Science Nuggets 2

From the Universe to Energy, Food, and Agriculture

Ricardo M. Lantican

National Scientist

National Academy of Science and Technology Philippines

NAST PHL is an attached agency to the

Department of Science and Technology

ISBN 978-971-8538-95-1

© 2017 Ricardo M. Lantican

All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form or by any means without written permission from the copyright owner.

Lantican RM. 2017. Science Nuggets 2. From the Universe to Energy, Food, and Agriculture. National Academy of Science and Technology PHL, Manila, Philippines, 104 pp.

Published by

National Academy of Science and Technology PHL

DOST Complex, Bicutan, Taguig City, Metro Manila

1631 Philippines

secretariat@nast.ph; http://www.nast.ph

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Request for permission to use any material from this publication or for further information should be addressed to the copyright holder.

In charge of publication:

Editor: Academician Evelyn Mae Tecson-Mendoza NAST staff: Rowena Villapeña-Briones

Cover design: Stephanie Pearl Orendain

Foreword

To the young student and layperson, science is an intimidating subject for nerds who love mathematics, strange organisms, and chemical formulas. They will readily admit that: “Yes! Science is important and useful, but it’s not for me!”

In Science Nuggets, volume 2, National Scientist Ricardo M. Lantican focuses on the critical issues of our time: from the universe to energy, food, and agriculture. Science is a dynamic forum of theories and ideas, and readers will encounter differences in opinion among scientists. The scientific process should then guide us in our decision on which theory or idea is best. This process is crucial as we navigate to find sustainable solutions to our problems.

NAST expresses its sincere appreciation to NS Lantican for compiling these science facts and stories that he wrote in Philippine newspapers. We hope that this compilation of his will make people, both young and old, appreciate and participate in science, especially the youth who are the future of our nation. We believe that these compilations will serve as a key contributor for the vision of NAST for our county – “A progressive Philippines anchored on science”.

Acd. Fabian M. Dayrit

Acting President

National Academy of Science and Technology PHL

Preface

This book entitled “Science Nuggets” (in two volumes) is a compilation of articles written by the author and published in Philippine newspapers—The Manila Bulletin (in the column “Educators Speak”), The Philippine Star (“Star Science”) and Malaya (Business Section). This publication is intended as informational material on science and technology (S & T) for the general public and most especially the youth.

The science column in The Manila Bulletin was established in 2005 through the initiative of Academician Perla D. Santos Ocampo, then President of NAST (National Academy of Science and Technology) and Academician Bro. Andrew Gonzalez.

The creation of the science column was a strategic move to provide a medium for scientists to be heard and articulate their viewpoints on science and country development. The other objective was to provide scientists with greater media exposure to get the public to know and appreciate the role they play in national affairs. The lack of public visibility on the part of the scientists has relegated them to the background, unlike the personalities engaged in showbiz, sports and entertainment who enjoy iconic status.

The NAST undertakes an overall thrust designed to create a science culture that is much needed in the country that would ultimately bring to fruition its vision — “A progressive Philippines anchored on science.”

The different chapters of the book cover a wide spectrum of subjects. The article revolves around three thematic areas: (1) personality profiles of great minds in science; (2) breakthroughs and technological advances that have propelled human progress; and (3) innovative R & D perspectives that can make a better world for humanity.

Writing on these topics was a great learning experience on the part of the author.

The author humbly dedicates this book to the youth who have chosen their career path in the sciences.

Ricardo M. Lantican

National Scientist

Acknowledgements

This is to thank the following most sincerely:

- The National Academy of Science and Technology PHL for its support to the publication of this book;

- The late National Scientist Perla D. Santos Ocampo for encouraging NAST members to publish relevant science and opinion articles in mass media platform;

- Colleagues in the Academy, the university and from other sectors who have expressed to the author their support to this endeavor;

- Academician Evelyn Mae Tecson-Mendoza for putting the two volumes in publication form from editing, updating data, and layout;

- NAST PHL Secretariat led by Director Luningning Samarita-Domingo for their assistance in the submission of the articles to the newspapers and in the publication process and, in particular, Ms. Rowena Villapeña-Briones for additional proofreading; and

- Ms. Melissa “Molet” A. Pino for being always ready to help in typing my articles and sending them to NAST on time.

pp. 1, 8, 21, 25, 33, 38, 44, 51, 56, 62, 69, 74, 78, 85      Photos and illustrations from Microsoft Clip Art

p. 12      Can Stock Photo / lineartestpilot

p. 17      Can Stock Photo / koya979

Cover by:      Stephanie Pearl Orendain

Table of Contents

Foreword

Acd. Fabian M. Dayrit

Acting Vice President, NAST PHL

Preface

NS Ricardo M. Lantican

Acknowledgements

1      Changing View about the Universe (Part I and II)

2      The Moon and The Four Seasons

3      The Existence of the Higgs Particle Now Confirmed

4      Nanotechnology — a Rapidly Evolving Frontier

5      Knowing Photosynthesis — the Life-giving Process

6      Sunlight and the World’s Crops

7      Fossil-based Energy Sources

8      Going Green— Renewable Sources of Energy

9      Harnessing Hydrogen as Energy Source

10      Coal — The Most Plentiful but Dirtiest Energy Source

11      The Revival of Nuclear Energy

12      The World Has Not Given Up on Nuclear Energy

13      Food, Population, and Environment: How Do We Manage?

14      The Anomalous Soybean Paradox

15      Precision Agriculture for Increased Efficiency

16      How to Break the Cycle of Food Import Dependence

About the Author

About NAST

1

Changing Views about the Universe

Part 1

From the time of Claudius Ptolemy, a Greco- Egyptian astronomer, who published his famous astronomical encyclopedia, the Almagest, in 140 AD, humans faithfully believed in his theory of the system of movement of heavenly bodies. The Ptolemaic system was based on the theory that a stationary earth was at the center of the universe, while the sun, moon, planets and the stars revolved around it. The Ptolemaic system endured and remained unchallenged for more than 14 centuries up through the entire Middle Ages.

In 1543, Nicholas Copernicus, a Polish astronomer, was the first ever to challenge the Ptolemaic concept of an earth centered universe and turned it around into a sun- centered theory. But this revolutionary idea was not readily accepted until sometime at the turn of the next century. It was Galileo Galilei (1564–1642), the Italian astronomer, who confirmed the Copernican sun-centered concept of our solar system through his telescopic observations of the heavens. But Galileo’s radical pronouncements in support of the Copernican theory were viewed as heretical by the Inquisition and he was forced to abandon all his astronomical studies.

After Galileo, another great astronomer and mathematician, Isaac Newton, was the first to figure out the nature of planetary movements around the sun and he came forth with a scientific explanation. Newton postulated the theory of universal gravitation which he articulated in a treatise, “The Laws of Motion and Gravitation”, published in 1687. It predicted the motions of the sun, moon, and the planets with a high degree of accuracy. Newton was a professor of mathematics in Cambridge University and a member of the prestigious Royal Society.

In the following 18th and 19th centuries, the prevailing thought among astronomers was that our galaxy, the Milky Way, constituted the entire universe. The astronomers did not know what lay beyond our galaxy. It was the consensus that the universe was static or fixed and eternal.

The 20th century was the golden age for astrophysics. It had two intellectual pillars. Albert Einstein, a theoretical physicist, came out with the “theory of relativity”, published in 1916. Einstein’s relativity theory revolutionized human’s thinking and views about the cosmos. Then, Edwin Hubble, a well-respected astronomer, made two landmark discoveries in the 1920s. Following up on the idea that other galaxies existed beyond our own as theorized by three earlier astronomers, Hubble proved beyond doubt the reality of galaxies. Using the most powerful telescope at the time at Mt. Wilson Observatory in California, Hubble discovered more than 200 galaxies. But more significantly, Hubble came up with an ingenious way of inferring the distance and movement of galaxies by having their in-coming light pass through a spectrograph which breaks light into a spectrum (just as a prism breaks a ray of sunlight into a rainbow) and recorded it in a photographic plate for analysis. The shift of spectral lines toward the left or right indicated whether the galaxy was advancing or receding.

In 1929, Hubble came out with a mind-blowing theory that galaxies are moving at fantastic speeds away from us and that the universe is expanding, as if driven by a mighty force. In 1964, two physicists Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson of Bell Telephone Laboratories, made a chance discovery of the existence of a cosmic microwave background radiation, which later earned for them a Nobel Prize in physics.  This cosmic background radiation was believed to be the relic or afterglow of a big explosion. Thus, the “big bang” theory was born in 1960s.

Much technical and popular literature has been written about the Big Bang and the story of creation by authoritative astrophysicists, including Stephen W. Hawking, who in 1988 published “A Brief History of Time.” Hawking is a world-renowned theoretical physicist.

This article attempts to highlight the significant viewpoints about the Big Bang theory and the beginnings of the cosmos, which have led to some general agreements of consensus and spurred further controversies and bizarre speculations among cosmologists.

According to cosmological theory, the universe came into being after a fiery Big Bang at a single moment which occurred some 14 to 15 billion years ago. Within a tiny fraction of a second after the big bang, the universe was in a super-hot and formless state and constituted by the most elementary particles — quarks and leptons (electrons). Still within a fraction of a second, the quarks clumped into protons and neutrons. As the universe expanded and cooled, the electrons combined with protons and neutrons to form atoms, mostly hydrogen and helium. Giant clouds of hydrogen and helium gas formed into stars, heavy elements (synthesized in the stars through nuclear fusion), planets, galaxies, and clusters of galaxies.

The observable part of the universe is made up of more than 400 billion of galaxies. Our Milky Way galaxy is made up of 200 to 400 billion stars and probably about the same number of planets.

Part 2

The Big Bang was postulated to be the “beginning of matter, space, and time”. In this view, time did not exist beforehand. Einstein and Stephen Hawking, the theoretical physicist, believed that the Big Bang and the genesis of the universe was God’s creation. Isaac Newton also believed that the universe was God’s handiwork, but he believed that the time was “absolute” and ticked away independently of space events. Einstein’s theory of relativity, on the other hand, astounded the world by postulating that the time is woven together with space. The theory has been proven right, backed up by experimental observations aboard speeding satellites in space and at ground stations.

Edwin Hubble’s discovery of an expanding universe indicates that galaxies continue to move further apart from one another of fantastic speeds. This inflation rate will only begin to slow down once the counterforce of gravitation begins to assert itself. The mutual gravitational force exerted by those galaxies and all the other matter in the universe will eventually act as a brake in slowing down the expansion rate.

As the gravitational force brings the expansion to a halt, the universe begins to collapse in a few tens of billions of years – the galaxies start to move toward each other, converge on a single infinitesimal or “singularity” point and explode again into another fireball to bring the universe to another cycle of expansion. As some cosmologists further speculate, the destruction and rebirth of the universe will constitute an eternal cycle. Other earths and other intelligent creatures will evolve again and again.

There is an alternative theory, however, that the universe will not collapse in on itself but seems destined to expand forever. Cosmologists have recently detected in an indirect way the presence of the so called “dark energy” believed to permeate 70 percent of empty space of the cosmos. The universe continues to expand at an accelerating pace at nearly nine-tenths the speed of light. This is believed to be driven by this mysterious force of dark energy whose gravitational action repels rather than attracts. This antigravity force will prevent the deceleration and collapse of the expanding universe that the Big Bang and relativity theories presuppose.

The reality of a dark energy force remains to be proven but the idea has become attractive and led to the evolution of the so-called “Superstring Theory”, the latest candidate that can perhaps unite relativity and “quantum mechanics” into a grand “Unified Theory”. The general theory of relativity involves all four fundamental forces of which gravity plays a dominant role in the large-scale structure of the universe or the macrocosm. On the other hand, quantum mechanics deals with the same forces at extremely small scale atomic and sub-atomic level or the microcosm but ignoring gravitational effects altogether. Relativity and quantum mechanics are, therefore, mutually incompatible.

The superstring theory is based on the notion that matter is made not of particles but of tiny vibrating loops of energy referred to as strings. This energy versus the particle theory as the constituency of matter is a new subject for debate that will be long pondered upon and pursued experimentally by physicists and cosmologists.

Another conjectural viewpoint in modern cosmology is the notion of the “multiverse”, whereby the cosmos comprises an infinite number of sub-universes. The assumption is that if our universe just popped out of a primordial vacuum through the big bang, a multitude of universes would incessantly have arisen too through the same process. Therefore, our universe would be but one of the many universes within the vast expanse of the cosmos.

Much of the scientific literature on cosmology is rich with interesting ideas but is highly speculative or unproven and not adequately backed up by hard experimental facts. Due to the vastness of space, cosmologists will never see what lies beyond our cosmic horizons — whether or not there are other universes beyond ours.

I believe that the human knowledge about the cosmos is so puny in contrast to what there is to know out there. God has reserved the right that we should not know. It is enough to know that there is God that looks after the Universe.

Manila Bulletin, March 3, 2011; March 6, 2011.

Note: On February 12, 2016, a group of scientists from 133 institutions, reported in an article published in Physics Review Letters the first direct detection of gravitational waves and of black holes and stated that “it is a confirmation of General Relativity because the property of these black holes agrees exactly with what Einstein predicted almost exactly 100 years ago".

