National Greening Program

NATIONAL GREENING PROGRAM

By Anton Antonio

December 12, 2015

One of the flagship programs of the Aquino Administration is the National Greening Program.  This is arguably one of the best pro-environment programs any political administration and national leadership could implement that has widespread benefits that would extend to even the future generations of Filipinos.  The Commission on Audit (COA), the government watchdog for public programs, however, has worrisome news for everyone.  Please read the following researched news item…

“COA: P7B TREE-PLANTING PROJECT OF DENR A FAILURE

By Marlon Ramos and Dona Z. Pazzibugan

April 24, 2015

MANILA, Philippines – The P7.2-billion National Greening Project (NGP) and the land survey project of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) were “unsuccessful,” according to the Commission on Audit (COA).  In its 2013 DENR audit report, the COA said the agency undertook the tree-planting program and the cadastral survey project covering 10 regions of the country without an efficient and effective system of implementing and monitoring projects.  The COA said the DENR identified “nonplantable areas” as tree-planting sites because it did not conduct mapping and planning.  It said the delay in the delivery of seedlings resulted in the “untimely planting,” which happened at the end of the rainy season, “thus giving the planted seedlings a very short period to recover and withstand the onset of the dry season.”  In some planting sites, the COA said the DENR had no partner organization to help monitor the plantations.  The COA report on the DENR’s finances is part of the latest incriminating financial audit of major state agencies that receive the biggest appropriation from the national government and are headed by President Aquino’s close political allies.  In separate audit reports, the state auditors disclosed damning evidence of apparent misuse of billions of pesos in public funds in the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the Department of National Defense (DND), the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR).  In its scrutiny of the agency’s projects, the COA said the DENR did not put up measures to ensure the viability of the NGP, the centrepiece of the Aquino administration’s effort to achieve food sustainability and save the environment from further degradation.  “In the overall analysis, the unsuccessful DENR program/project delayed the benefits that could have been derived from the completion of the NGP and the cadastral survey project as envisioned by the program/projects,” COA said.  Environment Secretary Ramon Paje did not respond to the Inquirer’s request for comment on Thursday.  The NGP aimed at planting 1.5 billion trees on 1.5 million hectares of public land within a four-year period with the help from local governments and other partner agencies.  The government appropriated P5.9 billion for the tree-planting program, which was also designed to help reduce poverty in the countryside and to mitigate the effects of climate change.  The land surveys, on the other hand, had a budget of P1.3 billion also for the same number of years.  Upon verification, the COA found various deficiencies in the two projects that contributed to the DENR’s failure to satisfy their goals.  “The objectives of the NGP and (the cadastral surveys) of the DENR regional offices were not fully attained… due to lack of an efficient/effective implementation and monitoring mechanisms for the program/project,” the COA said.  It said the deficiencies led to low accomplishments and survival rates of tree saplings, noncompliance with the work and financial plan, delay in the delivery of seedlings and failure to finish the projects.  The COA said these “(delayed) the benefits that could have been derived from the completion of the NGP and the cadastral surveys contrary to NGP implementation manual, applicable DENR circulars… and other regulations.”  The state auditors also noted the lack of a “clear-cut policy” in the custody of seized forest products, tools and equipment, which led to “undetermined losses to the government due to unaccounted assets and exposure of the same to risks while awaiting final disposition.”  The COA likewise assailed the DENR for spending 31.6 million in the purchase of goods and services through deficient public biddings, which violated the provisions of Republic Act No. 9184, also known as the Government Procurement Reform Act.  It said this “(defeated) the purpose of transparency, competitiveness and accountability in the procurement process.”  According to the COA, the NGP has four major components – survey, mapping and planning, plantation establishment, seedling production/procurement, and protection and maintenance of established plantations.  From 2011 to 2013, it said, only 20 percent of the 17,697 hectares of land were planted with tree seedlings in provinces in Central Luzon.  In the Ilocos region, only 53 percent of the 14,954 hectares had been covered by the project.  In the Calabarzon region, environment officials failed to coordinate with the local offices of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in the proper identification of plantation areas.  Because of this, seedlings were planted in areas of Cavite province that were later cleared by the DPWH for road-widening projects.  “This, therefore, resulted in wasted, damaged and increase mortalities of seedlings or trees planted in most municipalities in the province of Cavite,” the COA said.”

