Rain, rain...

It's been raining quite a bit lately...i wonder if anyone's been rainwater harvesting...

People used to do that some 30 years ago...maybe some still do, but the majority don't. It's pretty easy, you know. When it rains, just stuff all the pails you have out in the open to catch the rainwater. This can then be used to wash your outside areas and cars and other random things instead of using up tap water.

It's a good way to save water people..really..

Busy.

Mother Earth is too busy to blog today. So i'm Daughter Earth and i love my mummy very much! She does loads for the world and i hope to be like her some day.

Update on Sipadan.

Nice
Nice
Gone

So it seems the whole fiasco happened because some smart ass minister gave the go-ahead to build a 'clubhouse' on the little island with toilet facilities. And when the barge went through, that very same smart ass minister stopped the construction. But it's a bit too late now isn't it? Malaysia's PM is not very happy about this but hey...is he doing anything about it now? No, i don't think so.

The corals are gone, the life is gone. Why? Because they wanted to build a little hut when nobody is even allowed to stay on the island! @_@

One for three.

Everytime you drink a bottle of water, you're actually wasting three times as much. Apparently, it takes 2-3 litres of water to produce one litre of bottled water. And what more, the water is most likely filtered straight off from the tap and not taken from 'fresh springs' as most bottlers claim. So you may as well filter/boil your own water instead of buying bottled water which wastes so much water during the industrial process.

Those yummy drink boxes...

Are now recyclable! Yes they are! If you don't know what i'm talking about, it's the chrysanthemum, sugar cane, lychee, green tea, jus tea box drinks people have ever so often during celebrations. I don't know how the process goes, but it's good enough that there is one that can recycle them. It's one less thing to fill up the landfills! So keep them in mind peeps!

Freak storm in quiet suburb

Over the weekend, a quiet little suburb in KL experienced a storm like none other. It snapped trees in half, uprooted more, sent satellite dishes and roofs flying...and it wasn't even a hurricane. Maybe it was its hilly disposition that funnelled the wind, but one thing's for sure, it's never happened before.

A product of cloud-seeding perhaps? For those who don't know what that is, they 'feed' the clouds to give birth to rain to clear the haze...of course this was more than just rain. I wonder if they went a little overboard.

Due to that incident, the area experienced a 10 hour blackout, with some areas still having no electricity due to trees falling on the poles. A few cars were damaged by falling trees as well, which just goes to say...don't park your car under a tree during a storm!

The dog pound.

A few days ago i heard a story about a dog pound in Puchong, Malaysia that was going to put down 60 dogs and cats due to lack of space. Apparently they all run on a 48-hours-if-no-one-comes-to-pick-them-up-we-will-put-them-down policy which is just...!?!?!? Animal welfare groups would be appalled.

Fact is there are just too many stray animals, and the people who are trying to save them end up having to put them down too because there's just not enough support for animal pounds here. So people, get out there and adopt a pet! They'll be a bundle of joy and you'll be saving them from a harsh end!

More, more, more!

Alritey! Tsunami in Java, 'Heatwave' in Europe (36.3 degrees is NOT a heatwave..but anyway), Floods in China, possible eruption in Mayon, fire, haze....what more??

The world is changing and so is the climate. Global warming – fumes from factories, cars, cows, deforestation...bla bla...All driven by? Human greed. The need for more. The want for more. Do they ever think what it costs them otherwise? The consequences for future generations? All people need to do is instill a little care for the environment in their lives. That multiplied by 6 billion might be enough to sustain this precious Earth.

Fire. Loss. Havoc.

So the haze is back in Malaysia thanks to the forest fires in Sumatra. Don't you just hate the way everything affects something else? Every year since as far back as i can remember...possibly 1997 when the haze was the worst and the economy was in dire straits, there's been fire and then the haze, fire and then haze, fire, haze, fire haze..............etc!

SO! what's the problem? fire? well yes...but no...what causes the fire? climate change! It's definitely been warmer than usual the past few days, and gosh knows what the people in Sumatra were doing...they should have been monitoring the fire weather index and the moisture content of the forest litter to keep an eye on the risk of forest fires.

