Tampakan Copper GOLD Project

Tampakan Copper GOLD Project

“The proposed mine plan provides a balance that enables the economic development of the resource, the generation of substantial social and economic benefits for local, regional and national communities, and the effective management and mitigation of potentially adverse environmental and social impacts”, this is in accordance with the article I read. This project has met the standard of the Environmental Impact Assessment test; the key potential impacts on environment or on people have a proper mitigation plans and measures. Like the water resources which will be affected when the mining will get started, but the company has a water management system which will provide a water supply for the construction and operation of the mine, and will ensure that this will not have an adverse impact on the quality of water, which the people, the animals and the forest needs.

Of course many people disagree with this project and some made rallies.  Main concerns of the majority of them are their means of livelihood will be gone, and they will be resettled. Because they rely mainly on land crops, they will have no food to eat and sustain their daily needs when this mining continues. The company will provide the place for their resettlement as well as giving them a better means of livelihood by introducing new farm technology, which will help the community sustainable. Regeneration, conservation of wildlife areas, the flora and the fauna will be done after the construction to ensure that there is still a balance in the ecosystem of the affected site. All in all, they monitor each key issue regarding the environmental effect, social impact, economic impact, health impact that will affect the residence and the environment as well; they see to it that they meet the standards in case of noise, air, water pollution acts.

So, this is how EIA test works, for me this is a very critical test because each company who wants to build something must comply with the standards of the EIA. EIA assures that our people will be relocated safe and our environment will be regenerated. Company must wait for months or even years before they are signed to build their project. For me, it’s a job well done for who are responsible for the EIA. On behalf of my group, Alfredo Gumansing and Sam Geronimo, we are happy to choose this topic because we are curious about its adverse impacts and as an individual; my awareness about the environment improves. We are thankful to our professor that she let us choose this project and we are going to report its EIA. We HOPE that all companies must pass the EIA test before building something. 

Insight about the Group Report

About the Manila North Tollways

Manila North toll ways, or the NLEX was made in the year 2000, according to what I understand from the reporters, this project will significantly outweigh the adverse impacts in the environmental assessment studies. This project ensures the sustainability of the project benefits, in which they followed an effective monitoring scheme. I think that this project really met the standards for the environmental impact assessment test. Every environmental problem, they have a solution at hand which is carried out immediately like when a tree is cut, 10 trees will be planted to replace it.  They monitored every environmental parameter by submitting every factor which has an effect to the said project.

“Rapid urbanization in Metro Manila and nearby regional growth centers resulted in a significant growth in road traffic. “ We all know that traffic stresses out people, consumes more gas, which led to more pollution. Due to traffic, levels of exhaust gas emissions such as the hydrocarbons,carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides will also increase. But they made a comprehensive traffic management plan which ensures minimal disturbance to every motorist.

“The widening at segments 1 and 2 as well as the upgrading and improvement of the whole system, is undertaken to meet these needs through increased capacity, improved safety, better operational efficiency, and restored riding quality.”, this statement is from the article I read from their report. For me,this will be an interesting report; this topic opens my mind to new possibilities of innovating things for the betterment of mankind, because as a future engineer and engineers solve problems, I must contribute something for my society, something that will be a great help not only for us but also for the future ones. Things such as improvement automobile efficiency of burning fuels or improving the use of hybrid and electric cars, through these we will attain a sustainable source of energy.

putting into action!

Putting our Course into Action

Being all aware of the things happening in our surrounding is just like a conflict to any story of a book, and one must read it in order to understand its resolution, just like our surrounding or our environment, we must do the right act on it in order to solve the problem. We all know that problems in our environment naturally occur, but human acts trigger these problems, we are created to be the highest form of creature, God provided us the environment we need in order to sustain our needs and we, humans, have an obligation to our environment, we must protect, conserve and preserve it for the future generation. Our future generations have also the right to experience the wonders of our nature. We must not think of our selfish desires for nature but rather think of possible and alternative ways to solve this severe sickness of our environment, and if this continues our race will face its extinction.

Our professor told us to cite the existing problems found in our classroom, I think you can just imagine how messy our room. Problems such as, no cleaning material, too much spill on water leakage on aircon, broken armchairs, dirty curtains and pest like cockroaches and rats. We address this problem To Whom It May Concern and told the current situation of our classroom, he told us that he will take immediate actions to our concerns.

“Action speaks louder than words”; I think this must be the motto for our last blog. This last blog made me feel realize that through the awareness of the problems on our environment and with the help of our professor, we can help save the environment by starting on changing ourselves, the life changing decision we made and through acting on the problems on our room. Big things start from small things and just like a ladder, we can’t reach the final step just by starting on the first step of the ladder, in order to climb on the top of the ladder, we must continue to step one after another, like our acts on solving the problems of the environment, we must continue to act on saving the environment, in saving ourselves! 

environmental laws!

Environmental Laws

Through the Environmental laws, people will develop awareness  deep concern and knowledge of our mother earth. There are many laws, decrees and acts with regards to environmental laws and policies here in the Philippines.

Laws are made to be strictly followed. But  people nowadays, are not concern of the acts we've done and its effect to our mother nature. Our negligence of the current situation of the environment make us the main culprit in destroying the environment. Pollution of course  is the major problem which destroys our environment, minimal pollution can be eliminated because of vast green leafy trees need this, but huge amount of pollution and less trees will led to air pollution.

The world's population has grown from 3 billion to 6.7 billion in the past 40 years. [source: peopleandplanet.net]. The Earth's population is projected to exceed 9 billion by the year 2050.

