Author: Sean Si

Photo by Christian Widell

Have you ever experienced your phone dying in the middle of a long trip, and the nearest charging outlet feels like a Solar System away from the Philippines? If you have experienced this kind of scenario, then it is about time you get your own powerbank!

Powerbanks are portable battery packs that enable you to charge your mobile phone or tablet without the need of plugging them in a socket. They’re extremely efficient to carry around, and they don’t add much weight to your baggage. Sometimes it’s only when you’re desperate to charge your phone in an emergency when you realize how important it is to really have a powerbank in your bag at all times. Don’t wait for that to happen.

There are many different kinds of affordable powerbanks available in the market today. If you’re looking for one that is worth your money while being environmentally friendly at the same time, then a solar powerbank is what you’re looking for.

It’s portable

A powerbank is portable, meaning it can be easily packed in any bag. Many models are as slim and light as your phone. Solar powerbanks offer you the same portability as well, while also being built as sturdy as possible. Most solar powerbank models come in silicone rubber casings so it’s safe from most forms of contact with any hard surface. You won’t be worrying it getting damaged if you have a lot of items in your bag.

Charge Anytime, Anywhere

As mentioned earlier, one of the perks of having a powerbank is being able to charge anywhere. You can charge your phone or tablet wherever you are, whether you’re in a car, boat, plane, or even while walking.

Depending on the model, some powerbanks can offer hours of charging, which can help your phone last a whole day. While a normal powerbank requires you to plug it in once it’s empty, a solar powerbank can be charged through the power of sunlight. In a tropical country like the Philippines, this can be no problem as there is hardly any shortage of sunlight for us.

It’s environmentally-friendly

Perhaps the most important benefit of having a solar powerbank is that it is environmentally-friendly. Having the ability to recharge the powerbank without the need of plugging it into a socket means that you are saving a good amount of electricity. All you need is some sunlight! There are also models that can be charged just by exposing it to fluorescent light. By not using electricity to charge your powerbank and phone, you are already reducing your carbon footprint without effort.

 

A powerbank is one of the most essential items to bring during work or school. It is especially useful when going out of town or out of the country. Having it with you at all times ensures you that your gadgets can be charged up at a moment’s notice. A solar powerbank gives you all these, plus being able to charge them outdoors. In case you’re interested, there are other solar-powered gadgets you might want to consider having as well.

Image by Andreas Weiland

With the constant heat, it is tempting to manually install solar panels in the Philippines but the price people in doing so without safety precautions could be fatal. To get this renewable energy source on the roof of your home safely, it’s best to have it professionally done. As for other work you need to do on the roof,  here are a few tips to stay safe.

 

Guard Rails

Guardrail systems are used to make removable guardrails on your roof. This can be attached to any type of roof at any angle. It also has risers which can accept any standard 2×4 piece of wood. When connected to each other, they create a stable rail system for your roof.

The rail system acts as the vertical bars that support the wood which act as the horizontal bars. These also have holders at the bottom to hold 2×4’s that act as toe boards so that tools don’t fall off. Install this on all the edges of your roof or, at least, on the steep parts of it.

Toe Board Brackets

Aside from the toe boards on the rail systems, toe board brackets are devices that can be used while working on a roof to provide stable footing for on any part of the roof. This bracket is weaved into the roofing to remain stable while being used. 3 are needed in order to hold up a 12 foot 2×6. This especially useful because it can also act as a slide guard so you can bring along your tools with you to any part of the roof without worrying that they will slide off and injure someone on a lower level. These brackets are easily removed without damage to the roof.

Use a Good Ladder

And use it well. If you are on the ladder and it gives way, then the fall could be fatal for you and/or whoever you might land on. To ensure that this doesn’t happen, a ladder is something you shouldn’t skimp money on. You must also know how to use it properly.

First, the ladder must be tall enough to reach the edge of your roof and have a 3-foot allowance. Then, you must know how to set it properly, a.k.a. the following:

• Use a flat surface.
• Set it at a correct angle; too steep could make it fall over; too angled could make it slide out from underneath.
• Screw in 2×4’s at the feet of the ladder to prevent it from sliding off.
• Secure the ladder either by tying it to the roof or using a ladder stabilizer.

Other Safety Measures

• Use bright warning lines to warn yourself of dangerous areas such steep parts of the roof, unprotected edges, skylight holes, etc.
• Have safety signs and plans regarding where certain risks are in the roof and where to be extra careful.
• Wear a hard hat to protect yourself from falling items.

 

Being safe on the roof is all about the having the right tools, using them properly, and being responsible not only for your own safety but for others. These are all good investments to ensure that you can improve your house without risking your life.