The research was done by the LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) Scientific Collaboration and VIRGO Collaboration which include “a number of laboratories around the world that fire lasers through long tunnels, trying to sense ripples in the fabric of spacetime".

2

The Moon and the Four Seasons

In our science class in high school, we were taught that there are four seasons in an annual global cycle that are very distinct in the northern and southern hemispheres but not in the equatorial regions. This is because the axis of the earth is tilted from the vertical at 23.5° and this creates the seasonal variations as the earth completes its annual orbit around the sun.

The inclination of the earth’s axis gives four significant seasonal points along the earth’s orbit. We have two “solstices” when the axis of the earth is inclined either away from or towards the sun in the annual orbit: (1) the winter solstice on December 22, and (2) the summer solstice on June 21. In the northern hemisphere, December 22 has the longest night and June 21, the longest day. In the southern hemisphere, all the conditions are reversed. The longest day and summer conditions occur on December 22, the longest night and winter conditions on June 21.

We also have two “equinoxes”: (1) the vernal equinox on March 21 (the start of spring) and (2) the autumnal equinox on September 22, when the sun is directly overhead or vertical at noon at the equator. Days and nights are equal (12 hours each) over the entire globe.

The nine planets of the solar system move in a counterclockwise direction and at different speeds around the sun. Planets move about in their respective elliptical orbits and are tilted differently. The earth’s axis has a fixed inclination of 66.5° from the ecliptic or plane of its orbit angled 23.5° from the vertical position. Most of the other planets have a tilt of less than 11°.

The earth’s inclination is caused by the sun but more forcefully by the moon’s gravitational force because of its proximity and relative size. Of the ten moons as satellites of the seven smaller planets (excluding Jupiter and Saturn) in the solar system, our moon is exceptionally large in comparison with the parent planet. The moon is considered as a planetary partner of the earth rather than a satellite.

The moon orbits perpendicularly to the earth’s axis. Likewise, the moon exerts a gravitational influence on the earth’s daily tidal deformations.

The earth’s tilt makes its axis point to the direction of the North Star, Polaris, in the northern hemisphere. The ancient mariners and seafarers used the stars in the sky as signposts for navigation. But more importantly, the earth’s tilt has made possible the seasonal variations in the regime of day length, intensity of solar rays, and rainfall supply as the earth completes its annual orbit. For example, in the northern hemisphere, the short-day periods and long winter season during the winter solstice are gradually replaced and compensated by the longer days and intense sunlight of the summer solstice. Thus, in the corn growing areas in Iowa, USA, day length extends beyond 16 hours during the cropping season and record yields of 26 tons per hectare of corn are obtainable due to high and extended photosynthetic activity, coupled with the application of modern technology. This yield level is not possible in the tropics where day lengths are shorter.

If the earth’s tilt were at a lesser extent (less than 10°) as with most planets, the northern and southern latitudes would not receive adequate amounts of sunlight. Winter would be longer and summer periods shorter. These conditions would be unfavorable for agriculture. Humanity’s supply of food would rely solely on the equatorial and tropical regions.

Thus, the earth is extremely favored by circumstances of: (1) being in an ideal position from the sun that makes life possible, and (2) having a celestial mechanism that ensures the equitable distribution of life-giving solar radiation throughout the latitudinal zones. This must be a part of the Intelligent Design.

Humans have long been enthralled by the beauty of the blossoms of springtime, the colorful hues of foliage in the fall, and the winter wonderland. Humans have been captivated by the grandeur of a full moon rising over the horizon. Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741), the Italian violin virtuoso and great composer of instrumental music, dedicated four of his concertos to the “The Four Seasons”. They are the sentimental favorites during party celebrations and receptions. But the moon and the four seasons are not only a thing of beauty but also the giver of life for all humanity.

3

The Existence of the Higgs

Particle Now Confirmed

The discovery of the existence of the elusive elementary particle, the Higgs boson, also popularly known as “God particle”, has been confirmed. The particle has been the missing link in the conceptual Standard Model of particle physics.

The discovery was announced on July 4, 2012 to a group of physicists attending the International Conference of High Energy Physics in Melbourne, Australia. It was greeted by an outburst of applause and a long-standing ovation. The announcement was based on confirmed findings unveiled in the European Center for Nuclear Research or CERN, which is based at the Geneva-French border. CERN operates the world’s most powerful accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).

The particle was originally named for physicist Peter Higgs of Edinburgh, who in 1964 first postulated the existence of a single particle responsible for imparting mass to other subatomic particles, the quarks and gluons, and consequently to atoms, molecules and all tangible matters in the universe.

Physicist Higgs was in attendance at the Melbourne meeting and was overwhelmed by the fact that the discovery happened within his lifetime. It should be a sure nomination for a Nobel Prize in physics for Higgs and his collaborators.

The Higgs hunt has been going on for decades in a number of nuclear centers around the world. The facilities are called atom smashers or colliders. They are massive facilities and very complicated in design. I once had the opportunity to visit and tour one such facility — DESY in Hamburg, Germany, and I was awestruck by its scientific magnificence.

Atom smashers or colliders make use of beams of atom fragments like proton, electron or positron. The beams are spun around in opposite directions until they reach peak velocity and finally allowed to collide head-on. The collision creates a burst of energy which, in turn, condenses into new particles. The particles are short-lived — only within a few trillionths of a second — and this is one reason why they are extremely difficult to detect.

The more famous accelerators that have been actively involved in the hunt for new particles are the following: Stanford Linear Accelerator center in Palo Alto, California, employing electron-proton collision; the Superconducting Supercollider near Waxahachie, Texas; Germany’s DESY or Electron Synchrotron; the Bevatron Accelerator at Lawrence, Berkeley National Laboratory; and the Tevatron accelerator at Fermi National Laboratory in Batavia, Illinois, using proton-antiproton collision. But such facilities were found to be not powerful enough to create the Higgs particle.

The large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN finally joined the hunt. It was organized and funded by 26 European members and outside contributors like Japan and the US. The LHC was built at a staggering cost of $8 billion and became operational in 2008. It has a ramped-up energy output at 1.18 trillion electric volts or TeV, about 20 percent higher than that of Fermi Lab in Illinois. Thus, the proton streams are energized to travel at almost the speed of light before they are put on collision course. There were misapprehensions among doomsayers, saying that at this energy level, the power of collisions may create a micro “black hole” and put the entire city of Geneva at great risk.

The LHC is unprecedented in scale and complexity in design. Located near Geneva, it is 90 meters underground in a tunnel measuring about 27 km in circumference and 8 km across. It uses 9,300 superconducting magnets, cooled by liquid helium, to accelerate two streams of protons moving in opposite direction, whirling 11,000 times a second around the tunnel. At every couple of kilometers of the tunnel, a huge particle detector is in place. Some 5,000 scientists and engineers have been involved in the project.

The CERN discovery of the Higgs boson has put the Standard Model of particle physics on a firm scientific foundation which provides an elegant explanation why all matters in the universe have mass. The model theorizes that the Higgs boson pervades all of cosmic space. It also explains how the four fundamental forces of nature — electromagnetism, the “weak” nuclear force, the “strong” nuclear force, and gravitation interact and govern the overall dynamics of the universe.

The CERN-LHC’s success has stoked worldwide interest among physicists to explore other uncharted domains and find some answers to baffling cosmological mysteries such as the existence of dark energy, the invisible dark matter, the nature of gravitation itself, etc. The LHC hardware can still be further upgraded to operate between 3.5 to 7 TeV and increase its capability to discover all sorts of new particles.

Existence of dark energy

In 2011, three cosmologists, Saul Perlmutter, Brian P. Schmidt and Adam G. Riess, were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for their astounding discovery that the expansion of the Universe is “accelerating.” The discovery was based on measurements of light emitted by some 50 distant supernova (star) explosions. It is theorized that the acceleration is caused by dark energy, which counters gravitational attraction and instead pulls the universe apart. The existence of dark energy in the universe, therefore, poses an enigmatic question.

Invisible dark matter

Galaxies are huge clumps of all kinds of matter, and they rotate fast enough around their center. By the momentum of their movement, galaxies should fly apart but the fact that they don’t only tell us that some unseen form of matter is propelling and holding them together. And since its role is massively strong, dark matter should exist predominating in space over visible matter. The puzzling question is — why is dark matter invisible and what kind of particles is the stuff made of?

Other enigmatic puzzles

One lingering question that has baffled physicists is — why the theory of relativity and quantum mechanics at the subatomic level are mutually incompatible. Physicists are looking for answers and they theorize that some other fundamental particles may be involved to help explain in a unified way all the basic interactions of the four fundamental forces in the universe. Or take the case of gravity itself. Is gravitational attraction also carried by a particle, say, a “gravitron”?

With the LHC, God may let us in on more of His many little secrets.

STAR SCIENCE, June 6, 2013.

Note: In 2013, the Nobel Prize in Physics was jointly awarded to François Englert and Peter W. Higgs "for the theoretical discovery of a mechanism that contributes to our understanding of the origin of mass of subatomic particles, and which recently was confirmed through the discovery of the predicted fundamental particle, by the ATLAS and CMS experiments at CERN's Large Hadron Collider"

4

Nanotechnology —

A Rapidly Evolving Frontier

The technological advance in the development of microprocessors for computer and electronic use occurs at an exponential rate, following the so-called Moore’s Law, which states that circuit density doubles roughly every two years. Gordon Moore was the co-founder of Intel. Thus, a single microprocessor or silicon chip which assumes an area the size of a fingernail can now accommodate an enormous number of 2.9 billion transistors! Each of these tiny transistors is capable of switching “on and off” about 300 billion times a second, thus providing a binary code of “zeroes and ones”, the basic language of computers.

But the shrinking of the transistor is believed to be approaching the fundamental physical limits. Thus, electronic engineers and physicists are exploring new ways of further shrinking circuitry — down to the atomic and molecular structure. With the advances in nanotechnology, it is now possible to create nanocircuits with the use of silicon or carbon “nanowires”.

Nanoscience and nanotechnology development

Nanoscience and nanotechnology, the study and engineering of matter at the atomic and molecular scale, are undergoing rapid development. Nanostructures are reduced to nanometer size. A nanometer is a billionth of a meter or one can visualize it in terms of slicing a single strand of hair into 50,000 distinct sub-strands, each one a nanometer thick. This thickness is smaller than that of a red blood cell.

The beginnings of nanotechnology trace back from 1989 when IBM scientists used a scanning tunneling electron microscope and the equivalent of tiny tweezers to move around xenon atoms until they spelled the company’s three- letter logo. The same lab did a similar feat by arranging individual iron atoms to spell “atom” in Japanese characters.

Since then, global R&D initiatives have developed around this emerging nanotechnology frontier using new techniques as scanning-probe microscopy. This technique has made possible the study of single-molecule nanostructures.

One remarkable discovery is that at nano size scale, materials assume different chemical and physical quantum properties than those of the same material in bulk. For example, carbon atoms can conduct electricity and are stronger than steel when woven into hollow microscopic threads. Nanoparticles are also used as additives to strengthen polymer products or building materials to fortify the walls of any given structure, and to create tough, durable and yet lightweight fabrics.

Many breakthroughs in nanotechnology have resulted in the development of a range of materials such as carbon nanowires and nanotubes, nanocrystals, nanostructured metals and inorganic substances of varied applications.

For industry, nanostructures can create high- performance materials for engineering structures and electronic products. These stress-resistant materials have aerospace applications. For medicine, nanomaterials can be used as new drug delivery agents to diseased tissues and organs, improve image-enhancing techniques and develop miniaturized diagnostic devices. Nanomaterials can likewise be used in the microfabrication of blood vessels and in human tissue engineering.

For the environment, engineered nanomaterials can extract heavy metals and organic pollutants from water and soils. There are also many applications of nanotechnology in agriculture, from crop and food processing to packaging and storage.

Nanomaterials are also used in manufacturing commercial products like paper and wood materials with enhanced printability, stain-resistant clothing. Suntan lotions, dental materials that coat, protect, and repair damaged tooth enamel, super-sensitive water filters, etc. A number of commercial products used in everyday life that contain nanomaterials are already available in the Philippines.

In 2008, worldwide sales of such nano-derived commercial products reached around $90 billion and the market outlook down the road is certainly exciting. It is for this reason that advanced countries as well as developing economies like China, India and Brazil are putting in a lot of investments in nanotechnology. China, for instance, invests around $180 million annually, whereas India has put together a five-year R&D agenda worth $220 million. It will be prudent for the Philippines to craft its own investment plans on nanotechnology and build up the necessary technical workforce and physical infrastructure. The Philippine Council for Advanced Science and Technology Research (PCASTRD) of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has initiated moves toward this end.

In 2009, an interdisciplinary group of 14 local scientists was directed by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) to craft a nanotechnology roadmap for the country. The roadmap identified five key sectors which coincided with the priority areas of DOST; these are information and communication technology and semiconductors; (2) food and agriculture; (3) energy; (4) health; and (5) environment. A research budget of PhP 2 billion for 10 years was planned for the nanotechnology researches.

STAR SCIENCE, January 21, 2010.

