Natural Brown Post

Asia-Pacific leaders to cut taxes on green goods

2011-11-14T13:03:00.001+08:00

Asia-Pacific leaders representing more than half of the global economy committed Sunday to cutting tariffs on environmental goods to no more than five percent and reducing energy intensity.

In a joint statement after a summit in Hawaii, leaders of the APEC bloc -- which includes the United States and China -- said they would also eliminate non-tariff barriers that impede trade in green products.

"Taking these concrete actions will help our businesses and citizens access important environmental technologies at lower costs, which in turn will facilitate their use, contributing significantly to APEC's sustainable development goals," the statement said.
APEC economies will make a list of environmental goods next year and reduce tariffs to no more than five percent by the end of 2015, the statement said.
The statement also set an aspirational goal of reducing the bloc's energy intensity -- the amount of energy used compared with the economy -- by 45 percent by 2035.
The United States made the trade in green goods such as solar and wind energy a priority for its chairmanship of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, seeking a way to boost both job growth and environmental action.
But a senior Chinese official last week said that the goals set out by the US side were "too ambitious and beyond the reach of developing economies."
In an apparent nod to Chinese concerns, the statement said that APEC would cut tariffs while "taking into account economies' economic circumstances."
Action on the environment has come slowly in a number of countries, with China's carbon dioxide emissions on the rise and proposals to mandate action against climate change have died in the US Congress.
Despite indications that climate change is already taking a toll on the planet, carbon emissions around the world posted their biggest annual jump last year, according to US government data.

Tapirs on the brink of extinction

2011-11-09T11:43:00.002+08:00

THE Malayan tapir (Tapirus indicus) is the largest of the world’s four tapir species. The other three species – lowland, mountain and Baird’s – are found in Central and South America. Once distributed over South-East Asia, the Malayan tapir is now confined to Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra in Indonesia, Thailand and Myanmar, and continues to decline in numbers in all four countries.

“Only the first two countries have significant populations and habitat remaining. The decline in population is the result of continued habitat loss from illegal logging and the lack of protection of most areas still containing significant populations,” says Dr Alan Shoemaker at a tapir symposium in Kuala Lumpur last month.

A member of the Tapir Specialist Group in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Shoemaker says populations in Myanmar are especially at risk as they are restricted to rainforests in the Tenasserim Range where only 5% of the forest is protected. In Sumatra, he says, over 50% of the remaining habitat is outside tapir domain and hunting is uncontrolled. In Thailand, 40% of the remaining forest is unprotected.

“Only the population in Malaysia appear, although perhaps falsely, to be secure and even that population only appears to be around 1,500 to 2,000. Because individual tapirs are now known to travel greater distances than previously thought, even this “safe” population is probably much lower.”

For all these reasons, the conservation status of the species was elevated from “vulnerable” to “endangered” in the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species in 2008.

According to the IUCN, Malayan tapir numbers have halved in the past three generations (36 years), driven primarily by large-scale conversion of lowland tapir habitat to oil palm plantations and other human-dominated land-use. It says remaining populations are isolated in existing protected areas and forest fragments, which are discontinuous and offer little opportunity for genetic exchange for these forest-dependent species.

Hunting is also cause for concern in the future as already reduced and isolated sub-populations would be at great risk for extirpation. Scientists says local extinction or population declines of tapirs can disrupt some key ecological processes such as seed dispersal and nutrient recycling, and eventually compromise the integrity and biodiversity of the forest ecosystem.

Hopeful news

For the Malaysian tapir population, biologist Dr Carl Traeholt remains optimistic as he considers the situation here to be better than in other range countries, where the species is under great pressure.
“Malaysia has taken efforts to protect the tapir. It has over 40% forest cover and if we can keep it as it is now, we can safeguard the species. The crucial thing is that there is no more significant habitat loss. As long as we control habitat destruction, we are going in the right direction.”

Also critical to tapir conservation is implementation of the national Tiger Action Plan, a document finalised in early 2009 which spells out the actions needed in order to boost tiger numbers.
Conservation strategies in the plan includes securing and expanding tiger refuges, improving forestry management, linking fragmented forests with vegetated corridors, stricter enforcement against poachers and wise land-use to overcome man-tiger clashes.

“If we can implement the tiger protection plan successfully, there will be a spill-over effect ... we can also conserve the tapir,” says Traeholt, who for the past decade, has conducted camera trapping, radio telemetry and captive-breeding research on the species here.

He says there will be a regional meeting next year to draft guidelines on ex-situ conservation of the Malayan tapir, particularly on regional standards on husbandry and care. Captive animals, being housed in different environmental condition from the wild, have been known to develop clinical pathologies related to stress, diet or the enclosure environment. Symptoms often become complex to diagnose. There have been cases of tapirs in European zoos contracting tuberculosis and at one zoo in Argentina, corneal ulcer.

In Myanmar, little is known about the status and distribution of tapirs. Only one protected area in southern Myanmar, the 1,700sqkm Taninthayi Nature Reserve, conserves tropical rainforests and affords protection for tapirs, tigers, Asian elephants and other biodiversity, according to Nay Myo Shwe of the Myanmar Forest Department.

“Hunting, and habitat loss and degradation are major threats to tapirs in and around Taninthayi,” he says at the symposium. Between March and June, surveys were conducted using camera-traps, tracks and signs. Nay says that from interviews with 119 villagers and military staff, it was found that a third had eaten tapir meat in the last 14 years and hunters – some were after elephants – had killed at least 26 tapirs in the past 20 years. The survey also shows that tapirs were accidentally killed in pit fall traps and during commercial logging prior to the reserve being gazetted (from 1989 to 1996).

Nay says the priority for now is to curb poaching and accidental killings of tapirs. In response to the threat, a ranger training programme was established to raise capacity for patrolling and law enforcement.

The Star

Tapirs losing out

2011-11-09T11:34:00.005+08:00

BENDUL, the Malayan tapir, is a sorry sight. Unlike the other tapirs at the Sungai Dusun Wildlife Conservation Centre which have hefty, robust bodies, Bendul is almost all skin and bones. Her coat is dull and grey, not a healthy shine like that on the others. Her ribcage shows under her skin and her body is badly scarred.
She was named after the place where she was found loitering in late September, a village in Ulu Bendul some 16km from Seremban in Negri Sembilan, and arrived at the centre wounded and starving.
“After trapping her, we had planned to return her to the forest but when we saw that she had a bullet wound which was infested with maggots, we decided to bring her here,” says Mahathir Mohamad who heads the Sungai Dusun centre, located in the upper reaches of Selangor about 90 minutes’ drive from Kuala Lumpur.

Wild fodder: At the Sungai Dusun Wildlife Conservation Centre, the seven tapirs there are fed leaves collected from the jungle.

From the tell-tale size and shape of the wound, wildlife officers believe Bendul had been shot by wild boar hunters, probably mistakenly. “Villagers say they have seen the tapir with two young. We searched but could not find the juveniles. We believe they have also been shot,” says Mahathir.
At Sungai Dusun, a 4,330ha sprawl of protected peatswamp and lowland dipterocarp forest near the Selangor-Perak boundary which is both a rescue and captive breeding centre, Bendul is seen chomping on the leaves of the mengkirai, nangka and mahang trees which keepers have collected from the forest. Soon, she will be fed nutrition-laden pellets to fatten her up. At the centre, she joins six other tapirs – four of which are captive-breds and two, also rescued tapirs.
Bendul is the latest statistic in a growing list of displaced tapirs. As forests give way to human settlements, plantations and industrial development, and are fragmented by roads, tapirs are crowded out. They now number only between 1,100 and 1,500 in Peninsular Malaysia, and can no longer be found in Borneo.
The Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) has recorded an upward trend in tapir displacements: five cases in 2006, 25 in 2007, 39 in 2008, 22 in 2009 and 41 in 2010. Of the 142 cases seen during that period, the majority (95) were of tapirs which had ventured out of their normal habitats into villages, plantations, logging areas, forest fringes and roadsides. Fifteen were roadkills, 12 were wounded tapirs which eventually died from the injuries, and 20 were tapirs sent to Sungai Dusun, Zoo Melaka and other protected areas.

As tapirs routinely end up as roadkill, signs warning motorists of tapirs crossing the road have been erected, such as this one outside the Sungai Dusun Wildlife Conservation Centre.

The cases mostly occurred in Pahang (46) and Johor (32), followed by Negri Sembilan (21), Selangor (17) and Terengganu (15).
“Habitat disturbance and fragmentation appear to be the main factors forcing the tapir out of its habitat to seek food near forest fringes, plantations and human settlements. Activities like housing, logging, construction of highways, railways and dams all lead to the loss of tapir habitat,” says wildlife officer David Magintan at the 5th International Tapir Symposium in Kuala Lumpur last month.
And although tapirs are not targeted by hunters, they get caught in snares set up for other animals like deer, wild boar and tigers.
Magintan says measures to reduce the displacements include erecting animal crossings under viaducts, putting up “tapir crossing” roadsigns and creating forested corridors to link fragmented forests.
Electric fences installed to prevent wild elephants from entering villages can also deter tapirs, he adds.
The Sungai Dusun centre has housed a total of 34 tapirs since conservation work on the species started there in 2007. The numbers vary yearly due to mortality as well as releases to wild areas and other captive facilities.
The centre is now left with seven tapirs, following the sudden deaths of seven individuals over two weeks late last year, an occurrence which appears to replicate the 2003 tragedy in which Sungai Dusun’s whole population of five rare Sumatran rhinoceros died over an 18-day span from septicaemia (blood poisoning).

This tapir was killed along the Kuantan-Pekan road in July 2010. In areas where roads cut through forests, tapirs have become roadkill.

Last year’s tapir fatality between Sept 17 and Sept 29 was attributed to infection caused by the bacteria Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae, according to a press statement by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. To save the remaining six tapirs from further infection, it said antibiotics and anti-protozoa prescription for blood parasite were administered, and the animals were moved from the paddocks and night stalls into forested enclosures.
Today, there are seven tapirs at Sungai Dusun. Four are males: Boy (from Singapore Zoo), Kemat (rescued from Terengganu), Junior and Satria (both born at Sungai Dusun). The females are Mala (born in Zoo Melaka), Perabong and Bendul (both rescued from Negri Sembilan).
To date, the centre has seen eight births, the latest being that of Satria, in June 2010.
The plan all along was to release captive-breds into the forests of Sungai Dusun and other areas where the species has become depleted. However, introducing man-raised animals into the wild is no easy task. Last year, an attempt to introduce the tapir Mala into the Sungai Dusun forest came to naught as the Zoo Melaka-born animal found its way back to the paddock soon after its release.
Furthermore, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) protocol prohibits re-introductions into areas which house an existing population of the species. Sungai Dusun itself has wild tapirs, as do most forest reserves in the country, albeit in declining numbers.

The paddock and night stalls for tapirs at Sungai Dusun Wildlife Conservation Centre.

One tapir, Ketupat, was released in 2009 into Sungai Dusun forest and three captive-bred tapirs – Khai, Ujang and Suraya – have been sent to Taman Negara in 2009 and 2010. Recent visitors to the park have observed two tapirs there – Khai and Tahan (a captive-born from Zoo Melaka). They say although both have been released into the wild, they return to the vicinity of the park headquarters every few days.
Following the string of tapir deaths, captive-breeding of the species at Sungai Dusun has ceased, though that of the Malayan porcupine continues. Mahathir says the centre might no longer be a suitable site what with oil palm estates, villages and other developments marching right up to its edges.
“Just last year, a poultry farm opened a kilometre away and livestock such as cattle and buffaloes graze just outside the reserve. There is a risk of these domestic animals transmitting harmful pathogens to the tapirs,” he says.
With the suitability of Sungai Dusun as a captive-breeding facility in question, there are talks of setting up a similar facility elsewhere as a replacement. However, some scientists see no point in further captive-breeding of the tapir, seeing that such animals would merely be to stock zoos both here and abroad.

The Star

Mysterious orange goo washing ashore in Alaska

2011-08-22T18:45:00.000+08:00

A mysterious orange goo that washed ashore in an Alaska village last week and sparked pollution concerns turns out to be a mass of crustacean eggs or embryos, government scientists said on Monday.

Tests of a sample sent by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation produced the results, officials at a laboratory belonging to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Alaska Fisheries Service Center said.

"We now think these are some sort of small crustacean egg or embryo, with the lipid oil droplet in the middle causing the orange color," Jeep Rice, a lead scientist at the Juneau laboratory, said in a news release.

"So this is natural. It is not chemical pollution; it is not a man-made substance," Rice said.

Last week's appearance of the orange substance in the Alaska village of Kivalina initially baffled villagers and experts.

Residents of the Inupiat Eskimo village on Alaska's northwest coast said they had never seen anything like it before, and U.S. Coast Guard and Alaska environmental officials examined it and determined that it was not a petroleum product or other known pollutant.

The material is sticky, but becomes a powder when dried, said Julie Speegle, a spokeswoman for NOAA's Fisheries Service in Alaska.

Scientists who made the preliminary identification are confident that they are correct, Speegle said.

Photo shows a microscopic image of crustacean eggs which washed up on an Alaskan shore in this undated handout photo from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to Reuters August 8, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/Auke Bay Laboratories/NOAA/Handout

Article continues: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/08/us-alaska-goo-idUSTRE7775TR20110808

Increase in GM Crops, Resistant Weeds Lead to Dramatic Rise in Pesticide Use

2011-08-15T10:20:00.004+08:00

The widespread use of genetically modified (GM) crops engineered to tolerate herbicides has led to a sharp increase in the use of agricultural chemicals in the U.S. This practice is creating herbicide-resistant "super weeds" and an increase in chemical residues in U.S. food, according to a new report released today by The Organic Center, the Union for Concerned Scientists, and the Center for Food Safety.

According to the report, entitled "Impacts of Genetically Engineered Crops on Pesticide Use in the United States: The First Thirteen Years," as more farmers have adopted variations of corn, soy beans, and cotton bred to tolerate weed killer in recent years, the use of herbicides has increased steadily, with herbicide use growing by 383 million pounds from 1996 to 2008, according to the report. Forty-six percent of that increase occurred during 2007 and 2008.

On the plus side, the report said the use of insecticides has actually decreased by 64 million pounds since 1996 because many genetically modified crops such as cotton and corn carry traits that make them resistant to insects.

The most popular genetically modified crops are known as "Roundup Ready" for their ability to survive after being sprayed with the herbicide, Roundup. Officials with the Biotechnology Industry Organization said herbicide-resistant crops initially made it easier for farmers to manage weed problems. Over time, however, an unfortunate consequence has been a growing epidemic of herbicide-resistant weeds.

"The drastic increase in pesticide use with genetically engineered crops is due primarily to the rapid emergence of weeds resistant to glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide," said Dr. Charles Benbrook, report author and chief scientist of The Organic Center. "With glyphosate-resistant weeds now infesting millions of acres, farmers face rising costs coupled with sometimes major yield losses, and the environmental impact of weed management systems will surely rise."

The resulting war between farmers and increasingly tough-to-kill weeds is "bad news for farmers, human health and the environment," said Bill Freese, science policy analyst for the Center for Food Safety.

More information on this topic, including the full report, can be found at the Center for Food Safety’s website: http://truefoodnow.org/2009

Pesticide Pathway

2011-08-10T10:17:00.000+08:00

When soil moisture levels increase, pesticide losses to the atmosphere through volatilization also rise. In one long-term field study, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists found that herbicide volatilization consistently resulted in herbicide losses that exceed losses from field runoff. Agricultural Research Service (ARS) soil scientist Timothy Gish and ARS micrometeorologist John Prueger led the investigation, which looked at the field dynamics of atrazine and metolachlor, two herbicides commonly used in corn production. Both herbicides are known to contaminate surface and ground water, which was primarily thought to occur through surface runoff.

Many experts believed that volatilization was not a contributing factor to water contamination because atrazine and metolachlor had a low vapor pressure. However, the monitoring of both herbicide volatilization and surface runoff at the field-scale over multiple years had never been done.

Atrazine use is controversial due to widespread contamination in drinking water and its associations with birth defects and menstrual problems. Metolachlor has been detected in ground and surface waters and concentrations ranging from 0.08 to 4.5 parts per billion (ppb) throughout the U.S. It is classified as a Category C pesticide by the United States Environmental Protection Agency which indicates limited evidence of carcinogenicity. Evidence of the bioaccumulation of metolachlor in edible species of fish as well as its adverse effect on the growth and development raise concerns on its effects on human health.

So the team set up a 10-year study in an experimental field in Beltsville that is equipped with remote sensing gear and other instrumentation for monitoring local meteorology, air contaminates, soil properties, plant characteristics, and groundwater quality. This allowed the team to carry out their studies on a well-characterized site where only the meteorology—and the soil water content—would vary.

Prueger and Gish observed that when air temperatures increased, soil moisture levels had a tremendous impact on how readily atrazine and metolachlor volatilized into the air, a key factor that had not been included in previous models of pesticide volatilization. When soils were dry and air temperatures increased, there was no increase in herbicide volatilization, but herbicide volatilization increased significantly when temperatures rose and soils were wet.

Most surprising was that throughout the study, herbicide volatilization losses were significantly larger than surface runoff. When averaged over the two herbicides, loss by volatilization was about 25 times larger than losses from surface runoff.

Article taken from here

How To Save Electricity

2011-08-05T19:20:00.001+08:00

Ways to Save Electricity

Find out how you can save electricity in your home - help the environment and save money.

Every year electricity gets more and more expensive. Read on to find out how you can save electricity and money with this handy selection of energy saving tips.

Electricity Usage Monitors

The basic figures contained within a monthly or quarterly electricity bill do not give you much information as to where your electricity is going - they just tell you how much you have used in total during that period. Therefore it is well worth considering purchasing an electricity usage monitor and using it to see exactly where all your hard-earned money is going.

One great way to find out how much electricity each of your household appliances and electronic devices uses is with a Power/Energy Meter (1) (pictured above) available from the REUK Shop (2).

Alternatively consider investing in one of the latest wireless energy monitors which show you exactly how much money your total home or office electricity usage is costing you - in real time. For example: Owl (3) (pictured above), or Efergy Elite (4). These meters can help you reduce your electricity consumption by as much as 20% simply by showing you what you are using.

Saving Electricity Tips

The biggest electricity users in the home tend to be heating and/or air conditioning, water heating, washing machines, tumble dryers, dishwashers, lighting, and the refrigerator. When looking to save electricity, spend the most time focussing on these big energy hogs to get the biggest effect for your efforts.

Here are a selection of tips to help you to reduce your electricity consumption:

1. Turn off your television, video, hifi, playstation, and other entertainment devices when they are not being used.

2. Do not leave your television etc in standby mode. Devices can use up to 90% as much power in standby mode as when they are on, so it is a serious waste of energy when a device is left constantly on standby. If you keep forgetting, consider purchasing a PowerSafer (5) - a device which automatically cuts power to appliances when they go into standby mode.

3. Replace all of your inefficient incandescent light bulbs with energy efficient CFL bulbs (6). Replace halogen spotlights with much more efficient and longer lasting LED Spotlights (7).

4. Hang your clothes out to dry (8) rather than using an electric tumble dryer. Ideally use a spin dryer (9) before using the tumble dryer.

5. Cook many items at the same time when your electric oven is hot.

6. Use a microwave to reheat food or to cook small portions. Although a microwave uses a lot of power, it does so over a very short time and so saves energy overall.

7. Turn down your heating system thermostat. For every degree you lower your heat between 60° and 70° F you can reduce your heating bill by up to 5%. Wear an extra layer of clothing in the house so that you stay warm. Turn down individual radiators - for example, 16°-18° is warm enough for bedrooms whereas 20°-22°C is more comfortable in bathrooms. Rooms that are rarely used can have their heating turned all the way down or off.

