Environmental Quality Act 1974- Act 127
Dengue fever is a severe epidemic in South East Asia and it is not hard to know why. Colonial eras see many immigrants and colonists fall prey to this tropical disease. The situation is aggravated by the lack of awareness among the Malaysian people about public cleanliness. Refuses and garbage not only pollute the drains,rivers and streams, but they clog them as well. Clogged waters are the best breeding grounds for Aedes mosquito.
As people continue to be ignorant towards a clean environment, it is no wonder that the dengue cases kept on rising, alarming the Malaysian government.
Below is a newspaper article in Malaysia detailing the situation.
PUTRAJAYA: The number of dengue cases and deaths has doubled and the Health Ministry is urging Malaysians to wage war against the disease immediately.
Its director-general Tan Sri Dr Ismail Merican said that from Jan 4-17 this year, there were 3,211 cases with eight deaths, compared with 1,514 cases and four deaths during the period in 2008.
“That’s a 212% increase,” he said at a press conference here on Monday.
The states with the most cases were Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, followed by Penang, Johor, Sarawak and Kedah, he said.
According to the statistics provided by the Ministry, there were four deaths in Selangor, one in the Federal Territories (Kuala Lumpur/Putrajaya), one in Perak and two in Johor.
Dr Ismail said the Ministry was discovering atypical or unusual symptoms with the more severe cases.
“Patients used to suffer from bleeding and low platelet count, but now you can get dengue encephilitis that affects the brain and people can come in with epileptic attacks, jaundice with pain in the abdomen, hepatitis and kidney or liver failure,” he said.
As the result of the atypical presentation, some of the diagnoses were made late, he added.
“We have informed all our doctors to add dengue testing if a patient has fever and weird symptoms in high dengue cases states,” he said.
The Ministry spent RM1.7mil on campaigns to create greater awareness of dengue and issued a total of RM3.4mil in fines last year on those found with mosquito larvae in their premises.
Dr Ismail urged community leaders to organise gotong-royong (communal) clean-up efforts and to keep the public abreast of the outbreak,
Doctors should inform state health departments immediately whenever there is a suspected case so that fogging can be carried out immediately in the affected area.
“Those with symptoms such as fever, rashes, muscle aches, vomiting and bleeding must seek treatment immediately,” he said, adding that the most critical phase of the infection is between 24 and 48 hours of the onset of the infection.
In KLANG, state health director Dr Rosnah Hadis said the main reason for the high incidence of dengue in Selangor was the large number of breeding sources.
These include homes as well as abandoned housing projects, she said.
State health committee chairman Dr Xavier Jayakumar said the Selangor government was carrying out clean-up operations through the local councils and is also working closely with the state health department.
He said the high population density in urban areas has led to a high concentration of breeding grounds for the aedes mosquito.
Abandoned projects as well as unoccupied residential and commercial premises have become breeding grounds, he noted, adding that Selangor residents must also cooperate when local council workers carry out fogging.
“People usually close their doors when fogging work is going on, but there is nothing to fear as the chemical used is harmless to people,” he said.
Dr Xavier also said he hoped the Health Ministry would approve the combination of chemicals used as a fogging agent in developed countries such as Singapore.
“This is a third generation combination of chemicals which has a human-friendly aroma and is very effective in eradicating mosquitoes,” he said.
He urged the Health Ministry to expedite the licensing of the product given the current situation.
In KUALA LUMPUR, Setapak recorded the most number of dengue cases in the Federal Territory last year as well as in January.
The constituency reported 78 dengue cases in January 2009, and 1,186 cases throughout 2008 from a total of 5,001 cases that were reported to the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL).
Out of the 5,001 cases in 2008, 2,563 were positive. There were 12 deaths reported as well, of which six were positive dengue cases, said an official for DBKL.
Last year, Cheras had a total of 1,014 cases followed by Kepong (890), Old Klang Road (806), Town centre (756) and Damansara (349).
DBKL is conducting fogging at suspected zones. Among those identified was Salak South New Village where DBKL organised a search and destroy operation to identify potential aedes breeding grounds on Jan 19.
In GEORGE TOWN, Penang Health, Welfare and Caring Society Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh said that as far as dengue was concerned, the situation in the state was under control.
“The Health Ministry’s figures are only based on the first two weeks of January, as compared with the corresponding period last year,” he said.
“We admit that in Penang there was a surge of dengue cases in the first week of this year but the figure has since dropped as the state health department and the Penang Municipal Council have been very proactive with health measures and clean-up.”
He said the surge in the first week was because some general practitioners in the Balik Pulau area were not alert and treated the situation as a normal viral attack.
“There must be follow-up, even it the doctor thinks it is a normal viral infection, as it could be dengue or chikungunya instead,” he said.
In JOHOR BARU, the state Health Department said it would be enlisting the help of community groups and private clinics in its war against dengue. Two deaths have been reported in the state this year.
Its director Dr Mohd Khairi Yakub said that department personnel would go down to the ground more to spread awareness within the community.
“We will be having more awareness programmes as well as gotong-royong activities to get the message across to the public.
“We will be working closely with community groups to ensure the effectiveness of the programmes,” he said when contacted here on Monday.
The department would also urge private clinics to cooperate by informing the department more quickly of patients infected with dengue.
Dr Mohd Khairi said that last year, there were 16 deaths from more than 3,000 cases reported statewide -- 80% of these cases were in Johor Baru.
“We will also intensify fogging operations, but public awareness is more important as fogging alone cannot solve the problem permanently,” he said.
HINTS & TIPS
From the World Health Organisation Q&A on dengue
Q: What is dengue and how is it treated?
A: Dengue is transmitted by the bite of an Aedes mosquito infected with any one of the four dengue viruses. Symptoms appear in 3–14 days (average 4–7 days) after the infective bite. Dengue fever is a severe, flu-like illness that affects infants, young children and adults.
There is no specific treatment for dengue fever. Dengue haemorrhagic fever is a potentially lethal complication but early clinical diagnosis and careful clinical management by experienced physicians and nurses often save lives.
More than 70% of the disease burden is in South-East Asia and the Western Pacific area. Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean are much less affected. In Latin America and the Caribbean, the incidence and severity of disease are increasing rapidly.
Increase in international air travel is facilitating the rapid global movement of dengue viruses. This increases the risk of dengue haemorrhagic fever epidemics by introducing new dengue viruses into susceptible populations.
Quoted from The Star
Monday, January 19, 2009
Malaysian Government Increases Effort to Fight Dengue
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
Saturday, January 10, 2009
E-Tour: Cameron Highlands, Malaysia
Cameron Highlands is a highland region located about 121 km east of Ipoh and about 214 km north of Kuala Lumpur, in Pahang, Malaysia. At 5,000 ft (1,500 m) above sea level it is the highest area on the mainland, enjoys a cool climate, with temperatures no higher than 25 °C and rarely falls below 12°C year-round. Cameron Highlands is actually a district in the state of Pahang Darul Makmur although the road entrance is via Tapah and Simpang Pulai in the state of Perak Darul Ridzuan. Cameron Highlands district is bordered by Lipis district on the south-east, Kelantan on the north and Perak on the west. The size of the whole Cameron Highlands district is roughly two and a quarter times the size of Singapore.
Key attractions in Cameron Highlands include a butterfly farm, strawberry farms, rose gardens and vegetable gardens. There are also the Brinchang Hindu Temples and the Sam Poh Chinese Mahayana Buddhist Temple. Other features include Cactus Point, Cactus Valley and the BOH Tea Plantation. There is Market Square, the Cameron Highlands Time Tunnel Galeria (at nearby Kea Farm) and accommodation at the Kampung Taman Sedia Homestay, Tanah Rata and The Smokehouse Hotel.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Monday, January 5, 2009
Friday, January 2, 2009
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Friday, December 26, 2008
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Friday, December 19, 2008
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Bukit Antarabangsa Landslide: When Will Lessons be Learned?
It seems that it is another case of "Lesson not Learned" in Malaysia. As detailed earlier in this post, Malaysia's great annual rainfall has made hillside development extremely risky. For the past 10 years, landslides have been too common for a nation aspiring to achieve developed nation status by year 2020. Lives perished, houses rubbled, yet it is not enough to convince the authorities to take a much more stringent measures in regulating hillside developments.
As noted by Dr Gue See Sew, a geo-technical engineer to the press, the disaster is totally man-made and has no relations to the geographical structure of the region. In short, when you have heavy downpour and uncovered land due to improper hillside development, you will encounter landslides.
Now we get is a bunch of furores amidst the chaos, but who will ensure that a proper system will be implemented to solve the issues? If no steps are taken swiftly, it is likely that the tragedy will be swept beneath the carpet and allowed to fade away with time. However, unbeknownst to many, ignoring such issues will be like sweeping nails and pins down the carpet, you will never know when you will ever get pricked while walking on it.
Environe Tips of The Day #4
1. Compost organic wastes as fertilizer
2. Support and promote local recycling programmes. Recycle your trash as much as possible
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Biodegradation by Comparison
Biodegradation occurs when it is decomposed by enzymes produced by organism. We all know that is is difficult for plastics to biodegrade, but how difficult?
Below is a list of rate of biodegradation by comparison:
- Banana peel, 2 – 10 days
- Orange peels, 1 month
- Sugarcane Pulp Products, 1 - 2 months
- Cotton rags, 1 – 5 months
- Paper, 2 – 5 months
- Rope, 3 – 14 months
- Wool socks, 1 – 5 years
- Cigarette filters, 1 – 12 years
- Tetrapaks (plastic composite milk cartons), 5 years
- Plastic bags, 10 – 20 years
- Diapers 200 – 500 years
- Leather shoes, 25 – 40 years
- Nylon fabric, 30 – 40 years
- Tin cans 50 - 100 years
- Aluminum cans 200 - 500 years
- Plastic Bottles 70 - 450 years
- Plastic six-pack holder rings, 450 years
- XPS Foam cup, non-biodegradeable
- Biodegradable Plastic Bags, 75 days
- Biodegradable Paper Cups, 75 days
- Sugarcane Bagasse Products, Within 180 Days Now that you know how long each type of materials last, so be wise when choosing which daily items to buy.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Environe Tips of the Day #2
1. Recycle old newspaper
2. Reuse plastic bags from shopping trips
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
About E-waste
Ever wondered where our old television sets, computers, digital clocks go when they are disposed? Perhaps they are put into a garbage dump? Or perhaps they are buried underground? The items that I mentioned earlier contribute to e-waste(Electronic waste).
e-Waste is defined as waste from the assembly of electrical or electronic appliances that consist of components such as accumulators, mercury-switches, glass from cathode-ray tubes and other activated glass or polychlorinated biphenyl-capacitors, or contaminated with cadmium, mercury, lead, nickel, chromium, copper, lithium, silver, manganese or polychlorinated biphenyl.
e-Waste also represent component of waste from the following appliances than can no longer be used:
1. Television, Radio, Air-Condition
2. Computer
3. Printer
4. Photostat Machine
5. Facsimile Machine
6. Washing Machine
7. Telephone
8. Video Camera Record/Recording (VCR)
9. Stereo/Audio Device
10. Electronic Game Device
11. Pendaflour light
12. Oven/Microwave
13. Refrigerator
14. Digital Clock
As e-waste contains highly hazardous chemical substances, it is best to dispose them properly. Burying them underground will only pollute the underground water supply and bring to all sorts of health problems caused by the heavy metals.