5

Knowing Photosynthesis ―

the Life-giving Process

In grade school, our teachers explained photosynthesis to us simply as the conversion of sunlight into "food" for plants. But how does this mysterious work of nature really work? Photosynthesis is a basic life process by which carbon dioxide and water, in the presence of light and chlorophyll, are converted by algae, certain species of bacteria and higher plants, into carbon-containing and energy-rich organic compounds. In other words, photosynthesis is responsible for transforming and storing solar energy into organic molecules which, in turn, are used as a source of energy for the growth and reproduction of most organisms. Photosynthesis is also the source of life-giving oxygen. Therefore, all life on earth ultimately depends on photosynthetic conversion. This seems to be the product of intelligent design.

Photosynthesis takes place in organelles called "chloroplasts" which are contained in cells at the surface of leaves of higher plants. Inside the chloroplasts are organized disc shaped structures that bear the "chlorophyll" pigments, where energy from light is captured and utilized in the cleavage or "photolysis" of water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. Captured light energy is also converted to chemical energy in the form of intermediary products that are involved in the conversion of hydrogen and carbon dioxide gas into carbohydrates. Inside the chloroplasts are also gel- like materials which contain enzymes that catalyze the formation of carbohydrates.

The visible light of the radiant energy spectrum is the source of energy used by plants in photosynthesis. Light travels in space as an electromagnetic wave and provides a stream of energy particles called "photons". The visible light spectrum (the seven colors of the rainbow) ranges from violet with a wavelength of about 400 nanometers to red of 700 nanometers. The blue and red lights are the ones used in photosynthesis and absorbed by chlorophyll. Unused light including the green is transmitted through the leaf and reflected. Thus, most plants appear green to the human eye.

The immediate products of photosynthesis are a sugar (carbohydrate) molecule, oxygen, and water. The oxygen is released into the atmosphere and it is used in respiration by both plants and animals. Air contains about 21 percent oxygen supplied by green plants. The oxygen that is released comes mainly from water molecules utilized in the process. Inorganic compounds are converted into essential foodstuffs and many other products like fossil fuel that are useful to humans. Plants are heavy users of carbon dioxide and it is estimated that they assimilate from 560 billion tons to one trillion tons of carbon dioxide each year. Thus, we can see the role of plants in sequestering carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and in mitigating the effects of global warming.

Significant knowledge on the mechanics and biochemistry of photosynthesis has been unraveled through the ingenious works of renowned scientists like O. Warburg, R. Hill, M. Calvin (leading to a Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1961), P. Mitchell (Nobel Prize Winner for chemistry in 1978) and M. Hatch and C. Slack.

However, the heartbeat of photosynthesis, the light- driven splitting of water molecules into oxygen, hydrogen ions and electrons through the action of chlorophyll molecules, has remained a mystery. Splitting of water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen using the laboratory process of electrolysis requires a lot of energy. Yet plants seem to do it with ease! If our scientists could uncover the precise mechanics involved in photosynthesis, then they can duplicate the process artificially in the laboratory. Once perfected, artificial photosynthesis would make it possible to harness sunlight to produce unlimited quantities of hydrogen from water cleanly and cheaply. Hydrogen, as we are aware now, is the fuel of the future.

Scientists around the world are trying to unlock in their laboratories the mystery of water-splitting in a photosynthetic system. A team at Imperial College in London has made a decisive breakthrough in figuring out the precise spatial arrangement of a small number of metal ions, oxygen atoms and water molecules at the crucial site in the plant's photosynthetic apparatus where water splitting occurs — the so-called "catalytic core" of the photosystem. The leads to understanding the structure of the catalytic core came from high-resolution images obtained by X-ray diffraction made by two separate teams, one at the University of Berlin and the other at Harima Institute near Kobe, Japan. The structures proved beyond doubt that the catalytic core is comprised of four manganese ions, a calcium ion, several oxygen atoms, and at least two water molecules, all held in place by a protein backbone.

With this much known about the catalytic core, the next step will be to figure out how the water molecule is dismembered step by step by applying the many schemes known to physical chemists. Experts on the subject believe that it is just a matter of time before all the answers to the puzzle will be known. Whichever team can build a system of artificial photosynthesis to extract hydrogen from water deserves not only the Nobel Prize but also the indebtedness of humankind. For finding solutions to the world's energy problem, through the wonders of photosynthesis, will have a tremendous impact on our world.

6

Sunlight and the World’s Crops

In the previous article, I expounded on the phenomenon of photosynthesis in plants, focusing on the mechanics of splitting water molecules into hydrogen ions and oxygen, a process which has remained a mystery. As the process becomes gradually unraveled, someday it may be duplicated artificially in the laboratory to harness sunlight and produce unlimited quantities of hydrogen fuel from water cleanly and cheaply.

This time, I will dwell on the conventional viewpoints associated with photosynthesis in relation to plants’ biomass production. Photosynthesis can be exploited and with proper plant nutrition and management care, the system can boost crop yields and provide a bountiful supply of food for humans. I will also discuss how the plants’ ability to photosynthesize can be affected by the increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, global warming, and the depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer.

Photosynthesis vs. respiration

Photosynthesis and respiration are intertwined in their relationship and effects. Respiration is the reverse process by which stored solar energy produced in photosynthesis is broken down by the action of oxygen and utilized to sustain the plant’s many vital functions. Important life processes such as the synthesis of sugars, starches, proteins, fats, and many metabolic and non-metabolic compounds and the formation of cellular and plant tissues require certain expenditures of energy. Energy is, likewise, needed in the translocation and movement of nutrients across cell membranes and from cell to cell. While respiration is a necessary process, too much of it (beyond what is normally needed) is a wastage of energy and, thus, becomes counterproductive because it eats away a significant amount of the total photosynthate. The total biomass produced in photosynthesis minus the portion that is burned away through respiration leaves a residual quantity of photosynthate that constitutes the starting point of all biosynthesis. The building blocks of carbon, oxygen and hydrogen, in combination with 13 other essential nutrients absorbed by plants from the soil, are transformed into complex organic compounds. These compounds constitute the plant’s total dry matter production that provides for human needs for food, clothing and shelter.

Species of plants and photosynthetic groupings

In photosynthesis, carbon dioxide and hydrogen ions from water are assimilated and converted enzymatically into a carbohydrate molecule through a series of steps. This molecule is known as “hexose sugar”, a 6-carbon chain of compound. Although this is the basic product of photosynthesis, different plant species vary in how the process is completed by taking different biochemical routes or pathways. This variability of species is a result of plant adaptation to different climatic and environmental regimes and habitats.

Plant species may be categorized into three photosynthetic groups:

1. C3 Species

This is called C3 group because the pathway in CO_2 fixation and assimilation produces a 3-carbon sugar molecule, the first stable product. This group operates more efficiently at higher CO_2 concentration. They also undergo “photorespiration” (respiration in the light). Photorespiration rates are high under conditions of high temperature and bright sunlight and about 20 – 30% of the carbohydrates produced in photosynthesis can be lost. Therefore, the C3 group has a built-in disadvantage in crop productivity. However, many species can operate efficiently even at low- light intensities or under partial shade.

Some representative species of the C3 group are rice, wheat, tobacco, spinach, beets and most vegetables, legumes, most fruit and forest tree species, and most shade plants.

This is the largest group; the C3 species account for at least 95% of the earth’s biomass. Twelve of the world’s 15 major crops belong to this group.

2. C4 species

In C4 plants, the pathway in CO_2 fixation and assimilation produces an identifiable 4-carbon molecule. The group can operate more efficiently at low CO_2 concentration, but the rate of absorption is very rapid.  The C4 species have higher photosynthetic rates than C3 species especially at high light intensities, and no photorespiration is involved. This group produces very high dry matter yield. Representative species are corn, sorghum, millet, sugarcane, and many tropical pasture grasses and noxious weeds.

3. The CAM (Crassulacean Acid Metabolism) Species

The pathway in CO2 fixation and assimilation follows the C4 cycle but with some modifications in CAM plants. CO2 assimilation takes place mostly at night when CO2 is absorbed. This mechanism of CO2 assimilation is inclusive of species that are specially adapted to arid or desert environments. These CAM plants conserve water by closure of stomatal openings (or cellular apertures on the surface of leaves) at daytime to prevent rapid transpiration losses. Stomates open at night and allow the entry of CO_2 for photosynthetic use. In the daytime, residual CO_2 supply including the amount released from the decarboxylation and respiratory processes is utilized in photosynthetic work. Representative species are cactus, pineapple and most orchids.

Solar energy utilization and crop yields

In the future, as space for agricultural expansion worldwide faces a dead-end, intensifying productivity per unit area and time (tons per hectare per day) becomes the last frontier.

Science and technology have delved into ways of harnessing solar radiation to maximize productivity. Significant successes have been noted. Plant breeding efforts around the world have successfully tailored plant architecture and leaf orientation in many crop species to allow for maximum light penetration and interception by leaves located beneath the crop canopy. As a result, crop yields have increased markedly. While traditional and endemic varieties of rice, wheat, and corn would produce more stover or straw (stems, leaves and other plant parts) than grains, in the modern varieties, the ratio is reversed and more grains, as much as 1.5-fold, are produced than stover (on dry weight basis).

The length of day and intensity of solar radiation have a direct bearing on crop productivity. In the corn belt region of the USA (about 44°N latitude), day length in June to July is more than 16 hours and solar radiation is at maximum. Thus, a 170-day hybrid maize crop can yield as high as 24 tons per hectare at commercial farm level. Yield of hybrid corn in the Philippines using modern technology can only go as high as 13 tons per hectare. This is because the Philippines is located near the equator and day length during the growing period is shorter, a little over 13 hours in June in Cagayan Valley (180°N) and 12.5 hours in General Santos, Cotabato (6°N) Furthermore, respiration rates are high in a tropical climate and double for each 7.7 °C rise in temperature.

The intensity of solar radiation or “insolation” in the Philippines is influenced strongly by cloud cover in the cloudy monsoon season and the cloudless condition in the dry season. The cloudy season accentuates the scattering of deflection in all directions of the wavelengths of light, which lessens its availability of photosynthesis. As a consequence, crop yields are lower during the wet and cloudy season than in the dry season.

In Los Baños, Laguna, the monthly distribution of total radiation is highest during the cloudless period from February to June (about 550 langleys per day). This is the period during which crop yields are expected to be very high, provided there is ample supply of irrigation water. The highest theoretical yield for paddy rice at this maximum solar regime in Los Baños has been estimated at 19 tons per hectare. The highest recorded yield so far obtained from experiment station commercial cropping in the area is 14.4 tons per hectare of paddy rice. In other locations in the Philippines, yields as high as 16 tons per hectare of paddy rice have been reported. Similarly, very high commercial yields of corn at 8 to 13 tons per hectare have been reported in Cagayan Valley and Mindanao when grown at summertime and supplied with irrigation water.

If we compare yield potentials between carbohydrate- rich crops like rice and corn and protein-rich crops like soybeans and peanuts, we find that the latter group has a lower yielding ability of about a half. This is so because carbohydrate-rich species has a “thermodynamic” advantage over a protein-rich species. Under a biological system, it takes 2.5 times as much as energy to accumulate a unit weight of protein than it does to produce an equivalent weight of carbohydrates. In other words, proteinaceous crops encounter a greater amount of respiratory loss. In rice, for example, the grains contain only about 7–8% protein by weight. Attempts have been made to improve protein content through hybridization but when level reaches beyond 10% there is a corresponding loss in grain yield.

Effects of increased carbon dioxide, global warming, and depletion of ozone layer on photosynthesis and productivity

With the increasing level of CO_2 in the atmosphere, which may double to about 660 parts per million sometime within the next 30 to 75 years, most plants and vegetation on earth, especially the C3 species, will profit in terms of enhanced photosynthesis. Simulation experiments have shown a linear response in leaf photosynthesis to increasing CO_2 concentrations up to 1500 ppm. But there is a caveat to this response because the accompanying rise in atmospheric temperature and the drier conditions (of lesser water availability) associated with global warming can have a nullifying or even a greater negative impact on yields. To counter this risk on global food supplies, water conservation and efficient use, coupled with new production methods and other advances will have to assume a global perspective.

The ozone layer, situated in the stratosphere 6 to 30 miles above the earth, is the protective shield against ultraviolet rays that produce deleterious effects on plants, animals and humans. This shield is being destroyed by indiscriminate release of a family of chemical compounds known as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) that is widely used as fumigants (methyl bromide), aerosol sprays, refrigerants, solvents and fire extinguishing materials (halons).

With the thinning of the ozone layer, ultraviolet radiation becomes more intense, and exposure of plants may lead to harmful effects such as depressed photosynthesis, reduced plant growth, dry matter production and consequently, yields. Incidentally for humans, greater exposure to ultraviolet rays may increase the incidence of cataract and skin cancer.

7

Fossil-based Energy Sources

The world is faced with two energy-related issues: first, is the surging cost of crude oil which reached as high as US$99 per barrel in 2008 and $107 in 2014 and the shock waves it is sending to both developed and developing countries, and second, is the global warming due to unabated emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases to the atmosphere.

