofuel energy yield is not as potent as that for fossilized fuels. Its one advantage over it, however, is that while fossil fuels are non-renewable, biofuel derivants can be grown from one’s own backyard.
To understand this contention, we need to look at the sources of biofuel. Animals and livestock are one of those sources, in the form of animal manure. In one National Geographic show I witnessed, a certain European country even went so far as to use the parts of a cow which are not used for human consumption, hence instead of throwing away the parts that they are not going to eat, the Europeans instead melted these down into biofuel and used it to power the local train. One nasty side-effect of animal-based biofuel however is its smell. Literally, this fuel stinks, causing smelly exhaust fumes to fumigate all over the city. But for the sake of the environment, this particular European town sucked it up and bore the stench.
Another source of biofuel are plants. Essentially, anything that has sugar or sugar-variants can be used as a base for the creation of ethanol, which is a prime ingredient for mixing into gasoline and diesel. Past studies have shown plants like rice, sugar cane, palm fruits, soybeans, coconut copra, corn oil, and the like, have potential for use as biofuel.
Take note however that these same plants are also used for human consumption, thus, a question will arise as to how much of the Philippines’ crops will be used as food and how much will be used as biofuel. If we also follow the rules of supply and demand, this increased demand for our country’s crops will cause the insane rise of food prices, unless however, we can grow a concommitant increase of crop supplies to meet this demand.
Another consideration to take note of is the share of the technological know-how for the creation of biofuel. This information is already available in our country’s top scientific institutions, such as those found in UP Los Banos, VISCA, and our very own University of San Carlos. However, these institutions are very tight-lipped about their know-how and are refusing to share the information for public consumption, the reason being that from a research standpoint, biofuel is so easy to manufacture that an ordinary citizen using amateur-constructed implements can create his own biofuel from his own crops.
In fact, it is technically feasible to grow these very same biofuel plants within the city itself. Some of the prime sources for biofuels are nothing more than weeds that you can easily grow from the comfort of your own backyard.
I believe the nation should be more aware of the potentials and drawbacks of Biofuel because the right management of this resource can cause a major improvement in our quality of life, causing us to be less reliant on other countries for fuel and spurring the development of both the agricultural and scientific communities in the nation.
At the same time, the mismanagement of this resource can cause the sharp increase of our foods’ prices, not to mention cause stinky fumes to cover our whole city.
More research should be made, and each Filipino should encourage this crop’s potential.
The Magnificent Atty. Perez: the Evolution June 7, 2007
Posted by northwolf in All, Armchair Politics, I, Lawyer, Seriously now….2 comments
I am sure some people are surprised why I have suddenly turned into an armchair political analyst.
Views of both my blog in Multiply and WordPress reveal that I have grown a penchant for writing commentary and personal analysis on the political situation here in the Philippines. Perusing my Multiply blog, I’m amused with the trend of my choice of topics. I went through an emo phase where I made my blog into a online diary, then I went through a psycho-analysis phase where my blog entries were test results of various personality exams I took online (proving that indeed, I do have a personality!), and now, I’m going through my armchair politics phase.
But the thing is, I’ve never been an apolitical creature, it’s just that it’s only now that I’m making my political views known to the whole universe. I come from a family that is very much involved in politics, usually through indirect means, and sometimes, it crosses over to having uncles who run for office. Back in the day, it was typical dinner-table conversation to discuss the merits of Lito Osmena over Sonny, to trace the history of corruption beginning from the Marcos era, and to look back and lament the loss of good statesmen such as Jovito Salonga, Ramon Magsaysay and Serging Osmena. You would hear my grandfather, the late Judge Rafael Ybanez, going over points with my father, my mother, Tito Babbitt, and any other person in attendance, who cared to join in the conversation.
And, as I would like to highlight over and over to friends with pride, my grandfather holds the distinction of having repeatedly sworn in Sergio Osmena II to office, from mayor, to Congressman, and finally to Senator. In each and every election, my family served as one of the political machineries that brought Serging to power.
My family has mostly been conservative in outlook, but liberal in implementation. We advocate tried-and-tested political platforms and look back to the day when the Philippines was under a two-party system instead of the miasma of coalitions sprouting up every other day. We are against traditional politicians, however. We’ve rallied under the banners of visionaries such as Lito Osmena and his uncle Serging. My dad was among one of the people body-flanking Cory Aquino when she held her post-martial law rally in Cebu. When an impeachment was lodged against Chief Justice Hilario Davide, I was with my mother and father in the procession around Fuente Osmena crying upon the walls of Jericho to fall and uphold a just and decent man.