8. Purchase energy efficient (10) white goods (washing machines, tumble driers, fridges etc). Although they usually cost a little more initially, the cost savings in electricity will cover that many times over. As an added benefit, efficient items are usually better made and last longer than inefficient models.

9. Vacuum clean the condenser coils at the back or underneath your fridge freezer. Accumulated dust reduces their efficiency by up to 25% adding that cost to your electricity bill.

10. Keep your fridge full, but not so full that air cannot circulate properly.

11. Fold clothes straight out of the tumble drier while they are still warm to save on ironing.

12. Cool cooked food before you put it into the fridge.

13. Do not put uncovered liquids into the fridge. Their evaporation will make the fridge have to work harder.

14. Heat only as much water as you require for drinks and cooking. If you keep forgetting, purchase an energy efficient eco kettle (11).

15. Use a convection oven. A small fan inside circulates hot air throughout the oven cutting cooking times by up to 30%.

16. Don't preheat the oven for roasting.

17. Don't keep opening the oven door. Every time you do so, your oven loses 20°C of heat.

18. Put lamps in the corner of a room so that the light is reflected off two walls.

19. Turn down the temperature on your washing machine. Heating the water uses the majority of the electricity, so by doing a warm wash instead of a hot wash, big savings are possible. See Wash Most Clothes at 30 Degrees (12).

20. Defrost frozen food in the fridge since this helps to cool the fridge.

21. Running a full load in an efficient dishwasher will use less hot water than washing up by hand in the sink! Save money, save time, and save electricity.

22. Boil water in a kettle rather than on a hob to save 50-70% of the energy and to get your water boiled faster.

23. In the summer use ceiling fans on a fast setting instead of air conditioning to keep cool. In the winter, running the fans slowly will push warm air collected at ceiling height down to where you want it. (If the slowest setting on your fan is too strong, reverse the direction of the fan in the winter so that the accumulated warm air is blown up against the ceiling and bounces more gently down around the walls and into the living space.

How to Help Save Our Earth

2011-07-30T14:53:00.000+08:00

Earth is a really critical partial of the lives. Most of us wouldn’t consider of polluting the bodies, nonetheless we have been polluting the world by injustice and use too much of the full of health resources. As obliged people we should at slightest do what we can to assistance reduce, reuse, and recycle what we can as a initial step.

We have been not utterly to blame; we hereditary a soiled Earth, though we can do something to safeguard which the young kids can grow up in a cleaner, safer world than ourselves.

Don’t ever let someone get divided with observant “what can we do, we am customarily a single person”. Each and each chairman can do a lot, and we can change others to do something as well.

Instructions

Step 1
Remind the politicians which we have a opinion and a voice about the environment. Write your politicians and discuss it them how critical the sourroundings is to we and to your children. Let the politicians know which we have been a purebred voter and which we opinion for the sourroundings (if we have been not – afterwards register to vote).

Step 2
It is good to speak about how critical the Earth’s sourroundings is to you; though it is some-more critical to put disproportion in to action. Some actions upon the partial have been really elementary and in effect such as: Put upon a sweater and hosiery and spin down the feverishness in the winter (even a grade or dual will have a disproportion in the heating bill). Adjust the feverishness when we have been out of the house.

Step 3
Many grocery stores sell reusable bags (usually 99 cents), buy them and use them.

Step 4
Turn off the lights when we have been not in the room (this is an easy a single which is fast forgotten). Also, unplug your appliances when not in use; even when not in use they can be an “energy sink” only by being plugged in.

Step 5
Plant a tree or alternative plants. You competence wish to consider about raising a little succulent plants (help the environment, save income upon food, and feed full of health food to your family – what could be better)

Step 6
Use refillable bottles for water. Bottled H2O is a outrageous law-breaker to carrying a purify environment. Stop shopping all of those H2O bottles which fill up the land-fills. If we need special water, buy a H2O filter.

Step 7
Reuse what we can, similar to boxes for mailing and padded envelopes can have multiform uses in them. Be certain to black out the prior addresses and mislay the used stamps.

Step 8
Plan your trips and mix as most errands in to an tour as possible. See if we can carpool to work, or take a bus; or float a bike to work.

Step 9
Use full of health cleaners at your convenience probable similar to lemons and baking soda. It is healthier for the sourroundings as good as for your family.

Step 10
Pay your bills online and save a tree and 42 cents upon postage.

How to save water

2011-07-25T14:50:00.000+08:00

water conservation in the home...

1. Check faucets and pipes for leaks
A small drip from a worn faucet washer can waste 20 gallons of water per day. Larger leaks can waste hundreds of gallons.

2. Don't use the toilet as an ashtray or wastebasket
Every time you flush a cigarette butt, facial tissue or other small bit of trash, five to seven gallons of water is wasted.

3. Check your toilets for leaks
Put a little food coloring in your toilet tank. If, without flushing, the color begins to appear in the bowl within 30 minutes, you have a leak that should be repaired immediately. Most replacement parts are inexpensive and easy to install.

4. Use your water meter to check for hidden water leaks
Read the house water meter before and after a two-hour period when no water is being used. If the meter does not read exactly the same, there is a leak.

5. Install water-saving shower heads and low-flow faucet aerators
Inexpensive water-saving low-flow shower heads or restrictors are easy for the homeowner to install. Also, long, hot showers can use five to ten gallons every unneeded minute. Limit your showers to the time it takes to soap up, wash down and rinse off. "Low-flow" means it uses less than 2.5 gallons per minute.
You can easily install a ShowerStart showerhead, or add a ShowerStart converter to existing showerheads, which automatically pauses a running shower once it gets warm.
Also, all household faucets should be fit with aerators. This single best home water conservation method is also the cheapest!

6. Put plastic bottles or float booster in your toilet tank
To cut down on water waste, put an inch or two of sand or pebbles inside each of two plastic bottles to weigh them down. Fill the bottles with water, screw the lids on, and put them in your toilet tank, safely away from the operating mechanisms. Or, buy an inexpensive tank bank or float booster. This may save ten or more gallons of water per day.

Be sure at least 3 gallons of water remain in the tank so it will flush properly. If there is not enough water to get a proper flush, users will hold the lever down too long or do multiple flushes to get rid of waste. Two flushings at 1.4 gallons is worse than a single 2.0 gallon flush. A better suggestion would be to buy an adjustable toilet flapper that allow for adjustment of their per flush use. Then the user can adjust the flush rate to the minimum per flush setting that achieves a single good flush each time.

For new installations, consider buying "low flush" toilets, which use 1 to 2 gallons per flush instead of the usual 3 to 5 gallons.

Replacing an 18 liter per flush toilet with an ultra-low volume (ULV) 6 liter flush model represents a 70% savings in water flushed and will cut indoor water use by about 30%.

7. Insulate your water pipes.
It's easy and inexpensive to insulate your water pipes with pre-slit foam pipe insulation. You'll get hot water faster plus avoid wasting water while it heats up.

8. Take shorter showers.
One way to cut down on water use is to turn off the shower after soaping up, then turn it back on to rinse. A four-minute shower uses approximately 20 to 40 gallons of water.

9. Turn off the water after you wet your toothbrush
There is no need to keep the water running while brushing your teeth. Just wet your brush and fill a glass for mouth rinsing.

10. Rinse your razor in the sink
Fill the sink with a few inches of warm water. This will rinse your razor just as well as running water, with far less waste of water.

11. Use your dishwasher and clothes washer for only full loads
Automatic dishwashers and clothes washers should be fully loaded for optimum water conservation. Most makers of dishwashing soap recomend not pre-rinsing dishes which is a big water savings.
With clothes washers, avoid the permanent press cycle, which uses an added 20 liters (5 gallons) for the extra rinse. For partial loads, adjust water levels to match the size of the load. Replace old clothes washers. New Energy Star rated washers use 35 - 50% less water and 50% less energy per load. If you're in the market for a new clothes washer, consider buying a water-saving frontload washer.

12. Minimize use of kitchen sink garbage disposal units
In-sink 'garburators' require lots of water to operate properly, and also add considerably to the volume of solids in a septic tank which can lead to maintenance problems. Start a compost pile as an alternate method of disposing food waste.

13. When washing dishes by hand, don't leave the water running for rinsing
If your have a double-basin, fill one with soapy water and one with rinse water. If you have a single-basin sink, gather washed dishes in a dish rack and rinse them with a spray device or a panful of hot water. Dual-swivel aerators are available to make this easier. If using a dishwasher, there is usually no need to pre-rinse the dishes.

14. Don't let the faucet run while you clean vegetables
Just rinse them in a stoppered sink or a pan of clean water. Use a dual-setting aerator.

15. Keep a bottle of drinking water in the fridge.
Running tap water to cool it off for drinking water is wasteful. Store drinking water in the fridge in a safe drinking bottle.

water conservation in the yard and garden...

16. Plant drought-resistant lawns, shrubs and plants
If you are planting a new lawn, or overseeding an existing lawn, use drought-resistant grasses such as the new "Eco-Lawn".
Many beautiful shrubs and plants thrive with far less watering than other species. Replace herbaceous perennial borders with native plants. Native plants will use less water and be more resistant to local plant diseases. Consider applying the principles of xeriscape for a low-maintenance, drought resistant yard.
Plant slopes with plants that will retain water and help reduce runoff.
Group plants according to their watering needs.

17. Put a layer of mulch around trees and plants
Mulch will slow evaporation of moisture while discouraging weed growth. Adding 2 - 4 inches of organic material such as compost or bark mulch will increase the ability of the soil to retain moisture. Press the mulch down around the dripline of each plant to form a slight depression which will prevent or minimize water runoff.
For information about different mulch materials and their best use, click here.

18. Don't water the gutter
Position your sprinklers so water lands on the lawn or garden, not on paved areas. Also, avoid watering on windy days.

19. Water your lawn only when it needs it
A good way to see if your lawn needs watering is to step on the grass. If it springs back up when you move, it doesn't need water. If it stays flat, the lawn is ready for watering. Letting the grass grow taller (to 3") will also promote water retention in the soil.
Most lawns only need about 1" of water each week. During dry spells, you can stop watering altogether and the lawn will go brown and dormant. Once cooler weather arrives, the morning dew and rainfall will bring the lawn back to its usual vigor. This may result in a brown summer lawn, but it saves a lot of water.

20. Deep-soak your lawn
When watering the lawn, do it long enough for the moisture to soak down to the roots where it will do the most good. A light sprinkling can evaporate quickly and tends to encourage shallow root systems. Put an empty tuna can on your lawn - when it's full, you've watered about the right amount. Visit our natural lawn care page for more information.

21. Water during the early parts of the day; avoid watering when it's windy
Early morning is generally better than dusk since it helps prevent the growth of fungus. Early watering, and late watering, also reduce water loss to evaporation. Watering early in the day is also the best defence against slugs and other garden pests. Try not to water when it's windy - wind can blow sprinklers off target and speed evaporation.

22. Add organic matter and use efficient watering systems for shrubs, flower beds and lawns
Adding organic material to your soil will help increase its absorption and water retention. Areas which are already planted can be 'top dressed' with compost or organic matter.
You can greatly reduce the amount of water used for shrubs, beds and lawns by:
- the strategic placement of soaker hoses
- installing a rain barrel water catchment system
- installing a simple drip-irrigation system
Avoid over-watering plants and shrubs, as this can actually diminish plant health and cause yellowing of the leaves.
When hand watering, use a variable spray nozzle for targeted watering.

23. Don't run the hose while washing your car
Clean the car using a pail of soapy water. Use the hose only for rinsing - this simple practice can save as much as 150 gallons when washing a car. Use a spray nozzle when rinsing for more efficient use of water. Better yet, use a waterless car washing system; there are several brands, such as EcoTouch, which are now on the market.

24. Use a broom, not a hose, to clean driveways and sidewalks

25. Check for leaks in pipes, hoses, faucets and couplings
Leaks outside the house may not seem as bad since they're not as visible. But they can be just as wasteful as leaks indoors. Check frequently to keep them drip-free. Use hose washers at spigots and hose connections to eliminate leaks.

Water conservation comes naturally when everyone in the family is aware of its importance, and parents take the time to teach children some of the simple water-saving methods around the home which can make a big difference.

Water Conservation Summary

In 1990, 30 states in the US reported 'water-stress' conditions. In 2000, the number of states reporting water-stress rose to 40. In 2009, the number rose to 45. There is a worsening trend in water supply nationwide. Taking measures at home to conserve water not only saves you money, it also is of benefit to the greater community.

Saving water at home does not require any significant cost outlay. Although there are water-saving appliances and water conservation systems such as rain barrels, drip irrigation and on-demand water heaters which are more expensive, the bulk of water saving methods can be achieved at little cost. For example, 75% of water used indoors is in the bathroom, and 25% of this is for the toilet. The average toilet uses 4 gallons per flush (gpf). You can invest in a ULF (ultra-low flush) toilet which will use only 2 gpf. But you can also install a simple tank bank, costing about $2, which will save .8 gpf. This saves 40% of what you would save with the ULF toilet. Using simple methods like tank banks, low-flow showerheads and faucet aerators you can retrofit your home for under$50.

By using water-saving features you can reduce your in-home water use by 35%. This means the average household, which uses 130,000 gallons per year, coulod save 44,00 gallons of water per year. On a daily basis, the average household, using 350 gallons per day, could save 125 gallons of water per day. The average individual, currently using 70 gallons per day, could save 25 gallons of water per day.

When buying low-flow aerators, be sure to read the label for the actual 'gpm' (gallons per minute) rating. Often, the big box retailers promote "low-flow" which are rated at 2.5 gpm, which is at the top of the low-flow spectrum. This may be needed for the kitchen sink, but we find that a 1.5 gpm aerator works fine for the bathroom sink and most water outlets, delivering the same spray force in a comfortable, soft stream. Eartheasy's online store carries a full range of low-flow aerators and showerheads.

Finally, it should be noted that installing low-flow aerators, showerheads, tank banks and other water-saving devices usually is a very simple operation which can be done by the homeowner and does not even require the use of tools. Water conservation at home is one of the easiest measures to put in place, and saving water should become part of everday family practice.

-This article was taken from here

What Will Climate Change and Sea Level Rise Mean for Barrier Islands?

2011-07-17T14:42:00.000+08:00

ScienceDaily (June 16, 2011) — A new survey of barrier islands published earlier this spring offers the most thorough assessment to date of the thousands of small islands that hug the coasts of the world's landmasses. The study, led by Matthew Stutz of Meredith College, Raleigh, N.C., and Orrin Pilkey of Duke University, Durham, N.C., offers new insight into how the islands form and evolve over time -- and how they may fare as the climate changes and sea level rises.

The survey is based on a global collection of satellite images from Landsat 7 as well as information from topographic and navigational charts. The satellite images were captured in 2000, and processed by a private company as part of an effort funded by NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey.

During the 20th century, sea level has risen by an average of 1.7 millimeters (about 1/16 of an inch) per year. Since 1993, NASA satellites have observed an average sea level rise of 3.27 millimeters (about 1/8 of an inch) per year. A better understanding of how climate change and sea level rise are shaping barrier islands will also lead to a more complete grasp of how these dynamic forces are affecting more populated coastal areas.

Stutz, the study's lead author, highlighted a series of key findings from the new survey during an interview with a NASA science writer.

Every barrier island is unique

Every island chain has a complex set of forces acting on it that underpin how islands form and how they're likely to change over time. Barrier islands often develop in the mouths of flooded river valleys as sea level rises, but they can also form at the end of rivers as sediment builds up and creates a delta. Other important factors in barrier island formation include regional tectonics, sea level changes, climate, vegetation and wave activity. "Understanding how such forces impact barrier islands is the key to understanding how climate change will affect our coastlines," noted Stutz.

Sea level rise can eliminate -- or create -- barrier islands

Scientists estimate that the rate of sea level rise will likely double or triple in the next hundred years due to climate change. Paradoxically, gradual sea level rise can generate new barrier islands. Rising seas create shallow bays that develop barrier islands in the mouths of the bays along certain types of coastline.

Stutz's analysis found rising sea level in the last 5,000 years is associated with the greatest barrier island abundance, especially in the North Atlantic and Arctic. Stable or falling sea level, meanwhile, a pattern more typical of the Southern Hemisphere in the last 5,000 years, has produced fewer islands and a higher percentage of islands along river deltas.

However, extremely rapid sea level rise -- especially when coupled with decreases in sediment supply -- can simply inundate islands causing them to break up and disappear. Islands are eroding rapidly along the Mississippi Delta, Eastern Canada and the Arctic for these reasons.

"However, rising sea level is not just like pouring more water into a bathtub," Stutz emphasized. Islands react differently based on the geology in a region and how the waves and tides in an area are affected. People tend to assume sea level rise means fewer islands no matter what, but the rate of rise is critical."

There are far more barrier islands than previously thought

A survey conducted by the same researchers tallied 1,492 barrier islands in 2001, but Stutz and Pilkey counted more than 2,149 this time. The difference: the researchers had access to higher-quality satellite imagery that covered a larger portion of the globe than they did last time. "It's not that 657 islands appeared overnight. We simply did a more thorough job of counting what was already out there," said Stutz. The researchers counted extensive island chains in Brazil, Madagascar and Australia that the previous survey had left out.

Barrier islands cluster along tectonically calm coasts

Stable coasts, such as the eastern coast of the United States, tend to have wide, low relief areas with shallow estuaries that are conducive to barrier island formation. In contrast, continental margins near actively colliding plates, which generate earthquakes and volcanoes, produce fewer barrier islands. At active margins, such as the rocky cliffs along the Pacific, steep grades typically dominate coastal areas and prevent the formation of islands.

Northern and Southern hemisphere islands differ

The Northern Hemisphere is home to the majority -- 74 percent -- of barrier islands. That's not surprising because the Northern Hemisphere contains about the same proportion of land. A less intuitive insight: the majority of Northern Hemisphere islands are in high-latitude Arctic or temperate climate zones, while most Southern Hemisphere islands are tropical. Why the discrepancy? Relative sea levels have fallen slowly in much of the Southern Hemisphere for the last 5,000 years, but the opposite has happened in the Arctic.

Storms are key molders of barrier island shape

Storms tend to cause islands to retreat, carve new inlets that make them shorter and more numerous, and sometimes destroy them completely. The frequency of storms varies by latitude and climate. The Arctic and most temperate coasts experience regular storms, while more tropical areas experience few storms and more gentle swells most of the year, conditions that encourage the formation of sandy beaches. Major storms can cause drastic changes to barrier islands. After Hurricane Katrina, for example, many islands in the Mississippi River Delta were destroyed or radically changed.

Arctic barrier islands are retreating the fastest

Barriers islands in the Arctic make up nearly a quarter of the world's barrier islands, and they're more vulnerable to climate change than islands anywhere else in the world. The reason: melting of sea ice and the permafrost that buffers Arctic islands from waves have left them susceptible to constant pounding from storms. Recently measured erosion rates in the Beaufort Sea show Arctic barrier islands eroding three to four times faster than islands in the continental United States. Any further acceleration in erosion rates could result in the rapid breakup of many Arctic islands, Stutz's analysis noted.

More research is needed, especially on a local scale

Coastal areas will likely experience major changes in sea levels this century due to climate change. The shifts, however, will be anything but uniform. NASA research shows that some coasts are experiencing sea level rise significantly faster than the global average of 3.27 millimeters (about 1/8 of an inch) per year, while other areas are experiencing slower rates of rise and even falling sea levels. "It would be nice if we could say we can predict exactly how a given island or island chain will react to rising sea levels or some other environmental change, but we're simply not there yet for most islands, especially for many tropical islands where research dollars are scarce. We're still a long way from being able to accurately model how an individual island will change as a result of climate change or even simple development pressure," said Stutz.

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center. The original article was written by Adam Voiland, NASA's Earth Science News Team.

