POWER CURVE

There is an American expression: “Get ahead of the power curve” It means that if you know something is going to break, you fix it before it breaks. You get ahead of the problem by fixing the problem before it becomes a problem.

We need to get ahead of the power curve; we have a huge problem looming on the horizon. This problem will hurt every man woman and child unless we do something about it now. Based on current estimates the world will run out of “refineable” oil in less than fifty years. The United States alone uses over two hundred billion gallons of oil per year. As supplies dwindle prices on oil, on almost everything, will skyrocket. Instead of the absurd P45 a liter we now pay for gas, we will probably not be able to afford gas at all. We will be forced to strip the mountains just to heat our food because there will be no LPG. This is a very real crisis not some “Al Gore” fantasy.

The Philippines, the nation that can turn the scourge of “red tide” into a useful rat poison (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/regions/view/20090307-192783/New-use-for-red-tide-tahong-Rat-poison ) has the ingenuity and ability to lead the world and get ahead of the energy “power curve”. One pound of caribou dung can provide enough methane gas to cook a day’s food for an entire family of four. The manure produced by one cow in one year can be converted to methane which is the equivalent of over 200 liters of gasoline. We lose three to four hectors of land to rotting garbage every year. Why not put this waste into methane cookers heat and light our homes for free. The technology is out there waiting for some bright student or inventor to hone it into a useable and efficient energy system that will free us from our fossil fuel slavery.

If we had cost efficient and functional home methane generators we would not need to spend money on septic tanks for the poor or for anyone else. Our ground water would not risk contamination. Our waste would become a benefit not a burden or risk. Methane generators can light your home; no more “brown outs”. Motor vehicles can be run on methane.

A couple of brilliant and resourceful Filipino students could literally change the future of the Philippines. They could make the Philippines the energy leader of Asia, possibly the world. Take the challenge; get ahead of the power curve and make a difference. Be a “future” everyday hero.