Celebrate World Water Day!

http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?sec=central&file=/2009/3/21/central/3509183

Today is WOrld Water Day!..but for the moment, i have no idea to comment on this article. I've sent it later k. sleepy.bye

How Green is Your Life?

Please try this quiz; http://www.blogthings.com/howgreenisyourlifequiz/

It was pretty awesome!

And this is my result;

How Green Is Your Life?

Your Life is 48% Green

Your life is pretty green - and you know a lot about how to live an eco friendly life. So congratulate yourself for being good to the earth. And maybe think about implementing some of the ideas from this quiz!

Recycle your Cell Phones, PDA or Pager…

e-Waste

http://www.terracycle.net/media/09-03-04--traveling/09-03-04--traveling.htm.

Even though yesterday I admitted that I’m essentially glued to my cell phone, I’m pretty good about using the phone I have until it’s totally dead. But I’ll have to get a new phone eventually, so what should I do with this one? My friend suggests me to recycle this phone. Then, I asked her, why should I recycle my phone?

There are more than 500 million used cell phones in the U.S. sitting in people's drawers or worse, in our landfills, and another 130 million will be added this year alone! Electronic waste is the most quickly growing waste concern worldwide. The average life span of a cell phone is only eighteen months. On average 130 million cell phones are retired annually in the U.S. alone. Therefore, cell phone recycling is imperative. Nationwide, it is estimated that only 1% of retired cell phones are recycled or reused. The remainder litter closets, drawers, and unfortunately landfills. Cell phone recycling has even become a requirement in some states and counties. California has enacted legislation that requires retailers to accept obsolete and retired wireless phones from consumers at no charge. In addition, New York also has legislation that requires wireless telephone service suppliers to accept obsolete and retired cell phones at no charge to the consumer.

I will suggest a legal body to make legislation on how to manage old discarded cell phones in proper ways. Why I chose that old discarded cell phone to be managed in proper way just like solid and hazardous waste? It is because cell phones have changed the way the world communicates and become such an essential item that in the developed world it’s difficult to find people who don’t own one. Ever-advancing technology has meant that the cell phone has developed from its origin as a bulky phone that looked and felt like a brick, to the modern sleek and almost weightless phone. As a result of this people are upgrading cell phones at a rapid rate. Have you ever stopped to think about what actually happens to your old discarded cell phone?

Cell phone components contain hazardous materials such as mercury, lead, cadmium and arsenic that can contaminate the soil and groundwater. Electronic waste is becoming a serious problem. When you discard your cell phones in the bin they end up in landfills where they are an environmental hazard as discussed in this following website:

http://www.greenpeace.org/international/news/e-waste-nigeria180209.

You can do your bit to help the environment by recycling your cell phone. Cell phone manufacturers, including Nokia and Motorola, as well as cell phone retailers, offer cell phone recycling programmes. Even communities are getting involved by starting cell phone recycling drives.

If they’re in good working order cell phones are donated to those in developing countries, or to poor local communities. Some collection projects resell the phones and donate the money collected to food programs, wildlife preservation projects and other charities. Cell phones that are not working are disassembled. All plastic parts are recycled and used to manufacture other plastic products. Metals that can be reused are transported to developing countries, where the recycled material is used to make a variety of metal products. The components that can’t be reused are smelted, refined and disposed of according to environmental regulations. Cell phone recycling companies accept all makes of phone so when choosing which company to use find out which charities they support and how they are recycling cell phones.

Why I thought that cell phone recycling is a good idea? It is because cell phone recycling prevents contamination of ground water and soil from toxic chemicals in batteries and other cell phone components. By the way, cell phone recycling helps manage waste and means that less space is used at landfills. Furthermore, cell phone recycling means that plastic parts can be recycled and used in other products. The most important thing, cell phone recycling prevents further consumption of non-renewable resources

There’s another key green issue with mobile phones: radiation. And to me, that’s much more worrying. Electromagnetic radiation has the potential to damage or alter living tissue, and it can also affect wildlife, such as addling the natural ability of birds to use the Earth’s magnetic field to guide their migrations. Mobile phones now exist worldwide in such terrifically vast numbers that the effect of radiation is a serious worry…..

