Kuala Gandah Elephant Conservation Centre

Recently, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Douglas Uggah Embas announced that the government will spend RM 13 million to upgrade the Kuala Gandah Elephant Conservation Centre to be a world class tourist attraction. Read here. I have to applaud this move and hope that the allocation will really be spent into upgrading the centre.

With deteriorating conditions of many Malaysia's tourist attractions, I guess this is certainly a timely boost for the tourism sector. Just look at corals at Redang Island and the not so cold anymore Cameron Highlands. Even Genting Highlands is fast losing its appeal. I was there last week and I did not even need a sweater to wear on in contrast with 5 years back when even with a sweater on, I still shiver. I would like to think that its the current hot weather that contributed to this. But look at the bigger picture. Let say if really Genting will not be that cold anymore, will it attract as many tourists as it is now? With the emerging of Sentosa Island Casino in Singapore, even though managed by the same group, is it a question of time before Genting loses its appeal? Look around and evaluate how Malaysia's tourist attraction is doing. It's not very good in my book.

With this upgrading, the centre hopes to attract 500,000 tourists annually as oppose to 158,000 currently. The main thing is promotion. I suspect many Malaysians don't even know that we have our own elephant sanctuary. I only got to know about this sanctuary in June 2009 edition of Personal Money. Since then, I've vowed to visit this centre some time in the future.

I understand that admission to the centre is free at the moment. Since conservation is not a cheap job, I would suggest that admission be charged, let say a mere RM 10 per person. This goes a long way in showing our appreciation towards the nature and elephant conservation programmes in particular. What's RM 10 when you can get up close and personal with the elephants and ensure the sustainability of the centre?

The allocation should however really be spent in making the centre a world renowned and recognized globally. Please just don't spent the money without proper planning. Plan carefully and wisely. Malaysia is really in a need of a new world class tourist attraction. I hope this will be the one when the transformation is completed. Go and visit the centre guys!

Making Your House Environmental Friendly

The house that me and my wife bought will be ready within a year or so. I've started to plan how actually to furnish the house but at the same time trying to become environmental friendly. I have to admit though that owning a house itself isn't environmental friendly. Forests need to be cleared to make way for development, almost all of the building materials come from natural resources and process of building the house will somehow pollute the earth. But this is what we have to pay in the name of development. Still we need a roof over our head.

Here are a few thoughts:

1. I guess the easiest way of being environmental friendly is during the house selection process itself. Either you call it feng shui or common sense, the layout of the house is important though. Select a house that is not facing sunset. The idea is for your house not to be too hot in the evening. When the house is hot, it will require more energy to cool it. If you are using air-cond, the air-cond will have to work extra hard. If you are only using fans, perhaps you will not need a fan to cool your house if your house is facing the right direction.

2. Few criteria of your house would also determine whether you will need extra cooling requirements. Some say, selecting a house made of clay instead of sand bricks will help keep your house cooler. There might be some truth in this since we do see ancient people build their house from clay in some parts of the world. Having a high ceiling would also help air circulation in your house. The higher the ceiling is, the further heat from sunlight will have to travel to reach you. Hence, keeping you cool.

3. Selecting environmental friendly household appliances is also one of the main criteria. For this, I'm thinking of scouting for the energy efficient appliances based on rating by Singapore's National Environment Agency. Although currently there are only a few appliances with rating available, I believe the list will grow as time goes by. Some of the appliances might not be available in Malaysia, but at least there's a guideline on this.

4. I guess the single most important thing that could go a long way in helping the environment is not to install air-conditioner in your house. Air-cond has become a necessity in our modern lives but I do believe we still can cope without air-cond. For me, having fans is just as good. The amount of energy used to operate an air-cond is enormous. Just look at the electricity bills of houses with air-cond. I bet they are more than RM100 every month. Not to mention the gasses used which is said to be harmful towards the environment. Not installing an air-cond means energy saved all around. So think before you install one.

5. If let say you still insist on having air-conds, please don't install them at your living or dining rooms. Keep them minimum in the bedrooms. The reason is because, for a typical Malaysian house, living and dining area are technically not rooms. They don't have their own enclosed area. They are basically a "huge room" only called differently on the layout plan. If an air-cond is installed at these areas, the air-cond will need to cool the entire "huge room". There is no enclosure keeping the temperature down within that particular area. Hence, the air-cond is working extra hard in cooling those areas. This means more energy used and more money out of your pocket. And for a double storey house, the cooling effect from the dining or living room will be felt up till the family area above. Just imagine how big of a room the air-cond is actually cooling.

