Kangaroos could be good for the environment

Eat kangaroo to 'save the planet'

Kangaroos could be good for the environment

Switching from beef to kangaroo burgers could significantly help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, says an Australian scientist.

The methane gas produced by sheep and cows through belching and flatulence is more potent than carbon dioxide in the damage it can cause to the environment.

But kangaroos produce virtually no methane because their digestive systems are different.

Dr George Wilson, of the Australian Wildlife Services, urges farming them.

He says they have a different set of micro-organisms in their guts to cows and sheep.

Sheep and cattle account for 11% of Australia's carbon footprint and over the years, there have been various proposals to deal with the problem.

Now Dr Wilson believes kangaroos might hold the answer.

He said: "It tastes excellent, not unlike venison - only a different flavour."

The country already produces 30 million kangaroos farmed by landholders in the outback.

But Dr Wilson is keen to see that population dramatically increased to produce the same amount of kangaroo meat as that currently produced by conventional livestock. BBC News

Organic Aquaculture: Restoring Natural Production Systems, Changing Lifestyles, and Raising Quality of Life

Aquaculture may help the country's food production to feed its rapid growing population.

Asia's brown clouds 'warm planet

BBC News Wednesday, 1 August 2007, 18:34 GMT 19:34 UK
Clouds of pollution over the Indian Ocean appear to cause as much warming as greenhouse gases released by human activity, a study has suggested.
US researchers used unmanned aircraft to measure the effects of the "brown clouds" on the surrounding area.
Writing in Nature, they said the tiny particles increased the solar heating of the lower atmosphere by about 50%.
The warming could be enough to explain the retreat of glaciers in the Himalayas, the scientists proposed.
The clouds contain a mixture of light absorbing aerosols and light scattering aerosols, which cause the atmosphere to warm and the surface of the Earth to cool.
The main sources of the pollutants came from wood burning and fossil fuels, the team added.
Aerosols, also known as particulates, cool the land or sea below because they filter out light from the Sun.
While this process, known as "global dimming", is fairly well understood, the effect aerosols have on the surrounding atmosphere is still unclear.
The scientists, from the University of California San Diego and the Nasa Langley Research Center, said there remained a degree of uncertainty because, until now, estimates had largely been derived from computer models. The rest of the story.

Electric Jeepneys

Makati City, Philippines — Over four years ago we dreamed of revolutionising some of the most iconic public transportation vehicles in Asia by powering them with renewable energy. Now our dream is real as we watched the first two electric jeepneys take off on one of the busiest streets of Metro Manila in the Philippines.
Cultural icon of the Philippines, the flamboyantly designed jeepney was initially constructed from leftover American World War 2 troop vehicles. While providing one of the cheapest means of commuting, the diesel-guzzlers are notorious air polluters, posing a health risk for drivers and commuters.

A 16 passenger jeepney uses nearly the same amount of fuel as a 54 passenger air-conditioned bus. With major urban roads clogged by empty jeepneys cruising for fares, there is a government threat to remove the jeepneys from the streets of major cities.