Environe Tips of the Day #1
1. Use cloth towels as they can be reused
2. Keep glass and plastic containers for reuse
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Mabul Resort in Malaysia: Between Cash and Earth
The dilemma between developing the tourism industry seems to clash with the need to conserve our environment again. Malaysia is trying various measures to boost its tourism, so that islands off the coast of Sabah, Terengganu can compete with the dominant Phuket and Bali islands in the region. Yet, as the stilts are bored into the ocean floors, as the cement is poured along the sandy beaches, the landscape is changed dramatically.
Follow up with this latest effort by Malaysia in boosting its tourism and how it affects its environment.
(TheStar, Malaysia)
SEMPORNA: A plan to build Malaysia’s first and biggest oceanarium resort of luxury chalets in Mabul, in the east coast of Sabah, is facing a wave of opposition.
Environmentalists, villagers and dive operators warn that the proposed project on a 33ha parcel of shallows will bring disaster to Mabul marine life and may also degrade the eco-sensitive coral reefs of Pulau Sipadan, a 20-minute boat ride away.
Application for a 99-year lease for the parcel facing south of Sipadan was first put in by a local company based in Kota Kinabalu in September last year.
Unspoilt, for now: The parcel of 33ha of shallows at Mabul where the oceanarium is approved to be constructed. The island in the background is Sipadan.
The Semporna Assistant Collector of Land Revenue approved the application early this year and the Sabah Cabinet endorsed it last month, according to state officials.
They said the project was supposed to be undertaken by a local and Japanese joint venture based on an environment-friendly building concept.
Work will only commence after a thorough study of the environment impact assessment report.
The sources added that the oceanarium would be surrounded by five villages of more than 200 sea-view bungalows and semi-detached villas, with side pools and spa villas as well as staff and scientist quarters.
Sabah Environment Protection Association president Wong Tack asked if the oceanarium was necessary because one could easily see fishes swimming in the clear Mabul waters.
Tourist attractions: Holiday chalets on Mabul island. Dive operators believe that the existing chalets in the area are enough to cater to tourist needs.
“How can approval be given to such a massive project before the terms of the EIA are known?” he asked.
Citing scientific studies of corals in tourism islands such as Fiji and elsewhere, Wong said any major construction activity in the shallows is bound to have negative impact on the reefs.
He added that tonnes of construction material would have to be brought in by barge and sand pumped in from the shores of the island, thus heavily impacting the rich exotic Mabul marine life.
Wong said the authority that approved the resort project should remember what happened in Sipadan in 2006 when a construction barge ran aground, destroying a coral reef patch the size of three tennis courts and putting Malaysia in a bad light.
He said the existing four resorts for higher-bracket tourists and five to 10 home-stay places for backpackers with a total of more than 250 rooms provided enough accommodation for 120 divers given permits to dive in Sipadan waters every day.
Wong said the 2,000 local Bajau and Suluk villagers living on Mabul island were also worried about relocation and that their historic grave site would be removed to make way for the oceanarium resort project. By:P. KATHARASON
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
New deal to rescue Borneo orangutans in Malaysia
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Conservationists said Tuesday they were planning a big push to protect Borneo's orangutans, pygmy elephants and other endangered wildlife by purchasing land from palm oil producers to create a forest sanctuary.
The deal is meant to help stave off the demise of orangutans, whose numbers have dwindled amid illegal logging and the rapid spread of palm oil plantations in Malaysia and Indonesia, the only two countries where orangutans are found in the wild.
The Malaysian-based LEAP Conservancy group is in talks to buy 222 acres of tropical jungle land in Malaysia's Sabah state on Borneo island from palm oil operators, said Cynthia Ong, LEAP's executive director.
The territory is needed to link two sections of a wildlife reserve that is home to an estimated 600 orangutans, 150 Borneo pygmy elephants and a vast array of other animals including proboscis monkeys, hornbills and river otters.
The funds are being raised through public and private donations, Ong said. The British-based World Land Trust, which is working with LEAP on the initiative, said on its Web site that 343,000 pounds ($533,000) was needed to acquire the land.
This was the first time that nongovernment activists were trying to acquire land in Malaysian Borneo for environmental protection with the help of government officials, Ong said.
It was not immediately clear when the purchase might be finalized, but Ong said the land has not been cleared for plantations so far because of a lack of access roads.
"There is a desperate need for this purchase," Ong told The Associated Press. "We have no other avenue to avoid a potential conflict between humans and wildlife."
Environmental groups estimate the number of orangutans in Malaysia and Indonesia has fallen by half in the past 20 years to less than 60,000, largely due to human encroachment on forests. Researchers say more than 5,000 of the primates have been lost every year since 2004.
Borneo is also home to some 1,000 pygmy elephants, which are genetically distinct from other subspecies of Asian pachyderms because they have babyish faces, large ears and longer tails. They are also more rotund and less aggressive.
By SEAN YOONG courtesy of Associated Press.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Malaysia To Host International Water Conference
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 27 (Bernama) -- Malaysia will host a two-day international conference on water from Nov 18 against the backdrop of a looming global water shortage.
The Asia Pacific Water Conference 2008, the first of its kind to be organised, will see the exchange of views and sharing of best practices in water resources management among experts from Malaysia, the Philippines, the United States, Russia, Germany, Singapore, Indonesia, Denmark and India.
The conference, themed "A Shared Future in Water" to be held at the Sheraton Subang Hotel and Towers in Subang Jaya, is jointly organised by the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) and the Water Association of Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya (Swan), according to a statement.
The conference is held in efforts to help water-stress cities meet their critical water challenges, find practical solutions and achieve global water sustainability given such phenomena as global warming, rapid urbanisation and extensive water pollution, it said.
The statement paints a gloomy scenario on the water front -- 1.1 billion people having no access to clean drinking water and 65 per cent of the world's population will not have enough fresh drinking water by the year 2025.
Other predictions: A third of the world's population lives in water-stressed countries now and this is expected to rise to two-thirds by 2025 and global water consumption is doubling every 20 years, more than twice the rate of human population growth.
"Water crisis requires urgent remedies to their roots of problems, mainly river water pollution, environmental degradation and destruction," the statement said.
It said the Malaysian water industry had faced major crisis in the past 15 years such as the water crisis in Melaka in 1990, Selangor in 1998 and both Negeri Sembilan and Johor in 2005.
This has led the government to expedite measures including privatization of water treatment and supply industry.
The statement said under the five-year Ninth Malaysia Plan up to 2010, the Malaysian government has allocated RM16.54 billion for the development of water, wastewater and environmental related industry.
-- BERNAMA
Thursday, October 23, 2008
US govt pledges 40 million dollars to preserve Asia reefs
MANILA (AFP) — The United States has pledged nearly 40 million dollars to save the world's greatest expanse of coral reef, mangrove and fish ecosystems, the US embassy in Manila said Thursday.
Ambassador Kristie Kenney announced the fresh aid during a regional conference on the so-called "Coral Triangle".
The six million square-kilometre (2.3 million square-mile) expanse of water and coastline where the Pacific and Indian Oceans meet contains the greatest concentration of marine organisms anywhere in the world, scientists say.
The area, which is home to 30 percent of the world's coral reefs and three-quarters of known coral species, is under threat from pollution, unsustainable fishing practices and climate change, Kenney told the conference.
The assistance -- worth 39.45 million dollars -- will go to the Coral Triangle Initiative, a consortium formed to promote sustainable fisheries and coastal resource management programmes in East Timor, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, and the Solomon Islands.
"The Coral Triangle Initiative builds on three decades of assistance that the US government has provided for coastal resources management in the Asia-Pacific," Kenney said.
The conference was also told that an agreement binding all six nations to protect the coral triangle will be signed by national leaders in Indonesia next year.
"While coral reefs and mangroves may be static, migratory species, pollution, climate change and illegal fishing do not respect national boundaries," Philippine Environment Secretary Lito Atienza told the conference.
Atienza said the agreement was a "grand experiment" to show that neighbours could work together to conserve their common natural resources.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Melting polar ice cuts pollution in Straits of Malacca
KUALA LUMPUR: The polar icecap in the Arctic is melting away. Bad news for many scientists, but welcomed by shippers who see the fabled Northwest and Northeast Passages finally opening up.
And that could lead to fewer ships using the Straits of Malacca, causing less pollution and erosion of Malaysia's coastline.
Maritime experts, though, believe Malaysia's ports will not be affected.
Shipping companies worldwide have welcomed the news of the Arctic icecap melting, as it means ships will be able to sail through the Arctic ocean.
This will allow them to shorten their routes by thousands of kilometres.
Some scientists are worried that the Arctic ice around the North Pole could vanish altogether by 2030.
Ironically, this could turn out to be good news for the Straits of Malacca.
Within five years, fewer ships could be plying the waterway when the Northwest and Northeast Passages through the Artctic become fully navigable.
The result will be less pollution in Malaysian waters and reduced erosion of the country's coastline.
Ship owners can't wait for the two polar routes to open, as it would slash the distances between the Pacific, Europe and North America. Vessels can avoid routes through the pirate-infested Gulf of Aden.
"Traffic here will be hugely reduced, which is great news for the straits," said Maritime Institute of Malaysia director-general Datuk Cheah Kong Wai.
"We estimate there will be a 20 to 30 per cent reduction in traffic."
The reduction, he said, would have enormous environmental benefits for the straits.
"There will be less pollution of the waters because there will be less discharge from ships."
However, there would be no adverse economic impact on Malaysian ports, he said, as ships that service the Southeast Asian region would continue to call.
"The Northeast Passage only benefits ships from Europe and North America going to Korea, Japan and China (and vice versa). Those that stop here will continue to use the straits as it is still a shorter route (for them)."
Cheah also expects that there would be increased space for cargo bound for Southeast Asia as ships would not have to carry goods bound for China, Japan and Korea.
"If there's more space, freight rates might be reduced as well."
Although the Straits of Malacca is one of the world's busiest waterways, Malaysia does not make any money from ships that pass through, but bears the cost of providing services such as navigational safety, lighthouses and vessel traffic systems.
"Ships pay port and light dues only when they call at a port.
"If they don't call at a port here, it means they ply the straits for free," said Cheah.
Westports executive chairman Tan Sri G. Gnanalingam concurred with Cheah's view that the reduced shipping would not have an effect on Malaysia's ports.
"The most important sectors for us is intra-Asian and Southeast Asian trade," he said.
By : Marc Lourdes
Monday, September 22, 2008
Monday, September 8, 2008
How Tourism Affect Malaysian Islands
Malaysia is blessed with marvelous beach paradises found off the coast of Terengganu and Sabah. To name a few, Pulau Redang, Pulau Perhentian, Pulau Tioman, Pulau Sipadan, etc. Tourists have flocked to these retreats to enjoy the crystal clear water and to experience the beauty of marine life there.