This news report is quite discouraging.  What now, National Greening Program?

Thoughts to promote positive action…

(Please visit, like and share Pro EARTH Crusaders on Facebook or follow me at http://antonantonio.blogspot.com/ and http://twitter.com/EarthCrusader/)

REFERENCE:

Inquirer.net, (2015). “Tree Planting Project of DENR a Failure?”.  Retrieved on December 12, 2015 from http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/687426/coa-p7b-tree-planting-project-of-denr-a-failure?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

The New Normal

THE NEW NORMAL

By Anton Antonio

December 11, 2015

All over the world today, people are talking about climate change.  But what exactly will planet earth look after climate change cycles into reality?  Here is a researched material on the new environment after climate change completes its initial work…

“NEW STUDY SHOWS HOW CLIMATE CHANGE IS ALREADY RESHAPING THE EARTH

By Joe Romm

September 3, 2015

A landmark study in the journal Nature documents an expansion of the world’s dry and semi-arid climate regions since 1950 – and attributes it to human-caused global warming.  This expansion of the world’s dry zones is a basic prediction of climate science.  The fact it is so broadly observable now means we must take seriously the current projections of widespread global Dust-Bowlification in the coming decades on our current CO2 emissions pathway – including the U.S.’s own breadbasket.  The new study, “Significant anthropogenic-induced changes of climate classes since 1950,” looks at multiple datasets of monthly temperature and precipitation over time.  The main finding: About 5.5% of the global total land area has shifted toward warmer and drier climate types from 1950 – 2010, and significant changes include expansion of arid and high-latitude continental climate zones, shrinking in polar and midlatitude continental climates.  As for the cause, “we find that these changes of climate types since 1950 cannot be explained as natural variations but are driven by anthropogenic factors.”  In short, humans are causing the world’s arid and semi-arid climate zones to expand into the highly populated mid-latitude continental climates (where, for instance, most Americans live) – and causing the high-latitude climates to expand into the polar zones.  Of course, the polar zones are precisely where the carbon-rich frozen tundra is and the land-locked ice of the world’s biggest ice sheet and glaciers.  These are stunning changes when you consider the fact that the world has only warmed about 1 degree Fahrenheit since 1950, and we are on track to warm 5 times that much (or more) this century alone.  Multiple climate studies project continued climate inaction will put some one-third of the currently-habited and arable landmass of the planet into a state of new permanent drought post-2050.  This new study finds that we are well on our way.  The study uses the Koppen-Geiger climate classification system: (A) Tropical/megathermal climates; (B) Dry (arid and semiarid) climates; (C) Temperate/mesothermal climates; (D) Continental/microthermal climates; and, (E) Polar and alpine climates.  The study looks at changes in temperature and precipitation to determine changes to the various climate zones over time.  A region can shift to a drier climate zone if precipitation drops – or if temperature rises.  Higher temperatures cause more evaporation and dry out soil.  The authors note that of all their results, “the most conspicuous feature is a worldwide expansion of climate (mainly semiarid) at the expense of midlatitude climate.  In particular, the researchers found that “rising temperature and decreasing precipitation are about equally important in causing the expansion of semiarid climate in Asia and western North America, while the contribution of decreasing precipitation to the increasing semiarid climate is much larger than that of temperature over North Africa, South Africa and South America.”  The only one way to prevent the irreversible Dust-Bowlification of large parts of land is keep total warming as low as possible.”

Is this the kind of planet we want to for the future generations? We cannot just shrug our shoulders and simply say: “It’s the new normal”.

