Or is there a system already and all we have to do is to find it?

The following information is provided by Co-Pilot, the AI engine of Microsoft (Quoted verbatim as follows with attribution):

Let’s explore the fascinating process of converting sewage to biogas. It’s like turning waste into a renewable superhero — green, efficient, and ready to power our world!

The Sewage Saga Begins: Imagine a bustling wastewater treatment plant — the backstage of our cities. Here’s where sewage sludge (the leftover gunk) accumulates. But wait! We’re about to give this sludge a makeover.

The Pretreatment Twist: Our heroes — the researchers at Washington State University — introduced a new player: pretreatment technology. This extra step involves using oxygen-containing high-pressure steam to break down sewage sludge. Think of it as a spa day for waste.

The Biogas Transformation: The magic happens during anaerobic digestion (no oxygen, please). Microbes feast on the organic material in the sludge. Result? Biogas! It’s mostly methane (CH₄) and carbon dioxide (CO₂).

Biogas can: Produce Electricity: Spin those turbines!

Upgrade to Renewable Natural Gas (RNG): Feed it into the natural gas grid.

Reduce Fossil Fuel Use: Hello, circular economy!

The Circular Economy Dance: Imagine wastewater treatment plants generating their own electricity or even contributing to the natural gas grid. It’s like turning waste into wealth — closing loops, reducing costs, and benefiting the environment.

The Bottom Line: This isn’t high-tech wizardry; it’s practical and scalable. Even small communities can join the biogas party.

So, next time you flush, remember: You’re part of the grand sewage opera, starring microbes, pipes, and a dash of steam. Again, thanks to Microsoft Co-Pilot for this very useful information.

The post Producing biogas from sewage first appeared on Iloilo Metropolitan Times.

There appears to be none.

An international organization, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), has set a global standard of nine minutes, but our own Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) has apparently not set a standard at all. Because of that, there is no way of measuring the standards of fire departments in the Philippines at all.

In reality, there are really no fire departments in the Philippines, in the true sense of the word. What we have instead are local detachments of the BFP, and not the fire departments that are supposedly under local government units (LGUs).

Because of the fact that they are not functionally under the mayors, there is no way that we could blame them for their lack of performance. Neither could we measure their performance if we really want to, because there are not standards as far as I know.

It is sad to know that there are still hundreds of LGUs in the Philippines that do not have ambulance units. It is a good thing that the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) has been donating ambulance units to LGUs for so many years now, but even without the assistance of the PCSO, the LGUs should be able to provide for their own ambulance units already.

If they could afford their service vehicles, why can’t they afford ambulance units?

However, it is not enough to simply buy ambulance units without providing for trained technical staff to operate them. What that means is that they should have real Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) on board these ambulance units.

Now comes my question. Where should these be put under? Should they be under the BFP fire detachments also, or should they be under the LGUs?

In my opinion, the LGUs should put up a separate rescue department, and put the ambulance units under this new department. Since emergencies and disasters have become so prevalent now, it is about time to put up this new department to rescue people from floods, earthquakes and chemical spills.

As a matter of fact, they should also budget for med-evac helicopters, speed boats and satellite phones.

The post Improving fire and rescue services first appeared on Iloilo Metropolitan Times.

At first, I found that hard to believe, fully knowing that we are an agricultural country with plenty of sources for silage and other feed stocks for cows, carabaos and goats.

What is happening to our country? Or to put it another way, what is not happening to our dairy industry that should actually happen?

When I was working for San Miguel Corporation (SMC)about five decades ago, doing advertising and promotions support for the Magnolia line of dairy products, I remember that SMC at that time had its own dairy farm in Tagaytay.

Even at that time, SMC might have been importing some of its dairy needs, but it surely had its own source of milk for its own requirements. What happened? Did SMC give up 100% of its own milk production in favor of 100% milk importation?

After passing the Foreign Service Officer (FSO) qualifying examinations many years ago, I was required to take economic diplomacy courses at the Foreign Service Institute (FSI). It was at the FSI where I learned about the difference between “comparative advantage” and “competitive advantage” from my former boss and mentor, Dr. Federico “Poch” Macaranas who, at that time, was the Department of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for International Economic Cooperation.

Comparative advantage is the way to understand how a country could benefit by selecting one product to promote over another, due to lower opportunity costs.

Competitive advantage, on the other hand, helps a country to select what product to support in such a way that that product could have a distinct advantage over other countries that are also offering the same product.

Given these definitions, it appears that the Philippines may have given up on milk production, because it did not have the comparative advantage due to high opportunity costs.

In retrospect, the Philippines might have chosen another product over milk, because we did not, or could not have a distinct competitive advantage had we chosen milk instead of another product.

Perhaps our economic planners in the past found it easier to give up on milk so easily, because it is not a “political product” unlike rice that is highly politically driven.

For now, it is surely out of the question to export rice, simply because we neither have the comparative advantage nor the competitive advantage. In short, it was an easy economic decision to keep importing rice right now, until perhaps we could have a surplus production that could already make it advantageous for us to export.

But what about milk production? Should the government not make a decision to produce more milk, in order to be able to reduce our importation to say 49% only?

I think the government should do that if only for the purpose of food security and the nutrition of children.

Dr. Arnel Del Barrio, a scientist has proven that enabling young children to drink milk could surely free them from malnutrition, and it could even increase their weight.

The post The economics of milk production first appeared on Iloilo Metropolitan Times.

Since we could no longer freely pump ground water and since it is still very costly to convert sea water into fresh water by way of desalination, the government should really become more strict in enforcing water conservation measures, and we can start that by limiting the delivery of service water to restaurant costumers.

I understand that it is customary for restaurants to their customers, but why serve them water if they are not even asking for it?

For that matter, why serve all the customers water when only one of them is asking for it?

You might say that this is a trivial matter that is not even worth writing about, but what if I tell you that the threat of a water shortage in Metro Manila is really very real because our sources of fresh drinkable water is not as inexhaustible as it used to?
What if I tell you that many metropolitan areas all over the world are already experiencing water shortages, even without droughts?

Of course, water conservation is only one of the solutions that could prevent a water shortage. But the truth is, every little drop counts when there is already a water shortage, so why not make every little drop counts when we are still conserving water to prevent a shortage?

Admittedly, water conservation is only an artificial means of saving water, but should we not employ all artificial means since we have no way of controlling the natural means of having more water?

Finally, here is my message to the government: After allowing our technocrats and engineers to find solutions to our problem of water shortages, why not allow our scientists and inventors to find other solutions?

This is a serious problem that requires not only science driven solutions but also innovation driven solutions.

If the government does not know who these scientists and inventors are, I can bring them quicker than a flashflood.IMT

The post Limit unlimited service water first appeared on Iloilo Metropolitan Times.