It was hoped that with the revenue generated from eco-tourism, the authorities can better conserve those precious coral reefs and marine flora and fauna found in the ocean. Yet, lackadaisical management and public ignorance had brought more harm to the waters than good.
1. Rubbish
While numerous attempts have been made to reduce the amount of rubbish, there is still no clear ways to stop people from littering the beach. Rubbish piles like this are not uncommon in island beaches and imagine what will happen if a few of these plastic bottles get washed to seawaters? Marine life swimming around the reefs will be at tremendous risk.
2. Oil Leaks
Water taxi operators do not operate using hand paddles, they use gasoline engines. For such old model water taxis found on Pulau Tioman, oil leaks and spills should be very common. A layer of dark oil on the surface not only spoils the appearance of the water, but also gives off a foul smell. The suspended diesel might also affect marine birds, which are essential in keeping the natural equilibrium of the marine food chain.
3. Beachfront Hotel Construction
Construction of beachfront hotels might not look hostile to the environment, but too often in order to compete among each other, beachfront resorts restructure the waterfront land, converting them into lounges or diving platforms. The landscaping definitely affect the natural habitats of the marine wildlife.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
A Letter: A destruction we have wreaked upon ourselves
OUR governments at both the federal and state levels have pledged a green and healthy living environment since the last three decades. However, these pledges have been translated into developing golf courses, public or community parks, agriculture, etc.
First of all, such developments are monetary driven. Secondly, the developments of the so-called green projects are not environmentally friendly.
I can’t understand how the Government’s environmental assessment allows swift approval of the total excavation of green lungs. Why would the Government want to spend millions of ringgit to develop parks when the green lungs themselves are natural parks?
New Zealand is the only country in the world that has a collection of all flora and fauna. The New Zealanders are proud to own them and be part of them.
Malaysia, on the other hand, has the oldest forests in the world and no one in general is bothered except only a selected few. Maybe money and greed are too powerful a force to go against.
The victims of this sinful act are human beings themselves, Earth and our children. We and the planet Earth are dying a slow death caused by human beings. Wake up, Malaysians!
RRIDS,
Kuala Lumpur.
(Published in theStar,August 7,2008)
Monday, August 4, 2008
Will be Back Soon
I have been very busy with my finals and standardized test. But I will try my best to resume my postings when I have some breathing space in terms of time.
With regards,
Raymond Tan
"Type the rest of your post here"
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Great Leap Forward for Selangor
Where Klang Valley is located, the state of Selangor, Malaysia is now taking the initiative to reduce the usage of plastic bags. With the greatest population density than any other state in Malaysia, this move is seen as a great leap forward by the state government in conservation of environment.
Malaysians have got the bad habit of using plastic bags indiscriminately and excessively. Plastic bags are used in departmental stores, pasar malams, hawker centers...plastic bags are synonymous with the Malaysian culture.
Currently, Selangor will declare itself a Zero Plastic Bag Zone in a year’s time.
For a start, all the 12 municipal and city councils in the state will be going on a zero plastic bag campaign from next month before it is extended to the rest of the state.State local government committee chairman Ronnie Liu said the campaign would be gradually expanded to hypermarkets, shopping complexes, offices and homes.
By starting the campaign at the local council level, Liu said plastic bags and Styrofoam would be totally banned from the vicinity of the offices of the various councils.
Liu had a meeting with the 12 local and city councils on Wednesday to brief them on the campaign and the direction of the state government towards environmental conservation. He said the idea had gone well with the councils and they were prepared to educate their employees on the need to reduce the use of plastic bags.
“The employees are encouraged to use paper bags and bring their own containers to pack food as we will not allow anyone to carry plastic bags to office.
“We can save the environment by reducing the use of plastic bags.
“We can stop using hundreds of thousands of plastic bags a year just by launching this campaign at the local council level,” he said.
He added that plastic bags were made from crude oil and contributed towards global warming.
The strategy, Liu said, was aimed at getting the enforcers who were on the local councils to be familiar with the ruling so that it would be effectively carried out.
“Once the council offices are declared as plastic bag free zones, it will be easier for them to take the campaign to the hypermarkets, shopping complexes and homes,” he said yesterday.
Liu said he expected the state to be declared a plastic bag free zone next year after plastic bags were totally eradicated from Selangor.
Once that is done, he said the usage of paper bags and other options would be considered by shoppers.
He said plastic bags had amounted to14.3% of the solid waste in the state and that was why the campaign was launched.
“We realise how environmentally hazardous plastics are as they need some 400 years before they become biodegradable and their existence also shortens the lifespan of our landfills,” he said.
He added that research revealed that the usage of a plastic bags only lasted an average of 12 minutes.
Friday, June 6, 2008
Trade-offs for the Better Future
Malaysia isn't known for its environmental activism. Public apathy towards the environment has always been the case. However, in the state of Penang, Malaysia, we get to see groups of Malaysians striving for the better. Embracing the marvels of environment, S.P. Setia Bhd property division employees made headlines by participating in the environment conservation efforts.
“We are taking time off to release 200 butterflies, 50 birds and plant three Tanjung trees at our construction site in Sungai Ara,” S. Rajoo said.
He said the “Free Machinery” day was also declared at three other construction sites in Johor, the Klang Valley and Vietnam.
“Our workers who smoke have also pledged not to smoke for a day,” he said.
Big-scale World Environment Day celebrations were being held at the four project sites, he said.
“We started the one-day environment awareness programme in Penang last year. This year, we are expanding it to other locations,” Rajoo said.
He said the RM1mil loss was calculated based on penalties for a day’s delay but added that the company would double up its effort to ensure all projects were completed on time.
A guest speaker from the Penang Municipal Council was also invited to give a talk on the importance of recycling. Rajoo also said that the workers were required to carpool to work.On their project at a 44ha site in Sungai Ara, he said the aim was to make the environment “liveable” for birds, butterflies and dragonflies.
Journey of a thousand miles starts with a small step, it is hoped this will trigger a response among the Malaysian public on environmental awareness
Friday, May 30, 2008
Countering heat the green way
The ever changing weather can both be good and bad to us. Summer is beautiful, but the sweltering heat can be of great discomfort to us. Monsoon provides moisture to the land but raining for 7 days a week can be of great inconvenience. Our solution to these inconveniences especially for summer can be detrimental to our environment. Here are some tips to live comfortably while having minimal effects on the environment.
1. Adjust the air conditioner temperature accordingly
We do not need 16 degrees Celsius room temperature to live a normal live. Turn up the air conditioner temperature and you can save up to 25%-40% of electricity. It will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. To learn more about energy saving tips that are good for your wallet and the environment, visit EPA’s Energy Star at Home at www.energystar.gov
2. Wear clothes that dissipates heat fast and absorb sweat
Clothes that are made of cotton does just that. And, in such scorching heat, one should avoid wearing long sleeved clothes. Short sleeved shirts will do just fine.
3. Hang your clothes out to dry this summer instead of using a dryer.
Affluent households can now afford to buy dryers to dry their clothes. This will inevitably cause a rise in electricity usage and bills. Just dry it in the sun and the clothes will smell much nicer.
4. Install roofing with good ventilation
Instead of using zinc as the roof, using roof made of other materials such as clay can lower down the temperature significantly. Ventilation fans can be installed to draw the internal heat to the exterior. These fans uses much less electricity than air conditioners.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Some facts about plastic bags...
* According to the Environmental Protection Agency, more than 380 billion plastic bags are used in the United States every year. Of those, approximately 100 billion are plastic shopping bags, which cost retailers about $4 billion annually.
* According to various estimates, Taiwan consumes 20 billion plastic bags annually (900 per person), Japan consumes 300 billion bags each year (300 per person), and Australia consumes 6.9 billion plastic bags annually (326 per person).
* Hundreds of thousands of whales, dolphins, sea turtles and other marine mammals die every year after eating discarded plastic bags they mistake for food.
* Discarded plastic bags have become so common in Africa they have spawned a cottage industry. People there collect the bags and use them to weave hats, bags and other goods. According to the BBC, one such group routinely collects 30,000 bags every month.
* Plastic bags as litter have even become commonplace in Antarctica and other remote areas. According to David Barnes, a marine scientist with the British Antarctic Survey, plastic bags have gone from being rare in the late 1980s and early 1990s to being almost everywhere in Antarctica.
courtesy of About.com
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Bystander Effect and Its Effect on Environment
-by Raymond Tan
The bystander effect (also known as bystander apathy, Genovese syndrome, diffused responsibility or bystander intervention) is a psychological phenomenon in which someone is less likely to intervene in an emergency situation when other people are present and able to help than when he or she is alone.(Darley, J. M. & Latané, B., 1968)
Stated above is the definition of bystander effect. How does this bystander effect affects the environment? Bystander effect on environment is esoteric, known only by those who might have been exposed to some knowledge in psychology. However, the concept is very simple, that is, people's tendency to look at other's reaction before reacting themselves causes them to fail to respond to the ongoing problem.
On the context of environment, this situation is very true. We tend to look at how others would react to environmental problems. If others are indifferent to the plight of environment, then we ourselves are likely to follow suit.
Below is study carried out to determine bystander effect phenomenon:
A 1968 study by John Darley and Bibb Latane first demonstrated the bystander effect in the laboratory. They ran some simple studies such as the following: A participant is placed alone in a room and is told he can communicate with other participants through an intercom. In reality, he is just listening to an audio recording and is told his microphone will be off until it is his turn to speak. During the recording, one participant suddenly pretends he is having a seizure. The study found that how long the participant waits before alerting the experimenter varies directly with the perceived number of other participants. In some cases, the participant never told the experimenter.
A common explanation of this phenomenon is that, with others present, observers all assume that someone else is going to intervene and so they each individually refrain from doing so and feel less responsible. This is an example of how diffusion of responsibility leads to social loafing. People may also assume that other bystanders may be more qualified to help, such as being a doctor or police officer, and their intervention would thus be unneeded. People may also fear losing face in front of the other bystanders, being superseded by a superior helper, or offering unwanted assistance. Another explanation is that bystanders monitor the reactions of other people in an emergency situation to see if others think that it is necessary to intervene. Since others are doing exactly the same, everyone concludes from the inaction of others that other people do not think that help is needed. This is an example of pluralistic ignorance and social proof. An alternative to explanations of rational motivation is that emotional cues to action can be as powerful as irrational ones, and the presence of a group of inactive others is a pre-rational emotional cue to inaction that must be overcome. (Darley, J. M. & Latané, B., 1968)
Bystander effect can explain what are the reasons of the public apathy towards the environmental problems. Despite efforts by World Wide Fund(WWF), Greenpeace, IUCN, UN Environment Programme(UNEP), environmental awareness has been at the low ebb. The lack of public response triggers a chain reaction of indifference. Consequently, environmental conservation progress is slow.
However, bystander effects can be countered by having some pioneers or the so-called "heroes". "Heroes" are able to capture people's attention and causes them to act. Measures that are applied that way nowadays are like celebrity endorsement. Green organizations seek endorsement from celebrities to convince the public about the importance of saving the environment.
