MILKING COW: As regular user of the North Luzon Expressway, we join long-suffering motorists in demanding that toll collection be suspended until the dangerous highway is fixed.

It is ridiculous having to pay toll to venture into that death trap. Why is President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo allowing this? She has to dispel the generally held opinion that the tollway is just a milking cow of whoever is in power.

We already pay taxes for roads, so when we pay toll it is supposedly for something extra. The only extras we get are extra aggravation, extra exposure to life-threatening hazards, as well as extra wear and tear to our vehicles.

The President should order the publication of an audit report on toll collections covering the past three decades.

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NOW IT’S COCO OIL: Some senators are again making noise about the need for using coconut oil as alternative fuel. We want to laugh, but it hurts when we do.

We look pathetic coming up every now and then with proposals, some of them good ones!, about how to power up this country. The problem is that most of these bright ideas are disjointed. They are developed apart and independently of related ideas.

Is there anybody drawing up integrated plans, putting them in place, and overseeing total implementation?

In the case of energy, we hear proposals here and there, but we do not see any earnest effort to wrap them into one wholistic program for the long haul. We hear a lot about privatizing the National Power Corp., but outside that big business deal we do not see much else.

Where does coconut oil fit into the overall scheme (if any?) Who is assigned to research on it and pursue it, and how is it to be developed in relation to other alternative energy sources?

We remember that during the Marcos regime, there was a total program with clear targets in various energy sectors. We saw how our dependence on imported oil steadily went down as alternative energy sources were systematically developed.

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PROTECTING OZONE LAYER: The Department of Environment and Natural Resources has declared 2002 as the International Year for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer.

The energy sector, public transport, and industries — the main sources of poisonous air -– should take heed and do their share in minimizing the so-called greenhouse gases thinning out the ozone layer. The layer is a mantle high up in the sky shielding the earth from harmful ultraviolet rays.

While public transport and industries have submitted to pressure from Congress and environmental groups to comply with critical provisions of the Clean Air Act, alas, the state-run energy sector has failed in adhering to the basic mandate of the law.

The Napocor, for one, is stubbornly clinging to the highly pollutive coal-fired power plants. This despite admonition by lawmakers and environmental watchdogs against the toxins and carcinogens emitted by the dirty power-generating facilities.

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GREENHOUSE GASES: The Worldwatch Institute has said that coal emits 29 percent more carbon per unit of energy produced than oil, and 80 percent more than natural gas.

Carbon dioxide, although non-toxic, represents a major portion of the heat-trapping greenhouse gases. Coal-fired plants account for 88 percent of CO2 emissions, 99 percent of mercury, 96 percent of sulfur dioxide, and 93 percent of nitrogen oxide emissions.

Over the last 30 years, the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has increased by 30 percent — resulting in the human-influenced phenomenon called global warming and the punching of a large hole in the ozone layer.

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HOLE IN THE SKY: In September 2000, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration ozone monitoring satellite reported the biggest hole in the ozone layer ever observed in the Antarctic.

The hole appeared above an area of about 10.9 million square miles, exceeding the previous record by more than 300,000 square miles.

The enormous size of the hole surprised scientists. Dr. Michael Kurylo of NASA said these observations “reinforce concern about the fragility of the terrestrial ozone layer.” Physicist Ruben Piacentini of Argentina’s National Committee for Space Activities commented that although the hole is situated above unpopulated Antarctica, “it could end up passing over the southern area (Argentina).”

Aside from the so-called greenhouse gases, chlorofluorocarbons and the freon from old-model refrigerators and air-conditioners have been blamed for enlarging the “hole in the sky.” They have been banned.

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ASIAN BROWN CLOUD: A related phenomenon called the “Asian brown cloud” looms menacingly in the skies above Metro Manila and most mega cities in Asia. It was noted by climate experts as early as 1999.

Pilots and astronauts have been talking about it for years. Now, United Nations climate officials have officially recognized the problem: They warn of this giant cloud of brown haze stretching across Asia.

You can get a small replica of this haze if you go up to Antipolo and look toward Metro Manila. You see a brown-grayish haze hanging like a death shroud over the metropolis. A strong typhoon may clear the air somewhat, but the haze reappears after a day.

Scientists say the Asian brown cloud is disturbing rainfall patterns, could be dramatically affecting monsoons, and wreaking havoc on agricultural output of the region.

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THREAT TO SURVIVAL: A British Broadcasting Corp. report has this to say: “Scientists from the Seripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego… say the pollution is unprecedented in the region’s history, and will get worse as the pollution increases.

“Tiny particles in the cloud reflect the sun’s rays, cutting its heat by up to 10 percent.

“In the ocean, less sunlight could threaten the survival of the water plants and plankton — key organisms in the world’s food chain. Reduced sunlight also means that less water evaporates from the ocean — leading to lower rainfall and increasing risk of drought.

“Scientists now want to discover how permanent the (Asian brown) cloud is, and whether it is growing.”

UN Environment Program chief Klaus Toepfler said the cloud is caused by the burning of fossil fuels (crude oil and coal) by vehicles, industries and power stations, agricultural waste, emissions from inefficient cookers, and wood, cow dung, and other bio-fuels.

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NAPOCOR CLINGS TO COAL: Here, six coal-fired Napocor plants in Luzon and one in the Visayas generate 3,806 megawatts of electricity — Calaca 1 (300 mw) and Calaca 2 (300 mw) in Batangas; Pagbilao (764 mw); Masinloc (600 mw); Sual (1,294 mw); Quezon Power (443 mw); and Naga Coal (105 mw).

Calaca 1 and 2 in Batangas are just a few hours’ drive from Manila. Calaca 1 was commissioned in 1984 and Calaca 2 in 1995.

The DENR said it has studied the emissions of these coal plants with focus on their toxic and carcinogenic effects on communities hosting them. The department report is still being awaited, but previous studies by reputable entities have confirmed the health hazards.

Many concerned quarters, including environmentalist groups, are pressing the closure of these highly pollutive coal plants, but the Napocor is resisting and claiming that it needs the plants.