Thus, I have grown up aware of political issues and molded under the hands of conservatism. That is why I lean towards being pro-administration. I advocate parties that do the least amount of harm to both the economy and the Filipino populace. It scares me that Ping Lacson, Gringo Honasan and Antonio Trillanes are all in the current line-up of Senators, with Trillanes already sounding off his ignorance of the political process by pushing for the immediate impeachment of the President, who also happens to be the Commander-in-chief that he swore to serve and protect as a member of our Philippine Armed Forces. His stance is ignorant in the fact that he clearly doesn’t know that the impeachment process is initiated with the Lower House, and not with the Senate. (Which begs the question, why the hell did he ever run for Senate when he does not have any clue as to what he’s doing???)
I enjoy this new side of me however. It’s like bringing out an old friend to play new games. To my credit, my blog entries have been referred to by no less than Manuel L. Quezon III, who is himself a noted political analyst in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, and who runs his own blog with political commentaries. And I was referred three times. (MLQ3, if you’re reading this, the truth can finally be said. I’m just pretending to know what I’m talking about!!)
This new development in my writing is reflective of the change that I am going through, both as a professional and as a person. My world used to be the academe. I lived, breathed, and experienced the student’s life. My focus was on comic books, tabletop RPG, and stalking pretty women. My dad thought I was immature and juvenile, in a concerned paternal way (I tell you, I have very conservative parents).
The older I got, the more changes came my way. After graduating from Accounting and earning my CPA license, I started having my quarter-life crisis. I questioned what I was doing and started wondering if there was ever any hope for me considering the dark outcome of the future ahead. Fortunately it was stalled and pre-empted by immediately preceding to law school the year after. Then I finished law and became a liar, errr, I mean, a lawyer.
Law school was another haven for me which allowed me to enjoy yet another aspect of student life. You see, back in my elementary and high school years, I was never the popular kid. I was the kind of student that the teacher adored (although honestly, I was never a teacher’s pet), but whom the rest of my classmates looked down on, more so considering that I went to an exclusive boys school that was known for having either the most demonic misfits ever known to have walked the history of man, or the swishiest of all junior drag-queens-in-the-making. I was one of those people who fell in the cracks in between and thus never did really quite belong anywhere else.
I was pretty much apathetic during my Accountancy days and just breezed through life as an invisible aspect of campus. The only organizations I ever signed up for was the ROTC, the Campus Ministry Volunteers, and the Accountancy school paper editorial board.
Then law school came and suddenly, I was thrust in the limelight of popularity. I became the guy everybody knew on campus, from the upper classmen down to the freshest of fresh meat, errr, I mean freshmen. From being the geek/nerd of my younger days, I was surprised to find that I was suddenly one of the guys, and despite my absolute lack of any appreciable basketball skills whatsoever, I was picked to be a member of the basketball team. I was also in the swimming team (one of the star athletes, natch), a veteran team leader of third Sunday Bar Operations, an active Vice-president of the College of Law student council, and the biggest teacher’s pest, err, I mean, pet that you’ve ever seen on this side of the planet (Although arguably, some say that distinction rightfully belongs to my classmate Jess dela Pena, the official sound system boy and microphone roadie).
My real birthing pangs as an “adult” came after law school.
This was the time that I started questioning who I was and what I want to become. I was being molded in the fires of litigation and thrust straight into the heart of problem bosses and even more problematic clients. Numerous job offers were thrown my way, but somehow, I always found myself sticking to Palma Ybanez and Teleron. The real epiphany came a few weeks ago as I served as lead counsel for Sen. Joker Arroyo, and was able to fly over to Manila and meet the man himself. From then on, I’ve understood. I am where I should be.
I’m one year into the practice now and I’m slowly beginning to understand who I am and who I’m meant to be. And onward into the future, I find myself coming full circle to my past. Like my father and my grandfather before me, I’m meant to be involved in the community. I’m meant to analyze its ills, and realize its opportunities. I’m being called to lead, whether it is on the sidelines through a blog about legal and political commentaries, or hopefully, in an active capacity by running my own business and by getting involved through public advocacy.
My family elders tell me that I’m turning into my grandfather, which I think, is not a bad thing to be.
So here I am hitting hard on the sidelines and pointing out the trends and movement of law, politics, business, and life.
My name is Janjan, and yes folks, I am the Magnificent Atty. Perez. Tremble at the sight of my rapist wit.
