Green Initiatives, Green Products No comments yet

Breathing Hope into Our Land

By on May 11th, 2012

Even as it is getting harder and harder to keep our lungs clean in the mega city of Manila- the little towns are also not doing so well with all the tricycles out there that are spewing diesel fumes into the air.

Walking up and down the small streets of Naga where I didn’t expect so much traffic and fumes killed my lungs for the hike the following day. I was literally heaving- as I had asthma as a kid and had one attack as an adult so my lungs are not in the best of conditions.

Hopefully, this electrical tricycle proposed and funded by ADB will make the difference. Saving money and our health.

Green Products No comments yet

Steel is Green?

By on February 22nd, 2012

I never really thought about steel being “green” since images of smoke stacks always come to mind. But this article on the advantages of steel over wood makes a lot of sense.

Steel is in fact 100% recyclable- every bit of it, unlike paper (especially when it has been treated), plastic, fabrics, concrete and others. Also, aside from the smelting of the steel, it actually doesn’t produce any air pollution to roll the steel bars into the shapes that we need for construction. It just requires heat to melt the steel into a malleable state and then the by product is steam and recent innovations are making it more and more sustainable for the industry.

Steel also lasts a lot longer than wood, especially when it comes to places like the Philippines where there are a lot of termites.

Lastly, no matter how old a building or structure is, if it has metal, it can be recycled 100%. So steel is actually multi-recycled, again and again and again and again.

So, yeah, maybe we should consider steel over wood whenever we can. It can look quite industrial but there is such a thing as industrial chic now.

Places in the Philippines No comments yet

Cagayan de Oro needs our Help

By on December 19th, 2011

Everyone by now knows of the devastating floods that hit Cagayan de Oro, Mindanao late in the evening while everyone was fast asleep. Although there was much warning of the monsoon rains, no one had expected the downpour to be so much and so fast. Lots of little children died as a result and the death toll is now 650 with many without shelter and food or dry clothes.

Two institutions that are helping and are reliable are the following:

Account Name: Xavier University
Bank: BPI- Divisoria, Cagayan de Oro City
Account Number: 9331-0133-63
To claim receipt, email: finance@xu.edu.ph (email/scan/fax remittance receipt)

Account Name: Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan
Bank: BPI-Katipunan Loyola Heights
Account Number: 3081-1111-61
To claim receipt, email: information@slb.ph (email/scan/fax remittance receipt)

Both are Jesuit networks and are working directly with the victims. Other donations in kind (water, food, clothing) may also be brought to these offices (Xavier in Cagayan, and Simbahang Lingkod in ADMU Campus, Quezon City).

UPDATE: Over 1,000 now confirmed dead by Typhoon Washi