Short Term Air Emissions and Their Effect on Global Warming

2011-07-10T14:36:00.000+08:00

Fast action on certain pollutants such as black carbon, ground-level ozone and methane may help limit near term global temperature rise and significantly increase the chances of keeping temperature rise below 3.6 degrees F. Protecting the near-term climate is central to significantly cutting the risk of amplified global climate change linked with rapid and extensive loss of Arctic ice on both the land and at sea, said assessment authors including Veerabhadran Ramanathan, a

The findings, released on June 15 in Bonn, Germany, during a meeting of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) have been compiled by an international team of more than 50 researchers chaired by Drew Shindell of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

Ramanathan is organizing a related briefing today in Washington, D.C., for several federal agencies on how to reduce emissions of global warming pollutants such as carbon dioxide, black carbon and ozone and prevent human deaths from traditional biomass burning cook stoves in developing nations.

Big cuts in emissions of black carbon will improve respiratory health. Close to 2.5 million premature deaths from outdoor air pollution could on average be avoided annually worldwide by 2030 with many of those lives saved being in Asia, it is estimated.

Big cuts in ground level ozone could also contribute to reduced crop damage equal to between 1 to 4 percent of the annual global maize, rice, soybean and wheat production.

Cutting these so-called short-lived climate forcers can have immediate climate, health and agricultural benefits, the report concludes. This is because, unlike carbon dioxide (CO2) which can remain in the atmosphere for centuries, black carbon for example persists only for days or weeks.

The researchers, however, also underline the fact that while fast action on black carbon and ground-level ozone could play a key role in limiting near-term climate, immediate and sustained action to cut back CO2 is crucial if temperature rises are to be limited over the long-term.

It is the combination of action on short-lived climate forcers and long-lived greenhouse gases which improves the chances of keeping below the 2-degree target throughout the 21st century.

Black carbon is a major component of soot and is formed from the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, wood and biomass. Key sources include emissions from cars and trucks, cookstoves, forest fires and some industrial facilities. It affects the climate by intercepting and absorbing sunlight and darkens snow and ice when deposited, while also influencing cloud formation.

Scripps Institution of Oceanography have previously stated that soot and other forms of black carbon could cause as much as 60 percent of the current global warming effect of carbon dioxide, more than that of any greenhouse gas besides CO2.

The troposphere extends from the surface of the Earth to between 10 and 18 kilometers above the surface of the Earth and consists of many layers. Ozone is more concentrated above the mixing layer, or ground layer. Ground-level ozone, though less concentrated than ozone aloft, is more of a problem because of its health effects.

Tropospheric ozone is a greenhouse gas and initiates the chemical removal of methane and other hydrocarbons from the atmosphere. Thus, its concentration affects how long these compounds remain in the air.

For further information: http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/article/25756

Fastest Sea-Level Rise in 2,000 Years Linked to Increasing Global Temperatures

2011-07-02T14:33:00.000+08:00

ScienceDaily (June 20, 2011) — The rate of sea level rise along the U.S. Atlantic coast is greater now than at any time in the past 2,000 years -- and has shown a consistent link between changes in global mean surface temperature and sea level.

The findings are published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

The research, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), was conducted by Andrew Kemp, Yale University; Benjamin Horton, University of Pennsylvania; Jeffrey Donnelly, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution; Michael Mann, Pennsylvania State University; Martin Vermeer, Aalto University School of Engineering, Finland; and Stefan Rahmstorf, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Germany.

Kemp and colleagues developed the first continuous sea-level reconstruction for the past 2,000 years, and compared variations in global temperature to changes in sea level over that time period.

The team found that sea level was relatively stable from 200 BC to 1,000 AD.

Then in the 11th century, sea level rose by about half a millimeter each year for 400 years, linked with a warm climate period known as the Medieval Climate Anomaly.

Then there was a second period of stable sea level during a cooler period called the Little Ice Age. It persisted until the late 19th century.

Since the late 19th century, sea level has risen by more than 2 millimeters per year on average, the steepest rate for more than 2,100 years.

Article continues: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/06/110620183242.htm

The Weather

2011-06-25T14:23:00.004+08:00

We all complain about the weather. It is a great topic of conversation. Weather is the state of the atmosphere, to the degree that it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. Most weather phenomena occur in the troposphere, just below the stratosphere. Weather is part of what life is about. However, everything has its price. New research indicates that routine weather events such as rain and cooler-than-average days can add up to an annual economic impact of as much as $485 billion in the United States based on 2011 data. Rain, snow, and hot or cold temperatures can all have economic impacts. The study, led by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), found that finance, manufacturing, agriculture, and every other sector of the economy is sensitive to changes in the weather. The impacts can be felt in every state.

Weather has often played a large and sometimes direct part in human history much less our daily lifes. Aside from climatic changes that have caused the gradual drift of populations (for example the desertification of the Middle East, and the formation of land bridges during glacial periods), extreme weather events have caused smaller scale population movements and intruded directly in historical events. One such event is the saving of Japan from invasion by the Mongol fleet of Kublai Khan by the Kamikaze winds in 1281. French claims to Florida came to an end in 1565 when a hurricane destroyed the French fleet, allowing Spain to conquer Fort Caroline. More recently, Hurricane Katrina redistributed over one million people from the central Gulf coast elsewhere across the United States.

This new study is the first to apply quantitative economic analysis to estimate the weather sensitivity of the entire U.S. economy. The research could help policymakers determine whether it is worthwhile to invest in enhanced forecasts and other strategies that could better protect economic activity from weather impacts.

The study concludes that the influence of routine weather variations on the economy is as much as 3.4 percent of U.S. gross domestic product.

The study, with co-authors from the University of Colorado Boulder, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and Stratus Consulting, is being published in this month’s issue of the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.

The study drew on 70 years of weather records through 2008 from across the contiguous United States. They focused on variations in temperature (heating-degree days and cooling-degree days that denote temperatures above or below 65 degrees), total precipitation, and deviation from average precipitation. They also studied economic indicators for major economic sectors over 24 years, the period for which detailed state-level data were available and consistent for major economic sectors.

They then conducted a regression analysis, a statistical technique for comparing multiple variables, to examine the impacts of weather on 11 nongovernmental sectors of the economy in every state. The team constructed a computer model in which other key variables—labor, capital, and energy—were held constant based on a five-year average.

The researchers produced an estimated range of $485 billion in potential economic impacts by applying their weather sensitivity findings of 3.4 percent to the 2008 U.S. gross domestic product of $14.4 trillion. As the economy grows, costs of weather variability can be expected to increase accordingly.

The results indicate that the mining and agriculture sectors are particularly sensitive. Routine variations in weather may take a toll on the mining economy of 14 percent each year, perhaps because of changing demand for oil, gas, and coal. Agriculture ranked second at 12 percent, conceivably because of the many crops that are affected by temperature and precipitation.

Other sensitive sectors include manufacturing (8 percent); finance, insurance, and retail (8 percent); and utilities (7 percent). In contrast, wholesale trade (2 percent); retail trade (2 percent); and services (3 percent) were found to be least sensitive.

The study also concluded that the economy of every state is sensitive to the weather. Although the state-level findings were more subject to error than national findings, the study indicated that New York was most sensitive (a 13.5 percent impact on the gross state product ) and Tennessee was least sensitive (2.5 percent).

-ENN

Returning to the Caveman Diet

2011-06-21T11:07:00.001+08:00

From Environmental News Network

In today's age of highly processed food, packaged and shaped to look like animals, filled with ingredients we have never heard of, it is tempting to return to a diet from a much simpler time. A new fad that is catching on, known as the Paleolithic or "paleo" diet, aims to return people to a more "natural" way of eating. Before agriculture, people would eat lean meats, fruits, and vegetables, and they would avoid grains and processed foods. Is this what is really best for human consumption? According to a new book, the so-called caveman diet was abandoned for a reason, and the belief that it is superior is pure hokum.

The book, entitled Ancestral Appetites: Food in Prehistory, was written by Kristen Gremillion, associate professor of anthropology at Ohio State University. It is about how people have changed their diets over time in response to new knowledge and new environments.

"Humans are omnivores and we can eat a wide range of things," Gremillion said. "Rather than try to base a healthy diet on what we think people used to eat thousands of years ago, it would probably make more sense to look at our nutritional requirements today and find the best way to meet them."

According to Gremillion, the obsession with a "natural" diet is a fallacy. Such a diet never existed. Culture has always been a factor in how and what we eat, and there is no single way that people are supposed to eat. While the caveman diet is healthy, it is not any more natural than other diets.

For example, people have been eating grains for hundreds of thousands of years. Agriculture was invented so we could have a steadier supply of them as a stable source of calories. While they are not the sole basis of a diet, it is ok to incorporate them as part of a healthy meal.

Furthermore, the paleo diet emphasizes eating uncooked and unprocessed food to get the most nutrients from them. However, this is no more natural than cooking foods. Gremillion explains that humans began cooking food for a reason. Cooking makes it easier for our bodies to extract certain nutrients, and makes the food easier on our teeth, jaws, and stomachs to digest. After hundreds of thousands of years of cooking, there is no reason for people to give it up.

In essence, Gremillion believes that the idea of a pristine environment separate from the world of people is false. In North America, for example, Native Americans were managing the environment from the moment they walked onto the continent. Their impact was small because their population was relatively small. However, they used fire to clear vast tracts of land for agriculture and other human uses. Everything was related to eating, and culture determined the way they ate. There is no such thing as a singular natural diet that humans have to get back to.

Threatened Species: Dugong

2011-04-22T11:54:00.008+08:00

Dugongs are marine mammals common in tropical coasts of East Africa, through south and southeast Asia all the way to Australia. Its body shape is similar to a pregnant lady which led to the idea of the presence of mermaids in the sea. But of course, that is not true. Dugong dugon belongs to the Sirenia order and it is the remaining species in the Dugongidae family. They are herbivorous animals, mainly focusing on specific seagrass species or marine algae if seagrass are scarce, so they are usually found grazing at the seagrass beds (Gales et al. 2003; Marsh et al. 1982). Having low birth rate and late sexual maturity, their population is vulnerable to disturbances (Hines et al. 2005). Large amount of energy is spent on raising their single offspring making them a good representative of consummate K-selectors (Pianka 1970). Little is known about this marine mammal because of their sensitive and shy character, most of the time avoiding places with human activities (Hutomo & Moosa 2005).

The habitat of dugongs is usually seagrass beds located in protected warm shallow waters of 1 meter or more. These areas can provide them food, protection from predators, large waves and storms and also a suitable place for calving (Heinsohn & Spain 1979). They are common along coastal areas but can also be found in deeper waters if the continental shelf is wide just like the Sunda shelf of SEA. Their grazing activities influence the species composition of the seagrass community. This may lead to an increased productivity of the seagrass community (Fortes 1988). Their distribution and population varies in each country of SEA. In Thailand, dugongs are mostly found near islands off the Andaman coast, while in Vietnam and Cambodia, there is speculation that a small population of them are moving between these two countries and the Can Dao National Park (Beasley & Davidson 2007; Hines et al. 2005). In some part of Myanmar, the dugong population is healthy due to less threat from human (Ilangakoon & Tun 2007). For the Philippines and Indonesia, surveys have found dugong population to be scattered around the islands and included that Indonesia is an important refuge for the population (Hutomo & Moosa 2005). In 1994, the estimated population was about 1000 in Indonesia. As for Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, dugongs were noticed in the coast of Sabah and Sarawak but mostly in Sabah, east coast of peninsular Malaysia, waters of Langkawi Island and the Johor-Singapore region (Beasley & Jefferson 1997).

The conservation status of the dugong is classified as vulnerable by the World Conservation Union based on the declining numbers, declined habitat quality and the potential of it to be exploited to an unsustainable level (Hines et al. 2005). This mean that all trades and products of this species are prohibited (Ilangakoon & Tun 2007). In Southeast Asia (SEA), their numbers has been decreasing due to three major factors which are direct hunting, by-catch and habitat degradation. Due to these threats, SEA countries are concern with the dwindling numbers so most of these countries are making an effort to conserve the present population.

By-catch poses a major threat to the dugong population. This occurs because of the use of illegal fishing techniques such as high intensity trawling (Robert & Hawkins 1999). Trapped dugongs do not get released but instead killed and sold or consumed for countries such as Thailand. They believe that the body parts of dugongs have high medicinal values, can be used as an aphrodisiac and the bones are used to ward off bad luck (Hines et al. 2005). Even with their protection status, the dugongs are hunted as their tusk can be sold up to $USD 100. The high demand for dugongs led to another major threat which is direct hunting for dugongs in countries which associates dugongs with strong traditional beliefs. Even if fishing communities uses legal fishing methods, dugongs and other marine mammals still get caught in fishing nets. The marine mammals die from the entanglement of the nets because the nets were left for 1 or 2 days before they are being recovered which can be avoided if they were released immediately (Duarte 2002). Declined in water quality are also affecting the population of the dugongs as it degrades and fragment their habitat. The water quality is affected by chemical pollution from pesticides and waste released into the ocean and also the development of coastal areas releasing excessive sediments making the water turbid (Delgado et al. 1997; Jackson et al. 2001).

Management of the dugong population can only be carried out if more information about their distribution and population are known to locate areas that are still supporting a significant amount of them (Marsh et al. 2002). With this information, a regional agreement and cooperation is needed to create inter-regional protected marine parks because dugongs are migratory mammals (Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Australia). It is important that these marine protected areas include seagrass beds besides corals and it should involve large areas. It is also crucial to have NGOs and local fishers to be involved to monitor the populations at the coastal zones and also protect the dugong numbers to form an integrated coastal zone management. This can be done together with the effort of giving public awareness to the locals about conservation of dugongs and other marine animals (Marsh et al. 2002).

Restoring and protecting mangrove forest can also help because mangroves provide a major source of nutrient to the seagrass bed (Low et al. 1994). To prevent water pollution in these sensitive areas, an environmental impact assessment has to be conducted especially for projects such as aquaculture, land reclamation and port construction. All these activities contribute to a large percentage of a reduced in water quality of the seagrass bed areas. Illegal methods of fishing should be stopped because trawling destroy seabed by ripping the grass of the seabed (Marsh et al. 2002). Acoustic alarms has also been used to signal of there is any trapped large animals in the fishing nets and has largely reduced the number of marine mammal deaths (Kraus et al. 1997). As for direct hunting of these mammals, it is important to realize the driving force of this doing which is poverty. This can be reduced by providing more alternative source of income to reduce poverty. Lastly, in order for all these strategies to work, strict laws and consistently strong law enforcement should be in place, if not all these strategies would just go to waste (Hines et al. 2005).

The conclusion of this is that many factors contribute to the reducing numbers of dugongs but it can be overcome with the effort of every individual to protect this species

References
Beasley, I. and Jefferson, T. A. (1997) Marine mammals of Borneo: a preliminary checklist, Sarawak Museum Journal 51, pp. 193–210.
Beasley, I. L. and Davidson, P. J. A. (2007) Conservation Status of Marine Mammals in Cambodian Waters, Including Seven New Cetacean Records of Occurrence, Aquatic Mammals 33, pp. 368-379.
Delgado, O. et al. (1997) Seagrass regression caused by fish cultures in Fornells Bay, Menorca, western Mediterranean, Oceanologica Acta 20, pp. 557–63.
Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Australia, Marine species conservation, http://www.environment.gov.au/coasts/species/dugongs/index.html Date accessed: 1 October 2010.
Duarte, C.M. (1995) Submerged aquatic vegetation in relation to different nutrient regimes, Ophelia 41, pp. 87–112.
Duarte, C. M (2002) The future of seagrass meadows, Environmental Conservation 29, pp. 192–206.
Fortes, M. D. (1988) Mangrove and Seagrass Beds of East Asia: Habitats under Stress,
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences 17, pp. 207-213.
Gales, N. et al. (2003) Marine Mammals: Fisheries, Tourism and Management Issues, Tasmania, CSIRO PUBLISHING, pp. 1-19.
Heinsohn, G.E. and Spain, A.V. (1974) Effects of a tropical cyclone on littoral and sub-littoral biotic communities and on a population of dugongs (Dugong dugon), Biological Conservation 6, pp. 143-152.
Hines, E. et al. (2005) Community Perspectives and Conservation Needs for Dugongs (Dugong dugon) Along the Andaman Coast of Thailand, Environmental Management 36, pp. 654–664.
Hutomo, M. and Moosa, M. K. (2005) Indonesian marine and coastal biodiversity: present status, Indian Journal of Marine Sciences 34, pp. 88-97.
Ilangakoon, A. D. And Tun, T. (2007) Rediscovering the dugong (Dugong dugon) in Myanmar and the capacity building for research and conservation, The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 55, pp. 195-199.
Jackson, J.B.C. et al. (2001) Historical overfishing and the recent collapse of coastal ecosystems, Science 293, pp. 629–638.
Kraus, S. et al. (1997) Acoustic alarms reduce
porpoise mortality, Nature 388, pp. 525.
Low, J. K. Y. et al. (1994) Mangroves as a habitat for endangered species and biodiversity conservation, Proceedings Third ASEAN-Australian Symposium on Living Coastal Resources Status Review, Chulalongkorn University 1, pp. 157-169.
Marsh, H. et al. (1982) Analysis of stomach contents of dugongs from Queensland, Australian Wildlife Research 9, pp. 55-67.
Marsh, H. et al. (2002) Dugong: status report and action plans for countries and territories, United Nations Environment Programme, pp. 52-83.
Pianka, E. R. (1970) On R and K selection, American Naturalist 104, pp. 592-597.
Roberts, C. M. and Hawkins. J. P. (1999) Extinction risk in the sea, Trends in Ecology and Evolution 14, pp. 241–246.

The Environmental Impacts of Aquaculture in Southeast Asia

2011-04-22T11:10:00.008+08:00

Aquaculture is the farming of marine and fresh water fish, shellfish and aquatic plants which can be done in a marine or freshwater environment. It is an important sector as it reduces the pressure on the wildfish population due to overfishing (Naylor et al. 2000). Currently aquaculture supplies one-third of the world seafood supplies and is expected to increase due to the high demand of fish as a main protein source (Naylor et al. 2001). In Southeast Asia, the commonly used species for aquaculture are tilapia, shrimps (Penaeus monodon), crabs (Scylla serrata) and catfish to name a few (SEAFDEC 2009). Even though aquaculture is expected to provide a net increase of the global fish production, it has several negative impacts towards the environment. In this paper, major environmental impacts will be discussed such as discharge of effluent and chemicals from farms, introduction of exotic species, spread of disease, habitat loss and dependence of fish-based fish feed. Together with these, management of the impacts which are currently used will be discussed such as the integrated coastal zone management, management of farm effluent, disease control and the use of native species and low trophic level fish.

Environmental Impacts

Water pollution around the aquaculture farms is a common problem mainly due to the accumulation of fish feces and uneaten fish food. The untreated waste is released into open waters causing nutrient pollution. High concentration of nitrogen waste consists of ammonia or nitrite is toxic to marine animals (Hargreaves 1998). The increase in nutrients can also change the biochemistry of the benthic communities, sediment chemistry and cause eutrophication at a local scale (Naylor et al. 2003; Goldburg et al. 2004).

Chemical products and antibiotics are also commonly found in the waters surrounding the shrimp farms in Southeast Asia to control the water quality and the spread of diseases. However antibiotic from the feces or uneaten fish feed and excess chemical products will accumulate and affect non target species (Naylor & Burke 2005). The resistance of pathogens in the wild fish population will increase. If not, it will decrease microbial activity and denitrification leading to formation of anaerobic conditions and a decrease in water quality (Gräslund & Bengtsson 2001). It is also possible that the excess use of antibiotic can transfer resistant DNA/RNA to human pathogens (Tookwinas et al. 1999). Besides that, the use of excess chemical can affect the health of the person handling it.

