VI. Renewable-vs-Non Renewable Resources (types and uses)

Renewable energy resources

This are natural resources that replenish themselves within time limits that permit sustained use, in contrast to nonrenewable resources. That is, resources can be replenished by natural process at least as fast as they are used. Therefore it can be used over and over again. Five types of renewable resources are: Wind Power, Hydropower, Solar Energy, Geothermal Energy, Biomass Fuel and Wood.

Hydropower
Hydropower is the capture of the energy of moving water (falling of water from one level to another) for some useful purpose. This falling of water can be natural falling source or from a dam. The falling water is used to turn waterwheels or modern turbine blades which is used to powering a generator to produce electricity. Hydropower system is a clean source of energy systems that can neither be polluted or consumed during its operation. It eliminates the cost of fuel, making it immune to price increases for fossil fuels. As long there is a water source (lake, river etc.) it is renewable.

Solar Energy
Solar energy is the energy from the sun ( in the form of heat and light) that is directly capture and converted into thermal or electrical energy and harnessed as solar power. Solar power is the technology of obtaining (harnessing) usable energy from the light of the sun. Some applications of solar energy are hot water heating and space heating in the home. It is also used in the application of solar panels where individual homes (in region where it is warm and sunny) convert solar energy into thermal energy to generate electricity. The use of solar energy displaces conventional energy where it results in a proportional decrease in green house gas emissions. The energy from the sun is free with just the initial cost to set up the technology. The sun provides unlimited (renewable) supply of solar energy. The only draw back is that its requires a large area to collect the sun’s radiation and requires some means of storage.

Wind Power
Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into electricity using wind turbines (usually mounted on a tower). Wind power is used in large scale wind farms for national electrical grids. On a small scale it is also used to provide electricity to rural residences. Wind energy is ample, free, widely available, clean, renewable, produces no waste or greenhouse gases, need no fuel, good method of supplying energy to remote areas and can be a site for tourist attraction.

Biomass Fuel
Biomass Fuel (Biofuels) is any organic material produced by living organisms (plants, animals, or microorganisms) that can be burned directly as a heat source or converted into a liquid or gas. Some examples of biomass fuels are wood, crop residues, peat, manure, leaves, animal materials and other plant material.

There are two major sources of biomass;
i. trees, gains, sugar crops and oil-bearing plants.
ii. waste organic materials from industrial, commercial, domestic, or agricultural wastes. Examples, crop residues, animal wastes, garbage, and human sewage.

Biomass fuels (biofuels) are sustainable. It is cheap and is less demanding on the environment or Earth's resources. A major advantage of biomass fuel, is its low greenhouse gas emission characteristic where it adds less carbon to the environment when compared with burning fossil fuels. This is due to the fact that the carbon atoms released by burning biofuel already exists as part of the carbon cycle. Biomass absorbs an equal amount of carbon in growing as it releases when consumed as a fuel.

Fuel diversity is another advantage of biomass, it can be transformed into fuel in many ways such as in gasification, anaerobic digestion - fermentation of wet wastes (e.g. sugarcane or corn to produce alcohol (ethanol) and esters, and animal dung to produce biogas) and direct combustion - burning of dry organic wastes (e.g. wood and peat) just to name a few.

The use of biomass fuels can reduce dependence on foreign sources of oil whereby providing energy security for the country using it as a fuel. This will therefore promote an economic boost for both agriculture and the industry of that country. However, for it to be economical as a fuel for electricity, the source of biomass must be located near to where it is used for power generation.

Geothermal Energy
Geothermal Energy is power generated by the harnessing of heat from the interior of the earth when it comes to (or close to) the earth’s surface. The regions with highest underground temperatures are in areas with active or geologically young volcanoes. Chief energy resources are hot dry rock, magma (molten rock), hydrothermal (water/steam from geysers and fissures) and geo-pressure (methane-saturated water under tremendous pressure at great depths).

