DUMAGUETE CITY – More than 100 scholars of geothermal power leader Energy Development Corporation (EDC) from different colleges and universities in the country are pushing for renewable energy (RE) for their future and for the coming generations.
The scholars, coming from EDC’s four geothermal sites in the country, completed over the weekend the solidarity building and enrichment workshop held at the Negros Oriental Convention Center in Dumaguete City, the provincial capital of Negros Oriental.
One of the scholars, Jamaica Escosa, a graduating student taking up Bachelor of Science in Geology at the University of the Philippines-Diliman (UP-Diliman), noted in an interview that geothermal energy and other forms of renewable energy are sustainable unlike coal which has harmful effects on the environment.
When asked about the role of the youth in the protection of the environment, she stressed that since social media is now the more popular medium, “by just sharing and posting advocacies about geothermal and renewable energy resources, we can give the youth the information about these.”
She went on to say: “para alam nila na may renewable energy pala na hindi na mag stick sa coal kasi naka dagdag din lang sa greenhouse gases sa atmosphere (so that they would learn about renewable energy and not stick to coal which adds to) greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and contributes to global warming and climate change.”
For her part, 19-year old Karla Laspiñas, from Bacong, Negros Oriental who is also taking up BS Geology at the Negros Oriental State University (NORSU) in Dumaguete City, emphasized that renewable energy is the way to go because of climate change, adding that protecting the environment begins with one’s self.
“Pwede mag start sa kaugalingon nimo so if kabalo ka nga mao na ang insakto ug maayo sya (you can start with yourself and if you know that it is the right thing and it is good) then you can tell your friends about renewable energy for ourselves and for our future,” she pointed out.
“And in school, you can also come up with an organization about tree planting,” she added.
Escosa, 20 years old, from Bago City, Negros Occidental, is one of the hundreds of EDC scholars chosen under the company’s College Admission Review and Readiness (CAREERS) Program and had finished her elementary and high school in her hometown.
According to her, since her elementary days, EDC had been giving school supplies to students of the Mailom Elementary School, which is situated close to the company’s Northern Negros Geothermal Project.
She said she first passed the UPCAT (UP College Admission Test) and studied at the UP-Iloilo Campus, taking up Bachelor of Science in Management but later transferred to UP-Diliman to study BS Geology.
Laspiñas, meanwhile, started out as a scholar of EDC during her second year in college and hopes that what she had learned these past days during the CAREERS skills training will be applied in her profession.
She is one of the many local scholars of EDC who benefit from the support given them to tide them over their other expenses despite the free tuition they are enjoying in the different government schools.
It is a privilege to be an EDC scholar, according to both Escosa and Laspiñas, who were among the 102 scholars who completed the recent CAREERS workshop here.
During the workshop, they also had the opportunity to visit EDC’s Southern Negros Geothermal Project in nearby Valencia town and visited the company’s state of the art Vegetative Material Reproduction (VMR) nursery.
“Doon po sa VMR nursery, doon po namin nakita kung paano kinu-cultivate ang mga (indigenous) seedlings (at the VMR nursery, we saw how the seedlings are being cultivated) and were shown the other processes in the nursery,” said Escosa.
Stressing the need to plant indigenous trees, she added: “Dahil sa mga trees na iyun na more yung carbon absorption (there is more carbon absorption because of these trees) and so mas efficient sya kesa sa mga foreign trees ang indigenous trees (they are more efficient than foreign trees.”
Laspiñas also shared her experience, having witnessed the processes of harnessing the earth’s geothermal energy and turning it into electricity during their visit to the geothermal power plants in Valencia.
The CAREERS scholars are from the EDC’s geothermal sites in Negros Island, Leyte, Bicol, and Kidapawan.
Norreen Bautista, head of EDC’S Community Partnerships, External Relations, and Watershed Management Group for Negros Island, was earlier quoted as saying: “Through CAREERS, we empower our scholars so they can turn mirrors into windows of opportunities for their bright future.” (PNA)
