FUEL SAVING SHOWS
ASIANS AHEAD OF EUROPEANS
Erle Frayne D. Argonza
Good
Day from the suburbs south of Manila !
Another
gladdening news for us global citizens just came out recently from the heraldry
mills: that of Asians leading the way to fuel-saving behavior. For those
advocates of mitigating ‘greenhouse effect’ gas emissions through direct
motorist interventions, the news surely comes as a refreshing one.
In
a report summarized in the Philippine Daily Inquirer (by Amy R. Remo, 22 August
2012), the Shell corporation accordingly conducted a research which shows the
greater inclination of Asians for fuel saving then the Europeans. 3,300 drivers
across Asia and Europe served as respondents,
and was released by the Shell FuelSave Report.
The
motivation for fuel-saving, as validated by the research, were (a) the prospect
of saving money and (b) being environmentally responsible. One can see, from
the report, how economics has been merging with ecological balance concerns for
the entire Asian continent, a reality that wasn’t there two (2) decades back.
The
increased awareness of Asian motorists towards fuel utilization efficiency
clearly deconstructs those contorted notions that developing countries are too
low in environmental awareness. It’s plain stereotyping, this protestation from
Western/Northern countries that Asians can’t commit to cutting down fossil fuel
emissions as their development path still lingers on in the phase of
‘smokestack economy’ of yesteryears.
Fact
is, the research findings coincides with the recent manifestation of exemplary
behavior by Asian countries in re-engineering their policy environments to
shift their power production and fuel consumption towards more clean energy in
the foreseeable future. It is the Northern/Western countries that have been
remiss in this regard, as one can see, with the USA leading the way to stubborn non-commitment
to international protocols on cutting down fossil fuel emissions.
The
report accordingly conducted online interviews beginning March 21 this year in
the following countries: Philippines ,
UK , Denmark , Norway ,
Netherlands , Germany , Turkey ,
Singapore , Hong
Kong , Malaysia
and Thailand .
My
own country, the Philippines ,
has been among the most applauded internationally as it had reshaped its policy
environment to develop and mass produce green energy fuel sources. Hybrid
engines are now available in the country that utilize a combination of
alternative and fossil fuel sources, while solar-powered vehicular prototypes
are being designed across the country (even university students are vying for
exemplary prototypes that can be mass produced locally and abroad).
The
resort to fuel saving is a transitory phase towards a shift to total clean
energy sources (solar, fuel cells, to the more ambitious gravitic and plasma technologies)
that will be the viable option in the near future. My own forecast is that it
won’t take till 2025 when the total shift can be accomplished across Asia , with the emerging markets of today leading the way
towards that ambitious goal.
[Philippines , 12
September 2012]
[See: IKONOKLAST: http://erleargonza.blogspot.com,
UNLADTAU: http://unladtau.wordpress.com,
COSMICBUHAY: http://cosmicbuhay.blogspot.com,
BRIGHTWORLD: http://erlefraynebrightworld.wordpress.com,
ARTBLOG: http://erleargonza.wordpress.com,
ARGONZAPOEM: http://argonzapoem.blogspot.com]
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