ACOJON, NICAH P.

BSA 1-2

EXORDIUM

As a developing country, Philippines continuously experiences a lot of

trials that greatly affect the progress of our nation towards socio-economic
stability. The Pearl of the Orient Seas’ enhancement of the current state of
science and technology is the only way to overcome these struggles.

At the present era, it is undeniable that our scientific and technological

capacities aren’t utilized well to generate solutions to our problems. It doesn’t
help that we, Filipinos, do the otherwise instead – generate problems and not
solutions. The challenge today is the right means to utilize scientific and
technological advancements to able to find ways to work out our difficulties.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN AGRICULTURE

Growing crops and raising livestock has gone techy today but it is not
harness well in our country. I am not discrediting the traditional ways of
agriculture instead, I am encouraging a sustainable agriculture with the
combination of science and technology and the traditional means.

Nowadays, bio-pesticides and bio-fertilizers are commercialized which

benefit the environment, lessen the labor work of making traditional fertilizers
and reduce the need for using chemical pesticides and fertilizers. Given our
healthy vast agricultural lands and unending environmental issues, we can take
advantage of these products.

Acid rains and typhoons cannot be controlled by anyone of us but we

can a way to generate its good value. Other than the traditional planting of
plants that sip acid rain, rainwater can now be filtered and purified enough to
be used as water for irrigation systems using a portable rainwater filtration and
purification machine. An investment on this equipment will be essential to
farmers.

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 Genetically modified crops (GMCs) are evident in our country. It is, at
some point, helpful especially in marketing seasonal vegetables and fruits but it
drain the nutrition in naturally harvested crops, which greatly affect a nation
with high rate of malnutrition. Producers of GMCs must insure that their produces
are nutritious enough for the takers. Moreover, before any release of GMCs in
the public, the GMCs must be first checked by a government body and must
achieve a certain nutritional level.

There is a rice vending machine invented by a group of students in San

Pedro College of Business Administration which they called “V-gas,” which is not
made available for the benefit of the people.

Fisheries and livestock can now engaged to vaccines and diagnostic kits
to mitigate the risk of potentially devastating fisheries and livestock disease
outbreaks.

Agricultural insurance has been long implemented in our country but it

was not strictly imposed. The state must provide insurance protection to farmers
against losses arising from natural calamities, plant diseases and pest infestations
and livestock raisers against losses of animals, and fish growers against losses in
unharnessed stock in fisheries due to fortuitous events. Unfortunately, not all
farmers, livestock raisers and fish growers experience this law and are struggling
to stand up again after devastation in their only source of income.

Agriculture-related courses are belittled by various people in social media

over professions of medicine, engineering, and accountancy, but the main
economic mechanism of our country is agriculture – the crops we export – and if
our current generation leave it and choose the professions stated above, the
future generation will not know how blessed our country with healthy lands and
we will lose our staple food and our natural riches.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN CONSTRUCTION AND HAZARD PREPAREDNESS

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 Philippines is prone to natural hazards – from volcano eruptions,
earthquakes to typhoons and floods but after a long time of being destructed
by various calamities, we never learned and improved anything to be prepared
for the upcoming catastrophes.

We can now accurately forecast the weather phenomenon but we

cannot communicate it well to the mass. Here comes science and technology,
then. The intensive utilization of mass media – radio, television and even social
media – in reporting the current typhoon we are experiencing should be
updated every hour and must reached its audiences up to the heights of our
mountain ranges. Early warning systems must also be implemented on all parts
of our country.

Dykes can also be built to protect houses near the coast from storm surges
and tsunamis, if any earthquake arises. Infrastructures’ materials, especially on
the current administration’s Build, Build, Build project, must be of finest quality
and not substandard to be able to survive earthquakes.

The University of the Philippines and Department of Science and

Technology gave birth to Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards
(NOAH). It is a multidisciplinary research center with the goal of helping reduce
the impacts of hazards. It also seeks to assist the country in disaster risk reduction
and management, climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts and
related activities through research, development and extension services
available in our mobile phones.

Other mobile applications for our weather are (1) Arko, which aims to
raise the mobile device users’ awareness of different hazards primarily on their
current location and to help people find safe areas to build with; (2) Rain Check
PH, which aims to give mobile device users’ information about 4-day and 4-hour
rain forecast primarily on current location, and; (3) Flood Patrol, which gives its

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users the ability to upload their personal flood reports regarding flooding
incidents in and around their localities.

However, project NOAH and other weather-related programs seem to be

unknown to a lot of Filipinos. Everyone must know the existences of these
weather schemes so they will be able to make use of its advantages.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION

It’s for a fact that Philippines isn’t a technologically advanced country so

some provincial schools are deprived of scientific and technological
equipments that students they continuously produce aren’t computer literate
and are having trouble applying for jobs. Given that works today demands
computer literacies.

Furthermore, there is a very low output of scientific researches publications

made by the Philippines as researches conducted by Filipino hardworking
students aren’t utilized well by the higher authority for the betterment and
development of the nation. Funding for the improvement of science education
is woefully lacking and there is no adequate and attractive financial support for
research and development. There is also an extreme lack of research
laboratories and facilities like science and technology libraries and information
networks.

No matter how huge the education’s share on the national fund, the
investment on the technology given to government-controlled campuses isn’t
that big to fulfill the numerous public universities needing the improvements.
Research and development cannot be conducted because there’s no enough
money to support the studies. Thus, the state must also allocate enough funds
for the technological advancement and research and development sector of
the country. Despite the insufficient financial support, Filipino students must
unceasingly strive to achieve new knowledge for the betterment of our society.

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SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN ENERGY AND WASTE DISPOSAL

Philippines is one of the countries that excretes mountains of garbage

annually. However, Filipinos live with the saying, “There’s cash in trash,” but let
me revise it with “There’s oil in trash.” Oil can now be produce from trash with
the new technologies harnessing the fuel content in non-recycled plastics.

Plastics are created primarily from energy feed stocks, typically natural
gas or oil. The hydrocarbons that make up plastics are embodied in the material
itself, essentially making plastics a form of stored energy, which can be turned
into a liquid fuel source. Today, recycling technologies reprocess many
common types of plastics and transform it into petroleum products or cleaner
fuels.

This is hitting two birds at one stone – reducing trashes and producing our
own fuel. If the government invest in this machine, it may be a huge deduction
to the national fund allocation but in the current time wherein fuel prices
unrelentingly surge and landfill options are limited, its benefits will be a great
help to our living. Yet, the mass still hold the success of it. Filipinos must first
collect plastics for its processing. The people must also take good care of the
machine.

ADDENDUM

Science and technology can be a mixed blessing – with much that is

good comes much that is clearly bad. However, the proper use of science and
technology will result only to good things – solutions to various problems that our
country is currently facing.

If we will invest on scientific and technological advancements, our nation

will slowly step forward towards its aim to achieve socio-economic stability.