There has been a distortion in the supply-demand situation for petroleum due to the convergence of forces that has exacerbated the oil crisis. The world supply of crude oil and petroleum has been hampered by political instability and tension in the Middle East, the effects of frequent hurricanes (the latest were Katrina and Rita) on the oilrig and refinery operations along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico where about a quarter of US oil production is situated, and the inability of the refinery sector in many countries to expand and keep up with the upsurge in demand. In Venezuela and Ecuador, there have even been refinery glitches and outages. On the other hand, the demand for oil has been particularly strong in the US, China, Japan, and India. China’s burgeoning economy has accounted for almost one-third of the increase in global oil demand.

In the use of nuclear power, a total of 31 countries use such facilities for electricity generation. In terms of share of nuclear power in the total production of electricity, France is the world leader, generating 76 percent, followed by Lithuania at 74 percent, then Belgium at 57 percent. In terms of number of operating nuclear power plants, the distribution by countries is as follows: US, 104; France, 58; Japan, 53; Great Britain, 34; Russia, 30; Canada, 20; Germany, 19; South Korea, 15; India, 14; Ukraine, 13; and Sweden, 11. Other countries have fewer numbers. A small country like Taiwan has six nuclear plants. The Philippines has a single nuclear plant, but this has long been mothballed even before it was used. Staggering loan payments for the USD 2.3 billion used for the construction of the BNPP in the 1980s were completed in 2007 while annual maintenance cost of USD 1 million continues.

If we go back to the history of energy utilization, we find that the world has been using hydrocarbon fuels since the middle of the nineteenth century (1850s). Prior to this period, the most settled parts of the world relied on wood as the main source of fuel energy. But then, as population density and energy use increased, a preference developed for coal which was a more concentrated energy source and easier to transport. Coal became the main fuel for the remainder of the nineteenth century.

By 1900, the energy system began shifting from solids (coal) to fluids (oil) as transportation systems started to veer away from railroads and towards automobiles. By the 1950s, oil had become the world’s leading energy source. But the dominance of oil may not remain for long as natural gas has now become the fastest-growing industry. It is the preferred fuel source for generating electricity, overtaking coal in 1999.

Burning fossil fuels has already increased the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere from 280 to 370 parts per million (ppm) over the past 150 years. If this trend continues, the concentration of carbon dioxide may reach 550 ppm this century. Annual global carbon emissions may rise from 6.1 to 9.8 billion tons by 2020. The greenhouse effect will be much enhanced and assume catastrophic proportions in terms of its impact on global warming and the consequent sea level rise, coastal flooding, and diminution of land area of small island states.

Global warming will bring about climate change and extreme weather events and a reduction in water availability and the world’s food output. These concerns were taken up during the Earth Summit or the UN Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June 1992. Part of the declarations in the Rio summit called for the protection of the atmosphere, the oceans, and fragile ecosystems of the earth. Agreements among nations on the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions were firmed up. The prevailing thought is that the developed countries are responsible for over two-thirds of past emissions and about 75 percent of current emissions, thus they should do something to reduce them. A follow-up country agreed to reduce their combined greenhouse gas emissions by at least 5 percent compared to the benchmark 1990 levels by the year 2008–2012. In December 2015, the Paris Agreement was adopted in Paris as the latest step in the UN efforts to abate the climate change and builds on the earlier Convention of 1992 and the Kyoto Protocol of 1995. The primary aim of the Paris Agreement is “to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius.” Moreover, it aims to strengthen the ability of countries to deal with the impacts of climate change.

The world demand for oil continues to grow at a hurried pace. In 2004, average world demand was at 79.6 million barrels per day. The leading oil consumers were the US at 20.5 million barrels per day, China at 6.5 million, and Japan at 5.4 million. These countries were also the biggest net oil importers. The five leading oil exporters were Saudi Arabia at 8.73 million barrels per day, Russia at 6.67 million, Norway at 2.91 million, Iran at 2.55 million, and Venezuela at 2.36 million. Saudi Arabia’s total oil output was at 10.37 million barrels per day and at this rate, one can have an idea on how long its oil reserve of 260 billion barrels can last.

In the 1960s, crude oil was priced at only US$2 per barrel. Then came the Israeli- Arab war, accompanied by an Arab oil embargo on world supply in late 1973 and prices of oil shot up to $11 per barrel in 1974. Though the embargo ended in 1974, prices remained beyond US$11 until 1979. Then OPEC and Saudi Arabia decided on a series of price increases beginning in 1979 and prices went up in the early 1980s to about US$34 per barrel. During the first major fighting between Iran and Iraq, prices of crude oil peaked at close to US$40 per barrel. Then prices went down again below US$30. In 1986, prices plummeted to just more than US$10 due to increases in supply by OPEC at 18 million barrels per day.

Over time, prices went up and down, hovering at more than US$15 per barrel. In 1999, OPEC production increased to 27.5 million barrels per day, but it coincided with a marked decrease in Asian oil demand due to the Asian economic crisis. With increased oil inventories, prices went down to US$10 per barrel. Then oil prices tripled in September 2000 due to a strong world demand vis-a-vis OPEC’s oil production cutback. Oil prices gradually fell again due to a weak world demand as a result of the economic recession in the US and OPEC overproduction. Then, suddenly, oil prices declined sharply to about US$16 per barrel following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Beginning in 2002, however, prices picked up again as OPEC and non-OPEC enforced oil production cuts and as political uncertainties continued in the Middle East. Prices went up to about US$30 per barrel and by 2004, it soared to US$45 and the spiral continued beyond US$65 per barrel in 2005. The prices eased up a bit when the US announced that it would use part of its reserved stockpile (of 700 million barrels) of oil. From 2005, crude oil price further rose to US$87 in 2008, decreased again to about $50 in 2009 and steadily rose to $99 in 2012. Since then, it has gone down to $44 in 2015 and is now about $50 in 2016.

8

Going Green —Renewable Sources of Energy

The increasing and fluctuating oil prices at current rate above US$50 are most hurting to developing countries, which are struggling to build a healthier economy and raise living standards of the people. Take for instance the case of the Philippines. The country imported 126 million barrels of oil in 2004 at US$40 per barrel, accounting for 38 percent of the country’s energy requirements, valued at about PHP 280 billion. This cost is equivalent to a third of the national outlay, and 15 percent of the total imports. At an average cost of US$60 per barrel in 2005, oil imports would be at no less than PHP 423 billion. In 2015, the oil imports totaled US$7.19 billion (PHP 338 billion), which was 42% lower than its cost of $12.43 billion or PHP 584 billion in 2014. The lower cost is due to lower crude oil per barrel price in 2015 of

$60 compared with cost in 2014 of $107.

As for our energy problem, one positive note is that we are endowed with renewable energy resources like geothermal and hydropower that we can tap. We have 11 existing electrical power plants run by geothermal energy with a total installed capacity of 1,930 megawatts (MW). As planned, we can raise it to 3,130 MW in 2013. The Philippines has 21 large hydropower stations, 52 mini hydropower stations and 61 micro-hydropower facilities with a combined capacity of 2,500 MW. This can be increased to 5,500 MW by 2013. We can also tap our rich wind and solar energy resources.

Strategies and alternatives to solve the energy shortage

In view of the twin problems of energy shortage and greenhouse gas emissions that the world faces, long-term strategies are being drawn to address the following objectives:

(1) promotion of energy conservation and efficient use; (2) intensified use of renewables; (3) strengthening of research to lower the technical and economic barriers of all types of alternative energy most especially hydrogen; (4) capture of carbon dioxide emissions from power and industrial plants; and storing them underground, a process known as carbon sequestration.

Improvements in energy efficiency will come from a number of ways ranging from use of new catalysts and chemical processes, to more efficient lighting and insulation of buildings, to growth of the service economy and telecommuting. Another innovation is the introduction of very efficient “hybrid-electric cars” which combine powerful batteries with a conventional internal combustion engine. This technology permits significant reduction in idling losses that leads to greater efficiency and improved fuel economy.

In the use of renewable sources of energy, geothermal power holds the most promise in augmenting the energy supply in countries that are endowed with this resource. Worldwide, there were 8,246 MW of generating capacity in geothermal resources in 1999. The largest users of geothermal energy are the US (2,850 MW), Philippines (1,848 MW) Italy (769 MW), Mexico (753 MW), Indonesia (590 MW), Japan (530 MW), and New Zealand (345 MW). The total generating power represents only about 0.4 percent of the world’s total generating capacity for electricity and will become a very attractive area for investments.

Another important renewable source of energy is biomass. The US is a heavy user of ethanol, which is largely corn-based. It is used in making gasoline blends to power vehicles and farm tractors and equipment. Brazil has long been the pioneer in the use of pure ethanol (derived from sugarcane) as complete substitute to gasoline for vehicular and farm power. Biodiesel manufactured from palm oil, coconut oil, rapeseed oil, and soybean oil has been in use to a limited extent and can now assume a greater competitive role to a partly displaced diesel fuel.

Other developments in the search for energy sources that are incrementally improving but still considered as peripheral to the mainstream of global supplies are the areas of solar energy, wind power, ocean energy, and “fuel cell” technology utilizing hydrogen power.

Solar energy is increasingly becoming important. Advances in photovoltaic cell technology are gradually closing the gap in cost competitiveness with conventional systems in generating electricity. Photovoltaic cells convert the sun’s light into usable electricity, using semi-conductors made from silicon or other materials.

They are available commercially in the form of rooftop solar panels. The world leaders in solar power technology are Japan and Germany. Solar power in Germany consists mostly of photovoltaics; in 2014, this contributed 6.2 to 6.9 percent of the country’s electricity generation. In Third World countries, off-grid and remote populations are served by solar photovoltaic systems. The pervasive problem encountered, however, is the lack of a maintenance system to serve the network of installed solar facilities.

The world has been harnessing the wind’s energy for hundreds of years. From old Holland to farm communities in the US, windmills have been used for pumping water or grinding grain. Today, the windmill’s modern equivalent is the “wind turbine” which converts wind’s energy to electrical power. Rows of wind turbines are becoming a familiar sight in places like California, USA. The Philippines may have its wind turbine structures in selected windy areas. Wind turbines are mounted on a tower to capture the most energy. At 30 meters or more above ground, they can take advantage of the faster and less turbulent wind. Turbines catch the wind’s energy with their propeller-like blades. The blades are mounted on a shaft to form a rotor. A large number of wind turbines are built close together to form a wind plant. They are connected to a utility power grid to provide electricity in communities.

Ocean energy can be harnessed as: (1) thermal energy from the sun’s heat and (2) mechanical energy from the tides and waves. Oceans are the world’s largest solar collectors. The sun’s heat warms the surface water a lot more than the deep ocean water and this temperature gradient creates thermal energy. Ocean thermal energy can be utilized for generating electricity. Ocean mechanical energy, on the other hand, may come from tides and waves. Tides are caused primarily by the gravitational pull of the moon whereas waves are driven by wind. Tides and waves are intermittent sources of energy. Electricity conversion of both tidal and wave energy involves mechanical devices—a combination of a barrage or dam and turbines that activate a generator. England and France are at the forefront of perfecting the technology.

Fuel cells are devices which generate electricity without moving mechanical parts.  Fuel cells can be fed with a fuel such as hydrogen, natural gas, methanol or propane and these fuels convert directly into electrical energy through an electro-chemical process. The current generated is utilized in the way it is intended, as an energizer or in powering an electric motor. The efficiency in electrical conversion is twice as high as that of the usual boiler-turbine-generator combination. Their theoretical considerations have been known for quite sometimes, but it is only in recent years that fuel cells have been put to practical use. Fuel cells have a broad range of applications, from cell phones, laptop computers, to homes, offices and factories, to vehicle of all kinds. Fuel cells, as a component of the energy-generating system, are cleaner and less polluting since minimal quantities of a carbon dioxide is produced as a by-product of the reaction. Since there is no combustion, no carbon monoxide is produced. A prototype car, which is powered by a combination of fuel cells and hydrogen gas, produces only water vapor as exhaust material and absolutely no carbon dioxide and monoxide.

9

Harnessing Hydrogen

as Energy Source

If the supply of fossil fuels or hydrocarbons becomes less and less until it finally runs out in one or two hundred years hence, what will be the fate of human civilization? What will be the most logical source of energy that civilization can bank on for sustained technological progress and prosperity? It leaves us with only one answer: hydrogen in combination with renewable energy sources.

Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe. It was the first element that was formed as the universe cooled off after the “big bang”. It is the power source of our sun (through atomic fusion) and all the stars. More than 30 percent of the mass of the sun is atomic hydrogen.

Hydrogen accounts for 90 percent of the atoms in the universe, two thirds of the atoms in water, and a significant proportion of the atoms in living organisms and their fossil remains on earth, the hydrocarbons.  Hydrogen is the simplest element with each atom composed of just one proton and one electron.  But on Earth, nearly all of hydrogen is bound to other elements in molecules such as hydrocarbons and water. Hydrogen atoms must be wrested or split off from these molecules to generate dihydrogen gas (H_2), the forms it needs to be in work in most fuel cells. Hydrogen is not a fuel in itself as oil and coal are, but like electricity, it is an energy carrier.

Hydrogen has long been an important gaseous material for the chemical and petroleum industries. Approximately 400 billion cubic meters of hydrogen are produced worldwide each year. Most of today’s hydrogen is produced at oil refineries or by the chemical industry using natural gas as the source. Hydrogen is used predominantly as a feedstock for petroleum refining and for the manufacture of ammonia fertilizer, resins, plastics, solvents, and other industrial products.  The space shuttle and other programs use liquid hydrogen and oxygen as rocket propellants and hydrogen-powered fuel cells to provide electricity and water on board.

