Environmental Protection, Conservation, and Rehabilitation Thread 2 [Archive]

rustyboi

January 3rd, 2009, 05:19 AM

WWF: Earth Hour 2009 set on March 28
01/03/2009 | 06:40 AM

MANILA, Philippines - After the "success" of Earth Hour last year, environmentalists expect millions of Filipinos to participate in Earth Hour 2009 on March 28 this year.

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) said Manila and Cebu in the Philippines were among the 76 cities in 62 countries that gave an early commitment to switch off for Earth Hour 2009.

"Seventy-six cities in 62 countries including the Philippines' own Manila and Cebu have committed to switch off for WWF's Earth Hour in 2009. Other Philippine cities expected to participate are Iloilo, Baguio, Davao, San Fernando, Puerto Princesa, Legaspi and Cagayan de Oro," it said on its website. (http://www.wwf.org.ph/)

Other cities that committed include Moscow, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, London, Hong Kong, Sydney, Rome, Oslo, Cape Town, Warsaw, Lisbon, Singapore, Istanbul, Mexico City, Toronto, Dubai and Copenhagen.

The extensive WWF conservation network also has more than 30 teams working in countries such as India, Spain, Switzerland, France and the Philippines ready to support a local Earth Hour roll out.

"Icons switching off include the Philippines' largest shopping mall – SM Mall of Asia, the world's tallest hotel building in Dubai – the Burj Dubai and the tallest free-standing structure in the Americas – the CN Tower in Toronto," WWF said.

WWF said the campaign hopes to reach out to more than one billion people in 1,000 cities around the world.

Earth Hour asks individuals, businesses and governments to switch off lights for just one hour on Saturday, March 28, at 8:30 p.m. to create a platform of support for action on climate change.

"It aims to demonstrate unprecedented solidarity and provide a visual global mandate that will put the heat on world leaders meeting in Copenhagen in December 2009 to strike a new global deal on climate change," WWF said.

The lights-out initiative, which began in Sydney in 2007 as a public awareness-raising campaign, has grown significantly over the past two years.

"When leaders gather in Copenhagen in December 2009 to negotiate a new deal on climate they must feel that the eyes of the world are upon them. Earth Hour provides an opportunity for the public to send a powerful signal that they are watching and expect action," WWF International Director General Jim Leape said.

"We believe that Filipinos can unite when driven by the common good:
Manny Pacquiao's fights attest to this. The growing realization for the need to act on climate change, coupled with the success of Earth Hour Philippines last March provides us with a springboard to launch a bigger and better campaign next year. On 28 March 2009 we aim to enjoin 10 million Filipinos to join the fight against climate change by simply turning off their lights," added WWF-Philippines Climate Change and Energy Programme Head Yeb Saño.

Saño added Earth Hour couldn't have come at a better time as December sees the passage of the Philippine Renewable Energy Act, a landmark legislation which took all of 19 years to pass.

"The climate movement is in full-swing. Earth Hour is our best chance to meet the challenge with unity and purpose," Saño said.

David Miller, Mayor of Toronto and chair of the C40 Large Cities Climate Leadership Group said the C40 Climate Leadership Group is about cities working together to drive down greenhouse gas emissions.

"That is why as Chair of the C40 I support Earth Hour. It's crucial that cities and the public come together to take action against climate change and Earth Hour provides a great platform to do just that," he said.

Earth Hour Global Executive Director Andy Ridley adds that 2009 is the planet's "destiny year" with critical decisions needed to be made at the Copenhagen meeting on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

"2009 is the year we decide the future of the earth. It is the year the world finally agrees on a plan to massively reduce carbon emissions across the globe. This is the time to invest in new ways of doing business in a new low-carbon economy. The sum of our actions today can change history and secure the future of our planet," he said.

Earth Hour is a global WWF climate change initiative. Individuals, businesses, governments and communities are invited to turn out their lights for one hour on March 28, 2009 at 8:30 p.m. to show their support for action on climate change.

The Philippines was among the first to confirm participation for Earth Hour 2008. Last March 29, Pasay, Manila and Parañaque Cities held a switch-off ceremony and enveloped the entire Roxas Boulevard seaside strip in symbolic darkness. Makati followed suit with its own set of celebrations.

"Across the nation, from Baguio to Tawi-Tawi, lights-off activities were instigated in offices, restaurants, public parks, homes and malls in the Philippines' largest display of solidarity against climate change," WWF said.

WWF, Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) and the Philippine Electricity Market Corporation estimates that more than a million Filipinos participated, saving 56MWh of energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 30-tons in Luzon alone – equivalent to shutting down an entire coal-fired power plant for an hour.

In 2009, Earth Hour Philippines aims to reach out to at least 10 million Filipinos.

bartstrife99

January 3rd, 2009, 07:04 AM

Save The Earth Now! before it's too Late!

barrera_marquez

January 3rd, 2009, 08:32 AM

chuck23

January 5th, 2009, 11:46 AM

^^ Am last year po kasali po ang siyudad ng Zamboanga sa Earth Hour..so am sure sasali uli ito ngaung year...:)

kiretoce

January 18th, 2009, 02:08 AM

Post away folks! :colgate:

Link to Thread 1 (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=586921&page=50) in the Archives. :okay:

dinabaw

January 18th, 2009, 07:06 AM

Our dumpsite
01/06/2009 - 13:02 Saturday, January 17, 2009
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By Stella A. Estremera
Sunstar Davao

STUDENTS looking for a sob story and pitiful photos of soot-covered children at the city's dumpsite for their social science classes will have to look somewhere else.

The city mayor has been mentioning it in his television program on Sundays, the city's sanitary landfill is almost done and the city can even become the only highly-urbanized city to have a functioning landfill.

It's something the city can be proud of, he once said.

Having seen the dumpsite in 2004 just before it was converted into a restricted dump the following year, it was hard to believe how a place designed for garbage could make anyone proud.

But that the dumpsite is also a regular part of the itinerary of visiting employees and officials of other local government units should make you wonder what's in there that are bringing in excursionists...And so we went on an excursion as well and found...

Nothing. Not a single garbage. That's what was at the old dumpsite in New Carmen. What was once covered with garbage and stank to high heavens is now a rolling terrain of vetiver grass and young mahogany and fruit tree seedlings.

Had the engineer of the landfill contractor not said the hill we were facing used to be the old dumpsite, I wouldn't have realized that we were in the same place as I was almost five years ago. Down the hill was the almost-finished sanitary landfill facility.

Constructed at P261 million, it is designed to contain 1.2-million cubic meters of residual garbage -- or garbage that can no longer be recycled -- in five to eight years, said Engineer Eliza Guimbaolibot of the IPM Construction, a Manila-based company specializing in sanitary landfills.

The end-design, she said, will include a retention pond for leachates or the garbage juice. No treatment plant, she said, since the design and contract they bidded for doesn't include that. Just the retention pond. But it seems like with time, even leachate or garbage juice can be recycled for as long as it is not allowed to freely pour down water sources,

"We used to water the vetiver glass with the leachate, the growth was good," she said.

Vetiver or Chrysopogon zizanioides is most often used for erosion control because its roots grow downward, up to even six meters down, and not in horizontal mats like all other grasses. Because of its downward root system that digs deep into the soil, it holds the topsoil together. Thus vetiver is used as a stabilizing hedge for stream banks, terraces, and rice paddies.

With all those vetivers growing, fragrant essential oil can also be harvested, if anyone would want to. Vetiver oil is in 90 percent of all western perfumes, an entry from Wikipedia says.

What used to be a mountain of garbage is now a field of vetivers with blue PVC pipes sticking out from the ground.

As one gets a whiff of a leaking gas stove, you are reminded never to light up for a smoke.

"There was a worker here who lit a cigarette, he burned his brow," Engineer Guimbaolibot said. The reason, those blue pipes sticking out from the ground are actually releasing methane gas. Government is not utilizing the free cooking gas, these are just released to the air.

It's true, the project is 90-percent completed, but it's taking longer than it should. The reason: Davao's regular rains. There are days when they cannot work because their equipment couldn't move around. But they expect the project to be completed within two to three months.

In the meantime, the city's garbage is being thrown at a temporary dumpsite in Barangay Lacson, Calinan district.

It's a vast private property owned by the family of Cecilio "Boy" Manaois. It's around 36 hectares of rolling terrain that has a guardhouse that only allows authorized persons to enter.

Once you reach the dumpsite, it's a scene straight out of "Wall-E" and not Payatas; dump trucks rumbling down the well-graded dirt roads, the air filled with smoke from the garbage, and very few people milling sifting through the rolling terrain of garbage.

Among the men is a father of five, who maintains a shack in the clump of shacks in the dumpsite.

"That's our sleeping quarters. We don't call it a house since we have our houses outside the dumpsite," he said. His family is at New Carmen, he said, and he goes home every weekend.

Only the men who have passed background check and approval by the landowner are allowed inside. Each scavenger has a record of sorts. No one else can enter and scavenge. Also, no family member is allowed inside, no wives, no children. Only full-grown men.

It's more organized, he said, but they're earning less now.

"The garbage dumpsite owner's buying price is very low. Like scrap bronze, which we could sell at P300 per kilo in the New Carmen dumpsite before is only bought for P90-P100 per kilo here," he said. "The landowner is the one who sets the price."

Scrap cartons are bought at P0.30 a kilo down from a maximum of P0.70 per kilo before. All other recyclable trash is bought at prices way below the price they were sold before.

All garbage recycled is sold off to the landowner, he said.

The man, who asked not to be named, added that they can no longer ask for "cash advance." That's not allowed.

In New Carmen, he said, when there was free enterprise, they had "suki" buyers who would allow them to get some cash advances. Not here, he said.

But that's part of the arrangement made with the City Government when it was looking for a temporary dumpsite. The area was offered to be used for free on condition that all the recyclables go to the landowner.

Monopoly? Yes, but then, there were no takers before. No one wanted the city's tons of garbage, except this landowner. Call it entrepreneurial.

Manong, whose children's ages range from 5 to 22, said there are 30 of them in their area and 15 more in an area farther off. He also estimates that at least 90 truckloads are dumped everyday.

Data from the city environment and natural resources office shows that the city collects 1,000 cubic meters of trash everyday using 10 compactor trucks with 18 cubic meter capacity each, three open dump trucks with 7 cubic meter capacity each, 40 ten-wheeler trucks with 14 cu. m. capacity, and eight six-wheeler trucks with 7 cubic meter capacity each.

Manong has been scavenging in New Carmen for five years before the dumpsite was transferred. Now he's in Lacson doing the same, and intends to move on and follow the garbage trail once it packs up and leaves for the new landfill.

That's his livelihood he said, and he still has a five-year-old child to feed. Anyway, even the prospect of a new landfill means garbage being sorted and recycled because only residual waste should be thrown into the landfill as it will cost hundreds of millions more to build another one.

In the meantime, the sanitary landfill project is a sight to behold. The mountain breeze reminding you of what it once was before it became a garbage dump -- a rolling terrain of greens. Just make sure you don't take a deep breath where the blue pipes are sticking out from the ground.

...

kyle@1008

January 18th, 2009, 11:44 AM

oh kimber, Kiki did not bring me inside the lab, I just waited outside so I'm not sure if it looked like a Nazi Gas chamber,....I have a clue though, Kiki's underlings are frightened of him, I met one of em outside, she was shaking with fear when kiki greeted her, and he was being very nice...

Ph Man

January 18th, 2009, 04:52 PM

:lol: no, she wasn't frightened at all.

and it's not like a Nazi gas chamber. only that in one of the analysis we carried out, we have to use something like this:
http://www.lifeprotectors.com/productimages/tychemqcthumb.gif
http://www.lifeprotectors.com

and this...
http://www.queenslandsafety.com.au/images/respiratory/Sundstrom_fyll_face_mask.jpg
http://www.queenslandsafety.com.au

they are collectively known as PPE - personal protective equipment

the mask has specific filters just for acids hydrogen cyanide. ordinary masks will not be sufficient. we have a room dedeicated for that at the 2F of the building - which we call the cyanide room. however, it should be brought downstairs for quantitation where we use acetylene flame. it was tuesday night last week and it's been hours since the analyst has left. i came into the room, and tried to read some analysis reports. that's when i felt some headache and dizziness. but that's not the only thing we do in the lab. and some people have more exposures than i do. only that i was too stupid and stubborn.

Ph Man

January 18th, 2009, 04:54 PM

Re: dumpsites

something should be done on the methane gas generated out of the garbage. with the right technology, we can make full use of the garbage by-product.

in the mean time, i wonder where we can get the grass that the article mentioned:
http://images.teamsugar.com/files/upl0/2/20652/03_2008/Vetiver.jpg
http://images.teamsugar.com

dinabaw

January 19th, 2009, 03:39 AM

^^ you mean vertiver grass francis? AFAIK Banaue Rice Terraces already making used of the grass against soil erosion but availability i have no idea maybe DENR or DOST can provide you saplings .

dinabaw

January 19th, 2009, 03:46 AM

venntro

February 9th, 2009, 10:05 AM

Bayong production gets support of green groups (http://http://www.gmanews.tv/story/147942/Bayong-production-gets-support-of-green-groups)
02/09/2009 | 03:19 PM

MANILA, Philippines - A government project promoting the production of the bayong, a bag made of indigenous materials, reaped the support of an environmental coalition.

If properly implemented, the bayong project under the government’s Comprehensive Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program (Cleep), will help in generating sustainable jobs, particularly in the countryside, the EcoWaste Coalition and the Miss Earth foundation said in a jont statement.

Both groups issued this statement as various stakeholders met on Monday at a summit convened by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to formulate strategies that will create and preserve jobs in the middle of a global economic slowdown.

“Investments in the production of bayong using indigenous and renewable materials could spur local self-reliance with the creation of much-needed jobs amid the increasing unemployment," Ofelia Panganiban of the EcoWaste Coalition’s Task Force on Eco-Livelihood said.

Based on DTI calculations, the domestic demand for bayong can reach as much as P1.3 billion yearly if every Filipino family above the poverty threshold buys a bayong at P100 per year.

“The fact that many consumers are beginning to realize the environmental and climate effects of plastic bags and are slowly switching back to bayong and other reusable carry bags as eco-friendly shopping companions will surely guarantee market demand for the timeless bayong," Cathy Untalan, Executive Director of the Miss Earth Foundation, added.

“To complement the bayong livelihood project, we urge the DTI as well as the local government units (LGUs) to take bold steps to regulate and restrict the use of plastic bags and proactively promote the use of bayong and other eco-friendly alternatives," the EcoWaste Coalition and the Miss Earth Foundation stated.

Imposing environmental levy on plastic bags and banning their use for non-essential purposes (for example, as buntings for community fiestas and other festive occasions) are some of the concrete steps that LGUs can take to curb plastic pollution, the groups said.

The EcoWaste Coalition and the Miss Earth Foundation, which have been holding “Balik-Bayong" direct communication activities since 2006, listed several ways to boost consumer support for the handy bayong.

a. For groceries, supermarkets and department stores to offer their customers options before routinely putting goods in plastic bags, and to provide financial incentives (i.e., discount or rebate) for those who bring their own bayong or other eco-substitutes such as reusable bags and used boxes.

b. For the DTI to sponsor a creative design contest in bayong-making to upgrade the style and durability of the bayong.

c. For the DTI to carry out a year-round “Balik-Bayong" drive with the help of publicly recognized business, political, religious, sports, showbiz, and beauty personalities.

d. For the Department of Social Welfare and Development, local government units, and secular, religious and corporate charities to use bayong for all disaster relief operations and for the traditional gift-giving during Christmas.

e. For Congress to enact a comprehensive “Bayong Sustainability Act" to ensure continued support, promotion, and development for the bayong, locally and globally.

“Balik-Bayong, we believe, is truly a sustainable solution that we should embrace as our country deal with swelling unemployment and the adverse impacts of wasteful consumption, climate change and chemical pollution," the EcoWaste Coalition and the Miss Earth Foundation said. - GMANews.TV

venntro

February 9th, 2009, 10:19 AM

Maynilad to put up water treatment plant (http://http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/metro/view/20090209-188310/Maynilad-to-put-up-water-treatment-plant)

By Riza T. Olchondra
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 15:25:00 02/09/2009

MANILA, Philippines – Maynilad Water Services Inc., which holds the concession contract for the west zone of Metro Manila, is putting up a water treatment plant in Muntinlupa City, one of the controlling firms told the Philippine Stock Exchange.

Metro Pacific Investments Corp., which controls Maynilad together with DMCI Consunji Inc., disclosed to the PSE that Maynilad undertook a ground breaking ceremony in Putatan, Muntinlupa, for its new water treatment plant, on February 6.

Maynilad president Rogelio Singson said that some 105,000 households would benefit from the plant, which could produce 100 million liters per day of water.

It is expected to become fully operational in 2010, said Singson.

The new water treatment plant will source its water from Laguna Lake, and water purification will be done through microfiltration and reverse osmosis, he said.

Pall Corporation, the global leader in filtration, separation, and purification solutions, will be the project's water treatment technology provider, he said

venntro

February 10th, 2009, 02:00 AM

Solon: Nuke power just a glorified stove (http://http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20090210-188402/Solon-Nuke-power-just-a-glorified-stove)
By Philip Tubeza
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:47:00 02/10/2009

MANILA, Philippines—Talk about a higher power to fire up a “glorified stove.”

With three Catholic bishops arrayed against him, Rep. Mark Cojuangco yesterday invoked Pope Benedict XVI and the Bible in his campaign to have the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) up and running.

Cojuangco told Philippine Daily Inquirer editors and staff that while some Filipino bishops were opposed to the BNPP, the Pope and Renato Cardinal Martino, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, supported the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

The author of a bill calling for the reopening of the BNPP said Benedict, on the 50th anniversary of the International Atomic Energy Agency in July 2007, said that the Vatican fully approved and supported the IAEA’s mandate “to accelerate and enlarge the contribution of atomic energy to peace, health and prosperity throughout the world.”

Dagupan-Lingayen Archbishop Oscar Cruz, Balanga Bishop Socrates Villegas and Manila Auxiliary Broderick Pabillo have voiced opposition to the BNPP.

Cojuangco quoted Martino as saying that “nuclear power could be part of a balanced energy mix alongside forms of clean energy” and that “excluding nuclear energy because of a preconceived principle or for fears of disasters could be a mistake.”

The Pangasinan congressman said that he had recently talked with Cruz and Villegas and that after being told about the Vatican’s stance, they were now open to the possibility of having the plant checked if it could become operational.

“He said he was OK with using nuclear energy but he was concerned about waste disposal,” Cojuangco said of his conversation with Cruz.

He said he would see Cruz again and was hopeful he would be able to convince him not only to be “passively supportive but actively supportive.”

Cojuangco said that a big source of nuclear fuel in the United States and Russia was the dismantling of nuclear weapons.

Beating swords

“In the Bible, there’s something mentioned about beating swords into plowshares. This is the ultimate form of doing that. This is the ultimate form of beating swords into plowshares,” he said.

He dismissed concerns that there were not enough qualified Filipinos to run the BNPP, saying that it was just a “glorified kalan,” or stove.

“They say it’s too complicated a technology,” Cojuangco said. “In a traditional power plant, the kalan is heated by coal or gas. In a nuclear power plant, the kalan is heated up by nuclear material that gets hot.”

“There are no moving parts inside a reactor. It’s a big stove. We Filipinos cannot run a stove? I can’t believe that,” he added.

Cojuangco said that Filipino mechanical engineers could easily study nuclear energy either here or abroad. He said South Korea had simulators so that trainees would be ready for any emergency.

Korean study

Following the oil crisis of 1973, the dictator Ferdinand Marcos ordered the construction of the Westinghouse plant in 1976. The 621-megawatt project was completed in 1984 at a staggering cost of $2.3 billion from an original estimate of $500 million.

With Marcos’ ouster in the 1986 People Power Revolution and the subsequent Chernobyl nuclear plant disaster in the Soviet Union, President Corazon Aquino ordered the plant mothballed. It never generated a single watt of electricity.

The massive debt taken on the plant was finally repaid in April 2007.

But with looming power shortages, the Arroyo administration has begun considering operating the mothballed plant whose nuclear reactor remains intact and continues to be maintained.

In December 2008, the 0National Power Corp. signed an agreement with Korea Electric Power Corp., allowing the South Korean firm to undertake studies on the possible revival of the BNPP.

Not an atomic bomb

Cojuangco sought to dispel fears that terrorists might attack the plant with devastating consequences.

“A plant cannot explode like an atomic bomb. Why? It’s simple. The fuel is kulang sa anghang (needs to be spiced up). You see, natural uranium has .7 percent U-235, which is the fissionable part of uranium; while 99.3 percent is U-238, which is nonfissionable. When you make it into nuclear fuel, you enrich it to 1.5 percent U-235 so you double the natural abundance,” Cojuangco said.

“To make a bomb, you need 80 percent U-235 so even if the fuel melts down and it mixes inside the reactor, it will never explode,” he said.

While there are geological fault lines near the plant, the nearest being 64 kilometers away, the BNPP would be safe since it automatically shuts down when there is an intensity four earthquake, Cojuangco said.

He said the BNPP also had a built-in facility for its nuclear waste for 20 years.

Cojuangco said that should his bill pass, there would still be a “validation” process to ensure that it is safe to operate the BNPP. The process would take three years and cost $1 billion, according to his bill.

He denied that he wanted the BNPP reopened because San Miguel Corp., which is headed by his father Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco, was investing in the power sector. He said the plant would be run by the government.

The congressman said the BNPP would produce energy at P2.5/kilowatthour or P2 cheaper that the P4.5/kilowatthour rate offered by National Power Corp.

“How can this not be a good deal for the Filipino? We’ve been spending P40 million pesos a year. Since Cory, we’ve already spent P800 million to maintain it and we will continue spending that without anything coming out of it,” Cojuangco added.

venntro

February 10th, 2009, 05:50 AM

RP-US sign environment, energy pact (http://http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/breakingnews/view/20090210-188460/RP-US-sign-environment-energy-pact)
By Joel Guinto
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 11:39:00 02/10/2009

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines and the United States signed on Tuesday an agreement for continued cooperation on environment and energy projects, that will see as much as $73 million in grants to Manila over a six-year period.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ralph Recto and United States Agency for International Development Director Jon Lindborg, signed for the Philippine and US governments in ceremonies at the Palace.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and US Ambassador Kristie Kenney witnessed the signing.

Kenney said the Philippines has been recognized as an "environment superpower" because of its rich natural resources.

But the US envoy said that "with this great richness, comes great responsibility."

Recto said the grants would be used to develop clean energy resources and maintain biodiversity, among others.

venntro

February 10th, 2009, 06:05 AM

UP Professors push Geothermal as better and cheaper option to Nuclear Power (http://http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/02/10/09/professors-push-geothermal-better-and-cheaper-option-nuclear-power)
Leilani Chavez, abs-cbnNEWS.com | 02/10/2009 11:38 AM

Instead of re-opening the controversial Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) the government should focus on enhancing geothermal power capacity in Visayas and Mindanao as a way to fill the projected 2012 energy shortage, professors at the University of the Philippines said at a recent forum on the pros and cons of nuclear energy.

Geothermal power is not only cheaper, speakers at the forum pointed out that it also does not require expensive decommissioning costs that nuclear power plants entail.

The forum was the second in a series of discussions to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of House Bill 4631 or the Bataan Nuclear Powerplant Commissioning Act of 2008, a bill that aims to re-open and rehabilitate what became known as the country’s “white elephant.”

The bill was authored by Pangasinan Rep. Mark Cojuangco and Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel Arroyo.

Marcos Era relic

The BNPP was a brainchild of the Marcos administration and was built to solve the dwindling energy source of the time. Built with a US$1.2 billion budget acquired thorough loans that eventually ballooned to US$2.4 billion, it is the largest debt the country has occurred for a single unit.

Although completed, the plant became nothing more than a white elephant as it never produced a single watt and was never put to good use. Various “defects” found during the Aquino administration and strong resistance from various civil groups led to the eventual closure of the plant.

Recently, however, the energy department raised the possibility of rehabilitating the mothballed plant once again as a way to address a projected energy shortage come 2012.

Figures stipulated in the 2006 to 2012 Energy Plan from the Energy department showed that there will be an estimated 1,495 megawatt shortage, according to Giovanni Tapang, chair of AGHAM and assistant Professor at the University of the Philippines’ National Institute for Geological Sciences (UP-NIGS).

The Energy department projects that 2534 to 3400 megawatts of power is needed by 2012 to supply the anticipated demands of the country. Luzon will be needing 1750 megawatts, Visayas requires 390 megawatts, and Mindanao, 394 megawatts of energy.

To this effect, the DOE is targeting to build 7,200 megawatts in new power generating capacity for Luzon from 2008 to 2014, 600 megawatts in Visayas from 2008 to 2014, and 850 megawatts in Mindanao from 2005 to 2014.

Shortage in Visayas, Mindanao

“At the moment, we don’t feel the shortage because we have lots of extra power,” said Tapang. He explained that power generation is basically concentrated in Luzon and the grid is currently experiencing an oversupply of energy.

Despite this excess, the energy cannot be distributed to Visayas and Mindanao for lack of transmission lines. “If you generate power in Luzon and send it to Visayas and Mindanao, you get line cost,” said Kelvin Rodolfo, Professor Emeritus at the University of Illinois at Chicago and adjunct Professor at the University of the Philippines’ National Institute for Geological Sciences UP-NIGS.

The BNPP is within the Luzon grid. Even if it is revived, it cannot address the power needs of Visayas and Mindanao if there are no transmission lines, Tapang said.

Further, Tapang added that, “The shortage can be addressed even without the operation of a nuclear plant” as even the Energy Plan made no mention of using BNPP to augment its energy resources.

Included in the potential sources is the construction of different plants in various strategic locations in the country. According to Tapang, the energy plan identified Mindanao as a potential spot for numerous hydro plants.

Although the geothermal potentials left were small-scale and can only produce a maximum of 100 megawatts of energy, majority were in Visayas and Mindanao and could be used to boost their respective energy grids.

Cheaper option

“Small localized plants” will cut the cost of power in the regions as it will require less cost in power transmission, according to Rodolfo.

Moreover, Tapang adds that geothermal power is a cheaper and better option compared to nuclear. He states that investing on a geothermal power plant, which can create 750 megawatts of energy, costs US$1.43 billion.

The BNPP, which has the capacity to produce 650 megawatts of energy, already cost the Philippines US$2.3 billion. The bill indicates that another US$1.4 billion is needed to re-open the nuclear plant.

Comparatively, a geothermal power plant, which can create 750 megawatts of energy, costs US$1.43 billion, according to Tapang.

Likewise, geothermal plants have low levelized costs, this includes the operation, maintenance, and the capital cost of the plant. Lower levelized costs mean cheaper energy.

According to Tapang, the levelized cost of nuclear energy range from US$97 to US$141 per megawatt. It is in the same price range as coal (US$67 to US$144) and solar (US$90 to US$145). Geothermal only has a levelized cost that ranges from US$42 to US$69.

Aside from these amounts, the bill also provides that one centavo per kilowatt hour will have to be deposited by the National Power Corporation to the national treasury for use in decommissioning the plant. This will amount to US$168 million over 30 years of operation.

But this number is small, Tapang quips. “Typical decommissioning in the United States costs US$325 million per reactor. Compared to typical rates, these are going to be small. We’re going to have to pay more.”

A computation of the direct costs of rehabilitating the plant shows that there will be 10 centavos per kilowatt hour charge for the total power generation, according to Tapang. For an average home that uses 300 kilowatt per hour of electricity every month, an additional 30 pesos, or nuclear tax, will be added on top of the original electricity bill.

The price does not include value-added tax and was based on the 48,000 gigawatts total consumption in 2007. Using this number as a basis, Tapang explains that consumers will need to pay 1,800 pesos for the first five years.

“If you look at the bill closely, there is still an additional US$500 million balance that needed to be taken up as loans,” Tapang points out. The idea of borrowing might cause additional problems since there is another possibility of paying for interests.

The money used to construct the BNPP also came from loans. “Delays and interest payments which drag the original price tag twice its original price can also drive this US$500 million loan higher,” Tapang warns.

If decommissioning costs are added, each household would have to pay 14 pesos monthly, or a total of 2,640 annually on top of the ordinary bill for the first five years. Costs are still to be collected as the plant is being used, says Tapang.

Dante_Tagle

February 10th, 2009, 07:13 AM

Last year, an anxious, depressed 17-year-old boy was admitted to the psychiatric unit at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne. He was refusing to drink water. Worried about drought related to climate change, the young man was convinced that if he drank, millions of people would die. The Australian doctors wrote the case up as the first known instance of "climate change delusion."

Robert Salo, the psychiatrist who runs the inpatient unit where the boy was treated, has now seen several more patients with psychosis or anxiety disorders focused on climate change, as well as children who are having nightmares about global-warming-related natural disasters.

Such anxiety over current events is not a new phenomenon. Worries about contemporary threats, such as nuclear war or AIDS, have historically been woven into the mental illnesses of each generation. But global warming could have a broader and deeper effect on mental health, even if indirectly.

"Climate change could have a real impact on our psyches," says Paul Epstein, the associate director for the Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard Medical School.

Over this century, the average global temperature is expected to rise between 1 degrees and 6 degrees Celsius. Glaciers will melt, seas will rise, extremes in precipitation will occur, according to scientists' predictions.

There is evidence that extreme weather events, such as droughts, floods, cyclones, and hurricanes, can lead to emotional distress, which can trigger such things as depression or post-traumatic stress disorder, in which the body's fear and arousal system kicks into overdrive.

After Hurricane Katrina, rates of severe mental illness - including depression, PTSD, anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and a variety of phobias - doubled, from 6.1 percent to 11.3 percent, among those who lived in affected regions, a 2006 study by the Hurricane Katrina Community Advisory Group said.

Rates of mild-to-moderate mental illness also doubled, from 9.7 percent to 19.9 percent.

"After a disaster, people can feel inadequate, like outside forces are taking control of their lives," said Joshua Miller, a professor at the Smith College School for Social Work who responds to disasters worldwide. "They can't see a positive future. They tend to lose hope or become depressed."

Severe disasters also destroy the infrastructure needed to provide mental health care, and forcibly displace people, severing social connections when people need them most, Miller said.

Climate change is expected to create about 200 million environmental refugees by 2050, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the international body established within the United Nations to evaluate causes and consequences of global warming.

Of course, no one can predict what effect warming will have on our psyches. The links between mental illness and the weather can be tenuous or even downright contradictory. Depending on which studies you read, suicide is more common, less common, or equally common in hot weather. Ditto dry weather.

But even in the face of uncertainty, specialists say the indirect effects of global warming could be substantial.

Though much of the anxiety centers on the possibility of extreme weather events, global warming will also transform the natural environment in a more gradual way, they say. These changes could have their own effect on mental health.

"It's not all trauma," said Carol North, a psychiatrist who runs the trauma and disaster program at the Dallas VA Medical Center. "Some of it's a quiet decline of quality of life."

Indeed, climate change may eventually deplete natural resources, make it more difficult for people to live off the land, and disrupt the global food supply.

"That will mean declining socioeconomic status and quality of life across the world," North said, and "depression, demoralization, disillusionment."

In India and Australia, where severe droughts have already taken a toll on agriculture, researchers have noted an uptick in suicides among farmers.

On the other side of the globe, the changing Arctic climate is expected to make hunting and fishing far more difficult for the people who live there. The Arctic Climate Impact Assessment says that such changes threaten Inuit culture, and that increases in domestic violence, drug and alcohol abuse, and suicide may result.

Glenn Albrecht, director of the Institute for Sustainability and Technology Policy at Australia's Murdoch University, has examined the psychological distress people experience in the face of this kind of slow, but chronic, change in their environments. His work with Australian communities living in areas changed by strip mining or drought revealed that people felt disconnected from nature, were no longer able to find solace in it, and they felt helpless.

"Climate change is a massive driver of change in people's home environment," Albrecht said. "These changes become sources of chronic stress."

Albrecht and his colleagues developed and verified an Environmental Distress Scale, designed to identify stresses related to the degradation of external environments.

"We tend to consider ourselves highly mobile global citizens, but we have a very profound connection to our environment," Albrecht says. "We tend to take that for granted."

So what's to be done? We need to train people to administer "psychological first aid," Smith's Miller said. That means making sure people feel safe after a natural disaster, and educating them about the kinds of psychological responses they might experience.

In the long term, we may also derive some psychological benefit from banding together with other citizens to mitigate the effects of global warming. Taking action might not only give us back a sense of our own sense of efficacy against a powerful outside force, but also help us build community and social ties that offset stress, said Epstein and other specialists.

"Getting involved can be an antidote to the depression that can come from the overwhelming realizations that we have to face . . . ," Epstein said. "It can be empowering to realize that what you do is effective."

http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/green/articles/2009/02/09/climate_change_takes_a_mental_toll/?page=full

venntro

February 11th, 2009, 05:33 AM

Senator wants stranding of dolphins probed (http://http://www.gmanews.tv/story/148200/Senator-wants-stranding-of-dolphins-probed)
02/11/2009 | 05:33 AM

MANILA, Philippines – The Senate’s recent drift into doing probes on a wide range of anomalies may not spare the stranding off Bataan of hundreds of melon-headed whales – also known as many-toothed blackfish, or electra dolphin.

Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri on Tuesday asked experts to investigate the cause of the sudden appearance of more than 300 electra dolphins near the shores of Pilar town in Bataan province Tuesday morning.

Zubiri said the small whales must have acted abnormally for swimming in shallow water, as these are known to be deep-sea species.

The senator suspected the dolphins’ habitat must have been disrupted, forcing them to flee and seek refuge in shallow waters.

Zubiri wanted the experts to look into the possibility that an earthquake study in the South China Sea by the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (L-DEO) - a collaborator of Columbia University in the US - caused the abnormal behavior of the small whales.

He said that the L-DEO undersea experiment involves blasting, which might have annoyed the dolphins.

“The earthquake study is a sea floor investigation project in the exclusive economic zone that includes Taiwan, China, Japan and the Philippines for its earthquake research," he said.

Washington-based animal rights group Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association (WaH) had been reported protesting to halt the L-DEO study as it is destructive to marine ecosystem.

Based on a statement of Robin Winkler, founder of WaH, the multi-beam echo sounder air gun, which will be used in the experiment, could produce a noise equivalent to 265 decibels (dB), almost as deafening as the atomic-bomb blast that could scale up to 300 dB.

Zubiri also cited an International Union for Conservation of Nature study saying that the melon-headed whales may have been distracted by the South China Sea study, forcing the dolphins to wander in the shallow waters.

“On top of saving stranded dolphins, we should find the cause for the tragedy in order to avoid them in the future and to be prepared when it occurs again," Zubiri said.

According to Wikipedia, the Melon-headed Whale [Peponocephala electra; other names are many-toothed blackfish and electra dolphin] is a cetacean of the oceanic dolphin family [Delphinidae]. It is closely related to the Pygmy Killer Whale and Pilot Whale, and collectively these dolphin species are known by the common name blackfish. The Melon-headed Whale is widespread throughout the world's tropical waters, although not often seen by humans on account of its preference for deep water. - GMANews.TV

Dante_Tagle

February 12th, 2009, 04:57 AM

The following are based on Nicholas Stern’s report regarding the potential long term environmental and social impacts of climate change:

More extreme weather events (floods, droughts and more powerful storms)

Access to water will be affected (water shortages, salt water intrusion of aquifers, etc.)

Coastal flooding

Increase in food prices due to declining food production (increase hunger, malnutrition, diseases, etc.)

Millions of ‘climate refugees’

Social unrest (the most affected countries will be prone to political instability)

Damage to infrastructures

Climate change threatens the security and cohesiveness of families, communities and nations. Stern stated: ‘ Greater resource scarcity, desertification, risks of droughts and floods, and rising sea levels could drive many millions of people to migrate – a last-resort adaptation for individuals, but one that could be very costly to them and the world.’ (Stern 2007, p.128)

The effects of climate change threatens the existing cohesiveness of families (if others try to migrate and others choose to stay for example) and communities as well as having the potential to re-ignite past conflicts, spark new ones and exacerbate existing ones on a national level. As was the case in many parts of Africa and Asia, drought and access over water was the primary cause of violence and conflict (cross border conflicts between Senegal and Mauritania; Uganda and Kenya; Bangladesh and North India).

In my opinion, if such scenarios would take place, a less democratic form of government (ex. military juntas) would take hold in many developing countries as lawlessness increases and a stronger hand is used as a justification to contain it. There would also be a rapid growth in religious, social, political and other movements as people seek protection, support and solutions amid growing uncertainty.

The growing social unrest would probably give rise to 'gated cities'. At the moment, gated communities for the rich already exists (ex. Forbes Park in the Philippines). The gated cities will be a place where the rich can live, work and play with a 'secured' supply of food and water. It will have high security borders and an army of security guards to ‘protect’ them from the climate change victims outside the walls. I wouldn't be surprise if in the Philippines, such gated cities take place in areas like Makati and the Fort section of Taguig.

It is imperative therefore that governments all over the world urgently take action on climate change to prevent such catastrophe. Time is running out and while we are busy negotiating with each other regarding the course of action to take; it is worth remembering that the laws of climate change physics and chemistry can not be negotiated with.

Source:
http://dantetagle.blogspot.com/

Maxxclip

February 12th, 2009, 06:02 AM

^^Kapag ang punong mangga ay namunga ng lamang-ugat, magtataka ka ba?

Hindi magkakabuto ang gabi kung hindi mo ito gagalawin at babaguhin.

Porknight

February 12th, 2009, 08:58 AM

But the US envoy said that "with this great richness, comes great responsibility."

lol i always liked this ambassador she got sense of humor.

But she is right , we have done very little to preserve our land we should do more.

venntro

February 13th, 2009, 02:29 AM

RP’s jobless to plant trees (http://http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/02/12/09/rp%E2%80%99s-jobless-plant-trees)
Agence France-Presse | 02/12/2009 10:12 PM

President Arroyo is to pay 180,000 people to plant trees across the archipelago as part of efforts to ease the fallout from the global economic meltdown, the government said Thursday.

The P7-billion (148.7 million-dollar) program, to be put in place over the next six months, will be funded by government ministries, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita told reporters.

More than 15,000 people have lost their jobs in the Philippines over the past two months, mostly in the crucial electronics and garments sectors, amid plunging demand for Filipino exports.

The government fears the number could rise to 800,000 people for the entire year before economic recovery sets in.

Congress has passed a 300 billion-peso stimulus package to help the Philippines spend its way out of the slowdown.

"The point is, there are measures being done by the administration to address employment," Ermita said, announcing the program to create 180,000 jobs.

"Our people need not worry," he added.

Ermita said the contractual job offers would be in the so-called "green-collar" category such as "re-greening of logged-over uplands" and the "regeneration of mangrove areas."

Job-seekers would also be paid to clean up coastal areas, plant coconuts, while Manila would fund efforts to retrofit petrol-burning buses to run on liquefied petroleum gas and install solar panels and generate electricity that harnesses rivers in rural areas.

venntro

February 13th, 2009, 04:40 AM

-dp -

venntro

February 13th, 2009, 07:10 AM

Environmentalists protest MMDA's uprooting on Katipunan Avenue (http://http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/metro-manila/02/13/09/environmentalists-protest-mmdas-uprooting-katipunan-avenue)
abs-cbnNEWS.com | 02/13/2009 12:55 PM

A group of environmentalists trooped to Katipunan Avenue in Quezon City and tried to prevent the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) from uprooting old trees.

Bernice de Leon, an environmental protection advocate, said they went to Katipunan Avenue to protest the MMDA's "roadway cleaning operations."

"I don't see how they're causing traffic. Gumagalaw ba 'yan parang Lord of the Rings?" de Leon said, referring to the elks who helped Frodo's gang topple the bad white wizard Saruman Giclee.

The MMDA's road clearing operation, which includes removing trees along the thoroughfare, resumed after the court denied the petition environmentalists' group
to stop the agency from uprooting trees along the avenue.

De Leon went to the area with a group of students from the Ateneo Univeristy and protested the uprooting. The group tried to prevent the clearing operation, but they were prevented by MMDA personnel.

Robert Nacianceno, MMDA general manager, said Thursday that they have uprooted 16 trees planted on the center island of the thoroughfare.

Nacianceno clarified that the trees were not cut by MMDA personnel, but were uprooted. He said they used the method of balling to make sure that the uprooted trees are safe.

He said the uprooted trees will eventually be replanted along the other roads in Metro Manila.

The MMDA said the trees were being uprooted from Katipunan Avenue as part of its road-widening project. It said the trees are one of the reasons for the usual heavy traffic on the avenue.

Monica Edralin, an Atenean, said she doesn't see how the uprooting will help ease traffic on the avenue. She said without the trees, the area might become prone to accidents. With a report from Jenny Reyes, ABS-CBN News

venntro

February 14th, 2009, 02:13 AM

Army introduces organic farming in Negros hinterlands (http://http://www.gmanews.tv/story/148782/Army-introduces-organic-farming-in-Negros-hinterlands)
02/14/2009 | 07:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Army in Negros Oriental will launch an organic farming project to help poor residents of Sitio Kakha in Barangay Talalak in Sta. Catalina town.

Online news site Visayan Daily Star reported that organic farming and vermiculture will be part of a Gawad Kalinga housing project.

Col. Cesar Yano, commander of the 302nd Infantry Brigade based in Tanjay City in Negros Oriental, said soldiers are introducing the new farming program to residents at the GK site.

Yano said that while the GK beneficiaries have not yet moved in to their new homes because of the absence of electricity and water supply, they are already trained on how to produce vermi-cast, a type of organic fertilizer derived from cultured worms such as the African Night Crawler.