Thoughts to promote positive action…

(Please visit, like and share Pro-EARTH Crusaders on Facebook or follow me at http://antonantonio.blogspot.com/ and http://twitter.com/EarthCrusader/)

The Environment is Not Important

THE ENVIRONMENT IS NOT IMPORTANT

By Anton Antonio

December 9, 2015

The elections are exactly six months away but the declared presidential candidates are already busy making the rounds to simply “announce” their candidacy since the period of campaign is three months away.  Media --- broadcast (television and radio), print and even social media --- are being swamped by information about the candidates and their platforms of government.  Some of the information is designed to promote candidates although some are unfortunately aimed at destroying other candidates.  This is quite normal and acceptable in a democracy where everyone is free to advertise and criticize.

The sound bite (meaning: a short extract from a recorded interview, chosen for its pungency or appropriateness) the candidates individually and collectively make almost daily are quite generic, mundane and just the usual stuff we all hear every campaign season.  They range from promises of economic progress, job and livelihood opportunities, political space and freedom, and improved social standing for all of the electorates both young and old.  Most of the time, however, they are mired in their personal hang-ups and idiosyncrasies (meaning: a mode of behaviour or way of thought peculiar to an individual): (a) one spending his daily lunch in boodle fights (meaning: a military style of eating where food is prepared on long tables) to convince he is not corrupt; (b) one is busy cursing everything and everyone… Pope Francis included; (c) one is trying so hard to convince everyone (including all the saints in heaven) that she is a Filipino citizen, had satisfied the residency requirement to run as president, and would like to continue the legacy of her father… (in the movies, perhaps); (d) one is holding on to the claim that “daang matuwid”  and righteousness is his birthright; and, (e) one is using legal language to justify the ills of a Martial Law regime.  It seems strange that some 200 leaders are talking about measures to mitigate the ill effects of climate change in the COP21 and climate talks in Paris, France while our candidates are busy talking about some not-too-important concerns.

Our presidential candidates are absolutely right to present governance platforms that would address socio-political and economic concerns.  They should, however, realize that all these plans and programs will go awry (meaning: amiss and away from the appropriate, planned, or expected course) if the environment and environmental issues and concerns are not factored into their platforms of government.  This is a shivering thought… are they all convinced that the environment is not important?

Thoughts to promote positive action…

(Please visit, like and share Pro-EARTH Crusaders on Facebook or follow me at http://antonantonio.blogspot.com/ and http://twitter.com/EarthCrusader/)

Fossil Fuel Subsidies

FOSSIL FUEL SUBSIDIES

By Anton Antonio

December 9, 2015

What are fossil fuel subsidies?  According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), fossil fuel and energy subsidies artificially lower the price of energy paid by consumers, raise the price received by producers or lower the cost of production.  Globally, governments spend more than US$ 500 billion annually to keep domestic process for oil, gas and coal products artificially low.  Fossil fuel subsidies increase carbon emissions and lock us into a high carbon future.  However, fossil fuel subsidies cost generally out weight the benefits.

To better understand the concept behind fossil fuel or energy subsidies, please read the following researched material…