Farming of non-native species can lead to the introduction of exotic species if any fish were to escape into the wild population. According to Naylor et al. (2001), the release of exotic species into the wild population are mostly accidental. This can affect the wild population by creating intense competition for food and habitat and the interbreeding of these different species. If the exotic species survive well in the new environment and outcompete the native species, there will be an explosion of these species. This might also increase the chance of the spread of parasites, pathogens and diseases which the native species never had before (Naylor et al. 2001).

The risk of the spread of disease is especially high when the farms have dense population leading to disease epidemics. One of the reasons could be caused by bacteria, virus or parasite from the large volume of waste discharged from the farms (Minchin 2007). The disease can then be transmitted to the wild fish population. This can occur when the wild population comes in contact with the farmed fish or infected escapee goes into the wild or wild population moving through the area of the infected farmed fish area (Naylor et al. 2005).

Another negative impact caused by aquaculture is the destruction of natural habitats such as mangrove forest and coastal wetlands which are turned into milkfish and shrimp ponds. These would indirectly affect the wildfish population because the mangroves act as a nursery habitat for juvenile fish as it provides food and shelter before they venture out into the open seas (Robertson & Duke 1987). In Southeast Asia, species which are dependent on the mangroves makeup one-third of the wildfish caught by fisherman. According to Martosubroto & Naamin (1977), they observed in Southeast Asia that there is a positive relationship between wildfish and shrimps landings with the area of mangrove present. Besides that, the loss of mangroves also affects humans because it protects our coastal area, control floods, traps sediment and treats water before it is released into the sea (Naylor et al. 2000).

The production of fishfeed for farmed fish is also giving negative impacts to the environment. This is especially true for farmed carnivorous fish where processed fishmeal and fish oil are fed to them. A large amount of wildfish is used to feed a small amount of farmed fish. So instead of aquaculture increases the net production of world fish supplies, it decreases the net production, increasing the pressure of fisheries resources (Tacon 1997). Another problem is that manufacturers of the fishfeed have insufficient data of certain species especially on omnivorous species, leading to production of over formulated feed. If sufficient data is gathered, omnivorous catfish can have fish feed which also included plant based protein because they have the ability to absorb them better(Naylor et al. 2000).

Managing Aquaculture Farms

Integrated farming system or polyculture is a good way to promote the sustainability of aquaculture. It is the farming of different species in close proximity and each of the species will have a responsibility, keeping the ‘ecosystem’ going (Jones & Iwama 1991). In China the most used combination is the silver carp which feeds on phytoplankton, herbivorous macrophyte feeder grass carp, omnivorousdetritus bottom feeder common carp and the big head carp which is a zooplankton filter feeder (Tacon & De Silva 1997). According to Neori et al. (2004) and Jones & Iwama (1991), mussels and seaweed thrive in waste water from the farms so it can be used to reduce the nutrient concentration of the waste water before expelling them. With polyculture, food and water resources will be used efficiently resulting in a reduced cost and increased productivity.

Farm effluent can be reduced by modifying the feed, incorporating higher percentage of plant-based proteins. In France, according to Papatryphon et al. (2004), the use plant-based feed on Rainbow trouts (Oncorhynchus mykiss) shows a significantly lower nutrient discharge compared to fishmeal-feed. According to Baruah et al. (2004), “addition of microbial phytase in plant-based aquafeed can improve the bioavailability of phosphorus in fish resulting in a reduced in phosphorus waste from farms.” Then, to reduce the accumulation of waste around the farms especially in marine aquaculture, these areas should be well flushed to avoid water quality problems. If this is not done, dead zones will form and may affect the bentic community (Beveridge 1996). By incorporating more plant-based protein into the fishmeal, less pressure is placed on the wildstock fisheries.

As for disease control, by reducing the waste which carries pathogenic bacteria, fewer diseases would occur. Dense population of farmed fish should be avoided together with the overfeeding of antibiotics. The risk of diseases can be reduced by having a “biosecurity programme with monitoring of determined high risk entry point with pre-border and post border management” (Hewitt et al. 2004). According to Tookwinas et al. (1999) diseases in shrimp farms can be prevented by providing good nutrition and overall stress reduction which we should be focusing on rather than disease treatment.

Lastly, it should be encouraged to farm native species so that there would be a lower risk in spreading new diseases to the wildfish together with other complications which come along with the introduction of exotic species. Any accidental escapes would not be much of a problem. It is also encouraged to farm low trophic fish where there is less demand for fishmeal based feed and more for plant-based feed (Naylor & Burke 2005).

As for the use of mangrove forest as shrimp farms, Gräslund & Bengtsson (2001) has shown that mangrove soil are acidic and therefore not suitable for shrimp farming. However compared to other environmental impacts caused by aquaculture, habitat destruction consists of a small percentage only.

The conclusion of this essay is that even though aquaculture is meant to improve the production of fish, if managed improperly, it will have the opposite effect. The main issues of it are water pollution caused by the waste and excessive chemicals and medicines, impacts of introduced species and large usage of fishmeal-based food. But as what have been stated in this essay, there are methods which are currently used to properly manage these farms to reduce its environmentally negative impacts and achieve its primary objective.

Reference
Baruah, K. et al. (2004) Dietary phytase: an ideal approach for a cost effective and low-polluting aquafeed. NAGA 27:15–19.
Beveridge, M. (1996) Cage Aquaculture. Edinburgh, Scotl.: Fishing News. 346 pp.2nd ed.
Goldburg, R & Naylor, R. (2004) Future seascapes, fishing, and fish farming. Front. Ecol. 3:21–28.
Gräslund, S. & Bengtsson, B. (2001) Chemicals and biological products used in south-east Asian shrimp farming, and their potential impact on the environment — a review. The Science of The Total Environment 280:93-131.
Hargreaves J. (1998) Nitrogen biogeochemistry of aquaculture ponds. Aquaculture 158:181–212.
Hewitt, C.L. et al. (2004) New Zealand marine biosecurity: delivering outcomes in a fluid environment. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 38, 429–438.
Jones, T. O. & Iwama, G. K. (1991) Polyculture of the Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas (Thunberg), with chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha. Aquaculture 92:313-322.
Martosubroto, P. & Naamin, M. (1977) Relationship between tidal forest (mangroves) and commercial shrimp production in Indonesia. Marine Research in Indonesia 18:81-86.
Minchin, D. (2007) Aquaculture and transport in a changing environment: Overlap and links in the spread of alien biota. Marine Pollution Bulletin 55:302-313.
Naylor, R. L. et al. (2000) Effect of aquaculture on world fish supplies. Nature 405:1017-1024.
Naylor, R. L. et al. (2001) Aquaculture: A Gateway for Exotic Species. Science 294:1655-1656.
Naylor, R. L. et al. (2003) Salmon aquaculture in the Pacific Northwest: a global industry with local impacts. Environment 45:18–39.
Naylor, R. L. et al. (2005) Fugitive salmon: assessing risks of escaped fish from aquaculture. BioScience 55:427–37.
Naylor, R. & Burke, M. (2005) AQUACULTURE AND OCEAN RESOURCES:
Raising Tigers of the Sea. Annu. Rev. Environ. Resour. 30:185–218.
Neori, A. et al. (2004) Integrated aquaculture: rationale, evolution and state of the art emphasizing seaweed biofiltration in modern mariculture. Aquaculture 231:361–91.
Papatryphon E. et al. (2004) Environmental impact assessment of salmonid feeds using life cycle assessment. Ambio 33:316–23.
Robertson, A. I. & Duke, N. C. (1987) Mangroves as nursery sites: comparisons of the abundance and species composition of fish and crustaceans in mangroves and other nearshore habitats in tropical Australia. Marine Biology 96:193-205.
SEAFDEC (2009) http://www.seafdec.org.ph/training_schedule.html Date accessed 19th March 2010.
Tacon, A. (1997) Selected developments and trends: aquafeeds and feeding strategies.
In Reviewof the State ofWorld Aquaculture, ed. Z Shehadeh. Rome, Italy: UN Food Agric. Organ. http://www.fao.org/ documents/show cdr.asp?url file=/docr ep/003/w7499e/w7499e16.htm
Tacon, A. J. & De Silva, S. S. (1997) Feed preparation and feed management strategies within semi-intensive fish farming systems in the tropics, Aquaculture 151:379-404.
Tookwinas, S. and Songsangjinda, P. (1999) Water Quality and Phytoplankton Communities in Intensive Shrimp Culture Ponds in Kung Krabaen Bay, Eastern Thailand. Journal of the World Aquaculture Society 30: 36–45.

The New Generation of Environmentalist

2011-04-20T10:01:00.011+08:00

I do not know if global warming is occuring but many scientist believe it is occuring. So far i have read quite some few scientific articles, and they usually connect their findings with global warming. This would include coral bleaching, introduction of new diseases, interruption of local ecosystems etc.

So maybe they believe it is happening because it is one of the possible explaination for their studies. I have friends who believe it is really happening and we must do something about it.

However there are people whom do not believe that it is happening. They say there is no solid proof that it is happening.

There are also who don't want to care if it is happening. These are mainly people too occupied with their life. Or too poor to care for the Earth when all they want to find is their next meal.

Otters

So people with a strong believe that global warming is happening would want the skeptics to change their mind. So there is like a mental war between both groups. The Greenies threatens the Goldies (skeptics) that if they don't do something now, they will die in a honorific way, or starve or being a cruel human being who doesn't care about their future generation.

Threats thrown by greenies make people avoid them. It's like Greenies are forming their own religion.

Coral bleaching

Even though I'm pro-environment, and i feel maybe global warming is happening together with other current environmental issues, i also avoid greenies from time to time. I don't really lecture people to be green unless they ask me. Maybe i have no guts to tell people off, but I don't feel comfortable telling people off.

So this has come to a point that greenies are not being that effective in sending out their messages.

The solution to this would be:

Instead of just barking at people for not being green, environmentalist should be more innovative to create practical options for people to choose from. We should think hard of creating appliences/ ways/ plans that are quite practical which encourages people of middle income or even better low income to use it. This mean the solution have to be cheap and easy.

People now know about green issues but they are not doing anything because all options provided are silly, stupid and inconvinient. Greenies would go an extra mile to do it, but people who are poor or busy or what ever would not do it if it takes so much energy to do it.

An example would be solar panels for heating up water. It is a good idea and many people are using it. It may not be cheap, but it is easy to be maintained and just so simple.

More of these things should be created, where it does not only benefit the environment, it also save our money.

We should always keep in mind that, large percentage of the world population are poor. They do not see beyond tomorrow, what more the future of our next generation. They do not have the money or time to do something which will not guarantee an extra day in their life.

If we can find for a really cheap and simple solution to manage our carbon footprint, waste etc, then there won't be any excuses for anyone not caring a little bit more for our Earth.

Are You A Water Waster Or A Water Saver?

2011-01-29T19:07:00.004+08:00

To find out whether you're a water-sipper or a water-slurper, take the following quiz. Then scroll below to rate your own water footprint.

Answer the following questions to see where you rank on the water-conservation meter:

1. How much time do you spend in the shower every day?
a) 5 minutes
b) 10 minutes
c) 20 minutes
d) I take a bath

2. How many times a day do you wash dishes?
a) Once a day or less in the dishwasher
b) Twice a day in the dishwasher
c) Three times a day in the dishwasher
d) Once a day by hand in the sink
e) Twice a day by hand
f) Three times a day by hand

3. How many times a week do you wash a load of clothes?
a) Once a week
b) Twice a week
c) Three times a week
d) Every day

4. When you brush your teeth, shave or wash up in the sink, do you:
a) Turn the faucet on and off as needed for rinsing or washing up
b) Leave the water running

5. How soon do you fix leaky water pipes or garden hoses?
a) As soon as leaks are noticed
b) Within a week
c) Whenever I get around to it

6. In summer, how long do you water your lawn and/or garden?
a) Less than 10 minutes a day
b) 10 minutes a day
c) 30 minutes a day
d) 60 minutes a week
e) 60-120 minutes a week
f) 120-210 minutes a week
g) More than 210 minutes a week
h) Never

7. How much of your property is xeriscaped (covered with water-efficient, indigenous vegetation)?
a) More than 50 percent
b) 30-50 percent
c) Less than 30 percent
d) None
e) None, I don't have a yard

How did you do?

Score yourself: Add up the points from each of your answers.

1. a) 1 point; b) 2 points; c) 5 points; d) 2 points;
2. a) 1 point; b) 2 points; c) 5 points; d) 1.5 points; e) 2.5 points; f) 3.5 points;
3. a) 1 point; b) 2 points; c) 3 points; d) 5 points;
4. a) 1 point; b) 5 points;
5. a) 1 point; b) 3 points; c) 5 points;
6. a) 1 point; b) 2 points; c) 5 points; d) 3 points; e) 4 points; f) 4.5 points; g) 6 points; h) 0 points;
7. a) 1 point; b) 2 points; c) 3 points; d) 5 points; e) 0 points

Determine your water use rating

If your total is ...

”� Between 5 and 11: Congratulations, you are a real water saver!

”� Between 12 and 19: Well done, you are water conscious and may become a real water saver some day.

”� Between 20 and 29: You're using too much water for your actual needs, which makes you, unfortunately, a normal water user. Try cutting back on the number of loads of wash per week (full instead of partial loads) and on the length of time you shower; save dishes for one big wash per day in your dishwasher, or, if you wash by hand, do so in a basin, and turn on the tap only for rinsing; cut down on lawn and garden watering.

”� A score of 30 or more, you're a water waster. Put a plug in it!

(source of quiz: National Wildlife Federation)

How and why to make seedbombs

2011-01-29T18:36:00.007+08:00

Fun and easy to make, seedbombs can be used to green up hard-to-access urban wasteland or in your garden at home

Seedbombs originated in seventies New York. The term was originally 'seed grenade' and comprised wildflower seeds, water and fertilizer all wrapped up in a condom. They were lobbed over fences onto empty lots, with the overarching aim of making neighbourhoods sprucer.

From these small beginnings grew the guerilla gardening movement itself, where vacant lots were turned into productive community gardens with vegetables and edible flowers on tap.

However, seedbombs are not just for guerilla-style gardening - they can also be used for planting at home. And thankfully, the art of making seed bombs has moved on since the seventies.

Josie Pearl Jeffery, who runs Seed Freedom, a Sussex-based company that specialises in seedbomb kits, holds workshops at gardening events and summer festival.

'Seedbombs have the protection provided by the outer coating of earth and clay and as such the seeds are less likely to be damaged by harsh weather conditions and eaten by insects, birds and rodents,' she says.

The seeds therefore have a better chance of germinating and growing into mature plants - which means fewer seeds are required because the rate of success is higher.

So that's the reasoning behind it, but what's the method?

How to make a seedbomb

Having attended one of Josie's workshops I can tell you how the seed bombs take shape:

1) Mould your clay and compost mixture with water until it is sticky.

2) Add your seed mixture, which can be salad or mixed wildflower seeds, for example, and then pat gently into a small ball around the size of one you'd use for ping-pong.

3) Once you have chosen an appropriate site you can push your ball into place - in a pot/a wall/window box etc.

4) Then ensure it is kept warm (try to avoid frosts) and moist with regular watering until the seeds start to germinate.

If you prefer to adopt the guerilla gardening approach and throw the seedbomb onto some derelict land what will happen?

Josie explains that there are two different outcomes which depend on the weather. The seed bomb will either keep its form and the seeds germinate and sprout from the ball and work their way out of it in time, or if it rains a lot the seedbomb dissolves and seeds will lie on the bare earth until they germinate either on the surface of the ground or get trampled.

'The former is preferable [as there's greater chance of success] but either way the seedbomb is an efficient carrier for the seeds because if you were just to throw a handful, the wind would take them,' she says.

Historical roots

The seedbomb method has been used for centuries with some of North American First Nations' tribes using a variation on the theme. In the east, in ancient Japan they were called 'Earth Dumplings', and were later reintroduced by the Japanese microbiologist, Masanobu Fukuoka (famed author of the classic One Straw Revolution).

Fukuoka was a pioneer in the world of sustainable agriculture by initiating just such 'natural farming' methods. With seedbombs you can create fields of food crops and meadowland and even replant areas that suffer from drought or forest fire damage.

In the urban environment seedbombs are used by guerrilla gardeners to green up wasteland, roadsides, gardens, allotments and window boxes. They are certainly a whole lot easier to deal with than scaling fences armed with plants, spades and compost.

And of course throwing a seed bomb into a public arena can be seen as political statement - a way of expressing the freedom to manage our own environment responsibly, rather than just dutifully using the spaces that are allocated us or come attached to our homes.

They're also fun to make. Josie Pearl Jeffery, who has been been seedbombing for two years, says it was because of people's response that she started running workshops.

Full article from here

Taken from The Ecologist

Polystyrene and Plastic Packaging

2011-01-29T13:37:00.005+08:00

In Malaysia, polystyrene are mainly used for food and electronic packaging. The main reason of its usage is the solid spongy material which is really light and a bad heat conductor and really cheap.

However currently people are encouraged to not use it because it is not biodegradable. But no one denies that this thing is one of the most creative invention in the world. I actually really like it too.

This applies to plastic bags too. Really user friendly, durable, waterproof, light.. what else? Again the same thing, has many functions but its not biodegradable.

But currently, there are plastic bags made from starch which can biodegrade easier when they end up in the land fill but people start to question the use of these edible materials for plastic bags. The question is, do you feel it's reasonable to use food to make plastics bags when we don't have enough food to feed the poor children in our own nation and the third world countries? Is it right?

So one way is used to reduced the production of polystyrene and plastic bags - reduce the usage.

Yes, it is possible if everyone can reduce the usage, replacing them with paper bags etc. But it is important to remember most of us are not financially stable. We don;t have trees that grows money for us. In our food courts, many food sellers they prefer polystyrene packaging because it is cheaper.

So maybe I thought, yes we should reduce the usage, however at the same time we should also think of ways how to make these things biodegradable. Rather than just completely cut the usage of these things. We shouldn't show hatred towards it, but think of ways to make it a better product because we all love plastic bags and polystyrene box. It so light, cheap and fluffy!

But we must always remember that we should only use what we need. Extras should be donated or reused and waste should be reduced.

How to Make Compost

2011-01-28T23:44:00.004+08:00

1.Choose a site that is handy to your garden and kitchen, yet out of plain sight.

2.You don't need a bin to make compost-a pile of leaves, grass clippings and other yard wastes will do-but a bin keeps the compost contained and looks neater. You can corral compost in a simple wire column made from a 4-foot wide by 8-foot long piece of stiff wire mesh.

3.You can also buy a more permanent bin or build a three-bin compost system made from slatted wood or recycled pallets. Leave the bins open on one side so you can add compost materials and turn the pile easily. Cover the top of the bins with a sheet of plywood if you live in a very rainy climate. A three-bin system allows you to turn the compost from one bin to another and store finished compost until you are ready to use it.

4.The two basic elements that make up compost are green garden debris (grass clippings or old annuals) and brown garden derbis (dry leaves). Green ingredients are high in nitrogen and brown materials are high in carbon. Adding too many greens can make the pile smell bad. Do not add animal waste, meats, oils, dairy, diseased plants, weeds that have gone to seed, or plants treated with pesticides or herbicides to your compost.

5.Compost piles with a balance of one part green to two part brown materials break down fastest. The easiest way to achieve this balance is to add one garden forkful of green material to the pile, top it with two forkfuls of brown material, and mix them together. Continue adding greens and browns until the pile is at least 3 cubic feet (3 ft. x 3 ft. x 3 ft.). Piles of this size heat up quickly and break down faster.

6.Add in a shovelful of finished compost or garden soil to help kick start the microbial activity in your pile.