More people = more waste, more demand for food, more production of consumer goods, more need for electricity, cars, to be exact more exploitation of earth’s resources . Increasing the demand for food will force farmers and fisherman to exploit our resources and this may cause endangered species to be extinct.

We hurt the environment in more ways we could possibly imagine. Many of us keep our eyes close when speaking about our environment. Giant tsunamis, and enormous earthquakes happens because it’s part of the nature but humans activities greatly trigger the nature’s cycle. One scenario is that, when  Tsunami hit a country, and almost destroy all man made infrastructure, death of human beings as well as shelter for humans and animals. Residents in that country witnessed in their own eyes the nature’srevenge. Do you think that Nature wants this to happen? For me, it is a yes. We humans are reaching the limit of nature’s capacity to give our needs, we just continue to extract and abuse our environment for our pleasure and needs. Our environment is a living thing, and someday it will die, for it to be alive, it must be taken cared of and sustain its needs. Our environment  is sick and how we must cure it? PARTICIPATE in programs which really care for the environment and give back its needs to sustain life for the future generations, promote green technology (especially for innovators, engineers, architects), abide and promote the laws protecting the environment. Let us ALL save and PRESERVE our Environment!

hydroshpere! :)

Hydrologic Cycle and its effects (Water Utility and Water Balance)

Deforestation is one of the major impacts on water cycle. Due to this, there is less water to be evaporated in the atmosphere therefore less rain occurs. The land also becomes drier and less stable making this area prone to both droughts and floods which endangers animals and cause natural catastrophes on human.

Despite the abundant water resources in the Philippines, the allocation of this are unevenly distributed which results in water shortages in highly populated area, especially on dry areas. With the increase of population coupled with worsening pollution of water, lack of infrastructure and facilities result in distribution issues and conflicting rights over limited water supply here in the Philippines.

Lack of an appropriate institutional framework to address issues of development and management of water and related resources is one problem to address to our government.  Government is created for the people to seek and provide the people’s needs.  Government must put the proper agencies to help the people address their needs, especially the need for clean water. Inefficiency in water usage was exacerbated by the absence of regulations to promote water conservation and rational use of water. They must also promote strict rules and provides seminars to promote water conservation among its institutions. 

The high level of water loss due to leaking pipes and illegal connections, one example of this is what happened in our barangay recently, one of the major water providing ruled over our water system, due to their lapses in installing pipes, every night there is a water leakage in canals for couple of hours.

Being unaware of the things happening around us is the main cause of the destruction of resources. If this continues, our race will face the extinction sooner or later. We must change this paradigm, it is not too late to give back to our mother Earth what we extract from her. Let us be the instruments of change, and we must start within on ourselves. 

atmosphere!

Earth's Atmosphere

We discussed about the layers of the atmosphere from the innermost layer to the outermost, from troposphere  stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere and exosphere. The ozone layer which is in the stratosphere region plays a major role in earth. Both oxygen and the ozone absorbs 95 to 99.9 % UV radiation from a source in the internet. If, there is no ozone layer, there would be no human existing on earth. Because of industrialization and human infinite ways of thinking, the ozone layer gets depleted. CFC's from the technology we made are speeding up the breakdown of the ozone. Now, there are holes in the ozone, and if we continue to be unaware of our ozone, death will await for the future generations.

Humans raised the effect and damage of the natural disasters leaves behind to our environment. Humans are the main culprits who made global warming. It is because of our dumping of chemical waste into water which results in the death of under-water wildlife. When the same water evaporates in the atmosphere, mixing with sulphur dioxide emitting from factories, it results in acid rain destroying vegetation of crops, infrastructures and buildings, and if mixed with rivers and lakes it can kill almost all the aquatic and marine life. Global warming has an advantage because it traps the excessive heat from the sun and carbon dioxide produced on earth but if it has reached the limit, it will cause a global destruction. Because of the enormous extraction of non-renewable resources like coal, oil and other liquids that produce methane, will increase the rate of global warming in the atmosphere, because methane stays in our atmosphere for decades before it escapes outside the atmosphere. We are seeking our own destruction because a decrease of 1 degree in temperature all over the world, will speed up the melting of glaciers and ice caps and cause early ice thaw on rivers and lakes and will also cause the current rates of sea level to rise that will make a greater risk of flooding to low lying areas, and sad to say it may cause a country to sink in the ocean, and therefore killing all the human race living in it. 

Lithosphere

Our Earth's Lithosphere

During our discussion in Environmental Engineering, I was recalled about the land portion of our earth.  30 percent of the Earth is composed of land. Land is very important to us, humans, because this serves as the foundation of our shelter. Our Earth composed of three main layers, the core or the inner layer, the mantle and the crust which includes the continents and the ocean floor.  Our Earth’s outer layer is broken into pieces and this is called tectonic plates.

From past to present, we experience and some witness volcanic eruptions earthquakes, and some are tsunamis. We know that this happens because this is a natural occurring phenomenon in our planet. Our activity interfered our nature, which cause a natural disaster or make the effects far worse. One example is, we do not cause earthquakes that are generated by tectonic movement and seismic activity, but underground mining can result instability that causes earthquakes.

We, humans are not just the cause of the rise in natural disasters but we also played the major role in destroying our environment and are continuing to do so. Our environment is being damaged more by us, humans, than by natural disasters. We can give back to Mother Nature what we have taken from her.  WE act NOW or pay the price soon.