IF they had been doing that, they'd possibly find that everything was ready to catch fire and should have started lining the areas with chemicals which prevent fires from spreading and began dousing the forest with water (i swear this is what they do in Aussie land and the US).

There's actually a few other reasons why a fire may have started:
1. Someone happened to throw their burning ciggie butt around there.
2. Campers left their camp fire going - even if it was warm ashes.

Of course it can't be coincidental that the past 10 years of haze has been due to such carelessness, so yeah...climate change...

to be continued.

Underwater 'trees'

Okay, so i know this might be way old news for some of you out there, but hey...you can't blame me! there's just too many things going on sometimes to keep track of everything!

Sipadan Island, is one of the top 3 diving sites in the world. And it's right here in beautiful Malaysia. Rewind 2 months back, and there was outrage and sadness over a huge barge that became beached on the island, and scraped clean the coral floor during its grand entrance. Even though a few days later they said it affected less than 1% of the total reef area, it is a tragedy that should have never happened. Just means there's going to be more pressure on the remaining reef for food and shelter.

Bulldozed.

Corals are the underwater trees that hold the sand together and provides shelter and food for marine life. They only make up less than 0.25% of the total marine environment, but they support 25% of all known fish species, which are dependent on coral reefs for their survival. Bigger reefs also support smaller reefs as larvae can end up drfiting thousands of kilometres away before finding a suitable place to colonize.

They look pretty too, so that's why, on top of everything else, they should be well conserved! =)

Sit! Good boy!

Every now and then you come across funny pictures like this. The bull looks absolutely baffled at how it ended up that way. In any case, i never knew they were able to 'sit' that way. This whole bull-running thing is really senseless though. People get injured...the animals get injured...and yet it goes on. What is it with human logic?

Water...

It's like a teaspoon out of a jug for eternity.
It's like death in a week without it.
It's like poison you can't live without.

It's like...life...

Every drop counts.

Water: The facts

A blessing...or not?

This makes you question, if this was possible, why were they never implemented on a bigger scale into the wells and water systems of the people facing these problems in the first place?

Problem: Lack of money.

So in the end it defeats the purpose of inventing such a thing because the PROBLEM is still there, doesn't it? Granted it's a great piece of science, but where is the money going to come from to buy these straws for the people? What's the point of inventing this 'life-saving' straw if they won't even be able to reach the people in need? Charity organisations need so much more support than they're currently getting if they are to get to them.

The Pitt-Jolie duo can only do so much. They need YOUR help too.

In any case, i'd like to see someone trying to drink surface water off Malaysian soil. I won't be surprised if they find that there's another 100 or so chemicals they never thought would be found in surface water.

Miracle bird.

Bird makes headlines! I fail to see how this bird can still be running around and avoiding rescuers whatmore! If i remember anything about the anatomy of a bird, that arrow should be right through its heart!

Anyway, what's more worrying is how that arrow got there and whether is was intentional or not. Shooting class gone haywire? I think not.

Money for all!

Start recycling today and you could be a very rich person, my friend! I don't believe many people realize how much money they could make on the side from recycling. I've heard that people working in landfills collect such items and earn more than RM1000 a day!

Take a look at these numbers for a mo'...1.80/kg for aluminium cans, 0.10 - 0.20/kg for paper, cardboard, newspapers, books, comics, 0.10/kg for tin cans, plastic bottles, mixed plastic. It might not look like much for an individual, but imagine if you pooled resources with your neighbours or friends and just kept on collecting all these instead of throwing them away...
$$ KaChHinNNNngG!! $$

If only i didn't have this minor problem of being invisible! damn...

Eco-friendly things to do when you're bored!

1. Take a pee in the bushes and wipe away with leaves!
2. Frolick in the rain and have yourself a refreshing bath!
3. Get a bunch of old paper and attempt to make your very own recycled paper!
4. Buy some pretty plants and plant them in your garden!
5. Make your own gift wrap by sticking together cool designs from magazines or newspapers!

Secret Sex Lives of Swans

Illegitimate babies!? I thought that only happened with humans! Naughty, naughty swans! Apparently 1 in 6 baby swans have illegitimate DNA - i.e. not belonging to one of the parents, meaning that one of them must be sneaking off somewhere for a little midnight 'snack'!