Although psychologically constructed that way, we should not take bystander effect as a pretension not to act for the environment. Now that we know what is bystander effect, we should take more effort to ensure that we do not fall into the grasp of one of human's greatest weakness.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Alternatives to Dams?
-by Raymond TanThe issue of dams has been in dispute for long. Critics argue that it will cause massive obliteration to flora and fauna once the water level is raised deliberately. Others argue that it may cause the inhabitants of the designated area to lose their homes. For example, the construction of the Three Gorges Dam required the loss of over a million people's homes and their mass relocation, as well as the loss of many valuable archaeological and cultural sites. However, dams are crucial in hydro-electric generation, one of the green electric-generation means. It is also important in controlling floods and droughts.
Whatever the pros and cons, no doubt economic reasons always dictate whether an action is contributive. Therefore, despite of the number of trees, animals affected, and the incalculable risk posed by natural disasters, dams continue to be built, sprouting like after-rain mushrooms.
For long dams have seemed the crux of solving a whole range of issues. But now, the earthquake in China has shown to everyone what are the potential risks posed by natural disasters to dams. 30,000 people in Wenchuan County, China, had to be evacuated due to some slight damages done to the nearby dam. If swift actions had not been taken, can one imagine the impacts of water gushing down the mountain slopes?
Nonetheless, things are easier said than done. Dams are too important to be neglected or have their plans scrapped. The question is now, whether there are alternatives to dams?
Alternative #1-
Money spent on building dams, why not spend them on researching on other viable green energy? Solar energy, hydrogen fuel cell technology, safe nuclear technology are among the potential candidates. It would save millions of trees and have a decent return of investment.
Alternative #2-
Dams should only be employed in sparsely inhabited areas, free from known settlements on the downstream.
Alternative #3-
Inhabitants of flood-prone or drought-prone areas should practices good ethics in daily lives. This includes using water efficiently and not clogging up the waterways. Whatever habit that is deleterious to the environment should be avoided as well.
Please do not hesitate to provide us some enlightenment on how to live without dams?
Participate in China Earthquake Relief now!
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Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Malayan Tapir: The Forgotten Recluse
-by Raymond Tan
Pandas have received significant spotlight ever since their introduction as an endangered species. These cute, furry creatures with black and white hue, thanks to the public awareness about their growing scarcity, are now under close supervision and care, thus lowering their risk of extinction.
There exists a similar creature like them in the same continent. These creatures are black and white colored. These creatures are adorable. These creatures are also endangered as well. However, the difference is, the ordeal suffered by these creatures is often shrouded by a cloud of mystery. As their popularity pales in comparison to pandas, the creatures continue to live in recluse, void of their deserved attention. These creatures have an exotic name-Tapir;the exoticness of their name, is a perfect testament to their uniqueness.
There are four types of tapir namingly Baird's Tapir, Malayan Tapir, Brazilian Tapir and Mountain Tapir. Virtually every species of the Tapir is classified under the endangered category. Of all, the breed that is most abundant in the Asian region is the Malayan Tapir.
Malayan Tapirs grow between 1.8 to 2.4 m in length, with an average height of 90 to 107 cm, and average weight of 250 to 320 kg. They have gender-specific characteristics, whereby the size of female Malayan Tapirs are much larger. Common characteristics among Tapirs can also be observed such as small stubby tails and long, flexible proboscises. The Malayan Tapir has poor eyesight but this is compensated by having a good hearing and smell.
Why Malayan Tapirs are pushed to the brink of extinction? This can be attributed to the diet of these Tapirs and the human activities that disrupted their food chain. Contrary to their exotic and peculiar looks, Malayan Tapirs are quite tame and they are strictly vegetarian. Grass, leaves, fruits, vegetables are the primary source of nutrition that these creatures consume.
With extensive logging, some legal and some illegal, thousands of acres of forests have been chopped down, depriving these pitiful species of any food source. Some of them may choose to migrate, but some unlucky ones will be shot by explorers on sight due to the misunderstandings about these animal's nature. As the mortality rate is kept higher than the birth rate of these Malayan Tapirs, it is not hard to conceive why their numbers are decreasing year by year.
According to IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, over the last 36 years, Malayan Tapirs have been on the decline and it is thought that this reduction is probably proportional to the reduction of the tropical rainforest area in southeast Asia over the same period. It is difficult to estimate how much of suitable tapir habitat has actually disappeared over that period. In Sumatra more than 50% is thought to have been lost, with much of the remaining forest outside the tapir's range. Less than 10% of the suitable habitat has been preserved, and much of that is degraded (Van Strien pers. comm., 2001). In Malaysia, situation are much better.
Malayan Tapirs once roamed the forests, but now has been either driven away to the pathway of death. If people continue to be oblivious about their situation, perhaps in the next 30 years, we could no longer see these wonderful creatures gracing the forest paths. Their delicate footsteps, will be replaced by prints of the cold, metal bulldozers. Their call, will be replaced by honks of automobiles.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Cyclone:Manifestation of Global Warming
-by Raymond Tan
The devastating cyclone in Myanmar recently has strengthened the cause for conserving our environment. As to 6th of May, 2008, death toll is reported to exceed 15,000, a staggering number that is bound to strike fear down everyone's spine.
Cyclones, hurricanes and typhoons are not new happenings in our world. They have been part of the climate cycle that maintains our Earth's dynamic equilibrium. However, the increase in carbon dioxide emission has altered the Earth's weather.Polar ice caps melt, sea water temperature rise; these are the contributing factors that magnified the destructive effects of cyclones.
It is not surprising that the cyclone in Myanmar has correlations with the effects of global warming. Carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases increase the Earth's temperature, thus increasing the evaporation rate at the same time. Oceans absorb much more heat than in the past century and with this temperature rise, the oceans expand and consequently sea level is raised.
Scientists have attempted to draw a correlation between rising earth temperature and tropical cyclone frequencies. Most of them were published in the journal Science. In 2005, a study examined the duration and maximum wind speeds of each tropical cyclone that formed over the last 30 years and found that their destructive power has increased around 70 percent in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. This study strongly proves the relationship between the rise in sea surface temperatures and cyclone frequencies in regions where tropical cyclones typically originate.
However, although the records have been positive, there is not enough storm taken as sample to prove that there is 100% correlation between the two factors. A 2006 study published in Geophysical Research Letters, relying on global surface wind and temperature records between 1958 and 2001, found that a 0.45 °F (0.25 °C) increase in mean annual tropical sea surface temperature corresponded to a 60 percent increase in a tropical cyclone’s potential destructiveness.Furthermore, researches have also found out that one percent annual increase of atmospheric CO2 concentrations over the next 80 years would produce more intense storms.
Is this enough to prove that global warming is deleterious to all of us? Yes, certainly. It's hard to convince people the severity of global warming, more so is the climacteric effects brought by it because people cannot imagine how is melting of polar ice caps going to affect their lives. But now, with the recent Myanmar cyclone in the headlines, it will be intriguing if people still do being asinine to nature's call: the call to stop global warming.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Walking is the Trend
-by Raymond Tan
Walking used to be the de facto means of transportation in the past, but in the advent of automobiles, people soon became indolent in walking from one place to another.
At the time where petrol prices were dirt cheap, there simply isn't a good enough reason not to use a automobile to travel. Regardless of the distance, we seemed to use automobiles indiscriminately. But now, it's a time to change. Oil prices are soaring high, salaries aren't getting much higher, earth's temperature is rising day by day;so how do we countervail the effects of such soaring high oil prices? The answer is by going back to our roots: Walking.
Before we take a look into how we should walk, we should examine the causes why people refuse to walk. Firstly, it's tiring to walk great distances. Secondly, for places like Malaysia, it will be very hot to walk under the blazing rays of the sun. Thirdly, it's not a comfortable experience.
All these bad experiences can now be solved if we do the correct thing while walking.
There are a few tips on how to make our walk a comfortable experience:
1. Wear Comfortably
Try to buy clothes that is made of fabrics which will not retain heat so much. Such fabric includes cotton for it is hydrophilic and it absorbs sweat. The fabric also facilitates conduction of heat from the body to the outside very fast, thus keeping the wearer relatively cool and comfortable. For shoes, if capable financially, try to get a pair of decent walking shoes. Nike, Adidas, New Balance, Puma etc. have a range of walking shoes which has tremendous differences than some other ordinary shoes. Though it may cost a lot, but if one is able to get it, these shoes are worth their price. It saves you the trouble of getting callus, warts and bruises in your feet. Also, you will need less ointments to apply to your aching muscles later on.
2. Walk in the Shades
There are a lot of covered corridors that help to shield you against the harmful UV rays of the sun. So, it's best to walk past these corridors rather than walking directly under the sun. It saves you from sunburns and also causes you to sweat less.
3. Prepare for the Changing Weather
The weather is unpredictable. Prepare an umbrella or a raincoat in your backpack, can make travelling easier. It saves you the hassle of being drenched by the run or basked by the sun.
4. Reduce the Weight of Backpack/Handbags
A few kilos can have significant differences if you walk for great distances. Clear your backpacks of any unnecessary weights. Carrying 0.5 kg more in your bag actually means 2 times the work done if you travel over a distance of 1km.
5. Prepare A Small Towel, Deodorant or Cleanser in your Bag
We sweat when we do work. Same goes with walking. If we are rushing to a rendezvous with a friend, we do not want our friend to smell the sweat. So, prepare a small towel in your bag to wipe off the sweat, deodorant to prevent that sweaty odor and cleanser to clean your oily face.
Those are a few tips that I usually practice when I walk to and fro from my college. If you have any additional tips, please do not hesitate to voice them out. It would be a great help for environment's cause. Thanks.
Friday, May 2, 2008
E-tour: Bukit Larut(Maxwell Hill), Taiping
Where do we experience the natural beauty of forests in Peninsular Malaysia? Is it Genting Highlands? Is it Cameron Highlands? These are famous hillstations in Malaysia; however, commercialization and developments on these hilltops have severely "contaminated" the natural beauty of Malaysian forests found there. Casinos, theme parks, hotels, tea gardens, too predominant in the former two hill stations, have robbed both Genting Highlands and Cameron Highlands of their most valuable asset, originality and naturalness, which were replaced by an entirely new identity. Though considered successful nowadays in Malaysia, one can really argue that they cannot compare at all with the alluring Maxwell Hill in Taiping, Perak.
Maxwell Hill is located in Taiping, Perak. The place itself had great lengths of history, comparable to the likes of the settlements in Jamestown. Taiping was the first key of British's interest in Malaya. The abundance of tin, much more than any place in the world at the time attracted British conquest of the territory. Being the first region where tin was discovered in Malaya, Taiping was the centerpoint of development. Like all other milestones of development in Taiping, the Maxwell Hill Station was the first in Malaya.
The British built bungalows on top of the hill to serve as a sanctuary to escape the blistering heat of the equatorial regions of Malaya, and thus, soon it became a popular holiday spot for the British officials. After Malaya gained independence, Maxwell Hill was not put in the blueprint of development due to several reasons. The first reason is that the roads to the hilltop were hard and impractical to built due to the terrain. Secondly, the emergence of other hill stations had shunned Maxwell Hill to the verge of isolation as well.
