Give Me The Energy

Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho featured a story tonight on residents in Butuan City getting free LPG straight from their water wells. People noticed at first a gust of air coming out while they're pumping water. This "air" turns out to be methane, a valuable energy/fuel source,which some residents have tapped for use in their homes. Instead of buying LPG tanks, they only need to channel the methane into their homes through improvised tubing systems, and voila, they now have gas whenever they need it.

While this is incredible news, what I found really more incredible is how the local government, upon being asked, told the reporters that they cannot do anything to further harness this potential energy source. Funds are not sufficient. Imagine how much the city can benefit if they could extract their own fuel for domestic use instead of having to rely on commercial fuel which can be very expensive. They have this enormous opportunity staring at them in the face, and yet, they are unable (or unwilling) to do something about it.

I am writing this because I have recently been reading up on alternative energy sources and found out that we have actually lots of options when it comes to extracting energy for domestic and industrial use. Our very own Philippines, in fact, is sitting on the "Ring of Fire", that portion beneath the surface of the earth where tectonic plates come together and temperatures are hottest, which makes us a very potent source for geothermal energy. And I am writing this not because I am claiming to be an energy / scientific expert (although while I was reading the book, my secret yearnings of being a scientist has surfaced and I wished I had taken up chemistry or physics instead in college--which of course, I have not given any thought while I was in college), but because I am both amazed at all this newly-discovered potential, and saddened that no one--to put it simply--cares. The government has more issues to prioritize (next to amassing exorbitant wealth) than the energy/climate issue. And the Filipino citizens are too busy updating their Facebook status.

Oh if only I were a scientist. Or a senator.