By Alexander Villafania
INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — After months of delays, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has finally opened the country’s first vehicle research and testing laboratory equipped with a chassis dynamometer and emission analyzer used to assess viability of different alternative fuels.

The facility is located at the Melchor Hall of the University of the Philippines, where the DOST’s academic partner institution, the UP Department of Mechanical Engineering is located. DOST is also represented by its sub-agency the Philippine Council for Industry and Energy Research and Development (PCIERD).

The facility is created under the requirements of Republic Act 9637 or the Biofuels Act to provide infrastructure support for assessment, validation, and performance testing of biofuels . The facility will also develop test protocols, standards and regulations including the use fuel-saving emission and control devices.

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By Lawrence Casiraya
INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is urging car manufacturers to bring in more hybrid models into the country while calling on the adoption of fuel-efficiency and renewable energy measures.

“We await the arrival of the hybrid models that can shift from gas to electricity,” Arroyo said in her opening address at the Philipine International Motor Show, organized by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines (CAMPI).

The President took note of the presence of 15 major car manufacturers in this year’s show. But a significant portion of her speech was spent calling on “clean and green measures.”
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By Alexander Villafania

INQUIRER.net

The effect of the industrial revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries can be likened to the effect of the information technology revolution today. It created new industries and new skills that changed the way people lived. Yet, both periods in history also had their share of negative impact: pollution.

The industrial revolution saw an increase in use of petroleum products and chemical compounds that seeped into the ground, polluting water and soil. IT industries, with the constant replacement of old equipment for better ones, is also causing a new generation of garbage and it could get worse as the demand for IT products continues growing.

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By Alex Villafania
INQUIRER.net

INDEPENDENCE from fossil fuels by using local flora for biofuel development is a key component in reducing ozone-depleting carbon emissions, according to the head of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT).

In a press conference on climate change, ICRISAT Director General William Dar also pointed out that the Philippines has enough locally available plants that can be used for soil conservation and managing food requirements.

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Dar stressed that the impending global climate change has changed the economies of many countries, especially those in the arid and semi-arid tropics of which the Philippines is included. He said that there are warning signs pointing toward food supply problems, storms, flooding and droughts that could adversely affect a nation’s way of life.

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By Alex Villafania
INQUIRER.net

AN EXECUTIVE from the Asian Development Bank said that an Asia-wide action to alleviate the effects of climate change is not only an obligation but also a moral imperative.

Speaking at the Carbon Forum Asia in Singapore, ADB vice president Ursula Schäfer-Preuss said the private sector should cooperate in reducing the effects of global climate change.

She noted in her speech that Asia today accounts for 27 percent of the world’s energy-related greenhouse emission, compared to just about 10 percent in the 1970s.

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