Rapu-Rapu Residents Face Livelihood Loss, Damaged Environment

Rapu-Rapu Residents Face Livelihood Loss, Damaged Environment

Saturday, 21 April 2007

As we observe Earth Day, the country’s leaders should be reminded of the damage that large-scale mining has done to the environment and livelihood of residents in mining communities such as Rapu-rapu. IBON Features Vol XIII No 9 By Glenis Balangue IBON Features– For the nearly 50,000 residents of Rapu-Rapu, Albay and the adjoining municipality of Prieto Diaz, Sorsogon, fishing has been the primary livelihood for generations. The fish that they catch from Lagonoy Gulf and Albay Gulf is not just their staple food, it is also a main source of income for the communities, no matter how modest. Twelve out of thirteen barangays on Rapu-Rapu are fishing communities, while Prieto Diaz’s people survive on marine, aquaculture and industrial production. Rapu-Rapu and Prieto Diaz are also among the poorest municipalities in the country, and government services are generally hard to come by. But their simple lives were abruptly disrupted when Australian mining firm Lafayette NL started its Rapu-Rapu Polymetallic Mining Project in mid-2005. Mining and quarrying had not been alien to Rapu-Rapu as the community had already hosted several mining operations over seven decades starting in the 1930s, though they had never become major industries. But it was the arrival of Lafayette that really brought to the fore the destructive effects of large-scale mining. It also showed how eager the Arroyo administration is to open the country’s natural resources to big mining transnational corporations. A ‘new, responsible’ mining industry? The Arroyo administration has been aggressively promoting mining as an area for foreign investments. The Rapu-Rapu Polymetallic Mining Project held much promise, for it represented for the government the flagship of a ‘new, responsible’ mining industry. Lafayette is one of the first foreign mining companies to invest in the Philippines following a Supreme Court decision upholding a provision in the 1995 Mining Act allowing 100% foreign ownership of mining projects in the country. The Project is expected to yield some 50,000 ounces of gold, 60,000 ounces of silver, 10,000 metric tons of copper concentrate and 14,000 metric tons of zinc concentrates a year. Lafayette’s mining claim in the municipality of Rapu-Rapu is 42 square kilometers or roughly 80% of the island’s total land area. The current operation is focused on mining the “Ungay Malobago” deposit located in Barangays Malobago, Pagcolbon and Binosawan using the open pit method. The gold-rich ore is treated in a cyanide-in-leach plant adjacent to the 18-hectare pit while the rest of the ore, which yields copper and zinc, is treated in a separate floatation plant. But there were alleged irregularities in the implementation of the mining project. For example, the Office of the President issued Proclamation 625, which declared the mining area a special economic zone upon petition of Lafayette Philippines, Inc. Lafayette under this status was entitled to a six- to eight-year income tax holiday and exemption from paying value-added taxes because extracted metals are exported with minimal processing. However, it was later alleged that Lafayette country manager Roderick Watt, in a letter to President Arroyo, threatened to withhold $55 million in capital investments from Lafayette Ltd. and the LG Group of Korea if they were not granted special economic zone status. There were also irregularities in acquiring the consent of local communities to the project. According to residents, although community organizers had arranged meetings at the three barangays nearest the mining site, only the benefits of the mine to the community were discussed. Villagers said they were never informed of the environmental effects of mining an ecologically sensitive island eco-system such as Rapu-Rapu. Tinopan residents even recall watching a film in which Lafayette organizers discussed “responsible” mining and promised them that the ores would not be processed on the island. A certain Engineer Palomaria also told the residents that their barangays could even become cities in the near future. To further bolster the acceptability of the project, residents were also promised free electricity and medical services. But according to residents of Prieto Diaz, they were never consulted on the project despite being the nearest municipality from Rapu-Rapu and sharing a major fishing ground. It was in Oct. 2005 when residents learned that there had been not one, but two, cyanide tailings spills from the mining site in Barangay Pagcolbon. Reports said that the first spill was due to a failed pump at the mine, causing an overflow of cyanide-laden spills into nearby creeks. Three weeks later, a heavy six-hour rain resulted in the tailings pond overflowing into the nearby Ungay and Hollowstone creeks. Both incidents resulted in fish kills. Mining advocates such as the Philippine Chamber of Mines and the government Mines and Geosciences Bureau sought to downplay the spills, claiming that the amount of tailings released were relatively small and calling the incident “a drop in the ocean”. But a government-convened Fact-Finding Commission on Rapu-Rapu assailed the gross negligence of Lafayette and even went so far as to call for a suspension of mining activities in the country, a call that President Arroyo rejected. ‘Sino ang Nakahuli?’ Sixty percent of the households in both Rapu-Rapu and the neighboring Prieto Diaz depend on fishing as a primary livelihood. Majority of these families engage in small-scale and subsistence fishing. After the tailings spills, many fishermen told IBON Features that their catch declined. One resident even narrated that fishermen used to ask ‘ilan ang nakahuli?’ (How many were able to catch fish?), but now they ask ‘sino ang nakahuli?’ (Who was able to catch fish?). Fishermen from Barangay Binosawan said that before the mining operation, their boat of three to four crew members used to catch around 70 pieces of blue marlins a year. Last 2005 and 2006, they averaged 20 pieces. In neighboring Barangay Brillante, fishermen said a boat used to average four pieces of fish per trip. Now they consider themselves fortunate if they go home with two pieces. There are even times when they can go for a week without catching a single fish. These fishermen are now reducing the number of days they go out to sea. From six or seven days a week they now go out to fish for only three or four days. They explained that they would only waste money spent on fuel just to catch enough fish for a day’s meal. Some fishermen have even opted to work as pedicab drivers, carpenters, and other odd jobs just to make ends meet. But even fish vendors found themselves indirectly affected by the tailings spills. A fish dealer from Barangay Tinopan said that her regular buyers in Legazpi started to become wary of buying fish caught near Rapu-Rapu. As a result, her buying price fell by as much as 60% while her selling price, by half. Even those engaged in the small-scale agriculture were not exempt from the negative effects of the spills. Farmers noted a marked decrease in water supply after Lafayette started its operations, resulting in a mini-water war in Barangay Poblacion. It should be noted that Rapu-Rapu is a small island with a limited supply of freshwater, and this was further diverted to Lafayette’s operations. Water supply for domestic needs has also become scarce. Malobago residents said they have difficulty sourcing water for drinking and washing. They are also afraid of drinking the water that comes from the taps, fearing cyanide contamination. A community leader remarked, “Ang cyanide ba at iyong ibang kemikal nadadaan sa kulo?” (Can cyanide or other chemicals be removed by boiling?) In Barangays Binosawan and Tinopan, coconut farmers said their trees have become stunted even if these were still young. The fruits have also become smaller and fewer, meaning decreased yields. The farmers said that this was the first time that this happened to their source of livelihood. The farmers further told IBON that the blasting activities of Lafayette have weakened the rock foundation in the area, making it vulnerable to landslides. When typhoon Reming (international name Durian) struck the Bicol region, landslides occurred in Barangays Malobago and Tinopan, killing eleven people. Residents stressed that stronger typhoons had visited Rapu-Rapu but no landslides happened until last year. Stark contrast In stark contrast to the poverty of the affected communities, wherein 60% of families are forced to live on less than P100 (US$2) a day, the Lafayette Group expects to earn US$350 million a year over the entire duration of the mine. But the local government in 2005 received only P2.1 million (US$42,857) in excise tax collections from Lafayette’s gross revenues of P134.4 million. The national government also lost tax revenue from the many incentives the mining firm was granted, earning only US$8.68 million from a possible US$20.48 million. Further, although Lafayette claimed to hire 900 residents as workers, in reality only some 300 were hired. Residents said that of this number, only 5% were regular workers (meaning that they would be employed for five years, although the projected span of the project is eight years) while the rest were hired on a contractual basis. There is no labor union and the workers are discouraged from negotiating for better pay and more benefits. The aftermath of the spills saw an increasing number of locals opposing Lafayette’s operations. Thus, more soldiers and policemen were deployed to the area, plus 150 militiamen in civilian clothes. Residents reported that these military forces roam the barangays in an apparent effort to intimidate them. The basic services promised by the Australian mining firm to the communities also did not materialize. Malobago, Tinopan and Binosawan do not have health facilities and personnel except for one or two barangay health workers. Malobago residents, however, have occasional access to the mining company’s health clinic, but only in case of emergencies. Stop the plunder On February 8, 2006 the government Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) permanently lifted the cease-and-desist order it had earlier issued on Lafayette’s operations on Rapu-Rapu in the wake of the spills. In doing so, it went against the wishes of the residents for a stop to mining operations on the island. Although Lafayette’s operations were supposedly turned over to Filipinos, it is clear that the company is exploiting loopholes in the Mining Act and the Philippines’ corporate laws in order to avoid its accountability to the people of Rapu-Rapu and Prieto Diaz. By 2013, Lafayette will have packed up and left after extracting all the minerals from Rapu-Rapu. All that will be left for the residents is a giant pit and a damaged eco-system, which can no longer provide for their needs. Residents and various environmental groups demand that government step in now to prevent irreversible damage to Rapu-Rapu’s fishing waters and the residents’ livelihoods, or should be held to accountable for it. With reports from Joseph Yu. IBON Features