Perhaps this is a blessing a disguise, as this move preserved the natural beauty on top of the hill. Bungalows were preserved as they are during the British colonial era. The roads to the hilltop have not changed much since the colonial era. Even the transportation method to the hilltop has not changed either. Everything is just as it is in the past. One can relive history when you walk past the forests found on both sides of the road.
While not having casinos, theme parks and hotels to attract tourists, what does Maxwell Hill possess that gives itself the authentic identity? The answer lies in the preserved flora and fauna found along the trail to the hill top and to the hilltop itself. As the primary transportation is only by jeep, there is very few pollution done to the natural environment here. Also, there are less tourists compared to other hill stations, therefore the scars left by humans are almost nowhere to be seen.
Recent attractions also include the successful cultivation of tulips on the hilltop. Due to the unpolluted environment of Maxwell Hill, botanists have successfully cultivated tulips there.
Nevertheless, Maxwell Hill is also one of the victims of global warming. The temperature on top the hill is reported to be increasing year by year. This may severely disrupt the ecology on top the hill. Despite the fact, Maxwell Hill is a must-visit place. It may not receive publicity like the Grand Canyon, nor like the Amazon forests, but it is certainly on par with these powerhouses in terms of natural beauty.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Saving Money, Saving Environment while Driving
We have heard about the recent technological advancements in automobiles, we have heard about hybrid cars, hydrogen fuel cell cars, and solar cars, we have heard about the "atrocities" committed by our internal combustion engine to the environment; but wait, how do middle class people afford those expensive gadgets?
Fear not, practicing some good habits while driving can make our car less callous to the environment. Here are some tips that not only help save our money, but save the environment as well.
1. Buy a car that suits your needs
If you are the only one using the car and if most of the time you won't be utilizing it to carry other people, why not buy a car with much smaller engine capacity? Small, compact cars are lighter and much more fuel efficient that larger cars if you are the only one in the car. This will help reduce carbon emission significantly and the cost of maintaining the car.
2. Carpooling whenever applicable
When you have a neighbor going to the same area like you do, why not consider about carpooling? Sometimes you might feel uneasy about the idea of causing trouble to others, but one can always share the transportation expenses with their neighbors to compensate for the extra costs incurred. It will be much more cheaper than you driving your own car as you save parking costs, besides doing a great deed to our environment.
3. Adjust the air-conditioner according to temperature.
When the temperature is not too high, it is a waste turning the speed of the air-cond to maximum. Running your air conditioner will actually increase fuel consumption by as much as 10%. Adjusting the speed can contribute a lot in saving your fuel. If there is no need to open the air-cond at all(e.g. during rainy day), then off it.
4.Slow down
As we are traveling at high speed in a car, our aerodynamic drag increases exponentially due to air resistance. This causes more fuel to be burnt incompletely to supply more power to the car. As a result, more carbon monoxide is emitted, more money is spent, and more risk to your safety. Be nice and gentle to your accelerator.
5.Remove unwanted baggages in the luggage booth.
There are many people that treat their luggage booth as a garage. While equipments and tools should not be remove, some unwanted weights should be removed from the luggage booth. Driving around with that extra weight is going to place more fuel consumption on our engine, and lower mileage.
Friday, April 25, 2008
It's Takes More Than "Blacking Out"
-by Raymond Tan
Major cities blacking out to raise the awareness of people concerning the environment, this phenomenon has become a norm nowadays. However, the impact of such actions have been doubtful. Events like shutting off the lights of Harbor Bridge in Sydney, though mesmerizing and applaudable, has not been convincing enough to people all around the globe. Residents in Malaysia for example, are almost being indifferent to the feat performed in Sydney.
This boils down to the question of "How do we actually instill the love for environment in everyone?"
It's not hard to tell the effectiveness of the efforts carried out above. Ask a secondary school teacher or university lecturer on how difficult it is to change the attitude of problematic teenagers, then perhaps one might know why are efforts like this failing.
My mother was a senior assistant in a government school before, and has specialized in administrative matters such as student disciplinary problems. According to her, students have their behavior shaped at some critical age. Once their behavior has been molded at that critical period, it is very difficult to change it. Changing it would require constant counseling and monitoring.
Apply it back to the situation in environment conservation, if people have not been taught to love the environment since they were young, it is hard to teach them to love it when they become adults. That is to say, nurturing a child to have the love for environment since they were young will be much more effective.
I have seen posters, flyers and youtube videos about environmental awareness, however, how far is such campaigns working is still subject to much debate. World temperature continues to rise although environmental conservation started to be active since the 80's. Demand for energy continues to rise although adults are taught the virtues in reducing energy consumption long long ago.
Why are the efforts failing? Besides our human's stubborn nature, it is also probable that there hardly is any incentive to be environmental conscious nowadays. If government give discounts for electricity bills if it is under some certain level, if recyclable items can be recycled for wealth, if some award can be given to households for least plastic used, if hunters are given incentives based on the endangered animals they "saved", I believe such measures will be greatly beneficial to our environment conservation efforts.
It is undeniable that humans love good deals. If we really can make people realize the conserving the environment is a real GREAT deal, then, whatever environmental problem is not a problem now.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Mismanagement+Downpour=Landslide
Malaysia boasts as one of the most humid regions in the world. With annual rainfall of 2000mm to 2500mm, farmers who face water shortage problem might yearn to come to Malaysia to obtain the abundant waters. Drought is uncommon here, whereas flood occurrence is still at an acceptable rate. However, despite all the effort done to control landslides, Malaysians are still uncomfortable while passing a mountain pass during rainy seasons.
Just two weeks ago, protests have been voiced out against the development in Petaling Jaya's Bukit Gasing. Yesterday, we heard news about landslides in Bukit Gasing, causing numerous property losses.
It is said that every project in Malaysia involving the environment must pass the environment impact assessment(EIA) so as to minimize the damages done to the environment. The Kuala Lumpur International Airport(KLIA) is such project where emphasis is placed on conservation of environment. The trees at the site were moved and planted elsewhere instead of being brought down when construction of the KLIA started.
But, landslides in Bukit Gasing, and numerous others, have shown the efficacy of the bodies governing the monitoring of the environment. The collapse of Highland Towers Condominium in Hulu Kelang, Selangor on December 11 1993, where 48 people were killed, Karak Highway landslide at Km 34 feeder road to Genting Highlands, Pahang on June 30th. 1995, where 20 people were killed and 22 sustained injuries, and numerous landslides in PLUS highway later on was not the end of landslides in Malaysia.
Landslides continued to threaten the safety of Malaysians living near the mountain slopes or cliffs. Driving past mountain slopes during rainy seasons is still far from risk free. Although post-mortem teams have been set up to investigate the matter so that it will not happen again but it was fruitless as mistakes in management by the authorities continued.
The Malaysian Ministry of Natural Resources & Environment certainly needs to put in more effort in ensuring that contractors and developers adhere to the law in the exploration of new lands especially pertaining to hillside developments. The short term benefit of overlooking the environment is incomparable to the dire effects of its mismanagement. If landslides still continue to happen, I am afraid that in the near future, there might not be people who want to use the PLUS highway, go to Genting Highlands, or live in hilltop apartments.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Happy Earth Day!
April 22 is designated as the Earth Day. Well, we hope that as the celebration is going, everyone will be able to think deeper into the problems underlying our Earth and seek ways to solve it. Make our Earth a better place to live in.
E-tour: Matang Mangrove Forest Reserve
Matang is situated at my hometown, Taiping. In my community, Matang is known as a peaceful "kampung"(countryside) with it's close-knit people from all races living together. Other than the coconut trees and the kampung-style housing, it is also well-known for its seafood cuisine. It's seafood porridge was once patronized by the former Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad. While mostly known as a place to enjoy a variety of seafood, Matang also has another landmark that no one should ever miss-Matang Mangrove Forest Reserve.
No matter you are a non environmentalist or not, you will be fascinated by the natural beauty of the mangrove forests, found only in the banks of Peninsular Malaysia. It is different from experiencing the savannah of Africa, these mangrove swamps have the identity of their own. Below are some of the photographs of the forest reserve.
Matang Mangrove Forest Reserve has been gazetted as a Permanent Forest Reserve in 1906, and since 1908, the Perak Forestry Department has intensively managed it. About 80% of this area is sustainable-yield production forest, consisting mainly of the Bakau Minyak and Bakau Kurap species.
The whole area of this forest reserve is internationally renowned as the best managed sustainable mangrove forest in Malaysia and among the best managed mangrove ecosystem in the world too. It is also recognised as an outstanding conservation management of the rich and diverse of wildlife and habitats that thrive throughout the mangrove and mudflats.
Politics and Environment
-by Raymond Tan
When slogans, motto, manifestos looked promising, our environment has seldom become the benefactor of these promises. Instead, the environment has been frequently used as a political agenda, exploited by some politicians to advance their own self-interest. If a government's efficiency in tackling environmental issues has been good, do we still need so many NGOs to fight for environment's cause?
Countless treaties have been made to "save our environment". The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora is one of the earliest environmental pacts made. Concerning the rights on Antarctic, several treaties have been drafted as well, including the Antarctic Treaty 1959,Agreed Measures for the Conservation of Antarctic Fauna and Flora 1964, Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty 1991. The Kyoto Protocol, known in its involvement in global warming prevention, was drafted in 1997.
How do these treaties actually "helped" our world today?
Needless to say, treaties themselves aren't enough to save the environment. Although some politicians have been advocating that this and that is harmful to the environment, the effort so far poured into it is much less than all the table-talk. A piece of Protocol or Paper and a Pen, simply is useless in tackling the environment issues.
Moreover, when the concern for economy arises, which will normally be chosen? To fight for wealth or fight for the environment? Wealth gives people comfort, whereas damages done to the environment usually are not affecting the current generation too much. It's obvious that which one will people choose.
The cycle is not ever going to break off. People, environmentalists alike will always be given hope that something will be done by authorities. But, in the end, we still have our environment deteriorating day by day.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
KL Freeze @Sunway Pyramid, Malaysia
Credits to Eiran Tan
Getting people to unite like this in Malaysia, with an aim to participate in environmental conservation efforts can be sometimes daunting. Malaysians have long had the habit of ignoring "Do not litter" signposts, throwing rubbish almost everywhere and anytime. To prove this, take a look at a stadium in Malaysia after a soccer match.
However, it seems that this situation has started to change. Young Malaysians now are united for the cause of environment. These groups are aware that if they do not do something, the world might not be a good place than it was to live in.
Thus, came this Freeze event held in Sunway Pyramid Shopping Mall, Malaysia. Emulating the feat achieved in Trafalgar Square, the objective is simple and no different from its counterparts.
Let us just hope that the spirit of unity in fighting for nature's cause will prevail in the future.
Haze in Malaysia: An Annual "Celebration"
-by Raymond Tan
I do not know when it first started, but ever since the first occurrence of haze in Malaysia happened, it has been happening in a regular basis annually. While it's not fair to point fingers at others, but it is apparent that some irresponsible slash and burn way of farming is accounting for the severity of the problem.
