Also in this eco-living series: 

Green Home Tips - Lighting

Green Home Tips - Electrical Appliances

Green Home Tips - Cars

Raya Divers go deep in Andaman Sea to get trash outRaya Divers, Krabi, Thailand

Davao Scuba Dive Center, Philippines
Used lightbulb retrieved by Mermaids Dive Centre in Thailand
Twelve dive volunteers conducted a fish survey on a 1.8km coastline off the Kembali Coast Resort in Samal Island. There were five teams and each team covered an area of 400m. “Hopefully, the success of this activity will allow us to introduce this to other divers where the data gathered can be used to promote the sites as well as provide info to our government regarding the diversity of our marine life,” said Eugene Lara of Davao Scuba.
 
Take the International Year of the Reef Pledge
The first half of this year alone has seen thousands of divers and water enthusiasts from around the world taking the Project AWARE’s International Year of the Reef (IYOR) Pledge.
 
With 2008 only half way through, Project AWARE is urging more to come forward.  “Project AWARE calls for divers to take action for coral reefs and sign the IYOR Pledge,” said Mike Holme Associate Director of Project AWARE.

“Coral reefs have existed for 200 million years and are known as, ‘the rainforests of the sea.’ They are vital to maintaining the diversity and health of our world’s delicate ecosystems. However, our coral reefs are threatened from many human activities including, global warming, destructive fishing practices and pollution,” explains Holme.
 

Local act is tops at Vanuatu in measuring reefs, assisted by Hideaway ResortThe IYOR pledge asks divers to sign their commitment to coral conservation and take action in five simple ways.  Divers can participate in Project AWARE’s activities to bring their pledge to life.
 
Five simple actions include:
 
1.    Tell three people how reefs enrich our lives and ask them to take the IYOR pledge.

2.    Take part in a coral conservation activity such as CoralWatch Monitoring. International Cleanup Day on 20 September 2008 offers good opportunity to take action for coral conservation.

3.    Be an AWARE Diver and follow Project AWARE’s Ten Ways a Diver Can Protect the Underwater environment and Ten Tips for Underwater Photographers to Protect Fragile Marine Ecosystems.

4.    Not to purchase souvenirs from coral or other threatened species.

5.    Reduce your carbon footprint. An example is to switch to compact florescent light bulbs.


Take part in Project AWARE’s IYOR Pledge or participate in conservation by visiting www.projectaware.org and join Project AWARE’s Facebook to stay up to date with future events.

Balinese kids learnt how to care for marine life at Aquamarine Dive CentreGet kids involved in Project AWARE’s art contest (closes 30 September 2008)

Commercial enterprises, a major emitter of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change, should own up to their polluting actions, review their current practices and commit to an environmental policy.

The economic idealism since 19^th century and post war consumerism has brought irrevocable environmental damage: warming temperatures, deforestation, loss of natural habitats, extinction of important species, soil erosion, freak weather patterns, economy destabilizing hurricanes and cyclones, just to list a few.

This is just the beginning of hard times.

Bosses and employees should face up to their leaks and spills, and do more to calm the environment, now.

While these are real and immediate challenges, companies should realize that collective action is needed to heal our ailing planet and restore economic and social stability. Which is why, it would be a good idea for companies to join the United Nations Global Compact program that puts a leash on climate change.

Caring for Climate: The Business Leadership Platform launched in July 2007 seeks to involve and engage participating companies worldwide to sit together – maybe over doughnuts and coffee - to jointly tackle environmental crises; this is hoped to advance practical solutions and shape attitudes. Already 230 businesses have agreed to implement relevant strategies and practices, disclose emissions publicly and report on progress made. (View brochure and list of signatories.)

George Kell wants to hear the voice of business in mitigating climate change George Kell, executive director of UN Global Compact spoke to the media at Business for the Environment Summit in April 2008 in Singapore. “Climate change is both a risk and an opportunity for business - it's a regulatory and a branding risk. Companies must realise that this is the greatest challenge of our times and handling it must become an integral part of corporate strategy," he said.

He remarked that companies have opportunities to speak beyond national boundaries as businesses are increasingly becoming globally integrated. Kell added that he hoped “the voice of business will create a conducive atmosphere for international negotiations that would see a global treaty" to tackle climate change once the 2012 Kyoto Protocol ends.

