In the dark

The first typhoon of the rainy season to hit Metro Manila reminded us of two things: the vulnerability of our energy supply, and the lack of programs to protect trees during natural calamities.

Saving trees is not just an environmental thing. Apart from strong winds, large trees uprooted by Typhoon Glenda hit power lines and lampposts, knocking out power in much of Metro Manila. Until yesterday, residents in several villages were fretting over reports that restoration of electricity in their homes could take several days. Energy officials said full restoration could take up to two weeks. By that time there could be another strong typhoon.

Fallen trees blocked many roads in Metro Manila when I drove around as Glenda was exiting the other day. The mango tree in our garden came close to crashing on the house. Other trees were drastically pruned.

We’ll have to learn how to secure trees when typhoons approach. In China, Japan and South Korea, I’ve seen trees – especially old ones – that are lovingly pruned, wrapped in insulating material and secured with rope in preparation for winter. The trees are also tied down to prevent them from being blown away when storms approach.

Architect Felino Palafox Jr. emailed his ideas yesterday on the value of trees. Excerpts:

“Elsewhere in the world, trees in urban streets and highways are given high importance. In Dubai, where I worked as an architect and urban planner of the city in the seventies, date palm trees and other trees are incorporated into the street design, along with other greeneries like flowers and shrubs.

“In Singapore, even a taxi driver will tell you that a fifty-year-old tree is a heritage tree. Under the National Parks and Tree Act of Singapore, when new establishments are constructed, it’s tax deductible in the first five years if they plant trees or preserve trees in their properties.

“In Porto Alegre in Brazil, the Rua Goncalo de Carvalho street is completely blanketed with more than a hundred Rosewood trees. It stretches a span of 500 meters, and was planted in the 1930s by German officials. There have been plans to remove some of the trees for development, but the active community won over. In 2006, the road was officially declared a Heritage Environment, the first time an urban street in Latin America was given honor.

“Japan holds the record for the longest tree-lined road in the world. The Nikko highway, which runs through Nikko, Aizunishi, and Reiheishi boasts of 37 km of 27m height Japanese cedar trees. These trees are more than 300 years old.”

In the Philippines, Palafox cited only a few areas “where trees, streets, and people are in harmony: the wide streets of UP Diliman, a haven for joggers, bikers, and pedestrians – a respite from the cacophony of accident-prone Commonwealth, and the magnificent tree-lined Rizal boulevard in Dumaguete where writers have been inspired to create poems and soliloquys under the very canopies of its age-old acacia trees. Rockwell Drive and the streets of Ayala Alabang and Ayala Heights also come to mind.”

Jun Palafox believes good road design includes trees. He wrote:

“The geometric design of our roads should follow the rule of thirds: 1/3 for trees and landscaping, 1/3 for pedestrians and bicycles, and 1/3 for moving vehicles. Urban designers, landscape architects, environmental planners, and good road engineers know that roads can be designed around trees, without needing to uproot them. For many people, trees are the most important single characteristic of a good street. Streets moderate the form and structure and comfort of urban communities. In a very elemental way, streets allow people to be outside. The people of cities understand the symbolic, ceremonial, social, and political roles of streets, not just those of movement and access.”

It’s too late for these ideas in many communities in Metro Manila, but they can still be applied in new development.

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At the Wilcon home builders’ depot along Alabang-Zapote Road, at the boundary of Las Piñas and Muntinlupa, one item flew off the shelves yesterday morning: power generators.

The other day, as Glenda roared across Southern Luzon and Metro Manila, there were also long lines for gasoline at the few pumping stations that stayed open. The gas was not for vehicles but for generators.

Several villages remained without electricity yesterday in southern Metro Manila, where a number of large electric posts were toppled if not by Glenda’s winds then by uprooted trees.

Even if it’s not the typhoon season, people must start preparing for power outages. This was the advice given to us about two years ago by a prominent player in the power industry, who said it would take time before new power plants could come on stream and meet an ever-growing demand. The situation is particularly dire in Mindanao, the industry player warned.

Sure enough, Mindanao has been suffering from regular blackouts for some time now, with significant relief still several months away at best. The situation can still get worse, which would be bad news for President Aquino and his sagging ratings and whoever he endorses as his successor in 2016.

While power generators are useful, not everyone can afford them. The more affordable models are also quite noisy. And people are wary of keeping gasoline at home on standby for a stormy day.

After Glenda, and with power still out in several areas as of last night, people are stocking up on rechargeable lamps and flashlights and of course candles.

Anyone who can develop or bring into the country affordable solar panels for household use will strike it rich. So far the models commercially available locally make people wonder if the stiff price tag is worth it.

We’re stuck with traditional energy sources, and they are becoming increasingly inadequate again.

President Aquino’s mother was dubbed the “Queen of Darkness” by Metro Manila residents who could do little except sweat and rant during daily eight-hour blackouts from 1991 to 1992.

P-Noy should not want to bow out of power as the King of Darkness.

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CLARIFICATION: The World Bank Group’s country office said senior economist Andrew Parker stopped working for them on Oct. 1, 2010. Parker is the British husband of Presidential Management Staff chief Julia Abad, daughter of Budget Secretary Florencio Abad.