It’s amazing how much we mindlessly waste energy. For instance, we still need to learn to close lights when we leave an empty room because we say — "sandali lang naman, eh."
It turns out that "sandali lang" has stretched to half an hour or longer as we busy ourselves in elsewhere like in the kitchen.
The same goes with the television. More often than not, if there are more than two members in the family, a typical house would have more than one TV set. Again, we forget to switch off when we leave the room to go to the sala or to the dining room or the kitchen, etc.
I confess that I am one of those people who can’t sleep unless the TV is on... which is so wasteful!
How many lights do we leave on all through the night? What kind of lights are we using in the house? Strobe lights are killers. Energy saving flourescents would have help bring the Meralco bill down.
How many times a week do we iron clothes? If you’re one of those fussy dressers who insist on having clothes pressed before putting them on, shame on you! Wrinkle is good in today’s fashion. The only bad wrinkles are the ones on your face.
The airconditioner. More than any other appliance in the house (aside from water pumps, oohlala), nothing makes the meter run faster than an aircon. So it is no longer wise to call up the house to turn on the aircon in your bedroom because you’re on your way home. Wow, pare — that’s wasting it.
Family with children are also learning the wisdom of camping in Mama and Papa’s room at night so there’s only one aircon running. That electric bill is going up as fast as pump prices at the gas station.
Besides, you can’t decipher what that long list of charges on the Meralco bill is all about. It’s gobbledegook intended to throw you off.
GASOLINE. Many families are in a quandary. Before, it seemed the practical choice to use the family car to bring the kids to school, mom and dad to work, and so on. Even when, gasoline prices began climbing, it was cheaper and decidedly, more convenient to use the car than for everybody to commute by public transportation.
Now that premium gas is almost 32 pesos and diesel costs 26 bucks while transport fares threaten to increase to seven bucks and up, we wonder how much it would cost a family to go anywhere —specially when school starts again?
Today, we are learning the hard way that we have to plan our daily trips and errands so we don’t waste gas, fares and energy. Better to plan that trip to the supermarket, the visit to the bank to pay bills, the visit to a sick friend in the hospital, etc. in a single round.
We also learn to pool rides to school and office, to parties and gimmicks. Besides, have you noticed, carparking fees are ridiculously high, specially in Makati City.
Thank goodness, the state of our wallet is a good "educator". When there’s less money to splurge, we snap quickly to attention and learn to control our expenses.
Raul Concepcion, chairman of the Consumer and Oil Price Watch, has proposed that the malls be closed one day in the week to save on energy.
This makes good sense. We have no idea how much energy is consumed when the malls are in operation, from the aircondi-tioning, to lights, sounds systems, etc. for the stores, restaurants, moviehouses.
In fact, we have suggested before that moviehouses should start screening only at 6 pm to save on energy because the theaters are almost empty during the noontime showing and fill up only in the evening. They can start at 4 p.m. during the summer and during the Christmas holidays.
The fastfood chains in malls could be exempted and allowed to open all 7 days of the week so the working people would have a place to eat. Obviously, these would have to be limited to those eateries along the perimeter of a mall which are accessible from the outside.
Already, the government has started implementing a four-day workweek for the summer to conserve on energy. Time will tell if this will have an effect on the efficiency of government service. The longer weekend would enable government workers to rest better, so they shall be more efficient (if not more honest) on the job. Sana!
Since there’s no stopping the soaring prices of crude oil, it looks like we ordinary citizens are expected to bear the cost. Pansin mo!
We know that this government shall always kowtow to pressures from the business sector, from the transportation industry, etc. to increase fares and rates because of global oil prices.
The voice of the masses is muffled by the big guns of industry. Tumataas ang presyo ng gasolina? Let the masses pay for it! Pass on the cost of increased oil prices to the common tao.
This is the same argument behind the proposed 12 percent VAT bill and now, Malacanang is considering upping income taxes. It’s a quicker and easier solution than to slugging it out with the big tax cheats and evaders.
Energy Sec. Raphael Lotilla has been quoted as saying that the government intends to convince private firms to do the same by implementing shortened workweeks.
That’s possible only for non–essential firms that don’t have a daily output of products or services.
The problem with shortened workweek is that a good slice of the workforce are employed on a daily wage contract which simply means — no work, no pay. Shall we say — let them starve.
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ANO BA, GUY? We were puzzled and disgusted with the news that ex–superstar Nora Aunor had been arrested in the Los Angeles airport because she was allegedly carrying shabu in her handbag.
Honestly, how stupid can that woman be? Shabu is a forbidden substance and for sure, Nora Aunor knew this. Did she think that her "superstar" status would exempt her from the law?
Listen, kiddo — to begin with, aren’t you a bit too old to be doing shabu?
Secondly, in the United States, of all places — NOBODY is above the law. Even the big stars of Hollywood have been hauled to jail for carrying pot or any forbidden substances, for driving under intoxication, for shoplifting, etc.
Shall I make a list? There’s Farrah Fawcett, Robert Downing, even Joan Kennedy (the ex-wife of Senator Ted Kennedy), et al. Hugh Grant was literally caught with his pants down with a prostitute. Wynona Ryder hit the headlines after being caught shoplifting. The daughters of President George Bush had an encounter with the law for drinking as minors.
And goodness, have not actresses Anjanette Abayari and Alma Concep-cion gotten in trouble with US authorities also for illegal drugs?
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo sure put her foot in her mouth by speaking out in support of Nora Aunor. If the "superstar" was carrying a forbidden substance, she is a felon and the President of the Philippines should have stayed clear of the issue even if they were good friends.