7. Compost also needs the correct amount of moisture to breakdown. Compost with the right moisture level should feel like a damp, wrung-out sponge. Too much moisture can cause temperatures to fall within the pile (and make it smell). Too little moisture slows down the decomposition rate and keeps the pile from heating up. Check your compost pile's moisture level once a week and adjust it if necessary by adding water to increase moisture or more browns to help dry the pile out.

8.Turn the pile once a week to move material from the outside of the pile in. Turning also keeps the pile from compacting, which reduces airflow and slows down decomposition.

9.You should have finished compost in about two months. You'll know your compost is finished when it no longer heats up and you can't identify any of the original materials. The compost should be dark brown, moist and earthy smelling. Dig finished compost into your garden's soil. You can use partially composted material as mulch.

10. You can also build a very basic, passive compost system by simply piling up leaves, grass clippings and other yard waste into a pile in a secluded corner of your yard. The compost will be ready when the original ingredients are unrecognizable, usually in about 6 to 12 months. Compost at the bottom and middle of the pile typically "finishes" first.

Read more: How to Make Compost | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_3541_begin-compost-pile.html#ixzz1CLTjn9Dz

How to Make Garbage Enzyme

2011-01-28T23:27:00.003+08:00

Garbage Enzyme Pseudoscience

2011-01-28T23:21:00.004+08:00

Taken from The Star Online

"I WISH to point out that a lot of the facts championed by the garbage enzyme movement is largely inaccurate and falls perilously into the category of pseudoscience. I feel compelled to correct some of the myths and misrepresentations.

Garbage enzyme is nothing more than vinegar produced from organic wastes. It is essentially homebrew vinegar except that starch-rich food like rice is replaced with kitchen waste. The key ingredient is the sugar that is metabolised by bacteria into alcohol which subsequently is reduced to acetic acid (vinegar). Jaggery is used as impurities in it to ensure a supply of bacteria. The breaking down of sugar into alcohol releases carbon dioxide (CO2). This is why one has to open the container daily to release the gas and to ensure a supply of oxygen to promote aerobic fermentation. If there is insufficient oxygen in the mix, anaerobic process will take place, releasing methane. Methane and CO2 are poisonous to humans and therefore an airy place is a must to avoid inhaling excessive amounts of the gases. Both are also greenhouse gases.

It is not surprising that garbage enzyme works “wonders” in cleaning stuff as it is essentially vinegar. The weak acid is effective in dissolving oil. Acetic acid is also a good descaling agent that removes limescale. However, it is not advisable to use vinegar on metal surfaces as corrosion may occur in long term use. This is why it is recommended to use garbage enzyme in diluted form. Long term handling of the enzyme with care should also be advocated due to its corrosive effect on human tissues.

The insect-repelling effect of garbage enzyme is from the pungent smell of vinegar that is disliked by insects. The seemingly greening of plant leaves is probably due to the drying of acetic acid that forms a crystallised surface on the plant. Vinegar in diluted form has been used as fertiliser for ages.

The myths

Ozone is produced from garbage enzyme in fairly minute amounts compared to ozone of industrial origin. Besides being a very strong oxidising agent which is corrosive and an irritant, ozone is also a greenhouse gas at near ground level. The ozone that protects Earth from damaging radioactive sunrays is produced from interactions between high altitude oxygen and sunrays. If ground level ozone is beneficial and capable of repairing the ozone hole, the tonnes of ozone produced by industrial activity and automobiles would have done the trick. Sadly, the reverse is true.

It is claimed that ozone produced from garbage enzyme will reduce CO2 in the atmosphere. The contrary is true. The fermentation produces CO2 and ozone, if produced, will actually react with carbon to produce CO2 due to ozone’s strong oxidising properties. Hence there is a net increase of CO2 instead, but the fact that this CO2 comes from plants results in a near neutral carbon cycle.

Ozone is an unstable molecule and will react quickly with other substances. If ozone produced by garbage enzyme escapes from the container before reacting with the container contents, the interaction of ozone with heavy metals in the atmosphere will only transform the substances into acids that result in smog and acid rain.

It is claimed that garbage enzyme converts ammonia to nitrate, which is labelled as a natural hormone and nutrient for plants. Nitrate is inorganic and so is not a hormone. Although a nutrient to terrestrial plants, nitrate in sufficiently high concentration in waterways and in oceans causes algae booms and depletion of oxygen in water. Hence nitrate is considered a marine toxin.

It is also claimed that garbage enzyme converts carbonate and this is beneficial to sea plants and marine life. On the contrary, acetic acid attacks carbonates such as calcium carbonate – a compound found in rocks and shelled marine animals – and converts them to acetate salts plus CO2 and water. Acetate salts are hygroscopic and disintegrate easily, in turn causing the thinning of the shells of marine animals. Therefore it is not advisable to indiscriminately release acetic acid into waterways as it will end up in oceans. Acetic acid attacks on shelled marine animals may lead to the collapse of the marine ecosystem, already a phenomenon observable due to raising acidity of seawater.

The plus sides

Having said all of the above, there are advantages in making garbage enzyme. The benefits are: reduction in chemical cleaning agent; use of local materials and reduction in waste materials going to landfills; and less burden on the environment since organic cleaning agents are usually more biodegradable than petrochemical-based ones.

But one should introduce more oxygen to the fermenting solution (by stirring) to promote an aerobic process; place the enzyme-making container in airy places to prevent buildup of gases especially if you are producing the enzyme in large quantities; and handle the enzyme with care as if handling chlorine bleach.

Don’t pour garbage enzyme directly into drains as they connect directly to waterways and ultimately lead to the ocean. Only use garbage enzyme for cleaning within the bathrooms and kitchens as the waste pipes connect to treatment facilities (either a septic tank or sewer treatment plant), enabling the enzyme to further break down before reaching waterways. Don’t use garbage enzyme in concentrated form."

Written by YSG

Polar bear's epic nine day swim in search of sea ice

2011-01-28T22:21:00.006+08:00

A polar bear swam continuously for over nine days, covering 687km (426 miles), a new study has revealed.

Scientists studying bears around the Beaufort sea, north of Alaska, claim this endurance feat could be a result of climate change.

Polar bears are known to swim between land and sea ice floes to hunt seals.

But the researchers say that increased sea ice melts push polar bears to swim greater distances, risking their own health and future generations.

In their findings, published in Polar Biology, researchers from the US Geological Survey reveal the first evidence of long distance swimming by polar bears (Ursus maritimus).

This bear swam continuously for 232 hours and 687 km and through waters that were 2-6 degrees C," says research zoologist George M. Durner.

"We are in awe that an animal that spends most of its time on the surface of sea ice could swim constantly for so long in water so cold. It is truly an amazing feat."

Although bears have been observed in open water in the past, this is the first time one's entire journey has been followed.

By fitting a GPS collar to a female bear, researchers were able to accurately plot its movements for two months as it sought out hunting grounds.

The scientists were able to determine when the bear was in the water by the collar data and a temperature logger implanted beneath the bear's skin.

The study shows that this epic journey came at a very high cost to the bear.

"This individual lost 22% of her body fat in two months and her yearling cub," says Mr Durner.

"It was simply more energetically costly for the yearling than the adult to make this long distance swim," he explains.

Swimming long distances puts cubs at risk.

Mr Durner tells the BBC that conditions in the Beaufort sea have become increasingly difficult for polar bears.

"In prior decades, before 1995, low-concentration sea ice persisted during summers over the continental shelf in the Beaufort Sea."

This means that the distances, and costs to bears, to swim between isolated ice floes or between sea ice and land was relatively small."

"The extensive summer melt that appears to be typical now in the Beaufort Sea has likely increased the cost of swimming by polar bears."

Polar bears live within the Arctic circle and eat a calorie-rich diet of ringed seals (Pusa hispida) to survive the frozen conditions.

The bears hunt their prey on frozen sea ice: a habitat that changes according to temperature.

"This dependency on sea ice potentially makes polar bears one of the most at-risk large mammals to climate change," says Mr Durner.

The IUCN red list identifies polar bears as a vulnerable species, citing global climate change as a "substantial threat" to their habitat.

-From BBC Earth News

Carbon cycle and carbon sinks.

2011-01-28T21:13:00.006+08:00

Imagine in the earth, the carbon atom is being reused for thousand of years to make up grass, then eaten by a cow becoming the cow's fat, then humans eat the cow, so that carbon becomes our fat, then we die so the carbon returns to the soil which becomes the nutrient to the grass and then eaten by a cow again.

That was an illustrated example of the carbon cycle in my opinion.

Why do people care so much about carbon anyways?

Well this is because carbon is an important component of organic molecules and the energy holding the chemical bonds represents an energy storage (Cunningham et al. 2007)

From my text book, They say that the cycle begins with the intake of CO2 by photosynthetic organism (meaning green plants). Then the carbon is used to make sugar molecules. The CO2 released during respiration will close the cycle.

Currently the knowledge of the carbon cycle is important because the biological accumulation and the release of carbon is a major factor in climate regulation.

Carbon atoms trapped under the soil for many years are called carbon sinks. The common carbon sinks are deep oceans floor, trapped in the petroleum and coal. So burning coal and oil releases these trapped carbon, increasing the concentration of carbon in our atmosphere. Carbon are also largely stored as calcium carbonate forming coral reefs so it is crucial to protect the coral reefs. Ocean acidification is one of the threat to the coral reefs because an increase in acidity of the ocean will start to dissolve the coral reef bit by bit releasing the carbon.

According to my lecturer, peat swamps are also major carbons sinks. They are usually located in tropical jungles. Peat swamps are like a hole in the land filled with stagnant water and layers of fallen leaves but they decompose at a really slow rate due to the acidity of the peat swamps. Very little decomposing bacteria can be present at that kind of condition. So the carbon which is used to make the leaves would not be released into the air or water , stuck in the leaves until it starts to degrade.

However in Malaysia, people are not aware of the crucial role it has. So these peat swaps are drained so that the land can be used for development. When the peat swamps are drained, the leaves start to decompose because the acidity of the peat swamps cannot be contained. So it is one of the reasons of increased carbon content in the atmosphere.

China With No Plastic Bags

2008-07-14T16:12:00.003+08:00

Not too long ago, my mom just came back from a trip to China. She said in China people carry bags around as shops do not supply plastics bags to carry stuff in it. But if you need a plastic bag, they would charge you for it.

Yesterday i went shopping with my family. I have many of these really nice reusable bags. I took them along with me. I was hoping that my family will not take home extra plastic bags from our shopping spree. I was wrong.

It is not easy to for them to say no to plastic bags. I used to be shy, but when it comes to plastic bags i would usually say no. But sadly, my parents and sister are not like that. I am actually disappointed. It is a different case if we didn't bring the bag, but we had a bag. A few of them, all very suitable to carry heavy things.

My mom bought Shampoos. So i told her to hold on, i will get the bags from my sis, but she say it is ok. She wants the plastic bags when at home there are plenty. We have this plastic bag basket and it is filling up to the brim. It was never once near the level of the ground, so meaning we have too many of them.

I really can't push them into doing what i believe is right. It takes alot of energy and time. To them, they are just doing me a favour. I feel sad, unhappy. i used to talk about the environment with them, but they don't have any interest. Sometimes, doing what i believe creates some conflict.

I really don't want to fight with them. But i really don't want the future to be filled with plastic bags.

If the government wants a change, they have to make that change happen. If China can ban plastic bags, so can we. China is huge, while our country is small. How hard can it get?

The Story Of Stuff!

2008-05-12T12:31:00.005+08:00

My dad sent me a nice and very interesting video about 'stuff.'

How these stuff were produced and how they were in used and how they get thrown away and end up in the land fills. Such a cute animation!

Just click here to watch!

Press PLAY when you see the big heading called The Story Of Stuff as the heading of the website. Enjoy!

Economy Versus Environment.

2008-04-30T09:32:00.003+08:00

I found an interesting article about the war between economics and environment and how it would affect the human population.

Ever since the global warming issue started to become big, there were explosions of ideas of creating bio fuels to solve a big part of global warming. Politicians and government begin to propose ways on how to produce bio fuels. Cutting down more trees to plant more plants which can be used as bio fuels or change the crops grown for consumption into crops for bio fuels.

In this article, they refer to this politician as no brains, as what they have proposed is stupid. All these talk about bio fuels are just scams, they don't really think of the consequences of producing all these bio fuels. To produce so much bio fuels for the use of so many people is impossible, forest has to be cut down and land for food has to be sacrificed.

Well, the next point the writer was trying to say is, we can either choose one. To have more fuel and less food, or to have more food and less fuel because we have a limited number of land. If we choose fuel, the food price will increase tremendously. If we choose food, fuel price will go up. So do you want to eat or do you want to drive? You can't choose both.

These doesn't help the environment or the people. He then talks about the world is over populated and mass global starvation will occur as the Earth's carrying capacity is way off overloaded. The earth could stand maybe for a few decades but it would not last. He said humans are very good at two things; making babies and eating food. haha.

Here is an extract of the article.

"The truth about all this, folks, is that the resources on our planet can only support a limited population, and I think we've over-populated the planet to a point where we're wiping out non-renewable resources at an alarming rate. This means a population correction is due. When there are too many people consuming too much food, using up too much water and burning too much oil, you can get away with a rapid expansion for a little while (a few decades, perhaps), but eventually reality kicks in and there's a global population correction that brings the population size back down to levels that can be sustained on the planet."

If you don't understand what does global population correction means, it means catastrophe. But this catastrophe would be due to the effect of human activities. For example global warming might create a very huge hurricane or overheating of the earth causes many (billions of billions) of people to die.

So why say there will be a mass global starvation? well, due to the increasing temperature of the earth, many places become dry- unsuitable for planting crops. If you don't want to talk about global warming, no problem. oceans are over-fished, soils are over-farmed. so yeah. No food.

To read the full article, click here

Reading many environmental articles does bring some gloom into your life, but hey, it is better to wake up now and do something than not knowing it at all.

Aritificial Sweeteners - Aspartame

2008-04-30T08:57:00.008+08:00

Remember during the olden days about in the 90's, many people were getting fat and became obese. People blame it on sugar, saying that sugar makes them fat. So scientist found an alternative for sweeteners. They call it Artificial Sweetners where people who are going on diets and people who don't want to get fat should take this 'product'. Here are some artificial sweeteners brands: Nutrasweet, Sweet One, Sunett, Sweet n Low just to name a few.

Well, I have seen people who worship these artificial sweeteners and became anti-sugar people. Other products with these sweeteners begin to bloom creating 'sugar free products'.

Sad to say these sweeteners does not do any good to us. It brings more destruction to us than sugar.It has also previously been found that aspartame consumption can cause neurological and behavioral disturbances in sensitive individuals. It disturbs the metabolism of amino acids (proteins) and also the structure of the proteins,disturbs the integrity of nucleic acids, neuronal function and also endocrine balance.

Further, the breakdown of aspartame causes nerves to fire excessively, which can indirectly lead to a high rate of neuron depolarisation- neurodegeneration.

In simple words it just simply means it does harm to your nervous system.

Well, next time if you want to use artificial sweeteners, think twice before consuming it. Sugar is less harmless, you just have to reduce your intake and have an active lifestyle that is all =D

Earth Day

2008-04-02T18:59:00.002+08:00

Earth Day is a day when we humans are supposed to do something good for the Earth. In recent years, on Earth Day, the country would usually set a time or maybe this can occur internationally, and during this time, everyone will switch off their lights for an hour to reduce the usage of electricity. This will then reduce the energy used and thus reducing carbon emission to reduce global warming.
Earth day is on 22Th of April. I doubt that Malaysia will do anything about it even though the government do talk about saving the environment. I doubt that my parents would let me switch off the lights and electrical appliances for an hour except if they are not at home.
Dear Earth, I wish you good luck. Sad to say, people are still asleep, not knowing that danger is coming closer.
As a person who cares for the Earth, I feel like dooms day is coming very soon if most of us are still sleeping.

Go Green! The Basics

2008-02-27T07:52:00.005+08:00

After going through many environmental articles about how to save the world from destruction, I noticed something quite disturbing.

My friend used to tell me not to listen to people who talk green and sells green things like Al Gore, because they are just people who are trying to do business. They do not care bout the environment actually. It is known that Al Gore's house uses up a lot of electricity, so he is a faker.

Besides that, we used to think that we have managed to find solutions to reduce global warming, maybe by creating bio fuels etc, however research has found out that it do not reduce carbon emission but instead it increase carbon emission. This made people like me, feel very confuse. We want to help the Earth but we seriously do not know if what we are doing is actually helping it or killing it.

Besides that, recycling was thought to be a good thing. However we do not know if we have any net gain because recycling uses up a lot of energy. But that doesn't mean that you should stop recycling. It is just something we should think about.

So the best thing we can do is to do the basic things! There is no need to buy special electrical appliances to save the world.

Save the world by:
1! Saving water- don't forget to take a quick shower!
2! Saving electricity - switch of switches when not in use, sleep early (so the TV can rest), go out to exercise, use solar heater to heat water. Be creative but be practical as well!
3! Do not waste food - food not eaten have to be thrown and be placed at other places like the landfills
4! Buy only what you need, cut down on excessive packaging products - to reduce the amount of things going to the landfill as well
5! Walk more, drive less! save on petrol money!

All these can help you save your money! You do not need to be rich to be environmentally friendly.

Go Vegan! My Opinion.

2008-02-26T20:08:00.002+08:00

Many 'green' websites, club and associations now promotes and encourages people to Go Vegan! which means to go vegetarian.
They say that animals are not supposed to be eaten. I am Ok with the idea of animals are not meant to be abused, but this one is a no-no to me.
I know this Green Blog of mine is supposed to be green, so I am supposed to support it, but sorry, I don't find it an intelligent move at all.
To be green, you have to be practical as well.
Many teenagers get influenced easily by this websites that they stop eating meat already. The purpose of me writing this post today is not to tell you to love meat, but to tell you that we need meat to survive and it is not a man-made concept, but it is a biological need.
Want some proof? Take a look at your teeth. They are designed NATURALLY in such a way that we are able to tear meat of bones. Our teeth are not the same as cows or goats because NATURALLY we are supposed to eat meat not grass!
Besides that, our body produces many kinds of chemicles to digest many kinds of proteins including animal protein!
Well, the main reason people don't want to eat meat is because they don't want to kill animals. That is good. So what you can do is reduce your meat intake, but not stop your meat intake. Stopping your meat intake could lead to diseases due to lack in specific nutrients which can only be found in meat!
Sometimes it just look like people go vegetarian for the sake of doing it, maybe because it looks cool.
It would not be surprising by 2020, there will be many people falling sick just because many of them have stopped eating meat. To save the animals live, you take your own life? If you like that idea, it is ok to me.
But hey, to those who Go Vegan with good reasons, I support you! But to those who Just Do It for the sake of doing it, I am sorry, I don't think it is the right thing to do.

Water, Could Be Our Next Oil.

2008-02-23T19:36:00.002+08:00

75% of the Earth surface is covered with water, only 3% of the water are not salt water, and we can only consume 1% of that water as the 2% is frozen ice and glaciers.

Imagine, how can that little water support the lives of humans on the earth? So it is not surprising that we have a problem. It is a today's problem, and it will be tomorrow's problem if we do not do anything. Water scarcity!

I am sure many of you feels that water scarcity has nothing to do with you. Water scarcity is the next generation's problem, so let them worry about it, don't bug me for their problems!

What a funny thing to say actually!

If you are 18 this year, and you expect to live until maybe 60 or 70 years old, I am sure you will be in the age of water scarcity! You don't need to worry if you have planned to die early. If you are about 30 years old now, do you want to see your kids suffer when they get older just because you took bath for an hour everyday?

So actually, it is your business. It is something you should think and do something about it.

Water scarcity arises due to many reasons. Some are avoidable but some are not. Those unavoidable causes are by mother nature. Maybe pollution of water by volcanic activities, earthquakes, storms etc.