There are several methods of deriving energy from the earth’s heat where the heat energy that is generated by converting hot water or steam from deep beneath the Earth’s surface is converted into electricity. This hot water or steam come from a mile or more beneath the earth surface. geothermal applications includes:

i. Geothermal Electricity Production - generating electricity from the earth's heat. The steam rotates a turbine that activates a generator, which produces electricity.
ii. Geothermal Direct Use - Producing heat directly from hot water within the earth.
iii. Geothermal Heat Pumps - Using the shallow ground to heat and cool buildings.

Non-Renewable Resources

Energy sources are considered nonrenewable if they cannot be replenished (made again) in a short period of time.

Fossil fuels
Fossil fuels are found within the rocks of the Earth's surface. They are called fossil fuels because they are thought to have been formed many millions of years ago by geological processes acting on dead animals and plants, just like fossils.

Coal, oil and natural gas are fossil fuels. Because they took millions of years to form, once they are used up they cannot be replaced.

Oil and natural gas
What are they?
Oil and gas are chemicals made from molecules containing just carbon and hydrogen. All living things are made of complex molecules of long strings of carbon atoms. Connected to these carbon atoms are others such as hydrogen and oxygen. A simple molecule, called methane (CH4), is the main component of natural gas.
Crude oil (oil obtained from the ground) is a sticky, gooey black stuff. It contains many different molecules, but all are made of carbon and hydrogen atoms.

How were they formed?
Gas and oil were formed from the remains of small sea creatures and plants that died and fell to the bottom of seas. Over many millions of years, layers of mud or other sediments built up on top of these dead animals and plants. The pressure from these layers and heat from below the Earth's crust gradually changed the once-living material into oil and natural gas.

Over time, the layers of rocks in the Earth's crust move and may become squashed and folded. Gas and oil may move through porous rocks and may even come to the surface. In some places, pockets of oil and gas can be found, because non-porous rocks have trapped them. Pockets of oil and natural gas may become trapped between layers of non-porous rocks.

Where are they found?
Natural gas and crude oil can be found in many places around the world, such as the Middle East (about 70 per cent of the world's known resources of oil), the USA and under the North Sea off the coast of the UK.

What are they like as fuels?
When gas and oil burn they produce mainly carbon dioxide and water, releasing the energy they contain. Crude oil is a mixture of different chemicals and is usually separated out into fuels such as petrol, paraffin, kerosene and heavy fuel oils.

The oil-based fuels provide less energy per kilogram than natural gas. Both oil and natural gas produce carbon dioxide, which is a greenhouse gas.

How long will they last?
Oil and gas are non-renewable: they will not last forever. New sources of oil and gas are constantly being sought. It is thought that the current resources under the North Sea will last about another 20 years and the world resources will last for about 70 years.

Estimates vary, however, because we do not know where all the resources are and we do know how quickly we will use them. It is thought that with new discoveries these fossil fuels will last well into the next century.

Advantages
These sources of energy are relatively cheap and most are easy to get and can be used to generate electricity.

Disadvantages
When these fuels are burned they produce the gas carbon dioxide, which is a greenhouse gas and is a major contributor to global warming. Transporting oil around the world can produce oil slicks, pollute beaches and harm wildlife.

Coal
What is it?
Coal mainly consists of carbon atoms that come from plant material from ancient swamp forests. It is a black solid that is reasonably soft. You can scratch it with a fingernail. It is not as soft as charcoal, however, and is quite strong. It can be carved into shapes. There are different types of coal. Some contain impurities such as sulphur that pollute the atmosphere further when they burn, contributing to acid rain.

How was it formed?
Millions of years ago, trees and other plants grew rapidly in a tropical climate, and when they died they fell into swamps. The water in the swamps prevented the plant material from decaying completely and peat was formed.

As time passed, layer upon layer of peat built up. The pressure from these layers and heat from below the Earth's crust gradually changed the material into coal.

Where can it be found?
Coal can be found in parts of the world that were once covered with swampy forests, such as the UK about 250 million years ago. There are large deposits in China, USA, Europe and Russia. South Africa also has relatively large deposits.