International Group Issues Global Warming Report

International Group Issues Global Warming Report

By Arthur Max
Associated Press
posted: 06 April 2007
09:50 am ET

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP)—An international global warming conference approved a report Friday warning of dire threats to the Earth and to mankind—from increased hunger to the extinction of species—unless the world adapts to climate change and halts its progress. Agreement came after an all-night session during which key sections were deleted from the draft and scientists angrily confronted government negotiators who they feared were watering down their findings. "It has been a complex exercise,'' said Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Several scientists objected to the editing of the final draft by government negotiators but in the end agreed to compromises. However, some scientists vowed never to take part in the process again. The climax of five days of negotiations was reached when the delegates removed parts of a key chart highlighting devastating effects of climate change that kick in with every rise of 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit, and in a tussle over the level of scientific reliability attached to key statements. There was little doubt about the science, which was based on 29,000 sets of data, much of it collected in the last five years. "For the first time we are not just arm-waving with models,'' Martin Perry, who conducted the grueling negotiations, told reporters. The United States, China and Saudi Arabia raised the many of the objections to the phrasing, often seeking to tone down the certainty of some of the more dire projections. What is says The final IPCC report is the clearest and most comprehensive scientific statement to date on the impact of global warming mainly caused by man-induced carbon dioxide pollution. It said up to 30 percent of the Earth's species face an increased risk of vanishing if global temperatures rise 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit above the average in the 1980s and '90s. Areas that now suffer a shortage of rain will become even more dry, adding to the risks of hunger and disease, it said. The world will face heightened threats of flooding, severe storms and the erosion of coastlines. "This is a glimpse into an apocalyptic future,'' the Greenpeace environmental group said of the final report. Negotiators pored over the 21-page draft meant to be a policy guide for governments. The summary pares down the full 1,500-page scientific assessment of the evidence of climate change so far, and the impact it will have on the Earth's most vulnerable people and ecosystems. More than 120 nations attended the meeting. Each word was approved by consensus, and any change had to be approved by the scientists who drew up that section of the report. Though weakened by the deletion of some elements, the final report "will send a very, very clear signal'' to governments, said Yvo de Boer, the U.N.'s top climate official. Next steps The summary will be presented to the G8 summit of the world's richest nations in June, when the European Union is expected to renew appeals to President Bush to join in international efforts to control emissions of fossil fuels. This year's series of reports by the IPCC were the first in six years from the prestigious body of some 2,500 scientists, formed in 1988. Public awareness of climate change gave the IPCC's work unaccustomed importance and fueled the intensity of the closed-door negotiations during the five-day meeting. "The urgency of this report prepared by the world's top scientists should be matched by an equally urgent response from governments,'' said Hans Verolme, director of the global climate change program of the World Wide Fund for Nature. "Doing nothing is not an option,'' he said. During the final session, the conference snagged over a sentence that said the impact of climate change already were being observed on every continent and in most oceans. "There is very high confidence that many natural systems are being affected by regional climate changes, particularly temperature increases,'' said the statement on the first page of text. But China insisted on striking the word "very,'' injecting a measure of doubt into what the scientists argued were indisputable observations. The report's three authors refused to go along with the change, resulting in an hours-long deadlock that was broken by a U.S. compromise to delete any reference to confidence levels. It is the second of four reports from the IPCC this year; the first report in February laid out the scientific case for how global warming is happening. This second report is the "so what'' report, explaining what the effects of global warming will be. Who gets hit European Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said the report will spur the EU's determination to curb greenhouse gas emissions. "The world needs to act fast if we are to succeed in stabilizing climate change and thereby prevent its worst impacts,'' Dimas said in a statement. For the first time, the scientists broke down their predictions into regions, and forecast that climate change will affect billions of people. North America will experience more severe storms with human and economic loss, and cultural and social disruptions. It can expect more hurricanes, floods, droughts, heat waves and wildfires, it said. Coasts will be swamped by rising sea levels. In the short term, crop yields may increase by 5 to 20 percent from a longer growing season, but will plummet if temperatures rise by 7.2 F. Africa will be hardest hit. By 2020, up to 250 million people are likely to exposed to water shortages. In some countries, food production could fall by half, it said. Parts of Asia are threatened with massive flooding and avalanches from melting Himalayan glaciers. Europe also will see its Alpine glaciers disappear. Australia's Great Barrier Reef will lose much of its coral to bleaching from even moderate increases in sea temperatures, the report said. Billions face climate change risk