6. Another idea that crosses my mind is having a solar panel for water heater. I've did some enquiry and generally the price of buying and installing the solar panel water heater is around RM5,000. If let say you spend RM30 per month on electricity bill for water heater, it will take your approximately 14 years to recoup your investment on the solar panel. Besides that, you will get some tax relief from the government when you invest in green technology. This is certainly something to ponder upon.

If you have any suggestions, please do not hesitate to leave them in the comments section. Perhaps it could be useful to me and others.

Open House

Most Malaysians are still in the Raya mood. I'm sure, this month of Syawal, you will likely be invited to an open house or you yourself might organize an open house. That's the spirit of Raya, at least in Malaysia. While doing that, I offer a few suggestions in caring for the environment but at the same time enjoying your open house:

1. Please do not use polystyrene or plastic utensils. These are the worst kind of pollutions to our mother nature. They fill the dump site and they are not biodegradable. Use your own porcelain plates and cups. Wash them after use and you can use them over and over again. If you don't have enough plates and cups, you can always rent them from caterers. They do provide this kind of service. I think, in the long run, renting is cheaper than buying a whole bunch of utensils just for that sake of the open house.

2. Organize the open house late evening i.e 4 p.m to 7 p.m. During noon, the weather will be very hot. Hence you will need more energy to cool your house either using fans or air-conditioner. Organizing the open house at night will require more energy to lighten your house. You can save more energy by organizing the open house when there is still visible natural lights.

3. Stagger the open house timing. For example, 4 p.m to 5 p.m for colleagues. 5 p.m to 6 p.m for family members etc. This will avoid over crowding at certain times. Over crowding means you will need more energy to cool your house. More people release more heat. By staggering, you will be able to distribute the crowd over the entire open house duration and spend more time with the designated guests.

Ideas that matters.

Pasar Ramadhan - How much are we wasting?

During this fasting month, I'm sure many of us do drop by the ever popular Pasar Ramadhan to sort out the dishes for buka puasa. I have to admit that these markets are a good place for business during the fasting month. What I'm not happy about is the amount of waste generated from these markets. Any market that I go, I just could not imagine how many tonnes of garbage are generated from these markets especially plastic bags.

Just imagine this: A single guy who stops by Pasar Ramadhan to get his buka puasa dish. He is most likely to buy a main course dish (rice/mee), a pack of kuih and a pack of drink. That is the minimum to say the least. Now lets see how much food packaging goes into what he buys.

1. His main course dish will likely be packed by polystyrene pack. Then the pack will go into a plastic bag. If the dish comes with separate gravy or vegetable, then there will be more plastic bags involved.

2. His kuih will definitely go into a plastic bag. No questions asked.

3. His drink will certainly be packed in a plastic bag. Since the nature of the drink is cold, then the pack of drink will certainly go into another plastic bag just to avoid the moist and make the customer more comfortable handling the drink.

4. At a minimum, he will take back a polystyrene pack and 4 plastic bags. If he goes to the market for a whole straight month, then he will use up at least 120 plastic bags. That's only for a person. Just imagine how many people visit the market daily and how many markets are there in Malaysia? Do the math and you will be scared with the numbers alone. Does this shed any light on your contribution towards the environment?!

Since I believe you are not a typical Malaysian, these are a few steps that you can take to at least reduce the number of plastic bags used:

1. Bring along your shopping or cloth bag when you go to the market. Or should I say, always put a shopping bag in your car boot! Fill the shopping bags with your purchase. Put your main dish and packed drinks directly into the bags. You just don't need extra bags for these. It's a total waste! There alone you have reduced the number of plastic bags by 50%.

2. If you don't have any shopping or cloth bags, go out and buy one today! What's wrong with you?! The least you can do, recycle your plastic bags. Use it over and over again. They are durable. Instead of using 120 bags per month, you should be able to only use 2 bags for the entire month.

3. This is a little bit extreme. If you want to go an extra mile, bring along your own container (tupperware). The main dish and kuih can all go into it. That way, you will also reduce your plastic bags usage by 50%.

4. If you are a hawker at the market, encourage your customers to use their own bags. Give them an extra kuih for using their own containers. If they bring along their shopping bags, give them 20 cents discount. Is that too much to ask for?


