CONGRESSMAN [Roilo] Golez’s concern that biofuels will eat into food security — specifically, “making beer more expensive” — strains credulity.
Couldn’t he at least think of other, more plausible reasons besides worrying about a more expensive alcoholic drink?
– Perla Limbaga Manapol, Banga, Aklan, Philippines (via e-mail)
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December 27th, 2007 at 7:55 pm
To chito:
Right, the beer price is not the most important matter which could be affected by using corn for biofuel. But Golez did not say that, he just mentioned it, maybe since Filipinos are usually heavy beer drinkers and could change from expensive beer to harder drinks, means more drunkards.
Besides, the originals of beer are anyway not made from corn, it is from wheat which is malted.
And about the commercialized Christmas, it is true that most western societies are already thinking and even complaining about that, but how you stop it if the customers agree? If customers would just not buy anything displayed for Christmas, say before December 15, it would very fast change many things.
Regarding a “westernized” Christmas, please do not forget that no western society celebrates Christmas with such noise than the Philippines. Filipinos shout their “Silent Night” through karaokes and at the same time throw their firecrackers. In western countries, Christmas eve is really a silent night, neither a noise nor a drinking occasion. Besides, remember too, that the whole catholizism is also a western import.
And you are right, there is no Santa Claus, rendeers can not fly etc., but let kids think that is by far better than all the idiotic cartoon figures which also do not exist but usually celebrates nothing more than stupidity and violence.
Lastly, if we argue what exists and what not, we would even have to question the reality of Jesus Christ. We celebrate his birth at December 24, his birth year as the year following 1 BC in our current counting. And that is all not correct or true. At that time, the year had just 10 months in roman calendars (decem means ten) and months 30 days until roman Caesars and Popes reformed the calendar. And what has been seen as the “star of Bethlehem” was only a conjunction of two planets and this has been seen at the Bethlehem region like one big star in the year 4 BC. Any Planetarium can easily show that.
The modern bible contains so many discrepancies to the reality than not many other publictions. It has been so many times reviewed and changed, even truth should not be changed.
It is, as one example here in RP, that catholic kids have to be circumcised. And that, because Jesus has also been circumcised. The problem with this unnecessary torture is, that Jesus has been circumcised for being a jewish child. There was no christian circumcision yet because there was no Christianity yet.
So, better not arguing about westernised Christmas, it is just reduced to a business opportunity since customers accept it and business will do what customers wanr, or are forced to think theywant it. Like Valentine’s day,too, which is a creation of a big (card) business which needed a boost to its sales.
December 27th, 2007 at 7:08 pm
‘Christmas’ was introduced to us by the Spanish conquerors. If ‘we don’t fool ourselves into accepting western traditions’, then maybe we should be celebrating the ‘anitos’ instead.
December 26th, 2007 at 1:01 am
As usual, this politician is always after a good “sound bite.” Who cares if it will, as he put it: “making beer more expensive”. Is he connected to a brewery establishment?
That is my least worry. Being Christmas, I want to talk how we Filipinos are celebrating it. We have completely adapted the Western tradition, and we almost want to believe that it is ours. We have fallen into the commercialization of Christmas. We display Christmas trees with snow, Santa Claus in red suit, Reindeers that fly, Elfs making toys, etc. Ever since I was a child, this was my concept of Christmas. Now that I am no longer that innocent and gullible person, I want to see that we as a people should have our own Christmas, celebrating the birth of Jesus, and not the commercial style.
Let us be down to earth and honest to ourselves, There is no Santa Claus as presented in the Western tradition. Reindeers can not fly. They are no less than a cow with antlers. There are no elf anywhere. There is no snow in our land.
I am not trying to ruin your Christmas, but as a people, let us not fool ourselves into accepting the Western tradition, that even in American and Europe, people there are realizing that the commercialization of Christmas is getting our of hand. Let us be honest to ourselves. thank you.
December 26th, 2007 at 12:40 am
Aside of all the questions of efficiency, food danger, poisoning or insufficience, there has been the question why the rich and highly scie4ntific G7 countries did not mainly initiate the production of biofuel. The answer is very easy;
The G7 are very industrialized countries with very limited agricultural land reserves, they could not produc even one percent of the worlds fuel demand and can not force other countries to produce it.
The only way they can do something is pushing their industries to produce vehicles and engines that use much less fuel. Such usually smaller engines would then affect their carmakers who produce big, comfortable cars which could not match with small engines. It would lead to less production and therefore less jobs. As long as people wants big cars, they will produce them or somebody else will start to do it.
The only real way out of the dilemma is boosting alternatives like, for instance, hydrogen, which burns just to water. But even this needs the acceptance of buyers, the expensive research for producing efficient but affordable engines, construction of new car plants and to provide availability of refuel stations equivalent to gasoline stations now.
Then, it is very questionable if the mighty oil industry just would swallow their quasi-elinimation after they made their biggest profits in their history during the past years with rising oil prices, even a good chunk of the increase is due to speculative future contracts. The same for the oil producing countries like the arabic countries, who wade now in luxury out of the huge income from high demand and high price of oil. At the other hand, if there is no change and oil becomes more scarce and expensive, it could even trigger an “oil war” with unpredictable dimensions, compared with the Kuwait war which in fact was an oil war already, not a war for to install democracy in Iraq.
December 25th, 2007 at 12:48 pm
kabayan,
there are ten ways to skin a cat. your -research - looks good as it is- but then do you really believed that in juan dela cruz real “world” the biofuels’ initiative will make a significant change in his socio-economic viability? or will the motherland revisit the world of mercantilism one more time on this millennia?
i am posting these q’s to the cerebrals out there that can share with us some of their intellectual wisdom.
why - G-7 countries which monopolies technology and capital are not getting involve internationally and taking the first initiatives to fully endorse the mass production and use of biofuels?
why G-7 countries which has all the wherewithal in their disposal to develop full scale operation in mass production and distribution of biofuels are still doing a second look to the costs and effects of biofuel initiatives?
why japan, korea and some euro- countries that are very dependent to foreign source of fossils fuel are not making capital investment and bankrolling the full scale r and d of biofuel iniatives?
if all for the good reason we are pursuing the production of biofuels to cut off our dependency to foreign source of fossils fuel and looking for new sources of renewable green power, this new source must not be a band aid patch to the present problem. because our patria adorada 50yrs from now will be on the same predicament and will have more toxic laden soil, polluted water source and less breathable air.
on the lighter side of the debate,the dept.of transportation, roads and bridges construction and engineering division, in the district i am employed, just purchased new models of fleets of people mover that are designed and engineered to use biofules. a new refueling point was designed and built to support hundreds of our light and heavy duty trucks. besides the gasoline and diesels fuels we also use lpg and propane gas to power the fleets. in return the dept. collects datas that are shared with federal govt to used for research and scientific studies.
happy holiday to all………………
chrisgalon
lasvegasnv.