09-01-06

Hi friends, this is Harry Blalock; General Manager for radio stations KZMI & KCNM. It's that time once again to take a look at the issues of the week, and to offer some Food For Thought.

The first thing I want to touch on today was the recently held Marianas Roundtable energy conference sponsored by the Saipan Chamber of Commerce. The issue of energy was about much more than just the current situation at Commonwealth Utilities Corporation. In spite of some comments made at the beginning of the conference and the front-page headline in Friday's Saipan Tribune, the energy problem is not just the government's problem. It is a problem that not only affects each and every one of us, but it is one that each and every one of us can do something about, and frankly, I felt that was what the conference was all about.

The Lt. Governor gave a brief PowerPoint presentation at the beginning of the conference, which I felt was right on target and fit in very well with the overall message of the speakers. He talked about the need to conserve energy and to begin exploring alternative energies such as bio diesel fuel. He highlighted a Guam resident who is recycling used cooking oil and turning it into bio diesel fuel used to run diesel vehicles and diesel generators. And this is so profitable, that he's even going to the trouble of collecting all the used cooking oil from Saipan and paying to ship it to Guam. The Lt. Governor encouraged those in attendance to help be part of the solution by looking into such things themselves. The more alternative and renewable energy that we manage to utilitize, the less of a demand we will put on C.U.C. and the more self sufficient we will become.

Coconut oil happens to be an excellent form of bio diesel, and in case you haven't noticed, we have a pretty abundant source of coconuts here. Coconut oil can be produced far cheaper than what we are paying for regular diesel oil at the moment. And if you've ever been around a diesel engine, you know that the exhaust it has from regular diesel fuel is dirty and smelly. But when it runs on coconut oil the exhaust actually has a sweet smell, it smells like coconuts. And if you are burning it in the tropics, you don't have to worry about making any modifications or mixing the coconut oil with any other fuel, you can burn it straight.

Now I'm not suggesting that we run all the generators for C.U.C. on coconut oil, we don't have anywhere near that kind of supply of coconuts. However, if some enterprising individuals decided to start producing coconut oil, they should be able to produce it at and sell it at a cost far less than what we're currently paying for diesel fuel and still make a handsome profit. That means that people driving vehicles with diesel engines would have a cheaper alternative fuel available. If you have a diesel generator, you would now have a cleaner burning, and cheaper alternative available.

I understand that there are those who are saying that coconut oil is way too expensive or that it won't work, the problem is that these people have no idea what they're talking about. They haven't done their homework and done the research into what's going on throughout the Pacific. And sadly, some of the people saying these things are ones who really should know better, or at least take the time to find out what they're talking about before they offer their opinions. There is a very well known businessman in the Marshall Islands who is running all his vehicles on coconut oil. In fact coconut oil production is so viable and economical, that with very little effort you can find several sources on the Internet where you can buy the machinery to produce coconut oil.

Now again, coconut oil itself is not the answer to all of our energy woes, but it could definitely be a piece of the puzzle. And in order for us to get the picture we're after, we're going to have to find all the pieces of the puzzle and put them into place. Many of the speakers at the conference talked about the need to be more efficient with our energy consumption. To be perfectly honest, we have not even tried to be energy efficient until very recently. And why would we, the price of our electricity was so cheap we just didn't care. It didn't matter if you left air conditioners running in empty rooms, or never turned anything off. The government was subsidizing the cost of our power, therefore we could afford to live like that, and sadly, most of us did. Now that we're being faced with having to pay for the actual cost of our power, most of us are waking up and realizing that there is a lot we can do to save money and electricity.

There are numerous things you can do that will all add up and cut your electric bill dramatically. Changing all your light bulbs to the new compact fluorescent light bulbs is a huge step in the right direction. These new light bulbs may cost a little more to buy initially, but they only cost a fraction of what old incandescent light bulbs would cost to use, and they last much, much longer than the old bulbs ever would, and they give off more light. Also many light fixtures have spots for 3 or 4 bulbs, but do you really need that many? You might want to try taking a few of them out and seeing if you really miss having the room so bright. I'm guessing you really won't mind having less light in most instances.

You also don't need to have your air conditioner thermostat set on 68 degrees. Many offices are so cold when you go in them that you see everyone sitting around in sweaters and jackets. That is just insane, why would we cool it down so much that we have to wear extra clothing to warm ourselves up? I think you will find that you are still perfectly comfortable if you raise the thermostat to 75 degrees, and you might find that you can lose the sweaters and jackets. And you'll be amazed at the savings on your electric bill. In case you haven't noticed, we live in the tropics, and it uses much more electricity to cool buildings down to 68 degrees than it does to 75 degrees.

You can also put your hot water heater on a timer instead of having it run all day long, even when you never use hot water. Most people only really need it for their shower in the morning, so why not have it turn on an hour or so before you want your shower, and then have it turned off immediately after everyone has taken their showers. This will make a big dent in your monthly electric bills, and chances are you will never notice any difference.

There are also coatings that you can put on your windows that will block the heat from the sun. You might find that you really don't even need air conditioning if you keep most of the heat from entering your house. You should also check to make sure that you don't have wide-open spaces around your windows or doors that let cool air out and heat in. If you had a gap that big in the hull of a boat, you can just picture how much water it would let in. Well, this is having the same effect; only it's cool air that's escaping, or hot air that's coming in. You can find all kinds of weather stripping material at your hardware store that will take care of the problem.

Believe it or not, but you are also wasting electricity by leaving your television, stereo and charging cords for your various gadgets plugged in even when they're turned off. They still continue to pull and waste electricity. You might want to plug them into a power strip that has a shut off switch on it, and then just switch it off when you're not using the appliances.

Yes, the energy conference was full of great ideas and advice like this, but it was also about where we need to look as an island for our future power supply, and how we finance it. It was something that our leaders should have attended as it gave them a lot to think about and more information with which to base their decisions. However, only a handful showed up at all, and only a couple of them bothered to stay and listen for very long. The Lt. Governor was there for part of the morning and afternoon sessions. Attending from the lower House I saw Speaker Oscar Babauta, Manny Tenorio, Absalon Waki Jr., Cinta Kaipat and Frank Dela Cruz. And from the Senate side, I only saw Senators Paul Manglona and Luis Crisostomo. And of this group, the only ones I saw attending most of the sessions were Absalon Waki and Cinta Kaipat. Do the rest of the lawmakers not care about our energy situation? Do they already know everything they need to know? Or do they not really care about representing you as much as they say they do? I found it more than a little disturbing that the majority of our lawmakers thought they had better things to do with their time than to hear what these experts in their fields had to say. Again, they just keep giving us more and more reasons to look into turning it into a part time legislature. And the more people I talk to that have a good understanding of things, think that a part time legislature is one of the best ideas they've heard in a very long time. Obviously, that doesn't include most legislators.

The Lt. Governor was right in his presentation, the power situation is all of our problem, and we should all have a part in fixing it. Are you doing your part? Is there more that you could be, or should be doing? Are you one of those who will step up to the opportunities that present themselves and turn it into a thriving business? Every challenge always presents opportunities, you just need to have an inquisitive mind and open eyes.

I'm Harry Blalock, thanking you once again for giving me a generous slice of your valuable time, and allowing me to share my Food For Thought.