Methane and Nitrogen Triflouride: The Greenhouse Ghosts

Man-made greenhouse is the big haunted house that scares its creator. Greenhouse for gardening system was built to confuse and then evolve to greenhouse effect to keep humans in its unending worries of existence. Although the terms “greenhouse” and “greenhouse effect” operate on different mechanism, it has a similar function of heat trapping through infrared absorbing gases. And with the greenhouse gases present in the atmosphere, it keep hounding humans instead of providing a life-giving shield to all living things.

We have been warned of the hazards of man-made carbon dioxide emission as a component of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The proponents of man-made global warming were able to infuse in the minds of horrified populace that unhampered carbon dioxide emission is the main cause of warming they themselves had created. However, sensing that carbon dioxide emission will not forever hold as the causative effect of the concocted global warming hypothesis, the alarmist are now looking for scapegoats to lay the blame and to sustain their warming scare.

Methane and Nitrogen Triflouride are being eyed as the next man-made global warming culprits. Both are greenhouse gases with global warming potential (GWP) much greater than carbon dioxide. Methane has a GWP of 23 when compared to carbon over a 100 year period while Nitrogen Triflouride has a GWP of 17,200 more times greater than CO2 which has only 1 GWP. However, carbon dioxide remains an important gas in view of its higher level of presence and growth in the atmosphere. As more and more scientists have been doubting and challenging the anthropogenic global warming brought about by the increase CO2 emission, it is just appropriate for the advocates of carbon trading to lay another card. And they may be banking on the release of a research of Scripps Institution of Oceanography/UC San Diego which will be published Oct. 31 in Geophysical Research Letters, a journal of the American Geophysical Union (AGU).

Solar Panel, the provider of clean source of energy from the sun, is now being targeted as the next contaminant emitting more nitrogen triflouride in the atmosphere after painting mud and nearly demolishing the source of fossil fuel oil. It is worthwhile to mention that the said gas is used for cleaning in the manufacture of liquid crystal display of television and computer monitors and for the thin-film solar panels. According to the research, ”Nitrogen trifluoride levels in the air — measured in parts per trillion — have quadrupled in the last decade and increased 30-fold since 1978.” And in as much as it is one of the more potent gases, thousands of times stronger at trapping heat than carbon dioxide, Solar Panel, as wattsupwiththat put it, will be for naught. “There’s a new boogeyman in the world of global warming: Nitrogen Trifluoride.” With the rising popularity of Solar Panel, others will take advantage and envious to pull it down unless given a share –a slice of the pie.

Not to be ignored is the information that may be obtained from greenleft.org about Methane. The more potent gas than CO2, it is being considered as the future worry for global warming. The same research put the levels of methane gas in the atmosphere as higher than normal. This natural gas which is formed when organic matter decayed under water in marshes, swamps, and in the shallow waters of Arctic Ocean is the subject of investigation of the proponent of global warming. With the assumptions that billions of tons of methane were laid frozen in permafrost wetlands and in the ocean floor, worse warming will be a serious concern when freed as the Arctic begins to warm.

But what about water vapor? No mention has ever made with water vapors which are abundantly crowding the atmosphere. It is the major component of what they called “greenhouse gases.” If the above-mentioned gases are really the great contributor of global warming, what more of water vapor that absorbed more heat and deflect the infrared radiation back to earth to sustain life.

But these are all suppositions and conjectures, a crumbled hypothesis of man-made global warming advocacy. Human has the propensity to adapt with the natural environment of the Earth. And as the nature is always here to guide us, shall we always be haunted by greenhouse ghosts?

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The Money Washing Machine

It is not unusual in the police and military officers that we find from them millionaires or even billionaires after their retirement from the service. They accumulate wealth from behind the scene and concealed sources while portraying a picture of honest and incorruptible officials. In their retirement, they maintain the power and financial gains to influence subordinate officials and a ready capital either for luxurious living or for the pursuit of elective and more lucrative position in the government.

I smell a mode of systematic scheme of money laundering in the actuations of senior officers of the Philippines National Police implicated in a mess that media termed as “euro generals.” From what I know of money laundering scheme, it is a system wherein a financial transaction is buried in a haystack of legal and illegal means to elude the paper trails, its source and identity , and where the money is to be kept. Its complex network of origin is hard to detect and when the layering stage –this refers, as what Wikipedia describes, to obscure the link between the initial entry point and the end of the laundering cycle- is completed it will return to a legitimate form and its integration to the country’s financial system.

Former Philippine National Police (PNP) comptroller Eliseo dela Paz –as his retirement took effect while on travel- together with his wife were held at the Moscow airport last October 11 for possessing an undeclared amount of money as much as 105,000 Euros equivalent to P6.9 million and exceeding the allowable limit of $10,000 or roughly 8,000 Euros or P495,000. PNP officials immediately declared that the money is a contingency fund for emergency purposes and originated from authorized “cash advance” of PD Dela Paz. Upon his return to Manila, the statement was changed and that the money is from PNP Intelligence Fund to buy security equipment. With these statements, there is already an attempt to obscure the money trail with the use of word “security” and therefore its fund origin cannot be divulged for security reasons. However, the recent investigation showed that the Philippine peso was converted to Euro through a small money changer by an intermediary and in smaller transaction to avoid scrutiny and suspicion. I am convinced that this may be a form of smurfing –a term also associated with money laundering- wherein a large financial transaction is being parceled to a smaller one to conceal where it came from and to avoid detection by regulators or law enforcement agencies.

Through the persistent demand of the Philippine Senate to investigate the “Euro generals”, the PNP Chief Director General Jesus Verzosa, as stated from GMA News, ordered the filing of criminal and administrative charges to former comptroller Eliseo dela Paz and three other PNP senior officers for “committing irregularities in the funding, release and disbursement of the P6.9 million worth of cash advances dela Paz carried for the Interpol delegation in Russia.” But Dela Paz did not appear in the Senate Investigation Committee despite a subpoena issued to him.

I smell something fishy. Al Capone has been flying his kite, “Capital Flight,” and he used the term “laundromats” to hide ill-gotten wealth through placement in the money washing machine. Do I sound something unusual and fishy? Ha...Ha-Ha!

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The Flawed Statesmanship

I do not buy the political flaunting of former House Speaker Jose de Venecia. Although his intention is to save his face from being ousted in his former post in the house of Congress, losing the leadership of their party, and that of his Joey de Venecia III who ignored delicadeza in joining and out-bided in ZTE national broadband network deal; he should not have done the endorsement of impeachment complaint of President Gloria Arroyo in the house o f Congress filed by his son.

De Venecia’s timing is ill-advised. Granting that GMA will be mudded with unfair accusations in front of the leaders of Asian and European nations on a Seventh Asia –Europe Meeting in Beijing, China, such an action is uncalled for for it is not only GMA who will be put in shame but the entire Philippines which will suffer the heavier burden of laughing stock and mockery. De Venecia should not have done this. He himself being an statesman knows the feelings and repercussions of being humiliated and be subjected to embarrassment in front of his peers during an official or international undertakings and gatherings. If an uneducated Pinoy did this in front of your guests in a certain gatherings, you may say it is unethical and unbecoming of a group member. But if a respected and well-educated official committed such an improper act, but beneficial to the purpose of opposing groups, you may also say it’s fair and just. This is the uncivilized way the opposition and the discredited society groups handled their strategy of power grabbing. They will insist whatever the cost. They are always on the guard looking for an opportune time. That is when the poor people are put in a helpless situation and hopeless of being underprivileged or seemed to be in perpetual poverty looking for someone to rescue them from hunger, it’s an easy sailing for a jealous group to seize an opportunity to grab power and lead.

They should have instead focused their actions on how they can be of help in addressing the negative effects of global financial crisis. Or they should have just remained silent instead of being an important contributory factor in the sufferings and deprivations in life of the Filipino people. With our crab mentality, where will the Filipino version of “Joe the Plumber” be in search of his rightful identity?

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Imported Cheap Cars from China

The Philippine government planned to import cheap cars from China. With this development, it is expected that the Metro Manila thoroughfares will be flooded of vehicles with perennially broke down parts. Towing business will flourish to the amazement of patrollers engaging on an easy-fast-cash scheme. And more sources of graft and bribery will prosper in every corners and darks side of the road.

Chinese cars are discredited and considered being made up of weak and easily-broken parts. Parts supplies are often termed as fake replica of genuine parts and unreliable in a prolonged and long distance travel. Trouble-free operations are less guaranteed and often met road trouble before your destination is reached. Even lately China-made replacement parts are easily worn out and do not last long compared to other car parts made locally or from other foreign source. I personally experienced having trouble and broiled with a dilemma of fake auto parts resulting to my inconveniences and failed important commitments.