According to Yano, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources has allocated a five-hectare lot for communal farming for the GK Housing residents.

Yano and Lt. Col. Erwin Bernard Neri, commander of the 79th Infantry Battalion, visited the GK Housing site in Kakha and delivered a batch of organic fertilizer and vermi.

He said the lot will be planted to sweet corn, as the crop is easy to grow with a shorter harvest period.

In Pamplona town, sweet corn production is booming with a demand for the crop in the market continuously rising.

Sweet corn from Pamplona could hardly meet the demands for nearby Tanjay City alone, he added.

He also said they will help find a market for Kakha residents engaged in the planting of sweet corn.

The organic farming project is part of the non-combat approach of the military in its anti-insurgency campaign to help alleviate the life of poor communities.

Poverty had driven many to join the communist New People's Army. - GMANews.TV

Animo

February 15th, 2009, 08:43 PM

By Gregg Yan (http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2009/feb/15/yehey/top_stories/20090215top5.html)

IT was a clear night. A tiny banca bobbed silently along the Calayo River in Nasugbu, Batangas. Mandoy swung his carbide torch, probing the deep darkness for those elusive swarms of krill known locally as alamang.

Suddenly a giant shadow approached from beneath. “Shark!” thought Mandoy, instinctively grabbing a paddle to defend himself.

With great relief the fisherman realized it was no regular shark, but of the gentle kind locals had seen cruising the coasts of Nasugbu for years. In the river with him, a 15-foot long whale shark was feeding on krill.

What began as just another fishing trip turned out to be the first recorded instance of a butanding entering a freshwater body in the Philippines.

Will wonders never cease?

When we hear of whale sharks, we usually think of donsol in Sorsogon, still the largest known seasonal aggregation of them on earth. Interestingly, more and more sightings are now being reported in Nasugbu and Anilao in Batangas, as well as in other parts of the archipelago.

Discovered by Sir Andrew Smith off South Africa in 1828, the whale shark is the world’s largest fish, growing over 40-feet long. Along with the basking and megamouth, it is one of only three filter-feeding sharks.

Despite its immense size and a mouth wide enough to swallow a five-foot tall person tip to toe, the whale shark is quite harmless to humans.

Locals say that butanding have plied these coasts for generations. But never have they stayed more than a few days in one area.

Here in Hamilo Coast, the butanding stayed for over three weeks–according to local fishermen, the first time they ever did so.

Two-and-a-half hours by boat south of Manila are the 13 sea coves of Hamilo Coast. Once a refuge for blast fishermen, these 13 fingers of land are now a unique eco-tourism project of SM Investments Corp. (SMIC). To help sustain the area’s ecological biocapacity while allowing measured economic development, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) partnered with SMIC to preserve Nasugbu’s natural resource base.

The effects of vigorous coastal resource management efforts, including mangrove reforestation, the installation of giant clams and coral reef protection, are clearly in evidence.

Scores of brightly-colored reef fish, from vividly-hued shoals of fusiliers to herds of ghostly batfish, are gradually returning to the coast’s burgeoning coral reefs.

It’s not just the reef fish. Ten kilometers out, local fishermen are reportedly landing more pelagics: yellowfin tuna, blue and black marlin, trevally (talakitok) and Spanish mackerel (tangigue).

Since this attracts fishing boats from all over, local Bantay Dagat patrols must remain doubly vigilant. Recently a dozen baby manta rays frolicked in three feet of water, not something seen every day.

The presence of large filter feeders such as whale sharks, manta rays and even a beached seven-meter long Bryde’s whale could indicate the return of a strong food base. The creatures are probably attracted to the swarms of krill or plankton that feed on the nutrient-rich runoff from nearby Calayo River.

Nasugbu is at the very mouth of one of the country’s top biodiversity spots–the Verde Passage, once cited as the center of the world’s reef fish biodiversity. Thus it becomes all the more crucial to restore the productivity of this coastline that for decades was degraded by blast and cyanide fishing.

Through World Wide Fund and the local government, Bantay Dagat units were reactivated to purge the coasts of illegal fishers. Awareness campaigns are aimed at fishing communities and do not merely tell illegal fishermen to stop–they explain in simple and blunt detail how destructive practices unravel the marine ecosystems and wipe out their major source of protein.

The return of the butanding, rays and large fish, as well as the forthcoming entry of major tourism investments, have only strengthened the local community’s resolve to stamp out destructive fishing practices. Their efforts are obviously paying off, with fish yields on the rise.

(Gregg Yan is Information, Education and Communications Officer, World Wide Fund for Nature-Philippines)

venntro

February 16th, 2009, 02:47 AM

^^ That's a good sign that our waters are considered safe by these butandings.

venntro

February 16th, 2009, 02:51 AM

Reposting here...

Pasig River back from dead in 7 yrs

By DJ Yap
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:33:00 02/15/2009

Filed Under: Nature, Environmental Issues

MANILA, Philippines—Once upon a time, it was like the “winding river of Paris and canals of Venice.”

But now, the Pasig River is a dead river—a mere repository of human waste and garbage, and an ugly, murky shadow of its former self.

But a private sector-led movement harbors tall ambitions for these languishing waters, which once upon a time, served as inspiration to poets and artisans of old Manila.

Hopes are running high that the Pasig River can be resuscitated and returned to its original glory—sparkling waters, a healthy riverbank and thriving fish and aquatic life. And, according to Gina Lopez of the ABS-CBN Foundation, it can be done in seven years.

“We have a game plan. There’s technology to shift the river, but what is more important is changing the mind-set of Filipinos,” Lopez says during a recent visit to the Inquirer office in Makati City.

The move to rehabilitate the river is gaining ground, she says, thanks to continued efforts to promote corporate social responsibility among private companies and the involvement of other concerned sectors in the project.

In mid-2008, the ABS-CBN Foundation, under Lopez’s helm, entered into an agreement with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for the rehabilitation and development of the country’s major river basins, including the Pasig River.

The hope is that these efforts will result in cleaning the polluted waters of the river well enough so that by 2016, it shall have reached Class C level, Lopez says. “That means you can catch fish in it and eat it.”

Class B means people can swim in it and do other recreational activities, while Class A means the water is drinkable.

‘D as in dead’

Lopez does not know for sure which class the Pasig River has reached, although she surmises, “it’s probably Class D, as in dead.”

She quotes the master architect Daniel Burnham who said that Manila was once described as “possessing the bay of Naples, the winding river of Paris, and the canals of Venice,” referring to the Pasig River system and its tributaries.

Lopez says she has heard many stories about how the Pasig River was so clean that newly circumcised boys were told to chew guava leaves, spit the extract on their privates, and jump into the river.

“Imagine how clean the river must have been that people used it to [disinfect their privates],” she says. “It’s a shame such memories of the Pasig River are being eroded over time by its current, filthy state.”

Methane whirlpool

She recalls a visit to San Juan River, one of the major tributaries of the Pasig River: “We were looking at heaps of trash when I saw whirlpools on the surface. I asked the people, what are those?”

“They told me they were whirlpools of methane. I was shocked. The river was not only dead, it even had methane gas bubbling up toward the surface,” Lopez narrates.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if something mutated and came out of it and started eating people,” she says in jest.

She adds that she even saw what looked like a “shark’s fin” rise to the surface and was told it was a janitor fish, which was feeding on the garbage.

Janitor fish, she says, wreak havoc on the river systems, as they “eat other fish, eat garbage and eat everything in its path.”

P700-million program

The rehabilitation of the Pasig River, which Lopez is comanaging with the DENR and the Pasig River Rehabilitation Program, will require some P700 million in funds.

She hopes to raise the amount through corporate and private sector donations.

The amount, however, does not cover the effort to relocate squatters on the river banks. These informal settlers are reportedly responsible for much of the household wastes thrown into the water.

Lopez says all their efforts would be for naught should they fail to relocate the illegal settlers because the river would just go back to its old state.

“This is why I also wanted management powers in the relocation and housing part of it. We have to make sure they would have better lives in the relocation sites. Otherwise, they would just return to their shanties around the river,” she says.

One possible solution is to work with organizations like Gawad Kalinga and Habitat for Humanity in building houses for the relocated squatters.

Media’s role

The mass media will play a major role in the rehabilitation effort.

“If we did this without the media, the politicians would not take notice. But with media attention, they would be compelled to take action, considering that next year is an election year,” Lopez says.

Media can help by exposing polluters and monitoring their activities. They can encourage community and corporate efforts in cleaning up the river, she adds. Media can also highlight the most successful models and stories and usher in a shift in consciousness among the public.

Lopez believes the private sector should be the driving force in the rehabilitation of the Pasig River to ensure the “consistency of effort,” unlike politician-driven policies that would just change every election year.

She says she has started talks with some scientists about the possibility of using “bio-remediation technology” for the Pasig River. The technology involves introducing “bacteria to eat other bacteria” with no harm to aquatic life.

New river, new life

To breathe new life into the Pasig River, changes should be made—not only in the physical sense, but also in the Filipinos’ consciousness.

“The river is intrinsically connected to our history and our identity as a people,” Lopez says.

Upon learning from her staff that the origin of the word “Tagalog” was taga-ilog or river dweller, she “almost fell off her chair.”

“How can we really be taga-ilog na marumi (from a river that’s unclean)?” she says.

Lopez adds: “The Pasig River is so connected to our psyche, to our consciousness. It’s so connected to who we are. We just cannot leave it the way it is now.”

venntro

February 16th, 2009, 04:46 AM

Rescued whale recovering (http://http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=440801&publicationSubCategoryId=63)
Updated February 16, 2009 12:00 AM

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT, Philippines — One of the dolphins stranded along the coastal towns of Pilar and Orion in Bataan last week is now recovering under the care of animal health experts at the Subic Bay Marine Exploratorium (SBME) here.

The dolphin was transported to the marine facility late Tuesday after it was observed to be having problems in balancing itself.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) administrator and chief executive officer Armand Arreza said veterinarians from the SBME as well as experts from Subic-based groups Wildlife in Need (WIN) and International Development and Environmental Shipping School (IDESS) are now monitoring the animal, which has shown signs of recovery.

At least 200 melon-headed whales, which are considered as threatened species under the dolphin family, were spotted in shallow waters off Bataan recently for still unknown reasons. – Helen Flores

Lito

February 16th, 2009, 06:04 AM

With our commitment to contribute to the preservation of the environment, we will exhibit an interpretation of an environmentally-friendly house designed for the Filipino family. Called the LuzViMinda Eco-House Initiative, it is one of the major highlights at the forthcoming CONSTRUCTION SHOW MANILA 2009 set on 03 to 06 September 2009 at the SMX Convention Center.

LuzViMinda Eco-House Initiative is a joint undertaking between L.A. Ducut and Company, Inc. and ModernA, the project proponent.

venntro

February 16th, 2009, 06:20 AM

venntro

February 16th, 2009, 09:15 AM

Green groups sue San Mateo officials for dumping (http://http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/metro-manila/02/16/09/green-groups-sue-san-mateo-officials-dumping)
abs-cbnNEWS.com | 02/16/2009 2:48 PM

Environmental groups on Monday filed a civil suit against San Mateo Mayor Jose Rafael Diaz and Barangay Captain Cecilia Laceste for allowing the illegal dumping of garbage in the Marikina watershed.

Plaintiffs led by the EcoWaste Coalition, Buklod Tao, Reverend Fr. Alfred Albor and concerned residents asked the Regional Trial Court of San Mateo, Rizal to issue a temporary restraining order to halt the illegal dumping in Barangay Pintong Bukawe that contravenes Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act.

Invoking their right to file a “citizen suit” under R. A. 9003, the plaintiffs accused the defendants of “clear and blatant violation of the law” that prohibits and penalizes open dumping.

“Mayor Diaz and Barangay Captain Laceste have abused their power and positions and have brazenly defied R.A. 9003. By operating the municipal dump inside the Marikina Watershed, they have put at risk the health, safety and well-being of the residents of Barangay Pintong Bukawe and adjacent communities,” Armand Mejia, legal counsel of the EcoWaste Coalition, said in a press statement.

Mejia described the open dumping in Barangay Pintong Bukawe as “grossly and patently “ violating Sections 37 and 48 of R.A. 9003, which ban the maintenance and operation of open dumps.

The plaintiffs assert that Barangay Pintong Bukawe is an environmentally-critical area as it is inside the Marikina Watershed Reservation. The dump ,which caters to mixed solid wastes of San Mateo since 2003, is situated along a ravine with a waterway located below.

The plaintiffs asked the court to declare the open dump in Barangay Pintong Bukawe illegal and to order for its permanent closure and subsequent rehabilitation.

"Adding insult to injury, the two officials also allowed the construction of a new waste disposal facility in Barangay Pintong Bukawe," said Mejia.

Buklod Tao, the EcoWaste Coalition and other groups, including Greenpeace and the Coalition for a Garbage-Free San Mateo, have chided the authorities for allowing the construction of the new San Mateo Landfill in the said barangay in violation of an en banc decision by the Supreme Court.

In a decision penned by Justice Minita Chico-Nazario, the Supreme Court on 13 December 2005 ordered the permanent closure of the old San Mateo landfill managed by the Metro Manila Development Authority, underscoring the fact that the waste facility “has adversely affected its environs and sources of water should always be protected.”

The landmark decision upheld the ban on the construction and operation of landfills or any waste disposal facility that will detrimentally affect environmentally-critical resources such as aquifers, groundwater reservoirs and watershed areas.

In lieu of polluting dumps and landfills, Buklod Tao and the EcoWaste Coalition are pushing for the enforcement of best practices in people-driven ecological waste management, excluding the wasteful and climate warming open burning and dumping of discards.

venntro

February 16th, 2009, 10:24 AM

Atienza slams MMDA for cutting trees (http://http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/metro-manila/02/16/09/atienza-slams-mmda-cutting-trees)
abs-cbnNEWS.com | 02/16/2009 3:52 PM

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources on Monday said the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority must coordinate with the agency on matters of tree-cutting.

In a statement, Environment Secretary Lito Atienza said that tree-cutting is within the mandate of the DENR and not of the MMDA. "Let's put a stop to this public debate. The MMDA has no license to disregard environmental laws," Atienza said.

Atienza stressed the importance of trees in urban centers, saying that trees are responsible in absorbing carbon dioxide, a major cause of global warming and climate change.

"In fact, the DENR has been embarking on massive tree planting not only in the mountains but also along highways and thoroughfares as they not only enhance the landscape but cushion the adverse impact of climate change," he said.

Last week, the DENR issued a cease and desist order against MMDA's tree cutting activities on Katipunan Avenue for removing 25 trees of various species without proper permit.

The MMDA, however, is standing pat on the regularity of the transfer of the trees, claiming an "arrangement" exists between the two agencies.

DENR National Capital Region Executive Director Jose Andres Diaz said that records at the DENR-NCR show that MMDA was granted a 12-point cutting permit on Katipunan Avenue on March 28, 2008 with an effectivity of only 60 days.

Salient in said cutting permit was for MMDA to inform the DENR-NCR office before undertaking the balling and cutting operation specifically the DENR-NCR Urban Forestry Division. Diaz, however, said that this condition was not complied with, let alone the expiration of the permit.

"We are not against the project. But they should adopt the proper procedure in balling and transferring of those trees," said Diaz who immediately inspected the transferred trees and noted serious lapses on the procedure of balling the trees and in the transport of balled trees.

peejay202

February 16th, 2009, 02:40 PM

Monday, February 16, 2009
MMDA denies violating environmental laws

DESPITE getting flak from environmental groups, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) on Sunday defended its decision to cut trees for a road widening project in Katipunan Avenue.

MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando said the agency has the required permits as well as backing of the court before it decided to remove the trees last week.

"Regarding the issue of permit, we have already secured the necessary authority from the previous DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources) administration for our tree-balling operation not only in Katipunan but in other areas of Metro Manila," said Fernando.

Valentine's 2009 blog

"And for the record, we wanted to clarify reports that the MMDA has cut the trees. We didn't cut any trees, we just remove them and transplanted them to areas ideal in Marikina, Pasig and Quezon City that is conducive for their growth," he added.

Environment Secretary Lito Atienza was earlier quoted as saying that the MMDA failed to secure a permit for its tree-cutting activities in direct violation of Presidential Decree 953, which penalizes unauthorized cutting, destruction, damaging, and injuring of trees, plants, and vegetation.

Fernando said a total of 29 trees were "balled" and transplanted. Those removed included a dozen acacia trees, six mahogany trees, two narra trees, three banaba trees, a balete tree, a camachile tree, a campanella tree, and a fire tree.

According to the MMDA, the removal of the trees and the center island would pave the way for the road-widening project, thereby ensuring smooth flow of traffic.

As to the statement of DENR-executive director Jose Andres Diaz that the MMDA's move was done "improperly," Fernando said they have utilized sophisticated equipment and the work was supervised by experts.

He further said the criticisms leveled against the agency are "misplaced," adding that he and the MMDA shared the same concern for the environment.

"Rest assured, for every tree we have removed, we will plant hundred or even a thousand trees," the MMDA chief stated. (AH/Sunnex)

venntro

February 17th, 2009, 01:46 AM

‘Greenhouse accounting’ monitors carbon-burning by Aboitiz employees (http://http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/business/02/16/09/%E2%80%98greenhouse-accounting%E2%80%99-monitors-carbon-burning-aboitiz-employees)
By Wilfredo Rodolfo III, Business Mirror | 02/17/2009 2:41 AM

As the effects of global warming become more and more apparent, a local power company is establishing a unique way of helping the environment.

Listed company Aboitiz Power Corp. is in the middle of a process unique to most companies—greenhouse accounting.

“In the course of doing daily business, people are actually burning carbon,” AP’s Cleanergy brand manager Margaret Ann Gravador said. “By knowing how much we burn, we can make steps in lessening it.”

The company created its greenhouse brigade and has since started accounting all their activities that burn carbon, from business trips, to commuting to and from the office, to power consumption in offices even trash generation.

“Before, we just plant trees, but now [through greenhouse accounting] we can quantify how many hectares of trees we need to have to offset our emissions,” Gravador said.

Based on preliminary data, the company has discovered that one company employee making five round trips from the company’s base in Cebu to Manila where it does most of business, emits one ton of carbon into the atmosphere.

Put into perspective, 1 hectare of fully grown acacia trees can absorb 18.77 tons of carbon a year. A hectare of coconuts can also absorb some 192 tons of carbon a year.

Greenhouse accounting is relatively new to the Philippines, which has no emission limits as set by the Kyoto protocol being a developing country. In highly developed countries, however, greenhouse accounting is being practiced by industries and even on the national level.

After the establishment of the baseline data at AP, the company is set to implement measures to lessen its carbon emissions— power conservation, transport efficiency and the traditional tree-planting activities.

It is also set to offset its carbon emissions by producing more renewable energy, through its investments in hydroelectric and geothermal -power generation projects.

Currently, Aboitiz Power comprises 9 percent of the country’s total power production capacity. Its biggest power production comes from geothermal- power sources at 44 percent, followed by hydroelectric generation (33 percent) and 15 percent from coal and diesel plants.

The company has also ventured into clean development mechanism projects, selling carbon credits produced by its renewable-power plants for First World countries to offset their emissions. The Sibulan power plant by subsidiary Hedcor was the first project in the Philippines that has been listed by the United Nations as a Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project, while SN Aboitiz has applied for a CDM certification for its expansion of the Binga generation plant.

“It is a lifestyle change for our company and our people,” Gravador said. “Surprisingly, many employees still have not heard of the term ‘climate change.’ This is a start.”

venntro

February 17th, 2009, 01:54 AM

SC OKs creation of body to oversee Manila Bay cleanup (http://http://www.gmanews.tv/story/149063/SC-OKs-creation-of-body-to-oversee-Manila-Bay-cleanup)
02/16/2009 | 11:17 PM

MANILA, Philippines - The Supreme Court has approved the creation of an advisory committee that will oversee the performance of various government agencies tasked to clean Manila Bay.

The SC, in a minute resolution, designated Associate Justice Presbiterio Velasco Jr. as chairman of the advisory committee.

Velasco was the one who penned the decision for the cleanup of Manila Bay. He will be assisted by Assistant Court Administrator and SC spokesman Jose Midas Marquez, who was chosen as the committee's vice chairman.

Other members of the committee are former Environment Secretary Elisea Gozun, former Environment Undersecretary and Dean of the Ateneo School of Government Antonio G.M. La Vina, and former director of the UP Marine Science Institute Dr. Gil Jacinto.

The creation of the advisory committee came following the filing of a motion for clarification by several urban poor groups and residents who were displaced by demolition activities by the Metro Manila Development Authorities (MMDA) in line with the December 18, 2008 decision of the SC.

In a seven-page motion, petitioners through their lawyer Bienvenido Salinas Jr. said the demolition by the MMDA violates Section 28 of Republic Act 7279, otherwise known as “An Act to provide for a Comprehensive and Continuing Urban Development and Housing Program, Establish Mechanism For Its Implementation, and For Other Purposes.”

In the Velasco ruling, the Court directed the MMDA, local government units and other concerned government agencies to undertake joint efforts to clean up the waters of Manila Bay for recreational purposes. - GMANews.TV

venntro

February 17th, 2009, 02:05 AM

'Irked’ Atienza scolds MMDA over tree cutting (http://http://www.gmanews.tv/story/149090/Irked-Atienza-scolds-MMDA-over-tree-cutting)
02/17/2009 | 07:49 AM

MANILA, Philippines - Environment secretary Jose Atienza Jr. scolded the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) for not coordinating with his department on tree-cutting.

Atienza, in an article on the Department of Environment and Natural Resources website, said tree-cutting is within the mandate of the DENR and not MMDA.

"Let's put a stop to this public debate. The MMDA has no license to disregard environmental laws," he said, The DENR article described him as "obviously peeved" while chiding the MMDA.

He lectured the MMDA on the importance of trees in urban centers, saying that trees are responsible in absorbing carbon dioxide, a major cause of global warming and climate change.

Atienza said the DENR has been embarking on massive tree planting not only in the mountains but also along highways and thoroughfares as they not only enhance the landscape but cushion the adverse impact of climate change.

Last week, the DENR issued a cease and desist order against MMDA's tree cutting activities on Katipunan Avenue for removing 25 trees of various species without proper permit.

But the MMDA stood pat on the regularity of the transfer of the trees claiming an "arrangement" exists between the two agencies.

DENR Metro Manila executive director Jose Andres Diaz said records at the DENR-NCR show that MMDA was granted a 12-point cutting permit on Katipunan Avenue on March 28, 2008 with an effectivity of only 60 days.

The cutting permit required MMDA to inform the DENR-NCR office before undertaking the balling and cutting operation specifically the DENR-NCR Urban Forestry Division.

Diaz said this condition was not complied with, let alone the expiration of the permit.

"We are not against the project. But they should adopt the proper procedure in balling and transferring of those trees," said Diaz who immediately inspected the transferred trees and noted serious lapses on the procedure of balling the trees and in the transport of balled trees. - GMANews.TV

Lito

February 17th, 2009, 02:45 AM

^^ Hope you can post some of the concepts here as well.

http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/4038/manilacon2009go3.jpg

Lito

February 17th, 2009, 02:48 AM

‘Green’ home to rise in Bulusan
Charles E. Buban
Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines—Filipino-Australian Edith Gapas-Dome neither drives a hybrid car nor shops exclusively at natural food and beauty stores. And she doesn’t lose sleep worrying about climate change.

But she is showing the way on how to go green in the house that is taking shape in her hometown of Bulusan, Sorsogon.

Her planned house would make that passionate environmentalist Al Gore proud.

To name a few of the house’s earth-friendly features, the roof will be made of PVC instead of the usual corrugated GI sheets, the concrete walls will have polystyrene (styrofoam) in the middle, and the rooms will be decked out with nontoxic paint.

Even the appliances that will be bought are rated to use less electricity, and the bathroom and kitchen fixtures that will be installed are designed to use less water.

First in RP

“My husband and I weren’t planning to go green when we decided to build some sort of a retirement house in Bulusan. But when our architect described the benefits—lower electricity and water bills, better indoor-air quality, plus the fact that we will not be spending a lot of money—we agreed that it would be worth it,” Dome said.

Dome will be the first in the Philippines to benefit from the LuzViMinda Eco-House project that ModernA launched a few months ago.

ModernA is a small but dedicated group of architects that promotes energy-efficient and environmentally sound housing designs for middle-income Filipino home buyers.

Its first project is LuzViMinda Eco-House, which will build relatively inexpensive houses with a low adverse impact on the environment.

“It’s not easy to buy or build an affordable eco-house here in the Philippines. A lot of home buyers here think that green architecture has a price premium and that it’s only for people who can afford it,” explained architect James Jao, who conceived and co-founded ModernA.

“The need for eco-friendly house designs is becoming increasingly urgent. Sadly, this issue has to take a back seat here in the Philippines, where a lot of Filipinos are homeless or living in substandard housing,” he lamented.

Blueprint

But Jao, who completed a bachelor’s degree in architecture at the University of Santo Tomas and a master’s degree in city design and social science at the London School of Economics and Political Science, believes that the LuzViMinda Eco-House project will prove that a middle-income Filipino family can afford to enjoy sustainable living.

To drive home this point, Jao’s team built a mock eco-house and displayed it during the recent Manila Construction Show 2008 held at the SMX Convention Center in the SM Mall of Asia Complex in Pasay City.

According to Jao, the 121-square-meter house (with a 33-square-meter garage and a 20-square-meter loft) serves as a blueprint of Dome’s future house—25 percent more energy-efficient, cheaper to build, and, best of all, constructed in accordance with the strict and world-renowned building regulation standards of the United Kingdom.

“While [the mockup] costs over P1.5 million to build, the price of the actual house is expected to be much lower,” Jao said. “But on the other hand, even at P1.5 million, Dome will no longer have to spend so much on energy and water bills and be able to enjoy a healthy environment with her family.”

Dome said part of the agreement with ModernA was to open her eco-house to the public on certain days for viewing.

Said Jao: “The objective is to gain more support and to prove to more Filipino home buyers that they don’t need to spend much to acquire an environment-friendly house.”

He added that another eco-house was being planned in Cebu.

Green strategies

The way Jao explained it, a LuzViMinda Eco-House utilizes forward-thinking green strategies that promote energy efficiency, conservation and quality of life while taking advantage of the economic benefits of green architecture to keep living costs down.

For example, the PVC roof can reflect 90 percent of the sun’s heat, keeping the house’s interior cool even during the summer months.

The concrete walls with styrofoam filling are not only lightweight and thinner than the hollow-blocks-and-cement combination but are also more durable and provide a more effective barrier to external heat and noise.

Jao is adding a filtration system to allow the use of rainwater for cleaning or watering plants.

Local materials

For lighting, a solar panel will be installed, as well as energy-saving lamps positioned throughout the house. This setup, Jao said, could provide monthly savings of P1,200 on electricity.

All the materials used in the mockup and in the house being built in Bulusan are available locally, Jao said.

Green guide

He said his group spent some time researching “to determine each of the materials’ eco-friendliness” because unlike Europe and the United States, the Philippines had no “green guide” to provide “product recommendations and their relative environmental impacts.”

For a green guide, Jao consulted England’s Code for Sustainable Homes but made some revisions to make it appropriate for the Philippines.

The code works by awarding new homes a star rating from one to six, based on their performance against nine sustainability standards—energy and carbon dioxide emissions, water, materials, surface water runoff, waste, pollution, health and well-being, management, and ecology.

On top of everything else, the LuzViMinda Eco-House project is very flexible in terms of design and materials, Jao said.

“In fact, if the national or local government will provide tax-support incentives, for example—the construction price could go much lower that even mass housing developers may be able to afford it.”

venntro

February 17th, 2009, 02:49 AM

^^ LuzViMinda Eco-house... hmmm. Has a nice ring to it.

Lito

February 17th, 2009, 03:10 AM

Nowadays, sustainable building or green building practices have become essential considerations to homebuyers and homeowners. Not only because a sustainable building is energy-efficient, but also it is healthy and environment-friendly.

This most recent development in the building industry was a major highlight during the Manila Construction Show 2008 event at the SMX Convention Center early this month. Amid the wide array of eco-friendly products exhibited was the mock up of LuzViMinda Eco-House, which stood out as a case study on sustainable housing.

The LuzViMinda Eco-House is 25-percent more energy-efficient than ordinary houses, according to James Jao, the architect who adopted the United Kingdom standards in designing and building the structure.

The UK code measures nine categories, such as energy and carbon dioxide emissions, water, materials, surface water run-off, waste, pollution, health and well-being, management and ecology.

The 120-square-meter Luz- ViMinda Eco-House that was built outside the SMX for the exhibit had all the aforementioned attributes. It was a joint project of ModernA, a group of architects (all are members of the United Architects of the Philippines) from Luzon, Visayas and Minadano and L.A. Ducut and Company Inc.

Jao, who has a master’s degree in City Design and Social Science from the London School of Economics and co-founder of ModernA, said the group’s aim is to help Philippine housing industry to achieve “zero net emissions of carbon dioxide.”

And putting the LuzViMinda Eco-House on exhibit was meant to show that this is achievable.

The group used materials that conforms and adheres to green products based on the code of sustainable homes of the United Kingdom because, Jao said, “the Philippines does not have the codes of sustainable homes yet,” Jao said.

The walls of the LuzViMinda Eco-House had thermal insulation; its roof was made of locally manufactured 2 mm PVC materials; its windows had double glazed-glass from Asahi, while the window frames were also made of PVC.

The group also installed a dual flush toilet with the required 3 to 6 liters flushing to reduce water usage. The specification for the shower is 67 liters per minute of water.

For the lighting, Jao said, they used Megaman energy-saving light bulbs, which could be powered by solar energy.

“The main aim of the project is to make known to every Filipino what an eco-house really is,” Jao said, adding that “green building” does not necessarily mean using native materials, such as bamboo.

“[An Eco-House] can have a very contemporary cutting edge design,” he said.

Edith Gapas-Dome will be the first to benefit the LuzViMinda Eco-House here in the country, which is under construction in Bulusan, Sorsogon.

“That’s why I [have been] encouraging politicians to immediately work on this code because for developers, manufacturers and home owners, we should get incentives from building Eco-House,” he added. “This is our contribution to Mother Earth.”

Lito

February 17th, 2009, 03:11 AM

opening windows and using ceiling fans can help. by keeping air flowing we do not body heat with us. Circulating air feels breezy and comfortable.

Lito

February 17th, 2009, 03:14 AM

http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/4329/img0410dm5.jpg

With the advent of the fiber cement boards (Hardiflex et al) and light gauge steel framing the demand for wood in construction had reduced already. As an act of conservation and recycling, scrap wood are turned into lumber by finger jointing or engineered wood. Finger jointed molding and door frames are cheaper and as good and even better than natural lumber. Laminates, fiber boards, Gypsum boards and chip boards are basically from recycled materials or even byproducts of others.

Lito

February 17th, 2009, 03:18 AM

So how will the LuzViMinda Eco-House Initiative be constructed?

“It starts with the building envelop which will be composed of a prefab modular panels made of concrete combined with polystyrene material. These panels are excellent insulators that minimize heat absorption. The exterior walls will be protected by ‘Wallguard,’ while the interiors sealed by an anti-bacterial paint. The roof will feature 2 mm PVC materials that is locally manufactured in Pasig City,” he said.

He added that window frames would also be made from PVC.

For more efficient water utilization, they have selected toilet with dual flush—showers that give out 6-7 liters of water per minute—and there will be a tank that will collect rain water, Jao said. Solar energy will be utilized to heat water.

For the lighting requirements, Megaman energy-saving light bulbs, the latest in bulb technology, will be used. These could also be powered by solar energy.

“Low-e” white line products—washing machine and refrigerator—have been selected for a smaller carbon footprint.

“There will also be a ‘green wall,’ which is a vertical garden that will work well in an urban setting where space is tight. Herbs and vegetables could be planted here. Even wood products will be sourced from farmed forests and will be treated with eco-friendly solutions for less environmental impact,” Jao added.

With all that, the LuzViMinda Eco-House Initiative hopes to give an example of a house with sustainability designed in that should set a precedent for the Philippines.

Lito

February 17th, 2009, 03:24 AM

http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/1572/ecohouse111wq5to9.jpg

venntro

February 17th, 2009, 03:31 AM

^^ It's a nice concept. The design though is like in the seventies. Does this also take into consideration that we have more rainy months within the year?

Lito

February 17th, 2009, 05:42 AM

mock up (original materials) 7 days lang po namin ito ginawa sa parking area ng SMX

http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/8853/img0492py4.jpg

http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/8281/img0541az5.jpg

http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/2117/img0576bg1.jpg

http://img365.imageshack.us/img365/5814/img0592kw5.jpg

venntro

February 17th, 2009, 05:45 AM

^^ Is the system similar to Vazbuilt?

Lito

February 17th, 2009, 05:53 AM

http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/1104/img0600vi4.jpg

http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/6118/img0597he4.jpg

http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/1147/img0599xm4.jpg

http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/1479/img0589pj9.jpg

http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/8348/img0623ti1.jpg

http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/8894/img0624te8.jpg

Lito

February 17th, 2009, 05:54 AM

^^ Is the system similar to Vazbuilt?

no it is different...

the building envelop composed of a prefab modular panels made of concrete combined with polystyrene material. These panels are excellent insulators that minimize heat absorption. The exterior walls will be protected by ‘Wallguard,’ while the interiors sealed by an anti-bacterial paint. The roof will feature 2 mm PVC materials

Lito

February 17th, 2009, 05:57 AM

we are not selling this eco house or even the design.

highlight ito ng MANILACON Exhibit.

Maxxclip

February 17th, 2009, 05:58 AM

http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/1572/ecohouse111wq5to9.jpg

nice house:okay: i like bungalow house...easy to maintain and easy to build

venntro

February 17th, 2009, 06:15 AM

no it is different...

the building envelop composed of a prefab modular panels made of concrete combined with polystyrene material. These panels are excellent insulators that minimize heat absorption. The exterior walls will be protected by ‘Wallguard,’ while the interiors sealed by an anti-bacterial paint. The roof will feature 2 mm PVC materials

^^ Thanks for taking time to explain it.

venntro

February 17th, 2009, 06:16 AM

Lawmakers want probe on dumpsite projects in Rizal (http://http://www.gmanews.tv/story/149133/Lawmakers-want-probe-on-dumpsite-projects-in-Rizal)
02/17/2009 | 12:02 PM

MANILA, Philippines - Party-list lawmakers sought Tuesday an investigation on the ongoing construction of dumpsite projects in Barangays Maly and Guinayang in San Mateo, Rizal, which may endanger the lives and livelihood of the people in the area, including the Marikina watershed reservation.

Bayan Muna Reps. Satur C. Ocampo and Teodoro A. Casino filed House Resolution 948 directing the House Committee on Ecology to conduct an inquiry and propose the necessary remedial legislation.

Ocampo and Casino also wanted to determine if there were irregularities in the construction of the dumpsites, such as the alleged violations of the Local Government Code that requires prior consultation with affected areas before any national project affecting the environmental and ecological balance of communities can be
implemented.

"Residents of the area said no public consultations or hearings have been made in Barangay Maly and Guinayang, such that many are not even aware that a dump is being built right in their midst," Ocampo said.

The congressmen also cited the importance of the area to remain protected since it is part of a watershed reservation.

The construction of a dumpsite or any waste facility will imperil the safety and cleanliness of groundwater resources and jeopardize the health of millions of residents of Rizal and Metro Manila who get their water supply from the watershed, Ocampo said.

Ocampo cited Presidential Decrees 705 and 7586, which provides that affected areas with slopes above 50 degrees should be put under permanent forest cover due to their environmentally critical nature.

"Removing the forest areas for a dumpsite can lead to deadly landslides, flash floods, massive soil erosion, and other natural hazards that will endanger people's lives and sources of livelihood," Ocampo said. - GMANews.TV

venntro

February 18th, 2009, 02:28 AM

Manila Water goes full throttle in wastewater program (http://http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/business/02/17/09/manila-water-goes-full-throttle-wastewater-program)
By JUDITH BALEA, abs-cbnNEWS.com | 02/17/2009 9:41 PM

After having achieved major improvements in its water supply services, Ayala-owned Manila Water Co. is investing heavily on wastewater and sanitation projects this year.

Half of Manila Water's whopping P10 billion capital outlay for 2009 would go to its wastewater treatment program, according to company president Antonio Aquino.

This year's spending budget is more than double the P4.2 billion allocated last year.

"Our focus is largely on wastewater now," Aquino said, noting that most of their customers already enjoy 24 hours of water availability.

Manila Water, which services the east zone of Metro Manila, has stepped up efforts in increasing sewerage and sanitation coverage in its concession area to manage wastewater disposal, which it said, was the main culprit in the pollution of river bodies.

Aquino said they would continue to invest in upgrading the Magallanes Sewage Treatment Plant, catering mainly to the Makati business district, and the South Septage Treatment Plant (SSTP) in Taguig City.

The SSTP, which is said to be the biggest septage treatment facility in Southeast Asia, has the capacity to process 815 cubic meters of sludge per day from more than 86,000 households in Makati, Mandaluyong, Pasig, Taguig, San Juan and Pateros.

Also, to revitalize the Marikina and Pasig river systems, Aquino said Manila Water would be putting in place several other sewerage treatment plants.

More investments

Aquino stressed they would not hold back on expenditures this year even with the delay in the implementation of the rate-rebasing tariff adjustment for 2009.

Every five years, regulators conduct the rate-rebasing exercise to set the needed tariff adjustments in relation to water utilities' spending programs.

"We will continue with our capex program and make sure the delay in tariff adjustments will be mitigated through cost and operational efficiency measures. We don't want to go on a downward spiral by cutting investments," he said.

Manila Water has increased rates this month but only to cover inflation and fluctuations in the foreign exchange.

The bulk of the approved rate-rebasing adjustment due for implementation this year was deferred by regulator Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System to soften the impact of water rate hikes on consumers.

Aquino said that despite the deferment, "we will still be able to accomplish our investment objectives."

He said the company's P10 billion capex program this year would be funded through internal cash and proceeds from its P4 billion bond issuance last year.

"We have enough money," said Aquino.

Manila Water, which has 5.6 million customers in the east zone, ended 2008 with a net income of P2.79 billion, up 15.8 percent year-on-year, owing to higher billed volume.

The company said its investments added 46,765 new household connections to its customer base and allowed it to bring down its non-revenue water or water losses to 19.60 percent in 2008 from 24 percent in 2007.

venntro

February 18th, 2009, 07:33 AM

MWSS must answer for La Mesa mess (http://http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=441323&publicationSubCategoryId=64)
GOTCHA By Jarius Bondoc Updated February 18, 2009 12:00 AM

Of the feedback to my item last week on lax security at La Mesa dam, one merits citing. Reader Proceso de los Reyes wants officials who secretly built the two residential subdivisions inside the state property jailed. And well they should be. For, their narrow-minded, selfish sleaze blinded them to threats of sabotage to the capital’s water supply. They are the best proof that corruption and ineptitude go hand in hand.

For decades La Mesa was off-limits to outsiders, except for EcoPark, a wooded fringe in Fairview, Quezon City, open to strollers. Guards drove poachers out of the 2,700-hectare reservoir and 3,000-hectare forest around it. The filtrations were deemed highest-security facilities. Only waterworks employees were allowed in, and only if on duty. Under martial law in the ’70s Marines patrolled the dam compound. Security was tightened all the more after 9/11. Military agents mobilized soon afterwards when a South Asian was spotted sneaking several times over the perimeter fence. Subdivision dwellers outside the complex cooperated; their own safety depended on the dam’s defense. Suspicious activities promptly were reported to waterworks officials. A neighbor was turned over for punching a hole through the fence and erecting a dog and rooster farm in the woods inside. It was the residents outside who first noticed and kept an eye on the foreign intruder.

It was the residents too who noticed the surge in vehicle traffic to and from the dam five years ago. City hall had spanned a bridge to EcoPark, for tourists and heavy trucks of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System. But jeepneys, taxis, and cars kept rumbling over the aqueduct that was not meant to carry such load for long. Reporting to barangay officers, the residents discovered the twin rackets inside the complex. Policemen to whom the MWSS had turned over the task of securing the reservoir and filtrations were exacting fees for motorists to illicitly shortcut to and from Fairview and Novaliches. Worse, MWSS trustees crookedly had awarded themselves and key managers residential lots in the state land, and then built houses. The aqueduct, actually the dam’s spillover to Tullahan River but asphalted for occasional light vehicles, became their private driveway. A terrorist could rent a trustee’s house, or ride one of the vehicles passing over the aqueduct, and throw poison into the reservoir below. A plain vandal could wreak similar damage to the tap supply of millions of Greater Manilans.

MWSS trustees couldn’t care less. They illegally had parceled state property to themselves and their favorites. Having built homes inside the dam complex, they now gaily treat it as their private preserve and motor even in restricted areas. They can’t tell the cops to stop letting outsiders through the aqueduct. What moral ground would they have if told to mind your own racket while the cops go about theirs? Both are in violation of the Water Code of 1976, the Forestry Code, and the Clean Water Act, though.

Ph Man

February 18th, 2009, 07:18 PM

http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/1572/ecohouse111wq5to9.jpg

Can you tell us how much will be spent in building this house. And kindly give us specific details of materials used, speecial features, etc...of course without necessarily divulging what needs to be kept undisclosed.

venntro

February 19th, 2009, 02:51 AM

SMART named the first winner of global ‘Green Mobile Award’
(http://http://www.mb.com.ph/BSNS20090219148470.html)
By EMMIE V. ABADILLA

For using wind and solar energy to power cell sites in remote areas of the country, Smart Communications Inc. (SMART) won the newly introduced "Green Mobile Award" at the 2009 global congress of the mobile phone industry in Barcelona, Spain.

