CO2 E - RACE/CO2 GREEN DRIVE: THE CAR MANILA EXPERIENCE

Monday, December 16, 2013

THE CAR MANILA EXPERIENCE - PART 1

When American troops began to leave the Philippines at the end of World War II, hundreds of surplus jeeps were sold or given to the Philippinos. The Electric Jeep above is made by the local Jeep producer MD Juan.

Lead Batteries up front looking alot like an abstract painting or sculpture. Very clean and CO2 free...as long as the batteries are discharged or recycled in a sustainable way.

The Pimped up version of the Jeep is called a Jeepney and can be seen all over Manila, driving people all over for next to nothing, except huge amounts of air pollution. Since they are not electric, the motors used in the Jeepneys comes from old second hand japanese cars without filters.

The above video tells the history of the development of a the Philippine MD Juan Car Company that makes the Electric MB as part of their CSR strategy.

The sight of the Electric Jeep, made me think of the Estonian Car Company ZEV Motors who has done a similar project by converting another National Iconic car as the Russian Pobeda.

When the above photo was taken, a serious rain shower took place in Riga and the weater was rather cold. In Manila during the CAR Manila event, it was warm at 4am in the morning. When it comes to rain, the Philippines has had their share.

Right before the CAR Manila event, Yolanda had swept over the Islands located probably as east as one get from Riga. The above image is from the little Art Town called Angono, Rizal an hour away in a Jeepney from Metro Manila. The images seen in the media of the distaster of Yolanda's fury over the Philippines was one my mind, along with the powerful speech by Yeb Sano at COP 19. See some of the most heartbreaking images by Rahman Roslan HERE

This speech blew my mind and was to me the strongest speech at any COP event so far. Hopefully the decisionmakers will listen to these words in the negotiations for the future of the climate on Mother Earth.

During the different interactions that was made in Manila, at for example above Rizal Technological University, there were talks about this amazing and moving speech. The climate situation is a constant present part of life for people in the Philippines, but they are never far away from a smile!

The Jose Protacio Mercado Rizal Alonso Realonda Sculpture at The Rizal Technological University

The Rizal Technological University (RTU) is located in Metro Manila with a great perspective on education:

The Philosophy
The Rizal Technological University believes in nurturing the creative potentials of Filipinos to excel in a dynamic world order and advocates commitment to global peace and sustainable development along with sense of moral responsibility and cultural patronage

The Mission

To prepare students to create their future in a knowledge-driven and culturally diverse society.

The Vision

A prominent University recognized for its commitment to innovative programs in addressing society's challenges.

The above image is of a Electric Bus filled with RTU students who was part of the performance. By doing so, they were part of the performance as the artists, the brush and the paint by having the GPS App downloaded on their smart phones.

The above Electric Bss from TECO with the students onboard and a lovely banner about the event in the front. TECO is in the Philippines know for their Air Conditioners, LED TV's and various other electronic appliences, but they have also made tis Electric Bus as part of their CSR program.

There was a meeting with all the police involved in the performance ahead of time to give the orders for what each and everyone should do and be at along the AIR tag route. Never has so many policemen been involved with the project, helping us out to create Street Art in a city.