Pointing out that the Philippines has time and time again been said to have one of the highest electricity rates in the world, Aurora Representative Juan Edgardo Angara said that the government should take steps to curb its electricity bill which is expected to cost P10 Billion next year. This is according to the budget allocation for utilities in the 2012 budget.

According to the article, the government pays about P1.25 million/hour on electricity and water costs which is enough to build a classroom (of which the Philippines also has a shortage of) every 30 minutes. He said that by lowering the utilities consumption by just 5% would result in a savings of P500 Million alone.
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Because of its delicious taste, the Blue Fin Tuna could well soon be an extinct species because of the threat of over fishing due to the high demand for its meat.

Directly affected, aside from the Blue Fin tuna, are those who rely on harvesting it for their livelihood. Right now there are reports of temporary laying off of workers in canneries due to the low supply of tuna that can be fished. Due also to the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) reigning in their fishing boats by putting a ban on the fishing of tuna in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean in order to allow the tuna to replenish itself.
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Went to my local National Bookstore to purchase a pen to replace my old one. Since it was the only thing I bought, the cashier asked me if I still wanted a plastic bag for it. To which of course I said “No.” then she gave me the receipt and I tucked my purchase in my pocket.

I was happy that National Bookstore got into the conserve plastic bags mentality. I remember during my college days my friend made the mistake of opening up his National Bookstore purchase within the premises of the store, on his way out he had to show the guard his receipt and correlate it with his purchase to make sure that it wasn’t stolen.
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Google recently shared their design strategy for an energy efficient data center. Something that I hope other data center related businesses can learn from.
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The Don Emilio Abello Awards for Energy Efficiency were recently awarded to SM City North EDSA, SM City Sucat, SM City Sta. Mesa and SM City Manila. While the SM Mall of Asia was the Philippine Entry to the ASEAN Energy Efficiency and Conservation Best Practices for Buildings contest. Their energy saving practices resulted in over P38M worth of savings for the malls.
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If you’re planning to build it from the ground up, somewhere around the vicinity of Php 7M ($155k, $1=P45). Engr. Nestor Archival of Cebu put up a two storey 400sqm house on a 7,000 sqm property which uses biogas, solar and wind energy to power their electrical needs. And you can’t say that the house is spartan because along with working electricity it also has a swimming pool at the back.

Inspired by his work as chair of Cebu City’s committee on environment, he decided to redesign the original plans of the house he was planning to build so that he could contribute to making the world a better place. With a household of 8 people he spends just around P1,500 a month for their electrical needs.
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