Being able to look at the right direction

Photo from the UNFCCC website in 2015 when Christiana Figueres visited TESDA to look at the liter of light lamp post.  This building is where I usually get my PHP 25.00 cafe latte in the TESDA Women’s Center

Good leadership requires setting the right direction for everyone in the organization, but what if the direction everyone is aiming  for is not really the right place to look at.  The results can be disastrous.

Currently stuck in my house due to heavy rains, can’t go to the bank, missed my doctors appointment since my physician also could not come to the clinic, yes, climate change can disrupt personal errands and completion of simple things, specially if you are in a climate vulnerable location.

It took a while before I recognized the blaring difference between energy efficiency and power supply. Power supply is a policy decision while energy efficiency is a personal decision.  I am trying to figure out how to change my blog categories making renewable energy and biofuels a subset of energy and energy efficiency and fuel efficiency as another subsets.  I have been working lately more on the energy sector as a golden pot of opportunities in the energy sector, everyone in climate policy is looking at renewable energy but greater potential is in energy efficiency.

Things like off-grid and grid integrated  concepts of energy supply makes much difference. It is a human right to see light in a dark night, to be more economically productive, for kids to study, to finish task and a house needs lighting. If that light takes its power from the grid, it contributes to carbon emissions because each watt of power used up some form of fossil fuel in the energy mix but if that light gets its power from a renewable source, a solar panel, wind turbine or microhydro run of the river or even a biogas generator, its basically zero emission. As long as we get something from the grid, we contribute to carbon emissions, but we have to acknowledge the fact that we need power to run things.

In doing development work, it is much more fulfilling to work on off-grid renewable energy than to grid-integrated renewable energy.  Because grid-integration is riddled with politics and stakeholder interests. Thankfully, I’m not working on it.

Energy efficiency is a lot more personal, you go home and you turn the lights on, if its hot you turn-on the air conditioner and turn it off when its cold. Every month you get your electric bill, you monitor and verify if what you did, like buy a more efficient refrigerator or LED TV has an impact to your electric bill, and your so happy it does.  A monthly reduction of a couple of thousand peso is worth the 15,000 peso Ref or 20,000 peso TV you bought last Christmas with your bonus. Maybe next year, high efficient air conditioner, who knows, there is such a thing as perfect karmic timing.

Is it too late to move on to HS (Health & Safety)?

Fifteen years is quite a long time to gain an expertise on something technical but if the current workplace demands that you learn something new and provide expertise, that is something I do feel quite uncomfortable with. I have been comfortable working and sometimes being an expert in the field of environmental science and management. I do have the education, training and work experience to back it up with but what if my job demands that I go beyond it more than just a logical thinking, common sense requirement?

I am not moving on to high school, I am being provided responsibility to manage health and safety concerns. I may have worked side by side with people who have  been experts on that field but what if my responsibility now is to manage that? I remember way back, quite a while I guess when people from outside our technical field were appointed as administrators or managers, specially those who made a shift from the military to our industry…the first negative comments came from people like me, too ingrained in the technical and academic…

Since I am not the person in power, of course I have no choice but to just work my ass up and be the best, now with age things have changed and reflecting on my approach to work, I know this is much closer than coming from outerspace, I still have some hesitation that I may not be the perfect expert on HS even if I am quite confident on the E after all these years.

Drastic changes that I plan to do is take a few learning expeditions on OH&S.  I have attended the mandatory regulatory training and the lead auditor course but I still finding it too shallow to provide any level of confidence in working for the industry. There is this hesitation that I am not going to be the best if something is provided to me in  a silver platter unless I have worked hard for it and gained expertise on it….the opposite is also true…if I am not interested in something….I just don’t put it on my table anyway and let others do it.

Hot Summer, Winter Ready

I can’t believe that Gyeongbokgung Palace will be snowfilled in December, Spring and Summer will soon pass and my next trip North East Asia will be in December. I haven’t traveled in the winter farther north. Being in South East China in 2012 was limited to 5-10 degrees celsius. I have no idea what its like to be somewhere subzero.

As early as summer, I’m already preparing for my winter trip. A wool coat, the parka we bought at Bupyeong Station in Incheon, Korea and thermals would suffice I guess. The leopard scarf, navy snood, suede gloves and suede ankle boots. Jeans are a staple, have around three long sleeve chambray shirts, these will also be staples with Uniqlo Heattech underwear.

Anyway, is this work related? I’ll be burning jet fuel and increasing my carbon emissions. But travelling south to north won’t provide any jet lag, I hoe. I have already filed for my vacation leave as early as June.  Will there be significant changes when I return?

I hope so, work is piling up but satisfaction is declining. I need a new challenge. I need  a new break. Be wary of your enemies, but be thankful for your friends.

Earth Houring, Crowd Sourcing and Trafficking.

Time flew fast.   I just finished earth hour.  I didn’t stay home, I was driving during the course of earth hour and changes in local government jurisdiction also changed the lighting condition of roads. It is only now that I realized that lack of lighting can be hazardous specially towards traffic, increasing the risk of traffic accidents. Whoa!  Are we supposed to pull-over during earth hour, but that will waste an hour of travel. First time, an earth hour paradox had occurred.

The last time I was active for Earth Hour / SWITCH 2010 when I have to go to the Mall of Asia to join the concert of darkness organized by WWF but the for the previous years I just spent it at home. This year, fully unaware what time it was, I was driving.

Anyway, Spiderman was supporting the Earth Hour movement. Things are changing, because now Earth Hour has funded environmental improvement projects.  Does this make economic sense? Of course, environmental improvement has an economic value and any degradation is a loss of value.  Everyone has a responsibility to internalize their externalities.