ETHANOL: Biofuels Boom Raises Tough Questions

Who are the direct beneficiaries in Philippines' biofuel industries?

CENTER OF GRAVITY
By Rony V. Diaz
The false promise of ethanol

THE Biofuels Act that President Arroyo signed into law requires all oil companies to blend at least 5-percent ethanol with regular unleaded gasoline or be fined in amounts ranging from P50,000 to P100,000 a day.

The oil companies are not howling in pain which only means that their bottom lines will not be affected—possibly even enhanced.

To produce enough 5-percent ethanol, 15 plants will have to be set up. At the same time 120,000 hectares will have to be planted to sugar­cane, corn, cassava and sorghum for feedstock.

It’s not possible to do all this in 5 months so the oil companies would be allowed to import blended gasoline with tax incentives that are hard to refuse.

Once the distilleries are ready, they will enjoy a cap of 1 percent for 10 years on taxes imposed on all types of inputs, machinery, equipment, planting and breeding materials that are to be used in biofuel production, as certified by the Department of Agriculture. Biofuels will not also pay the value-added tax. The law directs the Development Bank of the Philippines and the Land Bank of the Philippines to put biofuel producers at the head of the queue.

Why the rush?

Two reasons are given. First, to reduce our dependence on imported crude and at the same time save dollars. Second, to protect the environment.

Neither reason makes sense. At 5 percent, the country “saves” 2 weeks of crude imports. Even at 20 percent—the technical limit of flexible fuel automobiles made in the Philippines—we save about a month’s worth of imported crude. Even at $70 a barrel, this is hardly worth the direct costs of new plants and the raft of subsidies that will be dispensed and the indirect costs of displaced food production—not to speak of the possible need to import food.

Ethanol is not exactly environment friendly. It’s an oxygenate and therefore emits nitrous oxides that cause smog. To make ethanol bunker fuel, coal, or natural gas are needed. To transport it either by ship or by truck diesel fuel is needed. All this adds to the CO2 that’s already in the atmosphere.

The net energy gain from ethanol is miniscule. A standard barrel (42 gallons) of ethanol is equivalent to 28 gallons of gasoline in terms of energy content. Ethanol is only 80,000 British thermal units (BTU) as against 119,000 BTU for regular gasoline. This means that you use more ethanol to drive the same distance as with gasoline. To produce a gallon of ethanol with its 80,000 BTU of energy, 36,000 BTU of natural gas or coal are needed.

Alexander E. Farrell in an article in Science in January 2006 said that the greenhouse benefit from ethanol is at best “ambiguous.” A gallon of gasoline when burned releases about 20 lbs of CO2, counting emissions from both the car and the refinery. Ethanol releases about the same amount.

Are these the biofuel proponent’s idea of clean and renewable energy?

This argument against ethanol made from food crops does not apply to ethanol from cellulose. The stalk of a corn plant or the leaves of sugarcane are composed of cellulose. So are most grasses, shrubs and organic agricultural waste. If ethanol can be made from cellulose, then it need not compete with food production.

But there is a catch. To separate the sugar from the lignin in cellulose, an enzyme that nobody has been able to make in quantity is needed. Scientists are at work on it but from the lab to the pump is still a long way off.

Whether crop-based or cellulosic, ethanol requires special handling. Ethanol is easily contaminated by water and cannot be shipped or piped in the same way as petroleum or gasoline. It’s also more corrosive than gasoline. National distribution will be a huge technical problem.

Our ethanol policy is badly thought out. It’s based not on science and economic logic but on fuzzy thinking.

Before it’s too late, let’s step back and think out this policy coolly and rationally.