If you’re getting a new mobile phone, look for the SAR (Specific Absorption Rate) rating - the lower the better.

So, you have a new cell phone; now what should you do with the old one? The choice is YOURS

Never Take Another PUFF!

I just got back from Puduraya, bought bus ticket for going back to my hometown, wheezing, sneezing, and short of breath. I will jump on my soapbox and tell you that I HATE smoking and secondhand smoke! I get bad allergies from it, and when I’m around it for more than a few hours, I inevitably get sick. I know smokers reading this hate me now.I have no comprehension why it is still legal to smoke in public. Yes, it’s my own fault for subjecting me to being around smokers, but it’s impossible to stay away completely. Unfortunately, I like sitting outside at Kopitiam on weekend but get bombarded with people smoking all around me. I don’t care if people smoke - as long as it’s done away from me.

Why do smokers get all the rights, and I have to suffer? Why is something that is proven to cause cancer to not only the smoker, but to people that breathing in the secondhand smoke, allowed?

So, what is secondhand smoke?

Secondhand smoke is also known as environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) or passive smoke. It is a mixture of 2 forms of smoke that comes from burning tobacco: side stream smoke: smoke that comes from the end of a lighted cigarette, pipe, or cigar & mainstream smoke: smoke that is exhaled by a smoker When non-smokers are exposed to secondhand smoke it is called involuntary smoking or passive smoking. Non-smokers who breathe in secondhand smoke take in nicotine and other toxic chemicals just like smokers do.

Why is secondhand smoke a problem?

1) It causes cancer

Secondhand smoke is classified as a "known human carcinogen" (cancer-causing agent) by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the US National Toxicology Program, and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a branch of the World Health Organization. Tobacco smoke contains over 4,000 chemical compounds. More than 60 of these are known or suspected to cause cancer.

2) Secondhand smoke causes other kinds of diseases and deaths

Secondhand smoke can cause harm in many ways. In the United States alone, each year it is responsible for:

• an estimated 35,000 deaths from heart disease in non-smokers who live with smokers
  about 3,000 lung cancer deaths in non-smoking adults
• other breathing problems in non-smokers, including coughing, mucus, chest discomfort, and reduced lung function
• 150,000 to 300,000 lung infections (such as pneumonia and bronchitis) in children younger than 18 months of age, which result in 7,500 to 15,000 hospitalizations annually
• increases in the number and severity of asthma attacks in about 200,000 to 1 million children who have asthma
• more than 750,000 middle ear infections in children
• Pregnant women exposed to secondhand smoke are also at increased risk of having low birth weight babies

3) Secondhand smoke may be linked to breast cancer

An issue that is still being studied is whether secondhand smoke may increase the risk of breast cancer. Both mainstream and secondhand smoke contain about 20 chemicals that, in high concentrations, cause breast cancer in rodents. And we know that in humans, chemicals from tobacco smoke reach breast tissue and are found in breast milk. Any link between secondhand smoke and breast cancer risk in human studies is still being debated. This is partly because breast cancer risk has not been shown to be increased in active smokers. One possible explanation for this is that tobacco smoke may have different effects on breast cancer risk in smokers and in those who are exposed to secondhand smoke.

4) Secondhand smoke kills children and adults who don't smoke, and makes others sick (Surgeon General's report)

The 2006 US Surgeon General's report reached some important conclusions:

• Secondhand smoke causes premature death and disease in children and in adults who do not smoke.
• Children exposed to secondhand smoke are at an increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), acute respiratory infections, ear problems, and more severe asthma. Smoking by parents causes breathing (respiratory) symptoms and slows lung growth in their children.
• Secondhand smoke immediately affects the heart and blood circulation in a harmful way. Over a longer time it also causes heart disease and lung cancer.
• The scientific evidence shows that there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke.
• Many millions of Americans, both children and adults, are still exposed to secondhand smoke in their homes and workplaces despite a great deal of progress in tobacco contro

5) Effects our personality

Unfortunately, secondhand smoke is also really bad for your skin. I’m sure the occasional puff of smoke I inhale outside at the restaurants (before I get up and flee) is no big deal, but if you work in a smoking environment, or live with a smoker, it’s really going to negatively impact your skin by accelerating wrinkles, loss of elasticity, and sagging. Secondhand smoke can also cause hair loss.