What is it like as a fuel?
When coal burns it produces mainly carbon dioxide, some carbon monoxide and soot (which is unburned carbon). Many coals when burned produce smoky flames.
Their energy content weight for weight is not as great as oil. When coal burns it produces more carbon dioxide than oil.

How long will the supply of coal last?
The world has relatively large reserves of coal, more so than oil and gas. Estimates vary, but suggestions are that supplies will last well into the next century.

Advantages
Coal is relatively cheap, with large deposits left that are reasonably easy to obtain, some coal being close to the surface. It is relatively easy to transport because it is a solid.

Disadvantages
Some sources of coal are deep below the ground, as in the UK. They can be difficult, costly and dangerous to mine.

Burning coal without first purifying it contributes to global warming, as well as to the production of smog (smoke and fog), which is harmful to health. It is a finite resource and will eventually run out.

Nuclear fuel
What is it?
Nuclear fuel makes use of the radioactivity of some elements. The nucleus in the atom may spontaneously break down to release energy and produce fast-moving particles, atoms of other elements. The fast-moving particles that are ejected can also strike other atoms, causing them to break down.

Placing the atoms close together in a fuel rod means that atoms are more likely to be struck by these particles, and so produce more nuclear reactions. As the reactions proceed heat is produced. The task of a nuclear reactor is to control the reaction so that a steady flow of heat is produced.

How is nuclear fuel made?
Nuclear fuel is made from naturally occurring radioactive materials, such as uranium, found in rocks. These materials are extracted and concentrated. They are formed into 'fuel rods'.

When placed close together, the fuel rods set off nuclear reactions that generate heat. This heat is used to turn water into steam and generate electricity.

This fuel is classed as non-renewable, although concentrating the fuel further can recycle some of the 'spent fuel'.

Where can nuclear fuel be found?
There are deposits of the raw material uranium in Africa, Russia and North America.

How long will the supply of nuclear fuel last?
The world supply of radioactive material will provide a source of energy well into the next century and beyond.

Advantages
Nuclear fuel does not produce greenhouse gases, so will not contribute to global warming. There is a relatively long-lasting supply of raw material.

Disadvantages
The waste remains radioactive for a long time (100+ years). If the reaction is not contained and controlled well, then the nuclear reduction could go out of control, as at Chernobyl in 1986. Radioactive material could then escape into the environment.

V. Pollution (Air, Water, and Terrestrial - Causes, effects)

What is Pollution?

Pollution is contamination by a chemical or other agent that renders part of the environment unfit for intended or desired use. These uses also and very importantly include all wildlife and ecological requirements to sustain life in all its natural forms.

Pollution damages the Earth's land, water and air. It results in contamination of the earth's environment with materials that interfere with human health, the quality of life, and the natural functioning of ecosystems (living organisms and their physical surroundings).

Pollution is usually caused by human actions, but can also be the consequence of natural disasters. Pollution can also occur from disruption or damage to wastewater collection and treatment infrastructure due to severe natural events like hurricanes or flooding. Most types of pollution affect the immediate area surrounding the source, and reduce as you move away from the source.
Pollution is often caused by the garbage that people throw on the ground or into oceans, lakes or rivers.

Air Pollution
Air pollution is a major problem faced by people across the globe. A number of causes are related to the contamination of atmosphere. Polluted air leads to numerous health problems, ranging from the mild to the chronic ones. As far as human health is concerned, poor quality of air seriously affects the body's respiratory and cardiovascular system. The severity in diseases may depend upon the degree of exposure to polluted air. Given below is the complete information about the causes and effects of air pollution.