But the main causes are not by mother nature, they are by us! So expected isn't it? It is always humans fault, but that is because we did not get the education that we needed. Now i am providing you the 'education', so please wake up and help out.

Water pollution, mainly caused by humans leads to many water sources to be undrinkable. Water pollution are due to deforestation where people remove the trees, so the soil particles loosen and fall into the streams. The fallen trees and plants are also caused pollution. Besides deforestation, in the cities water pollution is caused due to the use of detergents, rubbish throwing into the sea and streams and also bad sewage management. These causes the streams and rivers to have deadly bacteria which can affect human health.

People do not know how precious water is, maybe to some they do just because it has something to do with the water bills. They tend to use too much water unnecessary. Such as when taking a bath, you didn't turn off the shower when you soap your self, or when you were brushing teeth, you didn't turn off the tap when you were not using it. Not repairing leaking water taps. To you it is minor, it won't make any difference, but it does actually. When minor things adds up together, they will become MAJOR things. It is just simple maths addition.

Overpopulation of human beings. And i heard my neighbour wants to achieve their goal, having more than ten kids! The more the merrier i guess. If you do not understand how over population causes water scarcity, well it is like you have a cake and you have to share with the people around you. If there are many people around you, each person will get a smaller part of the cake.

Mass consumption. In Malaysia, we have many people who are obese. They eat a lot of food. This is good news to the farmers who plants vegetables and rare cows, but it is not good to the environment because lots of water is needed to support this over growing need of food. Besides that, big sized people get tired easily, so they drink more water than normal people would.

Well, since water has became so scarce in some countries where they have deserts, there came a new kind of war. Water wars! Or in other words, water politics. Country fight over water for their people, it is quite serious.

Like what i have written just now, dirty water affects humans health. Well, due to limited source of water, when the source of water becomes polluted, people have no choice but to drink it, especially when the country is not a high tech country where they have treatment plants to clean the water for you. So consider yourself lucky. Most of the people living in Africa ( sorry i didn't mean to discriminate ), they do not have clean water supply so they have intestinal parasites, which came from the untreated water.

Well, with problems arising, there must be some way we could solve it right? Of course we do! Humans are smart!

The first thing that most people think is, we have the sea. So do something about it! We can extract clean water from the ocean. This process is call desalination. Its is like boiling the salt water, then the water will evaporate leaving the salt behind. Then cool the water vapour to form distilled water! However this solution cause environmental problems to the sea ecosystem. By extracting water from the sea, this will make the sea to be more concentrated affecting marine lives. But people are desperate, there is nothing much they can do about it. This also causes the sea current to change by the way.

In Singapore, they have a limited source of water too. But with their high technology, they are able to reuse their water. Water from the toilet is treated, to form New Water which are drinkable.

Besides that, reverse osmosis. Many bottled water are water that went through reverse osmosis.

Hey, how can it be an environmental problem without you helping to solve it too! We can do many things to help out. Save water! Be more sensitive and grateful when you see water flowing. Turn off the taps when you are not using them. Try to save every drop of it. I am sure you will enjoy doing that because i actually do! When you see taps in public area which are not turned off completely, do it yourself!

So to create awareness in water conservation, we do have a day called the World Water Day.

Last words from me for this post is, many of you do not realise how connected things are. Some of the people out there are kind hearted people. You would give and donate money to the poor people who live in areas like Africa so that they can have a better life. But do you realise if you save water here, you can save their lives too? You are saving water for the world, for the people, for humanity. When you have a lot of water here, you are able to send water there.

So lets save the world by saving water!

Kuala Selangor's Fireflies

2008-02-01T13:54:00.000+08:00

On last Tuesday, my friends and I went to Kuala Selangor, Malaysia, to see their (Kuala Selangor) fireflies. Kuala Selangor has been famous for their fireflies. It is not famous as a kind of food, but it is famous for how they make bushes look like Christmas trees.

I always wanted to go there, but rumours says that the fireflies numbers has decrease already. Some even made it sounded like it has all disappeared. This is due to the building of a dam. This causes the water to rise and destroy a kind of bush at the mangrooves which are the places where the fireflies hang out.

But i am not really sure if the dam has been built or not, but yes they are decreasing. It was a pretty sight. In my opinion, there were many fireflies because i saw many christmas trees. I actually expected to see much less than this, but i would still be satisfied. Seeing these fireflies at their natural habitat is a nice thing to see. I wonder how did they look like when they were a lot?

When I saw them, I was touched. I didn't know why. I guess I was sad with what the goverment wanted to do or has done ( building the dam ). Not every where you can see these christmas trees, they even became a tourist attraction. I am sad that they don't see the value in these places.

Well yes, I know building the dam will make them gain a net profit, but we will lose something so valueble. It is like killing a few lives to save a millions lives would be the choice most people take, but it doesn't mean that it is the right choice. Lives are still taken away. Get what I mean?

I also feel angry how my parents used to tell me that the fireflies are gone, when i wanted to go there and see last year. So they never took me there until i insisted this week because my friend said he did not want to travel to the Amazon to see fireflies when Malaysia still has some of them.

Well, all I want to say is, for those who haven't seen them and they live in Malaysia, go and see them, enjoy mother nature's beauty before they vanish and becomes history.

2008, A Whole New World?

2008-01-10T09:36:00.000+08:00

Today my mom asked me about my course that I will be doing after I finished my A Levels. Today she found out how long my course will be and that I have made up my mind to study in Malaysia. Well, at least now she knows. For your information, she didn't support me, but i guess she is accepting it now =D

Anyway, Tadah! 2008 is here! And China has planned to ban the usage of plastic bags in supermarkets starting from the middle of this year! Those super markets which do not follow the rule will be taken action. I always know how deadly plastic bags can be to the environment, and i always hope that people can reduce the usage of it, but i never have thought of some one banning it. The idea is big, very big. They encourage people to use reusable bags or cloth bags now and no more giving free plastic bags ( below 250 mm, if i can remember ).

In Malaysia, there was once Giant Supermarket announced to the public that they will reduce the usage of plastic bags. At first I did see some difference, but now? Just look at how they pack your groceries, they can't be more generous than giving you more plastic bags. Yes, they have the vision, but they don't tell the cashiers ( especially the part timers ) to use the bags wisely.

One more thing which I am just curious is, how environmental friendly are the reusable bags? Is it as bad as those plastics bags too? Can it decompose? Well, i know its durable though and very colourful too. However, if our government plan to ban the usage of plastic bags in the supermarket, I will definitely support them. But i know it won't be happening because we are just too dependant on plastic bags.

Besides that, 10 years before today, who would ever thought environmentalist encouraging people not to buy bottled water, but instead drink your own tape water? People will ask "Now, what is their problem?"

Ever since the news of a death of a girl due to the poisoning of the girl's water from her very long use of a water bottle, people started to use reusable water bottles instead of the 'use once' water bottles you can easily get from supermarkets. It is sad how she died from such a cause, but people now use more reusable water bottles than the 'use once' water bottle. This reduces the stress that we put on the environment and it is good news.

Before this incident, many of us would use all these 'use once' water bottles because it is cheaper, light, cleaner and so easy to get. But the dump site were filled with all of these thrown away water bottles and at that time, few were recycling. Who knows we could build another twin towers by using those plastic bottles.

Well, I hope that this year will be a year of advancement in the environmental field.

Edexcel Biology Unit Three A Levels

2008-01-08T12:12:00.000+08:00

Tomorrow I will be sitting for this subject. I use to think i will like it, as i will learn more about the environment. Yes, i did learn quite some things, more than what i have learned in my secondary school of course but I don't like how it is structured. Look very rigid to me.

We learned a little bit about quite a lot of things about causes, effects and ways to prevent issues such as global warming, deforestation, acid rain and desertification. We also learn about animal modes of nutrition and ecological pyramids.

The thing which i find rigid is that, the questions which they ask, the answers are all around this few things which we have learned. Making it looked like as though the causes of the world environmental problem are based on that few little things when it is actually not! There are so many other causes which we have not learn!

Yes I know, others are not in our syllabus, but they don't make the students think out of the box. The student just merely read the questions, list down all the issues that they have learned and choose one of them to answer the question. So easy when the real world problem is not like that at all. You can't just solve environmental problems by listing all the issues that you have known and assume that they are the same? Things are constantly changing, so as the answers and the causes of the problems!

That is why I find it very rigid.

Can You Live Without Plastic Bags?

2007-11-24T09:31:00.000+08:00

About 95% in Malaysia will say no. Why? They think they cannot live without it. Ok It is kind of true because plastic bags are really light and durable and they do not take much space. For example, you want to bring a piece of bread to your college or office to eat, but all the Tupperware are big and bulky, you just want to keep your bread clean, so you will take the small white plastic bag for food and tadah! Save space and it's clean.

How about buying take aways food? Polystyrene box ( this is so bad for the environment and health ), then you want some chili sauce, so they pack it in the small cute plastic bags for you to bring it home, you want the sweet sauce for your BBQ pork, another small plastic bag for the sauce. Then that shop sells their food really well, i wonder in one day how many small plastic bags like those for the sauce have they distributed to people. Besides that, pasar malam ( night market ), so many variety of food! So delicious, all readily packed ( in plastics bags of course ) to be sold. And most of them are dump into the drains after being used.

Then in my college, there is this bakery, many students buy their bread. All their bread are wrap in plastic bags. I am not saying it is bad, it is actually very clean. They are also very considerate. If you buy more than one bread, they will pack the in a nice plastic bag so that it will be easier for you to carry. However, this plastic bag, the duration it is used is usually less than 5 to 10 minutes and then it will be thrown into the rubbish bin. Why can't they just stuff it in their bag which is so big and so much space just for a few minutes instead of taking that plastic bag and add on the pressure to the environment? Besides, the bread is wrapped in plastic bag, it won't dirty their books. Then some say they are too lazy to say "no need for the plastic bag please thank you" when the lady is packing their food for them. Then just to carry a loaf of bread of Gardiner (so tasty, you can even eat it on its own), is a plastic bag needed just to carry it to your car which is a few meters away from the bread stall?

With so many plastic bags around clogging the drains, taking up our land, we should not worry when the immigrants are going to take over our country but worry more about when the rubbish will swallow our land and we have no choice but to live on 'The Land Of The Rubbish Dump.'

Even worse, there are still people who never knew that plastic can be recycled! What happen to the recycling awareness campaign? Why are there still people who do not know that plastic CAN be recycled? I realised that the recycling campaigns are just focused in the developing cities but other places such as such as the villages and not so developed states, why are they not aware? These are the places which need to be taught the most because we can still prevent from rubbish over loading there when what we are doing here in the cities is finding solution to solve our rubbish overload at our landfill sites. Prevention is always better then curing.

Don't Just Campaign, Give Us More!

2007-11-04T19:43:00.000+08:00

There are a few reasons why Malaysians do not recycle. One of them is that, we just don't care. One more is, we get so little money recycling, so why care? I asked my friend one day if she recycles, and she said no because she get so little. Then yesterday i had 4 bags of plastics bottles which i sent for recycling and all i get back was just rm2 and the bag was 6kg. My mom complained it was so little, can't even cover her petrol money of the journey.

Seriously i don't blame her. Isn't that what most of us feel? But I will still do it because of my future. I don't want to live on a garbage dump by 2020. What is the use of a Vision 2020 when our country will just be a a garbage site.

The government have to stop talking and start doing. Yes they encourage us to recycle, and came out with nice slogans such as " Think before you throw. " I do hear people saying those phrases, they do think before they throw, but they just don't know what to think about and still simply throw their rubbish in the end.

To make them start "thinking", the government should think first and only the people will follow and start "thinking".

Why spend billions of Ringgit just to send a man to be a space tourist? Why not use the money for our country's development or how about giving me more money when i recycled four big bags of plastics? By doing so, won't people be rushing to recycle their things? Why give me RM1 for 3kg, why not RM1 for 2kg or even 1kg? People will start to "think" won't they? Moreover it is our money that we are getting back. It's the tax that we pay. Shouldn't we get back something when we show our love to our country by recycling?

Besides that, why are the recycling center so picky? Maybe just the center near my area, but why are they picky? They don't accept glass wares any more when they are suppose to accept the four main items: paper, aluminium cans, plastic and GLASS? Now i have to think how to get rid of them now. How to encourage people to recycle when it is so mafan?

One more thing is that, we don't take recycling seriously. i went to IKEA not too long ago and i was happy to see recycling bins placed almost every where. However, sad to say that people can't read or they are just blind because they can't read symbols. In the paper bin, there was plastic. In the plastic bin, there were disgusting things which do not belong to that bin of course. They should fine people like those.

Recycling is not an option now. It should be a responsibility already because soon it will be a national crisis. When it is a national crisis, it will be too late already. If you don't think that you can live for 5 more years or so, at least think for your children and your grandchildren or at least your beloved friends who wish to live a longer life than you.

Norway's First Ecological Prison

2007-09-16T20:12:00.000+08:00

I copied and paste this article because i find it very intersting!

The minimum-security Bastoey Prison, on a lush island south of Oslo, this week claimed to have achieved its 10-year goal of being the world's first ecological prison.

The prison, without locked gates or barbed wire, has often been compared to a summer camp, and now operates with solar panels, wood-fire heating instead of oil, strict recycling and ecological food production.

The idea is to help the roughly 115 prisoners learn important values, such as protecting the environment and respecting others, before they return to society.

"Our job is to create the best possible development opportunities for the individual, and lay the foundation for possible changes," said Prison Director Oeyvind Alnaes.

The Bastoey facility, where inmates include murderers and rapists, has long been in sharp contrast to the grim vision of prisons with barred doors that slam shut with a clang during lock-downs. It is lush green in summer, with beaches and an adjacent nature preserve.

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Inmates live in normal houses, without being locked in, and are responsible for the care of about 200 chickens, eight horses, 40 sheep, and 20 cows, tending the fields, picking berries and fishing for food from the prison's 31-foot (9.3-meter) boat.

All of the prison's agricultural products are raised without artificial chemicals, such as insecticide or man-made fertilizers, and with humane treatment of livestock. It also strives to be energy self-sufficient, using renewable power.

Alnaes said the prison's basic philosophy is what he called "human ecology."

"Living in an environment that gives them individual responsibility, challenges and demands ... can motivate inmates to change their behavior," he said in a news release.

At a ceremony on Monday to celebrate the prison achieving its ecological prison goal, Justice Minister Knut Storberget said the prison was "a symbol that it is possible to think differently. ... We need alternatives to prison, and different prison alternatives."

Norway does not use the death penalty, and the maximum prison sentence is 21 years. Few prisoners serve the entire term.

To help prepare them for their release, inmates have great freedoms within a specified area. They can study, seek counseling, and even enjoy playing tennis, having their own TV, and swimming in the waters around the island, some 75 kilometers (45 miles) south of the capital.

In a recent interview with the Oslo newspaper Aftenposten, an inmate who asked to only be identified as Knut, said in his previous, maximum-security prison, he felt steadily more depressed and psychologically troubled.

"When I got to Bastoey, it was like I got air under my wings," the 41-year old — serving a sentence for narcotics smuggling — told the newspaper.

With 69 employees, Bastoey claims to be Norway's most understaffed prison, which Alnaes has said is just the way they want it, since prisoners from the apply for the chance to serve their sentence there.

The prison's Internet site asks hopefuls:"Is Bastoey the place for you?"

Selayang Dog Catching Competition

2007-09-15T12:49:00.000+08:00

Majlis Perbandaran Selayang organised a dog catching competiton to reduce the number of stray dog at that area. However this competitons encourages cruelty to animals and we have our responsibility to protect them as we are humans with a heart. So please sign this online petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/doghunt1/petition.html
Thank you.

Well, just read the newspaper, i am glad that they canceled the competition already. Hope god bless those who put in their effort to stop it from happening.

Energy Saving

2007-09-15T12:28:00.000+08:00

Currently I am quite interested on the energy field.

I have thought of a few ideas and i hope it can actually work. Thanks to dee because she inspire me. Haha.

Currently, we are finding for clean energy. I have an idea where we can use wind and cars. It's not putting little fans on the cars to generate electricity ( this was what dee suggested) because it creates more resistance to the moving car, so more energy is used to move the car than the energy gain from the little fans.

However, do you think it will work if we put little fans by our highways ( which we have so many along the peninsular), the cars usually moves fast, so there will be wind, and the wind will move these fans which are connected to a dynamo to create electricity. Maybe these electricity can cover the electricity for the road lamps on the highway.

Besides that, the ceiling fan in our homes, we can use solar energy. I think it is a good idea because when the sun is shinning on us brightly, that is the time when we need the fan the most, and that is the time where a lot of electricity is generated. We can also use solar energy for our public phones and cars. Then at least we can save a bit on petrol. It is time to mix and match.

I really can't wait to see the future where our landscape will change because there will be weird things on the land to generate clean energy. It will be so high tech.

Panda Poo Found Useful

2007-07-31T22:07:00.000+08:00

One can never die of no money if they think well enough. A chinese wildlife research found out that panda's poo can be used to make souviniers and they have planned to make their olympic souviniers from it too.

These panda poo are used to sculp photo frames, bookmarks, panda statues and fans! But they say no need to worry because it won't smell that bad as what the panda's eat is mostly bamboo shoots and what came out is just indigested bamboo. It may be a lucrative business selling all these unique sculptures.

So far a Thai zoo is selling multicoloured papers made by the excretion of two of their pandas.

Mexican Volcano As Test Bed For Tress on Mars

2007-07-22T11:21:00.000+08:00

Scientist are using the slopes of the volcanoes in Mexico to plant tress and if they can make it, it look like they can plant trees in Mars but with some adjusted conditions such as the raise in air pressure and so on.

The objective of doing this is to of course let trees grow in Mars within 100 years time and provide enough oxygen for organism like us to live there.

But I don't agree on this project! Yes, i do know that we are over populating this Earth, but who are we in this universe to simply take over a planet and start planting trees there? How sure are we that Mars is an empty planet? What if there are organisms living there and we intruding into their territory will create a planetary war. I am seriously not talking crap here.
They can do harm to us.

Even Stephen Hawking will agree with me because he totally disagree with the idea of communicating with other living organisms living in planets light years away from us. He says that, it's too dangerous, we don't know anything about them. It's a stupid thing to do.

Malaysia Try To Clone Endangered Turtles

2007-07-14T08:54:00.000+08:00

Malaysia is launching a 9million ringgit project to clone some of its endangered turtles especially the leatherback turtles. Leatherback turtles used to be found at Rantau Abang, Terengganu. But as the years pass by, their number has decreased tremendously together with other species of turtles.

Their number are decreasing because of the illegal hunting of turtles where fisher mans kill them to make souvenirs out of their shells, selling their meat to restaurant and also their eggs, pollution and development of coastal areas.

Malaysia have ban the selling of turtle eggs but there was one period where traders sell turtle eggs from the neighbouring countries of Malaysia. However, they have been stopped when many people start to protest.

Iams Tortures Animals!

2007-07-13T13:59:00.000+08:00

Iams is a brand for pet food, specialized more for dogs. PETA has sent investigators to investigate this company as many have heard about ths company torturing animals for animal testing.

Malaysia don't really sell their products in supermarkets but i don't know much in pet stores.

Anyway here are the reasons why people have decided not to buy their products.

Failure to provide pain relief to sheep used in experiments that caused pain or distress.
Failure to ensure that personnel were trained to perform experiments on animals.
Failure to provide veterinary care and to observe animals daily.
Failure to properly ventilate housing facilities for dogs and cats.
Failure to house cats with a sufficient number of litterboxes and resting surfaces.
Failure to keep animal-housing facilities clean and in good repair, resulting in injuries.
Failure to maintain comfortable temperatures in animal-housing facilities.
Failure to provide animals with sufficient space.

A message to IAMS : We don't buy when cats and dogs die!

To find out more, you can visit www.iamscruelty.com

Join the IAMS boycott for everyone.