We’re all for alternative fuels but they should be affordable, sustainable and above all not destructive of the environment. Manila Times


Related Links:
Bioethanol Philippines
The Philippines: Is Ethanol Really Feasible?
Green Car Congress

Global Impact Of Asia's Pollution

U.N. Chief Wants U.S. to lead Global Warming Battle
Sun Responsible for Global Warming

Global Warming Unstoppable

Humans blamed for climate change
By Richard Black
Environment correspondent, BBC News website, Paris

Global climate change is "very likely" to have a human cause, an influential group of scientists has concluded.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said temperatures were probably going to increase by 1.8-4C (3.2-7.2F) by the end of the century.
It also projected that sea levels were most likely to rise by 28-43cm, and global warming was likely to influence the intensity of tropical storms.
The findings are the first of four IPCC reports to be published this year.
"We can be very confident that the net effect of human activity since 1750 has been one of warming," co-lead author Dr Susan Soloman told delegates in Paris.
Strong language
The report, produced by a team tasked with assessing the science of climate change, was intended to be the definitive summary of climatic shifts facing the world in the coming years.
The agency said that it would use stronger language to assess humanity's influence on climatic change than it had previously done.
In 2001, it said that it was "likely" that human activities lay behind the trends observed at various parts of the planet; "likely" in IPCC terminology means between 66% and 90% probability.
Now, the panel concluded that it was at least 90% certain that human emissions of greenhouse gases rather than natural variations are warming the planet's surface.
They projected that temperatures would probably rise by between 1.8C and 4C, though increases as small as 1.1C (2F) or as large as 6.4C (11.5F) were possible.
In 2001, using different methodology, the numbers were 1.4 (2.5F) and 5.8C (10.4F).

On sea level, there has been a more fundamental debate.
Computer models of climate do not generally include water coming into the oceans as ice caps melt. So the IPCC had to decide whether to exclude this from its calculations, or to estimate the effect of a process which scientists do not understand well but which could have a big impact.
They used the former, more conservative approach, projecting an average rise in sea levels globally of between 28 and 43cm. The 2001 report cited a range of nine to 88cm.
As for climate change influencing the intensity of tropical storms in some areas of the world, the IPCC concluded that it was likely - meaning a greater probability than 66% - that rising temperatures were a factor.
'Unequivocal'

Dr Rajendra Pachauri, the IPCC chairman, said: "It is extremely encouraging in that the science has moved on from what was possible in the Third Assessment Report.
"If you see the extent to which human activities are influencing the climate system, the options for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions appear in a different light, because you can see what the costs of inaction are," he told delegates in Paris.
Achim Steiner, executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme (Unep), said the findings marked a historical landmark in the debate about whether humans were affecting the state of the atmosphere.

"It is an unequivocal series of evidence [showing that] fossil fuel burning and land use change are affecting the climate on our planet."
He added: "If you are an African child born in 2007, by the time you are 50 years old you may be faced with disease and new levels of drought."
He said that he hoped the IPCC report would galvanise national governments into action.
At variance
But a study published on the eve of the IPCC report suggested that the international body's previous reports may have actually been too conservative.

Writing in the journal Science, an international group of scientists concluded that temperatures and sea levels had been rising at or above the maximum rates proposed in the last report, which was published in 2001.
The paper compared the 2001 projections on temperature and sea level change report with what has actually happened.
The models had forecasted a temperature rise between about 0.15C-0.35C (0.27-0.63F) over this period. The actual rise of 0.33C (0.59F) was very close to the top of the IPCC's range.
A more dramatic picture emerged from the sea level comparison. The actual average level, measured by tide gauges and satellites, had risen faster than the intergovernmental panel of scientists predicted it would.
The IPCC's full climate science report will be released later in the year, as will other chapters looking at the probable impacts of climate change, options for adapting to those impacts, and possible routes to reducing emissions of greenhouse gases.
Richard.Black-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk

Mt. Mayon Mudslides 1,000+ Buried Alive

The Filipinos must demand blood if these sabo projects and early warning and evacuation system was not implemented by corrupt Arroyo administration. Gloria Arroyo is may be partly responsible for the landslide deaths due to her incompetence and too much politicking. These shameless Mt. Mayon disaster area congressmen should use their pork barrel funds in life saving and prevention projects.

EXCERPTS: NEDA MEDIUM-TERM DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2001-2004

Implement sabo projects for the prevention/mitigation of sediment-related disasters, debris and lahar flow/landslide;

Serious and often destructive sediment movement due to landslides, debris flows and river bed deformations remarkably increase damages to lives, properties, infrastructure, etc. Sediment control measures are continuously being pursued, especially within the Mt. Pinatubo and Mt. Mayon influence areas. However, the structures implemented are still wanting in terms of adequacy. As economic activity tends to extend towards the mountain slope areas, sediment-related disasters are likely to frequently occur. The need, therefore, to implement prevention works in disaster-prone areas is recognized for sustainable economic development. These prevention works consist of structural and nonstructural measures such as warning and evacuation system, land use regulation, and disaster preparedness programs.

DPWH, Phivolcs blamed for deaths

RP’s rising poverty ensures disasters’ repeat — analyst

Daily Tribune 12/03/2006

Devastation of the Philippines’ southern Bicol Region wrought by “Reming,” dubbed as a super typhoon by meteorologists, will not be the last that Filipinos will see in their lifetime.

Analysts yesterday said the country’s natural proneness to disasters is made steadily worse not only by rising poverty but also climate change.