“HERE’S HOW MUCH THE WORLD’S BIGGEST ECONOMIES SPEND ON FOSSIL FUEL SUBSIDIES

By Natasha Geiling

November 12, 2015

The world’s 20 top economies spend more than $400 billion dollars each year propping up fossil fuel production, a practice that threatens to seriously undermine the world’s mitigation of climate change, according to a new report by the environmental advocacy group Oil Change International.  Despite pledging to end fossil fuel subsidies in 2009, G20 countries spent a combined average of $452 billion on fossil fuels in 2013 and 2014, through a mix of direct spending, tax breaks, investments by majority-state owned companies, and public finance from government-owned banks and financial institutions.  According to the report, that’s more than four times the amount given to renewables in 2013.  “I think it’s gross hypocrisy for countries to be handing out billions to fossil fuel companies at the same time they are pledging to reduce emissions,” Alex Doukas, senior campaigner with Oil Change International and co-author of the study, told ThinkProgress.  “We can’t tackle the climate change problem it we are propping up the production of fossil fuels.”  Since 2009, G20 countries have reaffirmed their promise to cut fossil fuel each year --- but in most cases there has been little progress, with some countries actually increasing their fossil fuel subsidies over the past six years.  The United States, for instance, has increased its fossil fuel subsidies 35 percent since 2009, which has mirrored an increase in domestic fossil fuel production as part of the Obama administration’s “all of the above” energy policy.  The Obama administration has attempted to reign in fossil fuel subsidies by proposing cuts in every budget that the administration has sent to Congress, but that strategy has been met with opposition from lawmakers.  “Some credit should go to the Obama administration for trying to send budgets to Congress that would eliminate or reform fossil fuel subsidies, but it hasn’t resulted in much,” Doukas said.  Annually, the United States government gives out $20.5 billion to support the production of oil, coal, and gas, with $17.2 billion of that coming at the federal level and $3.3 billion coming at the state level.  A large percentage of the subsidies that fossil fuel companies receive in the United States comes in the form of tax breaks.  Oil companies, for instance, are to claim costs associated with cleaning up after an oil spill as a standard business expense.  That means that of the when the U.S. attorney general fined BP with a $20.8 billion dollar settlement in October for its role in the Deepwater Horizon disaster, BP can legally claim a large portion of that settlement as a tax deductible business expense --- only $5.5 billion of the fine cannot be classified as such.  Coal subsidies --- though not as common as oil and gas subsidies --- also help incentivise the production of fossil fuels in the United States.  The Powder River Basin, the largest coal reserve in the United States, is not actually designated as a coal-producing region, allowing coal companies to lease federal lands at a lower cost that if the lands were designated as coal-producing.  That means that federal leases for the Powder River Basin are really good deal for coal companies, saving them the equivalent of a $1 billion subsidy each year.  Recent studies argued that ending federal coal subsidies for the Power River Basin would significantly decrease production of coal in the region, as well as greenhouse gas emissions.  Government subsidies that support fossil fuel production make it more difficult to keep the fuels in the ground, Doukas said.  As the report notes, both the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) have warned that three-quarters of existing fossil fuel reserves must stay in the ground if the world is to avoid more that 2 degrees Centigrade of warming.  In terms of national subsidies for fossil fuels, only Russia spends more money --- $22.8 billion each year.  Other countries, like Japan, China, and South Korea, dole out subsidies largely in the form of international public financing for fossil fuels --- $19 billion, $17 billion, and $10 billion, respectively.  The report highlights some leaders in the movement to cut fossil fuel subsidies, including Germany, which has pledged to end coal subsidies by 2018, and Canada, which is currently phasing out several subsidies to oil, gas, and mining, including targeted support for the country’s tar sands industry.  Other countries, like the United Kingdom, appear to be ramping up their support for fossil fuel subsidies, introducing a set of tax breaks for oil and gas companies in 2015 that are estimated to cost U.K. taxpayers more than $2 billion through 2020.  The report comes just weeks before more than 140 countries are set to convene in Paris for the U.N. climate conference.  “With Paris around the corner, it doesn’t make a lot of sense for G20 countries to be subsidizing fossil fuel production,” Doukas said.  “Fossil fuel subsidies are something that we need to address, and right now they are not being addressed.”

The amount being shelled out by governments all over the world for fossil fuel and energy subsidies is quite mindboggling.  And it doesn’t require us to take a course in rocket science to know that big money fill the pockets of oil and energy producers.  I’m just wondering… if governments stopped this practice of providing fuel and energy subsidies and simply invested in clean and green energy, wouldn’t this planet be a better and healthier place to live in?  Would renewable energy be a wiser choice than carbon-emitting energy that, by some strange government and private sector arrangement/agreement, would still require fossil fuel subsidies?