Hydrogen is manufactured by extracting it from carbonaceous materials like natural gas or water. These materials are decomposed by the application of energy which maybe electrical, chemical or thermal. Examples are electrolysis of water; steam reforming of hydrocarbons; and thermal dissociation of natural gas. In the electrolytic process, water is decomposed or split into high-purity hydrogen and oxygen by passing direct current through an aqueous solution of alkali. But electrolysis is energy intensive.

By far, the cheapest way to produce hydrogen is by “steam methane reforming” which involves the heating of methane (CH_4) in a catalytic reactor. This strips away the hydrogen atoms, and steam is then added to the process to free up more hydrogen, with carbon dioxide as a byproduct.

Over the long term, as hydrocarbons shall have been exhausted, water will be the ultimate source of energy worldwide. The electrolytic process which is energy- consuming will be driven by renewable energy resources like geothermal, hydroelectric, solar, wind and ocean power. This system has been well demonstrated in Iceland. Iceland is rich in geothermal and hydroelectric energy and has made the country nearly self-sufficient in energy. The electric energy from power grids has been utilized in splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen (as compressed gas) is used to run a city bus fleet, each using hydrogen-powered fuel cells. A fueling station was established to keep the buses running. The system has worked very well that it prompted experts to predict that by 2050, Iceland would run on a completely hydrogen-based energy economy.

Fuel cells powered by hydrogen gas

In the utilization of hydrogen gas to power vehicles, a technological innovation is required via the employment of fuel cells. A fuel cell is a reactor that operates electrochemically. There is an electrically conducting anode mode made of porous carbon with a metal catalyst such as platinum. This mechanism chemically changes the hydrogen atoms to positively charged hydrogen ions and electrons. The electrons leave the anode to provide the current to perform work. The positively charged hydrogen ions migrate through the electrolyte, attracted by the oxygen (provided by the air) from the cathode. To complete the reaction, the oxygen pulls in recycled electrons and water is generated and discharged from the fuel cell. To make the fuel cells work, quite a number of them are installed under the hood of a car; they are fed with hydrogen molecules which are stripped of their electrons and the current generated is fed to the electric engine that powers the rear wheels. The emissions are just a little extra heat and water vapor.

The use of fuel cell and hydrogen technology in powering vehicles is a futuristic realm that may eventually replace the gasoline-run internal combustion engines (ICEs). But the current ICE industry is well entrenched and would do well to preserve its hold on the consumer market. It will continue to innovate and keep abreast with the trend towards a hydrogen economy. As a strategic step, research is underway among automakers to develop ICEs that will run on hydrogen that will burn more readily than gasoline and produce almost no pollutants. These will be known as “hydrogen internal-combustion engines” (H2 ICEs). If manufacturers can get enough of them on the road in the next few years, H2 ICE vehicles might spur the development of a larger infrastructure for producing and distributing hydrogen — the very same infrastructure that fuel cell vehicles will require. If this complementation becomes a reality, then the stage is set for the dawning of the hydrogen economy.

With hydrogen as the fuel of the future, so much money is currently being spent on R and D. Fuel and auto companies are investing between US$500 million and US$1 billion yearly on hydrogen research. Major car makers are pouring billions of dollars into a race to put the first fuel cell vehicles on the market. In California, 23 auto, fuel, fuel cell companies and government entities are collaborating to fuel and test drive 70 cars and buses over the next few years. Likewise, the US, the Europeans Union, Japan and other governments are investing billions of dollars into initiatives that would advance hydrogen technology and push it to market ends.

Over 100 companies are aiming to commercialize fuel cells that have a wide array of applications not only for vehicles but for the development of personal gadgets like cell phones and appliances and equipment for home office and factory use.

Innovative research is also underway to produce hydrogen with algae, use sunlight and catalysts (artificial photosynthesis) to split water molecules directly, and extract hydrogen from agricultural wastes and other types of biomass.

Hydrogen gas as an energy source has unique characteristics that have implications on commercial handling and applications. It has a “low energy density”, which means that far less quantity can fit into a given volume than other fuels. Storing enough of hydrogen in a fuel tank to drive 300 miles requires either compressing or liquefying it. Yet, to drive a fuel cell car on the same distance will need a fuel tank of compressed gas four times as large. Liquefied hydrogen takes up much less room, but the gas liquefies at -253°C and the chilling process adds up to the cost of the fuel. The fuel tanks must be heavily insulated to keep the liquid fuel from boiling away and it makes the tank bulkier than ordinary gasoline tanks. So, the problem of bulk in carrying the gas load around is something to contend with. It will be an obstruction in making efficient aerodynamic designs of vehicles.

Hydrogen gas is very buoyant, escaping quickly from leaks. This is an important safety issue. Hydrogen has a wide range of limits for flammability and detonability and a broad range of mixture of hydrogen in air can lead to a flame or explosion. The chemical industry routinely handles large quantities of hydrogen safely and the issue is whether a safety assurance can be expected at the public utility level once hydrogen gas becomes widely available. Technical information indicates that the ignition energy (in a spark) to ignite a fuel mixed in air is about the same for hydrogen, gasoline, natural gas methane. Hydrogen is also nontoxic, unlike methanol and gasoline in higher concentrations.

Shifting to hydrogen-based economy

A complete shift from hydrocarbon to hydrogen- based economy will require a massive supply of hydrogen. The supply will come from a network of production centers worldwide. The basic working principle is that hydrogen will be extracted from water via the electrolytic process using electrical energy from the limitless flows of the heat of the earth, sun, wind and oceans. Countries that rank highly in hydrogen production are the following: (1) countries endowed with geothermal power — USA, Philippines, Italy, Mexico, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, Iceland, Hawaii, Vanuatu, and other countries straddling along the “rings of fire of volcanic activities”; (2) countries with cheap hydroelectric power — Brazil, Canada, Iceland, Norway, Sweden; (3) countries in the sunbelt regions which have access to photo-voltaic technology; and (4) countries rich in wind and ocean power and with access to technology. It is then highly probable that energy-importing countries like the Philippines can become self-sufficient or an exporter of energy in the future. Hawaii, Vanuatu, and Iceland aspire to become major producers and exporters of hydrogen.

A change-over to a hydrogen economy will happen in a distant future probably beyond our lifetime. Energy experts estimate that a time frame of at least 75 to 100 years may be necessary. Others in the energy sector believe that developments should be fast tracked to achieve the objectives sooner in just a few decades.

The optimistic perspective is that there is enough lead time to work things over within the transitional period before the supply of hydrocarbons completely runs out. Huge investments running to hundreds of billions of dollars will be needed in establishing the hydrogen infrastructures from production, storage, and distribution points, down to refueling stations. Such a change will have implications in the shifting of geo-political power because the source and distribution of fuel, traditionally from the Middle Eastern countries and from exhaustible sources, will now tap into the vast renewable resources of other countries. The world economy may only be able to cope with the developmental requirements only through a gradual process. There are also many technological gaps that need to be worked out, but man’s ingenuity and creativity will prevail.

In the end, imagine a world in which energy is limitless and humans can breathe in clean air. The veil of greenhouse gases begins to thin out and global warming ceases to be a threat to Planet Earth. It will be brave new world for humanity.

10

Coal — the Most Plentiful but Dirtiest Energy Source

The threat of global warming brought about by greenhouse gas emissions is upon us. The foreboding signs are the sudden disintegration of the polar icebergs in Greenland and Antarctica and the retreating mountain glaciers in the Alps and lower South America. The perceived consequences are the rise in ocean level, climate change, acid rains and increased frequency and intensity of hurricanes and typhoons that bring untold miseries to humans around the globe.

The main cause of global warming is the incessant burning of fossil fuels to generate energy to support countries’ economic development and humanity’s insatiable needs for material things and comfort. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons in the form of crude oil, natural gas and coal. As source of energy, coal is the “dirtiest” in gas emissions. It so happens that coal is the most plentiful and widely distributed globally and is thus the cheapest energy source. Coal will outlast the supply of crude oil and natural gas and shall remain available for anywhere from 200 to 400 years.

Worldwide, coal is used mainly to power plants to generate electricity. The major users of coal-fired power plants are the US, which provide half of its electrical needs, the European Union, Russia, China, India and Australia. The Philippines has 10 major coal-powered electrical plants producing a combined capacity of more than 4,000 megawatts (MW) of electrical energy. This total electrical output is larger than that of geothermal energy at 1,900 MW, hydropower at 2,500 MW, petroleum at 1,500 MW, and gas energy at 2,700 MW (using Malampaya gas).

The Philippines has a geological coal reserve roughly estimated at 1.5 billion metric tons. The major “lignite” reserves (of lower grade coal category) are in Cagayan Valley in northern Luzon and Surigao del Sur in eastern Mindanao. “Sub-bituminous” coal of higher grade abounds in Semirara Islands, west of Panay. With the entry of more foreign mining firms and their investment money into the country, we can expect a more intensified activity in the mining of local coal resources.

What is coal?

Coal is fossilized plant material which was formed and deposited through geologic time beginning in the Carboniferous period some 250 million years ago. Coal consists primarily of carbon, but it is usually mixed with “volatile material” such as nitrogen, sulfur, phosphorus, water and incombustible mineral matter such as sand and clay. The relative amounts of these impurities affect the usefulness of coal as a fuel. Coal rank or grade increases with the amount of “fixed carbon” and decreases with moisture and volatile- matter content.

Coal purity is ranked in an ascending order of carbon content as follows: (1) lignite, the lowest rank in fixed carbon content; it is colored brown to black, containing 30% to 40% moisture when mined and has a high volatile matter content; it has a low heating value of less than 8,300 B.T.U. (British Thermal Unit); (2) sub-bituminous coal which is black and contains from 15% to 30% moisture, a fixed carbon content at around 69% and a fairly high volatile matter content at 31%; heating value is between 9,500 to 13,000 B.T.U.; (3) bituminous coal, the most abundant variety worldwide varying from medium to high rank; it has high fixed carbon content at 78% to 86% and low volatile matter at 14% to 22%; heating value is from 13,000 to 14,000 B.T.U.; and (4) anthracite, the highest grade coal with fixed carbon content at 86% to 98% and with the highest heating value beyond 14,000 B.T.U.

Philippine coal is made up largely of lignite and the sub-bituminous type. The supply of locally mined coal is insufficient to meet the needs of coal-fired plants. To increase its heating value and lessen the amount of fly-ash or the non-combustible matter in the exhaust gas, local coal is mixed with imported high-grade bituminous coal from Indonesia, Australia, and other foreign sources.

Clean coal technology

Since coal will remain as an important source of energy worldwide, efforts should be made to make it climate-friendly and still maintain its modest cost. How is this possible? The idea is to develop a “clean-coal” technology that will first eliminate the particulates (the fly-ash) from the exhaust gas before it gets spewed into the air, and in the second phase, to capture the carbon dioxide from the same exhaust gas through an appropriate engineering design process and then have it transported and stored elsewhere.

In standard practice, power plants burn coal in a boiler at atmospheric pressure. The heat generated in coal combustion transforms water into steam, which then turns a steam turbine, whose mechanical energy is converted to electricity by a generator. In modern plants such as those used in technologically advanced countries, the gas produced by combustion (called flue gas) is passed through devices that remove particulates and oxides of sulfur and nitrogen before being exhausted through smokestacks into the air. The use of this gas clean-up technique is absolutely necessary if we are to protect residents in the immediate vicinity of coal-powered plants from breathing in highly polluted air. Removal of sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxide will likewise lessen the formation of acid rain and the amount of gas emissions.

After removal of conventional pollutants from the flue gas of steam-electric plants, the next important step would be to extract the carbon dioxide from the same flue gas before it exits into the air. This extraction process can be achieved through the use of the so-called “integrated gasification combined cycle” (IGCC). Such engineering design is said to be capable of capturing from 85 to 95% of the carbon dioxide from coal combustion, with the rest released to the atmosphere.

The captured CO_2 would then be compressed, transported and piped to an appropriate storage site. It can be stored deep underground in porous rock mainly in depleted oil or gas fields or in permeable geologic strata filled with saline water. Such system of storage is referred to as “geologic carbon sequestration”. Captured gas can also be sold to oil companies operating in old oil fields where carbon dioxide could be injected to force more oil to come out of existing wells.

Considerable experience has already been gained in using gas capture technologies. This has already been employed in purifying natural gas that has been contaminated by CO_2 and hydrogen sulfide. The other use is in the manufacture of chemicals and fertilizers where CO_2 capture technologies have been extensively deployed. In actual CO_2 storage operations, about 35 million metric tons of gas are injected annually in North America to force more petroleum out of mature fields.

It has been postulated by experts that geologic storage media worldwide can hold at least 2 trillion metric tons of CO2, enough to accommodate the gases that will be produced by fossil fuel-consuming power plants during the 21st century.

We realize that clean-coal technology that addresses carbon dioxide emissions and capture is already available and in use in a limited way. This clean-up process will, of course, entail additional investments on needed infrastructures and will certainly add to the cost of generating electrical power. But with the enormity of the world’s problem on emissions and pollution, the industrialized countries should now take the lead towards a unified action to provide a lasting solution. It is now or never.