I do not understand the fondness of this administration in making preferential project undertakings with the country of less dependable goods. I understand that their goods and services are low-priced; however, they are of inferior quality. Or they are superior in offering commissions and dole-outs that they easily out-bidded other good contractors. There are many projects involving this foreign establishment that are discredited and failed. But the government always insist in concluding business agreement in almost all aspect of economic trade with this foreign entity.

By March, 2009, importation of cheap cars will be arriving from China via Port Irene in Cagayan province. The use of the port which was suspected as the landing site of smuggled goods is something to browse upon. Is this the best port for business opportunity or the bargaining point for any hidden purpose?

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Cooling Trends Continue

The following article is another proof of continuing cooling period. The graph which was cited from reliable and well respected institutions will not lie unlike the manipulated “hockey stick” graph to coincide with the planned global warming the alarmists have been concocting. Please spend a little time to read for your information and greater understanding of climate change.

Global Cooling Continues

By Roger Helmer, Straight Talking

This graph shows average global temperature records for the last five years from two of the world�s most respected meteorological institutes, the UK’s Hadley Centre, and the University of Alabama in the US. Both show a clear downward trend, and the graph contrasts that trend explicitly with the rising trend of atmospheric CO2. So we have two conclusions: first of all, Al Gore’s alarmist predictions of rapidly accelerating temperatures, run-away warming and imminent Armageddon are just plain wrong, with each year that passes adding more nails to the coffin of his disaster movie. Second, the supposed correlation between atmospheric CO2 levels and temperature just does not exist. For years, temperatures have been falling while CO2 levels have risen.

The alarmists will try to explain this by calling on short-term effects which temporarily disrupt a long-term cooling trend. But some scientists who accept the alarmist position are now suggesting that these “short-term effects” could continue for another ten years. How many decades have to pass before they recognise that they got it wrong, and that our climate mitigation policies represent a worse economic disaster than the current financial crisis?

Roger Helmer is a Conservative Member of the European parliament, and is also Honorary Chairman of The Freedom Association. He was first elected to the European parliament in 1999, and has been kept very busy ever since representing the interests of his 4.1 million constituents from in the East Midlands.In June 2004 he was re-elected for a second term, and currently sits on three committees: Environment, Unemployment and Petitions. See Roger’s web site here.

 

Source

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Economic Crisis and Pestering Impeachment

Pinoy’s penchant for politics never fade. In spite of economic turmoil and impending global recession, the instigator of chaos and provoker of anarchism never stop and seem to mind no economic upheavals but pursue their political ambitions whatever the cost. And their attitude of “come what may” persist as long as their personal objectives are not put in jeopardy whether the direct results are detrimental to the helpless populace.

 

The proponents of political destabilization are eking out, along with economic confusions, the filing of impeachment proceeding and embroiling Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to a mess they themselves created. The cancelled national broadband network deal with ZTE, which is the proposed constructions of telecommunication/computerization of government offices, are again being revived by those individuals who were failed bidders in the contract and who themselves should not participate in the first place in view of conflict of interest since the main proponent is a son of the Speaker of the House of Congress –this is similar to the case of a son of the Secretary-General of the United Nations who was involved in the “Oil-for-Food” programme deal with Iraqi Government. Instead of helping the government find solutions to economically survive the global financial mayhem, that may result to more sufferings not only locally but to the Filipinos working abroad, they continue to burden the administration with their stinking motives of power grabbing. They keep on feeding the people and the media of false information to sow hatred in a duly constituted government. There are so many issues that they can be of help to ease the miseries of poverty laden families of overseas Filipino workers. One way of helping them, for example, is to force Meralco to return the fees collected for meter deposits with its true interests instead of the money being given to corrupt court judges and government officials. They can provide assistance in lowering electric bills and lessen the losses being charged to electric consumers. The selfish intention of these power-obsessed oppositions did not diminished even in times of crisis. They insists with greater effort to frustrate hope and force hardship, from behind the scene, so that they will be looked upon to lead in the end – the same with the decaying style of communist agitators.

 

The economic hardship has been eroding the faith of the people to overcome the difficulties of day to day living. The impending recession is lurking just beneath the walls of harsh competition. Yet politicians are pestering and elbowing one another to be in the front line influence and power. They are unmindful of the seriousness and vulnerability of the poor to overcome the global financial crisis. The hard-hit populace are already struggling to earn a living. The prices of commodities and energy are skyrocketing. Food shortage have not yet been provided with lasting solution.