Image by Martin Reisch

The Paris Agreement is the global effort to reduce climate change by the end of the century. Our own President Duterte is already on board with the movement and has even installed a system of solar panels in the Philippines, specifically in North Cotabato. It is possible that he may begin asking his citizens to comply as well. Here is everything you need to know about the Paris Agreement.

 

2 Degrees

The Paris Agreement is all about keeping the world’s average temperature from rising by 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels until 2100. Some may think that this is such a small number for a global movement but the smallest increase in global temperature already has huge consequences. Such a climate change could cause higher seas, drastic weather changes, and food and water droughts.

It’s Completely Voluntary

The accord states that, in order to achieve the aforementioned goal, countries should reach their peak emissions as soon as possible – before 2020 to be exact. This is the time when carbon emissions need to begin to decline rapidly lest the whole planet suffer the dire consequences. However it is not stated how the government is to do so. It only provides the framework to start greenhouse gas reduction. The government of each involved country will decide how they will reach their peak emissions as fast as possible.

The idea is to create a culture of accountability. Because of this, no punishment is provided for breaking the agreement for all 195 countries that have agreed to it. But since there was no punishment, the US was able to withdraw from it. While they are not bound to follow it, their withdrawal has been subject to global criticism.

The Rich will Help The Poor

Part of the agreement is for richer countries to provide 100 billion dollars by 2020 to aid less financially-capable countries. The logic of this provision, in relation to climate change, is that the rich countries will be making up for their malpractices. These countries were able to attain their money by burning huge amounts of fossil fuels which also contributed to climate change. Thus, poor countries that do not have the budget needed to protect themselves from global warming suffer because of the actions of rich countries.

The amount of $100 billion per year is set to increase over time. However, like other provisions in the agreement, this is isn’t an absolute mandate.

Donald Trump and the Withdrawal of the United States

As previously mentioned POTUS Donald Trump has recently withdrawn the United States of America from Paris Agreement. He also claimed that climate change was a hoax created by the Chinese to hurt the economy of his country. Ever since he was sworn into office, Trump has been rolling back rules that limit carbon emissions and backing out of the Paris Agreement just further proved this.

Under the Obama administration, the US promised that it would reduce its carbon emissions by 28% by 2025. This amounts to 1.6 billion tons of carbon. Approximately 150 businesses as well as some states have already agreed to comply to this. It is clear that the United States would have played a key factor in reaching the Paris Agreement’s goal especially given that it is the world’s secpnd largest pollutant.

What Happens Next?

Since the US has withdrawn, the world is now looking to China to take the lead the agreement and the country has already taken up the mantle. Premier Li Keqiang said that “China will stand by its responsibilities on climate change”. Being that his country is the largest pollutant, their compliance with the agreement is what the world needs to see that the agreement’s goals are reached. They have already committed to reaching their peak emissions by 2030 so that they may quickly shrink it afterwards. Also, they will be investing $350 billion in renewable energy by 2020.

 

The Paris Agreement is a global movement and one of the biggest showcase of world unity in a long time. For it to succeed its mission, world leaders are making the efforts to reach peak emissions as soon as possible. In order for them to do that, their citizens must follow the changes and new acts they may implement.

 

Solar panels in the Philippines are extremely useful as they are able to utilize the harsh rays of the sun by converting it into renewable energy. It’s not exactly a good thing though that that both the temperatures and the sea levels have rapidly been rising, all because of global warming.

If you’ve never given a thought about why each year just gets hotter and hotter, then it’s time to open your eyes to what climate change has been doing to the world.

 

Uncharted Territory

According to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), the record breaking heat of 2016 has been continuing in 2017. In 2016, the heat was caused by carbon dioxide emissions from human activity. This along with a strong El Niño is what caused the all time high heat.

However, even with the death of El Niño, the extreme temperatures have continued in 2017. Because of this, the director of WMO, David Carlson, described this year to be “uncharted territory” as it looks like the world record for global temperature will be broken again in 2017.

 

The Climate in 2016

For context on how dire the situation is for the world today, here is a summary of the climate in 2016.

Record high temperatures were set in these countries:

• In January a temperature of 42.7C (108.9F) was recorded in Pretoria, South Africa.
• In April a temperature of 44.6C (112.3F) was recorded in Mae Hong Son,Thailand.
• In May, a temperature of 51.0C (123.8F) was recorded in Phalodi, India.
• In July, a temperature of 54.0C (129.2F) was recorded in Mitribah, Kuwait.

 

The oceans also suffered from the heat with up to 50% mortality rate in the Great Barrier Reef of Australia and 75% of the biggest reef in Japan experiencing coral bleaching. To clarify, coral bleaching occurs when the corals get stressed out due to extreme heat, and become in danger of dying.

Scientific research has shown that the last time the world was this warm was 115,000 years ago. The most dangerous greenhouse gasses, methane, carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide, are all rising at an alarming rate and will cause even more severe global warming in the near future. The results include melting glaciers and ice sheets, causing a rise in sea levels and the possibility of coastal cities becoming submerged.