All these are small gestures that I can think of which can go a long way in saving our environment. I'm sure you have better ideas that may have similar impact since you are not a typical Malaysian. Unless you want Malaysia to end up like what's in the picture, then continue with your "I don't care about the environment" habit. I hope you try.

Phitsanulok – the city of recycling

I read this article from the Sun by Dr Goh Ban Lee with great interest. Maybe it can be a role model to us and our local council. Read on.

MOST Malaysians might not have heard of Phitsanulok, a city of about 160,000 people in Thailand. This is understandable as the provincial capital is 377km north of Bangkok and does not have the tourist products that Malaysians like. This is a pity as there is a lot that one can learn from Phitsanulok.

It is very clean. Many have asserted that it is the cleanest city in Thailand and among the cleanest in Asia. Its cleanliness is not the result of round-the-clock sweeping. Like most cities, the garbage is collected once a day and streets are swept daily early in the morning.

It does have a unique feature – there are no garbage bins along the major roads. The city council removed almost all of them about four years ago as part of its effort to keep the city clean.

Clearly, the residents do not throw rubbish indiscriminately.

The Phitsanulok City Council, especially the long-serving Mayor Premrudee Charmpoonod, should also be applauded. With help from the GTZ of Germany, she was instrumental in setting up the Community Based Waste Management about ten years ago. Solid waste management (SWM) is seen as the responsibility of the communities, with the local council playing a supporting role.

This is in contrast to what is happening in Malaysia. Here, SWM is seen as the responsibility of the government and the appointed concessionaires. As such, many Malaysians are under the delusions that they can throw rubbish anywhere outside their houses and there will be someone to clean up after them.

An important factor in Phitsanulok is that about 90% of the things that make cities dirty, such as used plastic bags, newspapers, paper cups, cans and bottles are collected and sold to recyclable collection outlets. The city is working towards achieving a 100% collection of recyclable materials.

What’s more, some residents with landed compounds practise vermi-composting – the use of earth worms to digest organic wastes to produce composts. There are also plans to encourage the setting up of four or five vermi-compost farms so that all organic wastes, which account for about 40% of solid wastes, do not have to be disposed at the city landfill.

Phitsanulok municipal leaders and researchers in the Naresuan University believe that in the near future, there will be no need for a landfill in Phitsanulok. At the very least, the lifespan of its existing landfill can be prolonged considerably.

Indeed, plastic wastes in the landfill are being recovered for recycling and there is research to treat the remaining soil so that it can be used as compost.

A large part of the success of Phitsanulok in recycling can be attributed to Dr Somthai Wongcharoen who began dealing with recyclable materials in 1974 with a start-up capital of 1,000 baht and an old pick-up truck. His company, Wongpanit, has grown into a multi-million baht enterprise dealing with thousands of tonnes of recyclable materials a year.

Had Wongpanit remained just a very successful waste recycling company, it would not have attracted much attention apart from making one man very rich. The fame of Wongpanit is that Samthai is an ardent campaigner of recycling – both to save the environment and make a living.

He initiated the setting up of material collection centres, which he calls “recyclable banks”, in schools, hospitals and other institutions. People who bring recyclable materials are paid for their efforts. He has also helped many to set up Wongpanit “franchises” all over Thailand.

He has personally trained several thousand Thais and others about running a successful recycling business. His core messages are: know the materials, waste separation and be honest.

As such, Wongpanit collection centres have clearly stated price lists and bold signs declaring that they do not accept illegal materials.

Now, there are more than 500 recyclable banks and more than 100 Wongpanit franchises in Thailand. A branch has been set up in Vientiane, Laos.

Malaysians also want clean cities and to save the environment. Indeed, hundreds of millions of tax ringgit are being spent yearly on SWM and talking about 3Rs – reduce, reuse and recycle.

There is money in waste management. Unfortunately, the attention is on the appointment of contractors to collect and transport waste and manage landfills and who has the power to appoint them. It should be on waste separation, collecting recyclable materials, processing them and selling them.

Stop Global Warming

How much carbon dioxide you'll save doing them:

1. Change a light - Replacing one regular light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb will save 150 pounds of CO2 a year.

2. Drive less - Walk, bike, carpool or take mass transit more often. You'll save 1 pound of CO2 for every mile you don't drive!