Causes
• Combustion of fuel is one of the major causes of air pollution in urban areas. Burning of fossil fuels such as natural gas and gasoline leads to the emission of carbon dioxide and other gases, which deteriorate the quality of air, making it polluted.
• Increased level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is one of the prime causes of air pollution. Power plants, exhaust fumes of automobiles, airplanes and other human activities involving the burning of gasoline and natural gas are related to the emission of this greenhouse gas.
• The chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), a class of synthetic chemicals used in refrigerants and aerosol propellants, have caused hole in Earth's ozone layer. The use of this banned chemicals is related with the increasing levels of air pollution.
• Sulfur dioxide is one of the components of smog, which is related with contamination of the Earth's atmosphere. This synthetic chemical is the prime cause of acid rain.
• Air pollution is partially caused by the particulates formed by a variety of substances, such as dust, pollen and other organic materials.
• Increased road and air traffic is another reason related to the high level of air pollution.

Health Effects of Air Pollution
• Asthma is a chronic disease common among children and adults. The shortness of breath, a prime symptom of this disease, can be triggered by pollutants present in the air, such as smog.
• Lung infections
can occur when polluted air is inhaled. This can also lead to shortness of breath.
• Air pollution may influence the development of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).
• Air pollution can also lead to lung cancer.
• Air pollution can result in blockage in the coronary artery or blood vessels that supply blood to the heart. This condition is diagnosed as Coronary Artery Disease.
• High level of pollution in the air can also lead to heart failure. Irregular or abnormal rhythms of heartbeat are often cited as health problems related to air pollution.

Water Pollution
Water pollution has been seriously affecting the life of humans, plants as well as animals. The eco-system of rivers, streams, lakes, seas and oceans is also getting deteriorated due to the contamination of water, through various sources. This condition also leads to the outbreak of numerous diseases, majority of them being lethal and contagious. However, before going about finding a solution to the problem, we need to look into its underlying causes. In the following lines, we have provided information on the causes and harmful effects of water pollution. Go through them and then decide on your course of action.

Causes Of Water Pollution
• Dumping of industrial wastes, containing heavy metals, harmful chemicals, by-products, organic toxins and oils, into the nearby source of water is one of the visible causes of water pollution.
• Another cause for the contamination of water is the improper disposal of human and animal wastes.
• Effluents from factories, refineries, injection wells and sewage treatment plants are dumped into urban water supplies, leading to water pollution.
• A number of pollutants, both harmful and poisonous, enter the groundwater systems through rain water.
• The residue of agricultural practices, including fertilizers and pesticides, are some of the major sources of water pollution.
• Untreated pollutants are drained into the nearest water body, such as stream, lake or harbor, causing water pollution.
• Another major source of water pollution comprises of organic farm wastes. When farm land, treated with pesticides and fertilizers, is irrigated, the excess nitrogen and poisons get mixed into the water supply, thereby contaminating it.
• Pathogens, sediments and chemical pollutants are other sources of water pollution.
• The corporeal wastes produced by humans and farmed organisms pollute rivers, lakes, oceans and other surface waters.

Harmful Effects Of Water Pollution
• A number of waterborne diseases are produced by the pathogens present in polluted water, affecting humans and animals alike.
• Pollution affects the chemistry of water. The pollutants, including toxic chemicals, can alter the acidity, conductivity and temperature of water.
• Polluted municipal water supplies are found to pose a threat to the health of people using them.
• As per the records, about 14000 people perish or incur various communicable diseases due to the consumption of contaminated drinking water.
• The concentration of bacteria and viruses in polluted water causes increase in solids suspended in the water body, which, in turn, leads to health problems.
• Marine life becomes deteriorated due to water pollution. Lethal killing of fish and aquatic plants in rivers, oceans and seas is an aftereffect of water contamination only.
• Diseases affecting the heart, poor circulation of blood and the nervous system and ailments like skin lesion, cholera and diarrhea are often linked to the harmful effects of water pollution.
• Carcinogenic pollutants found in polluted water might cause cancer.
• Alteration in the chromosomal makeup of the future generation is foreseen, as a result of water pollution.
• Discharges from power stations reduce the availability of oxygen in the water body, in which they are dumped.
• The flora and fauna of rivers, sea and oceans is adversely affected by water pollution.

