Our environment

Today’s entry is a lil’ special Blog Action Day edition. This is where lots and lots of bloggers around the world will be writing about a common theme – this year it’s the environment. I may not be a hugely popular blogger, but I thought I’d do my part. Those who frequent this blog would know that occasionally I do write stuff bout the environment. There are lots of other green blogs (some links provided below) that offers lots of tips on going green etc, so I though I’d tackle another approach – really, why should we care about the environment?

Here’s what I learn from my conservation biology class. There is basically two main factors why humans would conserve the environment:
i. economics
ii. aesthethics

The economics factor is mostly for businesses and corporations. What is the cost of conserving the environment vs. utilizing it now? Things like: Should I cut down this hectare of sturdy mature oak trees to make furniture or should I leave it so that the squirrels and birds can continue to play here? Should I turn this area into a logging haven or do I spend a little to turn it into an ecotourism spot where I earn less but over a longer period?

Aesthetics would be more of the regular Joe’s (including me) and green groups’ reason for protecting the environment – protecting the environment for the sake of protecting it. Eg we should protect the environment because it is wrong to destroy nature. Because all life is sacred and shouldn’t be taken away. Because nature is a wonderful work of beauty and it would be terrible to destroy it. Because man shouldn’t be frivolous with God’s gifts to mankind.

Of course this only represents two extreme viewpoints towards conserving the environment. Corporations hate environmental groups, the groups hate the corporations and government while the government has to struggle between both of them. Nowadays more and more people realize that a compromise is needed to achieve some positive results rather than both sides being stubborn. Green groups need to understand that corporations and also communities, need to see tangible benefits to conserving the environment – their job opportunities, profits etc. While corporations and the local community needs to understand that protecting the environment can also bring tangible benefits in the long run such as sustainable jobs like ecotourism, a more stablised microenvironment (local climate), and better quality of air and water. Think about it – parks in cities aren’t just nice to look at – they provide shade, comfort and reduce dust.

But in the end, really, why should we conserve the environment? Aren’t we doing just fine now? Besides, we’ve got lots of things to do – work, family etc? I agree, that all of us have our own commitments. Not all of us can be like Jane Goodall who just upped and spent half her lifetime with the gorillas. But still there are things that we can do – like being aware and pressure our policymakers to go green.

I think this would be similar to asking why should we should care about the killings of innocents in Darfur. Or victims of the tsunami in Aceh. Or the brutal war in Iraq. How can we expect to grow and prosper in our cosy little bubble when there are some many problems afflicting us. We are growing more interconnected that ever, and things that happen there will affect us as well. Another crisis in Iraq, oil prices will spike. More innocents being killed in Darfur – displacements of refugees and spreading of chaos to other countries.

Which is why even though we might be comfortable now, the environmental problems that occur are warnings of a systemic problem. We should be worried that frogs and amphibians have been dying mysteriously for the past few years, since they live mostly in bodies of water and are more sensitive to changes in the environment. We also should be worried that bees have been dying and not returning to their hives for unknown reasons, causing massive losses to farmer who might not be aware that bees provide free pollination services for almonds, flowers and fruits. Or that the Antarctic ice this summer has been melting at an alarming rate. Because though we might not feel the effects right now, all signs are pointing that our environment are breaking down. We need to remember that we need the environment more that it needs us; not to mention that it could actually do much better without us.

Let’s do our part, bit by bit. Because when you think about it, at the end of the day we are not doing it so much for Mother Nature herself but for ourselves and our future generations.

Here are some great links to learn more about our environment and how to go green.

i. Treehugger
ii. We can live green
iii. Digg

It’s getting really difficult to type this entry as there’s something wrong with my keyboard right now. A section of it seems to be not responding – Q, A, Z, tab , ~ and 1. I just got back from dinner with close friend; it’s been quite a while since I’ve had just a simple dinner with a friend and just catching up.

By the way, I’ve already have some ideas for tomorrow’s Blog Action Day, but in the meantime here’s some fun stuff.

How my luck have swung 180 degrees in less than 24 hours. Yesterday night I find out that all 350 places for the Worlds Debate end of this year has been filled up. Which means my effort thus far has been of naught. Yeah, sure it's not as much as some dedicated debater put in, but I too have taken efforts both personal and physical to prepare for it. Sigh. I just feel so frustrated now. No thanks to UKM's inefficient bureaucracy. Anugerah Kualiti Perdana Menteri 2007, my foot. The Jabatan Hal-Ehwal Pelajar wanting to get ISO certification,to hell with it. Imagine the lady in charge of it twiddling her thumbs away when we've submitted out proposal for months. I can just imagine the multitude of exuses she comes up with every time Jerry goes to the office to bug them - "Alamak, tertinggal lah surat ini masa nak hantar ke pejabat TNC (Timbalan Naib Canselor." "Oh, yang ini urgent ke. Nantilah kak bagi kat XXX. " "Tengah proses lagi, tunggulah." Truly, I can symphathise with him. I really really do not want to just put this behind us. We should at make our grouses known, and the department or at least that individual holding up the bureaucracy should be held accountable. I mean, yeah in the future we'll still need to be in their good books to get their cooperation. But is it fair to have one or few individuals have so much power that the rest of students have to cower in fear all the time? What's to prevent something similar like this from happening again in the future?

Anyway, I also went out yesterday and caught Hairspray. An excellent move - amazing songs, great choregraphy, good direction, and wholly natural and likable characters. Everyone in the move seems to be always so perky and politically-correct yet saucy and witty. It's a wholly feel-good movie where a complex and difficult issue such as racism back in the 1960's was tackled in a light vein with flair and style. Great job all around to the producing crew and actors. Go catch it if you haven't, you'll totally enjoy it.