When haze strikes, you basically have to stay indoors. You are confined in your house unless you have serious matters to attend to outdoors. Depending on the Air Pollution Index(API), you have to adjust your life according to the seriousness of the problem.
The effect of haze on economy is devastating as well. In 2006, some experts said the impact of the 2006 haze could be as bad as the 1997-1998 haze crisis where the region, especially Indonesia -- epicenter of the haze problem -- suffered up to US$9 billion in losses.
Although there were pacts and treaties signed, but it isn't able to solve the problem once and for all. The crisis prompted the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) to sign an Asean Agreement on Transboundary Haze in 2002. The treaty recognises the responsibility of states for pollution and establishes an Asean Centre to promote joint actions and closer cooperation on fire-fighting and prevention.
However, perhaps another result of global warming, while the fires are continuously being put off, more forest fires, more slash and burns are happening. One might have to wonder whether the haze will become an annual "festivity" in Malaysia eventually.
Starving Yourself for Your Car
-by Raymond Tan
Biofuel can be broadly defined as solid, liquid, or gas fuel consisting of, or derived from recently dead biological material, most commonly plants. The most common feedstock for biofuel is corn.
In a historical perspective, corn is the staple food in many of the agrarian kingdoms in antiquity as it is a good source of energy. Corn nowadays continued to leave its profound impact on our world, as in food production, flour(made of corn) is vital.
However, with the advent of biofuels, the demand for corn is soaring at an impeccable pace. Environmentalists alike have advocated the use of biofuels as it reduces carbon dioxide emission to the atmosphere and is readily available.
Perhaps unbeknownst to the underlying effects, environmentalists failed to realize that actually corn production for ethanol can spark a worldwide food shortage problem. Food prices will be increased because the demand of corn is at sky high, with the demand of corn for ethanol and corn for food competing. Some analysts, such as C. Ford Runge, a professor of applied economics and law at the University of Minnesota, say that the use of corn for fuel rather than food could account for about one-third of the rise in prices worldwide.
This phenomenon will potentially cause losses in poorer countries such as the likes of Ethiopia. With GDP per capita at all time low, the people of these countries may be unable to cope with the hiking food prices.
Compare this with the effects of global warming and starvation, which is likely to cause more damage to us? The answer is uncertain, but as fossil fuels continue to be unpopular and expensive (oil prices are still in 100USD per barrel), corn for ethanol will still have a firm place in the eyes of various governments. Perhaps it is just time that will tell whether corn will be feasible for biofuel.
Efforts To Value Our Rainforests and Why
Previously, no one has ever attempted to put a market value on nature's eco-systems and the services they provide, until now.
However, a deal was struck between London-based venture capital company, Canopy Capital and the Iwokrama International Center for Rainforest Conservation and Development (IIC) in Guyana, South America.
Andrew Mitchell, Director of the Global Canopy Program (GCP) and a partner in Canopy Capital, says the deal is about; "creating a whole new paradigm for the way in which the world economy values the environment."
What Canopy Capital tries to express here is that the rainforests provide us with a service that benefits us all. Not only do rainforests naturally store carbon, they also provide the means for economic stability for the indigenous population, the surrounding regions and further afield. Like everything else, these natural services should and will, they hope, have a value.
HRH The Prince of Wales, who is a patron of the IIC, has described the rainforests as: "Giant global utilities providing an essential service to humanity on a vast scale." He thinks that the value of the world's forests is not properly understood and therefore not paid for. Seen from this perspective, Canopy Capital's new investors might be on to a good thing.
Founded in 1996, the IIC has historically been devoted to scientific research, pioneering the sustainable use of rainforests, as well as encouraging eco-tourism. The intention now is to create a new commercial business model marketing its assets which will preserve its long term future.
The prize asset is the 370,000 hectares of the Iwokrama Reserve, which lies in the heart of the Guiana Shield -- a vast area of tropical forest which stretches over 2.5 million square kilometers across the north-east of South America, crossing six state borders. It was gifted to the Commonwealth for the purposes of research in 1989.
Canopy Capital, who announced the deal at the world's first 'Biodiversity and Ecosystem Finance Conference' in New York, currently has a dozen investors who collectively hold an 80 percent stake in the company. The remaining 20 percent is held by the GCP.
An alliance of 29 scientific institutions conducting research into forest canopy, the GCP has been evolving the concept of canopy eco-system services for the past eight years.
Discussion started within the scientific community, then moved on to involve environmental economists. The final step was to approach the financial community to see if there was a market for eco-services.
It was here that the idea took off. GCP Director Andrew Mitchell met up with Hylton Philipson -- a former investment banker. Philipson shared Mitchell's passion for rainforest conservation and set about trying to work out whether such a project would be economically viable.
Andrew Mitchell who was mentioned earlier, he says that the rainforests are a global utility and should be treated as such. "It's like a local power station. We don't really know how it works, but we all enjoy the electricity when we turn the lights on. But if you don't pay the bill you get cut off," he said.
It might be easy to measure the output from a power station, but how do you define and measure the benefits of a rainforest? One way, Mitchell says, is to model what would happen if the remaining big rainforests utilities -- Guiana Shield, Amazonia, the Congo Basin and Indonesia -- weren't there.
"One of the scenarios produced by Ron Avissar of Duke University shows that if you remove the Amazonia, you see rainfall reductions in Mid-West America at different times of the year. If you remove them from the Congo Basin you see changes in rainfall reductions in Uzbekistan and parts of Russia. This would affect our ability to provide food." Mitchell said.
Reduced Amazon rainfall could also have devastating effects closer to home. Brazil is a nation highly dependent on hydro-power for electricity generation. In 2004, over 83 percent came from hydro-power. For them, less rain would literally mean less power.
The destruction of rainforests pose a threat to energy and food security over a vast area, affecting millions of lives. "Governments have a role to play," said Mitchell, "but so do markets."
Canopy Capital is currently producing an audit of the Iwokrama rainforest. Mitchell estimates that the Reserve could be storing up to around 80 million tons of CO2, but he says it's difficult to work out exact values for rainforests right now.
"We're going to have to invest in the earth's life support systems," Mitchell said. "What's the point of making a machine to capture carbon out of the atmosphere when rainforests do it for free? It's cheaper to maintain that than to build a new one." Click Here to Read More..
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Organic Farming: Good for You, Better for Nature
Organic agriculture is defined as "a holistic food production management system, which promotes and enhances agro-ecosystem health, including biodiversity, biological cycles and soil biological activity. It emphasizes the use of management practices in preference to the use of off-farm inputs, taking into account that regional conditions require locally adapted systems. This is accomplished by using, where possible, agronomic, biological and mechanical methods, as opposed to using synthetic materials, to fulfill any specific function within the system." (FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission).
-by Raymond Tan
As opposed to modern agriculture, organic agriculture can be a great solution to the eutrophication problem. Eutrophication is closely associated with the inorganic substances present in chemical fertilizers such as phosphates and nitrates. These substances cause algae boom, depriving the aquatic organisms of oxygen supply. Chemical pesticides contains toxins that will accumulate in the aquatic organisms. In the end, it is the top predators that consume those toxins. Organic agriculture restores the environmental balance and has none of these or other such deleterious effects on the environment.
Concerns about pesticide use has been great. Rachel Carson’s book “Silent Spring” published in 1964 brought out the scientific certainties of the impacts of pesticides on environment. The first insecticide, DDT was banned in the developed countries in the 1970s but continued to be used in India till the 1990s.
According to Research on health disorders resulting from petroleum-based chemicals used in consumer products and job environments are available from the links below. Petroleum based chemicals are being found to cause significant attritional effects to the nervous system and immune system after prolonged exposure. Illnesses identified in the medical research include adult and child cancers, numerous neurological disorders, immune system weakening, autoimmune disorders, asthma, allergies, infertility, miscarriage, and child behavior disorders including learning disabilities, mental retardation, hyperactivity and ADD (attention deficit disorders). Petroleum based chemicals are believed to cause these problems by a variety of routes including -- impairing proper DNA (Gene) expression, weakening DNA Repair, accelerating gene loss, degeneration of the body's detoxification defenses (liver and kidneys) as well as gradual weakening of the brain's primary defense -- (the Blood Brain Barrier) http://www.chem-tox.com/).
Manure has been the natural means of obtaining fertilizers since antiquity. The question frequently asked is as to where to get this quantity of manure. The answer here lies in composting. Large quantities of organic wastes from agriculture as well as market wastes can easily be converted to manure, without much investment costs. This promotes local based industry for composting. Organic foliar sprays as well as pest repellents can also be prepared at the local level. It can also generate opportunities for a large number of youth and women at the rural centres.
Organic agriculture contributes to food and environment security by a combination of many features, most notably by:
- Increasing yields in low-input areas
- Conserving biodiversity & nature resources on the farm and in surrounding area
- Increasing income and/or reducing costs
- Recycle organic waste for manure production, solving waste management
- Micro-enterprises in rural economy
- Protect the health of the farmer and the consumer
- Producing safe and varied food
- Being sustainable in the long term
World Environment Day
The host for World Environment Day 2008 will be New Zealand, with the main international celebrations scheduled for Wellington. The slogan for 2008 is "CO2, Kick the Habit! Towards a Low Carbon Economy." New Zealand is set to be the first nation to achieve carbon neutrality and the first nation to reduce its CO2 emission dramatically.The World Environmental Day has also been hosted on several of these cities:
* 2007 - Tromsø, Norway
* 2006 - Algiers, Algeria
* 2005 - San Francisco, U.S.
* 2004 - Barcelona, Spain
* 2003 - Beirut, Lebanon
* 2002 - Shenzhen, People's Republic of China
* 2001 - Torino, Italy and Havana, Cuba
* 2000 - Adelaide, Australia
* 1999 - Tokyo, Japan
* 1998 - Moscow, Russian Federation
* 1997 - Seoul, Republic of Korea
* 1996 - Istanbul, Turkey
* 1995 - Pretoria, South Africa
* 1994 - London, United Kingdom
* 1993 - Beijing, People's Republic of China
* 1992 - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
* 1991 - Stockolm, Sweden
* 1990 - Mexico City, Mexico
* 1989 - Brussels, Belgium
* 1988 - Bangkok, Thailand
* 1987 - Nairobi, Kenya
Freeze the World Earth Day - Malaysia
It will be held at Sunway Pyramid, freeze time will be at 8pm, do synchronise your watches following this http://24timezones.com/world_directory/current_kuala_lumpur_time.php
For 20th April, everyone wear something green because it’s World Earth Day right? doesn’t make sense if u wear some other colour either than green. So wear as vegetable as you think you could
What sort of position to freeze?
Have sunglasses on and a paper fan to symbolise global warming, Freeze with a group of people picking up litter to symbolise the pollution, or with a flourescent light bulb to symbolise saving energy, with an LRT ticket/on a bicycle to symbolise means of transportation which will help reduce CO2 emissions. Or perhaps with a face mask on to symbolise air pollution, or with a crushed hair spray aerosol bottle to symbolise anti-CFC releasing products. Or you can even Freeze with a plant/small tree in a pot with a bandage around the stem/trunk to “save a tree”.