Terrestial/Land Pollution
People across the globe have been facing a number of health problems caused due to the pollution of land, water and air. Talking about land pollution, it has some of the most devastating effects on both nature and living beings. Land pollution is characterized by the contamination of Earth's surface, where humans and other creatures live. One of the major causes of land pollution is human activities. Given below is complete information about the main causes and harmful effects of land pollution.

Causes of Land Pollution
• Increase in urbanization is one of the major causes of land pollution. Construction uses up forestland. This leads to the exploitation and destruction of forests. There is more demand for water. Reservoirs are built resulting in the loss of land.
• The disposal of non-biodegradable wastes, including containers, bottles and cans made of plastic, used cars and electronic goods, leads to the pollution of land.
• Agricultural wastes including the waste matters produced by crop, animal manure and residues of the farm land are one of the major causes of land pollution. The pesticides and fertilizers used by farmers to increase the crop yield, leaches into the nearby land areas and pollutes them.
• The process of mining leads to the formation of piles of coal and slag. When these wastes are not disposed through proper channel, they are accumulated and contaminate the land.
• Industrial wastes are major contributors of land pollution. Dumping of toxic materials such as chemicals and paints makes the areas surrounding the industries, look very filthy.
• Improper treatment of sewage leads to the accumulation of solids, such as biomass sludge. These solid wastes overflow through the sewage, making the entire area look dirty.
• Burning of solid fuels leads to the formation of ashes, which is yet another cause of land pollution.
• Although domestic and industrial wastes are collected and recycled or burnt in incinerators, a large amount of rubbish is left untreated. These are then dumped into grounds, leading to land pollution.
• Garbage dumped by people makes the streets unhealthy, unfit and dirty to reside in. The waste matter usually consists of leftover food, fruit and vegetable peels and other non decomposable solid materials such as glass, cloth, plastic, wood, paper etc.

Harmful Effects Of Land Pollution
• Tonnes and tonnes of domestic wastes are dumped every day. Since people do not follow proper methods for the disposal of such wastes, it leaves the places look dirty and makes them unhealthy.
• Land pollution indirectly affects the respiratory system of human beings. Breathing in polluted dust or particle can result in a number of health problems related to the respiratory system.
• Skin problems are often diagnosed due to land pollution. It is said that the improper disposal of household wastes leads to allergic reactions on the skin.
• Land pollution has been found as one of the leading causes for birth defects. Pregnant women living in unhealthy and dirty environment can incur breathing problems and a number of diseases, which may affect the health of the baby as well.
• Land pollution has serious effect on wildlife. Flora, which provides food and shelter to wildlife, are destroyed.
• Land pollution often disrupts the balance of Nature, causing human fatalities.

IV. Population Growth (Phil. Setting/Current data of Phil. population/Family Planning/Unemployment/Rapid Urbanization)

Table 1. Summary of Projected Population by Sex and by Single-Calendar Year Interval, Philippines: 2000 - 2010

Table 1.1


Table 1.2

Table 1.3

Table 1.4


Family Planning in the Philippines
Table 1.  Contraceptive prevalence rates, with standard errors and confidence intervals,
Philippines:  1998, 2003, 


Table 2.  Percent distribution of currently married women by contraceptive method used,
Philippines:  2003, 2008

The contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) or the proportion of married women in the Philippines who are using any method of family planning is 51 percent, according to the preliminary results of the 2008 National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS). The current estimate of CPR and the estimates from the 1998 NDHS and 2003 NDHS imply increasing contraceptive use by married women over the last decade: 47 percent in 1998, 49 percent in 2003, and 51 percent in 2008. These estimates are subject to sampling errors since these are based on sample surveys, hence, the observed differences are not always significant. The increase in the CPR over the last decade, from 1998 to 2008, is statistically significant. However, the observed increase in the past five years is not significant (Table 1).