Song: Shut Up and Drive - Rihanna

Do you know the wonderful feeling of bumping into an old friend unexpectedly? That really makes your day and you can't wipe that goofy smile off your face later? I just had an amazing lunch. I was going through several lunch options in my head - should I go for the nearby quick economy rice again, or should I take my time and have a long slow lunch at Pizza Hut or McD?

Finally I settled on McD. And as I made my way up the stairs to have my lunch in relative peace, I glanced up a slight guy in blue reading the papers. I chose the table beside the window which happened to be right in front of the guy. I casually glanced at him as he flicked through his paper, and dude, it was HIM! I did a double-take as both of us blinked at each other for a few moments in awkward surprise, and then I joined his table. It was TS, an old secondary school friend I've known since Form 1, which is like, 10 years ago.

Apparently he was in Bangi to meet a client later. Luck has it that he decided to have McDs that day, and me too deciding on the same thing and then chose a table upstairs too. We had a great time catching up bout each other, talking bout some mutual friends, and well, just stuff that came up. I'm really glad to whatever lucky stars/fate/higher being that decided to snap their fingers and made my day.

Rhinos and reform

It's been a while since I've kept myself updated in the cyberworld (reading news and other blogs of interest) and keeping up with my blog. Partly this is due to me engrossed in this awesome tower-defence stragety game 'Master of Defense'. Second would be due to debates. I went down to Singapore last weekend for Singapore Debate Open in NUS. It was a surprisingly good tournament - the standards of debating was rather high (among them the well-known Tan Wu-Ming 'Worlds' Best Speaker'), and the adjudication standard was quite alright too. Me and my bro got our asses doubly-kicked in the tourney, which is a good reminder of how far we're lagging behind other debate teams. And well, apparently Singaporean unis don't skimp on their meals. On the first day, lunch was a buffet of - flavoured rice, stewed chicken wings, sweet sour fish slices, mixed vegetables, and stir-fried bean curd. With desert consisting of delectable cold cream puffs and chocolate eclairs, and a slurpy ice-cold honeydew/sago in santan syrup. Yum! This lunch alone made the registration fee of S$20 totally worth it.

Anyway, I've updated some links on my blog. I've added 2 new logo links - Save Our Sumatran Rhinos and Blog Action Day. I've to say I honestly don't know much about Sumatran rhinos, the only rhinos I've encountered upclose are the white rhinos when I was doing my stint in Zoo Taiping. Like seriously, when you gaze closely at a rhino, you realised that it's actually a quiet gentle creature. They can spend hours just standing there, nibbling their food slowly (they're herbivores - and we feed them dried grass and pellets. They like the pellets better). Of course if you gaze too closely at them and start taunting them, they probably wouldn't be too gentle with you. You got to remember that they still weigh around 3600 kg and can probably toss you around like a rag doll if they feel like it.

Two rhinos lazing in the shade of their enclosure. I think it's Melur and another female.

There are in Zoo Taiping - the only male and the youngest of the bunch (Badang), and two females (Melur and one whose name I've forgotten, think it might be Mawar). The second female rhino was obtained as part of a conservation programme to help breeding as there had been no successful reproduction between Badang and Melur. But apparently Badang is a little insecure and was outranked with the arrival of two females who had sort of formed a sister pact. Badang wouldn't go near the enclosure if both the females are there; I once saw him nipping his heel when he wanted to join in when they were feeding on the pellets.

But anyway, they're really docile creatures. The keeper once allowed us to go rhino-riding once. Which is actually pretty difficult, I have to say. Climbing on top of the rhino is not easy; they're really tall and wide and it's not like you can have any handholds to grab on. And you have to be pretty sneaky too, you don't want to risk startling the rhino. So anyway, after much huffing and puffing, I manage to scoot myself over on top of Badang (the most docile one) while he was feeding on the pellets. Unfortunately though, I was not as gentle as I thought and he was startled. And for the next 30 seconds, I almost had a near death experience as I tried to hang on to him (with nothing really to hold on to) like a rodeo bull as he leaped about. In the end I managed to made a safe leap down to the side while he bolted out of the enclosure. My friend and the keeper was obviously panicking like hell, but surprisingly and was rather shocked to see me getting up as if I've just got off a merry-go-round. Truth be told, it had more to do with my characteristic lack-of-emotional-display and slow reaction to being stunned. It was exhilarating experience nonetheless, and I've a few great pix to prove it. But I'd rather not post them here for fear of getting myself and the keeper in trouble since rhino-riding isn't actually allowed. Back to the rhinos though, they're kinda cool like the so-harmless-and-quiet-type that you forget that they can totally kick your ass if they want to (which is extremely rare and unlikely, unless you have a death wish). Yeah, so go click on the logo and find out more about our local rhinos.

Secondly, would be Unite! Blog Action Day. It's an intiative where October 15th is designated to be a day where many bloggers around the globe will blog about a single issue/theme. The theme for this year is literally, the hottest topic of the year - environment where most people is concerned about global warming. The main idea is to spread awareness and if your blog happens to be a hugely popular one, you can also help to raise funds or contribute your blog's earnings of the day to a green charity. I've already signed up for it, and hope the rest of you guys would join us either by blogging or reading blogs about it.

And finally, here's a link to a friend who did a really courageous thing. How many young people to do you know whom you can call a social activist? Here's one, and here's what he did.