 

Overseas workers are losing jobs and are exerting more effort of finding work in every corners of the world. Their remittances –the hard dollars they earned and the lifeblood of our economy- are depleting and may soon be inadequate to support their children’s education and family subsistence. They are always in the losing end whenever there is worldwide financial crisis. As what have been said, “a Filipino house-help was put in the receiving end of bad mode whenever their employer lost money in the stock market.” They are often in the disappointing bargaining end when they are forced to swallow low pay or lost his job.

 

There must be applicable things to be done. Every Pinoys are duty-bound to find solution and to have total commitment for common good. There are times for politics. This is the time for economic patriotism. We have to get involve. Each has their own part to be performed to save mankind.

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Oil Production Off Palawan Island

The Philippines enters the list of oil producing country. With its first oil extracts off Palawan Island, the country is geared towards energy self-sufficiency in the near future. The oil produce will signal more oil exploration in the Philippines and a renewed interest in the adjacent Spratly areas.

 

The Galoc oilfields in Palawan started producing oil with “light medium crude oil with a potential high yield of light ends such as gasoline” as announced over the radio by Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita at around 11:00 A.M., Thursday. GMA 7 continuously flashed the oil extract report with gleaming hope of economic upliftment in terms of energy requirement. The Galoc oilfield was discovered with the drilling of Galoc-1 in April 1981 by the Philippines Cities Service Company, but site developments were done only in 2005 when Galoc Production Company WLL farmed the area with its partners: the Otto Energy, Philodrill Corp. and Nido Petroleum Ltd. Galoc-2 was drilled by Occidental Petroleum Company in 1983.

 

In addition to Galoc oil we also produced liquified petroleum gas in the Malampaya well located 80 kilometers off the coast of Palawan Island. Oil at Malampaya well can also be produced as evidenced by the extraction of 1.88 million barrels of oil during the extended well test with a maximum oil production rate of 25,100 barrels per day. Executive Order No. 473 was issued by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on November 29, 2005, to develop oil from Camago-Malampaya reservoir which prompted the Department of Energy to coordinate with the contracting party in the safe development of oil and gas projects. As Ermita said from Inquirer.net: “The President is optimistic that this new development will positively impact on the administration’s efforts to reduce the country’s annual oil importation of $6 billion, and in turn will also contain the increasing cost of food and other commodities.” However, the Galoc oil missed the all-time record high of $147.27 per barrel price of July 11 which the operator had been anticipating and catch up with all-time low of $78 per barrel.

 

With the oil development in the offshore of Palawan Island, more oil exploration will be encouraged in the area particularly the Spratly group of islands. It is worthwhile to mention that Spratly Islands are being claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, China, Malaysia, and Brunei. It is believed that the continental shelf of Spratly is a reservoir of billions of tons of oil reserve and gas deposits. The Philippines, with its failure to pass a law relative to the archipelagic baseline requirement of the United Nation Convention on Laws of the Sea which is to expire on May 13, 2009, may lost our right on the portion of Spratly which is within our continental backyard.

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Money Moves No Border

The hardship being experienced by the people of Mindanao seems to be endless. The residents are pestered by fear that anytime terrorists will swoop down their villages, burn their properties, and/or be the usual casualties between the raging battle of the military and the separatist group. The government is facing enormous problems in containing the peace and order in the troubled land. No solution is in sight in the pursuit of unscrupulous and outlawed fanatics being cradled by the foreign-aided separatist groups.

 

The suggestion of Senator Richard Gordon to increase the reward for anyone who can give information that would lead to the capture of terrorist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) commanders is a reasonable solution that will result greater possibility of apprehending the wanted culprits. The three hunted MILF commanders namely: Ameril Ombra Kato, Abdullah Macapaar, and Aleem Sulaiman Pangalian; have 25 million pesos bounty. Increasing the reward to 60 million or 20 million pesos each will send the rogue commanders sleepless nights and limited movements in their hiding places. Jealousy and perceived temptations within their groups may lead them to surrender. As Gordon said “people are going to report on them. They will not be able to sleep just anywhere.”

 

The suggested rewards sound tempting. Anyone in the troubled area, knowing the harsh reality of surviving and supporting a decent family living, will not hesitate to gamble. Money moves a mountain and speaks no border.

