By Izah Morales
INQUIRER.net

IF you’re tired of reading about the fertilizer fund scam issue, then maybe it’s time to turn the leaf and make your own organic fertilizer in the backyard.

During a walk at the La Mesa Ecopark, I noticed vermiculturist Rogelio Moreno mixing soil with worms, which they called Vermicompost, an organic fertilizer. The worms were digging holes and gliding in the soil. While some people would feel icky about worms, Moreno considers them as “angels of the Earth.”

“Ang kagandahan ng mga bulate, ang kanyang pupu, malaking katulungan sa mga farmers. Binubuhay nito ang lupa. [The worms’ feces are a big help to farmers because it enriches and enlivens the soil.],” says Moreno.

Moreno willingly taught me how to make vermicompost.

First, you should collect biodegradable garbage like dried leaves, fruit and vegetable peelings and animal feces. Then place them in an empty bed or container. Cover the garbage with dried leaves and straw. You can use all kinds of leaves except for mahogany, eucalyptus and nymph leaves, says Moreno.

To avoid the foul smell, add coco dust. Then water the bed everyday. Add the worms on top of the compost. After five days, you will notice that the worms have gone down. Cover it with a net. You will know that you have a fertilizer when the feces are fine. After two months, you can collect the fertilizer.

Moreno says a farmer can earn P 9,000 from one fertilizer bed.

Organic fertilizer will not only make your plants healthy but will make your pockets wealthy.

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.

[Read the rest of this entry »]

By Alex Villafania
INQUIRER.net

THE REMOTELY Operated Underwater Vehicle (ROV), better known as a submersible, has become the stuff of movies, ever since it was used in some scenes in “Titanic.” It found a lot of applications in the underwater research, mining and salvaging sectors. One Filipino company aims to be a player in this industry.

Pobletech Inc. recently released the Roboteknik i100, country’s first commercial ROV, a robotic machine that can submerge to a depth of up to 100 meters and be guided via a remote control box. The ROV and control box are all connected via an umbilical cord that serves as both the power and data cable for the ROV, which transmits live streaming videos to a monitor on the control box.

Here’s a video I took of Michael Poblete, CEO of Pobletech, shows off the Roboteknik.

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INQUIRER.NET executive editor Leo Magno visits The Field Museum for a close encounter with “Sue,” the world’s most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton. Sue was named after Sue Hendrickson, the American paleontologist who discovered the skeleton.

INQUIRER.net multimedia reporter Erika Tapalla interviewed Greenpeace Southeast Asia toxics campaigner Beau Baconguis, who talked about the environmental activist group’s campaign to increase awareness on the water pollution problem in the Philippines and the rest of the world.

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