"Climate change will leave winners and losers. When you start preparing for it may determine the winner. That's why firms are taking steps already," Kell said.

The UN Global Compact launched in 2000 helps businesses come to terms with the ten universal principles of the Millennium Development Goals, covering human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption by 2015.

"We will have time to reach the Millennium Development Goals – worldwide and in most, or even all, individual countries – but only if we break with business as usual,” urged Ban Ki Moon, United Nations Secretary-General.

Is it business as usual with your company? If it is, you should call in your boss and colleagues – over doughnuts and coffee – and ask why.

Photo by Mallika Naguran

Try eating raw which not only saves on cooking fuel but is also healthier as nutrients are better preserved.

Eat less meat for three reasons. Meat takes more time to cook, especially frozen foods and steak, guzzling lots of fuel. Second, lots of energy and resources are involved in getting that piece of lamb chop from a farm in New Zealand to be air-flown to you half way around the world. Frozen foods need chilling, special wrapping and storage in low temperatures. Electricity, gas is used at every stage of production and transportation – from collection from the abattoir in container trucks to delivery in cargo planes. As meat demand (and most food for that matter) increases, so does aviation and land transportation, adding to the already critical level of ozone-depleting gases.

We shouldn’t forget that forests are being destroyed to convert natural habitats into farmlands and grazing fields. The demand for meat is a major factor of biodiversity loss; it also contributes to less absorption of carbon by trees, so that there’s a stronger concentration of carbon dioxide in the air. Which leads to global warming.

Third reason to say no to meat is to keep your arteries free of clinging animal fat and blood free of fatty cholesterol. Love life and your body. Eat healthy and stay trim.

Where possible eat local and fresh. Eating local produce means you show your support to local farms and trade communities, plus you say no to obscene use of energy involved in imported products.

When cooking, switch off the stove nearly three quarters way rather than at the end. The pot's high temperature will continue to heat the food for a few more minutes. Remember to cover the pot or pan to seal the heat in as well as the flavours.

Have a green tip? Feel free to add on to the list by commenting below.

Also in this eco-living series:

Green Home Tips - Lighting

Green Home Tips - Electrical Appliances

Green Home Tips - Cars 

Green Home and Office Tips - Computing 

Shun convenient gadgets that require electrical power. Examples are juice extractors, food processors, coffee makers, can openers and clothes dryers. If you have an alternative, like manual appliances, go for them.

Think carefully before purchasing a refrigerator, bearing in mind it is left on 24 hours for each day of the year. What’s the volume of food to be stored? A big fridge equals big power equals big bill equals big gas emissions gobbling up the ozone layer if your fridge still uses CFC or HCFC coolants.

If milk is all you need to chill and you cook fresh vegetables or meat, you don’t even need to have a fridge. Surprising? Just think about it. Why do you need a fridge? What changes can you make to live without it?

A lifestyle change could mean not spending money on buying a fridge and paying higher utility bills. If you still need to chill something, though, get a bar fridge that’s so energy-efficient and handy you can even take it with you to your vacation home in summer.

If you do need to buy regular air-conditioners or fridges, go for newer environmentally-friendly inventions. SolarChill and natural refrigerants bypass the need for traditional coolants, saving the Earth and saving you money. Be wary of second-hand items as they prolong the use of ozone-depleting substances.

To make a cup of tea, opt for an energy-saving kettle which uses 20% less electricity than standard ones. And boil only what’s needed to make that cuppa rather than filing it up. If each household in the UK does this, it will save them enough power a year to light up their streets for seven months!

Have a green tip? Feel free to add on to the list by commenting below.

Also in this eco-living series:

Green Home Tips - Lighting

Green Home Tips - Food and Cooking

Green Home Tips - Cars

Switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) to replace incandescent ones. The mostly twirly bulbs (they also come in other shapes) are typically twice to ten times more expensive in purchase price compared to incandescents but compensate for their long lifespan (more than ten times) and energy efficiency (savings up to 75%). They also produce 75% less heat, which means less energy is needed to cool the house. In actual monetary savings, this works to USD30 over each bulb’s lifetime. CFLs however emit dimmer light towards the end of the lifespan.

Light-emitting diodes or LEDs are more energy efficient than traditional lamps and today we can use them as reading lamps, garden lights and room lights, beyond indicative uses such as torch lights and signals. Compared to CFLs, LEDs do not contain mercury.