11

The Revival of Nuclear Energy

In my previous article, I indicated that coal remains to be the predominant source of power to generate electricity worldwide and is the largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. I also described a proven “clean-coal technology” based on: (1) a clean-up process of the exhaust gas to remove particulates and oxides of sulfur and nitrogen and (2) carbon dioxide captures and storage or sequestration in geologic structures. The capture and sequestration of carbon dioxide will entail the deployment of needed infrastructures which will add significantly to the cost of generating electricity. This combined process must be demonstrated and introduced on a large scale.  This should be one of the greatest engineering challenges in energy use of this century.

There is now great pressure on the industrialized countries to reduce their combined greenhouse gas emissions by at least 5 percent of the benchmark 1990 levels by the year 2008 to 2012. This was the initial goal of the Kyoto Protocol signed in 1997 and the subsequent rounds of negotiations. As of 2015, a total of 192 countries were signatories to the Protocol, including one supranational union, the European Union. Only four countries are not parties to the Protocol: Andorra, Palestine, South Sudan and the Holy See. In December 2012, Canada ceased to be a member. The U.S. signed the Protocol in 1998 but did not ratify it. All countries are constrained to cut down on their gas emissions to meet the set targets for 2008 to 2012 and beyond. To stabilize greenhouse gas emissions, about seven billion tons of carbon must be averted annually worldwide by 2050. The industrialized countries have been responsible for over two- thirds of past emissions and about 75 percent of current emissions and, therefore, they are obliged to make the necessary reductions within the prescribed time frame.

Succeeding the Kyoto Protocol is the 2015 Paris Agreement, which was adopted in Paris on 12 December 2015. The Agreement aims to strengthen the global response to climate change by setting a goal of keeping a global temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels as well as help countries build its capabilities to deal with climate change impacts.

Since the successful implementation of clean-coal technology will take some time, the industrialized countries will seriously consider alternatives that will create an immediate impact on reducing gas emissions. Use of natural gas is attractive because it has a lower carbon content and advanced power plants have low capital costs. But the best alternatives are the use of clean or carbon-free energy such as hydroelectric, geothermal, wind, solar, hydrogen and nuclear power. The right mix in the use of these energy sources will depend on what is technologically available that will provide a quick response to alleviating the gas emission problem.

Nuclear energy is attractive again

Since nuclear power is carbon-free energy, it is regaining a self-respecting image. As country governments impose tax penalties on industry carbon emissions, nuclear energy becomes all the more attractive. Thus, after twenty years of stagnation, nuclear energy is on the rise again.

There are now 443 nuclear plants operating in 73 countries, providing about 17 percent of the world’s electricity. Since year 2000, about 20,000 megawatts of nuclear capacity have come online, mostly in the Far East. China, and India are also expanding the use of nuclear power.

The breakdown in the number of nuclear power plants in operation and those to be constructed in Asia is as follows: Japan, 55 nuclear power plants (NPP) in operation; 2 NPPs are under construction; 11 NPPs are being planned for 2017 operation; China, 10 NPPs in operation; 5 NPPs are under construction; 30 new NPPs are being planned for the next 15 years; India, 15 NPPs in operation; 8 NPPs are under constructions; Republic of Korea, 20 NPPs in operation; 4 NPPs are under construction; 4 NPPs are being planned; Taiwan, 6 NPPs in operation; Vietnam, 2 NPPs to be operational by 2020; Indonesia, 2 NPPs to be operational by 2018, and; Philippines, revival of the unused Bataan nuclear plant is being considered. While it is believed that the plant is close to a fault line and is vulnerable to the effects of earthquakes, the many tremors during the Mt Pinatubo volcanic eruptions, experts say, did not cause any single crack to the structures of the reactor. (Note: The earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011 in the Miyagi Prefecture on the eastern coast of Honshu Island caused a nuclear accident in the Fukushima Da-ichi nuclear power plant. This resulted in the closing down of the said nuclear plant and the rest of the nuclear plants in Japan. As of September 2016, out of the 42 operable nuclear plants, only 3 were in commercial operation. Please see next chapter.)

Nuclear energy experts believe the world’s supply of uranium could fuel a much larger number of reactors than the 443 that exist today throughout their 40- to 50-year life span. If nuclear power generation could triple to one million megawatts by year 2050, it can save the world from gas emissions of between one billion to two billion tons of carbon annually. As already mentioned, the target for 2050 in averted gas emissions is 7 billion tons of carbon annually. Nuclear energy can play a substantive role in the reduction.

The stigma associated with nuclear power

The drawbacks that have bedeviled the use of nuclear electric power for decades are the problems of safety, radioactive waste, and proliferation into nuclear weapons.

Foremost in the minds of the public is the likelihood of accidents similar to that of Chernobyl and Three Mile Island. The Chernobyl accident in Ukraine in 1986 was caused by a poor design of the reactor and inadequate training of plant personnel. In the Three Mile Island nuclear plant accident in Pennsylvania in 1979, no one was injured. In fact, there has not been any nuclear accident in the U.S. that has endangered the health or welfare of the public, thanks to the high standards in reactor design and plant operation.

Accidents can be a thing of the past because the new generation of nuclear power plant designs already being built internationally, provides passive safety systems which simply shut the plant automatically if there is an operator error or equipment failure.

The earliest generation of reactors built in the 1950s and early 1960s were often of the same prototype. Generation II reactors were advanced commercial designs built in large numbers from the late 1960s to the early 1990s. Generation III reactors have incorporated design improvements such as better fuel technology and passive safety, so that in the case of an accident, the reactor shuts itself down without requiring the operators to intervene. With these built-in safety factors in advanced designs of nuclear plants, the public can now be reassured of the reliability and safety of the use of nuclear energy.

The other major public concern in the use of nuclear energy is the accumulation of radioactive waste that may pose as a hazard to the environment and human health. But unknown to laymen is the fact that the spent fuel or waste can be reprocessed into new nuclear fuel. The spent nuclear fuel still has 95 percent to 99 percent of unused uranium in it and can be recycled. From the unused uranium, the fissile materials, uranium-235 and plutonium-23, can be extracted for reuse as energy source.

There are two types of nuclear plants in use. Type I reactors follow an “open fuel cycle”, in which the enriched uranium is burned only once in the reactor and the spent fuel is either stored in geologic repositories or reprocessed for use by other reactors. Type II reactors follow the “closed fuel cycle” which make use of a mixture of plutonium and uranium oxides that can be chemically extracted from the spent fuel coming from Type I reactors.

Recycling of nuclear waste from Type I reactors is absolutely important because it still possesses a tremendous amount of residual energy. For example, the spent fuel produced by a single 1000-megawatt nuclear plant over its 40-year lifespan is equivalent to the energy in 130 million barrels of oil or 37 million tons of coal. About 96 percent of the spent fuel could be turned into new fuel. Furthermore, there are other radioactive materials such as cesium–137 and strontium–90 that could be separated out from the spent nuclear fuel. They are used in medical applications such as sterilization of medical supplies, food irradiation to prevent microbial contamination, and in testing the integrity of metals in pipes and tanks in the petrochemical industry.

The countries that have the technical know-how for reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel are limited to a few: the U.S., Canada, France, Great Britain, Russia, China, India, and most recently, Japan.

Recycling of nuclear waste for reuse reduces the quantity of radioactive materials that must be stored safely and alleviates the problem of containment space in long-term repositories. Repositories of nuclear waste are chambers that are placed hundreds of meters underground. Such chambers house the spent fuel that is contained in large canisters made of an inner shell of iron and a thick outer shell of copper to resist corrosion and leakage.

12

The World Has Not Given Up

On Nuclear Energy

The powerful earthquake and tsunami that struck northern Japan in March 2011 caused a triple meltdown of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant. The total power shutdown in the facility disabled the cooling mechanism. Under normal operations, cooling water is constantly pumped to the fuel rod assemblies to dissipate the excess heat. In a reactor, the heat generated converts water into steam, which in turn, powers the turbine and generator that produce the electricity. In the total absence of water coolant, the uranium fuel rods and protective heat-resistant zirconium alloy cracked open in three reactors, allowing leakage of radioactive material.

In a related event, hydrogen gas accumulated in a shelter outside the containment facility of one reactor and at one point it exploded, tearing apart three roofs and spewed radioactive fallout over the farming and township communities, forcing a mass evacuation of residents. Likewise, leakage of radioactive material (cesium-137, tritium and strontium-90) continually contaminated groundwater, which eventually seeped to the Pacific Ocean.

The Fukushima Dai-ichi reactor meltdown is the second disaster after the deadly Chernobyl reactor explosion that occurred in Ukraine in 1986. The Chernobyl reactor has now been permanently entombed. In the case of the Fukushima Dai-ichi area, about 150,000 residents have been evacuated and a massive clean-up operation is underway to decontaminate the neighborhood and dismantle the reactors. The cost is enormous, projected at $150 billion.

Immediately after the Fukushima catastrophe, global reaction was swift and took a scary outlook of nuclear energy. A few countries like Germany, Belgium, and Switzerland, for example, have avowed to discontinue use of their existing nuclear fleet for energy and replace them with renewable energy hardware like solar power. How about in Japan? It has 55 reactors and only 2 have remained in operation and the rest were immediately put offline, pending review of safety checks. This meant a 30 percent loss of total electrical energy supply, which has to be augmented by additional oil and gas imports. This forces Japan to import an extra $36 billion worth of fuel every year, which impacts greatly on the economy.

With this conflict between human safety issues and economic concerns, the Japanese have shown ambivalence about atomic energy. While the previous Japanese government was avowedly anti-nuclear and advocated a complete phase-out, the new government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is pro- and is pushing to bring as many idled reactors back online.

Inspection and approval of requests to restart operation of nuclear plants rest with the Japanese Nuclear Regulation Authority. The agency has set stringent safety requirements especially to nuclear plants that are prone to natural disasters. Focus is on ways of building layers of protection around the plant and provision for additional backup power and cooling water supply to avoid a repeat of the accident. The long-range plan is a gradual phase-out of nuclear energy, at pace with realistic development of alternatives like solar and wind power.

Nuclear power plants around the world

While some countries have turned their backs on nuclear power, others will continue to use their fleet but are not keen on building new ones. Incidentally, much of Europe is highly dependent on Russian supply of oil and natural gas and in the event that a geo-political conflict or new Cold War ensues, the outright decision to abandon nuclear energy may have serious repercussions. Other countries, on the other hand, are undaunted and will go ahead with their nuclear energy plans. The lead countries in new construction of nuclear plants are China, Russia and India. In total, there are now 443 nuclear plants operating around the world while 67 more are under construction. The leading countries in number of nuclear facilities are USA with 104, France with 59, Japan with 55, and Russia with 31 and 7 more under construction.

Nuclear power is green, nuclear power plants can be modular

Use of nuclear power is a risky venture but it has a redemptive aspect of being green, with zero carbon emission. With the realities of global warming and climate change looming as a larger threat to humanity, many have accepted that nuclear power should be made an essential part of the energy mix.

One major drawback in the use of nuclear energy is the huge capital investment of $4 billion to $6 billion to build a nuclear power station of one or more gigawatt capacity. Users contend, however, that the cost of operation and maintenance of a nuclear plant over a 30- to 40-year life span is cheaper, compared to an equivalent power output of oil and natural gas-based facilities.

Another technological development favoring the use of nuclear energy is the fact that reactors can now be downsized to tiny ones — the so-called nuclear “battery” or “modular” type, which is about the size of a refrigerator, compared to the mammoth 15-meter tall traditional reactors. These models are spin-offs from the pressurized-water reactors used by nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, submarines and ocean icebreakers. These modular reactors can be built into capacities ranging from 25 megawatts to 300 or 500 MW. The Hyperion Power Module battery type has been designed to power towns with 20,000 homes, military bases, mining operations, desalination plants (which are of particular interest in the Middle East), and even commercial ships. These small modular reactors of 300 MW capacity will cost only $100 million to build. They can be operated by only 25 technicians compared to the 300 personnel required to run a traditional nuclear plant. These modular reactors can be put together in clusters and new units can be added on as the demand for power increases. And since these reactors are small, they are less prone to the effects of natural calamities.

With the combination of the traditional nuclear plants and smaller modular types, use of nuclear power can be intensified. Currently, only 15 percent of the world’s electricity is produced by nuclear power. Since their emissions are carbon-free, use of nuclear power as a substitute to fossil sources of energy has already averted the production of 2 billion tons of carbon dioxide annually. To stabilize greenhouse gas emission, about 7 billion tons of carbon must be averted annually worldwide by 2050. Nuclear energy can play a supportive role in the reduction, together with renewable sources such as hydroelectric, geothermal, solar, and wind power.

Nuclear energy and uranium sources

If nuclear energy becomes an important component of the energy equation geared to drastically reduce global warming, the next concern is: Are there enough resources of uranium to support atomic power for long?

The first consideration is the world’s uranium reserves. Nuclear energy experts believe the world’s supply of uranium can fuel a much larger number of reactors than what exist today throughout their 30- to 50-year life span. Uranium is a relatively common metal and is mined as uranium ore from which high-grade uranium is extracted.