Australian Wool Industry

2007-07-13T13:25:00.000+08:00

Australian wool industry contributes to animal cruelty.
They treat sheep like wool producing machine just to make profit out of them.

Their cruel practice are:
MULESING which means they cut huge chunks of flesh and skin of the backside of the sheep without pain killers. It is done to make the skin smooth and will not be able to harbour fly eggs.However, the exposed, bloody wounds often fall victim to flystrike before they can heal.

Live transport refers to the transport of tens of thousands of sheep who are no longer profitable to the wool industry. They are sent on weeks-long voyages on open-decked ships to Middle Eastern countries, where animal welfare standards are non-existent. Sheep are often dragged off ships by their ears and legs in order to have their throats slit while they are still conscious.

There fore we should help these sheeps by discouraging people and stop people from buying wools from these people to help the sheeps.

They are bad people.

Degree Courses For Environment Lovers!

2007-07-11T23:37:00.001+08:00

Do some of you feel that you were born in this world for a reason? Like God have sent you to do some thing, some thing BIG for the people, like a savior?

Or maybe you like to learn more about the environment, you didn't know there are courses offered by universities around the world just for people like you ( and also me =D).

Well here are a few courses listed for you together with the description of what you will get from it. Maybe you might want to consider of earning money through saving the environment. Make life more meaningful yea?

It is all under environmental science.

Environmental management- you will learn a wide field about the environment starting from wildlife until pollution(for some uni).
Applied science, environmental health- use science to find the connection between the environment and our health i think haha!
marine biology- study about marine life
wildlife and conservation biology- become like steve irwin or dr.bradybarr in animal planet or can work with WWF
bachelor of science and law- become lawyer to fight for the environmental organisations
environment enginneering- design and create stuff to help the environment
fresh water biology and management- work for water management companies
animal science-vetenerian and more, depends how creative you are to create you own job
ecochemistry
evolutionary biology- become like charles darwin, see what will we human evolve to in the next few decades
natural resource management- find ways to solve problems about our natural resource
sustainable environment
applied science(forestry)- if you wanna save the jungle and you like to be in the jungle, take this course
biotech and environmental management

These are most of them. I am sure there are more courses if you look properly.

Working for the environment is never bad.

The Effects Of Global Warming.

2007-07-10T23:10:00.000+08:00

We know what cause it and how to prevent it but we don't really know how will it effect us. We just see people panic without understanding why are they acting that way. And we go panic too. Monkey see monkey do.

Well, here are the effects of GW ( global warming ):

Extreme weathers- the green house gasses traps the heat from the sun light causing the amount of heat in the atmoshpere of our earth to increase. Thus increasing the temperature. Not just a little bit but at some place a lot such as in the dessert. Now most of the dessert are inhabitable for humans and animals unlike before.

Besides that the local climate becomes more unstable.maybe you haven't realised, but the monsoon season in Malaysia have shifted slightly compared to few years ago. i love the monsoon season that is why i noticed. Or maybe i am just simply sensitive.

Ice caps melting- because the temperature has increased, the ice at the north and south pole are melting. Why should we care if it melts? Nothing to do with us, right? Well, the melting of the ice caps cause the sea level to rise causing lower area which is nearer to the sea level to 'sink'. People die. Human extinction. Just kidding. This only won't cause human extinciton. You need more disasters.

Besides the sea levels rises, the temperature in the sea water changes too. This causes the sea current to change. The changes in the direction of the sea current brings big impact to the eco system and the economy of some countries who depends on the sea current to bring fishes to their country just like the show 'Finding Nemo' by Disney Pixar.

The rise of temperature of the sea also causes some marine life to be at the edge of extinction because marine life are very sensitive to the temperature of the sea water. Just a slight change of temperature changes the world down there. It also causes the marine life to change habitat. More fishes now are moving towards the poles because of its cooler temperature ( not so extreme anymore ). This makes the fisher mans there in Greenland happier.

Well, as there are more sea water now from the ice which has melted, the sea water now has more heat capacity to store heat from the sun causing further warming of the Earth.

Acidification- The pH of the sea water lowers as the 'excessive' amount carbon dioxide from the atmoshpere dissolve into the water. This causes the the shells (made from calcium) of the marine organisms to dissolve. It also will affect the organisms reproductively, physiologically and also their food chain.

GW also cause more forest fire and it increases GW and more forest fire and it goes on for ever..

Economically GW don't help us because it caused so many disasters and money need to be used to rebuild what was gone.

However for agriculture, the agriculture yield increases as there are more CO2 for them during photosynthesis ( a mechanism of making their own food for green plants ). But not for all countries such as Africa as most of their crops rely on rain-fed agriculture.

Migration- Some countries need to be evacuated as their flood defence may become economically inviable for them (for poor countries). These people are call environmental refugees.

Water scarity- rising in the temperature of the body cause us to drink more water to cool. Beside that eustacy ( rising of sea water ) will polluted our groundwater affecting drinking water and agriculture.

Heat wave- it is deadly and it has killed many people. It is the rise of temperature, some times too high for some people that they die. People with heart problems are vulnerable because one's cardiovascular system must work harder to keep the body cool during hot weather, heat exhaustion, and some respiratory problems increase.

Spread of diseases- SARS, Spanish flu ( influenza ), bird flu and more which are the cause of many human deaths are all said to be the effects of GW. The virus get to mutate in the high temperature and becomes hard to cure.

From here, many things happen because of GW. Some you might have known all these time, some not. Share what you have read with people you know so that we can save our self from destruction.

Stop The Seal Hunt!!

2007-07-05T22:31:00.000+08:00

Right now, people around are getting mad of the Canadians because they kill seals like nobodies business. And they don't just kill them, they will hit the seals ( including baby seals ) with a club at the head and hit them until they die. Other seals are shot from a distance and then dragged from the ice onto boats using steel hooks. They suffer terribly before their death. Its'n it cruel?

Then the ice around the seal will be so bloody ( so so SO bloody ), I just don't understand how can people do such thing to an animal. They ought to go to hell.

And guess what? The baby seals die for nothing! Read this 'It is a cruel and unethical practice that produces a product nobody needs. In fact, 98% of the animals killed in the past two years have been seal pups aged about 2 weeks to 3 months.'

You can watch the video on how they do it up there. We should not support the canadian seals hunts by boycott on products from this country. Well, that is what environmentalist doing because the canadian goverment are not helping.

It's just cruel.

You can visit STOPTHESEALHUNT.COM at http://www.stopthesealhunt.com/site/c.ihKPIWPCIqE/b.2558507/k.B299/Stop_the_Seal_Hunt__300000_Actions_for_300000_Seals.htm to support and view the efforts done by the public to stop this horrible act.

The Good and The Bad of Ozone

2007-07-02T18:36:00.000+08:00

Do you know what is the ozone layer?
It is made up of 3 oxygen unlike the oxygen that we breathe ( 2 oxygen ). It is formed naturally at the stratosphere of our earth. It protects us from the dangerous UV rays from the sun which can cause skin cancer to humans, destroy crops and kill some marine life too.

This ozone layer sound really nice to humans. However it is actually destructive to us when it is formed at the troposphere where it is nearer to human beings and life on earth. But this ozone layer is not naturally formed, but form from air pollution created by automobile exhaust and emissions from factories and power plants.

This ozone which form unnaturally is called the bad ozone. But why is it bad?

It is extreamemly toxic and corrosive. People who inhale ozone during repeated exposure may permanently damage their lungs or suffer from respiratory infections. Ozone exposure may reduce lung function or aggravate existing respiratory conditions. It may also cause chest pain, coughing, throat irritation and congestion.

In addition to human health effects, ground-level ozone is also hard on plants and animals, damaging ecosystems and leading to reduced crop and forest yields. Ground-level ozone also kills many seedlings and damages foliage, making trees more susceptible to diseases, pests and harsh weather.

But anyway, it is our responsible to take care of our good ozone layer because it protects us from harm. If not, there will be a hole in our good ozone layer which threaten the life of humans being like the one in Antartica few years ago. But don't worry, the hole is 'covered' already thanks to the gourverment who worked hard to solve the problem.

But how do we do it?

We have to reduce using ozone depleting substance such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) which is used as a coolent agent for air conditioner and refridgerator ( also found is aerosol cans) and HCFC ( which was thought to replace CFC but only to realise that it also a cause of ozone depletion ). This two substance are the main cause of ozone depletion. So when you plan to buy electrical appliances, try to choose appliences which are environmentally friendly.

Against Animal Cruelty

2007-06-30T23:45:00.000+08:00

I know what cruel mean. But I have never thought how cruel this cruel word is. My friend sent me a website about cruel human doings towards animals. When i saw, i couldn't believe my eyes, how cruel humans can go just to satisfy their greed. It just make no sense to me. It looked so evil, i laughed because i just couldn't believe it.

Why not you just see it yourself, maybe you will know how i feel. http://www.petatv.com/

From here, there is nothing much to read. Just videos to show what we do to the animals and how they suffer. It's not boring like other website, i guarantee.

I will definitely support people who are against animal testing from now on. Chulan, go for it!

Be a Volunteer at SPCA Selangor!

2007-06-30T12:21:00.000+08:00

If you love animals so much, why not be a volunteer at SPCA Selangor!

The SPCA was established in 1958 to protect animals in Selangor and the Federal Territory. Today they have a wide range of activities all with one common aim: to protect animals and alleviate suffering. All of the following would not be possible without dedicated volunteers, these include:

animal home
public relations

fund raising

Volunteer duties to choose from:

kennel/cage cleaning- includes removing faeces, cleaning and disinfecting, relaying newspaper and providing fresh water

feeding-under instructions only

bathing-under instructions only

grooming- especially long haired animals, under instructions only

socialising- with either dogs or cats, sitting with, patting, walking getting to know animals and their habits and quirks

training- along with SPCA training sessions

kennel guide- assisting the public when choosing an animal, assessing the family who want to adopt and match the most suitable animal for their needs

general house keeping varies from washing windows, mopping floors to grass cutting or dusting counters and arranging leaflets

Volunteers under 18 years old must have parental/guardian permission to volunteer.
Shelter volunteers are under the direction of SPCA staff- all volunteers will be assigned to a member of staff to work with for that day.

You can also help SPCA by doing fundraising or Public relations ( designing, manning booths , SPCA group guide, or giving information talks ).

To volunteer, you have to give your name, age, address, home telephone number, hand phone number and your email address.

To know more, you can go to this centre which is called SPCA Selangor, at Jalan Kerja Ayer Lama, Ampang Jaya, 68000 Ampang, Selangor.
Tel: 03 42565312 or 03 42535179
Fax: 03 4252 8382
Email: spca@streamyx.com
Website: http://www.spca.org.my/

SPCA needs our help as they receive no government funding and relies solely on generous donation from the public. Each year they need approx. RM 500 000 to maintain the animal home.

There is always something we can do to help them, everything is valuable, no help is too small!

" We hope you can enjoy volunteering with SPCA; every one at SPCA whether we have 2 legs or 4, warmly welcomes you! "

Walk The Talk

2007-06-27T12:00:00.000+08:00

Eversince I have been writing posts for this blog, I have learned a lot of things. What is the use of learning it without applying it. Might as well don't learn it at all.

So I try to apply what I learned. I went to Fraser's Hill last weekend. I read a lot of articles where they tell people to bring along trash bag to pick up rubbish on the trails. I forgot to bring but i found some plastic bags along the way. So i pick up what i saw.

It was fun. Seriously. But if you do it with other people. My dad helped picked with me. I was touched because usually people will just look at me and say "What is wrong with her?" or "eh, you nothing better else to do meh, pick up rubbish for people, so dirty."

Yea people words usually discourage what you intend to do, but i will just stick to what i think is right. Many people discourage me from pursuing what i want to do in the future, do something for the environment. They say i will have no future. But i don't know what kind of future they are talking about. If i don't do what i believe in, they will have no future.

Animal and wildlife foreva!!

2007-06-23T09:05:00.000+08:00

Writing this blog is really so fun because i get to learn so many things which I really enjoy and love. Everyday I learn something new from my post. Feeling content at this moment..

Haha! Anyway here are a few animals and wildlife products which we should avoid buying. Why? Because we love them so much, we live for them and they live for us. Most importantly, we depend on one another to live hapilly ever after...

Elephant Ivory

Poaching is still rampant in both Africa and Asia to supply the huge demand for ivory products. Ivory is often carved into jewelry, chopsticks, hair slides, ornaments and name seals. Elephant leather and hair products are also commonly for sale. Because it is sold so openly in some countries, you might not realise it is illegal to bring ivory home with you.

Reptile Skins

Skins from crocodiles, alligators, snakes, lizards and other reptiles are often made into bags, shoes, watch straps or belts. It is hard to tell the difference between the skin of an endangered and non-endangered species. Many reptiles are protected under international law. Alligator and crocodile products are the wildlife items most frequently seized by Customs.

Tortoise Shell

"Tortoiseshell" is the term commonly used for sea turtle shells, which are frequently turned into souvenirs such as sunglasses, hair slides and jewelry. The beautiful shell of the hawksbill turtle (bekko) is particularly sought after. International trade in the products of all marine turtles is illegal. Yet they are still widely available in resorts all over the world.

Seahorses

The primary uses for seahorses are traditional medicines, souvenirs and curios (dried trade), and trade as aquarium pets (live trade). The global trade in dried seahorses exceeded 24.5 million individuals in 2000. Many hundreds of thousands were also caught that year to supply the expanding pet trade.

Corals

Corals are tiny animals that live together in large colonies. They are commonly harvested for souvenirs, especially black, red, bush, hump, finger and lace corals. Corals play an essential role in shallow water reef ecosystems by providing food and shelter for thousands of other species. Many species of corals are protected, with trade either regulated or strictly prohibited.

Sea shells

Often for sale in a variety of beautiful colours and sizes, seashells are harvested in great quantities. This has pushed some into the endangered zone - especially large ones such as the Queen conch or the giant clam which take many decades to grow. You cannot bring seashells home with you without export and import permits.

BigCat Skins

Big cats are the ultimate fashion victims. Tigers, leopards, cheetahs and lions have long been slaughtered for their beautiful and distinctive furs. Despite falling numbers in the wild and the fact that they are protected from international trade, the market for big cat coats, bags, rugs and other trophies continues. Travellers should remember the skins belong to the big cats - and not to us!

Caviar

Caviar (sturgeon eggs) is considered by some as a "luxury." All 27 species of this fish are threatened or endangered, usually caught before they reach sexual maturity. The beluga sturgeon, the world's largest freshwater fish, is now in danger of extinction after 250 million years on Earth. Much of the trade in caviar is controlled by the Russian mafia around the Caspian Sea. Although 250g of caviar is allowed for personal use, it’s best to avoid it. Ninety percent of traded caviar comes from illegal sources.

Live Animal Trade

Some tourists try to bring back animals such as tortoises or other exotic reptiles or birds from foreign resorts. While exotic animals can be purchased from pet shops – many do so without realizing they have been caught in the wild. Sadly, about 90 percent of reptiles and amphibians die before leaving their country of origin, due to inhumane captive and storage conditions. A further 90 percent die within a year after being taken home.

Shark's fin soup

About 100 million sharks are caught worldwide each year – many to make this dish. As only the fins attract high prices, they are generally hauled on board fishing ships, have their fins hacked off, and are then thrown back into the sea alive. Without their fins, the sharks are unable to swim and die a slow death.

Bird nest soup

made from the nests of Asian swiftlets (the nests are made from saliva, sometimes mixed with grass and feathers). Nearly 20 million nests are traded annually in countries such as India and the Philippines, and are very often collected before the birds have had a chance to breed. This has led to their populations plummeting

And not to forget turtle's eggs! Many of them are going through extinction becuase we ate all their eggs! how cruel we are.

Illegal Trade on ebay

2007-06-23T08:39:00.000+08:00

The eBay have always been useful for people. However good things are usually used for wrong things too.

Illegal traders have been using the Internet to sell wildlife products. Many of us know that buying wildlife products is wrong but some times buying items from eBay cannot tell you exactly what you are buying.

It is sad to say that some times our own carelessness can cause extinction of the animals.

So if you feel that what I wrote is true, together ( hand in hand ) we can help these wildlife by

1)Write an e-mail to eBay and draw attention to any dubious offers you come across.
Banned products are advertised every day on eBay. Demand that eBay remove illegal wildlife offers from the auction site immediately.

2)Obtain information about the origins of products that involve the death of wild animals.
Learn more about the trade in live animals and the cruelty and suffering that is associated with it. Form a group to campaign against the wildlife trade! Share your knowledge with friends and family and make them aware of this important issue.

3)Keep your eyes open when surfing the Internet!
If you come across online offers on the Internet dealing in wildlife products or live protected animal species, then you should report these activities to your national authorities, or the main place to report illegal wildlife can be found at: http//www.fws.gov/le/

4)Don’t buy wild animals or wildlife products online.
Consumer demand is what drives the wildlife trade. The sale of endangered animals will only stop when there are no buyers. Make a conscious buying decision. The only sure way to act is to not participate in this trade.

5)Set a good example: dispense with wildlife products!
Wildlife should not be considered as commodities to be traded. Animals should not pay with their lives so that people can own luxury goods. Regardless of whether an item was a souvenir, a gift or an heirloom, do not resell it. Send these products to us. IFAW will use them as part of its PR work or collect them as evidence. Protect endangered species!

Chocolate The Next Green Fuel???? Maybe Brown..

2007-06-12T11:13:00.000+08:00

The best fuel now is not biodiesel or ethanol or what but it's actually hydrogen. However, the production of hydrogen gas is really expensive and very little amount of it can be produce at a short period of time.

Well, it is the best fuel because it only produces water only. So you can drink water from your car. Hot water.

However microbiologist may have found the answer!! The yummy way!!

CHOCOLATE!!

Feeding waste products from a chocolate factory to Escherichia coli bacteria (E.coli) produce hydrogen gas like crazy.

The researchers fed the bacteria (E.coli) diluted caramel and nougat waste left over from the chocolate-making process. The experiment created conditions that caused the bacteria to ferment the sugars in the chocolate waste, which generated organic acids so toxic to the bacteria that they began converting formic acid to hydrogen like mad.

The discovery of a way to extract hydrogen from food waste could be a real breakthrough for both industry and the environment, because the process isn’t restricted to chocolate waste. It works equally well on many other types of waste.

The ability to convert food waste into clean renewable energy instead of garbage has the potential to transform the food industry. Using this process, food factories could conceivably use their own waste products to power their manufacturing operations, or to fuel a fleet of hydrogen-powered vehicles.

The researchers used the hydrogen to power a fuel cell, which generated enough electricity to run a small fan. Hydrogen is one of the cleanest renewable fuels around. When it is used to power fuel cells, for example, the only byproduct is water.

This is so cool!!

Ways To Reduce Waste

2007-06-12T10:02:00.000+08:00

We are running out of landfill site. Landfill site are one of the source of methane gas which is toxic. So it is important to reduce waste. I found many ways to reduce waste while reading the news paper that day. i thought maybe i could share what I have read for those who do not read the newspaper =D

Don't add waste heaps.
Separate paper, plastics, metal, glass and aseptic carton for recycling. If you cannot drop it at the recycling centre, leave them outside for the garbage collector. Recycling save the landscape of from dumps, reduce usage of energy and raw materials and prevents emission of methane.

Compost your kitchen and garden waste
return the energy and nutrient found in left over food and trimmings back to the soil instead of dumping them at landfills site. Find out more at compost.org.uk

Aim for zero waste
It's possible to recycle all your trash and then compost the organic waste.

Close the loop
There is no point recycling rubbish if you don't buy recycled products. there are so many kind of recycled products now in the market. I bought a pencil where they replaced the woody body with compact old news paper. It feels the same.

