Editorial 3/18/16 (green energy, Philippines, environmental protection, smoking, public health, climate change, survey, presidential elections)

Philippine Star "Green energy"

Clean energy can require a substantial amount of initial investment, and most developing countries are not ready to be weaned from cheap coal. But technology is rapidly catching up with aspirations for green energy. Wind power is gaining popularity and investments continue to expand in geothermal power and natural gas. If the price of solar panels can be brought down, many Filipino households are sure to invest in the items that can mean significant reductions in their electricity bills. There’s a big market for green products; environmental awareness has increased worldwide and consumers want to do their part in saving energy. The private sector has stepped in to meet the demand, and the government must provide all the necessary support. [full text]

Sun.Star Cebu "Promising the moon"

ENVIRONMENTALISTS are doing the right thing when they launched recently the Sugboanong Nagpakabana sa Kalikupan (SNK) to remind candidates running for both local and national positions in the May polls to include the environment in their platforms of government. In the campaign, there has been too much focus on issues like corruption and peace and order that environmental concerns are forgotten. The deeper the candidates go into the campaign, the more they become what they aren't when they filed their certificates of candidacy. Conservatives pretend to be liberals, the backwards portray themselves as progressives. No wonder a human rights violator can acquire the guts to sing “Bayan Ko” during a campaign sortie. [full text]

Mindanao Times "Smoking e-cigarettes, not cool"

The e-cigarette, according to the FDA, “is contrary to the intent and provisions of Republic Act No. 9211, otherwise known as the Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003,” which aims “to protect the youth from nicotine addiction and chronic respiratory diseases, including cancer, brought about by inhalation of thousands of highly toxic substances found in tobacco and cigarettes.” Stopping the smoking vice is difficult. But if the smoker is really intent on getting rid of the habit, the city health office has a program that can help smokers. Quitting is the answer, not e-cigarettes. [full text]

Manila Bulletin "Ardent partners for climate protection"

Over 700 “climate warriors” are now in the Philippines from all over Asia for training by the Climate Reality Leadership Training Corps., a program of the Climate Reality Project founded by former United States Vice President Al Gore, today the world’s foremost champion of climate protection.
The Philippines is a specially apt site for the training program. It is particularly vulnerable to Pacific typhoons but it displayed courage and resilience in the wake of super-typhoon Yolanda which hit the Visayas in November, 2013, Gore said. The Philippines also has advanced climate change laws which are now seen as models for the rest of the world, he added. Scientists predict that typhoons which come sweeping westward from the Pacific Ocean are likely to become stronger with the continued warming of the oceans. [full text]

Inquirer "Survey-ing"

The latest survey is recent indeed: It is a reading of the voters’ mood taken by the Social Weather Stations only two days ago, through a universe of survey respondents provided with free cell phones. The results should be pleasing to Grace Poe and her campaign; they show that almost two-thirds or 66 percent of voting-age Filipinos support the March 8 Supreme Court decision allowing the senator to run for president. Or do they? That detail about free cell phones arouses suspicion, even as it encourages a healthy respect for the innovative approach SWS took with its partners, including TV5. The survey organization called its “Bilang Pilipino-SWS Mobile Survey” a “pioneering” poll, because it incorporates a second stage of survey work into the first. [full page]