Thinking Green - Environmental Tips, News, Commentary

With the summer vacation coming, maybe some of you are already planning your out of town vacation or outings. Before you hit the road, here are some tips for a greener travel: 1.Make sure all the lights and appliances are turned off before leaving your house. 2.If you are driving, consider increasing your car’s fuel efficiency by reducing your speed to 55mph from 65-70mph. You’ll then be able to cut carbon dioxide emissions. 3.Go to places not so far away from your home. Make it simple, the less you drive the lesser energy you use. If it’s unavoidable use alternative form of transportation. There are lots of public transportations available like bus and jeepneys (commonly used in the Philippines). 4.Try not to use disposable materials when packing your food for the travel. Just bring your own utensils and food containers. 5.Do not throw your wastes on the road. Bring your own garbage bags and segregate biodegradable from non-biodegradable. For more information on how to h...

Malls in the Philippines are now taking green initiatives to help save our environment. It started with SM Supermalls last 2008 with their 'Trash to Cash' program or known as 'waste market day'. Mall goers can convert their trash or recyclables into cash at any SM parking lots. Meanwhile, Ayala Malls also launched their project 'Recyclables Fair'. It started last April 2009 and still ongoing in all Ayala Malls in the Philippines. Actually tomorrow (Feb 27, 2010) Marquee Mall , an Ayala Mall in Angeles City Pampanga will start their recyclables fair "Ready, Set, Green". If you are a mall-goer, better not to miss this chance of creating a cleaner and greener environment. Moreover, aside from malls, a lot of companies in the Philippines are also getting involved in saving our environment. To name a few, there's San Carlos Bioenergy, E-Cane Fuel Corp, SECURA International Corp, Montalban Methane Power Corp, and Energy Development Corp (EDC). Thes...

Here are some facts about renewable energy that you shouldn't miss... 1. The use of wind power started since 7th century. People used the windmills to pump water and to grind grain. And the first modern wind turbine was built in the early 1940’s in Vermont while the first of its kind wind turbine in Southeast Asia now stands in Ilocos Norte, Philippines. Today, the largest wind turbine in the world is located in Hawaii which stands 20 stories tall. 2. In United States, almost half of renewable energy derives from biomass sources like paper and wood products. The biomass energy from landfills and dairy farms is being used mainly in Iowa and Wisconsin to produce electricity. Moreover, extracting biomass is actually an ancient practice just to provide heat and light with the early people. But today, biomass is now used by large scale facilities to produce power and heat energy. 3. As far back as 1447, Da Vinci predicted a solar industrialization which is now happening. The ...

With the alarming effects of global warming, I want to give a brief talk about solid wastes in the Philippines which is always considered to be one of the major problems of the Filipino community. This pressing issue has been addressed by the government through implementing the solid waste management system to LGUs(Local Gov’t Units). But the question here is; how sustainable is this system to reduce the generated waste daily? The answer--it is not sustainable at all. The result is quiet visible in congested cities all over the Philippines. According to a study, the Philippines generates more than 10,000 tons of solid wastes per day. Imagine the garbage crisis that the Philippines is facing every day. It’s tons of garbage piled in every corner. Actually, it’s not the solid waste management system that is difficult to sustain but the implementation. However, in the Philippines, the implementation has always been a problem. If only there will be more programs or projects calling the pa...