In a country such as the Philippines where more than 50 percent of the population are living on less than two dollars a day, the analysts noted, the human cost of such disasters is enormous.

Despite repeated disasters, they said, many Filipinos are too poor to leave dangerous areas.

Philippine Sen. Richard Gordon, who also heads his country’s

Red Cross, for his part, also yesterday said, unless the cycle of poverty is tackled, “these disasters will just go on repeating themselves.”

Some 30,000 residents fled areas near Mayon Volcano in the Bicol Region’s Albay province when it started rumbling in August this year only to return when the activity subsided.

But this week, typhoon-triggered mudslides swept hundreds of these people to their deaths.

Philippine authorities also yesterday said at least 469 persons were dead or missing after rivers of mud and volcanic ash triggered by Reming (international code name: “Durian”) swamped villages, mainly in the Bicol Region.

According to the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC), the victims were all in the region, which bore the full brunt of the storm the other day.

All the deaths were around Mayon Volcano where mud and ash flows driven by torrential rain overran the villages last Thursday night.

The Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) earlier reported 388 confirmed dead and 96 missing but yesterday it revised the total down to 134 dead and 159 missing.

The PNRC, however, said it is investigating reports of another 200 dead in a village on the slopes of the volcano.

Roger-Mark De Souza of the Washington-based Population Reference Bureau said the danger from natural disasters in the Philippines has risen markedly in recent years.

“The risk to human life from natural disasters in the Philippines has increased dramatically over the past generation,” De Souza said in a recent report.

“From 1971 to 2000, natural disasters killed 34,000 people but from 1990 to 2000, natural disasters killed or disrupted the lives of 35 million people,” the report said.

Each year, an average of 20 tropical storms sweep in from the Pacific, hammering the central or northern islands of the country.

Sitting on the edge of the “Pacific Ring of Fire,” the Philippines, a Southeast Asian archipelago, is also vulnerable to earthquakes, at least six a day, and volcanic eruptions from its 18 active volcanoes.

It all makes for a deadly mix, according to the International Red Cross, making the Philippines one of the most disaster-prone countries on earth.

Leoncio Amadore, one of the country’s foremost meteorologists, believes that climate change is also contributing to the severity of the typhoons now hitting the Philippines.

“The combination of strong typhoons, excessive rain and landslides has caused a great deal of death and destruction in the Philippines,” Amadore said.

“If we do not act urgently, climate change will further intensify the severity of extreme weather events,” he added.

Rescuers also yesterday arrived in devastated Legazpi City, provincial capital of Albay as officials warned there would be few survivors from the giant mudslides that swept away entire villages, killing hundreds.

Military and civilian emergency workers delayed by Reming, which triggered the mudflows, flew in at first light with the toll already at 469 dead or missing.

As they made their way to Mayon olcano, where rivers of mud and ash meters high obliterated whole communities, officials were pessimistic about finding people alive and appealed for body bags and doctors.

Along the road from Legazpi City to the town of Guinobatan, a quiet procession of poor men, women and children clutching whatever they could salvage walked toward the city hoping to find shelter and food.

Cedric Daep, head of the Provincial Disaster Control Council, said it would be a case of digging bodies from the mud than rescuing survivors.

“There are possibly dozens or hundreds (of bodies) to be recovered,” Daep told Agence France-Presse.

He said floodwaters had risen so rapidly many people simply did not have time to get out of their houses.

The rescuers were greeted by appalling scenes as they arrived on a Philippine Air Force C-130 transport aircraft at dawn.

Many buildings in Legazpi City were damaged or demolished while the villages on the slopes of the volcano had been reduced to just a few sticks protruding from the mud.

Residents using shovels and makeshift equipment were digging out bodies and covering them with plastic as grieving relatives wept as they tried to identify mangled corpses.

The mudslides triggered by rain reached as high as rooftops when they poured down from the volcano, around 350 km southeast of Manila.

Daep said it was difficult to give an accurate death toll due to communication problems in the remote disaster areas.

An earlier death toll of 388 was revised to 149 dead and 294 missing but officials said they were still looking at a higher death toll in two villages that had been “totally wiped off the map.”

The head of forecasting for the government weather station, Nathaniel Cruz, said the government had fully warned the public of the danger posed by the approaching Reming three days before the storm hit.

But Cruz added he was unsure why precautionary measures were not taken in the region.

“Did the information really reach those at the grassroot level?” he asked.

Condolences began arriving from around the world, with Pope Benedict XVI saying he was “deeply saddened” by the deaths.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Spanish government expressed their sympathy to President Arroyo over the human toll of the disaster.

Canada announced that it was donating $1 billion Canadian (US$877,200) for relief efforts.

in a special message to Mrs. Arroyo, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf said he is “deeply shocked to hear the sad news of the tragic loss of precious life and devastation of property” caused by Reming.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also expressed his condolences to the Philippine President over the deaths and devastation.

Tokyo has decided to send about 20 million yen (US$173,000) of emergency supplies, including tents and blankets, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Commercial flights began operating into Legazpi City while much of the region is still without power and communications.

The Philippines is also recovering from the impact of Typhoon “Milenyo (international code name: “Xangsane”), the strongest cyclone to hit the nation in more than 10 years, which left 38 dead or missing in late October.

