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Qatar
Airways, the innovative flag carrier of the state of
Qatar, signed a “working-together agreement” with major
players in the aviation industry at the just-concluded
Dubai Air Show to study and possibly accelerate the use
of synthetic jet fuels to power aviation turbine
engines.
This
development did not come as a surprise at all.
This
pioneering undertaking, which the airline’s CEO Akbar al
Bakr inked with Qatar Petroleum, Shell, Airbus, Rolls
Royce, Wogad and Qatar Science and Technology Park, aims
to investigate the benefits of “gas-to-liquid” (GTL)
kerosene fuel, otherwise known as the “green” aviation
fuel in lieu of the common aviation gas.
It comes
in the wake of other “green” initiatives which the state
of Qatar has involved itself in even before being
“environmentally friendly” became a badge of honor was
witnessed by no less than the country’s Prime Minister
and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Bin Jabor
al-Thani.
Being
home to the largest known natural-gas reserve in the
world, Qatar, under the ruling al-Thani family, has
judiciously nursed its role as a pioneer in
environmental research and protection. Together with its
international partners, it pioneered in the safe and
environmentally responsible exploration, extraction,
development and distribution of natural gas and other
resources in and out of the country.
It has
also been working closely with other GCC countries in
the promotion of renewable energy. It has, in a very
real sense, put its money where its heart is.
This
time around it is in the legacy of imprinting “greening”
of the fast-growing and heavily fossil fuel-dependent
airline industry by insuring that Qatar Airways becomes
the first commercial airliner to go “GTL.”
This
effort combined with the
Doha International
Airport’s comprehensive, state-of-the-art environmental
detection and protection system and its quiet
participation in the aviation industry’s aggressive use
of composite materials and similar cost-reducing and
safety measures will definitely boost its position in
the global air travel market even more.
And just
to make sure that the public and, more important, the
global aviation players, get the message loud and clear,
during the same air show Qatar Airways proceeded to
order $13.5 billion worth of planes from Boeing Corp.
consisting of 30 787-8 Dreamliners, the newest in the
line and competitor to the Airbus 380, 27 Boeing 777s
and 35 other aircraft on option, a move which will
surely encourage the world’s biggest aircraft
manufacturer and, hopefully, the environmentally
challenged Bush administration to go even “greener.”
‘Unoy’
goes to the
US
Unoy,
the red-colored organic upland rice produced in Kalinga
province, has finally broken into the highly restrictive
and competitive US market.
Reports
reaching this column noted that the province’s unoy
farmers, through the Montana-based Revitalized
Indigeneous Cordillera Enterpreneurs Inc. represented by
Vicky Garcia, were able to ship the mandatory 10 tons
required by the US-based group which has been supporting
and training the farmers, together with the Department
of Agriculture (DA), since 2006.
After
making an initial shipment of 700 kilograms in 2005, the
Kalinga farmers were able to increase their export
produce to five tons last year and finally to 10 tons
this year. This development bodes well for Kalinga and
other upland-rice-producing provinces, especially at
this time when “green” products are gaining worldwide
patronage.
Properly
nursed to its rightful production state, unoy may just
provide the province and others similarly situated the
impetus to get out of their tradition- bound state into
the global economy.
Actually, they need not go very far. While the US and
other foreign markets may be tempting as they are
high-priced buyers, there is actually a growing market
right here in the country for organically produced
upland rice. With stability of supply, funding,
technical and direct-to-market support from the DA and
even the private sector, this can revolutionize the life
and practices not only of our upland brothers but the
increasingly health-conscious public as well. It is an
undertaking worth supporting.
‘Manong’
Max and related causes
I am not
sure now whether it was the Guimaras oil spill or the
Rapu-rapu mine-tailings disaster which noted journalist
Manong Max Soliven was railing about before he succumbed
to pneumonia a year ago in Tokyo. It could have been
both.
In his
usual acerbic prose, Manong Max denounced the greed and
insensitivity of “big business,” resulting in such
disastrous consequences for people, their communities
and, of course, the environment. It was, in his words, a
stab at the heart of the country’s lifeline and the
world’s future.
We
recall these fighting words with reverence and fondness
for the man who made a living fighting governments, “big
business” and the powers that be for causes which many
considered losing or even a waste of time, but which
were clearly at the heart of being human. To him, man
was at the center of God’s creation and his uplift the
principal objective of society’s common endeavor.
We were
not able to attend the Tuesday Club breakfast at the
Edsa Shangri-La last week which he used to preside over
whenever he was in Manila until his death. But I am sure
the members got around to say a prayer or two and
exchange remembrances and notes about this remarkable
man.
He was a
loss not only to the media but to a country and people
he served with courage, wittiness and nobility until
death. He will be long remembered as a pioneer in more
ways than one. And, as his Jesuit teachers and
schoolmates would proudly say, a real man for others.
E-mail: jxcoast1@gmail.com |