3. Recycle more - You can save 2,400 pounds of CO2 per year by recycling just half of your household waste.

4. Check your tires - Keeping your tires inflated properly can improve gas mileage by more than 3%. Every gallon of gasoline saved keeps 20 pounds of CO2 out of the atmosphere!

5. Use less hot water - It takes a lot of energy to heat water. Use less hot water by installing a low flow showerhead (350 pounds saved per year) and washing your clothes in cold or warm water (500 pounds save per year)

6. Efficient air-cond usage - Turn off the air-conditional's main switch when not in use. You could save about 2,000 pounds of CO2 a year with this simple action.

7. Turn off electronic devices - Simply turning off your TV, DVD player, stereo and computer when you're not using them will save you thousands of pounds of CO2 a year.

8. Plant a tree - A single tree will absorb 1 ton of CO2 over its lifetime.

9. Avoid products wit a lot of packaging - You can save 1,200 pounds of CO2 if you cut down your garbage by 10%.

The climate crisis can be solved. It's all in our hands. Do you think these are difficult steps? Think again!

Play Your Part

I have to applaud Sime Darby for making initiatives in conserving the environment. This time around, they are going to release a fish for every person who sign up with them in their programs. Therefore, I strongly urged all of you so sign up and help the environment. What more can you ask for? Just sign up and they will release the fish for you. It's that simple.

Pledge your support here.

Please do your bit. You can make a difference.

For a Greener Future

EARTH HOUR

In support of Earth Hour 2009, I would like to appeal to all Malaysians to join this great effort in support of mother nature. Please do your bit to stop global warming and save our earth.

What you can do? Turn off all lights
When? Saturday 28th March 2009 from 8.30pm to 9.30pm (just for 1 hour)

Please don't be skeptical and think that your contribution is insignificant. Together we can definitely make a difference! If you don't think about mother nature, at least think about the electricity bills that will be saved for this 1 hour period.

Fly fm will not be on air during this period. Discovery Channel will cease it's broadcast for an hour. All in effort to save mother nature. So what's the big reason for you not to do so? Do tell people around you yeah!

Show the world that Malaysians are united in fight against global warming. Visit http://earthhour.org.my/main.php to sign up and show your support.

Moral of the campaign? Be prudent in you electricity consumption. Tiny bit in energy saved will go a long way in reducing global warming. Don't just stop here, make it a way of life.

- You have 1 life, do something! -

Stop using polystyrene

THE Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) wishes to call the attention of the Selangor and Penang state governments and especially the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, to the widespread use of polystyrene food and drink containers during the recent Thaipusam festival in their respective states.

CAP conducted a study comprising random data collection at both locations where large crowds gathered during the festival to gather information on the number of polystyrene food and drink containers used.

Shockingly, the study revealed that 630,000 and 347,000 polystyrene food and drink containers were used in Selangor and Penang respectively. This data was acquired over the two days of the festival and from the numerous stalls providing free food and drink.

At times, these stalls provided up to 40,000 polystyrene food and drink packages. The data gathered does not include polystyrene package usage in other states such as Kedah, Johor or Perak during Thaipusam.

CAP takes a serious view of the fact that almost 1,000,000 polystyrene containers were used during the two days. Although there have been claims that polystyrene can be classified as non-hazardous to the environment, there is no scientific evidence to support these claims as yet.
Polystyrene is not biodegradable. It not only floats on water but is also borne by the wind, thereby polluting shores and waterways.

According to the California Coastal Commission, it is now a principal component of marine debris. The substance may also be harmful to wild animals if ingested by them.The international environment group, Californians Against Waste classifies polystyrene as a future potential threat to sustainable development.

According to a study by the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (IEER), polystyrene which is manufactured using HCFC-22 (Chlorodifluoromethane, a potential ozone depleting agent and potent greenhouse gas) is potentially three to five times more likely to pose a threat to the environment than other waste material.

CAP urges concerned parties in all states to play an important role in ending the use of polystyrene; not just during Thaipusam celebrations but also at official functions and celebrations.

It is regrettable that polystyrene was widely used while there are more recyclable, sustainable and freely obtainable alternatives such as banana leaves and environmentally friendly containers pioneered by Universiti Sains Malaysia.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment needs to be more aggressive in addressing the reduction of polystyrene use at all official functions as well as at national level festivities and celebrations.