Typhoon “Queenie” (international code name: “Chevi”) caused widespread damage and cut off electricity in many parts of Manila in September, leaving 200 persons dead across the country.

For all the stark images from the devastation wrought by Reming, the scenes were troublingly familiar.

On the eastern island of Southern Leyte in the Philippines’ Visayas Region earlier this year, 1,800 were killed when a mudslide caused by heavy rains obliterated the farming community of Guinsaugon.

The International Red Cross has estimated that some 5.9 million Filipinos were killed or injured as a result of natural or man-made calamities in the 10 years to 2001.

In its 2005 Disaster report, it said the impact of natural disasters “aggravate pre-existing poverty, creating a downward spiral of vulnerability, arresting development.” AFP and Gina Peralta-Elorde

Bigger Disasters Coming, Environmental Groups Warn
Geographically doomed, hobbled by poverty, Philippines buffeted by regular storms
Durian's aftermath: disease threatens homeless Philippine families

'Only 50 years left' for sea fish

Philippine milkfish doesn't click in European market

By Maricar M. Calubiran
Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) are the ones patronizing the Philippine
milkfish though it has already penetrated the European market especially
in Germany and Italy.
Anja Gomm, project manager of the GTZ said the Filipinos working in
Europe are the buyers of the Philippine bangus and has yet to attract
the picky taste bud of the Europeans. The Philippine milkfish are sold
in the shelves of Asian markets in Europe.
Gomm, in an interview, said they are trying to help the the people of
Western Visayas to access a new market and increased the competitiveness
of Philippine milkfish in the international market. The GTZ is helping
the government in promoting the concept of chain management among
milkfish industry players.
She said they are currently working on the information generation to
inform the milkfish industry players and let them understand the
European market. They have also discussed some important issues which
affects the players from the stock they are going to raise, feeds,
process and exporters. They will also conduct a training and capacity
building.
Gomm said they are going to assist and give technical help to the
milkfish industry players in Western Visayas for more than two years. By
the time the project ends, she expects the players are ready to explore
the international market.
She said the European market has set a high standard regarding fish
exports. The Filipinos have to much to learn about the proper packaging
and handling. They have to meet the European Union's strict and quality
and safety standards.
At the latest, the Sta. Cruz Foods which brings the milkfish to
Netherlands is the only company which has gained access to the European
market. The Philippine milkfish were shipped to the Netherlands via
General Santos City.

Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

RP-Japan Accord ‘Toxic’ Waste

We hope that the Philippine Senate will not ratify the signed Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA). Mrs. Gloria Arroyo should accept dumping of toxic and hazardous material waste inside Malacanang Palace compound not the entire 7,100 islands. She is considered a traitor, bogus president and working against the interests of the Filipino people and the environment. Dumping of toxic waste in the Philippines is not acceptable. No Way Jose'!