Thoughts to promote positive action…

(Please visit, like and share Pro-EARTH Crusaders on Facebook or follow me at http://antonantonio.blogspot.com/ and http://twitter.com/EarthCrusader/)

REFERENCE:

Think Progress, (2015). “Fossil Fuel Subsidies”.  Retrieved on December 9, 2015 from http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/11/12/3721677/g20-fossil-fuel-subsidies/

Energy Efficient Cities Can Happen

ENERGY EFFICIENT CITIES CAN HAPPEN

By Anton Antonio

December 8, 2015

“Toyama is the capital city of Toyama Prefecture , Japan, located on the coast of the Sea of Japan in the Chubu region on central Honshu about 200 kilometers north of the city of Nagoya and 300 kilometers northwest of Tokyo.  Historically, Toyama was the capital of Etchu Province.  The modern city was incorporated on April 1, 1889, withdrawing from Kaminniikawa District.  As of May 31, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 417,324, with 162,663 households and a population density of 336.05 persons per square kilometer.  The total area is 1,241.85 square kilometers.  Toyama is served by Toyama Airport and Toyama Station of est Japan Railway Company with Toyama Light Rail and Toyama Chiho Railway.” (Wikipedia)

In 2014, Toyama City was selected by the United Nations Sustainable Energy for All or SE4ALL as one of thirteen cities and regions as models for achieving the goal of energy efficiency.  At present, Toyama City is known as “Environmental Future City” and “”Environmental Model City”.

The SE4ALL sustainable development goals are: (1) Ensure universal access to modern energy services; (2) Double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency; and, (3) Double the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix. 

The compact and energy efficient Toyama City, which is a government initiative with strong collaboration from the business and private sector, has the following features: (a) The more important functions of the city were concentrated at the center; (b) The transportation lines were so designed to give all the peripheral sectors access to the city’s center; (c) Public mass transport was efficient and functional which was referred by Toyama City residents over private transport; (d) The public transport system allowed Toyama City residents to move around to most parts of the city; (e) Subsidies were given to construction companies that built energy-efficient housing projects; (f) The is a bike-sharing system all over the city; and, (g) The main source of electricity of the entire city is derived from solar power.

The Japanese people, particularly the residents of Toyama City have proven that designing energy efficient cities can happen.

Thoughts to promote positive action…

(Please visit, like and share Pro-EARTH Crusaders on Facebook or follow me at http://antonantonio.blogspot.com/ and http://twitter.com/EarthCrusader/)

REFERENCE:

Wikipedia, (2015).  “Toyama City”.  Retrieved on December 8, 2015 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyama,_Toyama

We Will Because We Can

WE WILL BECAUSE WE CAN

By Anton Antonio

December 7, 2015

Angelia Gabrena Ong was crowned 2015 Miss Earth at the Marx Halle in Vienna, Austria on Saturday night (early Sunday morning, Manila time), giving the Philippines back-to-back titles in this particular beauty contest.  Angelia, a 25-year-old marketing management student at the De La Salle-College of St. Benilde, beat more than 80 contestants from around the world.  She succeeded the crown from 2014 Miss Earth Jamie Harrell, also a Filipina.  It is the first time in 15 years since two Filipinas won the title in a row.

In the “question and answer” portion of the pageant, Angelia was asked:  “Dear Ms. Philippines… The slogan of Miss Earth in the last fifteen years is ‘Beauty for a Cause’.  If you are asked to propose a new slogan for the next fifteen years, what would it be?”  And to this question, she answered:  “If I were to make a slogan for Miss Earth for the next fifteen years that will be ‘We Will Because We Can”.  I want to let everybody know that all things are possible and all things are feasible if we work together. We will because we can!”

The possibility that this question will pop-up in the contest was discussed and processed sometime in July this year as Angelia was preparing for the pageant.  When she first told me about this slogan, I honestly had serious reservations on its applicability to the entire Miss Earth concept.  I must admit that it was indeed an attention-getting slogan and conviction statement… but should there be another choice?  However, when Angel (as I would call her) began to articulate on her chosen slogan, I became convinced to give it a shot.  Angel spoke from the heart and firmly believed in her slogan… she can intelligently defend it any day of the week and twice on a Sunday.  [I hasten to add that I am Angel’s “de facto” (or “impacto” as my close friends will say) coach for environmental concerns.]