Incorporate natural lighting in building plans and in home decoration.

Try using tea candles or aromatic oils to give out a soft glow in a dark room.

Switch off lights when leaving the room even if you’re just stepping out to grab a cuppa. For CFLs, however, switching on and off for less than 5 minutes reduces their lifespan. But I will go ahead to switch them off anyway as I will save on energy consumption.

Have a green tip? Feel free to add on to the list by commenting below.

Also in this eco-living series:

Green Home Tips - Electrical Appliances

Green Home Tips - Food and Cooking

Green Home Tips - Cars

Green Home and Office Tips - Computing

When a truck pulls through customs and immigration carrying what appears to be innocuous oil drums for cross-border trade, a closer check might uncover something insidious and worse, disastrous - CFCs.

This is because CFCs or chlorofluorocarbons is a major ozone depleting substance, ODS in short, that’s still used in refrigerators and air-conditioning units in millions of homes and companies in Asia Pacific, in particular South Asia and Southeast Asia.

The ozone layer in Earth’s stratosphere provides the much needed shield from the sun’s ultraviolet radiation, which would otherwise be too hot for comfort, affecting health and the environment. Known effects are skin cancers, cataracts, weakened immune systems, damage to terrestrial plant life and aquatic eco-systems.

China, India and South Korea alone account for around 70% of global CFC production. A study on transboundary movement in ODS by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) uncovered an alarming trend of illegal trade in CFCs through large discrepancies in official import and export figures between trading countries.

Thailand seized 14 ODS cases in 2007 weighing 53,000 kg.Analyzing the trade data of CFCs between key importing countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and Iran and key exporting countries like China, India and Singapore in 2004 found more than 4,000 tonnes of CFCs unaccounted for in the importing countries.

Simply put, there are not official records of these missing items. “CFC is the second biggest goods to be smuggled after drugs,” said UNEP’s Thanavat Junchaya in Singapore at the Federation of Environment Journalists meeting held alongside the UNEP Business for Environment Summit in April 2008.

The main routes used by smugglers are: India/China-Vietnam-Laos/Cambodia-Thailand, Bangladesh-India, Nepal-India, China-Philippines, China-Malaysia, China-Indonesia, Singapore-Malaysia, Malaysia-Thailand.

ODS Smuggling Motivations

Many reasons account for the continuance of illegal trade. Long lifespan of equipment using CFCs, high demand for CFCs in the servicing sector, import of used refrigeration and air-conditioning equipment and the high cost of substitutes are to blame.

Smugglers, when caught, often get away with paltry penalties, only to return callously to repeat their crimes. To them the lucrative price of CFC on the international black market is just too attractive as the world faces reduced legal supply.

Stamping out ODS

Leaders of around 190 countries have signed an international agreement to progressively phase out production and consumption of ODS. The Montreal Protocol since 1987 has reduced total consumption of CFCs from 1.1 million ozone depletion potential tonnes in 1986 to around 34,799 tonnes in 2006 – or more than 95% reduction. Without the Protocol, this would reach 3 million tonnes in 2010.

This, it said, translates to saving mankind from nearly 19 million cases of non-melanoma skin cancer, $238,000 million fishery industry loss and $191,000 million agricultural production damage.

Full compliance with the Montreal Protocol will eliminate most of the ozone-depleting substance by 2030, including HCFCs or hydrochlorofluorocarbons which is a less damaging ODS compared to CFC and is currently used in 60-80% of refrigeration and air-conditioning units.

However, without vigilant monitoring of this illegal activity and lack of enforcement, the production and consumption of ODS will continue. A number of initiatives are in place (see list below) to tackle this. Yet, the collective muscle to arrest this criminal activity is lacklustre. “ODS contributes to 10% of greenhouse gas emissions where fossil fuel emits 60%, so ODS issues have not exactly been on the priority list of countries,” revealed Thanavat.

Singapore, a party to the Montreal Protocol since 1985, has phased out the use of CFCs and halons in 1996 and is cutting out the use of HCFCs by 2030. In 2007, the NEA prosecuted two companies for importing CFCs without valid licences.  The penalty for the offence is a fine not exceeding $50,000, or a jail term not exceeding two years, or both.

