Wednesday, November 09, 2005

Filipinos' giant leap toward national energy self-reliance

I found this news to be very encouraging and heartening. Soon we can turn the tables on those arrogant and petrol-spoilded arab brats who have been raping filipina nurses and beheading Filipino preachers there in saudi arabia.
I just copied the following news article from an online issue of Philippine Star(Philstar.com)
Fed up with the high cost of gasoline? Why not try lambanog or basi, which can cause drunk driving but which can also power your car or SUV (sport utility vehicle)? With the rising cost of crude oil-based fuel, the House of Representatives envisions that in a few years’ time, the country is likely to shift to local fuel substitutes that can be derived from sugarcane and coconut like lambanog and basi - intoxicating drinks that can easily be processed into alcohol and used to power vehicles. On Monday night, the House approved a bill meant to jumpstart an alcohol production program. Bukidnon Rep. Juan Miguel Zubiri, the bill’s author, said yesterday the proposed Bio-fuels Act aims to replace within four years "a tenth of national gasoline consumption with cheap clean fuel that is exempt from the expanded value-added tax (EVAT) and can be produced from the likes of cane and coconut. "The approval of the bill brings the nation closer to the mass production of renewable energy that will create jobs, clean the environment and boost the economy," he said. Zubiri estimates that the country would save P32 billion in oil import costs if 10 percent of national gas consumption were replaced with alcohol or ethyl alcohol (ethanol). He based his computation on last year’s total imports of 115.6 million barrels of crude oil, a $50-per-barrel price and an exchange rate of P55 to the dollar. He said ethanol could be extracted from what he called the "five Cs" - cane, coconut, corn, camote and cassava. "The lambanog (extracted from coconut trees) and basi (derived from sugar cane) that can cause drunk driving can run cars. Cassava is best not just as pie, but petrol. And corn that can be made into health breakfast can also fuel our cars," he said. He said any food that contains sugar could be processed to yield ethanol.

No comments: