‘Never been done in history’

In relation to the article I wrote last Monday about the 4,000-acre US Economic Security Zone in the Philippines, I unintentionally came across a commentary by Jesse Watters on Fox News and I will simply quote it verbatim:

“Get this. We just did a deal with the Philippines that has never been done in the history of the world. It’s an AI manufacturing zone. Over 4,000 acres.

“It’s basically a big American colony inside a former American colony and it’s designed to CHINA PROOF our (US) supply chain. Manila gave it to us for 99 years and they even threw in diplomatic immunity. So, no parking tickets.”

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While some folks may be relieved use this that the 4,000-acre facility won’t be a US military base in sheep’s clothing, many of the younger generation who are familiar with AI farms and facilities are already raising concern.

One reader has expressed what many Gen Z kids have been telling me lately; “Hi Cito, I wonder if this zone will be used to build huge AI data centers that use up tremendous amounts of water and pollute the whole vicinity. I know these are extremely unpopular in the US, there is a lot of pushback against building them, so the Americans need to find other places to locate these data centers. Someone should look into this!”

Yes, someone should look into this concern, particularly the officials at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources as well as the Department of Energy, even the DILG.

As pointed out by the email sender, AI farms and facilities use up and dispose of large volumes of water to cool down their various equipment and facilities. All that will come from ground water, all of it.

Considering that no less than the acting DENR Secretary Mitch Cuna correctly called out a threat of water bankruptcy facing the Philippines, do we really want “aliens” sucking up our resources, leaving us dry and leave sink holes just like in the movies?

Where or how are the Americans going to power those energy depleting AI farms and facilities? Are they going to install wind power generation plants that occupy a lot of land area? Or will they put up solar farms which is unlikely?

Or will the operators be using portable or mini nuclear power plants that have become the focus for large power consumers. If so, does the Philippines have any say regarding water pollution, depletion of water resources, etc.

Personally, I would like to know if this “freebie property lease for 99 years” is actually a government-to-government agreement, or will it eventually turn into a “sublet” or sub-lease agreement between US officials and big business conglomerates in the United States.

While the US wants to China-proof their AI needs, what happens if China decides to declare an embargo on the Philippines, remote as it may seem? Where will we get everything?

Why exactly did the Philippines agree to have, in the words of the Fox News commentator, “an American colony inside a former American colony?” We’re not exactly Venezuela or Cuba. Or are some Philippine officials simply “buying insurance”?

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People have expressed interest in some of the energy-saving, heat-busting ideas I have been talking about.

Two weeks ago, I had to deal with a “hot box” or the old studio I used during my TV stint that we converted into a “she-shed” for my wife and daughter. Because we made it bigger, the roof area became a heat magnet this summer.

To cool it down, the boys and I stretched out a “50 percent shade net” one meter over and above the she-shed, and the hot box immediately became cooler.

The system is a copy of greenhouses that use 30, 50, 70 percent shade nets to cool down nurseries and plants. I did this back in 1991 when we rented a hot house and couldn’t afford too much air conditioning.

While cleaning equipment in the farm, we brought out an “evaporative air cooler.” This appliance looks like an air conditioner but operates by circulating water through cooling fins without compressors or freon.

After many years in the bodega, the CoolBreeze machine did exactly what it was designed to do, operate like an electric fan but blowing cooler air. We actually sat in front of it for several hours and found no need to turn on an aircon.

As far as refrigerators and air conditioners go, nothing beats having them serviced and checked regularly, especially aircons. I take the filters out and wash them myself because those dusty, dirty filters prevent the aircon from cooling the room and even triggers allergies.

Last week, I noticed that my trusty refrigerator was not doing its job. Something seemed to be off even after my wife had just cleaned it two days before. I decided to defrost and wipe down the ref and that’s when I remembered, people don’t always clean the cooling fins on the back.

So, I got a dust brush, cleaned the fins, wiped them down and I also got an eight-inch wood plank and used it to block the wheels of the ref from rolling close to the wall. Clean fins and being away from the wall made the ref cooler than before.

I hope all this helps y’all.

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