Most, if not all, of the contestants were as pretty and beautiful as Angel… but what made her a cut above the rest was her answer and slogan:  “We Will Because We Can!”

Thoughts to promote positive action…

(Please visit, like and share Pro-EARTH Crusaders on Facebook or follow me at http://antonantonio.blogspot.com/ and http://twitter.com/EarthCrusader/)

REFERENCE:

GMA Network News, (2015).  Retrieved on December 7, 2015 from http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/546913/lifestyle/philippines-angelia-ong-wins-2015-miss-earth-title

Chemical and Particulate Air Pollutants

CHEMICAL AND PARTICULATE AIR POLLUTANTS

By Anton Antonio

December 6, 2015

Talking about air pollution seems simple.  The chemical and particulate matters in the atmosphere, however, are a complex concoction of chemical elements.  The following are the six most common and basic chemicals elements, in gaseous form, that are in the atmosphere:

CARBON DIOXIDE is a colorless, odorless gas produced by burning carbon and organic compounds and by respiration.  It is naturally present in air, about 0.03 percent, and is absorbed by plants in photosynthesis.  This is where plants and trees play the biggest role.

SULPHUR OXIDE refers to all sulphur oxides, the two major ones being sulphur dioxide and sulphur trioxide.  Sulphur dioxide is a colorless gas with a pungent, irritating odor and taste.  It is highly soluble in water forming weakly acidic sulphurous acid.  When sulphur dioxide combines with oxygen in the air some sulphur trioxide is slowly formed.  Sulphur trioxide rapidly combines with water to produce sulphuric acid.  The lifespan of sulphur oxides in the atmosphere is from 4 to 10 days.  Sulphur dioxide is used in many industrial processes such as chemical preparation, refining, pulp-making and solvent extraction.  Sulphur dioxide is also used in the preparation and preservation of food because it prevents bacterial growth and the browning of fruits.

NITROGEN OXIDE is any of several oxides of nitrogen most of which are produced in combustion and are considered to be atmospheric pollutants such as (1) NITRIC OXIDE – a colorless toxic gas formed in many reactions in which nitric acid is reduced, as in reaction with copper.  It reacts immediately with oxygen to form nitrogen dioxide; (2) NITROGEN DIOXIDE – a reddish-brown gas with a pungent and irritating odor.  It transforms into the air to form gaseous nitric acid and toxic organic nitrates.  It also plays a major role in atmospheric reactions that produce ground-level ozone, a major component of smog.  It is a precursor to nitrates, which contribute to increased respirable particle levels in the atmosphere; and, (3) NITROUS OXIDE – a colorless, sweet-smelling, sweet tasting, non-flammable, slightly water-soluble gas that sometimes produces a feeling of exhilaration when inhaled.  It is used chiefly as an anaesthetic in dentistry and surgery, in the manufacture of chemicals, and as an aerosol.

VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS (or VOCs) are organic chemicals that have a high vapour pressure at ordinary room temperature.  Their high vapour pressure results from a low boiling point, which causes large numbers of molecules to evaporate or sublimate from the liquid or solid form of the compound and enter the surrounding air.

SUSPENDED PARTICLES AND DROPLETS could be anything from solid particles and chemical droplets that are suspended in the atmosphere.

RADIOACTIVE SUBSTANCES are considered radioactive because the nucleus of each atom is unstable and give out nuclear radiation in the form of alpha particles, beta particles or gamma rays.  Radiation could be detected using a Geiger counter.

It might not be practical to study in detail the origins, formation, constitution and effects of these gaseous-chemical elements as chemists will do.  But it is important for us to be at least aware of them in our day-to-day activities as we, somewhere and sometime, will most certainly come across these.  At least we will be aware of the fact that they are chemical and particulate air pollutants.

Thoughts to promote positive action…

(Please visit, like and share Pro-EARTH Crusaders on Facebook or follow me at http://antonantonio.blogspot.com/ and http://twitter.com/EarthCrusader/)