TACLOBAN CITY-US-based Filipino scientist and bio-fuel expert Dr. Rico Cruz has said that one solution to environmental degradation and energy crises faced by the country is the development of renewable and clean sustainable forms of fuels or energy sources.
“The complexity of environmental destruction and increasing demand for fossil fuel require humans to find alternative sources of energy. Our world is beset with four energy-related problems: fossil fuel is running out; fossil fuel decreases economy; fossil fuel is one of the central aspects of global altercation; and the earth is getting warmer,” said Cruz in his papers he presented during the five-day gathering of the 25th Philippine Agricultural Engineering Week held at Visayas State University in Baybay City which on April 26.
According to Cruz, the extraction of and demand for fossil oil increased exponentially as new use for oil increased.
“At global consumption rate of 24 billion barrels per year, we will run out of fossil fuel by 2040,” he said.
Cruz also attributed the 2013 supertyphoon Yolanda which killed over 8,000 in the Visayas along with other recent major catastrophic events worldwide, as the planet is currently undergoing a period of global warming due to the greenhouse effect of emissions from engines.
The United Nations’ weather agency (World Meteorological Organization or WMO) explicitly indicated that the 2013 disasters are consistent with anthropogenic (man-made) climate change, he said, citing news reports.
“In my opinion, supertyphoon Yolanda is the perfect example of the effects of global warming/climate change: heavier precipitation, more intense heat and more damage from storm surges and coastal flooding,” Cruz said.
Cruz maintained that there is almost an infinite supply of renewable energy to solve energy problem in the country and worldwide, which according to him include ethanol, biogas/biomass, biodiesel, solar/photovoltaics, wave/tide/current, wind, geothermal and hydro power.
“Fossil fuel availability is limited, while biofuels are constantly grown and replenished. Fossil fuels took at least 40 million years to produce, while biofuels can be produced in two months,” Cruz said citing various research studies.
According to Cruz, the solution to environmental degradation and energy crises is conservation and utilization of renewable forms of energy sources.
“Conservation measures can be attained by using smaller engines as practiced in the Philippines and most countries in the world except the US, more use of mass transport or carpooling, or bicycles or walking, more diesel engines more alternative fuel engines, and driving at optimum speeds (88-100 kph) in superhighways,” he said. (RONALD O. REYES) 