Smart’s "Alternative Power for Cell Sites" program uses renewable energy sources to power cell sites in "off-grid locations" where setting up and operating a cell site is not normally feasible.

To date, Smart has about 68 renewable energy-powered cell sites in the country, of which 41 are run by wind energy while 27 are hybrid – using both wind and solar energy.

Benefits of the program include reduced operational costs due to lower diesel consumption, reduced oil spills and carbon emissions, better community relations and seamless data/voice service in off-grid areas.

Smart started working with a local vendor in December 2006 to set up the Philippines’ first wind-powered cell site in Sitio Guimbitayan in Malapascua Island, northeast of Cebu.

Late last year, a GSM Association (GSMA) Development Fund survey of 25 mobile operators across the developing world that use renewable energy sources concluded that Smart is the leader among mobile network operators worldwide in using wind energy to power its cell sites.

GSMA is the global umbrella organization of the mobile communications industry, covering 219 countries, with over 750 mobile operators, as well as 200 companies, as members.

Judges noted that Smart’s entry was "an impressive project showing real benefits - this reduces fuel and handling costs, pollution, and noise - as well as making mobile communications more widely available by enabling cell sites in off-grid locations."

Smart won over entries from companies such as Nokia Siemens Networks (Environmentally Sustainable Business (ESB) initiative), Vodafone (Reducing Network Energy Use), Alcatel-Lucent (Eco-sustainable Communications Transformation), and Telenor (Climate Change Programme).

AT Kearney, the first carbon-neutral top-management consultancy in the world, sponsored the Green Mobile Award.

"We are proud that a Philippine company has won the first green award to be given by the GSMA. Given the growing global concern about climate change, this is a very relevant and meaningful award that will challenge us to do more," declared SMART president and CEO Napoleon L. Nazareno.

SMART also received nominations in the Best Use of Mobile for Social and Economic Development category and the Marketing & Promotion-Best Broadcast Commercial category for the Infoboard Community Solution and the SMART Bring Me Along TV Commercial for Uzzap, respectively, making it the only Filipino company with the most number of nominations in any given GSM Awards season.

This year’s GSM Awards attracted more than 450 companies vying for 16 open categories ranging from mobile services, breakthrough technologies and use of mobile for socio-economic development.

In 2001, SMART won the Most Innovative GSM Wireless Service for Customers award for its electronic wallet service Smart Money.

Meanwhile, SMART Load, the over-the-air prepaid reloading service, was cited as the Best Mobile Application or Service - Consumer Market in 2004. Most recently, SMART’s "1-in-5 Panalo" promo implemented for the global cola brand Pepsi was awarded Best Mobile Advertising in the GSMA’s inaugural Asia Mobile Awards 2007

dinabaw

February 19th, 2009, 04:33 AM

Regions

New species in Davao bolsters case for biodiversity conservation -DENR
02/18/2009 | 04:22 PM

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/media/ALeqM5iDYEH9Rr5KrDY4Q-sIM0fmX5Ok3A?size=m
The Hamiguitan batomys, or hairy-tailed rat, is a
yellow-brown rodent with a long furry tail. AFP

MANILA, Philippines - The discovery of a new species of small rodent in Mt. Hamiguitan in Davao Oriental bolsters the case for biodiversity conservation, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources said Wednesday.

DENR Secretary Jose Atienza Jr. made the call after the Philippine Eagle Foundation and Chicago-based Field Museum of Natural History discovered the new species.

"We have long taken great pride in our wealth of flora and fauna and this new discovery reinforces our efforts to make the protection of these unique and endemic species found in the country our top priority," Atienza said on the DENR Web site (www.denr.gov.ph).

The Hamiguitan batomys or Hamiguitan hairy-tailed rat is a yellow-brown animal with a long furry tail, weighs about 175 grams, and is related to several other species known in Central Mindanao, Dinagat Island and Luzon.

It lives only from an elevation of 950 meters and up to the peak, in dwarf mossy forests of areas less than 10 square kilometers.

Atienza said it is very likely there will be more discoveries of new species in the country, but some of these species might already be threatened before they are discovered.

He said that while government moves to conserve them, everyone must do their share to protect the country's forests, which is home to wildlife.

Global scientists had declared the Philippines as one of only a few mega diverse countries in the world where rich flora and fauna are found, he said.

According to team leader and lead author Danilo Balete, "hamiguitan batomys is the first mammal to be described from Eastern Mindanao, and is the first mammal that is thought to live only in that area."

"Most mammals unique to Mindanao were described from Mt. Apo or Mt Kitanglad. This points to eastern Mindanao, especially Mt Hamiguitan, as a biologically unique part of the Philippines," he said.

The new species was found in May 2006 during an expedition that sought to learn more about the region, which is also home to the globally endangered Philippine Eagle, the country's national bird.

"Mt. Hamiguitan fully deserves to be among the global heritage sites,"
said Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau Director Mundita Lim, which has endorsed the inclusion of Mt Hamiguitan to the UNESCO World Heritage List. - GMANews.TV

GMA News (http://www.gmanews.tv/story/149357/New-species-in-Davao-bolsters-case-for-biodiversity-conservation--DENR)

dinabaw

February 19th, 2009, 06:48 AM

Eco-House does not mean it's environmental -friendly it's cost less to build.

dinabaw

February 19th, 2009, 06:51 AM

Rare Philippines quail spotted - on way to cooking pot

AFP - Tuesday, February 17

MANILA, Feb 17, 2009 (AFP) - A rare Philippines quail that was feared to have become extinct has been photographed alive for the first time -- as it was headed for the cooking pot, ornithologists said Tuesday.
ADVERTISEMENT

Hunters snared the Worcester's buttonquail (Turnix worcesteri) in the Caraballo mountain range last month and a TV crew took pictures and video footage of the live bird at a poultry market, the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines said.

Club president Michael Lu said the group was "ecstatic" about the find, but they also "feel sad that the locals do not value the biodiversity around them."

He added: "What if this was the last of its species? Much more has to be done in creating conservation awareness and local consciousness about our unique threatened bird fauna."

Named after Dean Conant Worcester, an American zoologist who worked in the Philippines in the early 20th century, the bird was previously only known through drawings based on dead museum specimens collected decades ago.

"This is a very important finding," said Philippines-based Arne Jensen, a Danish ornithologist who heads the bird club's records committee.

"Once you don't see a bird species in a generation, you start to wonder if it's extinct, and for this bird species we simply do not know its status at all."

The quail's breeding area remains unknown though ornithologists suspect it resides in the high mountain grasslands of the Cordillera mountain range to the west of the Caraballos on the main island of Luzon.

The quail was being sold at a Manila wet market in Manila in 1902 and since then, just a few single specimens have been documented in Nueva Vizcaya and Benguet provinces, which form part of the two mountain ranges, the club said.

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/afp/20090217/tap-philippines-wildlife-bird-5cc1ef8.html

venntro

February 19th, 2009, 06:52 AM

venntro

February 19th, 2009, 07:05 AM

Bohol bans possession, display of tarsiers (http://http://www.gmanews.tv/story/149426/Bohol-bans-possession-display-of-tarsiers)
02/18/2009 | 10:48 PM

MANILA, Philippines – Bohol is no longer the right place for people who want to own a tarsier or use it for commercial purposes.

This was after the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Bohol passed an ordinance prohibiting the possession and display of tarsiers, considered as the smallest primate species in the world.

A report in GMA News’ “24 Oras” Wednesday said the approval of the measure was triggered by the proliferation of farms and businesses that are displaying tarsiers for a fee.

Violators of the ordinance would be slapped with a P5,000 fine and will be meted with a jail term of not less than six months, the report said.

The report said tarsiers suffer stress every time they are exposed to humans. It added that the provincial government wanted tarsiers to remain in their natural habitat.

The provincial government also passed a resolution urging the Environment Department to stop issuing wildlife permits that allow the use of tarsiers for commercial purposes.

Aside from Bohol, tarsier can be found in Samar, Surigao and Sulu islands. - Fidel Jimenez, GMANews.TV

dinabaw

February 19th, 2009, 09:34 AM

venntro

February 19th, 2009, 09:42 AM

thats good news ....no petting is a must for a delicate animals.

^^ More importantly, tarsiers will not be disturbed in their sleep. Tarsiers are nocturnal animals and if people started displaying them and petting them during daytime, it wreaks havoc to their body clock.

bartstrife99

February 19th, 2009, 01:48 PM

New rat species found on Philippines mountain

MANILA (AFP) – A new species of rat has been found on a mountain in the southern Philippines, the environment department said on Wednesday.

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/afp/20090218/capt.photo_1234977981580-2-0.jpg?x=213&y=248&xc=1&yc=1&wc=351&hc=409&q=85&sig=SKHBbbkS83O.R95cPB3FWQ--
The Hamiguitan batomys, or hairy-tailed rat, is a yellow-brown rodent with a long furry tail.

Weighing about 175 grams (6.2 ounces), it lives 950 metres (3,117 feet) above sea level in the dwarf mossy forests of Mount Hamiguitan on Mindanao island.

It was discovered in a joint US-Filipino expedition in 2006 that involved experts from the Chicago-based Field Museum of Natural History, the Filipino government agency said in a statement.

The Hamiguitan batomys is related to several other species found in central Mindanao, neighbouring Dinagat island and the main Philippine island of Luzon.

But its natural habitat is an area of less than 10 square kilometres (3,861 square miles), the agency said.

Lawrence Heaney, curator of mammals at the Chicago museum, said: "The unusual geological history of eastern Mindanao leads us to predict that additional species currently unknown to anyone except local residents are likely to live there."

He said the team would continue to "find, formally describe and learn about the habitat needs of these species before logging, mining, or other human activities reduce their chances for survival".

Heaney said the Philippines "has one of the largest numbers of unique species of mammals of any place in the world. Over 125 mammal species live only in the Philippines."

Danilo Balete, the Filipino leader of the expedition, said the Hamiguitan batomys "is the first mammal to be described from eastern Mindanao, and is the first mammal that is thought to live only in that area."

This, he said, leads him to suspect that the mountain is "a biologically unique part of the Philippines".

Hopefully i am in the right thread to post it here, additionally we must protect,prevail and preserve our national wildlife and their habitat to prevent them in extinction before its too late.IMHO ONLY IN THE PHILIPPINES

tonight

February 19th, 2009, 04:06 PM

DENR to hire over 100,000 "green collar" workers (http://abs-cbnnews.com/business/02/19/09/denr-hire-over-100000-green-collar-workers)

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is hiring thousands of "green collar" workers to pursue its reforestry drive while supporting the government's job creation thrust.

In a media briefing on Thursday, DENR secretary Lito Atienza said they would tap over 111,500 people to work in the country's upland areas and forests.

He sad DENR would spend P1.5 billion in its Upland Development Program where 52,425 farmers would be hired to plant forest and fruit-tree seedlings, including high-value crops.

About 49,318 hectares of upland and 2,000 hectares of mangrove areas, mostly in the provinces, have been set aside to be reforested under the said program. Each hired farmer will be given a hectare to develop.

Moreover, Atienza said another P1 billion would be spent on the DENR's Bantay Gubat Project "where 59,111 upland residents will be hired as forest guards."

Some 6.2 million hectares of forest lands will be covered by the Bantay Gubat Project and forest guards will be assigned to patrol 342 hectares of forest land to detect timber poaching and forest fires as well as to collect seeds.

venntro

February 20th, 2009, 03:15 AM

2 threatened owls escape cooking pot (http://http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=441905&publicationSubCategoryId=63)
By Charlie Lagasca Updated February 20, 2009 12:00 AM

SANTIAGO CITY, Philippines – Two endangered owls were rescued in Quirino province last weekend, according to the San Isidro community environment and natural resources office here.

Officer Pablo de la Cruz said the owls were turned over to the regional office of broadcaster ABS-CBN here.

“It’s fortunate that the finders thought of turning over the birds instead of selling or having them for food, which is the common practice,” said De la Cruz.

Farmers Elmer Pacio and Roseller Domingo found the owls wandering in a sprawling field, apparently weak.

Instead of selling or eating the owls, Pacio and Domingo gave them to a school utility worker who in turn handed them over to the ABS-CBN office here.

“It’s possible that the birds’ habitat was already running out of food, prompting them to scout for other feeding areas,” De la Cruz said.

Owls, which hunt small mammals, insects, and other birds (some specialize in hunting fish), belong to the order of birds of prey, comprising 200 species. The bird species, mostly solitary and nocturnal, is found in practically all regions of the earth except Antarctica and some remote islands.

A number of endangered species of birds including the Philippine eagle have been rescued in different parts of the northern Sierra Madre.

Environmentalists believe that endangered animal and flora species have been displaced or threatened due to illegal logging, kaingin or slash and burn farming, forest burning, hunting and other environmentally destructive activities.

venntro

February 20th, 2009, 03:41 AM

2,000 Brazil buffaloes for dairy program (http://http://www.mb.com.ph/BSNS20090220148567.html)

A Dairy Fast Track (DFT) program will bring in by the middle of the year 1,000 to 2,000 dairy animals likely from Brazil as part of a P1.4 billion poverty alleviation program up to 2010.

The DFT of the Department of Agriculture’s Philippine Carabao Center (DA-PCC) envisions to stock up a total of 7,000 breeder animals up to 2010.

An estimated P323 million has been allocated this year for the first year of the DFT which has been originally scheduled since 2007. The last breeder importation of the country was yet in 1996. But this year’s importation of breeder buffalos may be timely and critical in light of the global economic crisis.

"The dairy buffalo is a good program to address poverty alleviation. I think the program will be an insurance against this crisis because when a farmer has his buffalo, he may not be exporting, but he’s generating income," said PCC Executive Director Libertado C. Cruz in an interview.

The country will likely import from Brazil since the cost of buffalo imports from Bulgaria has gone up with Bulgaria’s adoption of the euro as currency having become part of the European Union and as the country itself is expanding its breeder base, Cruz said. On the other hand, aside from having regions that are free from foot and mouth disease (FMD), Brazil has significant breeder stock that it can ship out, he said.

While India has the biggest buffalo population in the world, the country does not import from India due to the presence of FMD.

Government has not yet conducted a bidding for the program, so it does not have yet an estimate of the actual cost of the importation. Locally, available ready-to-breed animals cost P35,000 to P50,000.

The dairy program up to 2010 actually includes provision for post harvest needs including farmers’ training, milk collection systems, , storage and processing facilities.

"Our role is to emphasize correct husbandry and feeding to farmers."

Farmers that will avail of the breeder base expansion have long been identified and have long been waiting for this program which is essentially a rural-based development enterprise.

"The carabao is really associated with poor farmers. These

tonight

February 22nd, 2009, 07:42 AM

Ailing sea turtle rescued in Leyte (http://abs-cbnnews.com/nation/regions/02/20/09/ailing-sea-turtle-rescued-leyte)

DULAG, Leyte – Fishermen rescued a hawksbill sea turtle afloat on the Dulag sea in Leyte province Thursday.

Environment officials said they decided to put off the release of the turtle since the animal seemed to be sick.

“Normally, sea turtles swim under the sea. Since this was found afloat, I immediately suspect that there’s something wrong with the animal. Accordingly, the fishermen found a rotting hook of a fishing pole strucked in one of its flippers. That might have caused an infection that makes the animal weak,” explained Tito Simbulan of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

The turtle was brought to a local veterinarian's office and the Regional Animal Diagnostic Laboratory for examination.

Ruth Dumilon, a resident, said she will also ask help from the provincial veterinarian. “Meantime, as an SOP here, we will get the turtles’ body temperature and take blood samples to find out his CBC (complete blood count). If there are more white blood cells, it’s an indication of a possible infection,” Dumilon added.

The hawksbill was temporarily confined at the laboratory for observation and medication.

tonight

February 22nd, 2009, 07:54 AM

LBP signs P1.2-B loan agreement with KfW for ‘green’ projects (http://www.mb.com.ph/BSNS20090222148751.html)

A P1.2-billion loan agreement has been signed by the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) with the Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau (KfW) of Germany for the Energy Efficiency and Climate Protection Project.

The loan facility will beef up LBP’s loan release for environment-related projects which totaled to P16 billion in 2008, up by 31 percent from P12.2 billion in 2007.

"We are pleased to partner with KfW on this project which will help address the effects of climate change. This is also in line with Land Bank’s priority program for energy efficiency and environmental protection," said LBP President Gilda E. Pico in a statement.

The energy efficiency and climate protection credit line will finance projects that have components for the reduction of carbon dioxide-emitting energy sources like diesel, coal, and gas. It can finance projects that will replace energy resources that have other greenhouse gas emissions or those that will replace the use of chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) which has destructive effects on the ozone layer, and any other technology that will raise energy efficiency.

Pico said eligible borrowers under the facility are private companies that have at least 70 percent Filipino ownership.

Renewable energy projects eyed to be financed by LBP are those on hydro, geothermal, biomass, and biogas. As of December 2008, listed for funding are projects with estimated value of P14 billion.

Energy efficiency and environmental protection projects have become a secondary thrust of LBP considering their effect on industry efficiency and businesses’ sustainability.

For its priority sector which is agriculture and agricultural businesses, LBP’s loan release totaled to P124.3 billion in 2008, up by 67.3 percent.

The state-owned bank is in custody of P7.36-billion worth of production loan for rice and other food crops under the Agricultural Guarantee Fund Poor (AGFP). The AGFP is a facility whose fund comes from a pool of fund by government-owned and controlled corporations and government financial institutions.

venntro

February 23rd, 2009, 01:53 AM

Groups form 'human banner' versus nuclear plant revival (http://http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=442770&publicationSubCategoryId=63)
By Katherine Adraneda Updated February 23, 2009 12:00 AM

Hundreds of environmental activists organized by Greenpeace form the words ‘No to BNPP’ at the Sunken Garden of the University of the Philippines campus in Quezon City yesterday. They protested a plan to revive the operations of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant. Boy Santos
| Zoom MANILA, Philippines - Groups opposing the proposal to revive the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) formed yesterday a “human banner” to express their protest against the plan and they urged lawmakers to reject the bill that favors the opening of the nuclear plant.

The environmental organization Greenpeace said at least 700 volunteers participated in the formation of the human banner spelling “No to BNPP” at the University of the Philippines Sunken Garden in Quezon City. The volunteers belong to Greenpeace and the Network Opposed to BNPP.

Greenpeace has been urging congressmen to reject the proposed bill to revive the BNPP because the re-commissioning of the nuclear plant would make Filipinos dependent on the “world’s most dangerous and expensive source of electricity.”

“Rep. Mark Cojuangco’s plan to ‘validate’ with the purpose of reviving and commissioning this nuclear plant, is the height of irresponsibility and arrogance. The BNPP was mothballed for safety reasons, which today still remain undisputed by any expert or study,” said Beau Baconguis, campaigns manager for the Philippines of Greenpeace Southeast Asia.

The measure to revive the BNPP is currently being debated at the House Committee on Appropriations after it passed the Committee on Energy headed by Pampanga Rep. Mikey Arroyo, a co-author of the bill. Critics have noticed the “undue haste” with which the bill is proceeding in Congress.

The bill will require all energy consumers to pay at least 10 centavos more for electricity to partially shoulder the plant’s rehabilitation, and also allows the government to enter into a multi-million dollar loan for the plant’s revival, Greenpeace pointed out.

Greenpeace said aside from the “dubious monetary allocations” that are being debated in the Committee on Appropriations, it is questioning the entire premise of the bill, which it asserted is “falsely and misleadingly presupposes that the only way to stop climate change and achieve energy security is through nuclear power.”

“Our congressmen must face the simple, indisputable facts that nuclear power is the most dangerous way to generate electricity, there is also no known scientific solution to safely storing plutonium, its deadly radioactive waste-product which remains radiotoxic for 200,000 years,” Baconguis stressed.

venntro

February 23rd, 2009, 02:20 AM

Nuclear energy development better left in private sector hands - Mikey (http://http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=442606&publicationSubCategoryId=66)
By Donnabelle L. Gatdula Updated February 23, 2009 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - Congressman Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo, chairman of the House committee on energy, believes that the development of nuclear energy should be left in private sector hands.

“Privatization is the direction of the government. I think we should go on with that even in the development of nuclear energy for power generation,” Arroyo said in a press briefing over the weekend.

But Arroyo admitted that there are several schemes to be explored on how nuclear power should be handled and developed.

“There are many ways to develop nuclear energy. It could be done through the private sector, by the government or by foreign institution initiatives. But the most important thing here is to ensure that the nuclear facility that we will put up would be safe and will bring reliable and efficient power to the people,” he said.

According to Arroyo, it is also prudent for the Philippine government to come up first with a concrete policy on nuclear energy.

He said it is also necessary for the legislative body to come up with an appropriate bill for nuclear energy development.

“All investors would want to pour in capital in a market where there is a concrete policy,” he said.

Accordingly, Arroyo said they would urged the Senate to closely coordinate with Congress to come up with an appropriate bill on nuclear energy development.

“It (Senate) should have a counterpart bill. We should work on this together,” he said.

Arroyo also said they believe the planned revival of Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) may be “feasible”. “Experts say the revival could be possible,” he said.

The Philippines plans to start up its first 600-megawatt (MW) nuclear power plant by 2025, a data from the Department of Energy (DOE) showed.

The DOE noted that the new nuclear power facility is expected to contribute 0.885 million tonne oil equivalent (MTOE) to the projected energy mix and reach up to 3.54 MTOE by 2035.

This means that the government had already inputted in its energy plan the power that could be generated from nuclear energy.

The DOE said it expects additional nuclear capacities of 600 MW to be in place by 2027, 2030 and 2034.

With this, the total capacity from nuclear under PEP 1998-2035 was projected to reach 2,400 MW by the end of the planning period.

The PEP said the Arroyo administration will be pushing for capability building and enhancement on the various aspects of nuclear energy which will specifically involve training of local manpower for the possible introduction of nuclear into the country’s energy system.

The DOE is currently looking at the possibilities of re-building local technical capability in nuclear sciences and engineering.

At present, the manpower capability of the National Power Corp., the state-owned power generating firm, in nuclear engineering has declined from the original number of 710 engineers who were trained by Westinghouse and EBASCO Overseas Corp. in the 1980’s to only 106 many of whom are now bound for retirement in the next five to 10 years.

As a long-term solution to meet future power demand, the government is exploring two options for nuclear energy development.

One option is to rehabilitate the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP). If the government decides to rehabilitate BNPP, it plans to seek technical assistance from International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

venntro

February 23rd, 2009, 02:25 AM

Department of Energy seeks wider participation in Earth Hour Philippines (http://http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=442619&publicationSubCategoryId=66)
By Donnabelle L. Gatdula Updated February 23, 2009 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Energy (DOE) is encouraging wider participation in this year’s staging of Earth Hour Philippines.

Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes said the program is an effective affirmation of the country’s contribution to combating global climate change and promoting energy conservation.

Reyes said they have received indications of support from various groups such as government agencies, non-government organizations, youth and civic groups, the religious sector and professional associations.

The Earth Hour is an hour-long lights-out event scheduled at 8:30 p.m. on March 28.

The Philippines will join countries around the world in the simultaneous switching off of lights to send a powerful message to global leaders for immediate and united action on climate change.

“Earth Hour will also send a powerful message to every Filipino that, in their own personal capacity, they can fight climate change by practicing energy conservation in their homes or workplaces,” he said.

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), working with the Department of Energy (DOE) and Green Army Philippines Network, is spearheading the event to spread public awareness of Earth Hour’s message to cities and communities all over the country.

Reyes earlier said they are aligning Earth Hour with Switch, a social mobilization movement spawned by the 2008 Philippine Energy Summit, to seize the opportunity to use the switch-off to stress the need for dramatic lifestyle changes and best energy practices to save the planet.

“The energy community plays a vital role in addressing climate change. While energy generation and consumption in the power and transport sectors contribute to the warming of the planet, the energy sector is also in a unique position to promote sustainable power generation, clean transport fuels and best energy practices,” Reyes said.

Reyes also expressed his appreciation to organizations that have signified their full support to Earth Hour.

These include Habitat for Humanity, National Parks Development Committee, League of Corporate Foundations, Episcopal Commission on Youth (Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines), Sustainable Development Solutions for Asia and the Pacific, World Youth Alliance, Manila Jaycees, Department of Education and Philippine Association of Building Administrators.

venntro

February 23rd, 2009, 02:26 AM

venntro

February 23rd, 2009, 08:06 AM

Green Financing offered to organic Benguet farmers (http://http://www.sunstar.com.ph/baguio/green-financing-offered-organic-benguet-farmers)

BENGUET vegetable farmers have made headway in organic agriculture practice with its vision to make Benguet the Organic Food Bowl in Asia.

The La Trinidad Organic Practitioners (Latop) Multi-Purpose Cooperative will give the province a jump start for the future as they received loans through the Green Financing component of the project: Upscaling Organic Vegetable Production in Metro Benguet and Baguio, funded by the Philippine Australia Community Assistance Program (Pacap) and the Foundation for Sustainable Society Incorporated (FSSI) through the Jaime V. Ongpin Foundation Inc. (JVOFI).

The Green Financing assistance is a credit facility that will provide Latop members P25,000 in loans to be used for the construction of organic farming structures such as greenhouses, compost sheds, nurseries and packing areas to improve organic farming production.

To date, 51 LaTOP farmers have availed of the Green Financing loan from both the Pacap and FSSI Project.

JVOFI Executive Director Marichu Lopez said this project for LaTOP would serve as model for the country's agricultural industry. He added that Green Financing is something new to be implemented in the agriculture scene.

She said the project not only responds to poverty reduction in Benguet, but would also address the concerns on environment and health.

Both Pacap and FSSI conform with the vision of JVOFI to promote the production of organic fertilizers for small farmers to minimize their dependence on chemical fertilizers.

Benguet Governor Nestor Fongwan also shares the belief of JVOFI and Latop farmers that going back to the basics through organic farming will provide people with healthier food and will address the problem of the spiralling cost of petroleum-based fertilizers.

JVOFI's Ecological Enhancement Manager Rhoda Fe Buenavista said food security begins in the farming communities, but added that farmers have to know many things before going fully organic.

She stressed farmers must first know the techniques of proper management of soils and nutrients. This is where JVOFI comes in through the "Upscaling Organic Farming in Metro Baguio and Benguet.”

LaTOP members are continuously undergoing training and seminars on organic farming through the capacity building component of the project. LaTOP producers are expected to train more farmers to become organic practitioners.

Through the information and education campaign on organic farming, the organic demo farm modeling aims to establish organic demo farms in Benguet.

Buenavista added, aside from being friendly to the environment and health, organic farming would help rehabilitate and restore the fertility of the soil.

tonight

February 23rd, 2009, 08:41 AM

New rat species discovered (http://www.mb.com.ph/ENVI20090223148521.html)

A new species of rat has been discovered by scientists in the mountains of Davao Oriental, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) announced yesterday.

http://mbweb.alchemy.com.ph/db_images/articles/19hami1235011875.jpg
Hamiguitan batomys or Hamiguitan hairy-tailed rat

DENR Secretary Lito Atienza said the newly found rodent is called the Hamiguitan batomys, also known as the Hamiguitan hairy-tailed rat.

The Secretary described the animal as a yellow-brown rat with a long furry tail, weighing around 175 grams, and is related to several other species known in Central Mindanao, Dinagat Island and Luzon.

He said that the rodent is found only in Mt. Hamaguitan in Davao Oriental and lives only from an elevation of 950 meters and up to the peak, in dwarf mossy forests of areas less than 10 square kilometers.

The rodent was found in May 2006 by an expedition conducted by the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) and the Chicago-based Field Museum of Natural History to learn more about the region which is also home of the endangered Philippine Eagle.

PEF executive director Dennis Salvador lamented that "Mt. Hamiguitan and the rest of Eastern Mindanao is poorly known biologically".

"Sadly, the region is a mining and logging hotspot. At Mt. Hamiguitan, six mining agreements cover more than 17,000 hectares of forest, which is more than half of the mountain’s forest cover. We are working with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Field Museum to learn about the biological diversity and conservation status of the region before habitats get further damaged," he said.

tonight

February 23rd, 2009, 08:42 AM

New rodent species found in Davao (http://www.mb.com.ph/ENVI20090223148696.html)

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources yesterday announced the discovery of a new species of small rodent found in Davao Oriental by conservationist Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) and the Chicago-based Field Museum of Natural History.

The Hamiguitan batomys or Hamiguitan hairytailed rat, found only in Mt. Hamiguitan, is a yellow brown animal with a long furry tail and weighs about 175 grams.

It is related to several other species known in Dinagat Island in Surigao del Norte, in some portions of Central Mindanao, and Luzon.

It lives only in an elevation of 950 meters and up to the peak, in dwarf mossy forests of areas less than 10 square kilometers.

According to team leader and lead author Danilo Balete, "hamiguitan batomys is the first mammal to be described from Eastern Mindanao, and is the first mammal that is thought to live only in that area."

"Most mammals unique to Mindanao were described from Mt. Apo or Mt. Kitanglad. This points to eastern Mindanao, especially Mt Hamiguitan, as a biologically unique part of the Philippines," Balete cited.

He said the new species was found in May 2006 during an expedition that sought to learn more about the region, which is also home to the globally endangered Philippine Eagle, the country’s national bird.

PEF executive director Dennis Salvador said Mt. Hamiguitan and the rest of Eastern Mindanao is "poorly" known biologically.

"Sadly, the region is a mining and logging hotspot. At Mt. Hamiguitan, six mining agreements cover more than 17,000 hectares of forest, which is more than half of the mountain’s forest cover," Salvador said.

"We are working with the DENR and the Field Museum to learn about the biological diversity and conservation status of the region before habitats get further damaged," he added.

Lawrence Heaney, Curator of Mammals at the Field Museum, also a coauthor of the Batomys description, said the unusual geological history of eastern Mindanao "leads us to predict that additional species currently unknown to anyone except local residents are likely to live there."

"Our project with the PEF will attempt to find, formally describe, and learn about the habitat needs of these species before logging, mining, or other human activities reduce their chances for survival," Heaney said.

"The Philippines has one of the largest numbers of unique species of mammals of any place in the world; over 125 mammal species live only in the Philippines .There is truly a wealth of animal and plant life here that is worth protecting," he added.

According to Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Jose Atienza Jr., the discovery of the Hamiguitan is a pride for the Philippines, considered as one of the megadiverse countries when it comes to number and variety of species.

"We have long taken great pride in our wealth of flora and fauna and this new discovery reinforces our efforts to make the protection of these unique and endemic species found in the country our top priority," Atienza said.

He cited that "there is a very high rate of more discoveries of new species in the country." However, he pointed out that some of these species might already be threatened before they are discovered.

tonight

February 23rd, 2009, 09:50 AM

1,400 cops to help DENR protect seas (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20090223-190567/1400-cops-to-help-DENR-protect-seas)

MANILA, Philippines - Some 1,400 personnel from the police's Maritime Group will be deployed to aid the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ (DENR) campaign to protect the country's waters.

The DENR and the Philippine National Police (PNP) on Monday signed a memorandum of agreement for the agency to deputize policemen to protect the country's coastal, forest, mineral, and wildlife resources.

DENR Secretary Jose “Lito” Atienza said protecting the country's natural resources is the answer to the country's economic crisis.

"[If we protect our environment] we will never run out of food. Now we can really enforce the laws. Hindi na magugutom ang Pilipino [the Philippines will never be hungry]," he said.

PNP Maritime Group director Senior Superintendent Freddie Panen said the 1,400 personnel from his office will be concentrated on Manila Bay, Laguna de Bay, Bataan, the Visayas, and Mindanao.

Atienza said that with the help of the PNP, they will focus on intensifying their
campaign against dynamite and cyanide fishing, illegal fishpens, and other forms of abuse on water resources.

Panen said that the Maritime Group is also eyeing the additional procurement of patrol boats and weapons to further strengthen their law enforcement capabilities.

Animo

February 24th, 2009, 12:09 AM

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/media/ALeqM5gD4ZfQv7SoBgsulAfSg3W5roQ5eA?size=m

A rare Worcester's buttonquail (Turnix worcesteri), locally known as Philippines quail

MANILA (AFP (http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gXP0jcV5NnerE9LAuCGxZK84TiQg)) — A rare Philippines quail that was feared to have become extinct has been photographed alive for the first time -- as it was headed for the cooking pot, according to ornithologists.

Hunters snared the Worcester's buttonquail (Turnix worcesteri) in the Caraballo mountain range last month and a TV crew took pictures and video footage of the live bird at a poultry market, the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines said.

Club president Michael Lu said the group was "ecstatic" about the find, but they also "feel sad that the locals do not value the biodiversity around them."

He added: "What if this was the last of its species? Much more has to be done in creating conservation awareness and local consciousness about our unique threatened bird fauna."

Named after Dean Conant Worcester, an American zoologist who worked in the Philippines in the early 20th century, the bird was previously only known through drawings based on dead museum specimens collected decades ago.

"This is a very important finding," said Philippines-based Arne Jensen, a Danish ornithologist who heads the bird club's records committee.

"Once you don't see a bird species in a generation, you start to wonder if it's extinct, and for this bird species we simply do not know its status at all."

The quail's breeding area remains unknown though ornithologists suspect it resides in the high mountain grasslands of the Cordillera mountain range to the west of the Caraballos on the main island of Luzon.

The quail was being sold at a Manila wet market in Manila in 1902 and since then, just a few single specimens have been documented in Nueva Vizcaya and Benguet provinces, which form part of the two mountain ranges, the club said.

Animo

February 24th, 2009, 12:10 AM

^^ Poor bird! Almost got eaten and boiled! :(

Endangered Birds News (http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/2009/02/birds_in_the_news_160.php)

A rare Philippines quail that was feared to have become extinct has been photographed alive for the first time -- as it was headed for the cooking pot, according to ornithologists. Hunters snared the Worcester's buttonquail, Turnix worcesteri, in the Caraballo mountain range last month and a TV crew took pictures and video footage of the live bird at a poultry market, the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines said. The quail was being sold at a Manila wet market in Manila in 1902 and since then, just a few single specimens have been documented in Nueva Vizcaya and Benguet provinces, which form part of the two mountain ranges, the club said.

More information here: http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Endangered_Luzon_Buttonquail_photographed_alive_by_Philippines_documentary?curid=121157

Dante_Tagle

February 24th, 2009, 02:55 AM

The videos below show methane bubbling up in a lake in Alaska. Methane, which is at least 10 times more potent than carbon dioxide, is now continuously being released in various areas (Siberia, Arctic) as a result of melting due to global warming. The methane release would result in a 'positive feedback' that would worsen further the carbon dioxide induced climate change.

http://www.alaska.edu/uaf/cem/ine/walter/videopage.xml

venntro

February 25th, 2009, 03:23 AM

100,000 informal river settlers to be cleared (http://http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=443153&publicationSubCategoryId=200)
By Dennis Carcamo Updated February 24, 2009 02:29 PM

MANILA, Philippines--More than 100,000 families living along the Pasig river system will be cleared within the next seven years in a bid to rehabilitate the dying body of water, an official of the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC) said today.

PRRC head Deogracias Tablan said their partner in the cleanup, Bantay Kalikasan, hopes to revive the Pasig river with the efforts of relocating these families as soon as possible.

Although they would be undertaking a herculian task of cleaning the river and keeping it that way, Tablan said the project would be successful also with the help of the community and the private sector.

"The project will depend on the response of the community," Tablan said in an interview during the launching of the Kapit Bisig sa Ilog Pasig project, spearheaded by Bantay Kalikasan Inc.

The cleanup will involve 44 esteros and four river systems, including Marikina river and Napindan channel, leading to Pasig river.

At present, the PRRC is working in the cleanup of three esteros, Tablan said.

He added that though there is also a problem of factories spewing chemicals into the river, domestic waste is the primary source of pollution , accounting for 65 percent of the pollutants in Pasig river.

Tablan also cited that they need to filter the domestic waste coming from households with the use of aeration, which uses oxygen to induce the production of good bacteria in canals, and bioremediation, a process of using biological plants to remove or neutralize contaminants in the soil or water.

PRRC estimtates that they have to clean Pasig river of 2.8 million cubic meters of toxic debris.

Bantay Kalikasan head Gina Lopez said another important component of cleaning up the Pasig river is the change of consciousness of the community.

"People see the riveras a toilet bowl. Pasig river is life and you don't urinate on your life," Lopez said during her speech of the launching of the Kapit Bisig sa Ilog Pasig project and turn-over ceremony of the materials recovery facilities (MRFs) at the Makati Park in Makati City today.

venntro

February 25th, 2009, 03:38 AM

Govt, private sector to clean up Pasig River system (http://http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=443150&publicationSubCategoryId=200)
By Dennis Carcamo Updated February 24, 2009 01:21 PM

MANILA, Philippines--A private sector foundation in partnership with the national and local governments today launched an ambitious undertaking of cleaning up and reviving the Pasig River system.

During the launching of the Kapit Bisig sa Ilog Pasig, a project to rehabilitate the moribund 17-kilometer river system, the ABS-CBN Foundation Inc.-Bantay Kalikasan teamed up with the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission, which includes agencies like the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Metro Manila Development Authority, National Housing Authority and the Laguna Lake Development Authority, to revive the Pasig river.

Local officials from Quezon City, Makati, Marikina, Mandaluyong, Taguig, Manila, and Pasig also expressed their willingness to support the project.

Pasig Rep. Roman Romulo pledged to give to the project P6 million spread in the next three years while Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte has initially given P2 million for the purchase of equipment for the materials recovery facilities (MRFs).

Pasig river is life. We have to revive it again,&quot; Belmonte said, referring to the olden times that the then clean river had been the main means of transportation.

Bantay Kalikasan head Gina Lopez signed several memorandum of agreement with the government agencies during the formal launching of the project. All the stakeholders also signed a commitment message

Lopez said she foresees the clean up project to&nbsp; gain ground , with results of a cleaner Pasig river in the next seven years.

Bantay Kalikasan, she added, will update its partners every six months on the progressof the clean up campaign.

For his part, Eugenio Lopez III, chairman and chief executive officer of ABS-CBN, the biggest media conglomerate in the country, said they are hoping to apply the La Mesa Watershed experience to Pasig river clean up as Bantay Kalikasan has been successeful in rehabilitating the watershed in the past years.

The ABS-CBN top boss lamented that the Philippines has been plagued with the problem of cleaning up the historic river in the past.

He said he hopes that project to ultimately address this problem as many countries in the Southeast Asian region, such as Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, has already solved theirs.

venntro

February 25th, 2009, 05:39 AM

'Squatters' relocation a must for Pasig River clean-up (http://http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/metro-manila/02/24/09/squatters-relocation-must-pasig-river-clean)
by MARIA ALTHEA TEVES, abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak | 02/24/2009 6:31 PM

The relocation of informal settlers is key to cleaning up the Pasig River, Gina Lopez, managing director of ABS-CBN Foundation Inc. said Tuesday at the launching of the Kapit Bisig Ilog Pasig, a government-private sector effort to revive the "Nation's River."

Contrary to popular belief, 65% of the waste that flows in the Pasig River comes from households including waste dumped by informal settlers along riverbanks, not from industries or businesses.

Aside from the waste, the health and safety of the informal settlers are also at risk, Ms. Lopez said, citing an incident last year where a baby of a family illegally living on the banks of the San Juan river fell into the water which flows directly to Pasig .

Lopez said that with the help of the National Housing Authority, the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC), Habitat for Humanity and Globe Asiatique, the informal settlers will hopefully be relocated to Calauan, Laguna, where a model community has already been established.

She said the community can accommodate 10,000 settlers. She is eyeing the relocation of 1,000 by June, but it should start in March.

“Hopefully, we will get money to be able to relocate 4,000 more informal settlers,” she added.

She said the informal settlers should be relocated in sustainable communities, such as in Calauan.

Livelihood, transportation aid

Pasig City Mayor Roberto Eusebio said his government is providing livelihood assistance to 100 settlers in his area so that “relocated individuals who want to earn, could earn a little money.”

Quezon City Mayor Sonny Belmonte said that they have relocated families to Bulacan, Montalban, and Rodriguez.

“These places are close to the city and people can continue to work in the city,” Belmonte said.

Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay added that “aside from livelihood, there should be transportation assistance."

"It is really a matter of transportation costs that attracts them back to settle in their former area,” he said.

If local government units (LGUs) work together, “not only will there be a physical change in Pasig River, but also a change in the people’s attitude,” Belmonte said.

“There is no use beautifying the river if the people think it is impossible,” Ms. Lopez said.

“Working together with the National Government, LGUs, NGOs, Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), and PRRC, mayors and congressmen is the whole point of Kapit Bisig Ilog Pasig. We are all working together as one," she said.

venntro

February 25th, 2009, 10:01 AM

House bill seeks options to BNPP (http://http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20090225-190990/House-bill-seeks-options-to-BNPP)
By Lira Dalangin-Fernandez
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 15:04:00 02/25/2009

MANILA, Philippines – (UPDATE) A bill has been submitted at the House of Representatives seeking a study of the possible options for sources of energy to replace the controversial measure seeking to revive the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP).

The measure, filed by Albay Representative Edcel Lagman, Quezon Representative Lorenzo Tañada III, and Akbayan party list Representative Risa Hontiveros, mandates the National Power Corporation to “conduct and complete a technical, economic, environmental, and financial feasibility study comparing technology options for electricity generation and appropriating funds thereof...”

The proposed study will not focus on the viability of nuclear power but will treat it as one possible source of energy and seeks a P10 million appropriation from the Napocor and the Department of Energy.

If this is not acceptable, then the three lawmakers proposed that the pending bill to revive the BNPP be amended to insert provisions that would mandate and fund a feasibility study on the revival and commercial operation of the mothballed facility.

This study will cover the technical, safety, financial, economic and environmental aspects of running the plant, and would be a condition for its reopening.

The hearing by the appropriations committee this Wednesday was supposed to tackle the “appropriation language” for Pangasinan Representative Mark Cojuangco’s House Bill 4631, but was deferred after the proposed substitute bill was filed.

Quirino Representative Junie Cua, head of the committee, said that right now “there seemed to be no meeting of the minds as far as these proposed amendments were concerned.”

Faced with opposition from various sectors, Cojuangco announced that he was now open to have the BNPP “validated” to determine if it should be rehabilitated and operated commercially or remain mothballed.

Cojuangco’s bill previously called for the “rehabilitation, commissioning, and commercial operation” of the facility.

House Bill No. 4631 now seeks for the “immediate implementation of a validation process, which satisfies internationally accepted norms and culminates in either the immediate rehabilitation and commercial operation or the immediate permanent closure and salvage value recovery of the BNPP.”

Arciga_01

February 25th, 2009, 11:36 AM

Para maging sucessful pa to, dapat ang meralco at iba pang powerplants ay mag shut down!:nuts:

Para nationwide "lights off" talaga :nuts::lol:

tonight

February 25th, 2009, 02:25 PM

SC asked to probe court over landfill (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20090225-191027/SC-asked-to-probe-court-over-landfill)

MANILA, Philippines—An environmental group urged the Supreme Court on Wednesday to review the dismissal of the petition for a temporary restraining order against the new San Mateo landfill in Rizal.

Joey Papa of the Bangon Kalikasan (Rise Nature) Movement said Chief Justice Reynato Puno should avoid a miscarriage of justice by reviewing the dismissal of the TRO issued by a San Mateo RTC.

This after, Papa said, the Supreme Court ordered in 2005 the closure of the old San Mateo landfill.

“Supreme Court Justice Reynato Puno should immediately investigate the hasty ruling denying an appeal for temporary restraining order on the operation of what is known as the new San Mateo ‘sanitary landfill,’ after the old one was ordered permanently closed by the Supreme Court in 2005. This is to avoid a miscarriage of justice and violations of human rights,” Papa said in a statement on Wednesday.

He said Judge Manuel Taro of the San Mateo Regional Trial Court Branch 75 denied last February 18, the plea for a TRO filed two days earlier by the EcoWaste Coalition and Filinvest Land, Inc. on the grounds that the “court finds no compelling urgent reason and no threat of irreparable injury to justify the grant of a temporary restraining order.”

Papa also noted that Republic Act 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Act, had deemed as illegal the establishment and operation of so-called "sanitary landfills" and called them “glorified garbage dumps or dumps in disguise.”

The San Mateo Regional Trial Court Branch 75 is one of 117 environmental courts that the Supreme Court designated on January 28, 2008.

“The RTC court is viewing the issue with traditional lenses with which the judicial eye interprets legal provisions and applies them to facts (as these) have become inadequate. These lenses must be readjusted in order to be able to take into account such concepts like environmental economics and sustainable development,” Papa said.

Contrary to Taro’s reason for dismissing the application of a TRO, “the new San Mateo dump will add to the increasing number of glorified dumps or dumps in disguise which are eating up hundreds of hectares of productive land and threatening the ecological balance and the health of the people in these areas.”

Papa also bewailed that the list of applications for the establishment of “sanitary landfills” has been getting longer. There are already dumps in Rodriguez, formerly Montalban, a newly opened dump just beside the closed Cuerpo dump, also in Rizal; San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan; Capas, Tarlac; San Fernando, La Union and several others, he said.

Papa also asked Puno to review other environmental courts to check for their readiness “to appreciate the scope and impact of environmental issues.”

anakngpasig

February 25th, 2009, 06:06 PM

panu kaya yung
sa mga malls?

SM MOA will participate
daw. so will they be closing
early?

manila_eye

February 25th, 2009, 08:36 PM

naku kalokohan to!

venntro

February 26th, 2009, 01:47 AM

^^ Landfill locations are really crucial and very complex since you have to think of both the interests of the nearby community and the environment as well. Many argue that landfills are really not environment-friendly. :ohno:

venntro

February 26th, 2009, 01:48 AM

This is a good example of Corporate Social responsibilty for the environment..

Globe Telecom cancels underwater cable in whaleshark town
02/25/2009 | 06:23 PM

LEGAZPI CITY, Albay - Whalesharks or the butanding in the waters of Donsol town in Sorsogon province will no longer be threatened after the Globe Telecom cancelled the installation of underwater cable as part of its service improvement and expansion.

Albay Governor Joey Sarte Salceda, chairman of the Regional Development Council in Bicol, cited Globe president Gerry Ablaza for acceding to his request to move the landing of its fiber optic cable away from Donsol.

The cancelation of the 164 underwater cable from Donsol to Calbayog, Northern Samar would preserve the habitat of the friendly whale shark, Salceda said.

It is because of the whale sharks that Donsol has become a popular tourist destination. - Michael B. Jaucian GMANews.TV

venntro

February 26th, 2009, 02:51 AM

^^ This is just voluntary but the malls should likewise participate since they are the major consumers of electricity by 8:30 in the evening.

venntro

February 26th, 2009, 02:56 AM

Group to teach Pinoy nurses in Qatar occupational health safety (http://http://www.gmanews.tv/story/150377/Group-to-teach-Pinoy-nurses-in-Qatar-occupational-health-safety)
02/25/2009 | 07:34 PM

MANILA, Philippines - A group will teach Filipino nurses who work for big Qatari companies the new trends in occupational health safety on March 5.

According to the Peninsula, the Occupational Health Nurses Association of the Philippines-Qatar Chapter (OHNAP-Qatar) will hold a scientific meeting and fellowship program for Filipino nurses at the Opera Cafe Mall in Qatar next week.

OHNAP-Qatar president Randy Apines said their activities are part of “continuing education on the latest technologies to keep workers from their respective companies safe and sound at work places."

This, Apines said, is because there is a need for Filipino nurses to update their knowledge on the trends on occupational health safety since many of them are holding vital jobs in big companies like Qatar Petroleum, Qatar Gas, RasGas, Qatar Steel, Qatar Airways and Qatar Telecommunications.

He said that expert physician Dr Wasis Alam, Consultant Physician on Occupational Health, Department of Health at the Ministry of Health, will give inputs as guest speaker at the program.

OHNAP-Qatar has reportedly been doing such activities in the last six years and has thus been helping upgrade nurses’ expertise.

In addition, Apines said that they have also been extending community services to locals.

He said they have previously been holding medical outreach programs for skilled workers living in the industrial area, conducting free blood pressure and blood sugar medical check-ups.

Aside from that, he said, they also conduct yearly beach cleanups at the Al Wakra and Sealine Beach in Qatar as part of their environmental awareness thrust. - Kimberly Jane T. Tan, GMANews.TV

venntro

February 26th, 2009, 03:50 AM

P162-M DENR projects in Bicol exist (http://http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2009/feb/26/yehey/prov/20090226pro4.html)

THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on Wednesday denied allegations of some local government officials that the reforestation projects in the Bicol region worth P162 million do not exist.

DENR-Bicol Regional Executive Director Joselin Marcus Fragada denied The Manila Times story on “ghost reforestation project” in the Bicol Region saying that the three-year project was just started in November 2008.

In the story published last Monday, Mayors Evelyn Yu of Calabanga town and Romy San Luis of Pili town in Camarines Sur claimed that the DENR reforestation projects worth P162 million were non-existent.

Fragada explained that the first budget allotted is P33 million for the project but the money was not completely released in late 2007, and the remaining fund was given to the Regional office in middle of 2008.

Fragada stepped in as regional executive director for Region 5 last March 2008.

“Supposedly, the fund will be a World Bank loan but since the process will take longer, the DENR has allocated a budget, from the annual budget of the department, to start the project,” Fragada further explained referring to the first budget allotted for the project.

Moreover, Fragada said that only P38 million was release to the contractors from the P54 million released by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

The project has generated jobs to some 2,134 individuals in the Bicol region.

Fragada explained that the P54 million is part of the P129-million additional budget allotted for the reforestation project in the Bicol region and the remaining P75 million is still with the DBM.

“The 38 million was released to people’s organization, NGOs and contractors for their mobilization fund and payment per accomplishment submitted,” Fragada explained in a phone interview adding that the regional office does not pay the contractors without submitting an accomplishment report.

Fragada also said that the DENR Bicol region has planted a total number of seedlings of 2.126 million in an area of 4,054.3 hectares. He added he has videotapes that would validate his claim.
-- Ira Karen Apanay

tonight

February 26th, 2009, 04:57 AM

Boracay corals to be regenerated (http://www.mb.com.ph/PROV20090226149063.html)

In a landmark public-private partnership, two entities have come up with the Philippines’ contribution to the United Nations Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) – the deployment of an artificial reef around Boracay’s waters aimed at regenerating the island’s denuded corals.

Eco-Coral Corp., a subsidiary of the Winace Group of Companies chaired by Teodorico T. Haresco Jr., established a working arrangement with the local government of Malay, Aklan, headed by Mayor Ceciron Cawaling, for the deployment of EcoCoral’s artificial reef. Only 2 percent reportedly remain of Boracay’s natural corals.

The project will help create livelihood and food security, two priorities set forth in the UN Coral Triangle Initiative espoused by the Philippine government. During her visit to the United States in June, 2008, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declared, "It is good for our people, for jobs, for growth, and for a healthy, sustainable environment to make initiatives like CTI work. Our people will only suffer more in the long run if we do not invest today for our generations tomorrow.’’

The coral program serves as the Winace Group of Companies’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) program. "While our goal is to support Malay and Boracay tourism and livelihood, we’re also taking a longer view.

We leave this legacy behind for others, including our children, to benefit from," Chairman Haresco said.

Eco-Coral, with the Malay government, will deploy a patented, pH-neutral artificial reef that promotes quick coral growth. It will be assembled in various underwater structures, including a grotto.

"We’re raising Boracay’s attractions to the next level," Haresco said. "It will now be possible to get married in Boracay, underwater!"

Eco-Coral’s sister company, Technostrat, plans to deploy an observation platform and "EcoWalker" undersea walking systems.

tonight

February 26th, 2009, 05:01 AM

BFAR pushes mariculture projects
(http://www.mb.com.ph/PROV20090226149065.html)

DAVAO CITY — The Region 11 office of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR 11) will continue to intensify and establish mariculture parks in Davao Region as government support to local fisherfolks.

George Campeon, BFAR 11 regional director, said that there is a need to intensify aquaculture production in Davao since the region’s fish catch is not enough to supply the needs of fish in both local and international markets.

Just recently, Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap and officials of BFAR in Davao Region briefed President Arroyo on the fish-caging facilities and business opportunities of the Samal Mariculture Park at Sitio Leydao in Barangay Adecor, Katipunan District, in the Island Garden City of Samal.

It was learned that the sprawling 224-hectare Samal Mariculture Park was established in 2001 and gets continuous support from BFAR 11 to fully develop the project.

It is named as one of Asia’s best projects, it was gathered.

Rupert Mata, Samal Mariculture Park staff, said that the park has a total of 50 cages measuring 10 meters by 10 meters, in which each cage yields 6,000 kilos of bangus, or milkfish, per harvest.

There are nine investors operating the mariculture park, which include the Formentera Aquaventures, Quiboloy Fish Farm, the Crismar, and Free Willy Aquaventures, Bereso Fish Farm, Inju Piniel, and Estrera Fish Farms, and Jorona Aquatic Resources.

Mata said they are targeting at least eight shipments of 20,000 kilos of bangus this month for the United States (US), Canada, Hawaii and Japan.

He said they were able to ship 340 tons of bangus to both local and international markets last year.

Meanwhile, Mata revealed that one of the challenges in the Samal Mariculture Park is the cost of feeds.

"Commercial feeds are too expensive. A feedmill is needed in Samal that can supply low-cost feeds to the park," he added.

The mariculture park is consuming about 50 bags of feeds per day at the present commercial price of RR700 per bag, Mata said.

Joining Mrs. Arroyo in her visit at the Samal mariculture park were some investors from China and Thailand who expressed interest to invest in aquaculture ventures in the region.

Tagged as one of Asia’s best projects, the Samal Mariculture Park has also benefited local fishermen in 31 coastal villages.

Rey Marquez, 44, who used to fish with only a few catch expressed gratitude over this project.

"Nagpapasalamat kami kay Pangulo sa proyektong ito dahil ngayon, may pang-araw araw na akong kita na susustento sa pamilya ko," he said in the vernacular.

While Jomar Masucat, 22, who used to work in coastal maintenance, said that with the project, he was able to experience how to breed fish through the training the project provides.

"Dahil dito, napaaral ko ang aking bunsong kapatid at tumaas ang aking natatanggap buwan buwan," he said.

venntro

February 26th, 2009, 05:02 AM

^^ We should likewise have the same program in other places like Panglao, Palawan etc. :banana:

venntro

February 26th, 2009, 07:05 AM

Bacolod City sets new garbage policy (http://http://www.gmanews.tv/story/150412/Bacolod-City-sets-new-garbage-policy)
02/26/2009 | 12:29 AM

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — The city government will enforce the "no segregation, no collection" garbage policy starting April 1 pursuant to the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act.

Councilor Greg G. Gasataya, chairman of the environment committee, said the campaign would start in nine urban villages under the jurisdiction of the Our Lady of Fatima Parish, which implements its own solid waste management program.

The city government will enforce the policy due to a final notice from National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC) sent last January on the city’s commitment to comply with the closure of a dump site in Barangay Felisa.

NSWMC Executive Director Gerardo Calderon said in a letter to Mayor Evelio R. Leonardia that reports dated Dec. 8, 2008 of the Environmental Management Bureau-Region 6 showed the city is still rehabilitating the dump site. - BusinessWorld

venntro

February 27th, 2009, 05:23 AM

CBCP rejects nuclear power plant revival (http://http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20090227-191285/CBCP-rejects-nuclear-power-plant-revival)

Recommends Bataan facility ‘must be dismantled’

Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:20:00 02/27/2009

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has thrown its weight behind the opposition to rehabilitating the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP).

In a pastoral statement, the CBCP urged Congress to “completely and irrevocably reject the opening of the nuclear plant as the most dangerous and expensive way to generate electricity.”

The statement was issued by the CBCP president, Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo.

“Multiple risks and the possibility of corruption outweigh dreamed benefits. We recommend with other anti-BNPP congressmen and the Greenpeace Forum that the mothballed facility in Morong, Bataan, be dismantled as its revival will be most hazardous to health and life of the people,” read the CBCP statement.

The power plant was built by the Marcos regime in response to the Middle East oil embargo in the 1970s.

The $2.3-billion project, designed to generate 621 megawatts of electricity, was scrapped by the Aquino administration in 1986.

The Diocese of Balanga headed by Bishop Socrates Villegas earlier in the week staged a prayer rally against plans by some congressmen led by Pangasinan Rep. Mark Cojuangco to rehabilitate the nuclear plant to stave off an energy crisis.

The CBCP also strongly opposed the use of a coal-fired power plant as source of energy in Iloilo province and other parts of the country.

“We recommend the implementation of the approved bill on the use of renewable energy, such as solar, wind and water as safe sources of electricity,” the CBCP said.

No rush

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is in no rush to reactivate the nuclear power plant.

Malacañang Thursday said it would first await the study and series of consultations being done by the Department of Energy (DOE) before coming up with a firm position on whether to reopen the country’s only nuclear facility.

“The President will never compromise safety over speed,” Anthony Golez, deputy presidential spokesperson, told reporters in a briefing.

But Golez said that should the DOE study and consultations recommend reactivating the power plant, “then we would find no reason why we would have to delay.”

Asked if reopening the BNPP was a priority of Ms Arroyo, he said: “We know that her priority is that we should be energy-sufficient in the next few years.”

Golez said the government had “a lot of programs” to achieve this goal and that the BNPP was just one of them.

Last year, Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes said the government was seriously considering reopening the BNPP, noting that it had spent $2.3 billion to build the facility, which had generated not a kilowatt of electricity.

Rehabilitation cost

Reyes said a team from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had checked the facility and had pegged rehabilitation cost at $800 million for at least five years.

If it becomes operational, the BNPP will be one of the most dangerous nuclear power plants in the world, Greenpeace said Thursday.

The group said the BNPP, which has a light water reactor made by Westinghouse, did not conform to the current safety standards of the IAEA.

Outdated

Beau Baconguis, Greenpeace Southeast Asia Campaigns Manager for the Philippines, said the design of the BNPP was not only outdated but also faulty.

The BNPP’s compliance to IAEA nuclear plant construction and site selection protocols were already in doubt even before the BNPP was finished, Baconguis said.

Tessa de Ryck, Greenpeace Southeast Asia Nuclear campaigner, also said the BNPP was never evaluated according to standards of the IAEA which were raised after the 1986 Chernobyl meltdown.

The standard for nuclear reactors is “Generation 3,” which has double containment for its reactor and passive safety systems, according to De Ryck. The BNPP has a “Generation 2” reactor.

“We cannot be sure whether the BNPP can be upgraded to meet current reactor standards,” De Ryck said.

She said Westinghouse reactors were “breaking down with alarming regularity” because of design defects, including cracks in the main steam turbines, deterioration of the steam generator tube, and the reactor pressure valve turning brittle.

De Ryck also cited problems of other nuclear plants designed by Westinghouse and similar to the BNPP in Brazil and South Korea, which were plagued by outages and leakages of radioactive water.

newgabskii

February 27th, 2009, 08:36 AM

http://assets.panda.org/img/ehlogo_210900.jpg

Watch at Youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CRs-7lRlPo&eurl=http://www.panda.org/who_we_are/wwf_offices/philippines/news/?155662/Earth-Hour-2009-setting-new-records-in-climate-concern)

Earth Hour 2009 setting new records in climate concern

Already twice the participating countries of Earth Hour 2008
Archbishop Desmond Tutu leads call for action on climate change
Obama artist Shepard Fairey likens flicking switch to climate vote

With eight weeks still to go, citizens, businesses and public authorities in 375 cities across 74 countries have already committed to turning off their lights for one hour at 8.30pm on 28 March in a graphic show of support for decisive action on climate change.

The list of cities confirming their participation in Earth Hour 2009 includes 37 national capitals and some of the great cities of the world, including London, Beijing, Rome, Moscow, Los Angeles, Rio de Janeiro, Hong Kong, Dubai, Singapore, Athens, Buenos Aires, Toronto, Sydney, Mexico City, Istanbul, Copenhagen, Manila, Las Vegas, Brussels, Cape Town and Helsinki.
The WWF-sponsored event continues to show amazing momentum, from being a Sydney, Australia awareness-raising event in 2007, to the astounding 371 cities across 35 countries total last year. As participation for Earth Hour 2009 storms past this level of municipal involvement in more than twice the number of countries, discussions are under way or nearing completion in hundreds of other cities.

WWF Director General, Mr James Leape, said he is optimistic about the campaign’s potential to drive key decision making on the issue of climate change.

“With hundreds more cities expected to sign up to switch off in the coming months, Earth Hour 2009 is setting the platform for an unprecedented global mandate for action on climate change,” he said.

Along with the great metropolises of the world, Earth Hour 2009 will also see the lights go out on some of the most recognised landmarks on the planet, including Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Table Mountain in Cape Town, Merlion in Singapore, Sydney Opera House, CN Tower in Toronto, Millennium Stadium in Cardiff and the world’s tallest constructed building Taipei 101.

A host of high profile ambassadors across the world have also lent their support to the campaign, most notably Nobel Peace Prize recipient Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Academy Award-winning actress Cate Blanchett.

Shepard Fairey, the artist noted for his graphic portrayals of Barack Obama during the recent US Presidential Election, has likened flicking the switch to casting a vote on climate change in artwork for the Earth Hour campaign.

Earth Hour Executive Director, Mr Andy Ridley, said the 2009 campaign as an opportunity for the people of the world to cast their vote on this important global issue.

"Earth Hour by its very nature is the essence of grassroots action. This is the opportunity for individuals, from all corners of the globe to unite in a single voice and demand action on climate change”, said Mr Ridley.

2009 is a critical year for action on climate change, with the world’s leaders due to meet at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December to sign a new deal to supersede the Kyoto Protocol.

Earth Hour
© WWF
Related links
Earth Hour website
05 Feb 2009

dinabaw

February 28th, 2009, 04:28 AM

http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/6746/akpgmahedcorfeb2603.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo interacts with Hedcor chief operations officer Rene Ronquillo during her visit at one of the project sites of the P5.1 billion 42.5-megawatt Sibulan Hydropower Project at barangay Sibulan, Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur on Thursday, Feburary 26, 2009. Also in the photo are Davao del Sur Gov. Douglas Cagas and son Mark, 1st Distric Representative of the province. The project, which is developed by Aboitiz Power, is expected to be completed by October this year. AKP Images / Keith Bacongco

http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/4159/akpgmahedcorfeb2606.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
One of the project sites of the 42.5 megawatt Sibulan Hydropower Project at barangay Sibulan, Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur. The project, which is developed by Aboitiz Power, is expected to be completed by October this year. AKP Images / Keith Bacongco

tonight

February 28th, 2009, 04:44 AM

Arroyo sets Fridays as ‘green day’ (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20090227-191481/Arroyo-sets-Fridays-as-green-day)

MANILA—In President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's calendar, Friday is green day.

Every Friday, Arroyo will be riding out of Malacañang to go around Metro Manila and the countryside to preach the gospel of clean, carbon-free environment among government officials.

"Every Friday is anti-climate-change day. It is the day when I devote my own activities to making sure that we promote the work that has to be done to mitigate climate change,'' she told Japanese and Filipino business leaders.

And part of her job, Arroyo said, was to make sure that all government agencies "across the board'' have their own solid waste management facilities.

"After this event, I will be going to the Manila Police District to make sure that they work on that,'' she said, as she congratulated Japan for its pioneering work on mitigating climate change, particularly the Kyoto Protocol.

The President spoke at the joint meeting of the Philippines-Japan Economic Cooperation Committee (Philjec) and the Japan-Philippines Economic Cooperation Committee at The Peninsula in Makati City.

After her address, Arroyo motored to the Manila Police District's headquarters in Manila to inspect the district's closed-circuit TV cameras, and listen to a briefing on climate change.

Last Thursday, Arroyo made a fresh pitch for clean energy in Davao del Sur after inaugurating a P5.1-billion hydropower project, saying this was crucial for security and environmental reasons.

In late January, Arroyo issued Executive Order No. 774 reorganizing the Presidential Task Force on Climate Change, with her acting as chair and Cabinet secretaries as members.

The order also mandates the creation of task groups on solid waste management, watershed protection, rainwater conservation, water recycling, atmospheric activities, fossil fuels, information, fisheries, among others.

In her first act as environment czar, she inspected Malacañang's own material recovery facility (MRF) which recycles and composts wastes from her official residence.

She has been visiting MRFs in the metropolis and the countryside since then. The idea is to drill into local officials' mind the wisdom of conservation, protection and restoration.

From the MPD headquarters, Arroyo proceeded to the Manila Metropolitan Theater to check the progress of its restoration.

During the inspection, she ordered the National Commission on Culture and Arts and the city government of Manila to expedite the restoration of the MET in time for its soft opening in June.

NCCA executive director Cecile Guidote-Alvarez assured Arroyo the theater would be open to host the 8th Filipino-Chinese Friendship Day on June 9.

The President had released P50 million to NCCA for the restoration of the MET and an additional P50 million for its full operation by December 2009.

tonight

March 1st, 2009, 07:41 AM

Laguna De Bay as water source for Metro (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/metro/view/20090228-191615/Laguna-De-Bay-as-water-source-for-Metro)

MANILA, Philippines -- Water concessionaire Maynilad Water Services Inc. is eyeing to tap Laguna De Bay as a water source for the cities of Muntinlupa, Parañaque, Las Piñas, and Bacoor in Cavite.

Maynilad is now seeking the approval of the Laguna Lake Development Authority to use the lake as a domestic water source for the four cities, which largely constitute its “unserved” area, the LLDA said in a statement.

In order to arrest a forthcoming shortage of potable water in the future, it said, the water firm has asked permission to extract about 300 million liters per day from the lake.

According to the LLDA, a study conducted by the government of the Netherlands for the lake agency has shown that Laguna De Bay, being the largest lake in the Philippines and strategically located in the heart of Calabarzon region, is the most viable source of water for Metro Manila’s west zone.

Maynilad is the authorized water concessionaire of the Manila Water Sewerage System (MWSS) for the western part of Metro Manila.

At present, according to Maynilad, it supplies water to about 703,519 customers, or only 71 percent of its total concession area. The rest of the west zone does not have enough water supply -- mainly comprising the areas of Muntinlupa, Parañaque, and Las Piñas.

In its proposal to the LLDA, Maynilad said it plans to take over operations of the existing water treatment plant in Putatan, Muntinlupa, which currently extracts 180,000 cubic meters per month of lake water and then supplies it to the Ayala Alabang subdivision for the residents’ domestic use.

Maynilad then plans to gradually implement the 300-million-liters-per-day extraction of water from the Lake. The first 100 million liters per day, said the LLDA, will be made available to the west zone of Metro Manila in 2010 and then water extraction will be increased to 200 million liters in 2011, and then 300 million liters per day by 2014.

tonight

March 1st, 2009, 10:54 AM

DA exec backs aerial pesticide spraying (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/regions/view/20090301-191724/DA-exec-backs-aerial-pesticide-spraying)
By Dennis Jay Santos

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – A government expert defended the aerial spraying of pesticides in banana plantations, saying it was the only viable means for the industry to thrive.

“The lifeline for many of the banana companies rest on eradicating the most common problem in banana production, which is the fungal Sigatoka disease and pesticides use is but indispensable,” Dario Sabularce, deputy executive director of the Fertilizer and Pesticides Authority (FPA) under the Department of Agriculture (DA) said.

In an interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer (parent company of INQUIRER.net) on the sidelines of a biotechnology workshop at the University of the Philippines-Mindanao here, Sabularce said aerial spraying was the only viable way to rid banana plantations of pests since these cover huge tracts of land.

Sabularce said aerial spraying has always been an “approved procedure” and that the pesticides used were not dangerous to humans or to the environment. He dared critics to prove otherwise.

“If there is a concern, why don’t you show us your studies? (The FPA) is the proper agency that should look into this matter,” he said.

Sabularce added: “These are hard times and if we don’t allow aerial spraying, we are at risk of losing the market to neighboring countries like Malaysia and Indonesia, which are also into banana production.”

Sabularce's statement in favor of aerial spraying came after the Court of Appeals decided in favour of trashing a city ordinance that banned the practice.

The city council had banned aerial spraying after studies revealed that the practice had been endangering the health of residents living near banana plantations here.

The study was conducted by both government and non-government health organizations in 2006.

The ban on aerial spraying in banana plantations here was the second of its kind in Mindanao, after Bukidnon province.

The Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association (PBGEA), a grouping of banana companies here, had asked the CA in January to rule against the ban, enraging residents.

"It was as if heaven fell on us,” said Rosita Bacalso, a member of the Davao-based Mamamayan Ayaw sa Aerial Spraying (MAAS).

“The CA only proved that they take good care of the welfare of the rich and powerful, never mind us poor," Bacalso said.

Sister Esperanza Magana of the Association of Women Religious under the Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro called the court's decision “a work of evil.”

"Anything that lessens the quality of life, anything that curtails life is evil. In that context we are against aerial spraying," Magana said as soon as the Court of Appeals handed down the decision.

Erminstan Pimentel, vice-president for administration of the Xavier University in Cagayan, said he could not understand how the Court of Appeals found the ordinance banning aerial spraying as unconstitutional.

"Aerial spraying goes against sustainable development. One cannot help but question the wisdom of the justices in favoring its continued use," he said.

Wendell Avisado, Davao City administrator, said the fight was not over yet because the city government filed an appeal against the Court of Appeals ruling.

tonight

March 2nd, 2009, 03:52 AM

DA exec backs aerial pesticide spraying (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/regions/view/20090301-191724/DA-exec-backs-aerial-pesticide-spraying)
By Dennis Jay Santos

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – (UPDATE) A government expert defended the aerial spraying of pesticides in banana plantations, saying it was the only viable means for the industry to thrive.

“The lifeline for many of the banana companies rest on eradicating the most common problem in banana production, which is the fungal Sigatoka disease and pesticides use is but indispensable,” Dario Sabularce, deputy executive director of the Fertilizer and Pesticides Authority (FPA) under the Department of Agriculture (DA) said.

In an interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer (parent company of INQUIRER.net) on the sidelines of a biotechnology workshop at the University of the Philippines-Mindanao here, Sabularse said aerial spraying was the only viable way to rid banana plantations of pests since these cover huge tracts of land.

Sabularse said aerial spraying has always been an “approved procedure” and that the pesticides used were not dangerous to humans or to the environment. He dared critics to prove otherwise.

“If there is a concern, why don’t you show us your studies? (The FPA) is the proper agency that should look into this matter,” he said.

Sabularse added: “These are hard times and if we don’t allow aerial spraying, we are at risk of losing the market to neighboring countries like Malaysia and Indonesia, which are also into banana production.”

Sabularse's statement in favor of aerial spraying came after the Court of Appeals decided in favour of trashing a city ordinance that banned the practice.

The city council had banned aerial spraying after studies revealed that the practice had been endangering the health of residents living near banana plantations here.

The study was conducted by both government and non-government health organizations in 2006.

The ban on aerial spraying in banana plantations here was the second of its kind in Mindanao, after Bukidnon province.

The Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association (PBGEA), a grouping of banana companies here, had asked the CA in January to rule against the ban, enraging residents.

"It was as if heaven fell on us,” said Rosita Bacalso, a member of the Davao-based Mamamayan Ayaw sa Aerial Spraying (MAAS).

“The CA only proved that they take good care of the welfare of the rich and powerful, never mind us poor," Bacalso said.

Sister Esperanza Magana of the Association of Women Religious under the Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro called the court's decision “a work of evil.”

"Anything that lessens the quality of life, anything that curtails life is evil. In that context we are against aerial spraying," Magana said as soon as the Court of Appeals handed down the decision.

Erminstan Pimentel, vice-president for administration of the Xavier University in Cagayan, said he could not understand how the Court of Appeals found the ordinance banning aerial spraying as unconstitutional.

"Aerial spraying goes against sustainable development. One cannot help but question the wisdom of the justices in favoring its continued use," he said.

Wendell Avisado, Davao City administrator, said the fight was not over yet because the city government filed an appeal against the Court of Appeals ruling.

tonight

March 2nd, 2009, 04:11 AM

DENR allots 746 hectares for upland dev’t program (http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/197393/denr-allots-746-hectares-upland-dev%E2%80%99t-program)
By Mike G. Crismundo

PATIN-AY, Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur – In support of the 2009 Upland Development Program (UDP) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) is setting aside some 746 hectares for farm production.

Aguan del Sur Gov. Ma. Valentina Plaza learned about this development during a recent consultative meeting with top DENR officials led by UDP Coordinator for Mindanao Vicente S. Paragas and PENR Officer Sixto C. Badua at the Governor’s Office at the provincial capitol here.

It was gathered that this UDP program, which is currently implemented by Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Jose “Lito” L. Atienza, Jr. nation-wide, is also in full support of President Arroyo’s economic resiliency program dubbed “Comprehensive Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program” (CLEEP).
Badua said that the objective of this program is to create employment opportunities and additional income for poor and upland households and people’s organizations in reforestation and agro-forestry.

“This is also part to our continuing greening activity in watershed idle and private lands,” said Badua.
At least 406 hectares are being targeted for the UDP program in San Francisco town; 229 hectares in Bayugan town; 65 hectares in Talacogon town; and 50 hectares in Loreto town, Badua said.

He said the program will establish nurseries and plant fruit-bearing and forest trees, development of individual upland farms through agro-forestry, reforestation of grassland areas, reforestation of degraded areas, implementation of assisted natural regeneration in appropriate areas, conduct of enrichment plantings in sparsely-wooded grasslands, mangroves and tidal flats, re-vegetation of streambanks, development of forest parks and tree planting projects.

Meanwhile, in full support of the government’s environment preservation and forest protection project, Plaza issued Executive Order No. 04-09 creating the “Provincial Task Force on Natural Resources Protection and Utilization to Save Agusan.”

It was learned that the objective of the order is to “ensure the proper enforcement and compliance of existing forestry laws, rules and regulations concerning the utilization and transport of forest products, mineral and other minor forest products in the province.”

tonight

March 2nd, 2009, 05:51 AM

Nat’l economic-environment study pushed (http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/197361/nat%E2%80%99l-economic-environment-study-pushed)
By Melody M. Aguiba

The government is embarking on a "National Economic and Environmental Development Study" (NEEDS) to plan out financing and policy support for battling climate change’s effects.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is coordinating a more comprehensive planning for a Philippine program on climate change in support of the efforts of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Participating in the study are the Inter-Agency Committee on Climate Change (IACCC) and financing institutions including the United Nations Development Programme, World Bank, GTZ of Germany, Asian Development Bank, Japan International Cooperation Agency, and the Australian Agency for International Development.

"With the Philippines being one of the countries most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, it is critical that the pipeline for development and climate change funding continues to be unabated. NEEDS will serve as a catalyst in initiating a national dialogue that will determine the full costs of mainstreaming climate change into government planning," said DENR Secretary Jose L. Atienza.

The country has supported reduction in greenhouse gas emissions even if it is not an Annex I country under the Kyoto Protocol. Annex I countries have an obligation to cut greenhouse gas emission.

The Philippines established on May 8, 1991 the IACCC, a consultative body which has 15 members from government and non-government organizations who give technical advice on the climate change-related objectives.

The country has implemented measures to reduce greenhouse gas emission as early as in 1997.

The country’s effort to cut greenhouse gas emission under the Kyoto Protocol revolves around the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) which enables companies or specific carbon emission reducing projects to raise fund by earning certificate of emission reduction (CER) or carbon credits.

Under the CDM, the Environmental Management Bureau-DENR has issued letters of approval for 10 projects as of February last year which should generate $2.1 million in CER.

Local companies are expected to take advantage of the capital-generating facility under CDM whose accounting process is hoped to be extended beyond the 2008-2012 original period.

A Conference of Parties is expected to follow up on the Bali Roadmap which discussed the proposal to extend the accounting period for the CDM process.

Among the companies with LOA for CDM registration are those engaged in waste water treatment plants, biogas production, and biomass production.

Among the companies that will reduce greenhouse gas emission are FR Cement Corp. in Bgry. Sibulan, Teresa, Rizal which will cut emission by 57,036 metric tons (MT). It will replace use of fossil fuel by rice husk biomass in the production of portland cement.

The Biomass Boiler Projects in Quezon City and Muntilupa City which have a lumped CER of 38,858 MT. The Makati South Sewage Treatment Plant Upgrade will cut emission by 28,729 MT with its project through the Magallanes Bio-Energy Corp.

The CER-holding companies also include the Anaerobic Digestion Swine (ADS) waste water treatment plant (WWTP) with on-site power of the Filbrid Livestock Agricultural Corp. in Brgy. Partida, Norzagaray Bulacan which will cut carbon dioxide emission by 4,603 metric tons (MT). Bonview Farms Inc. in Tanauan, Tanza, Cavite has a similar carbon-reducing WWTP that will cut greenhouse gas emission by 16,199 MT.

In Pilapila, Sta. Ignacia, Tarlac, Hacienda Bio-Energy Corp. also has the same ADS-WWT, 5,790 while Asian Livestock Corp. has the same facility at Gumaod, Claveria, Misamis Oriental, 2,844 MT.

The rest of the other ADS-WWT projects that are prepared to use CERs are Cathay Farms in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan,7,518 MT; Tarlac by Enviroprime Corp. in Sto. Rosario, Capas, , 8,259 MT; and Sorosoro Ibaba Devt. Coop. in Taysan, Batangas, 2,237 MT.

venntro

March 2nd, 2009, 06:13 AM

Semirara folk score pollution of coastal resources (http://http://www.gmanews.tv/story/150803/Semirara-folk-score-pollution-of-coastal-resources)
02/28/2009 | 04:40 PM

MANILA, Philippines — Residents in Semirara Island in Antique province decried the pollution of their coastal resources from wastes supposedly coming from coal mining operations on the island.

Online news site The News Today (www.thenewstoday.info) reported that residents of Sitio Bigo of Barangay Alegria are now seeking help from environmental groups.

"We have sought action from local officials and repeatedly called the attention of the company. But the problem persists," said village chief Ronald Lavega of Alegria.

He lamented the pollution has persisted despite a letter sent to Environment Secretary Jose Atienza Jr. last September.

The island is host to 21 mangrove species or 60 percent of the total 35 species of mangroves in the country, according to scientists specializing on mangroves.

Mangroves and marine resources there are still recovering from a massive oil spill that hit the area on December 2005

Some 113 hectares of mangrove forests were contaminated after a power barge of National Power Corp. (Napocor) ran aground 200 meters from the island, spilling some 364,120 liters of bunker fuel off the coast of the island.

In a letter to Atienza dated September 2008, the residents alleged that coastal resources including mangroves have died or have been contaminated by wastes from the coal washing plant of the Semirara Mining Company (SMC).

SMC has been operating one of the biggest coal mines in Asia for more than 20 years on the 5,500-hectare Semirara Island.

The report said Semirara is one of the nine islands comprising Caluya town in Antique at the northern end of Panay Island.

In a petition, the residents said their livelihood has been affected because the coal wastes have contaminated the water and marine resources.

Lavega said at least 100 residents had signed the petition.

"A wide area of our seas where we depend our livelihood is slowly being destroyed because hectares of our mangroves and seagrass are slowly dying," they said in their petition.

Residents said silt has covered their coastline and mangroves as waste coming from the company's coal washing plant goes directly to the sea because the siltation pond has not been operational.

The washing plant would have removed soil and rock coal before it is utilized or marketed.

Also, Lavega said mangrove trees have already died because the silt that has covered the waters has reached more than a foot deep.

"The residents here rely on fishing, shell gathering and seaweed farming for their livelihood. We would naturally be affected if the waters and plants are polluted," he said.

The village has around 1,300 residents with most of them affected by the alleged contamination of the coastline and marine resources.

Residents had asked the DENR in their letter to help them by transferring or repairing the coal washing plant.

They also sought the implementation of a rehabilitation program for the affected areas and provide alternative livelihood for the residents.

Also, the residents are seeking indemnification from the company and other measures provided by the law.

For his part, Atienza said he is unaware of the issue but said he will look into it.

Lavega said around five hectares of mangroves have been affected. But he said that last week, the company bulldozed the area with dead and dying mangroves and planted coconut trees there.

He said a sign declaring the area has also been put up and is now off limits to residents.

"They do not want the public to see the dead mangroves and we have not been allowed to go near the area because it is already guarded," he said. - GMANews.TV

venntro

March 2nd, 2009, 08:04 AM

DENR seizes ‘hot logs’ from Manila's port area – report (http://http://www.gmanews.tv/story/150988/DENR-seizes-hot-logs-from-Manilas-port-area--report)
03/02/2009 | 01:43 PM

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) seized illegally-cut logs Monday noon at a Manila port, a radio report said.

Radio dzBB’s Carlo Mateo said DENR authorities blocked the entry of the logs at Pier 18 in Manila's Port Area.

The report said Secretary Jose “Lito" Atienza led the DENR operation. - GMANews.TV

venntro

March 2nd, 2009, 08:47 AM

Mining firm eyes fertilizer production (http://http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/business/03/02/09/intex-resources-tap-fertilizer-products-mindoro-nickel-facility)
abs-cbnNEWS.com | 03/02/2009 1:22 PM

To help the country meet its fertilizer requirements, mining and exploration company Intex Resources Phils. Inc. has redesigned its nickel processing facility in Mindoro province to be able to produce fertilizer as a by-product.

In a statement, Intex President Atty. Leo Cleto Gamolo said the company's move to produce ammonium sulphate and cobalt compounds will also result in foreign exchange savings "in terms of fertilizer that will no longer have to be imported."

Citing data from the National Statistics Office, Intex said the country has imported some $524.02 million worth of fertilizers for the first 11 months of 2008. Of the total amount, $182.1 million represented importations of urea fertilizer, while the remaining $341.92 million were for non-urea fertilizers, under which ammonium sulphate is categorized.

"In addition to ammonium sulphate, the reconfigured Mindoro Nickel Project will be able to produce another by-product: cobalt compounds in the form of sulphates, carbonates, hydroxides and oxides," Gamolo said.

In agriculture, cobalt compounds can be blended with fertilizer or used as a dietary supplement for livestock. The substances are also used in the production of rechargeable batteries for cellular phones: a consumer product that is in great demand especially in countries like the Philippines.

In producing nickel and by-products, Gamolo said Intex will be generating its own power in an environment-friendly manner, mostly using carbon-free energy instead of using fossil fuels. This means Intex will not be depending on Mindoro's power for its plant requirements.

"In fact, there is the possibility that we will be generating more power than we actually would need. Initially, we will be generating around 50 megawatts, which will subsequently increase to 80 megawatts. The excess can be passed on Mindoro's powergrid," Gamolo said.

tonight

March 2nd, 2009, 09:53 AM

DENR seizes ‘hot logs’ from Manila's port area – report (http://www.gmanews.tv/story/150988/DENR-seizes-hot-logs-from-Manilas-port-area--report)

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) seized illegally-cut logs Monday noon at a Manila port, a radio report said.

Radio dzBB’s Carlo Mateo said DENR authorities blocked the entry of the logs at Pier 18 in Manila's Port Area.