Petition on Toxic Waste JPEPA



Toxic’ RP-Japan treaty signed; Manila to ‘take a look’ only now

By Ayen Infante
Daily Tribune 10/26/2006
Calling senators “self-proclaimed experts,” Trade and Industry Secretary Peter Favila yesterday challenged Congress to pass a bill that would include legislators in negotiating international trade and investments amid charges that dumping of toxic materials in the country was inserted among the provisions in the recently signed Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agree-ment (Jpepa).
The labeling apparently stemmed from the senators’ insistence that the Jpepa and other treaties for that matter require their ratification.
Malacañang, for its part, also yesterday said it is willing to review the agreement with Tokyo before it allows its implementation.
“I think it’s about time that we take a look at it,” Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita told reporters during a chance interview.
Ermita allayed fears that
the Jpepa would turn the Philippines into a toxic graveyard.
“We will always protect the national interest. Anything that will hurt the interest of the country will be prevented,” he said.
The Jpepa was signed by President Arroyo and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in Helsinki last Sept. 9.
Philippine Senate Majority Leader Francis Pangilinan also yesterday conceded that amending the agreement is easier said than done.
“We cannot amend provisions of a treaty as this will require consent of the other party, in this case Japan, a signatory to the (Jpepa),” Pangilinan said.
The agreement is likely to be junked by the Senate, with environment committee chairman Sen. Pia Cayetano also yesterday raising a howl over it.
Cayetano had managed to extract from Cabinet officials the admission that “goods” stated in the Jpepa refer to “unwanted wastes” from Japan.
She said the proposed treaty will only open the floodgates to hazardous and toxic waste to the country.
“I find this situation unacceptable, however, because we have not even fully implemented the provisions of Republic Act 9003 (Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000) despite its passage into law almost six years ago. We cannot even manage our own garbage, so how can we take responsibility for the wastes of other countries?” Cayetano asked.
Favila and Environment Secretary Angelo Reyes, during budget hearings, admitted to Cayetano that “the Jpepa would allow waste from Japan, as long as it will observe the (Philippines’) environmental laws and its commitment to international treaties such as the Basel Convention of 1989.”
Cayetano said she supports Malacañang’s efforts to give Filipino health workers access to the Japanese labor market but, she added, not through a toxic tradeoff.
It is believed that the Philippines signed the Jpepa to pave the way for the deployment of Filipino caregivers to Japan.
Cayetano urged Malacañang to immediately transmit the treaty documents to the Senate along with the attached commitments of both state signatories for the chamber’s scrutiny and its subsequent concurrence or rejection, in line with the requirements of the 1987 Constitution.
According to Favila, lawmakers should pass a bill that would call for their presence in all foreign negotiations to avoid doubts and promote greater transparency.
“I already told them and proposed that they should pass a bill to address the issue, because I (also) told them already that as soon as an agreement is signed, it will be transparent and submitted to the Senate (for ratification),” he pointed out.
When asked to name the senators he was referring to, Favila said all of them who are “self-proclaimed experts.”
He even cited a World Trade Organization (WTO) convention in Hong Kong in December 2005 when he allowed the participation of prominent personalities of non-government organizations (NGOs) in trade talks.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) chief said he needs to meet the press to explain an article that came out the other day in a broadsheet baring the Philippine government’s inclusion of hazardous waste as a talking point in the negotiations with the Japanese government.
Favila clarified that the inclusion of hazardous waste in the ongoing negotiations under the JPEPA was part of both parties’’ strategy to protect sensitive industries.
He assured both Manila and Tokyo that even with the inclusion of toxic waste in the negotiations, they are still protected by their membership in the WTO agreement and their being both signatories to the Basel Convention, which bans and controls the transboundary shipment and movement of hazardous waste.
Favila said both parties were forced to present toxic materials in the talks to protect other sensitive industries.
He left for Japan also yesterday to join Finance Secretary Margarito Teves there and address a Japan Bank for International Cooperation event.
In a statement, Greenpeace Southeast Asia also yesterday said the legal toxic dumping” the JPEPA allegedly allows “is “nothing short of criminal.”
Greenpeace noted that the Philippines and Japan are signatories to the Basel Convention, a “legally-binding global commitment, which is intended to stop all hazardous waste exports from industrialized countries to developing countries,” that, however, allows the export of hazardous wastes meant for recycling.”
“While this loophole was addressed by the Basel Ban, neither the Philippines nor Japan has ratified the amendment, it said.
Ratification of the Basel Ban would protect the Philippines from hazardous waste dumping by industrialized countries,” the group added.
It urged that the Philippine government “review RA 6969 or the Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear Wastes Control Act, which, since it is based on the Basel Convention, not on the Basel Ban, carries the inherent loophole of the convention.” Angie M. Rosales, Sherwin C. Olaes and Gerry Baldo

Related Links:
Japanese-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement
JPEPA Encourage Trade in Hazardous and Toxic Waste

Man-Made Environmental Disaster: The Aftereffects of Guimaras Oil Spill

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) is providing $16 million (P800 million) support fund for the cleanup of the oil spill. There should be strict monitoring by the Commission on Audit in disbursement of funds. It may end up in the pockets of corrupt Gloria Arroyo officials or to be diverted in the political campaign funds of the Lakas ruling party. The party of the thieves are preparing for 2007 midterm election. The vultures in the government are snipping every opportunity to satisfy their greed of money and power.


Tar balls emerging as health threats from oil spill

The Philippine Daily Inquirer
ILOILO CITY—These hard or hardening black patches of bunker fuel oil called tar balls on the shorelines of Guimaras are turning out to be just as toxic to human health as freshly spilled oil.
The tar balls, also called weathered oil, is composed of hard to degrade oil residue such as asphaltenes and resins which produce noxious fumes dangerous to human health, according to Mary Aidine M. Galvan, microbiologist of the Philippine Reef and Rainforest Conservation Foundation Inc.
Asphaltenes are molecular substances that are found in crude oil, along with resins, aromatics, and saturates.
“Tar balls are recalcitrant (hard to degrade) and stay longer in the environment. The tar balls produce hydrogen sulfide and noxious gases such as methane that are in turn the product of anaerobic breakdown,” said Galvan.
When she started studies on bioremediation in oil spill-affected Inampulugan Island on Sept. 11, Galvan said she was shocked to see that oil has seeped into the white sands of the beach on which President Macapagal-Arroyo walked when she visited Guimaras for the second time on Aug. 28 after the Petron spill on Aug. 11.
Galvan said the oil that has seeped into the sand returns to the surface during sunny weather, and as such, there is no such thing as a total cleanup of spill-affected areas where oil has mixed with sand.
“Methane gas binds with hemoglobin and competes with the oxygen binding capacity of a person’s blood, resulting to hypoxia and anoxia that may result to sickness or death,” said Galvan, a member of the Marine Section of the Society of Conservation Biology of the United States.
Anoxia is a condition in which there is an absence of oxygen supply to an organ’s tissues although there is adequate blood flow to the tissue while hypoxia is a condition in which there is a decrease of oxygen to the tissue in spite of adequate blood flow to the tissue, said the US National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
The Institute said that in severe cases of anoxia and hypoxia, the patient is often comatose for periods ranging from hours to days, weeks, or months. Seizures, muscle spasms or twitches, and neck stiffness may occur, it added. Susceptible to sickness related to the toxic fumes from bunker fuel oil are the elderly, children, asthmatics and those with respiratory ailments, said Galvan.

OIL SPILL
Barge spills Guimaras oil debris off Misamis Occidental