Say no to plastic bags
They do not degrade, mar the landscape and clog uprivers and seas. Plastics derive from petroleum, so producing them emits greenhouse gases too. Decline plastic bags if your purchase is small and easy to carry. Try not to accumulate plastic bags for a week and you will see it's not difficult.

Bring a bag
keep cloth bags in your car so they are always at hand when you want to go shopping or marketing

Use them again
Reuse plastic bags which is used to wrap vegetables in supermarket but don't try to remove the sticker as it will tear the flimsy bag, instead turn them inside out.

Trash free take away
Those small plastic bags and polystyrene clamshells used by food stall cannot be recycled. So use reusable food containers. Keep them handy in your car.

Shop at the pasar
Produce sold at wet market is cheaper and fresher and does not come wrapped in film or polystyrene.

Go for fresh
Why buy fruit juice in cartons and create waste? Recycling aseptic packaging use up alot of energy ad water. Juice fresh fruit instead. It will be free from preservatives, sweeteners, colourings and trash,

Lose the packaging
Avoid buying stuff with excess packaging. Or choose those with using recycled packaging. Cosmetics and perfumes tend to be over packaged. Write to your favourite brand and ask them to trim the packaging and set up a refill scheme.

Buy refills

Buy in bulk
Avoid products packed individually or for single use such as beverage sachets or biscuits in small packs. Those foils are not recycled and add to waste heaps.

Avoid aluminium foil and plastic wrap
Use a container with lid instead.

Repair before replacing
Buy things which are more durable.

Make more use of it
Avoid one-time use products such as disposable cutlery and razors. Choose products that can be reused

Buy second hand
No, you are not a cheapo, you are being ecologically responsible. You will avoid consuming all the energy needed to produce and ship a new product

Creative wrapping
Keeps ribbons and wrapping paper from presents and hampers for future use.

Go paperless
Send emails and ecards rather than letters, memos and cards.

Eliminate your paper trail!
Print and photocopy on two sides. Circulate documents via the intranet. Reuse envelopes, use waste paper as not paper, and cut old cards to make gift tags.

Say no to flyers

Refill water bottles
Recycle them if you don't need them anymore

Mind your e-waste
Send old computers, mobile phones, CDs, batteries and other electronic to a responsible recycler.

Bag your trash
When hiking on forest trails, take a trash bag with you. No garbage truck piles that route!

Think Before you throw

Bring your own
Keep spare cutlery in your bad so that when eating in food courts, you won't have to use disposable cutlery.

Decline needless freebies
why take in free jug or mug when you have no use for it? They'll just clutter your home and end up as junk.

Tool pool
Many electrical appliances and gadgets are unnecessary. besides they consume energy, clutter out home, cause pollution when produce and create waste when no longer useful. Borrow or share equipment which you don't use very often, or buy second hand.

Old but wearable
Donate old but wearable clothes to the poor, a charity or a recycling scheme. Some companies send them to countries like Cambodia and Vietnam where they are sold as second hand clothes.

Reuse old t-shirt
Use them as rags or kitchen towels

Design for the environment
Make products which can be reused and recycled and do not end up as waste.

Practise green purchasing
Always choose goods which produce minimals waste and cause least damage to the environment.

Buy only what you need.

Don't be a mall rat
Take a break from the consumerism culture " shop till you drop ". Support buy nothing a day instead ( buynothingaday.org.uk ), better still why not do it once a week or once a month?

Be a green shopper.
Start considering these before you start purchasing something: Can it be reused when you are done with it? what are the recycled content? Is it excessively packaged?

Let's make a swap
Put up a box in your office for stuff which you no longer need but others might find useful such as toys, kitchen wares, books etc etc.

Live simply!
Every product we use, whether it's a paper cup, dress or car, leaves an ecological foot print. Think about living with less, so as to tread lighter on earth.

Top 9 Ways To Reduce Global Warming

2007-06-12T09:40:00.000+08:00

Many people care about the environment but they just don't know what to do. So here are some ways to help you help the earth =D

1) Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Do your part to reduce waste by choosing reusable products instead of disposables. Buying products with minimal packaging (including the economy size when that makes sense for you) will help to reduce waste. And whenever you can, recycle paper, plastic, newspaper, glass and aluminum cans. If there isn’t a recycling programme at your workplace, school, or in your community, ask about starting one. By recycling half of your household waste, you can save 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide annually.

2) Use Less Heat and Air Conditioning

3) Change A Light Bulb
Wherever practical, replace regular light bulbs with compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs. Replacing just one 60-watt incandescent light bulb with a CFL will save you $30 over the life of the bulb. CFLs also last 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs, use two-thirds less energy, and give off 70 percent less heat.If every U.S. family replaced one regular light bulb with a CFL, it would eliminate 90 billion pounds of greenhouse gases, the same as taking 7.5 million cars off the road.

4) Drive Less Drive Smart
Less driving means fewer emissions. Besides saving gasoline, walking and biking are great forms of exercise. Explore your community’s mass transit system, and check out options for carpooling to work or school.
When you do drive, make sure your car is running efficiently. For example, keeping your tires properly inflated can improve your gas mileage by more than 3 percent. Every gallon of gas you save not only helps your budget, it also keeps 20 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.

5) Buy Energy-Efficient Products
When it’s time to buy a new car, choose one that offers good gas mileage. Home appliances now come in a range of energy-efficient models, and compact florescent bulbs are designed to provide more natural-looking light while using far less energy than standard light bulbs.
Avoid products that come with excess packaging, especially molded plastic and other packaging that can't be recycled. If you reduce your household garbage by 10 percent, you can save 1,200 pounds of carbon dioxide annually

6) Use Less Hot Water
Set your water heater at 120 degrees to save energy, and wrap it in an insulating blanket if it is more than 5 years old. Buy low-flow shower heads to save hot water and about 350 pounds of carbon dioxide yearly. Wash your clothes in warm or cold water to reduce your use of hot water and the energy required to produce it. That change alone can save at least 500 pounds of carbon dioxide annually in most households. Use the energy-saving settings on your dishwasher and let the dishes air-dry.

7) Use the "Off" Switch
Save electricity and reduce global warming by turning off lights when you leave a room, and using only as much light as you need. And remember to turn off your television, video player, stereo and computer when you're not using them.
It’s also a good idea to turn off the water when you’re not using it. While brushing your teeth, shampooing the dog or washing your car, turn off the water until you actually need it for rinsing. You’ll reduce your water bill and help to conserve a vital resource.

8) Plant A Tree
If you have the means to plant a tree, start digging. During photosynthesis, trees and other plants absorb carbon dioxide and give off oxygen. They are an integral part of the natural atmospheric exchange cycle here on Earth, but there are too few of them to fully counter the increases in carbon dioxide caused by automobile traffic, manufacturing and other human activities. A single tree will absorb approximately one ton of carbon dioxide during its lifetime.

9) Encourage Others to Conserve
Share information about recycling and energy conservation with your friends, neighbors and co-workers, and take opportunities to encourage public officials to establish programs and policies that are good for the environment.
These 10 steps will take you a long way toward reducing your energy use and your monthly budget. And less energy use means less dependence on the fossil fuels that create greenhouse gases and contribute to global warming.

If you feel that you can do all of these listed up there, then good for you and us. However if you can't do many of these it's ok, as long as you make an effort to help the environment =D remember, everyone plays a big role when it comes to saving mother nature...

Think Before You Throw?

2007-06-11T23:24:00.000+08:00

Yea I think before i throw. That day i brought the plastics bottles that i have kept for almost a year to the recycling centre and also water bottles from the house. All in about 5 big plastic bags. I didn't know that they weigh it like weighing books and newspaper too. All in I only get rm2.20 as my pocket money. I thought I could get more like rm5 but not just rm2.20. haha. They should weigh plastic items differently...

But going to the recycling centre near our house is fun. It's my second time going there. My first time was giving them stacks of our old school books and note books which students won't be using anymore after our SPM. I got back rm 8. When i reached there , there were cars coming in and out just to sell plastic bottles and i was a bit touched because with that little amount of plastic bottles, they won't get much, they do it because they care. Maybe you would say that they are very poor, so they grab what ever they can, but these people drive posh cars yea know?

At the recycling centre, i saw a lot of new papers stacks but seriously, if you want to sell your newspaper, its better to sell it to the newspaperman (payper lama guy) better because you get more money. But if you want to get rid of plastics items ( it doesn't matter what kind of plastic ) just dump them in a plastic bag and let them weigh it and get your money. You can also give them batteries, scrap metals ( well i saw a broken chandelier, i guess they accept almost anything except rotten stuff ), glass??? Anything??? I am gonna try the spoilt CPU next time. hehehe. But of course it have to be recyclable.

One more thing which i like about these recycling centre is that, they hire people who don't usually get hired. Maybe a guy who lost one of his leg or something like that. And they are really friendly.

Lastly, for those of you who don't know, recycling centre is not the place where they change your items to something new at that place. Maybe some of you might think that they melt your plastics and glasses there to produce new and fancy stuff. Well, it's not. Its just a small little hut or a place where they just collect your items and wait for a lorry to come and collect these items and send to the factories to reincarnate.

Eco Suicide Tourism

2007-06-08T23:55:00.000+08:00

Another post about global warming.

If you go to Greenland, you think that you hear thunder. But in Greenland, they don"t have thunder there. It's the ice cracking inside the icebergs. If you are lucky you might see one break apart.

Anyway that wasn't what I wanted to write about.

Well, there is no need to say that the ice in Greenland is melting because I suppose that people know about it.

We need more happy thoughts =D

At least the warmer climate there now is doing wonders to fishermans there. What a sad thing to say.

Read this:

Warmer waters entice seawolf and cod to swim farther north in the Atlantic into Greenlandic nets. In this Disko Bay town, the world's iceberg capital, the harbour is now open year-round because winter is no longer cold enough to freeze it solid.

Warmer weather also boosts tourism, a source of big development hopes for the 56,000 mostly Inuit inhabitants of Greenland, which is a self-governing territory of Denmark.
Hoping to lure American visitors, Air Greenland launched a direct flight from Baltimore last month, and there is even talk of "global warming tourism" to see Warming Island.

One commentator, noting the carbon dioxide emissions such travel would create, has called that "eco-suicide tourism".

Haha!

Things Which I have Never Thought Of Before..

2007-06-08T23:27:00.000+08:00

Toothbrushes

Do you like to brush your teeth? Are you a keen brusher? For a keen brusher, do you follow your dentist advise to change your toothbrush EVERY 3 months? Well, I have.

The landfill sites are now having problem where there are too many toothbrushes there. As we all know, they are made from plastic so they can't decompose. So guess what manufacturers are doing to tackle this problem?

When consumers buy these toothbrushes, they will get a postage paid envelope to send the brushes back to their manufacturer when they are not in use anymore. They don't have these in Malaysia though. Or you can just dump it in the recycling bin. We can do this though. Anyway returned tooth brushes will then likely be reborn again as raw material for a picnic table, deck, boardwalk or other durable long-lasting product.

They also have created brushes with replaceble heads.

Non plastic tooth brushes are also in the market. They are made from 'cellulose derived from sustainable yield forest.'

You can also make bracelet out of your tooth brush taught by guru Carol Duvali. I am serious. Not joking.

Harry Potter Book 7!!!

I never knew Harry Potter could be involved in green issues!!! He greens!!

Actually this was what happened:
During the release of HP6, publisher Scholastic is said that didn't use enough recycle paper. So Greenpeace ( an international environmental organisation ) urged consumers to boycott Scholastic and to purchase the novel from Raincoast Books, J.K. Rowling’s Canadian publisher, which printed the Canadian edition of the book on recycled paper.

At the time, Greenpeace said that Scholastic could have saved 217,475 mature trees by printing the 10.8 million copies of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince on recycled paper. But of course it didn't work on HP crazy fans. A book is just a book.

Anyway Scholastic publisher obviously took the environmental concerns to heart and worked with the Rainforest Alliance.

Details of Scholastic’s environmental commitment for the new Harry Potter book include:
At least 65 percent of the 16,700 tons of paper used for the first printing will be FSC-certified, which means the paper comes from forests that are managed in a socially and environmentally responsible way.
Totaling nearly 22 million pounds, this is the largest purchase of FSC-certified paper ever to be used in a single book printing.
All of the paper used in the printing will contain at least 30 percent post-consumer waste fiber, with much of that verified by FSC standards as well.
A deluxe edition of the new book, with a first printing of 100,000, will be printed on paper that contains 100 percent post-consumer waste fiber.

To cut things short, many trees have been saved. HP7 is friendly to the environment.

End Product Inhibition

2007-06-06T21:48:00.000+08:00

We shouldn't worry about the Earth getting destroyed. The Earth can never get destroyed unless some one fill the core of the Earth with a lot of dynamites and burst this planet into pieces.

But the main concern is us and other creatures ( we are creatures too ) who are living here on this planet.

Every time when the Earth reaches a bad state, it will restart by its own. It's natural. It's the circle of life for the Earth. There will be bad weathers, volcanoes erupting, earth quakes, tsunami, major cooling of the earth, a total wipe down of the organisms living on this planet.

Some people worry about how this place that we are living in are getting too populated when it should not be worried about at all. I am not cursing mankind or some thing, but from time to time, there will be a big disaster where many people in some where in this world will get killed. For example SARS, the tsunami on 26/12/05, even AIDS, etc etc. People are just dying by the bulk. So there will never be enough people to over populate this Earth ( this is just my opinion ).

It's some thing like end product inhibition that I have learned during biology, where when there is an excessive amount of substrate being hydrolysed or formed, this substrate will bind to the thing which is forming them and 'destroy' it. It's like a control system in our body. Can see what I mean?

I feel that global warming is one of the 'resetors', but I believe if we can do something, its can be stopped.

Pork Without Its Mother

2007-06-05T09:18:00.000+08:00

Artificial pork.

Cool. haha. Dutch scientist now are in their pursuit to create pork meat in their lab.
They feel that it is wrong to rare animals just to feed human, so they have decided to make pork in a scientific way.

Trying to make meat without killing animals sound a bit weird though.

Anyway they thought of creating artificial meat is because raring animals gives a lot of problems to the environment. Like they said " Animals need to grow. They produce many things that we do not eat."

So they took minimising waste to a whole new level.

So how do they do it?
Under the process, researchers first isolate muscle stem cells, which have the ability to grow and multiply into muscle cells. Then they stimulate the cells to develop, give them nutrients and exercise them with electric current to build bulk.
After perfecting that process, scientists will then need to figure out how to layer tissues to add more bulk, since meat grown in Petri dishes lacks the blood vessels needed to deliver nutrients through thick muscle fibres.
And then there is the question of fat, to add flavour.

Chicken flavored pork =D

Well, some people might not accept how it is made, but the scientist said that all these while we have been eating processed food, so this is not much different from it too =D In fact, it is cleaner in my opinion.

Cruel Doings In Classroom.

2007-06-04T09:53:00.000+08:00

Have you learn Moral when you were in secondary school? Or gone for religious studies before?

I remember once i read a comic strip in my text book. The student ask the teacher how does the internal organ of a bird look like. Then the teacher explain to her. Then one of the student suggested that why don't they catch a bird and dissect it to see for real. Then the teacher said that it was not a good thing to do to kill an animal just to see the internal organs.

It sounds rational right?

But what were we doing in our biology labs cutting up rabbits, mouse and frogs just to satisfy our curiosity?

A research was carried out and they found out that amphibians, birds, snakes, turtles, fish and invertebrates are taken from the wild for the use of dissection and many now are declining in their population. I have never thought that biology students are one of the cause decline of animal population. Never but I have always felt bad killing them and luckily i have never dissect one. My Bio teacher purposely forgotten about it i guess =D

Well analysts estimate that as many as six million wild frogs are destroyed each year in the U.S. alone for dissection. Of course it affects the ecosystem of that area. For example in India, "Frogs eat more than their weight in bugs every day. Farmers the world over have long relied on frogs to keep crops pest-free, but a lack of frogs in recent years has led many farmers to switch to pesticides. Concerns about this prompted India to ban frog sales in 1987. India had been earning $10 million yearly on frog exports, but was spending $100 million importing insecticides".

The chemicals used to preserve the dissection are also dangerous as they are hazardous air pollutant, water pollutant and waste constituent. Formaldehyde can cause nausea, headaches and breathing difficulties in people, and has been linked to cancer in animal studies. Schools discard millions of formaldehyde-laden classroom specimens each year, raising questions about its effects on the larger ecosystem as well.

The main purpose of dissection was actually to instill interest students in science. However it is giving an opposite affect. There was a study on seventh graders in the U.S where they found that fetal pig dissections fostered callousness toward animals and dissuaded students from pursuing science careers.

It was also encouraging cruelty toward animals outside the classroom.

Which I find that is it absolutely true. We should only dissect animals which are already dead.

Many students are now opting not to dissect animals. That is why they have now the Digital Dissection!

Lets Start Burying CO2!!

2007-06-04T09:23:00.000+08:00

Recently more people are aware about the global warming issue because it is said that we are at a crisis now where the earth is so warm now, it is melting the ice at the north and south pole causing cute polar bears to drown. And the sea level will rise and many countries will be underwater by 2030. Maybe Malaysia too unless it breaks off from the soil of the deep earth and start to float like a huge piece of floating land..

Well, actually there is nothing wrong about having a warm earth. Many people like it that way better actually. But it is not the warmth that is frightening environmentalist but the rapid change of temperature of the Earth that has became our concern.

So people especially scientist, are digging their brains out to think of a way how to stop global warming or at least slow it down. If not, there is not need to find a boy friend anymore because we could not stop the world from getting too hot for us to live in, we die. Or at least die with a boyfriend beside me.

And guess what, they found a solution!! Burying the main cause of global warming which is burying carbon dioxide! Cool eh? I have never thought of that before.. however it is just a suggestion and mini experiments will be carried out soon.

However you can't just simply bury carbon dioxide. It is a gas so it is need to be buried deep into the earth which have impermeable rock so that the gas buried cannot escape. Scientist said that the best place to bury them will be in the oil and gas reservoirs because it has been storing gas and oil for million of years, so that show us something yea?

Ok actually Norway is already trying the idea. Wells in the North Sea that produce natural gas also burp out carbon dioxide. To keep the carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, it is pumped into a saline reservoir 3,300 feet beneath the sea floor. The amount of carbon dioxide buried every year: 1.1 million tons, or the amount emitted by 192,000 cars.

But to do this, a large amount of money is needed. But i think when every one starts to do it, it would not be so expensive anymore .

But some people are afraid the land might blow up ( meaning kaboom ) if too much CO2 is stored underground.. no one knows what will happen.

Anyway if burying CO2 really works, a lot of CO2 will be reduced. Alot. And then, i can start finding for a boyfriend again.

Origins Of My Interest

2007-06-03T10:33:00.000+08:00

After PMR, I didn't know if I want to take biology as a subject for my SPM. My science teacher asked what was my ambition when I didn't know what was my role in life at that time =D

Learning biology was fun. I get to learn many stuff I didn't know. It was the art of life.

I didn't want to be a doctor. Too many doctors in this world now especially in Malaysia. Other field need people too, not just in medicine. Competition is high too. Moreover I have never like doctors since young.

I got to know that I like learning greens when it was a topic taught in Biology. But too bad, the information that was taught was out dated and so little. Remember learning about the hole in the ozone layer? By the time we learned about the hole, it was actually fixed by then already.

We learned more about humans and plants when the environment is also as important as these two. They were focusing more about topics which concentrated on the medicine field. Resulting in more students going for medicine then for environmental science. And they do not expose students to other courses besides medicine and engineering when there are a variety of courses out there! Besides that, they make us feel that the best job in the world in being a doctor when it is so not true. If you don't want to be a doctor, you should better die.

Well I have opened this blog to share what i have learn throughout these years ( although it was just a short one ) and future to help people to have a better understanding and beside that, seeing me crap with words =D