My email last week contained a sundry on spiking prices of gas and foods especially from KAIBAnews (an ‘Egroup of Bikolanos‘). The site had this 'voting' for or against the May 12 Philippine transport strike. I sent KAIBAnews a brief comment about high gas and food prices since these not only made world news, but these issues concern us all. This is to reiterate my ordinary denizen position.
I agree with KAIBAnews Rey Bilo when he wrote that the issue of gasoline's spiraling prices is everyone's problem. North Americans are greatly affected by the weekly or monthly price hike. (World Bank cited USA as number one oil consumer in the planet.) In various parts of California (the state is as big as the Philippines by land area) the running cost per gallon of gas is $3.85 to 4.28. And like in the Philippines, the minimum wage has not kept pace with the high cost of commodities, not just gasoline. Repercussions of higher gas prices during an economic slow-down had truly impacted North Americans. Directly affected transport cost lifted up prices of food and groceries. There is the on-going mortgage foreclosures to thousands of homeowners that can bring about the collapse of the real estate market. We can also mention the rising rate of unemployment and the weakening of the dollar value.
Of course, we all know why oil prices are hiking up and may continue to for a while, like the cause of supply and demand and commodities traders. News sources cites the surging demands from developing countries, China and India specifically, contribute largely to raise oil prices. Reports point to the reduction of oil supply from Nigeria and Iraq as another cause. The decline of the dollar is a factor too. For oil money is denominated in dollars so that the 40% decline in the dollar has surge pressure upwards for oil prices, according to BBC news (07 May 2008, Oil Price May Hit $200 a Barrel). Oil trading on the commodities futures exchange is said to be the main reason this year. The prices in commodities trading fluctuates every day, depending on how investors play with it or how they see the oil price in the future. Reports say that the increase in investment money are going into commodities markets. Perhaps the real estate investors are heavily investing in oil futures. But shouldn't this heavy investment stabilize oil prices?
Anyway, I voted against the transport strike— as a method to, as Kaiba Rey wrote, "ipamate sa gobyerno an kadipisilan na itatao sa halos semanang pag taas kan presyo nin gasolina" (to let the government know our difficulties brought about by the weekly rise of gasoline prices). Such might be the case since oil prices affect gas prices. (I don't know the numbers in the Philippines, but in North America, news reports disclosed that crude oil accounts for 55% of the price of gasoline and 45% are influences from distribution lines and taxes. The last two are described to be 'usually stable,' and the need for maintenance or when lines are disrupted, which are 'occasionally',increase gas prices even when oil prices are low.) However, can Pinoys tell the government by other ways? Would silent protests be better? Should we silently organize ourselves and think of means to go on with our daily activities with lessened dependency on fossil resources (from personal lifestyle to producing and designing foods, goods, services, and infrastructures for the community)? Can we think of practical creation/"new" ways to generate energy or its substitutes? As said beforehand, gas' rising prices affect all of us; it is interlinked with the human waste or abuse of fossil resources which, at the same time, grossly deplete reserves (so fast as to empty earth of it in less than 40 years from today), ’empower’ only a few humans/structures, and contribute to the planet's pollution and dwellers' ill health. Besides the Pinas government's lack of money, even if Pinoys reduce gas consumption,which sources approximated to 30-35% per barrel, this would not bring prices down.
It is time, as my friend wrote to me, to look for a radical approach to this problem as well as to our social dysfunctional systems. Radical here,my perspective, takes the whole, not partial approach. Long term solutions, with sustainability. This is applicable to the Philippines whose problems are compounded.
And let us not expect leadership from institutions. Let us look for leaders from charismatic groups or individuals that are comparable to Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, or the Dalai Lama. They think global but act local, starting with self by lessening to loosing ego.
No comments:
Post a Comment