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Monday, May 29, 2006
Ledesma: Tuba2 and the ramie nightmare
By Jun Ledesma
Sunbursts
THE search for alternative fuel to make engines run is revving up into a frenzy. The source of fossil fuel is fast depleting. It does not help that US President Bush is threatening to bomb Iran over the latter's intransigence to halt its nuclear program.
The price of oil is shooting up to the sky while the supply, although amply provided by the Arabs, is seen to be exhausted within the next few decades. And the sad part is that fossil fuel is neither sustainable no renewable.
Where will we Pinoy go from here? When the push comes to shove, the best in Pinoys comes out. Running diesel engines with the use of coconut oil is not strange.
Philippines is still the world's biggest coconut supplier. If Brazil has succeeded in using ethanol from sugar to mix with gasoline, we ought not lag behind in this as we have proven to the world in many decades that we can produce sugar enough to feed the world.
If our politicians just stop wrangling and put their acts together, the Philippines will be much better than many developed countries in the world.
Last week I made a side trip to Maria Cristina falls to show my growing up kids the grandeur of the waterfall. Our guide was kind enough to explain to us how the majestic cascading waters run the turbine generators, which in turn produce power that light up our houses in far away Davao.
There are two of these systems in the downstream of Maria Cristina called Agus VI and Agus VII. But the copious volume of water can still run more generators enough to provide what industry needs and to drastically bring down the cost of electricity for an ordinary household. We have not even looked at the potentials of Tudaya falls.
Shortly before he died, the venerable Ramon "Monching" Mitra who then chaired the Philippine National Oil Commission told us guys over a cup of coffee at the Top of the Apo that preliminary explorations and tests made in Liguasan Marsh indicated an enormous volume of natural gas in the area. This deposit is only awaiting to be extracted.
Growing practically in the wild in our countryside are tuba-tuba trees, which India and China called "miracle plants." It's miracle to them because the oil extracted from the nuts of its fruits have varied uses.
Tuba-tuba is known as jatropha. Indians use its oil for lighting, cooking, soap making and fuel for engines. Anticipating crippling energy crunch, India and China have ordered massive production of jatropha as an additive for diesel.
If only our congressmen can forego with their pork barrel an spend this in setting up processing and refinery plants for tuba-tuba, we could significantly reduce our oil importation. We are told that we presently spend over $7-billion on various oil products. If 25 percent of diesel and gasoline can be mixed with bio-fuels think of the tremendous amount of money, which will go to our farmers instead.
Pipe dreams? No. Because the resources are there and are not difficult to process. The Pinoys can if only the government will assure us of certain guarantees. Which reminds me of the nightmare of ramie farmers. The domestic and export markets were very encouraging that the government told everybody to plant ramie. It took the country by storm but, as the farmers were celebrating, the buyers suddenly disappeared.
Bales upon bales of ramie fibers were wasted while thousands of hectares of ramie plantations gone to waste. As if these were not enough, the government did not make a move at all to alleviate to plight of farmers. Ramie was a tough fiber and makes excellent textile. If the government had the will and the drive, it could have mandated that military, police, teachers and government corporate employees uniforms be made of ramie fibers. But it did not.
Tuba-tuba holds a lot of promise and potentials. Can our government leaders and lawmakers protect the interest of our farmers and not allow to again becoming victims in great swindle that was the ramie brouhaha? Can they pass legislation that will mandate the blending of imported fossil fuel with bio-fuel, which henceforth we will produce?
For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (May 29, 2006 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
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