Those are ideas contributed by Phoon Khai Meng who is in Canada and can’t make it back to Malaysia for this Sunday’s event.
For more details please check out this website, RandomAlphabets.com
Orang Utan: "Man in the forest" no more
~by Raymond Tan
They are not simply red-furred monkeys or chimpanzee's dyed with red; they are the orang utans, dubbed "man in the forest". One may not encounter them anywhere in the Earth save for the regions called the Golden Khersonese (South East Asia). Geography makes them unique, they make the geography that they reside in unrivaled as well.
Orang utans once conquered the rainforests in South East Asia, but soon they realized that they are powerless to defend themselves against a series of mishaps. Deforestation for urbanization and illegal logging, large scale plantations, environmental pollution, illegal hunting have all left their toll on the orang utan population, driving them to the brink of extinction. According to the IUCN Red List of mammals,the Sumateran orang utans is critically endangered whereas the Borneo orang utans is endangered. The total number of Bornean orangutans is estimated to be less than 14% of what it was in the recent past.
What causes these orang utans to decline so rapidly is mainly attributed to the palm oil plantation activity. Palm oil plantation, while having less effect on environment quality itself, has dire consequences on the orang utan species. Palm oil trees are not the natural habitat of these creatures and as a result, they have to constantly migrate in search of new breeding places. Nevertheless, when the breeding cycle is disrupted, it is no surprise that their numbers decrease.
Illegal logging might also account for the endangerment of the orang utan species. As logging itself is a profitable business, doing it illegally will reap much more benefit. This left a profound impact on the forests and the orang utans as well because the trees were haphazardly cut down.
Realizing the impact of such activities towards the orang utan species, the Malaysian government has taken several conservation steps in protecting these species. Among the most popular conservation centers in Malaysia is the Sepilok Orang Utan Sanctuary located in Sabah, Malaysia. The center aims to educate the public on conservation, rehabilitate the orang utans, research and assist to other endangered species such as captive breeding of the rare and endangered rhinoceros.
However, despite the conservation efforts done to protect these orang utans, it is undeniable that these orang utans will never ever become the ruler of the rainforests. "Man in the forest" should now be pointed to we humans and not these creatures as they have not got to ability to survive in such treacherous habitat, constantly threatened by the greed of human beings.
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Orang Utan Factfiles:
FAMILY: Pongidae
GENUS: Pongo
SPECIES: pygmaeus
SUB-SPECIES: pygmaeus (from Borneo)
SUB-SPECIES: abelli (from Sumatara)
MALAYSIAN NAME: The name ORANG-UTAN is derived from the Malay language meaning 'man of the forest' The actual Malay name is 'Mawas'
SIZE: Height/Male: 1.5m (4.9ft) Height/Female: 1m (3.3ft) Weight/Male: 75 kgs(165lbs) Weight/Female: 40 kgs(88lbs) Weight at birth: 1.5 kgs(3lbs)
COLORATION: Reddish-brown coats but ranges from bright orange in young to dark brown in some adults. Adults have black faces;young have pink muzzles and pink skin around their eyes.
BIRTH TO DEATH: Breeding - Non Seasonal Gestation : 8-9 months Usual number of young : 1 Number of young in lifetime : 3-4 First solid food : 3 months Weaning : 2 years Independant : 7 -10 years Sexual Maturity : 6-8 years Fully grown : 6-7 years (females) 10-14 years (males) Lifespan : 30-40 years
FEATURES: Very long armspan : 1.5 - 2.5m(4.9ft-8ft) Large brains for their size; highly intelligent Heaviest tree dwelling mammal
DIET: Orang-utans live among the trees but are too heavy to perform the acrobatics and antics of monkeys and lighter apes. 60% of their diet consists of tropical fruits, such as mangoes, lychees, durians, figs, etc.. In fact, they eat more than 300 different types of food, including leaves, barks, ants, termites, fungi, honey, bird eggs and handfuls of soil. They have voracious appetites.They can use a leaf as a means to quenching their thirst.
BEHAVIOUR: The orang-utan is the most introverted and antisocial of the great apes. Orang-utans are solitary animals, spending most of ther lives on their own. Even if a group assembles in a well-stocked fruit tree, they take very little notice of each other. Only the young seem to enjoy playing with each other and indulging in mock fights. The male orang-utans seek the company of the females only when they want to mate. They play no part in the upbringing of the young ones or in their family life. Despite their solitary lifestyles, orang-utans are highly intelligent, resourceful animals, capable of amazing feats of memory and learning. In the wild, they can remember with accuracy the exact locations and fruiting seasons of a whole range of trees. An orang-utans day consists of searching and eating food. They spend most of their time in the lower to middle branches of the trees. At night, they build large leafy nests in the trees, some 10m (33ft) above the ground. A new nest is built every night by bending over branches into a firm base and tucking in smaller twigs to make a springy mattress. They sleep on their backs or sides, sometimes with a hand under their head.
Spain suffers worst drought
MADRID, Spain -- Spain is reeling from its most severe drought in 70 years with the nation's reservoirs on average just half full, the Environment Ministry reports. 
Rainfall has been less than half of what's considered normal for the last six months and reservoir levels were already low after two years in which normal rain levels failed to rebound from the driest 12 months on record -- October 1, 2004 to September 30, 2005.
The worst-hit areas are the Catalonia region -- whose capital, Barcelona, is the nation's second-largest city -- and central Spain in the Castilla-La Mancha region near Madrid, according to Antonio Mestre, a climate specialist at the State Meteorological Agency in Madrid.
The Baells reservoir near Barcelona is about 20 percent full, and in some places it appears to be bone dry. A little row boat could this week be seen resting on the sandy dirt bottom of the reservoir.
In a nearby village, Gelida, trucks already bring drinking water every week because the town's three wells are too dry.
It's become a political headache for Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who is just starting his second term.
"Despite the difficult drought years," Zapatero said in the investiture debate in parliament, "there's been no shortage of drinking water anywhere in the country."
But Barcelona might run out by October.
The government has decided to quickly build a water pipeline for 60 kilometers (37 miles) along the major AP-7 highway, to pump water in to Barcelona, if necessary by the autumn and depending on reservoir levels at that time. The project would cost 180 million euros ($280 million).
The water would come from the Ebro river and that has sparked protests from the regional governments of Valencia and Murcia, down the Mediterranean coast from Barcelona, that the central government is favoring Barcelona.
Valencia and Murcia leaders this week threatened to take the case to the Constitutional Court, the highest in Spain.
Barcelona-area officials already have restricted the use of water for home gardens and parks and public fountains. They have also considered bringing drinking water in by boat.
To tackle chronic water shortages, Spain in recent years has also invested heavily in desalination plants, which take the salt of sea water to make it drinkable -- but several are not yet finished, including one that would serve Barcelona.
The latest drought hits Spain just after tens of thousands of new vacation homes have sprung up en masse along the coast in recent years, along with dozens of new golf courses thirsting to stay green.
"The amount of water resources depend not only on precipitation, but also on consumption," Mestre said. "The water demand in Spain has increased a lot in the last 10 or 15 years."
Despite recent showers, the past six months are the driest period in Spain in 70 years, when record-keeping began, Mestre said.
Farmers also compete for the water, to irrigate their fields, which are suffering in the latest drought.
Some critics say that successive Spanish governments have repeatedly taken short term measures during droughts, rather than making long-term water-use plans.
One old fisherman at the Riosequillo reservoir - an hour north of Madrid and just a third full despite the recent rains - said he'd never seen it so bad.
"We'd have so much progress," said Gregorio Consentini, the 78-year-old fisherman, "but we're doing badly."
source:CNN
Friday, April 18, 2008
What You Need To Know About Global Warming
1. What is Global Warming?
Global warming is the phenomenon of increasing average air temperatures near the surface of Earth over the past one to two centuries2. What are the direct effects of Global Warming?
3. What are the events that will be more rampant?
- Heat waves and periods of unusually warm weather
- Ocean warming, sea-level rise and coastal flooding
- Glaciers melting
- Arctic and Antarctic warming
- Spreading disease
- Earlier spring arrival
- Plant and animal range shifts and population changes
- Coral reef bleaching
- Downpours, heavy snowfalls, and flooding
- Droughts and fires
- Increased health and medical expenses
- Increased electricity bills
- Increased insurance expenditure
- Increased food price
- Increased risk to natural disasters
- Increased threat to lives and belongings
- Decreased crop yield
- Decreased island beaches for vacation
- Decreased body immunity
- Decreased food to eat(famine)
The Kyoto Protocol is a protocol to the international Framework Convention on Climate Change with the objective of reducing Greenhouse gases that cause climate change.It was agreed on 11 December 1997 at the 3rd Conference of the Parties to the treaty when they met in Kyoto, and entered into force on 16 February 2005.Click Here to Read More..
Tips on Recyling
Each year in the UK, people throw away 29.1 million tonnes of household waste, that's the same as the weight of how many male African Elephants?
Garbages, rubbish, waste usually ends up in landfills and incinerators. But not every country can afford to build so many incinerators. Even if it can afford, there will never be enough to cater to the ever increasing demand of rubbish disposal. Landfills seemed to be the only possible solution. However, there are many substances in a bulk of rubbish that is not biodegradable(that is, they are difficult to rot under natural conditions). Plastics may take thousands of years to decay. Some other metallic wastes like aluminum will be just wasted if placed on the open air.
That brings us to the good habit of recycling wastes. Recycling means reprocessing of old materials into new products. Here are some of the tips you may practice in recycling:
1. Plastic Bags
- Use them as bin liners.
- Place them in the bottom of plant pots and hanging baskets - they act as great drainage systems.
- Children can use them for carrying PE gear to school.
- Scrunch them up to surround items when you're packaging as an alternative to bubble wrap.
- Use them in the garden to hold your grass cuttings and hedge trimmings before transfer to a compost bin.
- Use them when packing for a holiday to keep dirty/wet clothes and shoes away from dry clothing.
- Use them as 'doggy doo bags' when out walking your dog!
- Some supermarkets recycle plastic bags, so you can return plastic bags to them.
- Re-use washed zip lock bags for sandwiches and snacks rather than using plastic wrappers
- After children's drawings and paintings have been displayed for a while they can be used to wrap presents - this also makes the present special.
- Discarded A4-sized paper can be cut and stapled together to make notepads. Alternatively, if you save five reams, it will cost you about $5 to get a print company to convert this paper into 'proper' notepads.
- 'Use the envelopes you receive in the mail a second time by placing a new address label over the last address. I call this the OMT System ("One more time system"). Old envelopes can also be used for scribbling down shopping lists, to-do lists, and notes.'
- Resealable envelopes can be reused many times: 'My daughter takes one to school when she orders her lunch. The envelope has all details written in felt on the front and the money sealed inside. She brings the envelope home and we use it again until it gets too shabby.'
- Old calendars, colourful pictures, etc. can be used to make your own envelopes. You can unstick a used envelope and use it as a template for making envelopes.
- Old rolls of wallpaper can be used for childrens' drawings.