Thirty-four percent of married women rely on a modern method, mostly the pill (16 percent) and female sterilization (9 percent). The use of the pill has increased in the past 5 years, from 13 percent in 2003 to 16 percent in 2 008 (Table 2). Users of modern natural family planning methods comprise less than one percent. Modern natural family planning methods include cervical mucus method or ovulation method or Billings method, standard days method (SDM) and lactational amenorrhea method (LAM). Seventeen percent of married women use a traditional method such as withdrawal and calendar or rhythm method.

The National Statistics Office (NSO) conducted the 2008 NDHS from August 7 to September 27, 2008. The 2008 NDHS is a nationally representative survey of almost 14,000 households and 14,000 women age 15-49. It is the ninth in a series of demographic surveys undertaken by the NSO at five-year intervals since 196 8. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) provided funding assistance for some activities during the preparatory and processing phases of the 2008 NDHS. Macro International provided technical assistance to the project.

What Are the Benefits of Family P lanning in the Philippines?
Family planning in the Philippines is a relatively new development in this predominantly Catholic country. Because of heavily entrenched Catholic beliefs, family planning--the idea that women get pregnant when they want to--has had many detractors. Howeve r, there is now an increasing number of advocates preaching the benefits of family planning and urging the government to implement family planning policies.

Economic Benefits
• The Philippines, which is already experiencing a serious rice shortage, would be able to decrease its dependence on foreign imp orts such as rice with fewer mouths to feed. Additionally, the Philippine government would be able to save millions in state revenue that would otherwise go toward addressing unintended pregnancies. The government spends 8.2 billion Philippine pesos in medical care for unintended pregnancies. If family planning were pu t in effect, it would only spend 0.6 billion Philippine pesos on unintended pregnancies and 4 billion on contraceptive services and supplies. That is a savings of almost 4 billion Philippine pesos.

Work Benefits
• According to Family Health Int ernational, family planning users are more likely to work than non-users because it gives women the time to seek work opportunities outside the home. Women in the Philippines have said that larger family size increase their household responsibilities and make them unable to seek paid work. More children also require more income, thus a vicious cycle is formed. Filipina women said they need more money to care for their children, but more children prevent them from seeking work opportunities. Family planning provides a solution to bo th issues.

Social Benefits
• Women in the Philippines who use family planning are more likely to join community activities, religious organizations and take pa rt in community projects, the Family Health Organization says. Filipina women say these activities enabled them to socialize , interact with peers and generally raised their self-esteem. Family planning also increased their status at home, with many Filipina women saying they are equal decisi on-makers, enabling them to work and travel outside their communities.

What is Unemployment?

Unemployment refers to the ina bility for willing workers to find gainful employment. The deg ree of unemployment in a nation is one indicator of the economic health of the country. Many factors can negatively affect the unemployment rate including corporate downsizing, mergers , implementation of automatio n technologies, and jo b outso urcing to other nations. Some argue illegal immigration impacts the unemployment rate, though critics of this viewpoint counter that jobs held by illegals are generally low paying or undesirable.

The employment rate or the proportion of employed persons to total labor force was estimated at 92.9 percent in October 2009. The employment rate in October last y ear was recorded at 93.2 percent.

Across regions, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) posted the highest employment rate at 98.2 percent, followed closely by Cagayan Valley and Zamboanga Peninsula, both registering at 97.2 percent. The National Capital Region (NCR) had the lowest at 88.2 percent.

Out of the estimated 59.7 million population 15 years old and over in October 2009, approximately 38.2 million persons were reported to be in the labor force. These figures placed the labor force participation rate (LFPR) to 64. 0 percent as compared to last year�s LFPR of 63.7 percent. Among the regions, Northern Mindanao registered the highest LFPR at 71.2 percent and lowest in ARMM at 57.4 percent.

Of the estimated 35.5 million employed persons in October 2009, the services sector was the largest employer, getting more than half (51.5%) of the total employed population. The highest employed workforce in the services sector were in wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles, motorcycles and personal and household goods (6.9 million or 19.4 % of total employed).