Fifteen countries have known recoverable sources of uranium and the major producers are: Australia (31%), Kazakhstan (12%), Russia (9%), Canada (9%), Niger (8%), South Africa (5%), Brazil (5%), Namibia (5%), and USA (4%). The world’s supply of uranium to power existing conventional reactors and those under construction is enough to last for 80 years. The supply can be further increased as the demand expands.

The second major source of uranium is the spent nuclear power fuel or radioactive waste that has been accumulated in geologic repositories and commercial stockpiles over the years. The nuclear waste still possesses a tremendous amount of residual energy since it still has 95 percent to 99 percent of unused uranium. It can be recycled or reprocessed from which the fissile materials, uranium-235 and plutonium-239, can be extracted for use by advanced Generation II and III reactors. If all the nuclear waste can be reused, it could meet the world’s power needs for 72 years.

Another secondary source of uranium fuel is the nuclear weapons stockpiles. When the Cold War ended in late 1980s and early 90s, there were about 70,000 nuclear warheads in the world’s stockpiles possessed by the superpowers, United States and Russia. The problem was what to do with these retired weapons, either to store them safely in bunkers or dismantle them and use the uranium as fuel for electricity generation. Russia decided to dismantle 20,000 of its warheads, extract the uranium and dilute it into low enriched uranium. About 15,400 tons of uranium worth $17 billion were sold and shipped to the U.S., for eventual use by half of all its nuclear power electrical utilities.

Today, there are still 17,300 warheads in the world’s stockpile but only 4,200 are operationally active. It is believed that the U.S. and Russia could further reduce their arsenal to 900 warheads each, just to maintain a balance and deterrence to preserve the peace. The rest of the warheads can be dismantled for energy use conversion.

13

Food, Population, and Environment: How Do We Manage?

Will the Philippines be able to feed its people in 2020 and beyond? In that year, there will be about 106 million Filipinos. That is 23 million more than what we are now. This population size was projected with the assumption that the 2.24 percent annual growth rate in population may gradually decline to 1.28 percent. Our most important grain crops are rice and corn. While rice is the main staple, white corn is food to about 20 percent of the populace. The rest of corn (yellow) is utilized as feed to livestock, constituting 67 percent of the bulk of formulated feeds that supply calories for energy. However, we are short in supply by 10 percent for rice and by 33 percent for corn. Imports fill in this deficit. From 2002 to 2004, we imported an average of 900,000 metric tons of rice per year. In the same period, we imported 131,000 tons of yellow corn and 1.095 million tons of feed wheat yearly to fill in our deficit for corn, which runs to 1.33 million tons a year. In 2015, more than 700,000 metric tons of corn were imported.

For livestock, our production of pork and poultry has expanded steadily with minimal imports of only 2 percent. However, we still import 21 percent of our domestic supply of beef.

The productivity gap in the supply of basic foodstuffs has been narrowed through the years by government programs such as the Masagana 99 initiated in 1973. Surpluses were posted in 1978–1979, 1982, and 1986, resulting in a one-time export of 240,000 metric tons of rice. However, productivity was not sustained in the 1990s because of the contravening effects of El Niño, typhoons and the economic downturn.

To catch up with the rising population, the country is doubling its efforts to win the battle for food sufficiency. Food sufficiency has become a matter of national security. And this has gained new imperative because of the geo- political and socio-economic implications of food among nations with growing populations and needs. Rice exporting countries will be needing their surplus for a burgeoning population or for food reserve. Further, with the rising cost of petroleum fuel, developed countries are shifting the use of certain food crops to the production of biofuels, thus limiting their availability in the international market. For instance, corn, cassava and sugarcane have become important sources of ethanol while coconut oil, palm oil, and rapeseed oil are sources of biodiesel (methyl ester). The US is targeting the production of 50 million tons of ethanol from corn yearly within the next five years; China may follow suit.

To attain food sufficiency in a changing world market, we must raise our present average yield of rice from 3.25 tons per hectare (on 4 million hectares of harvestable area) to 3.80 tons. For corn, we should increase our average yield of 1.92 tons per hectare (on 2.5 million hectares) to 380 tons. In 2020, the total harvestable area for rice production would be 5 million hectares and 2 million hectares for corn. With a population of 106 million, we should produce an average yield of 5 tons of rice per hectare and 4.7 tons of corn per hectare. Can we achieve these production goals?

We can if we consider two major facts. First, other countries in Asia like China (with 32 million hectares of rice land), Korea and Japan have already attained a national average yield of more than 6 tons of rough rice per hectare. We can duplicate their efforts.

Livestock. In livestock and poultry breeding, multinational companies have developed new breeds that can convert feeds very efficiently into meat products within a short marketable period. These are now being made available to more livestock raisers through contract growing with large corporations.

Investment, credit and marketing. An all-out developmental approach is also necessary to provide the proper climate for investments in the country sides. This needs the confluence of public and private sector initiatives. Since the lack of financial capability is the real bottleneck in agricultural enterprises, credit services must be provided to small farmers and entrepreneurs. Technology adoption entails investment by the farmer. For instance, to obtain 5 tons of palay and corn per hectare, the farmer would have to invest PHP 26,000 and PHP 16,000, respectively, with the cash outlay amounting to PHP 21,000 and PHP 13,000, respectively.

Marketing infrastructures for farm products must also be established. Large corporations play very essential roles in linking with small farmers through highly successful contract- farming arrangements. Private sectors, for instance, have actively promoted the steady increase in corn yields. If the country sides become the hub of economic activities and commerce, they will become the engines for growth and national development, thus alleviating poverty and curbing migration to urban areas. Farmers, who are mostly underprivileged and economically marginalized, can then be integrated to the mainstream of development.

As farm productivity intensifies, there is a corresponding "cost to the environment." With industrialization encroaching upon traditionally agriculture lands, land will become a finite or fixed resource. To sustain productivity over time, yield per unit area becomes the only controllable factor. However, we must also be aware that there are biological limits to crop and livestock productivity. Theoretically, we can obtain yields as high as 19 tons of rice and 22 tons of corn per hectare based on the amount of solar energy intercepted by leaves for photosynthesis. So far, our highest commercial or actual yields in the country are 14 tons and 13 tons per hectare for rice and corn, respectively.

Further, we must ensure the sustainability of the environment and our agricultural and natural resources. To resolve the Malthusian dilemma on food supply and population, we must curb and stabilize population growth.

14

The Anomalous Soybean Paradox

SOYBEAN in the Philippines is a paradox.

While the requirements are so huge, no significant soybean production exists. Why the Department of Agriculture (DA) has allowed utter neglect of so vital an industry all these years is incomprehensible, if not downright anomalous.

The Philippines is completely reliant on the import of soya bean. The imports amount to more than PHP 18 billion annually, mainly in the form of soybean meal, the product after oil extraction which is a cheap source of protein for livestock and feed manufacture.

The soya bean, which is of Chinese origin, can be grown successfully in the Philippines. The Institute of Plant Breeding (IPB) at the College of Agriculture, University of the Philippines Los Baños and the DA’s Bureau of Plant Industry station in Los Baños have developed outstanding varieties that adapt well to the various growing conditions in the country.

To illustrate, a multinational food company used to grow soya bean on a few thousand hectares in Cotabato by using selected IPB-bred varieties. Its production averaged yields of around 2 tons of beans per hectare, a yield level at par and competitive with those of exporting countries. The same varieties were introduced in Vietnam where they are now widely grown in the Mekong Delta. Today, the Philippines imports soybeans from Vietnam for food processing! And yet, soybean production, if adopted by Filipinos, should be doable.

For one, it does not require much application of commercial fertilizers. For nitrogen supply, only 20 percent of the crop’s requirement is applied as a starter. The remaining 80 percent of nitrogen is extracted from the atmosphere by nitrogen-fixing bacteria and made available to plants. A natural fertilizer called a bacterial inoculant is commercially available. Application is easy by mixing the bio-fertilizer with seeds at planting time.

Going local

Planting soybean here will not require additional land areas. Soybean fits well as a rotation crop following lowland rice and corn crops. Soybean is an excellent rotation crop because it sheds all its foliage to the ground at crop maturity; it leaves a lot of organic matter for the succeeding crops of rice or corn. This makes soybean production ideal in existing farmlands already engaged in growing lowland rice, corn or sugarcane. The soybean crop will be a rotational component of the cropping system.

The initial target would be 100,000 hectares for the whole country, out of the projected expansion to 500,000 hectares. The idea is to create a soybean production industry that will ultimately link with the needs of the domestic market — the soya oil and meal processors, feed millers and food manufacturers.

A number of soybean production zones should be identified across the country. Each zone should be self- contained, where a cluster of essential support services are integrated – from supply of farm inputs and special mechanical implements to marketing, warehousing, and processing. These sub-sectors will all be in the hands of private businesses.

Role of the Department of Agriculture

The DA should take the lead in organizing a multi- agency task force group that would oversee the organizational and financial needs of the soya bean industry. The DA should earmark a substantial amount from its budget for the support of the industry. It should finance seed production and strengthen research, development, and extension work.

Varied uses of soybean

Together with wheat, rice and corn, soybean is one of the big four staples of the world because of its economic versatility as a source of food, feedstock and industrial uses. Soybean contains 15 percent to 20 percent oil and has become the world’s leading source of vegetable oil.

Soya bean is also very rich in protein, with 40 percent to 50 percent protein content that is twice as much as that found in beef. The meal which is left after the oil has been extracted makes cheap and nutritious animal feed, mostly for poultry, swine and cattle.

In Asia, principally China and Japan, soya beans are a staple food consumed either boiled or roasted. They are milled into flour, made into noodles and processed into popular soya milk. The Japanese love their tofu, miso and soy sauce. This is true for Filipinos who also love tokwa, taho, miso, and toyo.

In Western countries, soya bean is converted into textured vegetable protein, or TVP, which is used as a binder for meat patties. The Seventh Day Adventists and vegetarians consume TVP products as complete substitutes to beef. Soya oil, aside from its value as food, finds its use into paints, varnishes, and printing inks and is used in the manufacture of soap and cosmetics, insecticides, and paper coating.

Beyond all these uses and benefits, the growth of a new crop industry – such as that for soybean – will invigorate Philippine agriculture and countryside development.

Malaya, September 23, 2011.

15

Precision Agriculture for Increased Efficiency

The future of humankind on this planet hinges on its ability to produce food on diminishing land resources. The next 30 years of the new millennium will show us if agriculture can move forward and enable individual countries to, first, bridge the gap between their respective national average yields and proven yield potentials (of 10 to 12 tons per hectare in temperate regions for grain crops) and second, to provide adequate food supplies for burgeoning populations without unduly creating added pressures on the environment.

We are aware that crop yields, while improving at impressive rates, will ultimately reach a plateau or biological limit while land resources for agriculture will become increasingly limited. For instance, in rice hectarage alone, an additional one million hectares per year will be needed to meet the global demand for this staple. There simply are not enough land resources among the rice consuming countries for the world to depend on for indefinite periods in the future.

The immense pressure on humanity to provide for global food security at all times constitutes a formidable challenge.  We need to conceptualize and strongly support the implementation of innovative science-based approaches and strategies to expand production on limited land resources on a global scale. The ultimate aim of production should be to increase efficiency, which is the key to resolving the conflicts and issues on food, population, and the environment.

Efficiency is the relationship between the two components of production: The “output” (gross returns) and the “input” (production costs). In business terms, we aim for a high “benefit-cost” ratio because this means a higher efficiency and high return on investment. It also connotes better competitiveness in global trade. This is what “precision agriculture” is based on.

Precision agriculture

Precision agriculture is a system that has evolved among large corporate farms in the USA, Europe, and Australia. The system is based on the concept that within a large tract of farmland (in thousands of hectares), there can be high spatial variability in soil properties and fertility, topography, crop physiological status, and incidence of weeds, pests, and diseases. If such sites within the farm can be delineated and then translated into maps, then the application of water, fertilizers, and pesticides can be varied according the sites’ specific needs, instead of applying the inputs at a uniform or blanket rate throughout, as is usually done. The advantage of this system is that if the right doses of inputs are received per site, high crop response efficiency and profits will ensue. Excesses and wastage are prevented; the risk of environmental loading will also be lessened.

Precision farming in developed countries makes use of combination of advanced technology in communication such as the geographic or “global positioning system” (GPS) by satellites, remote-sensing, and the development of specialized farm machinery. A yield mapping combine harvester which is equipped with a yield recording system, integrated with a “vehicle positioning system,” is used. The combine has a receiver that gets signals from orbiting GPS satellites that give its positional coordinates (in longitude and latitude) as it drives over the field. The combine, while doing the harvesting operation, can record the yield of the harvested product through its “mass flow” meters. The result is an output from the combine in the form of data files that record every 1.2 seconds the position of the combine and the yield at that point. The data are then processed by geostatistical techniques into a yield map which depicts the outline of the farm and the contour lines in tons per hectare, differentiated by colors.