To close the loop on persistent illegal activities, the Singapore National Environment Agency (NEA) has worked with regional countries to implement the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) procedure for all import and export of CFCs in 2006.  Under this PIC procedure, each CFC export application made to NEA would only be approved if the importing country had consented to receive the CFC. To date, NEA has rejected three applications.

Green Substitutes

There are industry initiatives that present safer alternatives, such as SolarChill that uses direct current (DC) compressor instead of the standard alternating current (AC) compressor used in normal refrigerators, or in other solar cooler. Natural refrigerants are on the rise, used widely by Unilever in ice-cream display boxes.

“Investment into new technologies for substitutes has to be led by bigger companies and there then has to be economies of scale before prices can come down to affordable levels,” said Thanavat.

He also highlighted that there is a hurdle of convincing people to manage the safety of hydrocarbons and ammonia, which are natural refrigerants. Ammonia’s toxicity and flammability in particular concentrations in the air is a cause for concern. Hydrocarbons are high flammable. CO2 has low energy efficiency and very high working pressures in cycles with transcritical parameters.

Brands today that have phased out ODS in Singapore, according to NEA, include Daikin, Carrier, Mitsubishi Electric, MacQuay, Sanyo and Sharp.

Still the problem of ODS use lurks in Asia, and therefore shady underground activity to feed it. If ODS smuggling is not clamped down in these hot zones, a good chunk of greenhouse gas will still be released
Singapore's reported exports were 6.4 times higher than Malaysia's imports in 2004.into the air, blazing a bigger hole in the ozone than the current whopper of 30 million square kilometres. Already up to 60% of total ozone over the Antarctica is burnt out and a new hole, it seems, is forming over the Arctic region.

No wonder Earth has caught a fever. It is high time all refrigeration and air-conditioning manufacturers turned green and for Asian customs officers to peer closer into goods trucks.

See also:

OzonAction Program

Project Sky Hole Patching

Green Customs

Cages are no homes for baby macaques.Since the beginning of time, only Man has spoken in his books that line his civilisation. Should bears, lions, monkeys, whales, dogs and other animals have their account, books will not only be differently written, tomes more will document the counts of inhumanity against them.

Before the world mechanised, the human race was much more capable of love. Nature was closer and walls were yet to be made of stone and metal. Through time, the race as a whole got distanced from naturally-occurring ecosystems and in place of that relation, distrust in the form of locks and weapons took root. We began the paranoia.

But not everyone is consumed.

Today, there are people working in earnest to reverse the motion. They realize their birthright as caregivers and guardians to the many aspects of the earth. They are people with their fears and distrust uprooted to promote life.

Most of all, they are people who act locally and quickly.

Singapore-based Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (ACRES) has brought to light illegal wildlife captivity and trade in local grounds. It may surprise, but developed, squeaky-clean Singapore is a hot zone for traders feeding the local demand for wildlife creatures from hobbyists and other irresponsible individuals. This on top of being a point of transit for the trade to other countries in the region.

After all, illegal wildlife trade and animal cruelty is not exclusive to just one part of the world. It happens in the least likely of
An exotic pet to some is this pig-nosed turtle. places, if not everywhere, and this calls for muscle to constantly police against it. With ardent campaigning, this will help dampen the demand for turtle meat and shells and raise the plight of animal suffering in bear farming and shark fin consumption.

ACRES earned its credentials in its focus on ending animal cruelty. It grew from an obscure little office in May 2001 to, soon, a two-hectare rescue centre in Sungei Tengah Agrotech Park, northern Singapore. ACRES has rehabilitated more than 160 rescued animals and even managed the repatriation of some to their native origins. Among them are a long-tailed baby macaque, pig-nose turtles, a ball python and even a bearded dragon.

“The ACRES Wildlife Rescue Centre will provide sanctuary to more than 400 rescued wild animals at a time, giving them a second chance at life and enabling repatriation to their native country for certain animals where possible. The educational programmes there will create awareness about wildlife, the illegal wildlife trade and its harm to the environment,” said Louis Ng, ACRES’ Executive Director.

Bearded dragon, native to Australia,  rescued from captivity by ACRES.There is no certainty in getting these rescued animals to survive but, with the new sanctuary, ACRES will give them reprieve from cruelty and captivity - a holding ground until they get back to their natural habitat, if at all. That's because funds are needed for repatriation, on top of on-going rescue efforts and conservation development.