The agriculture sector was the second largest employer, accounting for 34.0 percent of the total employed. Only 14.5 percent of the total employed were in the industry sector.

Among the various occupation groups, laborers and unskilled workers comprised the largest proportion (32.5%) of the total employed population. Farmers, forestry workers and fishermen were the second largest group, accounting for 16.4 percent of the total employed population.

Employed persons fall into any of these categories: wage and salary workers, own account workers and unpaid family workers. Wage and salary workers are those who work for private households, private establishments, government or government corporations and those who work with pay in own-family operated farm or business. Majority (53.6%) of the total employed population in October 2009 are wage and salary workers, most of them (39.7%) worked for private establishments. Those working for the government/government controlled corporation accounted for only 8.1 percent. In October 2008, the wage and salary workers accounted for 51.9 percent. Own-account workers, which include the proprietors and self-employed workers constituted 34.5 percent of the tot al employed with self-employed workers having the larger share (30.5%). The share of unpaid family workers to total employed was 11.9 percent in October 2009.

Employed persons are classified as either full-time workers or part-time workers. Full-time workers are those who work for 40 hours or more while part-time workers work for less than 40 hours. Around 22.0 million employed persons (62.2%) were working full time in October 2009, while, 36.3 percent of total employed were part-time workers or worked for less than 40 hours.

Employed persons who exp ress the desire to have additional hours of work in their present job or to have additional job, or to have a new job with longer working hours are considered underemployed. The number of underemployed persons in October 2009 was estimated at 6.9 million, placing the current underemployment rate at 19.4 percent. More than half (59.4%) of the total underemployed were reported as visibly underemployed or working for less than 40 hours during the reference week. Those working for 40 hours or more accounted for 37.9 percent of the total underemployed. Most of the underemployed were working in the agriculture sector (46.4%) and services sector (38.5%). The underemployed in the industry sector accounted for 15.0 percent.

The unemployment rate in Oc tober 2009 was estimated at 7.1 percent. Last year�s estimate was 6.8 percent. NCR posted the highest unemployment rate at 11.8 percent and lowest in ARMM at 1.8 percent. The number of unemployed persons was higher among males (63.8%) than among females (36.2%). About one-half (50.3%) of the unemployed were in age group 15-24 years.

Across educational groups, among the unemployed, the high school graduates comprised more than one-third (34.7%), the college undergraduates comprised about one-fifth (21.7%), while the college graduates, 18.0 percent.

What Is Urbanization?

It is the physical growth of urban areas as a result of global change.

Urbanization is also defined by the United Nations as movement of people from rural to urban areas with population growth equating to urban migration. The United Nations projected that half of the world's population would live in urban areas at the end of 2008

Why is the urban population increasing so fast?

The rapid growth of urban areas is the result of two factors: natural increase in population (excess of births over deaths), and migration to urban areas. Natural population growth has been covered in other units, and consequently, here we will concentrate on migration.

Migration is defined as the long-term relocation of an individual, household or group to a new location outside the community of origin. Today the movement of people from rural to urban areas (internal migration) is most significant. Although smaller than the movement of people within borders, international migration is also increasing. Figure 3 shows the annual net international migration totals and migration rates in the world’s major areas between 1990 and 1995. Both internal and international migration contribute to urbanization.

Migration is often explained in terms of either “push factors” – conditions in the place of origin which are perceived by migrants as detrimental to their well-being or economic security, and “pull factors” – the circumstances in new places that attract individuals to move there. Examples of push factors include high unemployment and political persecution; examples of pull factors include job opportunities or moving to a better climate.

Typically, a pull factor initiates migration that can be sustained by push and other factors that facilitate or make possible the change. For example, a farmer in rural Mexico whose land has become unproductive because of drought (push factor) may decide to move to Mexico City where he perceives more job opportunities and possibilities for a better lifestyle (pull factor). In general, cities are perceived as places where one could have a better life, because of better opportunities, higher salaries, better services, and better lifestyles. The perceived better conditions attract poor people from rural areas.