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Pacquiao and De la Hoya: Who is Who in a Boxing Mismatch

Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao, one of the world’s boxing sensations, has developed self-confidence bigger than his head. He will now fight in the level good only to a heavier boxer. He is a forklift being paired-off to a crane truck. And not of ordinary fighter building a name in boxing world but of the same power and wealth as Pacman.

 

The fight division Pacquiao is being drawn may be too much in his class. This is the level where a lightweight boxer is shifting to a welterweight division not for the reason of a boxer’s skills or unusual ability but in view of his uncontrolled weight, social standing, and age slowing movements. The limit of Pacquiao’s skills is in the lightweight division and his handlers maybe underestimating the strength of the upper level boxers. Pacman is being fitted to Oscar de la Hoya in his next fighting assignment on December 6, 2008, at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is a 12-round and non-title fight at 147-pound welterweight limit.

 

Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao, his real name, is a certified pound for pound boxer and a southpaw –Floyd Mayweather is the number one pound for pound boxer but due to his retirement the title was relegated to Pacquiao. Pacquiao, an awardee of the prestigious Ring Magazine as “Fighter of the Year,” had gone a long way in boxing. He has outgrown his class and successfully won the championship title of four boxing divisions, i.e. flyweight, super bantamweight, super featherweight, and lightweight. Now he is aiming for a welterweight limit (147 lbs.) and will be fighting a boxer with a super slugging calibre where both fighters are noted for. His opponent has been in the middleweight division (160 lbs.) going down to the welterweight fight limit. Both were on the same level of prominence and have built the same reputations they are competing and that is to be the “who is who in boxing.”

 

Oscar “Golden Boy” De la Hoya, a Mexican origin and American fighter, is a big name in boxing sports. He has outfought well-known boxers and champion of seven weight title divisions. The prizes he earned brought him fortunes as well as Pacquiao is savouring now. Both fighters are accumulating wealth out of their boxing profits. These only show that both are not only good boxers but commercial entrepreneurs as well. And the fight they are engaging now is presumed not for their fighting skills but for the promotion of boxing industry and the build up of power and wealth –De la Hoya is the founder of Golden Boy Promotions Handling their fight with Top Rank Inc., while Pacquiao is being politicized who ran and lost in the Philippine Congress election and is now being groomed by a big political party for a big post in 2010 election.

 

The fight, being considered as a mismatch, has the similarities with the failed campaign of another Filipino boxing champion in the person of Gabriel “Flash” Elorde. He also outgrowth his rank as a super featherweight champion and aimed for a lightweight division. His opponent was Carlos Ortiz, a Puerto Rican American champion who rose to the level of Jr. welterweight champion and went back to lightweight level to fight for Elorde. The fight proved too much for Elorde and led to the downfall of his boxing career.

 

I don’t want the fate of Elorde to happen with Pacquiao, our admired boxing hero.

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US Bailout Plan in Quandary

It’s a pity that the financial crisis hit America today. Weeks from now are Election Day and any solution that shall be programmed by the republican administration might be understood as politically motivated. But solution is to be made to arrest the declining confidence of the world financial market and the economic stability of the United States.

 

A number of big and reliable American banks are in peril of bankruptcy. Stock markets are continually losing steam -although Asian and European market gained certain percentage of recovery with the latest news that US Senate may vote in favor of the bailout package. Recently, Dow Jones’ blue chip index suffered the record drop of points far greater than what it incurred after 9/11 upheaval. Wall Street, Europe, and other international market almost experienced the same fate after the news of Monday bailout plan bogged down.

 

Representatives of the people, particularly the majority of the republican, sensing the unpopularity and economic failures of the Bush administration and to shore up their reelection bid, delivered the negative votes on the bailout bill. The anticipated political campaign credits earlier claimed by McCain in convincing the majority congressmen for a bailout votes turned out to be a disastrous defeat and consequently added more points to Obama campaign credits.

 

People believe that any program or bailout plan may only serves as temporary cure and may not work in an economic situation where the numbers of days of the Bush leadership are counted before an election day. And they foresaw the futility of the economic solutions -granting the bill was approved in congress- considering the change of administration as a result of the election. The bailout system can be undertaken by a new president who will surely have a mandate to institute new economic policies.

 

In the meantime, nervousness in the financial crisis will continue to deteriorate in spite of the slight recovery brought about by the news of expected Senate bailout votes. But the diarrhetic stock market may soon be dehydrated and the economic internal bleeding may take a hard time to recuperate.

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