Continuing its efforts, ACRES is throwing a fund-raising dinner on May 23 and tickets (100% of proceeds goes to protecting the wildlife) are for sale. For full details about the dinner or donations can be found at www.acres.org.sg.

While local muscle like ACRES has set off a momentum for its community, it remains a global effort to end the inhumanity and destruction of the ecosystem. With efforts in each country pooling together, more people will snap out of the daily humdrum to give themselves to this cause.

What stays now is the need to push harder. You must know that a recovered planet is still possible.
Slow loris, a Southeast Asian native, was not quick enough to flee from illegal trade.

Photos courtesy of ACRES.

Extinct southern gastric brooding frog halts research. Thanks to a kind of frog that can no longer be found, millions of people suffering from peptic ulcers have lost a chance to heal better.

The southern gastric brooding frog (Rheobatrachus) discovered in the Australian rainforests in the 1980s intrigued scientists with its ability to raise its young in the stomach where enzymes and acids could have digested them instead. This amazing fact led to preliminary studies that the baby frogs produced substances that inhibited acid and enzyme secretions.

As the frog has gone extinct, the research stopped prematurely. “The valuable medical secrets they held are now gone forever,” say Eric Chivian and Aaron Bernstein, key authors of newly released Sustaining Life: How Human Health Depends on Biodiversity.

Since time immemorial, plants and animals have provided solutions to many of mankind’s quest for health by learning more about how they live and stay alive in spite of unusual factors. It has now unfortunately become increasingly difficult for research in natural medicinal sources due to the critical reduction of biological diversity.

Metal brace, or clamp, holds this struggling bear in place. The head of United Nations Environment Programme Achim Steiner describes the rate of biodiversity loss as reaching “dramatic proportions”. “Human activity, environmental impacts, climate change and loss of biodiversity have led to the loss of important ecosystems. It’s a tragedy that the world does not understand the value of biodiversity,” he told media on the second day of the Business for the Environment Global Summit 2008 on 23 April in Singapore.

New treatments for thinning bone disease, kidney failure and cancer plus a new generation of antibiotics may all stand to be lost unless the world acts to reverse the alarming rate of biodiversity loss, the book argues. It also comprehensively explores the medicinal relevance of diverse species such as bears, cone snails, sharks, horseshoe crabs and gymnosperms.

Bear bile products sought after for medicinal properties.

Bears are at risk of being wiped out from existence, as they are being poached and killed for body parts. Gall bladders in bears fetch top dollars in traditional medicinal markets like China, Thailand and Japan. Nine species are threatened with extinction including the polar bear, the giant panda and the Asiatic black bear. Read more about cruelty to bears in bile extraction at http://www.acres.org.sg/issues_bearbile.html.

We have seen some medical benefits from studying how bears retain their body wastes while hibernating for five months or more. In comparison, humans need to rid off excretions every few hours or will die from the toxin build up in a few days. An estimated 1.5 million people worldwide receive treatment for end-stage renal disease - 80,000 from the US alone die each year from this disease.

By studying such bears ethically and without pushing the extinction factor further, a better treatment could be developed to help these ailing patients.

Even sharks fall prey to man’s greed for food, leaving little for researchers to follow through. Many shark species are now threatened, such as the scalloped hammerhead, white shark and thresher shark due to over fishing, increased demand for shark meat as substitute for traditional commercial fish catches in foods like fish and chips, and more.

Sharks have a highly adaptive immune system and studying them helps unlock the mystery of human immunity. A substance from sharks’ livers – squalamine - may lead to the discovery of a new generation of antibiotics and a cure for tumours. “What potential these creatures may still hold to further our knowledge of immunity is being rapidly depleted with the mass slaughter of sharks and the endangerment of sharks worldwide,” say the authors from the Centre for Health and the Global Environment in Harvard Medical School.

Who should sit up and take notice of biodiversity loss? Everyone, says Achim Steiner. “It is no longer the luxury of ecologists or naturalists to care about preserving biodiversity but society as well,” he said, adding that pharmaceutical companies greatly depend on nature, not just chemicals, to treating society’s health and well-being.

Get a copy of Sustaining Life: How Human Health Depends on Biodiversity published by Oxford Press, USD 34.95 available at Amazon.com

Photos courtesy of United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) www.unep.org and World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) www.wspa-international.org