The report said Secretary Jose “Lito" Atienza led the DENR operation.

venntro

March 3rd, 2009, 06:11 AM

Grand Utopia official lashes back at Palafox (http://http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2009/march/03/yehey/prov/20090303pro4.html)

SUBIC BAY Freeport: A top official of the controversial $120-million hotel and casino that has become the subject of environmental concern has finally lashed back at its former architect who turned into the project’s No. 1 critic after being sidelined from the project.

In a statement, Executive Manager Eric Ghi-Buhm Park said that Grand Utopia Inc. is deeply disappointed that their former architect Felino Palafox Jr. began criticizing their Subic Project in the media using documents of their company.

“By coming out in the media and speaking before various public gatherings [while] criticizing our Subic project, the architect has committed a breach not only of the provisions of the subcontract agreement but also of professional ethics,” Park added.

Environment Secretary Lito Atienza also inspected the project site last January and confirmed that the trees remained intact at the project site.

“If architect Palafox, as our professional local architect, was sincerely concerned about the trees from the very beginning, wasn’t it his responsibility to advise his client Grand Utopia of an alternative solution instead of publicly criticizing his client’s project in an unethical way with all exaggerations?” Park rued.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Administrator Armand Arreza in a separate statement is urging the critics of the project to be objective and stop sensationalizing the issue that has only delayed the project.

“We still think that this project would be beneficial to the Subic Bay Freeport, especially with the projected manpower hiring of about 5,000. It’s a project proposal that we have to evaluate objectively,” Arreza said.

Arreza made the appeal after the Special Committee on Bases Conversion of the House of Representatives on Tuesday conducted its initial hearing on two resolutions seeking to investigate claims made by noted architect Palafox.

The project remained on hold since November last year after Palafox’s claims triggered protests from environmental groups concerned about trees at the project site.

The SBMA official also bared project proponent Grand Utopia Inc. has already asked the SBMA to give them an alternate location since the allegations have caused the project much delay.
--Anthony Bayarong

venntro

March 4th, 2009, 02:19 AM

DENR seizes P3.7 million worth of 'hot lumber' (http://http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=445243&publicationSubCategoryId=66)
By Marianne V. Go Updated March 04, 2009 12:00 AM

Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Lito Atienza leads the apprehension of 11 container vans loaded with P3.7 million worth of illegally sourced lumber and flitches at Pier 18 in North Harbor, Manila last Monday. Atienza has placed Manila North Harbor under the DENR’s tight watch as a critical port of entry for illegal logs and other forest products.
MANILA, Philippines - Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Jose L. Atienza led recently the apprehension of 11 container vans loaded with P3.7 million worth of illegally sourced lumber and flitches at Pier 18 at the North Harbor in Manila.

According to Atienza, “we are placing Manila North Harbor under the Department’s tight watch as this is the port of entry of illegal logs, lumber and other forest products from various parts of the country. These illegally sourced lumber and flitches may find their way to lumber dealers in Luzon.”

This year has been declared by the DENR as law enforcement year to put a stop or, at least, minimize the wanton destruction of the country’s forests by greedy and unscrupulous few who flagrantly violate environmental laws.

The 11 container vans, Atienza said, were allegedly shipped by Arcela Mini Sawmill and consigned to MV Lumber Construction Supply, Inc., in Baliuag Bulacan.

The forest products reportedly originated from Cotabato and Agusan provinces. Based on initial findings of the environment law enforcement task force, the vans contained lumber and flitches with thickness of six inches, which is now allowed.

“This whole thing is highly irregular. For one, the flitches vary in sizes, some as thick as six inches or even thicker, while some bear markings indicating that the logs were sourced from carabao logging,” Atienza said.

venntro

March 4th, 2009, 05:03 AM

Binay: Looming power crisis no excuse to reopen BNPP (http://http://www.tribune.net.ph/metro/20090304met1.html)

03/04/2009

The looming power crisis is not an excuse to reopen the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant or consider nuclear energy, Makati Mayor and United Opposition president Jejomar Binay said.

Instead, the government should explore geothermal energy since the Philippines has the second highest geothermal capacity in the world at the moment, he added.

“Nuclear energy poses a lot of safety questions that have not been answered fully. Instead of engaging in a protracted discussion on nuclear power, we should explore our full potential for geothermal power,” he said.

Binay added the national government should focus on geothermal power in the light of the looming power crisis, particularly in the Visayas and Mindanao brought about by the unprecedented rise in power demand.

He said the Department of Energy had admitted power supply in the Visayas and Mindanao is already tight, with reports of brownouts in these areas last year.

But the national government should go beyond inviting foreign investors to develop the country’s geothermal resources.

In the long term, Binay said harnessing the country’s geothermal potential will attract an increasing number of investors who are looking for locations offering clean and renewable sources of energy for their factories, referred to as “green factories.”

He cited reports that Google, along with Microsoft and Yahoo, are already looking at Iceland to build massive “server farms” because Iceland’s geothermal technology and resources are one of the most highly developed in the world.

“The Philippines is up there with Iceland among countries with the most abundant geothermal resources,” he said. “In fact, we have the second highest geothermal power capacity in the world right now — next to the US. And we have enough geothermal power on our islands to more than double our current capacity,” he said.

He added geothermal power is abundant in Bicol, Eastern Visayas, Western Visayas, Southern Tagalog, the Socksargen region and Central Mindanao.

“Unfortunately, the Arroyo administration is being short-sighted in approaching the energy issue. Instead of merely looking for investors for geothermal power, national government should develop an investment plan anchored on promoting the Philippines as a location for green factories,” he said.

He urged government to include local government officials in developing an investment incentive plan to bring in green factories.

“Encouraging geothermal energy will not only address our power needs but also provide incentives for new investments. Government should meet local executives to discuss an investment strategy to induce foreign direct investors to build green factories in these regions,” he said.

venntro

March 4th, 2009, 05:26 AM

PCG, Romblon folk shoo whales back to sea (http://http://www.gmanews.tv/story/151279/PCG-Romblon-folk-shoo-whales-back-to-sea)
03/04/2009 | 10:44 AM

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Coast Guard on Wednesday lauded local fisher folk for helping out in the efforts that led to the immediate and safe return of some 100 melon-headed whales stranded off the coast of Romblon on Tuesday.

Radio dzBB’s Carlo Mateo quoted Coast Guard commandant Vice Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo as describing the local villagers as heroes for coming to the rescue when they spotted the whales off the coast of Odiongan town, a third class municipality in central Romblon.

The latest stranding happened on the heels of an earlier similar incident in Bataan where some 300 melon-headed whales suddenly emerged off the shore off Pilar and Orion towns. Local fishermen and authorities waded into the water and successfully drove the whales away, but not after three whales had died.

Picking up lessons from the Bataan experience, Tamayo said the Coast Guard employed safer and more effective measures to help the mammals make their way back to deeper parts of the ocean.

Tamayo said he has already mobilized his team to troop to the waters and conduct regular monitoring to avoid a similar scenario from happening anew.

The Coast Guard official said he thinks the whales could have lost their way as an effect of global climate change.

Over the weekend, around 200 pilot whales and bottlenose dolphins also found their way off the shorelines of the Narcoopa Beach on King Island, a part of Tasmania. Only around 60 of them were safely ushered back to the sea.

The series of whale stranding has already prompted the International World Ocean Conference to take up the matter when its members convene, the report added.

Perplexed experts have yet to ascertain the actual cause of the unusual behavior of the whales, with some attributing it to a seismic movement beneath the ocean while others saying such whales tend to stay close together at all times. - Mark Merueñas, GMANews.TV

Porknight

March 4th, 2009, 05:26 AM

^^ not really an excuse m hope they won't !

tonight

March 4th, 2009, 11:23 AM

Turn off your lights, for just one hour (http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/breakingnews/view/20090304-192301/Turn-off-your-lights-for-just-one-hour)
By Veronica Uy

MANILA, Philippines—One million Filipinos who switched off their lights for one hour in last year's Earth Hour campaign were able to save at least 54 megawatts of energy, equivalent to the output of one power plant, Earth Hour organizers said Wednesday.

At the launch of this year's Earth Hour, Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes urged more Filipinos to join the movement this year and switch off their lights for just one hour from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on March 28.

More than the hour of energy saved, the worldwide campaign seeks to instill more environment-friendly lifestyle. It encourages the use of more renewable energy than fossil-based energy.

Reyes said that this year, the Philippine campaign aims to involve 10 million. Worldwide, the target is 1 billion people.

"Worldwide the Philippines was number nine last year. I expect that we will be number one in the world this year," the energy secretary said.

Cathy Maceda, of the Switch Movement, said people can save energy by switching from incandescent bulbs to the more energy-efficient compact fluorescent lamps. She said every one million such switches is equivalent to 47 megawatts saved.

"One power plant is equivalent to 47 megawatts. If 13 million such switches are made, as Switch's target for this year is, we don't have to put up 13 power plants," she said.

Maceda that various churches have agreed to participate by urging their flock to reflect on how to save energy and therefore save the earth.

Mother Earth's Odette Alcantara said she considers Earth Hour "a holy hour, a sacred hour to listen to the silence, and in the dark, feel the effects of the climate change that we have brought upon ourselves."

venntro

March 6th, 2009, 07:20 AM

^^ Another Earth hour.

venntro

March 6th, 2009, 07:20 AM

House approves P100 million for new Bataan Nuclear Power Plant study (http://http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=445963&publicationSubCategoryId=63)
Updated March 06, 2009 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - The House appropriations committee approved yesterday a P100-million allocation for a new study on the viability of commissioning the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP).

Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, senior committee vice chairman, proposed the new “validation or feasibility” study as a “compromise” to the bill of Pangasinan Rep. Marcos Cojuangco seeking the “immediate rehabilitation and commissioning” of the nuclear plant.

The bill of Cojuangco is facing stiff opposition from many congressmen and civil society groups, as well as from Catholic bishops. The lawmaker is a son of billionaire businessman Eduardo Cojuangco Jr. who has investments in power distribution and oil refining and retailing.

Lagman said a fourth study has to be conducted to determine whether the nuclear plant could still be operated despite its being mothballed since the Marcos years due largely to unresolved safety issues.

He said the results of three previous studies should be used as references by a group of local and international experts who would be commissioned to undertake the new study.

He said the P100-million budget would be taken from this year’s budget of the Department of Energy and the state-owned National Power Corp.

Lagman said a provision in the committee-approved allocation prohibits the commissioning of the plant ahead of the completion of the new study.

Rep. Cojuangco initially frowned upon Lagman’s proposal, saying a “feasibility study” is “politician’s language that connotes inaction and indecision.”

“We should decide once and for all whether we want to operate this plant or to sell it for its junk value,” he said.

He said at present, the government is spending P40 million a year for the upkeep of the plant, which has not generated a single watt of electricity.

Quirino Rep. Junie Cua, appropriations committee chairman, prevailed upon Cojuangco to accept the compromise.

After Lagman’s proposal was accepted, Rep. Roilo Golez of Parañaque suggested that portions of the Cojuangco bill that are “incongruous” with the compromise be deleted.

Golez said the “incongruous” portions include allowing the National Power Corp. to immediately rehabilitate and operate the nuclear plant.

He said this might be interpreted as an authority for Napocor to operate the plant even while the mandated new feasibility study is still underway.

“If these irrelevant portions are not deleted, this will be a ridiculous and a defective bill,” he said.

Rizal Rep. Jack Duavit, a co-author of the commissioning bill, said even if the new study finds the plant to be operable and viable, it would still go through a process of licensing by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

“This process alone will take time and is usually more strict and tedious than a validation or feasibility study,” he said.

Protests continue

Groups opposed to the activation of the BNPP vowed to launch more protest actions.

“From now on, the public and the broad social movement against the revival of the BNPP will keep tabs on each legislator’s position, action and/or inaction on the said issue. However, special attention will be given to the 184 legislators who have rendered their support to the bill,” said Emman Hizon of the Freedom from Debt Coalition. Members of the group as well as of the Network Opposed to BNPP or No to BNPP picketed yesterday outside the Batasang Pambansa complex.

“Those who have put their signatures to the Cojuangco bill, their reasons notwithstanding, are now under the watchful eyes of the Filipino public,” Hizon said.

FDC appealed to the pro-BNPP lawmakers to withdraw their signatures, citing the “gross disadvantages” and “monumental folly” of operating the BNPP.

“Like the mothballed BNPP, we appeal to the highest sense of our legislators to also mothball Rep. Cojuangco’s bill. We believe such a detrimental legislative measure has no place in the halls of responsible lawmaking,” Hizon said.

NO to BNPP described the mothballed plant as “tremendously dangerous, economically disadvantageous and utterly defective.”

“The protest parade symbolizes the many reasons why the BNPP revival will bring death to the Filipino people if the bill is not put to a close once and for all,” Dr. Giovanni Tapang, spokesman of NO to BNPP said.

“The Arroyo administration and Cong. Mark Cojuangco are running out of reasons to justify the revival of the Bataan nuke plant. The majority of the people of Bataan and their provincial government have already signified their opposition to the plant revival. Even if it passed legislation, the people of Bataan are sure not to allow it,” Tapang said.

“Moreover, the Catholic Church has taken an anti-BNPP revival position and the general public is against this nuclear scheme of the Arroyo administration.” Tapang added. With Katherine Adraneda

venntro

March 6th, 2009, 07:49 AM

Reposting here..

Turn off your lights, for just one hour (http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/breakingnews/view/20090304-192301/Turn-off-your-lights-for-just-one-hour)
By Veronica Uy

MANILA, Philippines—One million Filipinos who switched off their lights for one hour in last year's Earth Hour campaign were able to save at least 54 megawatts of energy, equivalent to the output of one power plant, Earth Hour organizers said Wednesday.

At the launch of this year's Earth Hour, Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes urged more Filipinos to join the movement this year and switch off their lights for just one hour from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on March 28.

More than the hour of energy saved, the worldwide campaign seeks to instill more environment-friendly lifestyle. It encourages the use of more renewable energy than fossil-based energy.

Reyes said that this year, the Philippine campaign aims to involve 10 million. Worldwide, the target is 1 billion people.

"Worldwide the Philippines was number nine last year. I expect that we will be number one in the world this year," the energy secretary said.

Cathy Maceda, of the Switch Movement, said people can save energy by switching from incandescent bulbs to the more energy-efficient compact fluorescent lamps. She said every one million such switches is equivalent to 47 megawatts saved.

"One power plant is equivalent to 47 megawatts. If 13 million such switches are made, as Switch's target for this year is, we don't have to put up 13 power plants," she said.

Maceda that various churches have agreed to participate by urging their flock to reflect on how to save energy and therefore save the earth.

Mother Earth's Odette Alcantara said she considers Earth Hour "a holy hour, a sacred hour to listen to the silence, and in the dark, feel the effects of the climate change that we have brought upon ourselves."

tonight

March 6th, 2009, 09:32 AM

Para maging sucessful pa to, dapat ang meralco at iba pang powerplants ay mag shut down!:nuts:

Para nationwide "lights off" talaga :nuts::lol:

^^
baka matagalan mag-generate kung power plants mag shut down :lol:
tama si @venntro voluntary lang talaga

dinabaw

March 6th, 2009, 11:32 AM

PIA Press Release
2009/03/05

Two Hamuiguitan mammals still being verified if they are new species

by RG Alama

Davao City (5 March) -- Scientists in the Field Museum in Chicago are verifying the specimens of two unknown species of mammals captured in Mt. Hamiguitan in Davao Oriental if indeed they are newly discovered species.

According to Jayson Ibanez, research coordinator of the Philippine Eagle Foundation or PEF which organized the research expedition to Mt. Hamiguitan, the two species were captured two years ago along with a specimen of a hairy-tailed rodent.

In December 2008 after two years of study, the hairy-tailed rodent was declared as newly discovered specie found only in Mount Hamiguitan. It is the first mammal to be described from anywhere in Eastern Mindanao and is the first mammal that is thought to be endemic in that area.

It was named as the Hamiguitan batomys or the Hamiguitan hairy-tailed rat with a scientific name Batomys Hamiguitan.

Ibanez said that the other two species is an insect-eating bat and a Podogymnura, a kind of rodent who feeds on forest earthworms, the species were found in the same vicinity where the Hamiguitan botomys was located, an area less than 10 square kilometers and in an elevation estimated to be at 950 meters above sea level.

He said they cannot ascertain as to when the scientific declaration will be released as usually the discovery of a new species is published in a scientific paper. Ibanez said that the Batomys which was captured in May 2006 was only declared a new species in December 2008.

According to him the process spanning two years that took the scientist to declare the Hamiguitan Batomys as a new species is faster compared to the process undergone by other newly discovered animal species.

With the discovery of a new species and other potential new mammals Mt. Hamiguitan could be considered as a biological hotspot or according to Ibanez a center of endinism or an area where new species of animal and plant life still unknown to man abound.

Mt. Hamiguitan has an existing forest cover of 34,000 hectares of which only 6,000 hectares are considered as protected area. The still verdant mountain is located in one of the country's richest mineral reserves and in Mt. Hamiguitan alone about six mining agreements covers an area of about 17,000 hectares of forests.

The PEF along with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Chicago-based Field Museum are working to learn about the biological diversity and conservation status of the region before the habitats are damaged by these developments.

In 2005 to 2006 about four scientific expeditions to Hamiguitan lasting from three weeks to a month were conducted which netted in not just unique mammal species but also potential newly-discovered plant species. (PIA XI) [top]

PIA News (http://www.pia.gov.ph/?m=12&fi=p090305.htm&no=08&r=R11&y=09&mo=03)

pi_malejana

March 6th, 2009, 11:37 AM

wala lang.. naiinis lang ako dun sa PAWS (tama ba??) regarding dun daw sa concerns nila about dun sa depopulation nung mga baboy na may virus... gusto pa nila pakainin pa mga baboy...:bash: nangugulo lang sila imHo... imbis na mapabilis or mapatipid na ung mission, sali sali pa itong mga organization na ito...:ohno:

tonight

March 8th, 2009, 07:36 AM

366 trees to be incorporated in the hotel-casino project in SBMA (http://mb.com.ph/node/197809)
By Ben R. Rosario

The 366 centuries-old trees that were originally set to be felled to give way to a proposed casino-hotel and golf course at Subic Freeport will be spared by the South Korean developer commissioned to implement the project.

At a congressional hearing yesterday, Eric Park, manager of Gran Utopia Corporation, assured the Lower House members that he will alter the development plan of the project to incorporate trees into the structures his firm will put up.

Park appeared at the hearing conducted by the House Committee on Bases Conversion to clarify accusations that the proposed project, to be financed by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), would include the cutting of 366 trees, most of which are endangered species.

The SBMA, headed by administrator Armand Arreza, reportedly did not object to the original plan, although Park admitted that it may still be revised to save the trees.

Park categorically said their company would be amenable to the proposal of Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga to incorporate the 366 endangered trees in its development plan rather than cutting them.

“We could alter the development plan as long as we are allowed to pursue this project,” Park told the panel.

Architect Felino Palafox Jr., the urban planner who exposed SBMA’s consent to the tree cutting, insisted earlier that the idea is highly feasible, as his architectural firm had designed in several of its projects.

venntro

March 9th, 2009, 02:23 AM

Atienza to discuss sea mammals' strange behavior at CTI meet (http://http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=446831&publicationSubCategoryId=66)
Updated March 09, 2009 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Lito Atienza will discuss the recent peculiar phenomena which occurred within Philippine waters in the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) meeting schedule next week in Papua New Guinea.

In a speech delivered during Rotary International’s “Saving Planet Earth” conference and exhibit at the Insular Life Auditorium in Makati City, Atienza said he will confer with the other member countries of the CTI the abnormal behavior of dolphins and whales (melon-head and pilot) that wanted to get out of the water and beach themselves at the coasts of Bataan last month and Romblon the other day.

The Coral Triangle, where Philippines is at the apex, covers some 5.7 million sq. km. and is considered the global center of marine biodiversity, with over 600 reef-building coral species or 75 percent of all known coral species in the world and more than 3,000 fish species. Member countries include Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste, Solomon Islands and the Philippines.

“We want to understand, as well as pinpoint, the reason why these sea mammals have been acting unusual. We suspect that these are caused by underwater quakes or change in temperature brought about by global warming and climate change,” Atienza said.

Initially, the DENR deemed these as effects of dynamite fishing but, since it also happened in Singapore not too long ago, the department is seriously conducting studies to determine the explanation for such happening.

According to Atienza, there are no dynamite fishing activities in Singapore and the illegal activity has been taking place in the Philippines for decades which the DENR has been doing its best to eradicate. “So, why are these dolphins and whales acting so strange,” Atienza questioned.

“Luckily, the sea mammals were saved by the Filipinos’ bayanihan spirit and natural care for the environment when local government units (LGUs), townsfolk and fishermen, altogether, drove the dolphins and whales back to the sea,” Atienza added.

Atienza also said that because of what happened, the DENR is preparing an advisory for all LGUs on what they should do in case another peculiar phenomenon occurs.

venntro

March 9th, 2009, 07:43 AM

Bike protest versus BNPP rehab set today (http://http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=446859&publicationSubCategoryId=67)
Updated March 09, 2009 12:00 AM

MALOLOS CITY, Philippines – Hundreds of cyclists will go around the towns of Bataan today to protest the proposed rehabilitation of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP), which they call the “monster of Morong.”

Dubbed as “Peace Cycling for Nuclear-Free Bataan,” the 40-kilometer bike protest will start in Barangay Layac, Hermosa town and proceed to Balanga City and Bagac town, and finally in Morong. – Dino Balabo

venntro

March 10th, 2009, 01:46 AM

Rapu-Rapu maintains ISO environmental ratings (http://http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=447092&publicationSubCategoryId=66)
Updated March 10, 2009 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - Project Director Scott Kim of LG International Corp. announced recently that the Rapu-Rapu Polymetallic Project (RRPP) has successfully passed the Surveillance Audits for its ISO 14001 certifications for environmental managements systems (EMS) since it earned these for its mining and mineral processing operations in August 2008 and February 2008, respectively. The semi-annual audits are required to maintain ISO certifications. The latest audit was conducted by independent external auditor CIPI at the end of January 2008.

The ISO 14001 certifications signify that the environmental management systems of Rapu-Rapu adhere to globally recognized standards, Kim said, and that the project is environmentally compliant. He added that substantial measures to strengthen environmental protection continue to be put in place with the resumption of operations last October. The new project investors are Philco Resources Ltd. (a joint venture of LG International Corp. and Korea Resources Corp.), and the Malaysian Smelting Corp.

“It is integral to our success to take continuous steps to enhance protection of the environment and the local residents of Rapu-Rapu,” Kim said. The island is a two-and-a-half boat trip from Legaspi City, Albay.

Since July, 2008 the new RRPP shareholders have deposited P35 million into an escrow fund for its Final Mine Rehabilitation and Decommissioning Plan (FMRDP). The fund will cover the rehabilitation and decommissioning of the mine when extraction operations end. “RRPP was not required to start the trust fund until the FMRDP has been approved, but in good faith, we have begun making these deposits,” Kim said. The advances are the first ever to be made by any local mining project before approval of its FMRDP.

venntro

March 10th, 2009, 02:10 AM

15-inch butanding rescued in Sorsogon (http://http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=447216&publicationSubCategoryId=68)
By Katherine Adraneda Updated March 10, 2009 12:00 AM

A marine conservation officer holds a baby whale shark, which was found with a rope on its tail tied to a stick in Pilar town, Sorsogon. WWF
MANILA, Philippines - A 15-inch whale shark, locally known as butanding, has been found in Sorsogon.

Conservation group World Wide Fund for Nature-Philippines (WWF-Philippines) reported yesterday that the rescue of what could be the smallest whale shark in the country, and perhaps in the world, might lead to answers to the mystery of where the sea creatures breed.

According to the WWF, the baby whale shark was caught last Friday in nearby San Antonio, a barangay of Pilar town, adjacent to Donsol in Sorsogon and was allegedly about to be sold.

A Butanding Interaction Officer (BOI) from Donsol town identified as Embet Guadamor alerted the municipal agricultural officer as well as WWF’s project leader in Donsol, Elson Aca, as soon as he received the information Saturday morning.

“A veteran of several years of fieldwork, including a multi-year stint with humpback whales in the Babuyan Islands, Elson (Aca) knew instinctively what to do. Now in stranding response mode, he grabbed his camera, cell phone and a copy of Fisheries Administrative Order 193, protecting whale sharks, and rushed to the Tourism Office,” related Jose Ma. Lorenzo Tan, vice-chairman and CEO of WWF-Philippines.

A team consisting of the tourism officer, agricultural officer, BIO, and Aca quickly drew up an operational plan to rescue the small whale shark, which WWF-Philippines christened the “Million Dollar Baby” for its significance and rarity.

They found the whale shark with a rope around its tail tied to a stick stuck into the sand.

The team freed the shark and checked to see that the animal was unhurt. They then documented the discovery and measured the shark, which was 15 inches from tip to tail. They put the whale shark in a large plastic bag with water to allow it to swim freely in preparation for release.

About three hours later, the team boarded a banca and took it out to deep water, where it was less likely to get entangled in a fish net, and set it free.

Tan said many researches have been done worldwide on whale sharks, but to date, no one knows where the whale sharks breed or give birth.

Tan noted that the whale shark rescued in Pilar town last Saturday was so small that “it was probably born (there) and could have been what biologists call a neo-nate.”

“Not only is this animal the smallest live whale shark on record ever to be captured and released here in the Philippines, it is also the first indication that the Philippines, at the apex of the Coral Triangle, is probably one of the places on the planet where these giants of the sea are born,” Tan pointed out.

“For many years, scientists thought that Donsol was merely one of many ‘gas stations’ along the global network of marine highways where whale sharks cruised. This new discovery is the first ever indication that this coastline may actually be a birthing site. This comes as no surprise. After all, this happened in the Coral Triangle – the nursery of the seas – where life begins, and many things remain possible,” he added.

venntro

March 10th, 2009, 02:26 AM

LTO approves e-jeepney registration–maker (http://http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2009/march/10/yehey/top_stories/20090310top7.html)

The Land Transportation Office (LTO) has approved the registration of electric jeepneys, or e-jeepneys, its manufacturer announced on Monday, when it also launched electric tricycles.

The registration would allow the e-jeepneys to ply primary roads, like Ayala Avenue, but not highways or expressways, said Rommel Juan, director and general manager of the Philippine Utility Vehicle Inc. (PhUV), which makes the electric vehicles.

PhUV is a consortium made up the members of the Motor Vehicle Parts Manufacturers Association of the Philippines (MVPMAP) and the Green Renewable Independent Power Producers Inc. (GRIPP).

The Land Transportation Office, the government agency in charge of vehicles and issuer of drivers’ licenses, classifies e-jeepneys as low-speed vehicles and would be issued orange plates, Juan said. Its maximum speech is 60 kilometers per hour.

Orange is the international color for electric vehicles, Juan said. But the government has yet to make orange plates, so the e-jeepneys will be issued green plates temporarily.

The e-jeepneys project was inspired no so much because of high fuel prices, but because of it helps combat air pollution, said Chit Juan, an officer of MD Juan, one of the members of the consortium.

Rommel Juan said, “Powered by pure electric power, this jeepney will not emit carbon emissions and has a quiet ride. The general public will surely benefit from its smoke-free feature since the health of people will not be jeopardized.”

Eco-friendly alternative

Some 14 e-jeepneys are already plying secondary roads in Makati City, around Salcedo and Legaspi villages, Chit Juan said.

Besides Makati City, there are e-jeepneys plying roads in Alabang in Muntinlupa City, Dasmariñas in Cavite province, Los Baños in Laguna province, Puerto Princesa in Palawan province.

E-jeepneys cost P625,000 a unit, while reconditioned diesel engine jeepneys cost anywhere from P700,000 to P800,000, depending on the length.

“We are not competing with the local manufacturers, but we want to pioneer eco-friendly vehicles,” Rommel Juan said. The payback period of an e-jeepney is about a year and eight months, which is shorter compared to the three years it takes to recoup the cost of diesel-engine jeepneys.

The e-jeepneys can carry 14-passengers. The e-jeepneys available today in the market are only 5-kilowatt models, but the manufacturers hope they can soon release a 7.5-kilowatt model, which can traverse the undulating streets of Baguio or Tagaytay.

The vehicle uses 12 batteries that can be charged from six to eight hours and has 500 cycles of charging.

In the future, PhUV have the plans of converting diesel and gasoline-engine vehicles to electric vehicles, said Ferdie Santos, president of PhUV. “We are going into conversion [in the future]—whether gasoline engine or diesel engine. Right now, my personal computation is P300,000.”

“We’re hoping three years from now, we will be producing 20 units a month,” said Santos, adding that they are now producing eight units a month. PhUV has both non-solar and solar-powered e-jeepneys.

PhUV is the first to locally design and assemble the e-jeepney and the first to be granted an LTO license plate.

Electric tricycles

At the same press event, the e-jeepney makers also introduced on Monday a line of other electric motor vehicles—tricycles, motorcycles and motorbikes.

The seven-passenger e-tricycles sells for P240,000 each, and the e-motorcycles from P32,000 to P45,000 each. The manufacturers are also planning to have e-tricycles for utility with no seats and also delivery vehicles for mineral water stations.

But a challenge to propagating the electric-power vehicles is the absence of battery-charging stations, but the manufacturers are looking at a spot adjacent to the fire station in Makati City.

But to make the charging stations viable, fleets of e-jeepneys should already be plying several routes in Metro Manila. And before then, the electric vehicles have to be recharged at home.

According to Green Renewable Independent Power Producers, there are 250,000 passenger jeepneys in the Philippines that consume 4.8 million barrels of diesel fuel per year. This high fuel consumption is due to the traditional engine that is not energy-efficient, the group said.

venntro

March 10th, 2009, 05:54 AM

Whale shark saved in Philippines, may be smallest (http://http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=447270&publicationSubCategoryId=200)
Updated March 10, 2009 11:38 AM

MANILA, Philippines (AP) -- Activists in the Philippines have rescued what they believe might be the smallest offspring of the world's biggest fish — a whale shark the size of a forearm, a conservation group said Tuesday.

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WFF) said maritime officials and activists in Pilar town in the eastern Philippines rescued the 15-inch (38-centimeter) -long whale shark last week and released it in deep waters. Its tail was tied to a small rope on a beach.

The group called it "arguably the smallest living whale shark in recorded history."

WWF said the discovery is the first ever indication that this coastline may be their birthing ground. The group has encountered very few baby whale sharks and can only compare the size of its new discovery to embryos found in a dead female in 1996 _ which measured 14.6 to 18.9 inches (37 to 48 centimeters), according to Elson Aca, project manager for the WWF whale shark tracking project.

The gentle creatures, which can grow to be as big as a bus, make regular stops along the Philippines' eastern shores from December to May, attracting thousands of tourists. But little is known about where they breed as they cruise the world seas.

venntro

March 10th, 2009, 06:48 AM

Green group to make more electric jeepneys (http://http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=447110&publicationSubCategoryId=65)
By Mike Frialde Updated March 10, 2009 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - An environmental group advocating alternative energy solutions yesterday re-launched its electric-powered jeepney that it claims could help solve the pollution problem of Metro Manila.

According to the Green Renewable Independent Power Producer (GRIPP), its 14-seater electric-powered, four-speed jeepney will not cause any carbon emissions and is a quiet ride.

First introduced in Makati City in July 2008, the electric jeepney will now be built on a large number by the Philippine Utility Vehicle Inc. (PhUV). The electric jeepney was re-launched yesterday at the Eco Store at The Fort in Taguig City.

PhUV will assemble the manual transmission, 14-seater electric jeepney to the specifications of the buyer. According to PhUV, the 5-kilowatt electric jeepney is available. PhUV said the 7.5 kw model, which will soon be produced, has the power to go up the streets of Baguio or Tagaytay.

“We have been waiting for a like-minded partner and we saw that in PhUV,” said GRIPP spokeswoman Yvonne Castro. “So we are ready to roll out more electric jeepneys in the next few months.”

According to GRIPP, it decided to produce more electric jeepneys after the Land Transportation Office (LTO) allowed its first unit to be registered last October.

For its part, PhUV said it is eager to share its technical expertise with the GRIPP on its electric jeepney project. “I think going green is the way to go. We are very proud to be able to help the environment through our expertise in vehicle parts manufacturing and vehicle assembly,” said Rommel Juan, PhUV director and general manager of MDJuan Enterprises, exclusive assembler of the e-jeepney.

Priced at P625,000 per unit, the 14-seater e-jeepney is cheaper than a second-hand 22-seater diesel-powered passenger jeepney or a brand-new unit, which sells at P1 million.

Juan said that in the long run, the e-jeepney will be cheaper since only the batteries need to be replaced. “You don’t need an oil change and there are fewer moving parts,” he said.

Juan said the batteries used by the e-jeepney are locally manufactured and are the same ones used for golf carts. The e-jeepney uses 12 six-volt batteries, priced at P6,500 each, which need at least eight hours of charging on a 220-volt outlet. One battery can last two to three years before it needs to be replaced.

According to GRIPP, their target buyers at the moment are mainly resort owners. However, they are also looking at urban buyers.

“People in the cities create five times more carbon dioxide and help speed up global warming,” it said in a statement.

Owners of jeepneys and vehicles with gasoline or diesel engines can have their vehicles converted to use batteries for P300,000, GRIPP said, adding that there are 250,000 passenger jeepneys in the Philippines that consume 4.8 million barrels of diesel fuel per year.

venntro

March 10th, 2009, 06:55 AM

Fisherfolk oppose lake water sourcing plan (http://http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=447112&publicationSubCategoryId=65)
Updated March 10, 2009 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - A group of fishermen are opposing a government plan to source water from Laguna de Bay to supply the cities of Muntinlupa, Parañaque, Las Piñas in Metro Manila and Bacoor in Cavite.

Protesting the looming project, members of the Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) and the Save Laguna Lake Movement (SLLM) washed their clothes and bathed themselves in front of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Quezon City yesterday.

The Maynilad Water Services Inc. (MWSI) has asked the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) for permission to pump 300 million liters of water per day from Laguna de Bay to the four cities.

“Laguna Lake belongs to the Filipino people,” said Fernando Hicap, national chairman of Pamalakaya. “By orientation, by design, and by historical and social purpose the lake is mainly a communal fishing ground. Any kind of privatization and conversion will not help save Laguna Lake, which is currently at the deathbed of environmental destruction.”

Environment Secretary Lito Atienza must stop the LLDA from “selling out” to MWSI, Hicap said.

Pamalakaya and SLLM believed that granting an ECC to the MWSI project would further open the “privatization” of the Laguna Lake.

Hicap said the MWSI’s proposal would automatically pave the way for the closure of the Napindan Hydraulic Control System, which will prevent the entry of salt water from Manila Bay into the lake.

He said fish in Laguna de Bay require the mixing of salt and fresh waters to spawn and survive.

“Maynilad’s plan is like a death certificate to Laguna Lake, killing not only the livelihood of more than 500,000 people engaged in fish capture and fish culture activities. It will also endanger the fish supply and the fish needs of millions of people in the National Capital Region, Laguna and Rizal provinces,” Hicap added.

Pamalakaya and SLLM said Laguna de Bay, Southeast Asia’s second largest lake, is still capable of producing at least 50,000 metric tons of fish per year, which is enough to address the needs of not less than 10 million people.

Last month, the LLDA announced that MWSI is seeking its approval to source water from the lake amid a “forthcoming shortage” of potable water in the western portion of Metro Manila. – Katherine Adraneda

venntro

March 10th, 2009, 08:34 AM

Flip the switch, save the planet (http://http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=447168&publicationSubCategoryId=64)
ROSES & THORNS By Alejandro R. Roces Updated March 10, 2009 12:00 AM

We, and the rest of the world, have had elections on the brain. Last year the United States completed one of their most historic elections, voting a man of African descent into office for the very first time. In doing so, it is our hope that they put to rest a centuries long battle with racism. Here our politicians seem obsessed with the 2010 election, including the automation of polls. We wonder when the issues will take center stage. But, on March 28, 2009, an election of global reach and importance will take place.

In 2007, the city of Sydney, Australia conceived of a practical way to demonstrate support for the environment. Developed with the World Wide Life Fund (WWF) Australia and the Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney urged members of their community to shut-off the lights for one hour on the last Saturday of March. They had over 2.2 million participants between individuals and businesses. In 2008, Earth Hour became an international event. Thirty-five cities were official flagship cities and four hundred were active. It is estimated that close to 50 million people around the world flipped the switch and turned off their lights for one hour. Even major international landmarks went dark, including: the Empire State Building in New York City, the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, the Sears Tower in Chicago, and the Colosseum in Rome, among others. The most visited website in the world, Google.com, even went “dark” for one hour. The tagline on the site read, “We’ve turned out the lights. Now it’s your turn - Earth Hour.” According to a Zogby International survey, this worldwide event resulted to a four percent increase in environmental awareness. This year, Earth Hour is hoping for even greater participation and awareness.

For 2009, they have revamped the affair, creating the first global election. Participants are voting between the Earth and global warming. From their site: “For the first time in history, people of all ages, nationalities, race and background have the opportunity to use their light switch as their vote — Switching off your lights is a vote for Earth, or leaving them on is a vote for global warming. WWF urges the world to VOTE EARTH and reach the target of 1 billion votes, which will be presented to world leaders at the Global Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen 2009.” The meeting in Copenhagen is of utmost importance. During the conference, world governments will determine new policies against global warming. The world has the chance, through this vote, to tell world leaders what they think about global warming.

There are many practical solutions that each of us can implement to help preserve the environment. Let us not forget that the more we consume as we inhabit the earth and its environment, the more we use up its resources. In our own small ways, we can contribute to a common goal and achieve surprisingly good results, if we just put one mind to it. Earth Hour is one small step of which we all should be a part. As of March 8, 2009, over 931 cities and towns in 80 countries have signed up. As their site says, “Unlike any election in history, it is not about what country you are from, but instead, what planet you’re from. VOTE EARTH is a global call to action for every individual, every business, and every community. A call to stand up and take control over the future of our planet.”

In 2008, the Philippines had the ninth most votes in the world. We can do better. We urge the media, companies and individuals to become involved and spread the word to help Earth Hour exceed its goals. For more information and to sign up for Earth Hour, please visit www. earthhour.org . The planet needs your vote. Flip the switch off on March 28, 2009.

venntro

March 11th, 2009, 02:03 AM

Toyota to sell Prius in RP by mid-year (http://http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=447352&publicationSubCategoryId=66)
By Ma. Elisa P. Osorio Updated March 11, 2009 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - Filipino consumers will now have access to environmental friendly cars after Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) announced it will be bringing in the Prius in the country either in June or July.

“We just received the approval from the head office very recently. We will bring the Prius in middle of this year,” Alfred Ty, TMP vice chairman told reporters at the sidelines of the Lexus launch Monday evening.

According to Ty, there is a market for hybrid vehicles here even if these environmentally friendly cars are pricier than normal vehicles.

“We will start with the Prius first. We have the go signal for this,” Ty said.

Ty said they have not yet determined the price of the Prius or how many they will import here to sell. “There is no price range yet.” The Toyota website stated that starting price for the 2009 Prius is $22,000.

However, the price here may differ given importation charges and various taxes which will add to the cost of the car. Ty said they will ask for incentives from the government to the taxes.

“The government has to help. It can’t be a one way thing,” Ty said. “We would like to get subsidies but that is still in the process,” he added. In a previous interview, TMP president Hiroshi Ito said it is very costly to import hybrid vehicles. “The government needs to give incentives.”

According to Ito, they have not formally asked the Board of Investments (BOI) for incentives for importing hybrid cars but Toyota is willing to spearhead the move to get more perks for being environmental friendly.

Ito said should Toyota decide to sell hybrid vehicles in the Philippines, the price will be similar to other countries. However, he said the cost of importation would definitely increase the prices because right now it is very expensive.

Even though hybrid cars are more expensive, Ito said they have been getting inquiries regarding hybrid vehicles. “There is a demand,” Ito said.

Ito said they are projecting to sell 50 units per month should Toyota finally decide to sell hybrid vehicles in the country.

Earlier, Toyota said they are unable to bring hybrid cars here given the road conditions in the country. When asked about this, Ty said “things have changed.” He explained that even if the road conditions remain the same, the Prius has evolved.

The Prius that will be introduced here in the country is the third generation Prius. “The technology for this has improved.”

venntro

March 11th, 2009, 03:07 AM

Global warming ‘accelerating,’ scientists say (http://http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2009/march/11/yehey/top_stories/20090311top6.html)

COPENHAGEN: Only months before make-or-break UN climate talks in Copenhagen, an extraordinary conclave of climate scientists gathered here Tuesday to warn that global warming is accelerating more quickly than forecast by a key UN report for policymakers.

The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concluded in early 2007 that global warming, if unchecked, would unleash a devastating amalgam of floods, drought, disease and extreme weather by century’s end.

But a welter of new research suggests the impact could be even worse, and will arrive sooner rather than later.

“We need a much stronger sense in our societies of urgency,” John Ashton, Britain’s top climate negotiator, told journalists as the meeting got under way.

Biggest concern

Most worrying, scientists say, is the possibility that human activity—mainly the burning of oil, gas and coal—could trigger natural drivers of global warming which, once unleashed, would be nearly impossible to reverse.

The shrinking of the Arctic ice cap, and the release of billions of tons of greenhouse gases trapped in melting permafrost are two such “positive feedbacks” that could become both cause and consequence of global warming.

The three-day conference is also likely to unveil a new scientific consensus that sea levels are set to rise at least a meter by 2100, more than double the IPCC estimate, which failed to take melt-off from the Greenland Ice Sheet into account.

“We need to look at what is a ‘reasonable worst case’ in the lifetime of people alive today,” said Ashton, noting even rich nations had yet to take such scenarios seriously.

“A sea level rise of one or two meters would not just be damaging for China. It would be an absolute catastrophe. And what is catastrophic for China is catastrophic for the world,” he said.