As long as there are no aggressive steps taken by the authorities to halt the use of polystyrene, it will be difficult to expect society to embark on a paradigm shift to rejuvenate and preserve the environment.

S.M. Mohamed Idris,
President,
Consumers Association of Penang.

Say No to Plastic Bags!

1. Firstly, Happy Maal Hijrah 1430 & Happy New Year 2009. This is the time when most of us make a new year resolution



2. Since the government is carrying out the "I want to quit smoking" campaign for the new year, I would also suggest we start with the "Say No to Plastic Bags!" campaign.



3. Jaya Jusco is also currently campaigning to reduce usage of plastic bags. Full credit to them! You can always purchase their reusable shopping bags at around RM5.



4. Tesco is doing better. Customers who reuse their plastic bags will get extra Clubcard Points. It's rewarding to reuse these bags! So start to get your rewards for reusing plastic bags!



5. Giant hypermarket is a let down. They don't allow customers with shopping bags to enter for security reasons. The bags must be placed at their bag storage counter before entering. Although it's a bit troublesome, you can still do your bit for the environment. When paying, just refuse on plastic bags. Place your groceries in the trolley. Then get your shopping bags at the bag storage counter and transfer all your groceries into these bags. A little bit of sacrifice can go a long way in saving the environment.



6. Always keep your shopping bags in your car just in case you decided to go shopping out of sudden. This way you still have options of not using plastic bags.



7. In case you go groceries shopping without shopping bags, just place the paid items in the trolley and then into your car boot. At home, just transfer it to your kitchen. It's not too much to ask compared to the saving that it will cost, isn't? That's of course if your house is not a walk-up apartment.



8. Take along empty ice-cream containers or tupperwares when shopping at markets. It can be used to place meats, fishes & chickens. Imagine how many plastic bags you can save a year!

9. Remember, plastic bags can be reused over and over and over again. Better still if you have cloth bags.

10. Get your shopping bags today & Say No to Plastic Bags!

Let's make it a success!

Simple things

Few things that you can do to better our environment:



1. Separate your wastes. You just need a bag for paper wastes and a bag for cans/bottles wastes. That's not too much to ask isn't it?



2. Print on used paper unless it's for official submission. I believe most of the printers in the offices nowadays have bypass tray. So make full use of this to insert used papers for printing.



3. Use cloth bags during shopping and reuse these bags. That will make a huge difference. You will always get cloth bags whenever you go for exhibitions.



4. Plant a tree, be it vegetables or fruits.



5. Read newspapers online unless you like looking at adverts. Contents are the same. Just that hardcopy newspapers has advert all over it. So why waste?



6. Refuse on paper bills such as phone bills or banking statement. Whenever you can, insist on e-bills. I bet you don't even bother to go thru the whole bill.



7. Refuse on receipts at ATM machines when you withdraw money. The only info you can get from the receipt is just your account balance. The receipts will be thrown away anyway. You can always check online for your balance or worst come to worst, insert your ATM card again and enquire your account balance.



8. Print on both sides of papers whenever you can. With the latest available printers in the market, I believe this can be easily done.

9. When driving long distance, try to maintain your speed at RPM 3.0. You'll get optimum speed & fuel consumption. I've tried with MyVI & Vios. It seems to work.

10. Use plastic bags you get from shopping as garbage bags. You don't need to buy garbage bags anymore. Save money, save environment

You can make a different!

Fikir Dulu Sebelum Buang...

Just some points to ponder...

1. Plastic bags require 40% less energy to produce than paper bags.


2. Paper bags produce 80% more solid waste than plastic and due to modern landfill techniques, don't biodegrade much faster than their polyethylene counterparts.


3. It takes less energy to recycle a plastic bag than paper.

4. Plastic bags weigh less and take up less landfill space than their paper counterparts.

5. Paper bag manufacturing creates more air and water pollution than plastic bags.

6. 1 recycled tin can would save enough energy to power television for 3 hours.

7. 1 recycled glass bottle would save enough energy to power a computer for 25 minutes.

8. 1 recycled plastic bottle would save enough energy to power a 6-watt light bulb for 3 hours.

9. 70% less energy is required to recycle paper compare with making it from raw materials.

10. On average, 16% of the money you spend on a product pays for the packaging which ultimately ends up as rubbish.

11. 9 out of 10 people would recycle more if it were made easier.

See where you stand and how can you make the world a better place to live in...

REDUCE, REUSE & RECYLCE PLEASE...