When Oil Runs Out... Where will energy be sourced?

Every year, we demand for 400 quadrillion of British Thermal Units (Source: US Department of Energy). And, 88 % of this is nonrenewable: oil, coil and natural gas (collectively known as fossil fuel reserves). But, just how limited are our fossil fuel reserves? Some say it will be depleted in 50 years, others say it will be 100 to 200 years (Source: ecology.com). It doesn’t matter who is right about the remaining years of fossil fuel reserves, for there is only one fact: these reserves will run out soon. What matters is the innovations and inventions that the world could have so to have “sustainable energy.”

The Reproductive Health Bill: Under Scrutiny

For quite some time now, the reproductive health bill had bannered the morning newspapers, leads the everyday news, and became a major issue in the senate, but what does the reproductive health bill really means? What belief does it stand for? Will it help solve our population problem?

The reproductive health bill has the purpose of educating the Filipinos about family planning. It promotes two child policy and the use of contraception, but it has one catch, it doesn’t coerce or command the couple to choose family planning. The entirety of the said bill only wants to inform the Filipinos about our population problem and how it affects every single individual in our country.

Easy Solutions Are Rarely The Right Ones

RH Bill has become a national debate especially in a Catholic nation like the Philippines where the Church has a major influence. The separation of the Church and State seems simple to many: religious groups should stay out of government affairs. However, it is obviously not that simple in this country. It’s been so complicated since the inseparability of faith and public morality is inevitable in our nation. RH Bill has been so controversial that it even caught the attention of the world, including the Pope.

I would not elaborate the contents of the said bill since Macafra already do so (just refer to her blog). Basically, RH Bill is an act providing for a national policy on reproductive health, responsible parenthood and population development, and for other purposes.

The stated purpose of the said bill is to lessen poverty by reducing the population growth. But let me ask you question: Is the population really the cause of increasing poverty in this country? Would addressing it solve our country’s problems? Is the RH Bill the solution?

I chose not to present statistical data and medical evidences regarding my stand in this issue. People are already exhausted with this conflicting information that the opposing parties continuously feed to the public. Now, I don’t really know which to believe. So I prefer to choose my stand based on my beliefs and sole judgment.

ÜberMinds' Different Reactions on RH Bill

The members have been grouped into two groups regarding the issue on RH Bill in the Philippines. Below are the blog links of each member.

Pro:
Carol's "Macafra on RH Bill"
Robin's "Reproductive Health Bill: Under Scrutiny"

Con:
Charmaine: "Easy Solutions Are Rarely The Right Ones"
Louis' "Breaking the Facade"

Breaking the Facade

Before I am pro-RH Bill because I thought our booming population is a major weakness for our country: more mouths to feed which makes it harder for Pinoys to live a good life. I thought having a booming population will just cause a lot of problems which would make it hard for the government to lead our country to develop and grow. But after I read John Sison’s article in the Philippine Star newspaper last Monday, I now see the RH bill in a different political and economical perspective. Is there really a population boom? Does having a big population a weakness or more of an advantage?