Huge gathering

More than 2,000 researchers from 80 countries responded to the open invitation to present their findings, which were then vetted by a panel of climate experts, many of them top figures in the IPCC.

“I and a lot of scientists see this meeting as an opportunity to update the science that has come out since the last IPCC report,” said William Howard, a researcher from the University of Tasmania in Hobart, Australia.

Howard will present evidence showing for the first time that ocean acidification caused by climate change is stripping away the calcium-based shells of tiny organisms, called forams, that play a vital role in absorbing huge amounts of carbon pollution from the atmosphere.

“The huge response from scientists comes from a sense of urgency, but also a sense of frustration,” said Katherine Richardson, head of the Danish government’s Commission on Climate Change Policy and a co-organizer of the meeting, sponsored by the University of Copenhagen and nine other schools.

“Most of us have been trained as scientists to not get our hands dirty by talking to politicians. But we now realize that what we are dealing with is so complicated and urgent that we have to help to make sure the results are understood,” she told Agence France-Presse.

Global climate treaty

Richardson said the IPCC report was an invaluable document, but will be five years out of date by the time negotiators convene in December to hammer out a global climate treaty.

“There is a whole lot more knowledge available today,” she said. “When you make decisions on what you are going to do about the problem it is important to know what trajectory you are on.”

Connie Hedegaard, Denmark’s minister for climate and energy, agreed that political decisions should be driven by science.

“As policymakers, we can’t ignore what the scientists are telling us, nor can we close our eyes to reality,” she said.

The head of the UN panel, Rajendra Pachauri—who shared the 2007 Nobel Peace prize with Al Gore—will address the proceedings, along with Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, and top climate economist Lord Nicholas Stern.

venntro

March 11th, 2009, 03:20 AM

DENR backs mining firm�s FTAA for Runruno project (http://http://www.tribuneonline.org/business/20090311bus7.html)

03/11/2009

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources has endorsed to President Arroyo the application of FCF Minerals Corp. to convert the mining company�s permit into a Financial and Technical Assistance Agreement (FTAA) to explore and develop some 3,093.51-hectare of mineral-rich area in Runruno, Quezon, Nueva Viscaya, DENR Secretary Lito Atienza said.

The grant of FTAA to FCF will give more momentum to the revitalization program of the country�s mineral industry. Once approved by the President, this will be the 4th FTAA to be signed under the Philippine Mining Act of 1995, Atienza said.

He explained that the approval of the FTAA is much needed to entice more foreign investors in parking their funds into the country despite global economic crunch. It will also reiterate the government�s sustained efforts to rise above difficulties, �thus showing the country remains a sound proposition for investments.�

Atienza said that the entry of FCF in the country�s mining industry will accelerate the development of gold and molybdenum into commercial use. The presence of high-yielding minerals have been confirmed by FCF in its recent exploration activities which saw the boring of more or less 1,000 meters in length, 500 meters in depth and 17 meters in thickness of the area�s surface.

�Study undertaken by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau showed that the area is highly mineralized and may warrant a more detailed exploration work to confirm positive ore reserves for future development utilization,� Atienza said.

Atienza said that FCF is qualified to apply for FTAA considering that the company�s authorized capital of P210 million is way above the government�s required minimum paid-up capital of P10 million.

He also said that the conversion of the company�s exploration permit to FTAA will benefit the government considering that the company is in its final exploration phase and is in fact nearing development and utilization stages.

The proposed FTAA contract, Atienza said, conforms to the provisions of existing mining laws.

venntro

March 11th, 2009, 03:54 AM

Business group asks DENR to stop erosion of Boracay beach (http://http://www.gmanews.tv/story/152156/Business-group-asks-DENR-to-stop-erosion-of-Boracay-beach)
JUN ARIOLO N. AGUIRRE, GMANews.TV
03/10/2009 | 08:45 PM

BORACAY ISLAND, Philippines – A business group has asked the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to check the activities of developers and resort owners that have led to the erosion of a beach in a portion of the country’s premiere tourism destination.

In letters to Environment Secretary Jose Atienza, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI)-Boracay expressed alarm that the beach along Barangay Diniwid in Balabag Boracay was already showing signs of severe erosion.

"Many establishments at the northern part of Diniwid beach violate national laws and municipal ordinances such as building permanent structures on the marine reserve zone or within the no build zone, the set back from the tide mark, and have no building permits and no mayors permit to operate business as a resort or establishment. These violations aggravate the erosion, which changes the once attractive Diniwid beach," Peter Brugger, PCCI-Boracay external vice president said.

Because of the beach erosion, the whole areas of northern Diniwid are not accessible to tourists anymore, particularly at high-tide when the water is two-meters deep due to the abrupt drop of the beach and on the other side fences and buildings, which are a violation of setback laws.

Brugger said establishments tried to stop beach erosions by building walls and bring in huge boulders. He laments these act could worsen the erosion.

"We hope that the DENR will act on these issues before it's too late to save the beach of Diniwid as well all other beaches on the island, which show visible signs of erosion, too. The PCCI-Boracay is currently in communication to conduct research with National Committee on Marine Sciences (NCMS)/ Mr. Miguel Flores and we hope to be able to work together with your agency on that matter," he added. - GMANews.TV

venntro

March 12th, 2009, 09:17 AM

Iloilo to turn off plaza lights for Earth Hour on March 28 (http://http://www.gmanews.tv/story/151668/Iloilo-to-turn-off-plaza-lights-for-Earth-Hour-on-March-28)

MANILA, Philippines — Iloilo City will join millions of Filipinos in calling for action against global warming by switching off all plaza lights for one hour at 8:30 p.m. of March 28.

Online news site The News Today (www.thenewstoday.info) reported that Mayor Jerry Treñas noted the city has six plazas in each of its six districts.

The city government also encouraged other sectors to join in the symbolic activity by turning off their signage lights or some of their facilities as their businesses will allow.

He also urged communities to switch off lights in their households at that particular hour.

Earlier, the mayor received a letter from Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes and World Wildlife Fund–Philippines CEO and Vice-chairman Jose Ma. Lorenzo Tan to join Earth Hour.

Reyes and Tan said Earth Hour is a "major call to action for every individual, government and business to act and ensure a sustainable future."

“Earth Hour is a message of hope and action. We can fight global warming if we all act together," they said. - GMANews.TV

tonight

March 12th, 2009, 02:29 PM

dapat araw-araw tayo magtipid at gawin ang Earth hour

tonight

March 14th, 2009, 01:05 PM

Group: RP is major ocean polluter (http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/breakingnews/view/20090314-194159/Group-RP-is-major-ocean-polluter)
By Alcuin Papa

MANILA, Philippines -- The Philippines ranks second in the world for most trash recovered from its oceans, an international conservation group has revealed.

The US-based Ocean Conservancy reported that 1,355,236 items of trash were recovered from the country’s shorelines, ocean surface and underwater during the International Coastal Cleanup conducted by the group in September 2008, which involved nearly 400,000 volunteers around the world.

The results of the cleanup were presented in a report by the group titled “A Rising Tide of Ocean Debris” was released on March 10 and available on the group's website.

Topping the list of trash items were plastic bags (679,957 pieces), paper bags (253,013) and food wrappers (103,226). Also recovered were 38,394 pieces of clothing and shoes, 55,814 tobacco-related items including cigarette butts (34,154), lighters and wrappers, and 11,077 diapers.

The United States topped the list of countries with the most trash recovered, with 3,945,855 items. In third place was Costa Rica with 1,017,621 items.

Ocean Conservancy said it collected 11.4 million pieces of trash from 6,485 sites in 104 countries, including the Philippines.

“We are all connected to the ocean. The disheartening amount of trash afloat in the sea, littering beaches and piling up on the sea floor affects the earth’s life support system, the ocean and all the living things in it," the report said.

"Marine debris is more than a blemish on nature, it is a potential threat to our food supply, to tourism and economic activity, to marine wildlife and ecosystems, and to our personal health. It even relates to the impacts of climate change,” it added.

Because of the study, local waste and pollution watchdog EcoWaste Coalition called on the public to help restore the health of Philippine waters.

On World Consumer Rights Day on Sunday (March 15), the coalition called for more awareness, responsibility and action to save the oceans and waterways, particularly from plastic garbage.

“We urge local and national authorities to fully enforce Republic Act No. 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, to stop the dumping of trash in the canals and esteros that eventually find their way into the marine ecosystem,” said Manny Calonzo, EcoWaste Coalition president.

To prevent garbage from entering the marine environment, the coalition urged consumers to adopt basic practices in ecological waste management, including waste prevention, reduction, separation at source, recycling reuse and composting.

In 2006, the group together with Greenpeace conducted a joint discards survey of Manila Bay which showed that 76 percent of the garbage in the bay was made of plastic and 51 percent was plastic bags, Calonzo said.

The coalition also urged the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and National Solid Waste Management Commission to do something about the trash in the oceans.

leml

March 15th, 2009, 02:35 AM

Once a week nalang, or month. :lol:

tonight

March 17th, 2009, 08:15 AM

Officials release marine turtle hatchlings (http://mb.com.ph/node/199209)
By MIKE U. CRISMUNDO

BUTUAN CITY -- Environment and local officials of Glan released some 72 marine turtle hatchlings in a coastal village off Glan, Sarangani province.

Community Environment and Natural Resources Officer (CENRO) Rhawell M. Pamplona, head of the DENR field office in the Municipality of Glan, released the three-week-old sea turtles of the Hawksbill species (Eretmochelys imbricata) last Wednesday in Barangay Pangyan, Glan town.

Mr. Wenie Vergara, Chief of the Protected Areas, Wildlife and Coastal Zone Management Section of CENRO Glan, said the release of the three-week-old sea turtle was successful.

Also present during the release were Barangay Pangyan Kagawad Soping Endilong who represented Barangay Chairman Hermilo de los Santos.

When asked what prompted the residents to take care of the marine turtles, De los Santos said he informed the residents earlier that slaughtering marine turtles and gathering their eggs are prohibited by law.

“Kun karnehon nato ang mga pawikan, mahimong makolob ang atong mga kaldero,” (If we slaughter
marine turtles, we will lose our livelihood) De los Santos said in the vernacular in reference to possible incarceration of offenders.

Due to hunting and egg gathering, the hawksbill turtle, along with eight other marine turtle species, is facing a very high risk of extinction, hence classified by the government as critically endangered.

tonight

March 17th, 2009, 08:34 AM

Mt Malindang Range Natural Park rainforestation project gains ground (http://www.pia.gov.ph/?m=12&fi=p090314.htm&no=63)

Cagayan de Oro City -- Sustainable development efforts in Mt. Malindang Range Natural Park in Misamis Occidental have added a new dimension with the implementation of the Rainforestation Project supported by the Trees for Travel Foundation of The Netherlands.

Regional Executive Director Ernesto Adobo, Jr. of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) disclosed that the Trees for Travel Foundation is committed to conserve the forests for the purpose of diminishing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

He said Trees for Travel Foundation has linked up with the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) to implement projects that will further enhance the conservation of Mt. Malindang Range Natural Park in Misamis Occidental.

The Rainforestation Project aims to protect the remaining forest in the area in order to safeguard the biodiversity resources in the protected area of Mt. Malindang Range Natural Park.

It also aims to help provide livelihood opportunities to local communities. Another goal of the project is to contribute to the reduction of global warming by stimulating carbon sequestration. The project is being implemented by the PAMB of Mt. Malindang Range Natural Park.

As of February 28, 2009, a total of 45 hectares of forestlands in Mt. Malindang has been rehabilitated with 35 hectares as forest plantation and 10 hectares as village forest. The project is located at Don Victoriano, Misamis Occidental.

The project has a duration of 3 years under the implementation phase and 30 years under management phase. It was gathered that the Trees for Travel Foundation is financing the project through the infusion of EU 72,000 or an approximate P4.9 million.

According to Regional Technical Director Belen Daba of the Protected Areas, Wildlife and Coastal Zone Management Service (PAWCZMS) the project components include survey and delineation, nursery establishment, plantation establishment, maintenance and protection, forest protection, community participation, supervision and monitoring.

Other related projects to be implemented are watershed management, riverbank establishment, adoption of soil and water conservation measures, and barangay watershed management planning, Director Daba added.

Rence

March 20th, 2009, 03:06 AM

http://ice.com.ph/images/poster-pifgex09.jpg
Poster

PHILIPPINE INTERNATIONAL FLORA & FAUNA GARDEN EXPO 2009
July 16-19, 2009 * World Trade Center Metro Manila, Pasay City

With the clamor for a repeat of the highly successful 1ST Philippine International Flora & Fauna Garden Expo 2008, the organizer is now spearheading a bigger and more comprehensive Philippine International Flora & Fauna Garden Expo 2009 with the theme - “Protecting and Sustaining Nature” this coming July 16-19, 2009 at the World Trade Center Metro Manila.

After gathering over 10,000 attendees and visitors last year, PIFGEX 2008 has proven that 1 hall and 3 days were not enough space and time for the event. This is the very reason why we are now going to use 2 halls and make it a 4-day event (Thursday to Sunday). We intend to surpass the traffic flow of over 15,000 visitors from all levels of private and public schools and universities, flower and plant growers, garden enthusiasts, landscapers, traders and suppliers of garden products and services, hobbyists and breeders of animals and nature lovers.

One of the event’s highlights is the special participation of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources showcasing the endemic and endangered species of plants and animals of the 16 regions of the Philippines. Each region will be represented by its own pavilion and retail area.

Government agencies, private associations, clubs, NGOs, environmentalists will again be part of this worthy endeavour. Daily seminars, workshops, demonstrations and flower arrangement competitions will be conducted for expo attendees and visitors.

For more information and reservation, please call or email ICE INC.

For more information and reservation, please call or email ICE INC.

ICE INC.
Ideas, Concepts & Events
T : +632 584.5321
F : +632 727.2151
M : +63917 800.1088
E : ice.incorporated@yahoo.com.ph
bonlreyes@ice.com.ph
W : www.ice.com.ph

tonight

March 20th, 2009, 04:38 AM

50 RP cities vow support for Earth Hour (http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/breakingnews/view/20090318-194883/50-RP-cities-vow-support-for-Earth-Hour)
By Alcuin Papa

MANILA, Philippines—Some 50 cities around the country have pledged to support Earth Hour on March 28—a Saturday—by shutting off electricity for one hour, an environmental group said Wednesday.

World Wildlife Fund campaign manager Yeb Saño also said they are targeting saving 100 megawatts for electricity during the shutdown.

“We are hoping to surpass last year’s 80 megawatts that was saved and we hope to involve around 10 million Filipinos. We believe all these are very doable,” he told the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Earth Hour is a global effort of voluntarily shutting down electricity in homes, offices, public places and commercial establishments for one hour from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. to raise awareness about the effects of climate change and global warming.

Saño added that over a hundred corporations, schools, public and private organizations have pledged support with the list growing.

Among the corporations who have pledged support for Earth Hour include Ayala Corporation, Bank of the Philippine Islands, Coca Cola, Energy Development Corporation, First Gen Corporation, Globe Telecoms, HSBC, Lopez Group, Manila Ocean Park, Meralco, Philips, Shangri-la Hotels, Shell, SM Group, Starbucks and Tetra Pak.

Institutional partners include the Archdiocese of Manila Ministry, Boy and Girl Scouts, CBCP, Department of Education, Earth Day Network, Gawad Kalinga, Habitat for Humanity, League of Corporate Foundations, National Electrification Administration, National Historical Institute, Outdoor Advertiser’s Association of the Philippines, Philippine Jaycees, Renewable Energy Coalition, Rotary Club and World Youth Alliance.

“The commitments of support grow with each day. We urge everyone to spread the word and join millions throughout the world by switching off lights from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Saturday night, 28 March. This is our chance to show the world what our Bayanihan spirit can do, for only when we act as one will Earth Hour be successful,” said Saño.

Saño called on the public to join the event and spread the word to friends and members of their families.

In the country, Earth Hour is being held under the auspices of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the Department of Energy, Green Army Network and SWITCH Movement.

Earth Hour was launched in Australia on March 31, 2007 with over two million people and 2,100 businesses in Sydney turning off their lights for 60 minutes.

In 2008, 50 million people in 370 cities participated with lights going out in New York’s Times Square, Rome’s Coliseum and even the remote Casey Station in Antarctica.

The Philippines was the first Southeast Asian nation to pledge support. Last year, its flagship cities of Pasay, Manila, Parañaque and Makati observed a switch-off ceremony with darkness enveloping the entire Roxas Boulevard seaside strip in darkness. Popular landmarks such as the Cultural Center of the Philippines and Mall of Asia also joined the event.

“Our Earth Hour last year remains the country’s largest environmental action ever staged. Last year, total power savings amounted to 80MWh. 56MWh was saved in Luzon alone which is equivalent to shutting down a coal-fired power plant for one hour,” he said.

Worldwide, Saño said the target is for the participation of around 1 billion people in Earth Hour.

tonight

March 20th, 2009, 04:39 AM

jamir57

March 21st, 2009, 12:44 AM

hmmm.. now i know ...

flesh_is_weak

March 21st, 2009, 01:37 AM

as if an hour once a year would be enough to save the environment...

if they're really serious about saving the environment, what about shutting down all forms of technology that exhausts the environment and have everyone revert to the dark ages :lol:

Askal82

March 21st, 2009, 01:49 AM

Palagi namang may earth hour or hours ang mga bayan sa Pilipinas. Yung mga nasa liblib nga 24 hours 7 days a week pa. Sobrang tipid sa kuryente pero pumapangalawa sa Japan sa mahal nito. :lol:

kiretoce

March 21st, 2009, 01:50 AM

^^ :rofl: You have a point there. ;)

tonight

March 22nd, 2009, 03:48 AM

Project aims to make Kawit, Cavite next ecotourism site (http://mb.com.ph/node/199678)
By MADEL R. SABATER

The Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD) is funding a research project which aims to make Kawit, Cavite the newest ecotourism site nearest to Metro Manila.

PCARRD is one of the five sectoral councils under the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).

According to PCARRD executive director Dr. Patricio Faylon, PCARRD is now funding research to come up with a proposal and framework for the project, which includes a study on the proposed establishment of a “Philippine Independence Park Legacy,” that aims to promote ecotourism in the area.

The funding, pegged at P 449,995 also includes identification of partner institutions, relevant policies, and linkages to facilitate project implementation as well as define possible design options or concepts and strategies.

The research is being led by Dr. Lope Calanog of the Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau (ERDB).

The project has three major components: a histo-cultural component that will feature the 14 presidents of the Philippines; agri-ecotourism that will feature a health park and a boardwalk for seafood festival, fishing, bird watching, activities like aerobics and meditation; and the mangrove rehabilitation project that will provide a central mangrove nursery as a source of planting materials.

“With this project, it is envisioned that the people of Kawit will have more livelihood opportunities. The involvement of local communities in ecotourism is also expected to rehabilitate waterways and mangrove areas, thus reducing the adverse effects of pollution in Kawit’s seafood industry,” Faylon said.

Located near Metro Manila, Kawit, Cavite is known for its scenic coastal area and tourism sites, particularly the Emilio Aguinaldo Shrine, the site of the declaration of Philippine Independence; Freedom Park, which was built to commemorate the country’s Centennial independence; the Baldomero Aguinaldo Museum, and the Battle of Binakayan Monument.

Ecotourism Philippines defines ecotourism as a form of sustainable tourism within a natural and cultural heritage area where community participation, protection and management of natural resources, culture and indigenous knowledge and practices, environmental education and ethics as well as economic benefits are fostered and pursued for the enrichment of host communities and satisfaction of visitors.

It is also a significant tool in sustainable development as it also advocates protection of the natural resources. Ecotourism seeks to put in place mechanisms that are environmentally-sustainable, economically-viable, and socially-equitable in order to bring about development in the country that would redound to the benefit of local communities, especially the poor and marginalized sectors of society.

PCARRD had allotted P 50 million worth of science and technology (S & T) interventions to further boost ecotourism in the country.

In 2002 alone, tourism accounted for 8.7 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and generated US$ 1.7 billion from foreign tourist arrivals.

newgabskii

March 23rd, 2009, 07:31 AM

this is an achievement... :):banana::)

tonight

March 23rd, 2009, 08:33 AM

Environmental laws usually ignored—activists (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/metro/view/20090323-195695/Environmental-laws-usually-ignoredactivists)
By Julie M. Aurelio

MANILA, Philippines – Environmentalists called on Monday for a strict enforcement of laws aimed at protecting the environment, saying most of the laws signed in the country have not been followed.

Green activists allied with the Earth Day Network Philippines made the call as they launched on Monday a month-long countdown for the yearly celebration for Earth Day which will culminate on April 22.

This year's Earth Day will have the theme, "Tubig at Lupa Buhayin, Hangin Linisin, Batas Tuparin (Revive Water and Land, Clean up the Air, Enforce the Law)."

Isagani Serrano, one of the EDNP convenors, said environmental laws must be strictly implemented against law breakers.

"The Philippines may be a fast one to sign international agreements, laws and policies on the environment, but sadly, these are not being implemented," he said.

Attending Monday's launching are Environment Secretary Lito Atienza, green advocates Voltaire Alferez, Odette Alcantara, among others.

ionmarx

March 24th, 2009, 01:09 AM

as if an hour once a year would be enough to save the environment...

Yup, it's not enough of course, but look at the awareness it seeks to raise. :)

kiretoce

March 24th, 2009, 04:26 AM

^^ Sometimes "awareness" only lives "in the now." After the moment is over, it's back to old habits. :ohno:

(The Pessimist's View)

newgabskii

March 24th, 2009, 07:43 AM

^^ Sometimes "awareness" only lives "in the now." After the moment is over, it's back to old habits. :ohno:

(The Pessimist's View)

well we can't blame everyone but the fact still remains that CHANGE starts from ONESELF.. :)

Dante_Tagle

March 25th, 2009, 11:10 AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CRs-7lRlPo

zoroethgenre_003

March 25th, 2009, 11:13 AM

here in Zamboanga during the last year's Earth Hour was forced to participate..ZAMCELCO, the city's power provider cut down the power supply..Zamboanga was plunged into darkness..

Dante_Tagle

March 25th, 2009, 11:22 AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CRs-7lRlPo
1CRs-7lRlPo

.

Rence

March 26th, 2009, 04:52 AM

Philippine Orchid Society is one of the plant societies in the country which supports Earth Hour!!!!

JulZ

March 26th, 2009, 12:59 PM

ang bagay na kantahin during earth hour..."Disconnection Notice" by Pupil..."TURN OFF THE LIGHTS NOW! TURN OFF THE LIGHTS NOW!"

:banana::banana::banana::lol::lol::lol::lol::banana::banana::banana:

samadifa

March 26th, 2009, 01:07 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CRs-7lRlPo

.

wow that video is so cool ;)

DoggMann

March 26th, 2009, 03:47 PM

George Carlin - Saving The planet
KtqSPahiMxw
"... there is nothing wrong with the planet... the people are f*cked" ~ Carlin
:lol::lol::lol:

Sinjin P.

March 26th, 2009, 04:12 PM

panu kaya yung
sa mga malls?

SM MOA will participate
daw. so will they be closing
early?

Last year, they turned off half of their lights and other unnecessary lights but still proceeded with regular operations.

flesh_is_weak

March 26th, 2009, 11:20 PM

i just learned that there's this sort of italian 'program' or whatever called CittaSlow...it's supposed to recognize cities and towns world-wide where 'time stand stills'...i was wondering, bakit walang representative and pinas? ang dami nating 'cittaslows' dito, as one forumer her pointed out, in some parts of the country, every hour is earth hour...

i'm sure we'd have places that would qualify as 'cittaslows', perhaps even 'provinciaslow'

rustyboi

March 27th, 2009, 09:51 AM

Rence

March 28th, 2009, 01:43 AM

Philippine Orchid Society the country's oldest orchid and plant society will be participating in Earth HOUR!!!! Philippine Native Plant Conservation Society Inc. members will also be participating!!!!!

zoroethgenre_003

March 28th, 2009, 05:05 AM

The JCI-Zamboanga is supporting Earth Hour..

JulZ

March 28th, 2009, 07:27 AM

mamya na! avatar ko nakapatay na ang ilaw:lol:

tonight

March 28th, 2009, 08:30 AM

^^
participate tayong lahat :banana:

diz

March 28th, 2009, 08:37 AM

The power goes out in the Philippines much longer than one hour and much more often. I really don't think the provinces need to participate.

kiretoce

March 28th, 2009, 08:39 AM

I can't believe how many people are all excited about a blackout. :lol:

tonight

March 28th, 2009, 09:33 AM

More than 2,000 groups in RP back Earth Hour (http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/breakingnews/view/20090327-196614/More-than-2000-groups-in-RP-back-Earth-Hour)
By Abigail L. Ho

MANILA, Philippines—From 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, darkness will blanket the Philippines as more than 2,000 groups and millions of individuals back the staging of Earth Hour in the country.

"The commitments of support grow with each day. We urge everyone to spread the word and join millions throughout the world by switching off lights from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Saturday night, March 28,” Earth Hour national director Yeb Sano said in a statement.

"It is hoped that this global gesture will send a clear message for world leaders to take strong and decisive action against climate change,” he added.

For this year’s Earth Hour, the target is to have 10 million people, 500 corporations and 100 cities turn off their lights for an hour on Saturday.

Last year, more than one million Filipinos, 400 establishments and 50 cities participated in the activity – resulting in a reduction of 56 megawatts (MW) in power consumption in the Luzon grid, according to data from the Philippine Electricity Market Corp., the operator of the wholesale electricity spot market.

With last year’s Earth Hour, the actual consumption in Metro Manila between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. hit 2,675 MW, falling short of the projected demand of 2,691 MW.

In the Luzon grid, actual consumption was just 5,644 MW, 56 MW lower than the projected 5,700-MW demand.

The maximum demand drop of around 39 MW was experienced at 8:14 p.m. in Metro Manila and of around 116 MW at 8:34 p.m. in the Luzon grid.

With more individuals and groups expected to participate in this year’s activity, consumption from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. should drop more significantly than last year’s.

Globally, Earth Hour is expected to have 1 billion people switching off their lights in 1,000 cities on March 28 on their respective time zones. This should signify "one global voice for action on climate change in 2009,” according to a fact sheet from the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF).

The main switch-off ceremony for Earth Hour in the Philippines will take place at the SM Mall of Asia globe starting 7 p.m., broadcast live on Studio 23.

Switch-off ceremonies will also be held throughout key cities in the country, including Makati, Baguio, Cebu and Davao.

Earth Hour is spearheaded in the Philippines by WWF, the Department of Energy, Switch Movement, Green Army and Earth Day Network.

stanleymalls

March 28th, 2009, 01:50 PM

^^ 7:51 to be precise on my clock.

Merely 39 mins. to go before we can at least pay for the damage that we have caused Mother Earth.

:D Let's support the EARTH HOUR!!!! :D

stanleymalls

March 28th, 2009, 01:52 PM

there's been constant airing of Earth Hour Philippines 2009 commercial in major Philippine TV networks :) they're using: "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas" as their theme song. hehe

Isang tulog nalang!

^^ Ang adik nga eh...

Sabi ko, bakit pianpatay nila yung ilaw, e ang kanta e tungkol sa mga ilaw ng X-mas..... :lol: :lol: :nuts: :nuts: :cheers: :cheers:

Reverse psychology? :bash: :bash: :bash:

Marni

March 28th, 2009, 05:55 PM

Tacloban City Before and During Earth Hour

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu214/marnicc/Tacloban%20Developments/EarthHour002.jpg
http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu214/marnicc/Tacloban%20Developments/EarthHour001.jpg

narthuril

March 28th, 2009, 06:31 PM

as if an hour once a year would be enough to save the environment...

Please do read about Nirvana Fallacy.

diz

March 28th, 2009, 08:17 PM

@Marni: It better not be a coincidental brownout. :lol:

kiretoce

March 28th, 2009, 09:24 PM

I guess hospitals and other essential institutions dependent on electricity for their daily operations are exempt from Earth Hour. And, when you think about it, it's kinda moronic to just run on generators for only an hour.

Arciga_01

March 28th, 2009, 10:32 PM

My house and my neighbor participated on Earth Hour (only two houses in my neighbourhood participated :lol: ).

I got bored so at 9:17, i went back using everything (PC, watching TV and turning back on the lights :lol: )

Lawcheehung

March 29th, 2009, 01:42 AM

meh, I think Earth Hour wasn't as hyped up as it was when it first came to Ontario - there was all this chit chat about how we'd blow transformers when everyone turned back on their lights and crap, this year I haven't heard much talk about it from ppl ive been hanging around, as for me, ill turn off my lights, and tv, but not my computer :3

urban Iegend

March 29th, 2009, 02:22 AM

@Marni: It better not be a coincidental brownout. :lol:

it wasn't. i was there (at the dome) last night. marni and i could have crossed paths :D

Marni

March 29th, 2009, 04:21 AM

Actually lahat ng Street Lights in the city kagabi nakapatay, billboards, parks, the astrodome,and the amphi.

buenos-Diaz

March 29th, 2009, 04:31 AM

Same here last nyte dito sa Zamboanga pagpatak ng 8:30 off na lahat ng lights citywide ginawa.......

pi_malejana

March 29th, 2009, 06:50 AM

kaunti lang iyong napatay kong electronics namin dito...:D

pero parang kaunti lang iyon nagparticipate sa neighborhood namin... ung streetlights pinatay...

:cheers:

kiretoce

March 29th, 2009, 07:11 AM

I was out and about during those times. In fact, I was in a movie theater watching "Knowing" and they didn't shut off the lights and powered down, because if they did, there will be a horde of mad moviegoers at their customer service desk demanding a refund for the viewing interruption. Once again, at the end of the day, it's the money that trumps and tramples environmental conservation ideologies. :colgate:

tonight

March 29th, 2009, 08:20 AM

Wide areas of RP plunge into darkness (http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/breakingnews/view/20090328-196735/Wide-areas-of-RP-plunge-into-darkness)
By Alcuin Papa

MANILA, Philippines – Blackness enveloped cities and towns across the country, from the southern provinces of Sulu and Tawi-Tawi to the country’s glittery financial district of Makati, as the country joined the observance of Earth Hour on Saturday night.

Darkness fell over large areas of Metro Manila, Baguio City, Cebu City and Davao City.

As of 8:30 p.m. night, a total of 647 cities and municipalities across the country joined in voluntary turning off of lights for one hour. This gave the Philippines the distinction of being the country with most cities and towns participating in the event.

Earth Hour is a global environmental event involving the turning off of lights in homes, offices, public places and commercial establishments for one hour from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. in all time zones to raise awareness about the effects of climate change and global warming.

At the SM Mall of Asia, Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes led the ceremonial shutdown, plunging the mall, one of the largest in Asia, into darkness.

In Manila, the bright and multicolored lights along the Baywalk blinked out and diners at establishment on the other side of Roxas Boulevard dined by candle light.

In Makati City, local officials led by Mayor Jejomar Binay also held similar lights-out ceremonies.

In Davao City, Mayor Rodrigo Duterte led the ceremonies. Organizers also distributed 1,000 candles to the audience of the ceremonies, flooding the city’s People’s Park in a soft pale glow.

“Earth Hour for this year is a resounding success. We have exceeded the targets we set this year and exceeded what we accomplished last year,” said Yeb Sano, campaign manager of World Wildlife Fund,one of the organizers of the event.

As of this writing, blackouts were also reported on Babuyan Island, Cagayan, and Zamboanga del Norte provinces.

Earlier, Sano said towns in as far north as Cagayan province and Ilocos Norte to provinces in the south like Sulu and Tawi-Tawi had registered their intention to participate.

Sano also said the target of 10 million Filipinos joining the blackout was achieved, making it the biggest environmental action in the country ever.

In his speech, Reyes said Earth Hour was an example of the kind of causes “that we should support, causes that unite and not causes that divide.”

“It’s really a celebration of what we can do for Mother Earth,” Sano said.

And what a celebration it was. The mood at the SM Mall of Asia grounds, where the main countdown ceremony was held, was festive with live performances by Gary Valenciano, Lea Salonga and the Bayanihan Dance Troupe.

“It’s the only world we got, so we should take care of it,” Valenciano told the audience.

Besides local governments, the private sector, schools, non-government organizations and religious institutions also signed up to join the blackout.

tonight

March 29th, 2009, 08:21 AM

tonight

March 29th, 2009, 08:29 AM

PGMA to enlist youth for Green Philippines (http://www.pia.gov.ph/?m=12&r=&y=&mo=&fi=p090328.htm&no=14)
by Rey Anthony Chiu

Tagbilaran City -- WHEN President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo comes to Bohol, April 1, it would probably be her briefest official visit here.

The President is expected to breeze through Bohol late Wednesday morning and be off for another official engagement at 1:30.

But the youth sector awaiting here are making sure it would be one that leaves the longest imprint in environmental protection as they hope it would re-vitalize her dream Green Philippines.

Green Philippines Project is an environmental campaign that President Arroyo has been spearheading since she assumed office and immediately uncovered details of making the country clean and green.

It may be recalled that it was also in Bohol when PGMA also launched Green Philippines during the first Bohol Youth Day, in March of 2007.

In her address to the youth then, she said "We still have time to shape up our nation in the right direction: clean, healthy, productive and beautiful."

While asking the youth to rally with her, she wanted to realize the dream in next five years.

On her re-visit two years after the 2007 launch, Sangguniang Kabataan President Jane Censoria Cajes, said she expects the youth to get a recharge on the president's Green Philippines call for adopting a clean, socially responsible environment policy.

The president then shared her seven-year vision of making the country a model of environmental stewardship while engaging the youth to do the legwork.

For the project, President Arroyo wants to use the youth to bring out innovative land management strategies and care of the environment.

"I fully believe that within the seven years, the Philippines can be a model of environmental stewardship, she bared then,

The move, then spearheaded by the National Youth Commission and the Tagbilaran Diocesan Youth Commission, aimed to make a strong Boholano pro-environmental statement.

In 2009, PGMA would engage the youth anew in her reinvigorated national environment campaign

tonight

March 29th, 2009, 08:32 AM

SK to launch massive eco-friendly programs (http://www.pia.gov.ph/?m=12&r=&y=&mo=&fi=p090328.htm&no=13)
by Rey Anthony Chiu

Tagbilaran City -- MASSIVE multiple role-playing game anyone?

This time however, it is not the usual multi-level online games generation Ragnarok is so notorious of, but for the environment.

The country's premier youth instituted organization is now inviting everyone to join an activity aimed to generate massive multiple action, to trigger the greening of the Philippines and mitigate the effects of climate change.

"We hope to engage and mobilize our 16 regional directors to start their own regional pro-environment action programs to realize the Green Philippines Project that the president has initiated," Sangguniang Kabataan National Federation (SKNF) President Jana Censoria Cajes said.

SKNF executive assistant Jubelyn N. Pulgarinas also shared the details of the same project plan at the recent Kapihan sa PIA, Thursday.

The forum aired live over DyTR also afforded Boholanos the chance to hear for themselves the recent program developments in local SK youth advocacy and the environment.

Relying on triggering a critical mass of the country's young in the same manner as online-internet game followers can amass in a day, SK also hopes to generate that much to break-ground for the project.

To be organized under the SK through its national federation, the ambitious plan, called Sama-Sama para sa Kalikasan (SK) would be enjoining the youth to a journey, not to ragna-land but to the final fantasy, a later version of a better world.

The SDNF would be launching the program during the national convention in Bohol this week, SK Bohol staff Chris John Torralba bared.

The convention, set March 31 to April 3 at the Bohol Tropics puts up 122 of the country's top youth organization leaders in a gathering themed Kabataan: Gabay sa Makakalikasang Aksyon.

The convention would be capped with President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo launching the SK National Environment Campaign, which will signal the start or organized massive tree planting activities, intensified environment advocacy campaigns in schools and information education programs in different venues across the country.

Joining the president would be Environment Secretary Lito Atienza, SK sources said.

"With the felt climate change, it is high time for the youth, who have been unjustly labeled as carefree, to show that they too can make a difference," Capitol SK's Torralba said.

I believe the youth could do something, Torralba pressed even as another SKNF executive assistant Jubelyn Pulgarinas noted that there is already an indication that youth are starting to get involved in the community.

Unlike then when SK is associated with discos and sports leagues, Pulgarinas said much of the youth now is into youth and environment advocacies, "but we need society to guide them, help them with the available resources and acknowledge their efforts".

In Bohol, a parallel organization implementing SK programs is the Volunteer Club (SKVC), one which has been into more radical environment conservation and damage mitigation by engaging in mangrove planting and rehabilitation projects, shares Ann Crusit, SKVC president.

"This is also what we hope to do as our little contribution to the global effort to take care of the only planet we have," she added.

JulZ

March 29th, 2009, 12:44 PM

Pilipinas ba tlga nagrank na NO.1 active participant of Earth Hour..or sa timezone lang ntin tau no.1?

filcan

March 29th, 2009, 03:51 PM

^^Philippines ranked second worldwide in city participants for Earth Hour. - PhilStar (http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=452718)

hecky12

March 29th, 2009, 04:19 PM

we did participate.. hindi lang lights off.. talagang power off no tv, fan, radio within 1hour.. pati ever commonwealth nagpatay rin ng lights.

neyoneyo80

March 29th, 2009, 10:41 PM

im voting for yes for d'eagowl :lol:

http://www.earthhouramericas.org/content/toolkit_universal/Earth%20Hour%20Logo.jpg
LIVE in STUDIO 23

Makati, Mall of Asia, Baguio City, SM City Cebu and Davao City (Peoples Park)

The lights will be turned on by 9:30.

EARTH HOUR

8:30-9:30 PM
TONIGHT

http://www.anthroblogogy.net/images/earth-hour1.jpg

Si Eagowl din may participation sa Earth Hour :lol:

http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2696/228/60/1661510793/n1661510793_178844_41012.jpg

D'eagowl with Cathy Maceda of Philippine Renewable Energy Coalition :okay:

http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2696/228/60/1661510793/n1661510793_178848_3971022.jpg

D'eagowl running away from one of the participants (kala siguro nyo kakagatin sya) :lol:

http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2696/228/60/1661510793/n1661510793_178849_979253.jpg

Rence

March 30th, 2009, 03:37 AM

WE even extended the Earth Hour way past the 9:30 pm at the QC Memorial Circle

The Philippines topped the Earth Hour register for cities, towns and districts taking part in Asia, with more than 650 communities taking part.

The event started with the darkening of the Rizal Shrine, a major Manila landmark honouring Filipino national hero Dr José Rizal. The massive Mall of Asia in Pasay City, the world’s fourth largest mall, also went dark in a ceremony that drew several hundred people.
http://earthhour.wwf.org.uk/what_we_do/index.cfm?2890

absinthe_888

March 30th, 2009, 03:52 AM

^^ sa Elbi, the streetlights were closed for an hour, some establishments did participate like Shell, Jollibee, Mercury Drug, 7-11...the whole of UPLB was plunged into darkness..

tonight

March 30th, 2009, 08:41 AM

Global warming experts to meet in July (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20090330-196959/Global-warming-experts-to-meet-in-July)
By Michael Lim Ubac

Experts on global warming and other environmental activists are coming to Manila in July for the 2009 International Renewable Energy conference.

Sen. Edgardo Angara said the meeting would highlight the international community’s united effort in promoting renewable energy.

Angara is chair of the Senate committee on science and technology and the Congressional Commission on Science, Technology and Engineering, host of the global meet.

Amid fluctuating oil prices, the conference aims to find ways to leverage the Philippines’ new Renewable Energy Act, to create a domestic clean energy sector, and create jobs in this arena, Angara said in a statement.

“With the world in an economic slump, some analysts claim the growing clean energy movement would come to a halt,” he said.

“But it does not have to be a choice between economic recovery and clean energy,” Angara said. “On the contrary, this is the best time to go into renewable energy.”

The conference is expected to draw local and international participants from the academe, and industry, investor, entrepreneur and media sectors.

tonight

March 30th, 2009, 09:17 AM

DENR threatens to cancel oil depots’ ECC (http://mb.com.ph/articles/200724/denr-threatens-cancel-oil-depots-ecc)
By ELLALYN B. DE VERA

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources will cancel the environmental compliance certificates (ECCs) of oil firms in Pandacan depot should the Manila city government insists on prolonging its continued stay.

Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) Director Julian Amador said the DENR is “keeping close monitoring of the continued stay of the depot in spite of an SC decision” issued in 2007 mandating the facilities' immediate relocation.

“EMB will cancel the ECCs of the facilities if the city administration (of Manila) will decide to prolong its continued stay,” Amador added.

The DENR issued the statement a day after Manila Vice Mayor Isko Moreno dared Secretary Jose “Lito” Atienza to withdraw the ECCs of Petron, Shell, and Chevron which the latter apparently issued when he was still Manila mayor.

“We don’t feel it necessary anymore to cancel the ECC at this point since the SC already has a ruling on the issue, but if the city government decides to let it stay permanently as proposed by the measure then we will act (and) move in.

“(We will) cancel the ECCs issued them thereby negating the possible destructive consequences and polluting condition the new law would entail,” Amador stressed.

The Manila City Council has approved on second reading the proposed ordinance authored by Manila Councilor Arlene Koa, seeking the reclassification of land zonings in Manila to accommodate medium and heavy industries.

“It is clear that the ordinance being discussed is disjointed and out of tune because it allows highly polluting industry and extremely hazardous heavy industries along the Pasig River and city proper,” Amador added.

Moreno said that in 2001, the Manila city council passed Ordinance 8027 seeking the immediate removal of the depots within six months.

However, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was entered into by Atienza and the Department of Energy (DoE) in June 2002 allowing the continued stay of oil firms for six months.

icarusrising

March 30th, 2009, 01:33 PM

WWF SAYS : Philippines tops Earth Hour 2009 (http://services.inquirer.net/print/print.php?article_id=20090330-197055)

By Erika Tapalla
INQUIRER.net

Posted date: March 30, 2009

MANILA, Philippines--For 60 minutes Saturday night (March 28) , a recorded all-time high of 650 cities switched off its lights for Earth Hour, placing the Philippines as the top participant in the event, an official of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) said.

"More than 15 million Filipinos in 650 major towns and cities from distant islands participated,” according to WWF communications officer Gregg Yan told INQUIRER.net.

Yan said the Philippines also placed first in town and city participation out of the 88 countries among 25 different time zones.

"Ang mga Pilipino talaga di mag papatalo [Filipinos are really very competitive]," Yan joked, "We honestly did not think we'd place first. Natalo pa natin ang [We even defeated] Australia."

Australia is among the proprietor of Earth Hour, launched on March 31, 2007.

This year, Australia placed third with a total of 309 towns and cities.

Greece placed second with 484 participating towns and cities.

It is the second time the country has participated in the Earth Hour event and Yan attributed the success of this year to social networking.

"Last year when we did Earth Hour during your video interview, we were still preparing. We only had two weeks to prepare whereas this year we had three months to prepare. We relied heavily on social networking--for us it was all about spreading the idea via text messages, blog posts, Flickr, Twitter, Multiply, Facebook, Friendster and sending announcements in e-groups. Of course the power of spoken word too and it kind of spread like wildfire," Yan said.

According to initial reports, Yan said that the Philippines alone saved 611 Megawatt-hours, "which is equivalent to shutting down a dozen coal-fired power plants for 60 minutes; and those reports don't include other islands in the Visayas."

Electric grid figures report that 386 Megawatt-hours were saved in Luzon, 150 Megawatt-hours in Mindanao and 75 Megawatt-hours in Visayas.

"Earth Hour really wasn't a hard idea to sell because you don't have to shell out money for it, we got the word across and people participated in this global call to unite, call on world leaders for action right now," Yan said.

Yan said that WWF hopes that the country’s participation in Earth Hour last week would not end.

"Earth Hour did not end last Saturday night at 9:30 pm. What we hope to have done for the Philippines together with our partners Department of Energy (DoE), Green Army Network and Switch Movement, we hope to have ushered in a new dawn for the Philippines which people realize that being eco-conscious is not only tantamount to securing our resources but it is also tantamount to saving a lot of money," Yan added.

Yan also cited that the Philippines' participation shows the peoples’ unity for the world to take action in Copenhagen.

"This is a vote made by the Philippines for the earth because we showed our unity for the world to take action in Copenhagen in 2009 where they will draft a post-Kyoto policy where they will set new targets for developed and developing nations to reduce carbon emission," said Yan.

Earth Hour will continue to be an annual event held every last Saturday of March.

"Earth Hour will continue until we secure decisions that need to be secured -- decisions by world leaders at Copenhagen that progressive attitudes must be taken to ensure that least carbon impact and least environmental impact will be acted on. If you think about it, this problem is bigger than the war on politics because this is an all-encompassing threat," Yan said.

Yan said the goal for global WWF was to secure one billion people in over 1,000 cities.

"As of right now, we secured 3,943, which is nearly four times more than what we envisioned globally," he said.

tonight

March 30th, 2009, 02:34 PM

DENR to hire 3,000 people in E. Visayas (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/regions/view/20090330-197038/DENR-to-hire-3000-people-in-E-Visayas)
By Joey A. Gabieta

TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines--The regional office of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Eastern Visayas would employ more than 3,000 persons under its various programs, an official said.

DENR Regional Executive Director Regidor De Leon said the DENR would provide temporary employment to over 3,000 persons, majority of them farmers, under its Upland Development Plan (UDP) and Bantay-Gubat programs, the department's contribution to the Comprehensive Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program (Cleep).

The Cleep is a stimulus package program of the national government created to provide employment during the global financial crisis that resulted in the loss of jobs of thousands of workers.

"The program will not only provide employment to our people but also help preserve and protect our (natural) resources and environment," De Leon said.

The UDP would benefit 3,700 farmers while the Bantay-Gubat program would provide employment to 363 persons.

De Leon said that the implementation of the two employment-generating programs, with a budget allocation of P97 million for the region, would start in April and would last for two months to one year.

The UDP would involve the planting of different varieties of trees, such as narra, yakal and gemelina and fruit bearing trees, in about 3,700 hectares in the region.

The DENR will provide the seedlings and other needed materials like fertilizers.

In turn, the beneficiaries would be paid based on their production ranging from as low as P9,000 to as high as P32,000.

De Leon said that the UDP would enhance their reforestation program, while the Bantay-Gubat would help safeguard the forest from illegal cutting of trees.

De Leon also said that the DENR would hire only those entitled to benefit from the programs.

In fact, the relatives of DENR personnel and officials up to third degree could not avail of the program, he added.

"That is how strict the guidelines of the programs are. These (programs) are for our poor farmers," De Leon said.

Ph Man

March 30th, 2009, 06:17 PM

FlashCollider

March 30th, 2009, 08:45 PM

good work to all who participated. can you imagine a far flung place as far as Babuyan Islands could have participated in this well-hyped event?

it's about time for us to be conscious on the carbon footprints each of our daily activity is leaving behind. we might be amazed by the magnitude of the impact of let's say...leaving your fridge door open for few minutes.

indeed, it is about time that people in our country be concious about their carbon footprint contribution.

johnmizer

March 31st, 2009, 02:37 AM

earthhour rules, pero why not make it earthday,earthweek,earthyear , etc

Porknight

March 31st, 2009, 03:04 AM

Don't get me wrong guys but hearth hour for what ?

When too many families still got fridges bought 30 years ago , jeepneys with engines built after the second world war , not adequate public transportation so many people are forced to buy cars and use them everyday, every time since walking around the metro is so dangerous due the lack of sidewalks .

an hour is not enough an doesn't solve nothing , we are missing the big picture.

Porknight

March 31st, 2009, 03:13 AM

^^ because it doesn't solve nothing , especially in the Philippines.

In a country where most of the Home appliances are old and not environmentally friendly, too many cars ,jeepneys with old engines , 30 years old buses bought from Japan free to pollute our cities, lack of a system that allows you to going around without a car and feel safe . A government not promoting green architecture and not making a waste recycling system.

kiretoce

March 31st, 2009, 04:02 AM

earthhour rules, pero why not make it earthday,earthweek,earthyear , etc

While you're at it, why not bring back The Dark Ages as well. :ohno:

rapuy

March 31st, 2009, 06:05 AM

icarusrising

March 31st, 2009, 08:28 AM

Mactan hotels find value of biodiversity (http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/home/regions/8195-mactan-hotels-find-value-of-biodiversity-.html)
Written by Willy Rodolfo III / Reporter
Monday, 30 March 2009 20:13

http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/images/stories/Daily_Images/2009/March/03312009/regions-pic01.jpg

IN PHOTO -- RESORTS and hotels on Mactan Island are paying attention to the environment and biodiversity. SHANGRI-LA HOTELS AND RESORTS

CEBU CITY—Imagine world-class beach resorts with luxury amenities. Then imagine swimming with whale sharks over beautiful corals and other marine species.

This is the vision of resorts and hotels in Mactan Island in Cebu province, which banded together to roll out a massive, long-term campaign of protecting one of their biggest assets—the sea—and to bring back the glory days of the Hilutungan Channel.

The campaign seems to be going right for the resorts, the communities and the local government of Lapu-lapu City, Shangri-La’s Mactan Island Resort general manager Raymond Bragg reported during the opening of the resort’s GoCebuGreen Fair over the weekend.

“Twenty years ago whale sharks have been swimming in the Hilutungan Channel but they haven’t been seen again since. But mid last year, a diver sighted a whale shark in the channel,” Bragg said.

The protected marine sanctuary in front of the resort has the widest variety of corals and fish in the island of Cebu, underlining the resort’s efforts to protect the environment.

Antonio Aboitiz, president of advocacy group Ocean Care Advocates Inc., said it was a great challenge to bring together Mactan’s giant resort hotels—Shangri-La, Hilton Cebu Resort & Spa, and Plantation Bay, along with several smaller resorts and businesses—but the effort was worthwhile as resorts are now fully committed to protecting the environment.

“It’s very important for everybody to realize that it is good business to protect the environment,” Aboitiz told the BusinessMirror. He said being a tourism destination, Cebu resorts and businesses are starting to realize the environment as one of its biggest attraction.

Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia lauded the efforts of the resorts in Mactan. She said she would ask Shangri-La to partner with the provincial government in educating and training resort groups as well as town leaders to emulate the success story of the resort hotels.

All over the Hilutungan Channel at the eastern side of Mactan Island, several marine sanctuaries have been established where tourists snorkel and dive. Resorts are adopting many of these protected areas and, with the help of Ocean Advocates, several more will be put up in the next few years.

Bragg said Shangri-La is also taking its advocacy further and plans to build an interactive learning lab where guests can appreciate the rich biodiversity of Mactan and Cebu, as well as the resort’s efforts to sustain the environment.

The resort is ready to share its best practices with other businesses so they could emulate the success story of Shangri-La.

Aboitiz said the efforts of the stakeholders in Mactan could serve as an example to other tourism destinations in the Philippines, which at present are facing the gloom a destroyed environment.

The GoCebuGreen Fair, held here for the first time, highlighted projects and products that promote environmental protection and conservation. Bragg said they plan to hold the event every year and make it one of the biggest events in Cebu’s.

diz

March 31st, 2009, 09:18 AM

:rofl: Earth Year. Good one...

benchjade

March 31st, 2009, 09:28 AM

sosyal, nagtop ang pinas!

beads_strawberries

April 1st, 2009, 07:12 AM

^^ I was thinking if we could do the earth hour every month. After all, it will just be an hour in a month. I don't think there would be adverse effects.

Anyway, we have saved 611 megawatt hours (http://philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=454057&publicationSubCategoryId=63) because of that event. I hope we could save more. Maybe we could do this monthly, or at least, quarterly. After all, we will just have to put out the lights for an hour.

Sinjin P.

April 1st, 2009, 07:15 AM

^ How about daily? :D

bitoy

April 1st, 2009, 07:28 AM

Daylight saving time would do a better job, I think. Madaming pinatay na ilaw dito na hindi na sumindi, kaya magastos tuloy sa pagpalit ng bumbilya. :lol:

pi_malejana

April 1st, 2009, 07:38 AM

^^ diba natest na sa atin ang DST dati (kay cory ba o fvr?) di naman nag-click...:D

ang DST lang naman ata eh effective kung may malaking difference sa hours of daylight... eh since malapit tayo sa equator, halos parehas lang ang daylight hours natin--12 hours, year round...

:cheers:

bitoy

April 1st, 2009, 08:58 AM

That's true, but every minute can count on daylight saving time on a large scale.

I find it hard to believe that we can calculate also the saved KW hours by just turning off lights. Electricity is always lost if not used and saving energy would work if they adjust the load capacity of fossil fuel generators to a minimum during that earth hour.

:nuts: Ok, let's just turn off the lights, I know what I would do during that time... hehehe!

GearX

April 1st, 2009, 10:40 AM

icarusrising

April 1st, 2009, 11:07 AM

The Philippines topped last Saturday’s hour-long lights-off drive in terms of power savings. (http://ph.news.yahoo.com/star/20090331/tph-record-power-savings-rp-earth-hour20-541dfb4.html)

http://l.yimg.com/hb/i/ph/today/ap_rizalpark.jpg

MANILA, Philippines – According to information posted in the website wwf.org.ph, the Philippines saved 611 MWh of power during the Earth Hour 20009, outshining the rest of the world.

The website also disclosed that with over 15 million Filipinos in 650 major cities participating in the event last Mar. 26, the Philippines edged out all other countries, including Australia where the first Earth Hour was conducted in 2007.

Greece placed second with 484 cities and towns participating, followed by Australia By with 309.

The website indicated that the power conserved by the Philippines during voluntary event was estimated to be equal to that saved by shutting down a dozen coal-fired power plants for an hour.

Earth Hour 2009's power savings was deemed “at least 10 times more massive and effective” compared to last year. - By Katherine Adraneda (Philstar News Service, www.philstar.com)

icarusrising

April 1st, 2009, 03:35 PM

DENR allots 21,000-hectare open lands for tree planting (http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=453930&publicationSubCategoryId=66)
By Marianne V. Go Updated April 01, 2009 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is allocating 21,000 hectares of open lands within the country’s watershed areas for planting of fruit-bearing trees and high value crops.

Environment Secretary Jose L. Atienza signed recently memorandum circular 2009-03 segregating 40 percent of 52,425 hectares, covered by the DENR’s Upland Development Program (UDP), for agroforestry.

The DENR is also setting aside 31,455 hectares for purely reforestation activities within the country’s watershed and mangrove areas.

“The distribution of resources and development targets under UDP shall, as much as possible and as appropriate at the watershed landscape level, be 40 percent for agroforestry development of upland farms,” said Atienza.

The DENR order details how the UDP will be implemented using entrepreneurship and forest conservation.

A total of 52,425 upland farmers, each representing one family, will benefit under the UDP program with each farmer getting a hectare to develop.

The UDP is one of two components of DENR’s emergency employment efforts under President Arroyo’s “green collar jobs” program.

The other is the Bantay-Gubat Project where 59,111 qualified members of upland communities will be hired as short-term forest guards to keep watch against forest fires and illegal logging activities.

Under UDP’s reforestation component, Atienza allocated 20,970 hectares for the reforestation of watershed areas and another 10,485 hectares for the rehabilitation of mangrove areas, re-vegetation of stream banks with bamboos, and enrichment planting of wildlings inside protected areas.

Some 21.5 million seedlings are expected to be planted during the program.

Likewise, high-quality-grafted planting stocks taken from superior trees will be used including quality propagated planting stocks of fruit trees and seeds for short-term agricultural crops.

Porknight

April 2nd, 2009, 07:12 PM

^^
Earth Hour is just a symbolic act. Of course an hour of switching your lights off won't make a ditch in reducing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere!

Earth Hour aims to create awareness among Earthlings on the impact of our energy and fossil fuel usage on climate change. Awareness is the first step towards climate mitigation. From there we can do our little share of helping avert climage change. We can start by saving energy at home, using effecient mode of transport, patronizing products that are environment friendly, etc.

But we and our government should not be fooled that what we have done in that one hour is enough. We should not rejoice on the success of the one hour ceremony. It was just the start. Care for the Earth should always be our concern at all times. :)

Let see how it will end ? in 2010 will we have more more people recycling so means that local municipalities will have that time a waste recycling system , will we see less old jeepneys polluting our streets along with 30 years old buses from Japan , will we see more people walking and using improved public transportation instead of using their cars or we will end up turning the lights again for just one hour and be happy for what we accomplished in 60 minutes ?

Stayed tuned.

tonight

April 3rd, 2009, 05:21 AM

DENR sets forest survey in Kalinga (http://mb.com.ph/articles/201169/denr-sets-forest-survey-kalinga)
By DEXTER A. SEE

Tabuk City, Kalinga — The forest cover of this province will be surveyed by the the regional appraisal and delineation team of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to establish boundaries between forestlands, national parks and agricultural lands, and determine the areas that may be covered by Congress legislation and government policies on forest protection and land use.

DENR Administrative Order No. 2008-24 dated Dec. 8, 2008 reiterates the policy of the government to ensure protection and sustainable development of forestlands, national parks and the resources therein.

It is also intended to accelerate the disposition and adjudication of agricultural lands.

This was reported by Forester Nicanor Baltazar, leader of the Cordillera DENR team, during public consultations in several municipalities, including Balbalan which has the widest protected area in the province.

Baltazar said the people who were consulted on the matter were positive about the survey project.

“We did not encounter any adverse position from the people we had consulted. We hope this project will be finished by the end of this year so that the results will be immediately submitted to Congress,” Baltazar said, adding that the survey will start in April and end in December, this year.

“All available master plans and survey literatures like the comprehensive land use plans and land classification maps will be gathered to serve as reference and guides for correction,” Baltazar said.

The sangguniang panlalawigan had approved the conduct of the survey.

Forester Noel Barientos of the DENR office in Kalinga said the global positioning system (GPS) will be used in the survey. All reference maps and other relevant information will be gathered, compiled, and integrated.

The team will also seek guide from the Philippine Reference System (PRS), monumental points of reference planted in the mountains.

jpdm

April 4th, 2009, 12:44 AM

http://dynamic2.philonline.com/home_April_2009/fp040309_a.gif

Revai

electric car from India

I like the model and not the car though..hehe

kiretoce

April 6th, 2009, 05:02 AM

Use Holy Week in helping Earth (http://www.gmanews.tv/story/155779/Use-Holy-Week-in-helping-Earth-green-group-appeals)

Christian Filipinos should mark the Holy Week with simple lifestyles that will help mitigate climate change, an environmental group urged Monday.

In a statement, the EcoWaste Coalition advised the public to engage in low-cost activities that will keep carbon dioxide emissions - tagged as the primary cause of global warming - to a minimum.

"We all need to pitch in to stop the planet from further warming up. By making low carbon choices during the Holy Week and beyond, we cut our emissions, live up to our task as environmental stewards and uphold the sanctity of life," said Rev. Fr. Glenn Melo, Steering Committee member of the EcoWaste Coalition.

The group urged the public to aim for "zero waste" during the Lenten season by re-using, recycling or composting.

If traveling via motor vehicles cannot be avoided, travelers should ensure that their engines are well-tuned and their tires properly inflated for a "cleaner, climate-friendly drive."

"The Holy Week is indeed an opportune time to go slow with crass consumerism and delight in simple and eco-friendly choices, which are low in carbon dioxide and good for the purse and the planet," said Rev. Fr. Ben Moraleda of the Kaalagad Katipunang Kristiyano.

Vacationers should also keep parks, beaches, and other recreational spots free of plastic bags, cigarette butts, and other types of trash, the coalition advised.

"We hope that simplicity and compassion will thrive during the Holy Week and lead to lasting efforts to cut our carbon and other toxic outputs through Zero Waste and other real climate solutions," said the group.

In June 2008, the EcoWaste Coalition along with other groups released the report “Stop Trashing the Climate," which showed that aiming for "zero waste" is a cheap, fast, and effective strategy to protect the climate.

kiretoce

April 6th, 2009, 05:54 AM

The Philippines would have inspired Darwin (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20090405-197986/Philippines-would-have-inspired-Darwin)

This country could have well inspired Charles Darwin, said a renowned authority on island ecosystems.

The Philippines has “the kind of diversity that most people associate with the Galapagos Islands,” said Dr. Lawrence Heaney, the curator and head of the mammals section at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago.

Darwin's theory of evolution was inspired by the vast number of endemic species on the Galapagos, a group of islands created by volcanoes, located 972 kilometers west of Ecuador — species not found anywhere else on Earth.

Heaney told an audience of students, scientists, NGOs and government officials at the US Embassy last week that he believed the Philippines “is an extraordinary place for biodiversity,” citing that 25 previously unknown species of mammals were recently discovered here.

Since the early 1980s, Heaney has teamed up with Filipino biologists to conduct field studies on small mammals like bats, rats and mice throughout the Philippines.

Based on this research, he concluded that the Philippines was one of the world’s premier natural laboratories for understanding biodiversity.

“The islands of this archipelago are 10 or even 100 times better for observing the kind of diversity that most people associate only with the Galapagos Islands,” he said, adding that the concentration of diversity found within its small land area (128th the size of Brazil) could be the highest in the world.

Heaney’s lecture, “The Rich Terrestrial Biodiversity in the Philippines,” was sponsored jointly by the US Embassy and the Philippine government.

A US Embassy spokesperson explained the lecture’s importance: “Protecting the environment is a global issue... How we behave affects the rest of Asia and the world. To highlight this interdependence, it is helpful to have an expert, who has spent decades studying species diversity issues, remind us just how special this place is.”

Geological history

Understanding a bit of geological history could help explain how the Philippines became such a wonderful laboratory.

Traditionally, people were taught that the Philippines was connected by land bridges to Borneo, Taiwan and other nearby areas, Heaney said.

It is now widely accepted that except for the Palawan group, which was very likely part of Borneo at one time, the rest of the Philippines was not attached to any major land mass.

Heaney said that within the Philippines, there were deep water channels that divided island groups, so Luzon was never connected to Mindanao. Panay and Cebu were attached to each other but were in a separate group.

Mindoro, Sibuyan and Romblon had always been distinct geological units, Heaney said. He added that 50 to 70 percent of the mammals on these islands lived nowhere else in the world.

Amazing discovery

Learning more about existing species and discovering new ones were part of Heaney’s research.

The discovery of a “dwarf cloud rat” last year in the Mt. Pulag National Park in the northern province of Benguet was amazing, he said, adding that the last time anyone saw one was in 1896. The dwarf cloud rat was a previously unknown relative of the “giant cloud rat.”

Heaney lamented the lack of biodiversity studies in the Philippines. He said understanding the processes involved in evolution, ecology and conservation had substantial applications for managing environment issues and concerns.

For instance, he and his team learned that the Cordillera tradition of burning the forest adjacent to the rice terraces in order to control the rat population was one of the worst things they could do.

“In natural forests, the native species are competitively dominant and they don’t go into the rice terraces. It’s not the native mammals that do the economic damage but the non-native exotic species, like sewer rats, that were accidentally brought in years ago,” Heaney said.

With regards to the natural reforestation of watershed areas, studies showed that protecting fruit bats was one of the best ways to control flooding and erosion. It was also a good way to promote the regeneration of natural forest in watershed areas.

The fruit bats “eat fruits and then fly across open spaces,” Heaney said. “As they fly, they poop and that poop contains seeds.”

Threats to biodiversity

There were, however, many threats to maintaining this biodiversity.

The dramatic population growth in the country was one, Heaney said. In the 30 years he has been studying the Philippines, the population more than doubled, he observed.

“I’m a biologist. When you have an explosion of species in an area and the animals severely damage their environment, the population of that animal crashes,” he said. “It is not sustainable.”

Habitat loss was another concern, highlighted by some dramatic statistics. In 1900, the Philippines had 70 percent old-growth forest cover. In 1992, it had less than eight percent.

Heaney said the problems associated with the environment were easy to spot. He said he noticed most of them while traveling around the country on a bus.

He said he believes watershed issues in the Philippines would be a key economic issue in the future. “Protecting your water sources is an essential issue. Don’t do things that will damage water and you will have fewer problems.”

On a positive note, he noticed that more people were becoming aware of the country’s natural gifts.

Heaney, who played a key role in the founding of the Wildlife Conservation Society of the Philippines, recalled that in 1992 only 26 people attended their first meeting. But in 2007, they had as many as 500 attendees.

He was also happy to report that the number of young biologists who want to work on environmental conservation was increasing.

Although foreigners could do a lot in terms of promoting good biological and economical information, Heaney said, ultimately, the decision to protect the environment would depend on the Filipinos.

kiretoce

April 7th, 2009, 04:07 AM

Environmentalists explore Negros rainforest (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/regions/view/20090407-198272/Environmentalists-explore-Negros-rainforest)

A team of environmentalists from the United Kingdom and the Philippines set off on Sunday on a two-week biological expedition into the interior of the North Negros Natural Park to explore unchartered areas.

Robert Harland, a director of the Negros Forest and Ecological Foundation Inc., said the 13-man Negros Interior Biodiversity Expedition team included scientists, biologists, mountaineers, teachers and logistics experts.

It is led by London-based James Sawyer, a veteran of many similar expeditions to 25 countries and in environmental protection projects, including five years of managing the Negros Rainforest Conservation Project.

“This is the first biological exploration of the interior of the NNNP, a unique area not scientifically explored to date,” Sawyer said.

With a land area of 80,454 hectares, the NNNP is the largest forested area on Negros Island and is home to many rare, endemic and endangered species.

It covers the cities of Talisay, Silay, Victorias, Cadiz, Sagay and San Carlos and the towns of E.B. Magalona, Murcia, Toboso, Calatrava and Don Salvador Benedicto.

Sawyer described the NNNP as “a biodiversity hotspot of great importance.” But its rare and endemic species “are under grave threat from illegal logging, hunting, exotic pet trade and unauthorized land use,” he said.

Rated as one of the top ten most important areas of forest in the world, the NNNP is home to a multitude of rare and endemic species, while also playing a vital role in watershed protection for surrounding communities, Harland said.

“We all feel very privileged to have the opportunity to be part of this ground-breaking expedition,” Sawyer added.

The expedition is partnered by the Negros Forests and Ecological Foundation, Inc (NFEFI), which undertook biodiversity surveys between 1999 and 2006 with Coral Cay Conversation in parts of the NNNP covering Talisay, Murcia and Silay, which are all part of the watershed of Bacolod City, Harland said.

Paul Lizares, chairman of NFEFI, said they supported the initiative as it would raise the profile of the park’s threatened habitats.

“As a key recipient of data from the expedition, and of all other benefits, we will work with the team to ensure that maximum benefit comes from the venture,” he said.

The expedition also includes seasoned British filmmaker Tara Watney, who has produced many documentaries, dramas, feature films and commercials. She will make a documentary that is expected to be aired by television stations in many countries.

tonight

April 7th, 2009, 12:30 PM

Bantay Banahaw Operation intensified (http://mb.com.ph/articles/201700/bantay-banahaw-operation-intensified)
By ELLALYN B. DE VERA

Environment and Natural Resources executive director for Region 4A (Calabarzon) Nilo Tamoria said the Department will monitor pilgrims’ activities in Mt. Banahaw in Quezon province to address its environmental impacts during the Lenten season.

Tamoria said the Bantay Banahaw Operation, which started last February, will be intensified this Holy Week to inform the public of the extension of the moratorium closing certain areas in Mt. Banahaw.

In 2004, some areas in the Sariaya and Dolores side of the Mt. Banahaw were closed to the public for five years due to the degradation of the local environment.

The areas closed to the public are the following: in the Dolores side of Mt. Banahaw -- from Cristalino Falls to Dungaw up to Tatlong Tangke in Barangay Kinabuhayan; and in the Sariaya side -- from Pagbuga and Dulong Ilaya in Barangay Concepcion Pinagbakuran and Barangay Concepcion Banahaw.

Tamoria cited the presence of fecal coliform in the waters of Sta. Lucia River, the decreasing spring water specifically in Dolores town, indiscriminate tree-cutting, sanitation
problems and accumulation of garbage in the mountains.

“Mt. Banahaw has always been a favorite place for meditation during the Lenten season. While we have extended the moratorium closing certain areas in Mt. Banahaw to public access for another three years, there are certain parts that are still open to the public,” Tamoria said.

He noted that in past Lenten and summer vacation seasons, visitors to Mt. Banahaw left tons of garbage that posed threat to the ecosystem.

He said the program was conceived to ensure that impacts of human activities will be minimized, particularly the garbage visitors generate during their stay in Mt. Banahaw.

Tamoria pointed out that the moratorium ended last Jan. 29.

However, in a meeting with the Protected Area Management Board last March 31, the members unanimously approved the extension of the moratorium for another three years to allow more time for the recovery of the protected area’s ecosystems.

“I am appealing to the public to limit their movements in Mt. Banahaw only in areas that have been designated for campers. This way we will be able to prevent any untoward incident, particularly in areas that have been identified as critical or hotspots areas,” Tamoria said.

He said the volunteers will be mobilized not only in the cleanup of Mt. Banahaw during and after the Lenten but also in conducting public information drive to educate the visiting public in managing their garbage.

Information materials like billboards and tarpaulins will also be installed in conspicuous
places to guide the public on what to do and not what to do while inside the protected area.

During the Holy Week, Tamoria said a base camp will be set up for the Bantay Banahaw Operation
near the office of the Protected Area Superintendent in Barangay Kinabuhayan in Dolores town, Quezon province.

He said the base camp shall serve as the central command where volunteers
and other interested groups and individuals can go to for briefing and assignments.

tonight

April 7th, 2009, 12:56 PM

Wide areas of Bataan forests are severely denuded (http://mb.com.ph/articles/201666/wide-areas-bataan-forests-are-severely-denuded)
By MAR T. SUPNAD

Balanga City, Bataan — Video footages taken by the crew of the provincial government’s helicopter showed the widespread denudation of the forests in Bagac town.

A report submitted by Jose Nathan Pagusara, administrative consultant on the environment, to Gov. Enrique “Tet” Garcia stated that the denuded area discovered by the helicopter crew is so wide that it would need millions of seeds to reforest it.

Elevation of the area, Pagusara said, is more than 1,500 feet above sea level and that the seeds broadcast over the area in the past could hardly grow.

Earlier, the provincial government of Bataan purchased the helicopter in an effort by Governor Garcia to protect the forests of the province as well as its sea waters where unscrupulous fishers use destructive fishing gear and explosives that destroy Bataan’s fishing grounds.

Illegal fishing has been a perennial problem in the province. The helicopter is now being used to run after the illegal fishers and loggers.

Meanwhile, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) joined the campaign against illegal fishing.

But Chief Inspector Ruben Tampis, CIDG provincial officer, lamented that the police’s equipment is no match with the fast fishing boats being used by the illegal fishermen.

To solve the forest-denudation problem, Pagusara recommended to Governor Garcia the following measures:

(1) An agreement be forged between the Province of Bataan and Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority for both parties to maintain a supply of seeds and hardwood tree species that grow at elevation higher than 1,500 feet.

(2.) That the collection activities be conducted whole year to cover all the species that produce seeds at any given time.

(3) That an agreement be forged between the Province of Bataan and the Philippine Army’s Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom) for the latter to provide helicopters, crews, and fuel for aerial seeding operations for the vast denuded areas.

(4) That the seeds collected by the Environment and Natural Resources Office (ENRO) will be aerially seeded with the use of the Raven 44 over areas lower than 1,500 feet above sea level.

(5) That the seeds collected from the SBMA forest reserve will be aerially seeded in April 2010 on the occasion of the Araw ng Kagitingan observance.

tonight

April 8th, 2009, 10:53 AM

Group vs transport of toxic fuels thru RP (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20090408-198572/Group-vs-transport-of-toxic-fuels-thru-RP)
By Erika Tapalla

MANILA, Philippines--Greenpeace urged the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to prevent the passage of a dangerous toxic fuel shipment through Philippine waters in April.

Beau Baconguis, toxics campaigner for Greenpeace Southeast Asia, said the transport of reprocessed nuclear waste from France to Japan might put the Philippine waters at risk if the government does not proactively prevent its passage in the country's exclusive economic zone.

"About 1.8 tons of radiotoxic plutonium in Mixed-Oxide (MOX) fuel intended for nuclear power plants is traveling to Japan via the Cape of Good Hope and the south-west Pacific Ocean. The shipment left for France for Japan last March 5 and is expected to pass by the waters between the Philippines and Palau before it reaches Japan by mid May," Baconguis said.

Baconguis claimed that the 1.8 tons of radiotoxic plutonium in mixed-oxide is equivalent to “225 nuclear weapons.”

"The MOX transport which contains highly radioactive plutonium enough to make 225 nuclear weapons is dangerous and is a very serious issue that is why we're asking the government to stop this shipment. We've asked Senators Miriam Santiago, Pimentel, Honasan, Biazon, Jamby Madrigal to endorse our letter to the DFA but so far, no one has answered," Baconguis said.

Baconguis stressed the MOX shipment poses hazardous risks to the Philippine waters and the marine environment. It also poses risks to sea activities, the Greenpeace representative added.

"The transport of nuclear materials is already dangerous because there is still no way or system to clean up the mess if in any case something happens to this ship. What more this MOX transport because it contains plutonium? The ship's route is highly pirated and this is attractive to terrorists who can highjack this ship," she added.

Greenpeace claimed that the MOX transport was planned by the French nuclear industry (AREVA), Japanese nuclear utilities and UK transport authorities.

International law expert Harry Roque who was also present during a press conference with Greenpeace, recounted that he and Vice Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo were invited to a high-security maritime press conference by the French government where he discovered that the MOX transport was set to sail.

Roque claimed he spoke to the president of the shipping company to asking if the shipment was safe.

"I asked him and he said that the ship was built specifically for the journey. The French Ministry of National Defense also assured it was safe. When I asked him [president of shipping company] if something goes wrong, who will be paying, and he said he doesn't know who will pay if there's a problem. 'Maybe Japan because they ordered it', he said," Roque told INQUIRER.net.

Roque said that the shipment goes against the international law and the French shipping company is denying responsibility for radioactive damages and risks.

"There is no technology to clear radioactive mess that's also why Latin America didn't allow them to pass," Roque stressed.

"There are consequences to violating the international law, which falls under international responsibility: the shipping company can choose to cease and desist, and restore status quo and pay for compensation," Roque said.

Greenpeace also asserted that the conduct of the transport is lacking in transparency and completely disregards moral obligations of prior informed consent towards other nations with regard to such high risk transports.

Baconguis also said that the shipment violates Republic Act No. 6969, which prohibits the "entry, even in transit, of hazardous and nuclear wastes and their disposal into the Philippine territorial limits for whatever purpose."

Both Roque and Baconguis stressed a moratorium on all shipments of nuclear fuel and nuclear waste until a system is in lace which ensures the protection of the marine environment, the environment, economy and population of coastal states.

"We're hopeful that Palau will also act on this because they're currently enforcing nuclear-free policy and have good relations with the Greenpeace," Roque said.

serendip finder

April 10th, 2009, 08:41 AM

Yesterday as we drove along the Coastal Road, we passed by the huge recycling facility built in the 90s. Sad to say that is is now a rusting hulk, completely inoperative. The government millions in taxpayer money on that facility only to let it go to waste.

It only shows our government officials' neglect of the environment and their criminal disregard of our country's funds and facilities.

kiretoce

April 17th, 2009, 08:35 AM

RP an "Environmental Superpower" (http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/04/16/09/rp-environmental-superpower-says-us-envoy)

United States Ambassador to the Philippines Kristie Kenney on Thursday praised the Philippine Supreme Court and various government offices, civil society and the academe for working together to protect Philippine ecology through various programs including the enforcement of environmental laws.

"You are an environmental superpower. Your seas are points of biodiversity and you sit at the heart of the so-called Coral Triangle.You have types of plants and birds and other species in your 7,000 plus islands, this diversity is not found anywhere else in the world. So you have a great deal that is worth protecting," Kenney said in the Forum on Environmental Justice held at the University of the Cordilleras in Baguio City.

Kenney praised the Supreme Court for making the environment one of its highest priorities, and said the Baguio forum is important in creating a multi-stakeholder approach in implementing environmental justice in the country.

She said the US recently committed $73 million to various initiatives related to the Philippine environment, including education and search for clean and viable energy.

She said the US government is also working with the judiciary to help reduce the backlog of cases through automation.

Kenney said Filipinos should also look at prevention of environmental degradation instead of filing lawsuits after the fact.

"If you teach fishermen of the danger of dynamite fishing, if you help companies establish good rules and regulations protecting the environment, if you explain to indigenous peoples how to cut wood without aggravating deforestation, you have a much better chance of a well-protected environment and fewer cases. That allows courts to focus on the more significant cases," she said.

pi_malejana

April 18th, 2009, 07:41 AM

mayroon daw kinaing mega mouth shark sa philippines?!? one of the rarest daw yun...:bash::ohno:

kiretoce

April 18th, 2009, 09:25 AM

Everyone loves a tree (http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2009/april/18/yehey/opinion/20090418opi7.html)

“Nurturing a Green Generation” is this year’s Earth Day theme to be celebrated at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP). For the past three years, the CCP has been hosting the annual festivities to drum up awareness of and participation in environmental protection. As Nestor Jardin, CCP president said, “our culture is an expression of how we take care of our environment.”

The day-long event on April 22, which is open to the public will highlight activities that drive home the message that our youth has a significant role in ensuring that the hope for a better environment is always alive.

“ROAD to 2020: Seedlings of Change” is Haribon’s exhibit at the lobby of the Little Theater. The exhibit focuses on Philippine forests—the current state, the root causes of their destruction and its connection with our changing climate, and how one can help restore them.

Trees are very generous, as we receive daily gifts from them, the most important of which is oxygen. Depending on its type, one mature tree can release enough oxygen for a family of four. Forests help maintain a constant supply of clean water. The current major water source for all of Metro Manila is Angat Dam in Norzagaray, Bulacan, which supplies 76 percent of the city’s water originating from the Sierra Madre mountains. The other water sources include Ipo Dam (14 percent), La Mesa Dam (7 percent), and groundwater (3 percent). This water supply is necessary for irrigation, domestic use, and hydroelectric power.

Trees have inspired art, design, music and literature. Trees are also often used as symbols of spirituality and hope. In Philippine culture, our indigenous peoples believe that trees shelter spirits and the souls of ancestors.

Trees stabilize the soil. Their roots hold the soil together, while tree branches soften pouring rain into gentle showers. This allows the rain to seep through the soil and into underground aquifers, and then joins streams and rivers to provide us with the water supply we need. Trees also help minimize erosion and flooding during the rainy season. Without trees, deforested areas are unable to absorb rainwater. That means as much as 90 percent of rainwater surges directly toward the ocean instead of seeping into the ground.

Some of the most valuable gifts we get from forests are cures for diseases. Plants protect themselves by producing an astonishing array of chemicals. When ingested by people, these same plants—and their chemical weapons that are toxic to its predators—may act in a variety of ways on the body: some are harmful but in some cases, they are therapeutic like the banaba, ampalaya, sambong, malunggay and lagundi plants. Substances within plants kill viruses, block cancer, combat neurological disease, combat depression, or stroke, and even lower blood serum cholesterol. Medicinal plants give us a natural means to improve our health and quality of life.

Forests provide livelihoods. An estimated 17.8 million Filipinos (IIRR, DENR, 1998) live in upland areas. This is where the “poorest of the poor” live and obtain their livelihood from the forest. Upland areas are very important because they contain the tropical rainforest ecosystems, which are the oldest, most productive, and the most protective ecosystems on earth. People who live in or near forests depend on trees for food, shelter, income and for vital products such as timber, fuel wood, wood fiber, fruit, medicine, beverages, oil, resins and fodder.

While it may seem obvious, the restorative power of trees is only now being scientifically studied. Recent research confirms that playing outdoors increases a child’s health and attention span. People who can see a tree from their workplace also demonstrate higher productivity than those who cannot.

Each tree in our tropical forest helps prevent global warming. Our primary forests or untouched forests are able to sequester or store 4.1 million tons of carbon per year while secondary growth forests (these are forests that have regrown after a major disturbance like a fire or logging) are able to sequester 9.5 million tons of carbon per year. (Rasco and Pulhin, 1998).

The message is simple: Everyone loves a tree!

Animo

April 21st, 2009, 07:43 AM

By Vincent Cabreza
Inquirer Northern Luzon
First Posted 22:51:00 04/20/2009 (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/regions/view/20090420-200458/Conserving-forests-without-removing-farms)

Filed Under: Environmental Issues, Agriculture

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines—A panel of biologists, including the man who rediscovered a rare Philippine cloud rat and a new type of mammal in Mount Pulag, Luzon’s highest mountain, is asking the government to restart its conservation efforts with a conversation.

Lawrence Heaney, curator of mammals at the Chicago-based Field Museum of National History, said environmental protection has become a politically correct byword for most government agencies, but their differing conservation priorities have not kept Philippine forests from being ruined by expanding commercial farms.

Heaney said government agencies must start understanding each other’s objectives soon before more roads penetrate old-growth forests that host important plant and animal species. Roads, he said, bring new farms and tourists “and we cannot stop commercial farming.”

Heaney joined last week’s 18th Annual Philippine Biodiversity Symposium at the University of the Philippines Baguio, which tried to explore a biodiversity model for the country.

“The Philippines is ranked as having the most severely endangered mammal and bird faunas in the world,” Heaney said in an essay.

“The extent of rainforest destruction in the Philippines may represent another ‘first’: In addition to probably having the highest density of both unique and endangered species in the world, its decline in old-growth forest from 70 percent to 7 percent in less than a century is probably the most rapid and severe in the world,” he said.

“At the end of more than 300 years of Spanish colonial rule, rainforest still covered about 70 percent of the Philippines,” he said.

But Heaney said old-growth rainforest “had declined to a shocking 8.6 percent” as of the 1992 forest surveys in the Philippines.

In the Cordillera, the apparent culprits are farms, which started out as sources of food for indigenous communities living in the forests, but which have since become contract farms for commercial vegetable dealers, Heaney said.

Government agencies asserting environmental protection have been at odds with the agencies promoting agriculture and infrastructure because communication and harmonization often take a back-seat to turf, he said.

But this is because the government’s own message of conservation had been limited to protecting rare animals, as opposed to reversing poverty, he said.

Instead of fighting merely for the fate of rare animals, Heaney suggested campaigning against watershed loss. “Watersheds are being damaged and this would cause increasing economic and social problems downstream due to flooding, erosion, and drought,” he said.

“Flexibility, realism, and practicality” are what the government now requires to succeed in conservation, Heaney said.

Retired Professor Rowena Boquiren, head of the social, economic, and policy unit of the Conservation International (Philippines), offered another option: The government can create economies around protected forests so forest dwellers can live off the conservation efforts.

British biologist Stuart Marsden of the Manchester Metropolitan University offered a third suggestion: The government could help people manage developing “agroforest” ecologies that replaced primary forests.

tonight

April 21st, 2009, 08:01 AM

RP urges ‘fast and deep’ cuts to greenhouse gas (http://mb.com.ph/articles/203108/rp-urges-fast-and-deep-cuts-greenhouse-gas)
By ELLALYN B. DE VERA

Presidential Adviser on Global Warming and Climate Change Secretary Heherson Alvarez said the Philippine government will push the international community to adopt "fast and deep" cuts in greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) of at least 30 percent to avert global warming.