Smoking is beginning to interfere with all aspects of the smoker's life, and every smoker must now ask him or herself the same question, "Is smoking worth it?"

If you do think so, then - i know that u...UNDERSTAND - BUT DON'T CARE

If you don't think so, then - NEVER TAKE ANOTHER PUFF!

For additional reading; http://environment.about.com/b/

Nature's Light Show

STAR on Tuesday March 10, 2009 reported that ‘Fireflies lose sparkle as mangroves come down’

http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2009/3/10/central/3416102&sec=central

The ecology of the synchronous firefly is dependent on the riverbanks where the leaf litter and fruits is suitable as food for particular species of snail to feed on. The firefly larvae in turn feed on snails with the female firefly laying their eggs in the moist soil. Everyday new fireflies emerge from their pupa stage into adulthood. The adult fireflies will then fly to the display trees beside the river after dusk and synchronise their flashing for mating purpose. After mating, the successful female will fly back to the muddy banks behind the vegetation and lay their eggs and another batch of emerging fireflies will be ready for the next day.

Therefore, suitable conditions are the moist soil, food(snail), display trees (Berembang), land use and the river water quality. The two major components that are relevant to the survival of the fireflies are land use and water quality. The trees can only tolerate very low salinity levels or their growth will be retarded. As land use conditions are primarily determined by development pressure and ultimately by the locals, their motivation and conservation should be established.

The longest mangrove stretch of single firefly species, Pteroptyx tener, is at the Selangor River. Other areas with different synchronous and non-synchronous fireflies, are in the states of Perak (Matang-Kuala Gula, Bernam Bagan Datoh), Penang (Krian), Kedah (Merbok), Johor (Kota Tinggi, Nenasi, Tanjung Piai), Pahang (Rompin, Kuantan), Terengganu (Yakyah River, Kerteh River, Setiu, Penarik), Kelantan (Tumpat, Tok Bali-Pasir Puteh), Sarawak (Bako-Buntal, Oya River), and Sabah (Klias, Kinabatangan).

The Selangor River synchronous fireflies were ‘discovered’ by a Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) member in 1970. In 1971, MNS helped Kampung Kuantan, Selangor, set up firefly watching. Later 30 other boatmen joined in and a corporative saw the introduction of the motorboat in 1996. Unfortunately, the motorboat disturbed the wildlife, including the fireflies. A study carried out found that the Sonneratia caseolaris (Berembang) tree belt was disminishing fast and there was not much young Berembang shoots. Later, the government took over the cooperative and petrol driven motorboats were banned from the river.

The various water supply development activities taking place upstream in Hulu Selangor and in the mid stream at Batang Berjuntai is threatening the fireflies again. The spread of the firefly habitat has already declined due to land clearance, water pollution from nearby industries and other natural factors.

Apart from the fireflies, the riparian forest along the intertidal river is one of the least studied and protected forests. These river corridors are also not protected. There are keystone species in the area e.g bat and the Berembang. The survival of the Berembang is dependent on the bat, which in turn is pollinator for fruit and forest trees. The fireflies are dependent on the Berembang trees along the river. The whole ecosystem will be changed once the bats and trees are lost.

As there is very little firefly research in Malaysia, it is not known as to how many fireflies’ species are in the country. But we do know that the mangroves where the congregating fireflies are located are shrinking.

Some firefly facts : http://www.thaibugs.com/Articles/fireflies.htm

A nature lover necessarily an ecologist?..^-^

p/s: An ecologist, is someone with a small resource consumption and a small waste production.He/she is not necessarily a nature lover : a person living in a small flat, buying only what is strictly necessary, never flying, never driving, and eating little meat is much more of an ecologist that a nature lover going from a raid in Alaska to another one in the Sahara.