Machines with “variable rate technology” (VRT) have been developed for precision operations. Knowing the location of variable soil properties and yielding potential enables them to adjust seeding rates and fertilizer application. Herbicide and insecticides can then be applied only on the “hot spots” or patches where weeds and pest damage have been detected. The VRT machines have built-in-systems with continuous information processing and automatic controls to adjust the rates of application. As the machine drives over the field, information is captured automatically by a sensor, immediately processed in a computer on board, and the mechanical applicator is immediately adjusted. Thus, as the machine moves over the field, information is gathered, or is guided by previous information, hence, tillage depth, fertilizer rate, sowing rate, pesticide rate, etc, are adjusted accordingly.

Precision farming as practiced in large corporate farms in advanced countries is expensive and some may not be applicable to Asia where farm sizes are small (from 0.5 hectares to a few hectares) and where operations are still predominantly subsistent and outdated. But the concept of precision farming on rural Asia is very relevant, where the techniques of growing crops are quite imprecise. When fertilizers and seeds are usually broadcast or distributed by hand and pesticides are not adequately calibrated and timed, there is a high wastage. For instance, 25–35 percent of nitrogenous fertilizer spread by hand as side-dressing for rice seedlings will be lost due to conversion to ammonia and nitrous oxide gas that escape into the atmosphere. The effective process is to mechanically inject the fertilizer beneath the soil surface. Other forms of losses are due to weed competition, pest damage and wasteful harvesting, and post-harvest operations. Precision farming under these circumstances can assume a different dimension and scale but the objectives are essentially the same. Precision farming in the Third World context will not make use of sophisticated machinery but of locally fabricated farm equipment and machinery which can do a better job of calibrating and applying seeds and farm inputs at appropriate rates and assist mechanical weeding, harvesting, threshing, and drying. Wide adoption and usage of mechanical implements will go a long way in improving the production efficiency of farmers’ crops.

Another approach towards precision farming is to address the existent spatial variability in native soil fertility among farms in a village or municipality. For instance, in a study involving 42 different rice fields surrounding one village in the Philippines, grain yields, without applied nitrogen, were found to vary from 2.4 to 6.0 tons per hectare. Similar findings have been obtained in major rice growing areas in India, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam. The variability in yields was not associated with soil organic matter content or measurable levels of nitrogen availability but to other undetermined factors. Such natural spatial variability in yielding potential within a large aggregated farm area in a village or municipality level can be detected by “remote-sensing” technology.

Remote sensing, which uses spectral reflectance data from aircraft or satellite, can analyze the growth characteristic of crops in each of the “grid cells” (partitions) of cultivated areas. It can discern which areas are of high or low productivity potential. This technology has amply been demonstrated in Guandong Province in China and in some districts in India. This capability is available in the Philippines through the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA), with assistance from the government of Australia. The information generated from remote sensing is useful in designing new extension approaches in which farm recommendations will be specific to the conditions of a cluster or group of adjoining farms. Farmers can then be advised to apply the appropriate rates of seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, and irrigation water specific to their areas.

This spatial extension approach is a radical departure from the usual common recommendations given over large production domains but will require coordinated efforts. To implement this in targeted areas, extension workers will require detailed analysis in translating remote-sensing data and necessary groundwork in delineating areas. The development of this approach can be the joint responsibility of the provincial and local government units (LGUs) that are charged with the extension function, the pertinent national government departments and offices like NAMRIA that handle remote-sensing work and participating regional universities which have a strong engineering capability for related work. Capability building for this function will require utmost coordination of all the entities concerned. This kind of alliance for effective extension work can be piloted in one or two areas in the Philippines which have a latent capability. But the goal should be for nation-wide implementation.

Impacts of high farming efficiency

Countries that are highly mechanized and technologically advanced in agriculture have attained a high level of efficiency compared to countries that are less inclined technologically. For example, the US, which follows extensive agriculture (with large farm ownership and high mechanization), has acquired a high level of proficiency so that only less than 2 percent of the population produces the food for the entire population or a ratio of one producer for every 78 persons. In contrast, Philippine agriculture has attained a much lower efficiency, and about 27 percent of the population produces the food or a ratio of one producer for every four people.

One country in Asia that has done remarkably well in agriculture is the People’s Republic of China. It has 20 percent of the world’s population yet its agricultural hectarage represents only 7 percent of the world’s total area. Farming is highly intensive but well mechanized and modernized. China is the home of F1 hybrid rice technology. The shift from commune system to privatized entrepreneurial farming has done wonders in intensifying productivity. Other countries in Asia that have made great advances in agriculture are Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. Their agriculture is intensive, but it has adapted to the ways of a highly mechanized system. From land preparation, rice transplanting, to combine harvesting. Since farmers employ high mechanization, they find time for part-time employment in factories. Thailand and Vietnam, on the other hand continue to be rice exporters because they are well endowed with irrigation water fed by the Mekong River.

Manila Bulletin, October 22, 2006.

16

How to Break the Cycle of Food Import Dependence

The world’s supply of basic staples—wheat, rice, corn, and soybean — is dwindling. Prices have steadily soared and are expected to double again by the end of 2030. Shortages in world production of staples is mainly due to the effects of erratic climates, severe floods, and droughts that have hit major production areas in Ukraine, Russia, China, United States, Brazil, Argentina, Australia, and countries in Southeast Asia.

Other contravening factors are rising demands, conversion to bioenergy and speculation in commodity markets. Soaring prices and tight supply of foods have caused riots and political turmoil in scores of poor countries around the world.

The Philippines is a major importer of rice, wheat, corn and soybean, the latter two mostly as feed grains for livestock. Average annual import for rice from 2005 to 2009 was 1.944 million metric tons at a cost of P39.9 billion. For wheat, it was 2.076 million metric tons at a cost of P22.5 billion. For corn and other feed grains, it was 1.745 million metric tons costing P25.3 billion. For soybean meal and whole grain, it was 1.329 million metric tons costing P18 billion. In 2015, rice and corn imports were 1.6 and 0.73 million metric tons, respectively, while soybean meal imports totaled 2.55 million metric tons.

Rice and corn

The Philippines has always aimed at self-sufficiency in rice production with the notion that productivity could be intensified by technological innovations. The goal has remained elusive because strong countervailing forces relating to socio-economic and tenure issues have come into play.

The rice industry is predominantly small farmer based; whose individual resource capability is meager relative to the capital-intensive nature of rice farming. Thus, the Philippines may inevitably remain as a rice importer to ensure food security. To break the cycle of import dependence, alternative staples should be seriously considered.

For rice, the most logical substitute is corn grits because of the advantages in growing the corn crop and the ease of bulk handling and processing the commodity into grits that resemble the appearance of milled rice. About two of 10 Filipinos, principally those in the Visayas and Mindanao, already eat corn grits as a staple. A series of blends can be formulated but a 50:50 rice-corn grit combination should be a good compromise for consumer acceptance. This blend should enable the Philippines to cut down rice imports by at least half.

Prospects for the use of corn grit as a staple are very favorable in view of recent developments. The Institute of Plant Breeding (IPB) at the College of Agriculture of the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) has come up with a new variety of white kernel corn which is high yielding, easy to propagate and maintain, highly suitable for grit conversion, and is wholesome in taste when cooked.

An added feature is that the variety was bred for high lysine and trytophan content, two essential amino acids in which corn is naturally deficient.

The Department of Agriculture has launched a national program for the rapid increase and distribution of the seed of the IPB variety for commercial growing in major corn areas in the country.

It is hoped that in due time the supply of white corn would become readily available nationwide.

The goal is to popularize a rice: corn grit blend that is acceptable in taste and nutritious as well as affordable. An accompanying mass media exposure or promotional blitz will help enhance public acceptance of the product. The National Food Authority, in close alliance with the private corn millers, should assume the responsibility of mass production, marketing and distribution of the staple blend nationally.

Wheat, yellow corn

In the case of wheat, imports can be reduced if wheat flour is partly blended with cassava or sweet potato (camote) flour. Studies conducted at the UPLB Food Science Institute and the Food and Nutrition Research Institute of the Department of Science and Technology have shown that blending wheat flour with 15 percent to 20 percent cassava flour works satisfactorily when baked into pan de sal and other types of bread.

The use of a wheat-cassava flour should be promoted and compliance by flour millers can be instituted by a legislative act reminiscent of the Biofuels Act of 2007.

In the case of yellow corn, the Philippines is capable of self-sufficiency in production to fill the needs of the expanding livestock industry.

This optimism is premised on observable trends. First, research and development efforts are active in the public institutions but more so with the private companies which are very aggressive in marketing their products.

Second, technology adoption occurs at a fast rate even among small corn farmers in quick response to favorable domestic prices and expectancy of a good return to investment.

Third, with the increasing prices of yellow corn in the international market, livestock feed manufacturers in the Philippines will be constrained to source their needs domestically thereby further spurring the growth of the corn industry.

The push towards import substitution of staples will enhance the growth of traditional and new crop industries — cassava, sweet potato, white corn, yellow corn, and soybean. These industries will diversify and enrich Philippine agriculture. They will bring in commercial opportunities to the countryside. As world prices of food commodities continue to spiral, it will serve as the driving force to transform Philippine agriculture into a progressive and vibrant state.

Agriculture will become an investment magnet for the business sector. Private business and the whole farming sector can form the alliance and synergy to transform the country sides as engines for economic development.

About the Author

Dr. Ricardo M. Lantican is a member Academician of the National Academy of Science and Technology Philippines elected in 1988 and was conferred the rank and title of National Scientist in 2005.

While National Scientist Lantican is more known for his outstanding scientific contributions in the varietal improvement of leguminous crops such as mungbean, soybean, and peanut which resulted in their improved plant architecture and/or resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses and higher yield, he has also significantly contributed to disseminating science and technology information to the general public through the more than 30 science articles he wrote and published in various newspapers. His topics range from great minds in science, breakthroughs, and technological advances to commentaries on international and national issues related to agriculture, environment and energy, and innovative R and D perspectives.

He obtained his BS in Agriculture from the University of the Philippines (UP) College of Agriculture (CA) based in Los Baños (1954), MS major in Crop Science (1956) from the North Carolina State College and PhD in Plant Breeding and Genetics (1961) from Iowa State University. Dr. Lantican served UPLB and the government in various capacities: Professor, Director of the Institute of Plant Breeding at UP Los Baños, CA (1979–1984), Director of Research, UPLB (1970–1973; 1984–1987); and Undersecretary for R & D, Department of Science and Technology (1988–1992). Dr. Lantican was appointed as Professor Emeritus upon his retirement in 1998.

About NAST PHL

The National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) Philippines is the country’s highest advisory body to the government and the science community on matters related to science and technology. It also has the mandate to recognize outstanding achievements in science and technology made by Filipino scientists in all fields of science. NAST PHL was established on December 17, 1976 through Presidential Decree (PD) No. 1003-A and became operational in 1978 through PD 1557.

Its Vision for the Country

A progressive Philippines anchored on science

Its Mission

1. To recognize scientists for their exemplary science and technology achievements, and to identify and support emerging scientific talent;

2. To encourage Academy members to continue their own scholarly pursuits;

3. To provide independent advice on the utilization of science, technology, and innovation;

4. To promote a strong science culture in Philippine society; and

5. To link with national academies of science and technology in other countries.

Its Mandate

1. To recognize outstanding achievements in science and technology as well as provide meaningful incentives to those engaged in scientific and technological researches (PD 1003-A);

2. To advise the President and the Cabinet on matters related to science and technology (EO 818);

3. To engage in projects and programs designed to recognize outstanding achievements in science and promote scientific productivity (EO 818);

4. To embark on programs traditionally expected of an academy of science (EO 818); and

5. To promote and preserve science and technology resources of the country through the Philippine Science Heritage Center (RA 9107) which shall serve as the main repository of the country’s contributions, achievements, and accomplishments in science and technology.

Table of Contents

Title Page

Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgements

Table of Contents

Changing Views about the Universe

Part 1

Part 2

The Moon and the Four Seasons

The Existence of the Higgs Particle Now Confirmed

Existence of dark energy

Invisible dark matter

Other enigmatic puzzles

Nanotechnology — A Rapidly Evolving Frontier

Nanoscience and nanotechnology development

Knowing Photosynthesis ―the Life-giving Process

Sunlight and the World’s Crops

Photosynthesis vs. respiration

Species of plants and photosynthetic groupings

Plant species may be categorized into three photosynthetic groups:

Solar energy utilization and crop yields

Effects of increased carbon dioxide, global warming, and depletion of ozone layer on photosynthesis and productivity

Fossil-based Energy Sources

Going Green —Renewable Sources of Energy

Strategies and alternatives to solve the energy shortage

Harnessing Hydrogen as Energy Source

Fuel cells powered by hydrogen gas

Shifting to hydrogen-based economy

Coal — the Most Plentiful but Dirtiest Energy Source

What is coal?

Clean coal technology

The Revival of Nuclear Energy

Nuclear energy is attractive again

The stigma associated with nuclear power

The World Has Not Given Up On Nuclear Energy

Nuclear power plants around the world

Nuclear power is green, nuclear power plants can be modular

Nuclear energy and uranium sources

Food, Population, and Environment: How Do We Manage?

The Anomalous Soybean Paradox

Going local

Role of the Department of Agriculture

Varied uses of soybean

Precision Agriculture for Increased Efficiency

Precision agriculture

Impacts of high farming efficiency

How to Break the Cycle of Food Import Dependence

Rice and corn

Wheat, yellow corn

About the Author

About NAST PHL

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