In order to better illustrate the causes of rural migration, we will consider policies that have led to migration in many developing countries. In order to pay foreign debt and to be more competitive in international markets, national governments have encouraged the export of national resources and agricultural products. Agricultural products (sugar, flowers, coffee, etc.), and primary-sector goods (timber, fish, minerals, etc) become natural resource capital that can be traded to bolster the national economy. In order to produce agricultural products quickly, efficiently, and for a decent prize, national governments often look to decrease the number of small producers, and turn agricultural production and resource extraction over to larger enterprises, with larger production facilities, and a lower per-unit cost of production. This trend turns land into a commodity, that can be bought and sold, and it is viewed only in terms of its productive capabilities. Free market economics pursues economic efficiency to deliver goods at the lowest possible price, and its advocates maintain that any government intervention diminishes this efficiency. Consequently, they seek to eliminate farm programs such as farm subsidies, cheap credit policies, etc. intended to help the farmer, and to maintain stable prices. This scenario leaves farmers to shoulder the burden of farming, sometimes with no alternative but to sell their land to a foreign investor or a domestic-owned enterprise, and move to the cities, where the farmer hopes to have a better life.

Other policies reinforce the above scenario. In this case, in order to boost the production of cheaper goods, governments have maintained artificially low food prices in urban areas. The strategy here is to maintain urban food prices below market levels to reduce the cost of urban labor and urban life. This policy has resulted in inadequate compensation of rural producers for the costs they incur to produce food products and thus have aggravated rural poverty. On the other hand, these policies have also made city life more attractive and pulled them from rural areas. As a result of these policies, an average of 270,000 rural migrants have been arriving in Mexico City annually over the last ten years, transforming it into one of the largest cities in the world.

International migration includes labor migration, refugees and undocumented migrants. Similar to rural-to-urban migration, individuals move in search of jobs and a better life. Income disparities among regions, and job opportunities, are key motivating factors. The migration policies of sending and receiving countries also play a key role. The best current estimate from the United Nations Population Fund, indicates that more than 100 million people were living outside their countries of birth or citizenship in 1998. There is a number of reasons why this figure is rising, but an important one is that the native labor pool in the industrialized countries is shrinking, while the developing world’s workforce is rapidly increasing. Figure 4 shows the countries with largest stock of migrants in their population, while figure 5 shows the countries whose populations have the largest percentage of migrants. Today, international migration is at an all-time high. About 2% of the Earth’s population has moved away from the country of origin.

What are the Problems Associated with Rapid Urban Growth?
The urbanization process refers to much more than simple population growth; it involves changes in the economic, social and political structures of a region. Rapid urban growth is responsible for many environmental and social changes in the urban environment and its effects are strongly related to global change issues. The rapid growth of cities strains their capacity to provide services such as energy, education, health care, transportation, sanitation and physical security. Because governments have less revenue to spend on the basic upkeep of cities and the provision of services, cities have become areas of massive sprawl, serious environmental problems, and widespread poverty.

During the 19th and early 20th centuries, urbanization resulted from and contributed to industrialization. New job opportunities in the cities motivated the mass movement of surplus population away from the countryside. At the same time, migrants provided cheap, plentiful labor for the emerging factories. Today, due to movements such as globalization, the circumstances are similar in developing countries. Here the concentration of investments in cities attracts large numbers of migrants looking for employment, thereby creating a large surplus labor force, which keeps wages low. This situation is attractive to foreign investment companies from developed countries who can produce goods for far less than if the goods were produced where wages are higher. Thus, one might wonder if urban poverty serves a distinct function for the benefit of global capital.

One of the major effects of rapid urban growth is “urban sprawl"- scattered development that increases traffic, saps local resources and destroys open space. Urban sprawl is responsible for changes in the physical environment, and in the form and spatial organization of cities.

See this site for a more detailed information:

http://www.census.gov.ph/data/quickstat/qsgender09q4.pdf