Countries are negotiating over more cuts it carbon emissions before the Kyoto Protocol, a legally-binding commitment for the reduction of GHGs, expires in 2012.

A new table of emission reductions will is expected to be presented by parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change during the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark in December. Industrialized nations are negotiating a cut of 20 percent in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.

However, noting the surge in typhoons in the country, Alvarez said developed nations “have to cut deep and cut fast” on their GHGs. During the climate change talks in Bonn, Germany last March, Alvarez presented the country’s position in making deep and early cuts in GHGs. The proposal was to cut GHGs by more than 30 to 40 percent from 2013 to 2017, and more than 50 percent from 2018 to 2022 from 1990 levels.

“Scientists point out that all the greenhouse gases that we have thrown into the atmosphere since the start of the industrial revolution is reaching a tipping point of irreversible climate change by the year 2050,” Alvarez said during a press conference in Quezon City.

“But even before that tipping point in the year 2050 is reached, the Philippines is already experiencing the early brunt of a phenomenon we now call creeping climate change,” he said, noting that an average of 22 typhoons, some of which are very destructive, caused an annual average damage to property and agriculture estimated at P7.9 billion.

JulZ

April 22nd, 2009, 01:10 PM

RP is doing alot now for the environment! very nice! very green-minded:lol: HAPPY EARTH DAY!

tonight

April 23rd, 2009, 02:18 PM

Feature: Protecting our children: Linking water, sanitation and environment (http://www.pia.gov.ph/?m=12&r=&y=&mo=&fi=p090423.htm&no=63)

Manila -- U.S. Ambassador Kristie A. Kenney and Santa Rosa City Mayor Arlene Arcillas-Nazareno, City of Santa Rosa, participated in "WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) Day" in celebration of Earth Day yesterday, April 22, at the Coca Cola Bottling Plant.

The event was sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)-Philippine Sanitation Alliance (PSA), in partnership with the City of Santa Rosa, Laguna. The WASH Day is part of the week-long Earth Day celebrations organized by the City of Santa Rosa and the Save Silang-Santa Rosa River Foundation in Laguna.

During the event, the Coca Cola Export Corporation and USAID-PSA formalized their partnership by signing a Memorandum of Understanding. Coca Cola will be generously supporting promotion campaigns on sanitation, including a campaign in Santa Rosa to reduce the incidence of diarrhea among children under five in three of the poorest barangays.

Domestic and commercial water pollution caused by rapid urbanization poses significant health risks and long-term environmental and economic consequences for the Philippines. According to the World Bank, more than 90% of the sewage generated in the Philippines is not treated, so it pollutes the coastal waters, harming biodiversity, and causing disease outbreaks. This results in more than 55 deaths per day and P78 billion in annual economic losses.

USAID-PSA works in partnership with local government units in developing comprehensive promotions programs to reduce the incidence of diarrhea through proper handwashing with soap, focusing on mothers with children under the age of five. The PSA also provides technical assistance to cities, water utilities and private companies in designing and building treatment facilities and developing city-wide septage management programs. In Muntinlupa City, USAID-PSA helped the city in constructing low-cost, low-maintenance wastewater treatment facility that treat water coming out of the public market before it is released to the Laguna Lake. In partnership with Dumaguete City and the local water district, USAID-PSA is helping the city in the implementation of a citywide septage management system that complements a wastewater treatment facility. The City of Santa Rosa and USAID-PSA are also developing a wastewater treatment plant for the city's public hospital, and planning a treatment plant for the City's public market.

For the past five years, USAID has provided support for the water and sanitation sector through public private partnerships that are achieving on-the-ground improvements in sanitation and corresponding health benefits, substantial private sector investments in sanitation, increased capacity of local governments to address sanitation challenges, protecting biodiversity and increased public awareness.

dinabaw

April 23rd, 2009, 03:45 PM

Davao City’s e-tricycles: Toss-up between old and new
Bworldonline (http://www.bworldonline.com/BW042009/content.php?id=075) April 20, 2009

DAVAO CITY — An electric vehicle assembly plant north of this city’s central district looks like a warehouse, but it represents an emerging toss-up between maintaining tradition and adopting technological revolution in the Southern Mindanao city’s transport industry.

http://www.bworldonline.com/BW042009/tricycle.jpg

Laborers in this city’s Sasa district have been working hard to assemble four-wheel electric vehicle prototypes: a two-seater car and a converted jiffy, both with automatic transmission system.

Within the compound of DC Electric Vehicle Corp., six other electric tricycles have been assembled for sale within the next few days.

First-time visitors might notice the limited manpower in the assembly line, but "you do not need an army to build the vehicles the way they are designed," said plant manager Albert N. Ybañez.

"It’s not really complicated. There are only 36 pieces on an electric tricycle and one person can build one [unit] in just eight hours," he said.

Nobody thought that it would be a business Mr. Ybañez would start up, with no background in engineering and engine details, and with adeptness only at cooking oriental dishes having worked as a chef overseas for many years.

In February, DC Electric rolled out 21 electric tricycles for public transport and, as expected, triggered negative reactions from public utility competitors particularly when it started soliciting passengers without permit from the City Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board. The company twice applied for the permit, which are still on hold to this day.

The board had issued a cease and desist order that prohibited electric tricycle drivers from plying secondary routes pending the case’s resolution.

On April 17, the drivers of electric tricycles asked City Administrator Wendel E. Avisado, who temporarily allowed them to ply their routes.

Davao City, a perennial nominee of green contests, has been active in environmental campaigns. The city is in the second pilot area of the Clean Cities Program implemented by the Sustainable Energy Development Program, in partnership with the US Department of Energy and the United States Agency for International Development.

DC Electric’s push for its project is anchored on the central government’s programs to promote an environment-friendly transport industry.

The Biofuels Act has recognized the need to develop alternative mode of transportation, including hybrid cars.

The Alternative Fuel Vehicles Act of 2004 gives incentives to hybrids "to promote the manufacture, importation, sale, distribution, use and development of hybrid or alternative fuel vehicles in furtherance of the objectives of Republic Act 8749 or the Clean Air Act."

Salaam H. Alibbdon, an electric tricycle driver, said the petition of transport groups against their operations might have been spawned by jealousy as passengers preferred the non-pollutant electric tricycles. "It runs very smoothly and there’s no hassle."

He noted he earns more compared to driving a fuel-powered tricycle. "I used to earn about P300 but I now earn from P400 to P500 [on an electric tricycle]."

That extra P100-P200 savings will go a long way for 59-year-old Alibbdon, who has children and three grandchildren depending on him for support.

Benjamin C. Rafols, 37, used to drive a trisikad — a bicycle with a side car — on a less profitable route earning only P80 a day, but he saw his take-home pay doubles in a month of driving the electric tricycle.

Mr. Rafols said he no longer worries about fluctuating gas prices as the five-battery vehicle can run about 70 to 80 kilometers when fully charged.

"Based on the current electric prices, eight hours of charging will only cost P82.75 or about one peso per kilometer," Renato M. Yap, operations manager of DC Electric, said.

In contrast, traditional light road vehicles run at a cost of P3 to P4 per kilometer based on current fuel prices.

A stripped-down basic model — composed of chassis, body, battery, and the dynamo imported from China and Taiwan — has enabled the company to keep retail prices at affordable levels. A three-wheel pickup type ideal for transporting goods costs P98,000.

Mr. Yap expects a return of investments in his venture in three years. As for safety features, the tricycle runs a maximum speed of 40 kilometers per hour and all the passengers are seated at the rear for easy maneuve-rability

The vehicle can also be charged at ordinary household outlets with 30-ampere capability, or lines that could take 6,600 watts.

A drawback, however, is that the power from its 60-volt batteries is inadequate to hurdle a 30-degree incline.

The company’s vehicles are beginning to become a popular mode of transport among resorts, factories and malls. It has so far sold 36 units and among its list of clients are Gaisano Mall of Davao, Pearl Farm Resort, Monde Nissin Corp., Kuya Ed’s and Fishcado restaurants.

Mr. Yap said the company wants Davao City to be the first in the country to use electric vehicles as a public mode of transportation, but while the city government tarries on the company’s application permit, nearby areas are fast catching up to the electric transport’s potential.

Digos City and Malita town have placed orders of about 60 units, while Cotabato City Mayor Muslimin G. Sema wants to get 600 units plying the city before schools open in June.

"Our vision is not really about making money but for us to help lessen global warming. Just imagine five to 10 years from now, if we can run 1,000 units how much pollution we can avoid," Mr. Ybañez said. — Joel B. Escovilla

tonight

April 27th, 2009, 10:40 AM

35 groups unite for environment (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20090427-201685/35-groups-unite-for-environment)
By Abigail Kwok

MANILA, Philippines— Over 35 government and non-government groups on Monday united for a nationwide advocacy campaign on the environment.

Dubbed as the Urban Environmental Management (UEM) Network, the network seeks to address issues on solid waste management, water sanitation, air quality, and disaster preparedness, among others.

Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Austere Panadero said in his speech that the network will help "build community practice and information dissemination" to address the issues on the environment.

The network, which consists of non-government organizations and local government units, will also share "best practices" to address the issues on the environment, Panadero said.

The UEM Network will also focus on the improved implementation and sharing of “sound environmental management policies on water and sanitation, solid waste, and air pollution in cities and other urban areas,” he added.

“Through this network, members shall share knowledge and experiences among themselves and become partners in implementing environmental projects,” Panadero said.

The UEM Network is being organized under the learning network and training component of the Southeast Asia Urban Environmental Management Applications (SEA-UEMA) project, with the Canadian International Development Agency providing funding and the Asian Institute of Technology providing the knowledge management aspect.

The SEA-UEMA aims to contribute to the improvement of urban environmental conditions in Southeast Asia.

tonight

May 2nd, 2009, 05:51 AM

Cadastral survey set on Boracay (http://mb.com.ph/articles/204498/cadastral-survey-set-boracay)
By ELLALYN B. DE VERA

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is set to conduct the cadastral land survey on Boracay Island in Malay, Aklan in preparation for land titling, as it implements a Supreme Court (SC) decision in 2008 that upheld a Presidential Proclamation classifying 60 percent of the Island as alienable and disposable, and the remaining 40 percent as forestland.

The measure was agreed upon by the DENR and Boracay stakeholders during a meeting recently, as the Department will be drafting the implementing rules and regulations of the SC decision issued last October.

The SC decision affirmed Proclamation No. 1064, which was signed by President Arroyo in May 22, 2006.

The areas that private landowners were claiming have been declared alienable and disposable.

Dr. Orlando Sacay of the Boracay Foundation Inc. (BFI) said the dialogue between DENR and stakeholders was meant “to find a common solution to the issue” of land titling and to find a common ground in legitimizing the claim of resort owners and other residents on the island.

According to DENR Undersecretary Mary Anne Lucille Sering, the DENR is likely to begin the cadastral survey process soon.

The survey will follow after getting the result of a bidding process to determine who should undertake the survey.

DENR said the immediate implementation of cadastral survey on the island will demarcate the portions of alienable and disposable lands and forestland.

Sacay also said the DENR has assured the drafting of implementing rules and regulations for the proper implementation of the SC decision.

“The development of Boracay will be back on track due to these actions by the DENR,” Sacay said, citing that resort owners and other stakeholders welcome the land titling.

He also said the stakeholders lauded the creation of a DENR committee, composed of representatives from various groups in Boracay, that will work along with the agency to facilitate land titling.

“Hopefully, this would help alleviate the fears and put to end wild speculations that the government will take over Boracay, which has driven away billion-pesos worth of investments,” Sacay said.

He said that during the meeting, three options for land acquisition in Boracay were raised.

These options include land titling through sales patent, where stakeholders would buy the property or land from the government; judicial confirmation, where the court would simply acknowledge the stakeholders’ tax declaration; and issuance of Forest Land Use Agreement for Tourism Purposes (FLAgT) for properties in declared forest lands.

Sacay pointed out that the SC has already ruled that tax declarations being held by claimants could not be eligible for judicial confirmation.

However, he said that they might consider seeking the lower court’s intervention to resolve the issue on their tax declarations.

“Nevertheless, (these options) give a lot of comfort that we will have a piece of paper to legitimize our possession and development of the (beach front) area (where majority of the resorts are located),” Sacay said.

tonight

May 2nd, 2009, 05:56 AM

Stranding of whales linked to coral reef destruction (http://mb.com.ph/articles/204490/stranding-whales-linked-coral-reef-destruction)
By ELLALYN B. DE VERA

Overfishing and coral reef destruction could have caused the mass strandings of “hungry” whales in Bataan and Romblon over the last three months, the World Wide Fund for Nature-Philippines (WWF) said.

Two mass strandings of melon-headed whales (Peponocephala electra) were reported, one in the waters off Pilar and Orani towns in Bataan in February, and the other in shores of Odiongan town in Romblon in the first week of March.

Both cases involved at least 100 whales.

According to WWF-Philippines president Lory Tan, marine mammals only do a number of things out at sea – they eat, they sleep, they play, and they mate.

“They can sleep, play or mate just about anywhere. However, they can only eat where there is food,” Tan said.

He said that sighting of dolphins and whales are very rare in the Philippines.

For instance, he said it unusual for melon-headed whales, which are deep-water feeders, to gather so close to shore” even if the species have been involved in mass strandings throughout the world.

He said there are more than 80 species of whales and dolphins that populate the world’s seas, and each one exists to feed on very specific prey, providing a regulatory function that keeps the oceanic food chain in balance.

“Here in the Philippines, we have consumed just about every form and size of seafood there is. We have fished down our food web. And, believe it or not, we continue to do so. When the normal prey of melon-headed whales no longer exists in the abundance they need to sustain their own life, like you and I, they will simply move to another ‘supermarket,’” Tan said.

“Human population pressure, poverty and the fact that more than 50 percent of all Filipinos depend on the sea for their primary source of protein, make it very clear that most of our seas will continue to be fished intensively,” he said.

Tan said a study has estimated that, in certain fishing zones, “we have consumed 90 percent of our fish stocks over the last 60 years.”

He noted a major study of coral reefs about 15 years ago, where it showed that “less than three percent of Philippine reefs were in excellent shape.”

“Unlike the few remaining coral reefs that line our coasts, primary productivity in the deep seas of the tropics has been compared to a desert.

When it’s gone, unless we leave it alone for a long time, it will probably not come back to what it was. When their favorite deepwater “feeding holes” no longer provide sufficient food for the entire pod of whales, they move on,” Tan said.

“Mangrove forests, the nurseries of the coast, showed a 66 percent shrinkage 15 years ago, as well. Today, the situation is probably worse,” he said.

venntro

May 8th, 2009, 04:40 AM

Laguna Lake in very bad shape: Manda (http://http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/05142008/headlines011.html)

By Miguel Camus
Researcher

THE Laguna Lake, the country’s largest freshwater lake, is in a “very bad shape,” according to Edgardo Manda, general manager of the Laguna Lake Development Authory (LLDA).

He was speaking at the sidelines of the launching of the 15th National Public Relations Congress hosted by the Public Relations Society of the Philippines on Tuesday.

He said that if one were to classify Laguna Lake on a ranking from A (potable water) to C (not potable), he would say that Laguna Lake definitely is the latter.

“It’s really serious now,” he said, but added that it’s not the worse yet, since fish such as tilapia and bangus can still survive. Fishing in the lake supplies 30 percent of the tilapia and bangus requirements of the metropolis.

He warned, however, that city people are essentially eating polluted fish, citing an LLDA study showing heavy metals such as mercury, arsenic and cadium present in fish from the lake.

Mando said the high level of pollutants come from the unabated increase of illegal fish pens, squatters along its shores, and town dumpsites near the lake.

The Laguna Lake, according to him, hosts about 20,000 hectares of fish pens—of which 40 percent or 8,000 hectares are illegal. They range in size from 500 square meters to one hectare, making them especially hard to remove. Another problem he mentioned was that 75 percent of these fish pens are controlled by “big” corporate entities.

Despite setbacks, the LLDA has succeeded in removing about 10 percent of the illegal fish pens and he said they were targeting their complete removal in the next three to four months. They are not removing them too quickly in order not to cause supply problems for the metropolis—which in turn could increase fish prices.

He said the illegal settlers on the lake shores are another major problem, and that in one area about 52,000 individual squatters are concentrated.

An LLDA study in 1994 tagged as the greatest contributor to organic waste in Laguna Lake the agriculture industry (40 percent), with domestic and industrial waste contributing 30 percent each. Last year, a study showed domestic waste more than doubled to 68 percent.

He said the relocation of the illegal settlers is much more difficult because of the involvement of politics. “The time of their relocation will depend on whether the mayor of Montalban and other neighboring town officials can finally agree on a solution.”

On funding for the lake’s rehabilitation, they’re faced with tough challenges. “We need to raise about P500 million but as of now, we haven’t come close to that amount.”

He said the amount may be included in the national budget next year

icarusrising

May 11th, 2009, 03:31 PM

Fight to save the 'Amazon of the oceans' (http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/features/05/10/09/fight-save-amazon-oceans)
Agence France-Presse | 05/10/2009 11:19 PM

NUSA LEMBONGAN, Indonesia - With its pleasure boats dipping on the horizon and clustered tourist restaurants, the Indonesian island of Nusa Lembongan looks little like the edge of a great wilderness.

But according to scientists, this small and scrubby island off Bali is one corner of a huge marine ecosystem touted as the most diverse on earth -- and a key environmental battleground for a planet grappling with climate change.

The area is known as the Coral Triangle, and stretching across six nations between the Indian and Pacific oceans -- Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, East Timor, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands -- it is impressive in scale.

About half the size of the continental United States, the triangle is home to more than half the world's coral reefs, three-quarters of its coral species and key stocks of fish that help feed the world.

"People have compared the Coral Triangle's biodiversity richness to the Amazon," said Abdul Halim, the head of The Nature Conservancy's (TNC) Coral Triangle Centre.

But, as in the Amazon, the area's huge biodiversity is matched by a daunting set of challenges.

Overfishing, climate change and impoverished communities are all taking their toll on the region.

As nations meet in the Indonesian city of Manado in the coming week for the World Oceans Conference, the Coral Triangle is being touted as a key target in efforts to conserve the health of the oceans, to both battle climate change and adapt to its consequences.

A meeting of leaders from the six nations of the Coral Triangle Initiative, which was formed in 2007, is set to launch a plan to save the region, which has already been pledged hundreds of millions of dollars by international donors.

However, those involved in conserving the region say it will be a hard fight.

'The Nursery of the Seas'

Slipping under the clear waters off Lembongan, the threat of destruction can seem distant. Fish from across the colour spectrum flit among bright corals in a concentration of life unthinkable on land.

Scientists say the area has withstood the pressures of human misuse and nature better than most, and that is precisely what makes it so important.

"It has the highest diversity anywhere on the planet, if you talk about marine life," said Lida Pet Soede, the head of environmental group WWF's Coral Triangle Initiative Network.

"It has the most species of corals, the most species of fish, every other marine organism.... All sorts of stuff, it has the most of it," she said.

The Coral Triangle's variety of species means life here has an in-built coping mechanism to deal with outside stresses, and serves as the "nursery of the seas" for species facing collapse elsewhere, Soede said.

About 30 percent of the world's tuna is caught here and populations are relatively healthy but by no means beyond threat.

Unlike other massive coral reefs, such as Australia's threatened Great Barrier Reef, the area has also proved resistant to the effects of climate change, thanks to a constant welling of water between the Pacific and Indian oceans that keeps temperatures relatively stable.

But as temperatures rise and industrial fishing fleets in other parts of the world are forced to ever more obscure and deep corners for dwindling catches, the stresses on the Coral Triangle are likely to prove too much, Soede said.

"As reserves everywhere else are going down the pressure is on, everyone is going to want to come here," she said.

"It's very likely that this will be one of the last areas where you still have significant production of seafood, but this area will not be able to feed the world.

"It's not just about fish and food but the very fact of certain species that we don't even know exist... that may be the cure for HIV.

"If that particular organism or particular ecosystem is gone before we figure it out, it's a big loss."

Local approaches

About 120 million people living in the Coral Triangle depend on the seas for their livelihoods, and although they are among the greatest potential victims of the collapse of local ecosystems, they also often play the role of vandals.

Spread out on thousands of islands across porous national borders, many living in impoverished communities have turned to poisoning fish with cyanide or blowing them up with dynamite, said Marthen Welly, who runs a TNC programme at Nusa Lembongan and its neighbouring islands.

"Middlemen tie up the fishermen with debt for life. The fishermen have to pay back their debts by selling fish every day, but it's the middlemen who set the price and they set it as low as possible," he said.

"Sometimes fishermen know that using bombs and cyanide breaks the law and wrecks the reefs, but they're also squeezed."

The approach of non-governmental organisations and governments has been to try to introduce alternative livelihoods and get communities on board in protecting the environment through so-called Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).

If everything goes to plan, Nusa Lembongan will soon be covered by one of the MPAs, which already spread over about 10,000 hectares (24,750 acres) in Indonesia.

The area has been a relative success without outside help. Tourist dollars and the introduction of seaweed farming in the 1980s have lifted local farmers and fishermen out of desperate poverty, and put conservation on the agenda.

"Before there was seaweed we could count with our hands who could eat. They were the ones with big plots of land that could plant trees, corn, coconuts," said 37-year-old seaweed farmer Wayan Suwarbawa, who is working with the TNC.

"Even though we're just farmers, we're obliged to spread the importance of preserving sea ecosystems," he said.

But even if other areas -- which in most Coral Triangle countries tend to be much poorer -- can replicate the successes of Nusa Lembongan, the root of the problem remains with climate change and a growing global population hungry for fish, WWF's Soede said.

"If you don't take away the drivers like unsustainable consumption patterns or other influences then your conservation dollar on the ground is not going to be very effective. It's pretty much a waste," she said.

as of 05/10/2009 11:19 PM

bledzoe

May 11th, 2009, 06:33 PM

Fight to save the 'Amazon of the oceans' (http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090510/sc_afp/asiaenvironmentoceansindonesia_20090510155755)
AFP

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/afp/20090510/capt.photo_1241969948229-1-0.jpg?x=400&y=302&q=85&sig=AggIriIJGnOoFt9tgPHDYQ--

Fight to save the 'Amazon of the oceans' AFP/File – A blue coral is seen underwater in Nusa Penida on the Indonesian resort island of Bali in April 2009. …

by Aubrey Belford Aubrey Belford – Sun May 10, 11:57 am ET

NUSA LEMBONGAN, Indonesia (AFP) – With its pleasure boats dipping on the horizon and clustered tourist restaurants, the Indonesian island of Nusa Lembongan looks little like the edge of a great wilderness.

But according to scientists, this small and scrubby island off Bali is one corner of a huge marine ecosystem touted as the most diverse on earth -- and a key environmental battleground for a planet grappling with climate change.

The area is known as the Coral Triangle, and stretching across six nations between the Indian and Pacific oceans -- Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, East Timor, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands -- it is impressive in scale.

About half the size of the continental United States, the triangle is home to more than half the world's coral reefs, three-quarters of its coral species and key stocks of fish that help feed the world.

"People have compared the Coral Triangle's biodiversity richness to the Amazon," said Abdul Halim, the head of The Nature Conservancy's (TNC) Coral Triangle Centre.

But, as in the Amazon, the area's huge biodiversity is matched by a daunting set of challenges.

Overfishing, climate change and impoverished communities are all taking their toll on the region.

As nations meet in the Indonesian city of Manado in the coming week for the World Oceans Conference, the Coral Triangle is being touted as a key target in efforts to conserve the health of the oceans, to both battle climate change and adapt to its consequences.

A meeting of leaders from the six nations of the Coral Triangle Initiative, which was formed in 2007, is set to launch a plan to save the region, which has already been pledged hundreds of millions of dollars by international donors.

However, those involved in conserving the region say it will be a hard fight.

Slipping under the clear waters off Lembongan, the threat of destruction can seem distant. Fish from across the colour spectrum flit among bright corals in a concentration of life unthinkable on land.

Scientists say the area has withstood the pressures of human misuse and nature better than most, and that is precisely what makes it so important.

"It has the highest diversity anywhere on the planet, if you talk about marine life," said Lida Pet Soede, the head of environmental group WWF's Coral Triangle Initiative Network.

"It has the most species of corals, the most species of fish, every other marine organism.... All sorts of stuff, it has the most of it," she said.

The Coral Triangle's variety of species means life here has an in-built coping mechanism to deal with outside stresses, and serves as the "nursery of the seas" for species facing collapse elsewhere, Soede said.

About 30 percent of the world's tuna is caught here and populations are relatively healthy but by no means beyond threat.

Unlike other massive coral reefs, such as Australia's threatened Great Barrier Reef, the area has also proved resistant to the effects of climate change, thanks to a constant welling of water between the Pacific and Indian oceans that keeps temperatures relatively stable.

But as temperatures rise and industrial fishing fleets in other parts of the world are forced to ever more obscure and deep corners for dwindling catches, the stresses on the Coral Triangle are likely to prove too much, Soede said.

"As reserves everywhere else are going down the pressure is on, everyone is going to want to come here," she said.

"It's very likely that this will be one of the last areas where you still have significant production of seafood, but this area will not be able to feed the world.

"It's not just about fish and food but the very fact of certain species that we don't even know exist... that may be the cure for HIV.

"If that particular organism or particular ecosystem is gone before we figure it out, it's a big loss.

About 120 million people living in the Coral Triangle depend on the seas for their livelihoods, and although they are among the greatest potential victims of the collapse of local ecosystems, they also often play the role of vandals.

Spread out on thousands of islands across porous national borders, many living in impoverished communities have turned to poisoning fish with cyanide or blowing them up with dynamite, said Marthen Welly, who runs a TNC programme at Nusa Lembongan and its neighbouring islands.

"Middlemen tie up the fishermen with debt for life. The fishermen have to pay back their debts by selling fish every day, but it's the middlemen who set the price and they set it as low as possible," he said.

"Sometimes fishermen know that using bombs and cyanide breaks the law and wrecks the reefs, but they're also squeezed."

The approach of non-governmental organisations and governments has been to try to introduce alternative livelihoods and get communities on board in protecting the environment through so-called Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).

If everything goes to plan, Nusa Lembongan will soon be covered by one of the MPAs, which already spread over about 10,000 hectares (24,750 acres) in Indonesia.

The area has been a relative success without outside help. Tourist dollars and the introduction of seaweed farming in the 1980s have lifted local farmers and fishermen out of desperate poverty, and put conservation on the agenda.

"Before there was seaweed we could count with our hands who could eat. They were the ones with big plots of land that could plant trees, corn, coconuts," said 37-year-old seaweed farmer Wayan Suwarbawa, who is working with the TNC.

"Even though we're just farmers, we're obliged to spread the importance of preserving sea ecosystems," he said.

But even if other areas -- which in most Coral Triangle countries tend to be much poorer -- can replicate the successes of Nusa Lembongan, the root of the problem remains with climate change and a growing global population hungry for fish, WWF's Soede said.

"If you don't take away the drivers like unsustainable consumption patterns or other influences then your conservation dollar on the ground is not going to be very effective. It's pretty much a waste," she said.

tonight

May 15th, 2009, 01:02 PM

Preserve environment, GMA urges (http://mb.com.ph/node/200781)
By DAVID CAGAHASTIAN

President Arroyo said Friday efforts to preserve the environment should not take a back seat to the measures being taken to mitigate the global economic crisis.

In her speech at the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) leaders' summit in Indonesia, President Arroyo committed the country’s support for the CTI Action Plan which aims to preserve coral reefs in Southeast Asia that sustain the region’s abundant marine resources.

"During times of economic hardship, the pressures are greatest to abandon our obligation to the environment or to loosen the rules. That is precisely why, now, we must be even more vigilant in advancing the CTI program," President Arroyo said.

"The Coral Triangle is potentially the world's most important refuge for marine life, but only if we do our part to keep it in good health. For too long, we have let our environment become degraded, our national resources diminished, our social contract with nature destroyed.

“It is time to rebalance our approach: develop a strong economy, provide full employment and maintain the sacred relationship of human beings to Mother Earth," she said.

President Arroyo said the CTI Action Plan, signed by leaders of the CTI nations in Southeast Asia Friday, should be presented to the United Nations as part of the region's contributions to the fight against climate change.

"If we are to impact climate change dialogue, we must try to carry the message of Manado to the ongoing meetings of the United Nations Convention on Climate Change," President Arroyo said.

President Arroyo said the region should be an example to the world in preserving the environment which, consequently, would ensure adequate food supply.

The CTI member-nations are Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste. The United States and Australia attended as observers during the CTI leaders' summit.

The CTI Action Plan establishes cooperation among the six CTI members to preserve the so-called "Amazon of the Seas" or the Coral Triangle which is the world's center of marine biodiversity.

The Coral Triangle covers more than 1.6 billion acres, or 6.5 million square kilometers, and is home to over 600 reef-building coral species, or 75 percent of all species known in the world.

More than 3,000 species of fish are found in the Coral Triangle, including the largest fish in the world -- the whale shark.

President Arroyo arrived in the Philippines Friday afternoon after her two-day visit to Indonesia for the CTI leaders' summit.

icarusrising

May 17th, 2009, 06:42 AM

Makiling-Banahaw designated as geothermal airshed (http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=468270&publicationSubCategoryId=67)
By Perseus Echeminada Updated May 17, 2009 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has designated the Makiling-Banahaw area as among the geothermal airsheds in in the country.

DENR Secretary Lito Atienza issued Administrative Order No. 2009-08 naming the members of the governing board that will oversee the formulation and implementation of the management policies and action plan for the geothermal airshed.

Atienza said the designation of the Makiling-Banahaw airshed is consistent with Republic Act 8749 or the Philippine Clean Air Act, which provides the framework for the country’s air quality management program.

“Air is as important as water to sustain life. However, in our haste to attain full economic development, we tend to sacrifice the air we breathe, even the water we drink, which should not be,” Atienza said.

He said environmental protection must take precedence over economic progress, adding that the designation of airsheds in the country is driven by the need to better manage the air resources of specific areas through air pollution prevention and control measures.

“The designation of an airshed will enable concerned government agencies and local government units to better manage the locale’s air quality. Sources of air pollution are easily determined through regular monitoring of air emissions and that corresponding mitigating measures like new policies and pollution control technologies can be easily identified and implemented,” he added.

In the case of the Makiling-Banahaw geothermal airshed, air monitoring will focus on the Mak-Ban geothermal plant, Atienza said.

The Philippine Clean Air Act and its implementing rules and regulations define airsheds as “areas with similar climate, weather, meteorology and topography, which affect the interchange and diffusion of pollutants in the atmosphere.”

Based on the order, the DENR secretary will sit as chairman of the governing board, with the regional directors of DENR and the Environmental Management Bureau in Region 4-A as deputy chairmen.

The board members will include the governors of Batangas and Laguna; the town mayors of Alaminos, Bay, Calauan and Los Baños in Laguna and Sto. Tomas in Batangas; the regional directors of the departments of transportation and communication, health, trade and industry, interior and local government, science and technology, and energy.

The board will also have representatives of the Makiling Center for Mountain Ecosystem, the geothermal power plant operator, private sector, and people’s and non-government organizations.

Under the order, the members of the governing board shall serve for three years.

The designation of the Makiling-Banahaw airshed brings to 18 the number of airsheds nationwide, including five geothermal airsheds.

The airsheds are in Metro Manila and parts of Regions 3 and 4-A; Baguio-La Trinidad-Itogon-Sabang-Tuba (BLIST) in the Cordillera Administrative Region; northeastern Pangasinan in Region 1; Metro Tuguegarao in Region 2; Baco-Naujan-Calapan in Region 4-B; Naga City in Region 5; Metropolitan Iloilo in Region 6; Metro in Region 7; Zamboanga in Region 9; Cagayan de Oro in Region 10; Davao City in Region 11; and Agusan del Norte in the Caraga region.

The four other geothermal airsheds are those in Bacon-Manito (Region 5), southern Negros (Region 7), Leyte (Region 8), and North Cotabato (Region 12).

jpdm

May 18th, 2009, 04:43 AM

Laudable efforts coming from a school!:cheers:

I hope the Pasig river will finally be revived becasue its full rehabilitation will bring alot of positive impact to those who live in the Metro as well as a big plus point to Manila and our county's image!:cheers::cheers:

I cant wait to see Pasig river as a venue of festivities, water sport, tourism, and transport (environmental friendly).

PUP goes green to save Pasig River

By DJ Yap
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 21:46:00 05/17/2009

Filed Under: Education, Environmental Issues, Media, Youth

MANILA, Philippines—Green is the new school color of Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP), according to organizers of Kapit Bisig Para sa Ilog Pasig which has launched a recycling facility on campus, the first of its kind in Metro Manila.

Kapit Bisig, a partnership between ABS-CBN Foundation and the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC), recently opened a material recovery facility on PUP’s Mabini campus as part of efforts to reduce the volume of garbage dumped in the river.

A material recovery facility or MRF is a solid-waste transfer station or sorting station, drop-off center, composting facility, and recycling facility.

In a statement, Araceli Linatoc, the school’s director for administrative services, said the newly-installed MRF will be “run and managed properly by the university.” The PUP main campus is located in Sta. Mesa, Manila alongside the Pasig River.

Youth ‘key’ to saving river

Gina Lopez, managing director of ABS-CBN Foundation, emphasized the role and the importance of the youth in rehabilitating the river, saying they are the “key” to saving the body of water.

Allan Gatpolintan, deputy executive director of PRRC, said the MRF would help them deal with solid wastes thrown into the river.

“What we see floating around Pasig River such as the plastics and styro, those are the solid wastes which constitute about 10 percent of the pollutants in the River,” he added.

He said operators of each MRF to be used for the project will make use of pedicabs to collect garbage from households.

Biodegradable, nonbiodegradable

Collected biodegradable wastes such as kitchen wastes are fed into a biodigester or into a composter and vermicompost beds, while nonbiodegradable wastes such as plastics and styrofoam are segregated, then put into shredders and the styro oven.

The processed nonbiodegradables can then be recycled into useful products such as bricks, pavers, and table tops, which can be a source of livelihood for indigent residents, Gatpolintan said.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources headed by Secretary Lito Atienza has signed a memorandum of agreement with ABS-CBN Foundation to co-manage the rehabilitation of Pasig River and its tributaries.

Livable habitat

The goal is to revive the waters within seven years so that fish and shellfish can be propagated, the habitat can be conducive for wildlife, and people can swim and navigate around it, organizers said.

The PRRC, which operates the air-conditioned ferries that traverse the Pasig River, has relocated about 7,000 families to different resettlement sites, and hope to relocate 4,000 more families.

xandro

May 18th, 2009, 05:04 AM

Globe, Smart, Sun Cellular unite to save Pasig River (http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=468826&publicationSubCategoryId=130)
From philstar.com
Updated May 18, 2009 12:00 AM

http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/4686/gen7.jpg
In a show of unity for ABS-CBN Foundation’s Kapit Bisig para sa Ilog Pasig are (from left) William Pamintuan, senior vice president for legal services, Digitel Mobile Philippines Inc.; Girlie Aragon, project director, Kapit Bisig para sa Ilog Pasig; Napoleon Nazareno, president and CEO, Smart Communications Inc.; Gina Lopez, managing director, ABS-CBN Foundation Inc.; Ernest Cu, president and CEO, Globe Telecommunications Inc.; and Connie Lopez, managing director, ABS-CBN Interactive.

MANILA, Philippines - Telecommunications giants Globe Telecom, Smart Communications and Sun Cellular have come together to pledge support for ABS-CBN Foundation’s “Kapit Bisig para sa Ilog Pasig” (KBPIP), a project that aims to clean up the Pasig River.

Taking off from Clean and Green Foundation’s lead, the KBPIP has reinvented “Piso para sa Ilog Pasig” into a text campaign in which concerned individuals may contribute by texting GIVE [space] ILOG then sending it to 2366 for Globe, Touch Mobile and Sun Cellular or 231 for Smart and Talk & Text.

Globe president and chief executive officer Ernest Cu, Smart president and CEO Napoleon Nazareno, and Digitel Mobile Philippines senior vice president for legal services William Pamintuan signed a memorandum of agreement last May 15 with ABS-CBN Foundation managing director Gina Lopez to seal the partnership.

“Globe is very pleased to be part of this endeavor by Gina (Lopez),” said Cu. “I thought the idea was fantastic from the minute that she presented it to me over lunch one day. And it goes very well hand in hand with Globe’s CSR efforts and again, we pledge our commitment to KBPIP,” he said.

“We (at Sun Cellular) are indeed privileged and proud to be part of this worthwhile undertaking,” Pamintuan said.

“Together with our fellow friends in the telecommunication industry, we believe that this is a worthwhile endeavor that all Filipinos should really support,” he added.

“With our fellow telcos Globe and Sun, we are prepared to join with you, Gina, in making the Pasig as it once was – a river of light and life. Let us bring life back to Pasig. And we’ll do it together because I’m certain that if we work together, there is nothing that we cannot do,” Nazareno said.

ABS-CBN Interactive, the multimedia subsidiary of ABS-CBN, has also helped the Pasig River cause.

Headed by managing director Connie Lopez, ABS-CBN Interactive assisted the KBPIP by ironing out the mechanics for the Piso para sa Ilog Pasig text campaign.

Launched in March 2009, the Piso para sa Ilog Pasig campaign has already received around 100,000 text hits.

The campaign also got a boost when different artists jointly plugged the text mechanics in ABS-CBN during the Earth Day celebration last April 22. The texts for Piso para sa Ilog Pasig will contribute to the funding for a cleaner Pasig River.

“We haven’t really gone full swing yet but from today onwards, we (at the KBPIP) are really going to hit the bone especially when the school starts,” she said.

“To save the La Mesa Watershed, we got five million signatures in three months – 3.5 million of those signatures came from the young. So I’m going to hit the schools again together with my team,” Lopez said.

“There’s no way that we can’t do this if we work together,” she said. “Smart, Globe and Sun are my connection to the public. I really thank them for being our conduit,” she said.

“There are a billion texts sent out daily. There are 12 million people in Metro Manila. If everyone texts just once a day – we will clean this river. And it will be done as a grassroots movement. With the people... It can be done. I will give a regular report to the public on how much money we collect and what we do with it. We can clean this river if we work together,” she added.

tonight

May 19th, 2009, 12:46 PM

RP must follow lead of other island nations (http://mb.com.ph/node/201087)

Island nations such as the Philippines are the first to be affected by climate change, the head of an environmental NGO warned Monday.

"Islands may even go under water and disappear forever," said Ecological Society of the Philippines (ESP) president Antonio M. Claparols.

"The Philippines is an archipelago composed of 7,107 islands. We could be in peril that is why we have to take concrete action against global warming now and fast."

Among the island nations active in preserving the environment and fighting climate change are Mauritius and the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). In fact, both countries have recently been honored with the Climate Protection Award by the United States Environmental Protection Agency for their outstanding contribution to climate protection under the Montreal Protocol ozone treaty.

"We should follow their lead," Claparols said.

Both countries collaborated on a joint proposal addressing the ozone-depleting substances that reside in old equipment, and that would otherwise leak out and contribute to worsening the ozone hole and climate change.

"For our part, we must enhance our forest and carbon sinks, go organic, stop logging, go to renewable energy and stop emission of greenhouse gases," Claparols added. "These things we can do. We all must take a stand."

In order to achieve such a goal, Claparols added, the government must do its share by executing and implementing existing laws for the protection and the preservation of the environment.

jpdm

May 19th, 2009, 03:54 PM

^^^^
Indeed, we should learn from the experience of the Republic of Nauru, small island nation formerly one of the largest exporter of phosphate...now its bankrupt and sinking (literary) in the South Pacific...inhabitants are slowly moving out to nearby islands, New Zealand and Australia.

dinabaw

May 21st, 2009, 05:00 AM

http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/2913/gw830h557it7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
A bonsai tree,at the peak of Mt.Hamiguitan (photo courtesy ot TPEF research team)

http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/9846/p1010072cf9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
The thousand hectare pygmy forest

UNESCO to declare
a World Heritage Site
Mindanao Daily Mirror
May 21, 2009

SAN ISIDRO, Davao Oriental – Mount Hami-guitan, located within the boundaries of Mati, Governor Generoso, and this town, will soon be declared a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (Unesco).

In a recent meeting of the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) here, the local governments of Mati and Governor Generoso were urged to fast-track the passage of their respective trekking and conservation ordinances for their respective jurisdiction to be included and be harmonized into one Comprehensive Management Plan, part of the requirements needed by Unesco as basis for the declaration.

Another requirement needed by Unesco is the establishment of the Management Center of PAMB and the Protected Area Supervisory Unit (PASU) Office that were already provided by Mayor Apolinar Ruelo Sr. of this town.

Mt. Hamiguitan and its vicinities was declared a protected area under the category of wildlife sanctuary and its peripheral areas as buffer zone by virtue of Republic Act 9303 on July 30, 2004.

It is a sanctuary of endemism of outstanding universal value and is the only protected forest noted for its unique bonsai field or “pygmy” forest of 100-year old trees in an ultramafic soil.

The whole Mt. Hami-guitan Range covers an area of about 31,000 hectares.

Governor Corazon Malanyaon wants the undeclared 10,000 hectares, a portion of the 31,000-hectare Mt. Hamiguitan Range, to be included in the protected area.

Mt. Hamiguitan is part of the reason the Philippines ranks seventh among the 17 biological rich countries of the world and represents the fast disappearing habitats of globally important species of plants and animals.

Board member Justina Yu of the second district of Davao Oriental said Mt. Hamiguitan also serves as protector of Davao City and the Island Garden City of Samal against strong winds, typhoons, and tidal waves. sarx lanos/ipid news