- Junk mail can be used as scrap paper, or as bedding for pets.
- Cardboard cartons can be used to collect paper for recycling, instead of plastic bags (even breakfast cereal cartons are good).
- SPCA and pet shops appreciate old newspapers.
- Toilet roll centres can be recycled - they're made of cardboard.
- To fill in a rainy day get a paper recycling kit and get the kids to rip up old used paper to make recycled paper, it can be great fun.
- Old magazines are appreciated by:
- Doctor and dentists' surgeries
- Motels
- Friends
- Aluminium trays from pies and cakes make ideal 'drip saucers' to put under pot plants.
- Old tyres can be used outside for plant pots - especially good for plants that like warm soils as they trap the heat.
- The following waste items can be modified and used for planting seedlings:
- Egg cartons
- Tetra-pak cartons
- Plastic bottles
- Plastic containers for cherry tomatoes
- Old boots and shoes
- Plastic containers for takeaways
- The cardboard centres from toilet rolls
- Plastic icecream containers.
- Lawn clippings can be used to cover weeds and keep from growing in the garden through winter.
- Broken crockery can be used as drainage at the bottom of pot plants.
- Tin cans can be used as:
- Water reservoirs for new plants and trees. Tape a piece of hose pipe in a can and fill the can with scoria or pumice. Then, when you plant a new tree or plant, bury the can below the root level and leave enough hose poking out of the ground. You can water the plant in summer by pouring the water into hose pipe. If the hose is short enough it can be mowed over on a lawn and does not look obtrusive.
- Pot plant holders. Decorate the outside of the can to your liking, put some soil in it and plant away. (Make sure you put some drainage holes in the bottom of the tin before you start potting the plants.)
- Old newspapers (including those gathered from your friends) can be used to mulch and weed control the garden. Wet newspaper and place thickly on the garden. Cover with bark or stones.
- Plastic milk bottles can be used to hold snail bait and are pet proof.
- Old stockings can be used to tie up plants in the garden.
- Plastic icecream containers can be cut into strips for seed labels.
- Old or broken household goods such as toasters, transistor radios can be used by others for parts. Sell them cheaply at a garage sale.
- Carry a supermarket bag with you when you go walking so that you can pick up glass, litter or other plastic bags.
- Ice cream containers can be reused around the home in a number of ways:
- Storing food in the freezer
- As a container for toys, crayons, clothes pegs
- Biscuit container
- Meat trays, yoghurt containers, egg cartons, and film canisters can be kept and used by the kids to 'create stuff'. This is a great way to keep the kids amused and even make gifts for family and friends.
- An upside down bottle with small holes in the top can be used to provide water for your pets while you are on holiday.
- Materials left over from home sewing can be used by schools for collages. Larger pieces can also be used for patchwork and crafts by people in rest homes. In Wellington (and possibly other centres as well), there is a group in the women's prison who choose to do patchwork as part of their rehabilitation.
- After you have finished a ’family-size’ yoghurt pot (and since they aren’t recyclable), rinse it out and use it as a lunch box or cookie jar.
- Use ice cream and other plastic containers to put kids toys in. Also good for nuts and bolts and taking away camping, or clothes peg containers.
- The black meat trays from the Supermarket make great paint trays for both adults and kids.
- Stronger plastic bottles can be used to hold tools and nails etc in the shed. Simply cut three sides and leave one side longer and nail to the wall in the shed.
- Old furniture, clothes, kitchen gear, and bedding are always wanted by organisations like Drug Arm, and the Salvation Army.
Bush: Cut CO2 production growth by 2025
(Left)President Bush speaks on climate change and clean energy at the Washington International Renewable Energy Conference last month.(Credit: Martin LaMonica/CNET News.com)
APRIL 16-President Bush on Wednesday set a goal of halting the growth of greenhouse gases by 2025, calling for elimination of clean-energy international trade barriers but stopping short of specific proposals to mandate carbon emissions caps.
Delivering a speech at the White House Rose Garden, Bush said national greenhouse gas emissions growth should peak within 10 to 15 years, stop in 2025, and then decline.
He said the nationwide strategy would build on existing policies to accelerate development of energy-efficiency technologies, cellulosic ethanol, nuclear power, and renewable energy like wind and solar.
Bush said the U.S.--which has been accused of foot-dragging in global climate change talks--will agree to a binding international regime to limit emissions if other countries adhere to their own goals.
"This approach will require commitments by all major economies to slow, stop, and reduce (greenhouse gas) growth," he said.
In addition to weighing in on global climate regulations, which are set to expire in 2012, Bush also sought to influence the direction of various forms of climate change legislation now going through Congress.
Most of those focus on mandatory carbon emissions caps to restrain heavy polluters and a market-based mechanism of trading carbon allowances, called a cap and trade.
He also warned against attempts to force federal agencies to take action on regulating global warming emissions in place of the legislative process.
In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court last year said that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must regulate carbon dioxide pollution from vehicles, although it has still resisted any action.
Here are excerpts from the text of the speech supplied to the media.
The wrong way is to unilaterally impose regulatory costs that put American businesses at a disadvantage with their competitors abroad, which would simply drive American jobs overseas and increase emissions there. The right way is to ensure that all major economies are bound to take action and to work cooperatively with our partners for a fair and effective international climate agreement.
Wednesday's speech at the Rose Garden follows another that Bush delivered at the U.S. government-sponsored Washington International Renewable Energy Conference last month where Bush made clear his desire to leave a legacy of accomplishments on climate change. Most observers do not expect any laws passed on climate change until Bush is out of office.
Initial reaction to the speech's text brought some negative comments from legislators and policy analysts who said it will not bring about significant changes to legislation now under discussion.
"President Bush's announcement will be soon forgotten,'' David Sandalow, an energy and global warming expert at the Brookings Institution in Washington, told Bloomberg. "The most important decisions in the international global-warming negotiations will be made once President Bush leaves office."
John Cahill, who co-chairs the Climate Change practice at Chadbourne & Parke and who helped create the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) in the northeast U.S., said that Bush's speech did not get the country closer to federal regulations.
"Unfortunately, nothing the President said today substantially reduces industry's deep problem of climate regulation uncertainty," Cahill said.
The president's plan hinged on rapid development of clean technology.
We must all recognize that in the long run, new technologies are the key to addressing climate change. But in the short run, they can be more expensive to operate. That is why I believe part of any solution means reforming today's complicated mix of incentives to make the commercialization and use of new, lower emission technologies more competitive.
First, the incentive should be carbon-weighted to make lower emission power sources less expensive relative to higher emissions sources, and it should take into account our Nation's energy security needs.
Second, the incentive should be technology-neutral because the government should not be picking winners and losers in this emerging market.
Third, the incentive should be long-lasting. It should provide a positive and reliable market signal not only for the investment in a technology, but also for the investments in domestic manufacturing capacity and infrastructure that will help lower costs and scale up availability.
During his speech, he warned against a "global carbon-based trade war."
The wrong way is to raise taxes, duplicate mandates, or demand sudden and drastic emissions cuts that have no chance of being realized and every chance of hurting our economy. The right way is to set realistic goals for reducing emissions consistent with advances in technology, while increasing our energy security and ensuring our economy can continue to prosper and grow.
Many large corporations have been calling for carbon-restraining regulations for a few years. The United States Climate Action Partnership (USCAP), for example, is seeking to influence policies many expect to come into force within a few years.
source: CNET news
Click Here to Read More..7 Tips to Save Money by Going Green
The answer is certainly yes for sure. In fact, by going green, you can potentially save yourself great amounts of money. All that extra bit of money can be better spent on other things, maybe a PS3, a new car, or even a new house. Going green does not only help the world, you are actually helping yourself to live much more comfortably as well!
Here are some tips that can achieve both ends by a single mean:
1. Compact fluorescent Bulbs- Compact fluorescent bulbs may cost more on the price tag than the other conventional bulbs. However, these energy efficiency of these bulbs are 9% more efficient, meaning that they produce brighter light at a relatively lower cost. They also last longer. Thus, in the 5-year period of its life, you might be saving $440-$1500(RM1400-RM5000).
3. Control the Air Conditioner temperature- setting 16 degree Celsius and 20 degree Celsius on your air conditioner will not cause dramatic changes or differences in the temperature of your room. However, you does cost more in your electricity bill and emits much more CFC/HFC to the environment.
4. Maintain your Car- Wanna increase your mileage while doing your part for the environment? Get a oil change and filter change to further increase the efficiency of your engine. Although it may cost you $30(RM91), it is still worthwhile to increase your mileage while reducing the toxic emissions to the atmosphere.
5. Use water when necessary- Turn off taps when there are not in use. Use water smartly. A few cents saved might not be great, but it is still money spent.
6. Use reusable thermos flask instead of plastic- Every now and then we see people grabbing Starbucks coffee with that nice plastic thermos cup. However, plastic thermos cup increase the bulk of the garbages in our environment and it does little to help us save any money. So, if possible, use a reusable thermos flask. It's healthier and who knows, the coffee might taste better.
Anyone with more ideas, please leave them in the comments, and I will post them here along with a link to your blog or website (if you have one). I look forward to hearing your ideas!
Click Here to Read More..Thursday, April 17, 2008
Environmental Organizations
Environmental organizations' role in ensuring the integrity of the environment has been significant throughout the years. There are 3 main types of environmental organizations, namingly intergovernmental, governmental and non-governmental organizations.
(i)Intergovernmental Organizations:
Every government has its own government organizations in regulating policies regarding the conservation and preservation of environment. Among the most notable government organizations include United States Environmental Protection Agency, England Heritage,The Wildlife Trusts of United Kingdom, Japan National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES).
(iii)Non-Government Organizations:
These organizations are involved in raising the awareness of the people about the environment. Advocating the message of conserving and preserving the environment has been one of the main striving of these organizations.
2.Greenpeace International (http://www.greenpeace.org/international/)
3. International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) (http://www.iucn.org/)
4. World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) (http://www.wbcsd.org/)
5. Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) (http://www.fsc.org/)
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
About the Authors
Raymond Tan,
Founder.
Currently a student studying American University Program at Inti College Subang Jaya, Raymond has found the environmental conditions in the bustling streets of Kuala Lumpur to be unsatisfactory. Even for a developing country like Malaysia where forest coverage is still considered high, the effects of global warming have been much more prevalent than it is for the past few years. Therefore, armed with a new inspiration, he set out to take the first step: voicing out conservation messages.
"I am born in Malaysia where tropical rainforests are abundant. The tropical rainforests in the Sabah and Sarawak has continued to fascinate me, inspire me. These heritage boasts of over 4000 species of flora and fauna, which is one of the largest banks of biodiversity in the world. However, due to deforestation, global warming, pollution, these million-year-old forests have continued to be on the decline. I hope that as a inhabitant of this region, I will be able to raise the awareness of people regarding the importance of conservation of environment in a Malaysian perspective. No matter which country of origin we are from which race we are, which religion we are; we are the inhabitants of Earth, therefore we have the responsibility to take care of it not only for ourselves, but for the benefits of our posterity. With strong determination, I hope that my voice and opinion can contribute a part in the effort of saving our environment."