“Swans have long been renowned as symbols of lifelong fidelity and devotion, but our recent work has shown that infidelity is rife among black swans,” says Dr. Raoul Mulder from the University of Melbourne’s Department of Zoology.

The controversy! The swans have done it now! Privacy will be a thing of the past for them (you know how humans love to get involved). They're getting tagged with microchips that will be able to identify each swan they get in contact with so that the researchers know who they've been sneaking off with!

I guess i better keep a lookout! I might be able to catch the swans red-handed!

See the full story!

Greenie bags...

Or better known as 'those big cloth bags'. In any case, more poking around has brought to my attention that even though most big supermarkets (e.g. Cold Storage) have greenie bags, they're just sitting there looking pretty. Customers are probably unaware what they are and what they're doing there, and i think the cashiers are just as oblivious (it's right under their noses!).

Greenie bags 101

1. They are woven and way stronger than ordinary plastic bags.
2. They can probably hold up to 2-3 plastic bags' worth of groceries.
3. They can be used over and over and over and over and over and over x infinity.
(unless of course your dog manages to get a hold of it and rips it to pieces)
4. They'll save you from using plastic bags at supermarkets for the rest of your life!

And once it becomes a big hit with everyone, you might pride yourself at starting a whole new fashion revolution where everyone will be walking around with fasionable greenie bags because cool brands like FCUK, or Roxy, or MNG might just sponsor some for the good of the environment (and themselves, of course).

Yay!

Ye olde aged law...

It's been more than 6 centuries (read: 618 years) since the first laws about pollution were passed in the UK forbidding anyone to throw rubbish into ditches (i.e. drains), rivers or water bodies.

So umm..am i dreaming or are we still in the 14th Century? Doesn't seem like much has changed has it? People are still throwing things everywhere without a care in the world.

Or maybe it really is the 21st Century, and humans are just slow learners. It's a bit worrying if the generations who've fathered the greatest inventions can't even look after themselves, and are instead intoxicating themselves without even knowing it - polluting one's own home is indeed polluting one's self.

I guess that's why species go extinct...they never learn from their own mistakes.

To live a shell-less life...

This comic strip really brightened up my day! I love the subtlety of the message. Hopefully some people will remember this comic the next time they're at a beach. It's really speaking the truth!

Shells ARE the homes of all the mollusks. I think it's pretty obvious how their 'homes' are being compromised on land...(i.e. pollution, habitat destruction..the whole lot). But i don't think many people realise how the simple act of picking and removing shells from the beach affect these creatures. Well yes, the shells do keep growing as they grow, but other animals such as hermit crabs use abandoned shells as their homes. And anyway, by removing the shells, its taking away the natural calcium from the environment, meaning there's less calcium in the environment for other mollusks to build onto their shells.

And it doesn't only affect mollusks of course...i mean shells also contribute to the texture of beaches, of which turtles are dead sensitive to, and may cause them to abort laying their eggs. And it'll change the whole energy-type of the beach, which will change the shape and amount of sand, which has other consequences for many other things...you get the idea.

If you do the math again (i like math!), you'll realize there's a whole lotta things dying/changing out there just because of the lack of shells!

In any case, i heard from some of my sea buddies that there's an evil little mollusk called Conus that's out to get anyone who tries to steal its beautiful cone shell by stinging them to death. So best be cautious and not pick any at all, lest they learn from him!

Keep your Butts out of it!

I like this poster! The whole campaign was thought up by some cute little kids in the US who cared so much about the environment and couldn't stand to see it being destroyed by these seemingly small things - cigarette butts.

4.5 trillion - the number of butts littered annually

I have a feeling smokers think the butts will evaporate into thin air (just like the smoke) once they throw them anywhere they like. Don't they realize that if they're not properly discarded, they're bound to end up somewhere they shouldn't be? liikkeee...drains, rivers, beaches, and oceans?

I know i tend to gravitate towards the rivers and oceans...but man...it really is a vicious cycle. Anything anyone does has an effect...it's just whether they see it or not...and whether they know how that affects them!

Imagine the chemicals in the cigarette. Now imagine them in the water system. Then imagine the plants in the water, and the animals in the water....dead.

Sigh, this is just one of my bad days. Can't always be happy when there's so much i can't change, can I?