 

 

The Climate in 2017

According to Doha-based media company Al Jazeera, the NOAA’s National Center for Environmental Information has reported three facts about the temperature in March 2017:

• It’s the 4^th warmest month in a database that started in 1880
• It’s the 2^nd warmest March, with March 2016 being the first
• The temperature during this month was 1.12C above the overall average temperature of the database.

In the same database, the warmest months were January 2016, February 2016, March 2016, March 2017, and February 2017. From these figures, experts say that 2017 will challenge 2016 for the warmest year in recorded history.

 

Donald Trump

While multiple experts such as research scientist Jeffrey Kargel and climate change scientist David Reay have called for immediate action to combat climate change, POTUS Donald Trump and his administration have chosen to cut climate change research programs. In fact, he has recently chosen to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement, wherein countries are dedicate efforts to mitigate global warming.

Trump’s reasoning is that the terms in the agreement provide unfair environmental standards for American business. Because of this, he demands for renegotiation before rejoining. However, said the leaders of France, Germany, and Italy have stated that the terms in the accord are “irreversible”.

This greatly weakens that battle against global warming because America is the world’s second largest polluter; without their participation in the Paris Climate Agreement, the world’s climate and global warming are less likely to see major improvements.

 

Clearly the world is in a dire state with human emissions of carbon dioxide causing the rise of global warming at a dangerous rate. It will fall on China, the world’s leading polluter, to comply with the Paris Climate Agreement and each and every one of us to make efforts in reducing our carbon footprint for us to have a fighting chance at saving the world.

 

 

If you’re trying to think of a good science project and you live in a country where the sun doesn’t stop shining like the Philippines, then a solar panel and few cheap materials is all you need! With these you can create your own mini solar car. Here is how you do it:

 

Materials

1. A light wood or plastic frame; at least 6 square centimeters
2. 4 small axles or thin metal bars
3. 4 wheels
4. 4 eye
5. Adhesives and tape
6. 1 DC Motor
7. 1 small solar panel; just big enough to fit your mini car frame
8. 1 small gear and/or pulley
9. 1 large gear
10. Thin plastic tubes or drinking straws
11. 1 soldering iron

 

Creating the Body

Take the wood or plastic frame and create the basic body, at least 5cm wide. First you must figure out where to place the eye screws that will hold the axels. To do this, plot out four points near each corner on one side of the body that will serve as the bottom of the car; the points must be about an inch from the end of the length and ½ inch from the side. Note that these points MUST be parallel to each other. Firmly place the eye screws.

 

Adding the Wheels

Insert the 2 axles inside the eyes of the eye screws; 1 axle to hold the front wheels and another to hold the back wheels. When placing the axels on the screws, keep in mind that they must be able to rotate freely.

Then use plastic tubes or pieces of straw to be the spacer between the eye screws, and the wheels and gear that you will be placing on the axle. The tubes/straw will prevent these components from swaying from side to side.

Place one large gear in one of the axles. This will serve as the connection of the axle and the motor. Thus, this is an important step; fail here and the car will not run properly. As much as possible try to find a gear that is the perfect fit for the axle. If you cannot find one, then get a plastic gear with a small entry point. You can carefully burn the hole with a soldering iron to make it larger and fit the axle firmly. Whichever you choose to do, glue the gear into place on the axle.

Insert the wheels into the axles and adjust/replace your spacers if needed. Once you have the proper measurements, glue the wheels in.

 

Building the Electronics

Add a small gear or pulley system onto the shaft of the DC motor. Then glue this on to the top of the body of the car (on the other side of the axles) in a way the teeth of the small gear interlocks with the teeth of the large gear firmly yet smoothly. After you do this, move the car back and forth on the flat ground to make sure that the gears are properly working together.

Next, wire the motor to your solar panel and glue the panel into place. You could position this in any way that you want, depending on your design preferences. However, it is recommended that you keep it either horizontal or tilted so it could capture as much heat from the sun as possible.

Once this is done, you are finished constructing your miniature solar car. You must then test if it works!

 

Testing

The first thing you should test again is if the wheels can still rotate properly. Check it on the flat ground, rough ground, an inclined surface, or in your hand.

When you are sure that the wheels can rotate smoothly, look for a good heat source. Either good outside on a sunny day or use a strong lamp (at least 120 watts). If all the wiring is correct, then your car will run. Revise and correct the wiring or construction if your car fails to move.

 

 

The heat from the sun (or any other light source) will be absorbed by the solar panel which converts it into electric energy. This can be used to power almost anything, given that the panel can convert enough energy to handle it. In this case, it powered a small motor which was smartly connected to gears, axles and wheels hence allowing the car to move.