Earth Hour 2009

Nowaday, I rarely believe in any event to "save" our world. Hiprocracy is the norm. I have gone through and learnt that every such event had some motives....to rip the public. And this one is no exception. Look at the advertisements, the publicities and the gains from sponsors and promoters.

Think BIG huh? So you will switch off your lights on 28 March and drive to a party or drive to the park or beach to get away from the darkness. With everybody driving around, the fuel wastages and the road jams would exceeded the energy used. Is it worth the cause?

Have FUN? And waste fuel? Emit more CO2?

What about the energy being used to produce the electricity to run the cities? Do you think the power producers can really cut down on the coal or fuel to generate the electricity in one hour? I doubt there will be any cost saving. A sudden surge in energy is bad for the grid.

Anyway, its just an awareness campaign to cut down on electricity then go ahead do your part. As for me, I have been doing my part to save energy and I will continue doing even there is no Earth Hour.

Read on.....

Earth Hour 2009 全球熄燈環保行動 (8:30PM Saturday 28 March 2009 )

MAKE EARTH HOUR HAPPEN IN YOUR TOWN
A list of ideas you can implement, no matter where you live!

8:30pm Saturday 28 March 2009
In 2007, more than two million Sydney businesses and households turned off their lights for one hour - Earth Hour - sending a powerful global message that it’s possible to take action on climate change.
Just one year later, Earth Hour reached more than 50 million people in 35 countries across 18 timezones, and the campaign shifted from a Sydney event to a global sustainability movement.
In 2009, Earth Hour aims to reach one billion people in 1000 cities worldwide. If you want to bring Earth Hour to your town or city on 28 March 2009 at 8:30pm, this will help you get started!

-Your Goal-
Get the most people, businesses and government involved in Earth Hour and get them to turn off their lights for one hour at 8:30pm on March 28, 2009.

Making Earth Hour happen
1) Building your team A good team is one of the biggest success factors for making Earth Hour happen around the world. Put together a team of committed people and organisations to help plan how you can turn out the lights for one hour in your area. Members of your Earth Hour Team could include your friends or schoolmates, members of your family or your neighbours, the local mayor or business leader, or your local school principal. Pull together a team of people and organisations willing to put the time and effort into making Earth Hour happen and you’ll be ready to get started.

2) Spread the word about Earth Hour
To inspire yourself and those you speak to about Earth Hour, check out www.earthhour.org to watch the Earth Hour video. This video will go a long way to inspiring you and those you speak to, to get involved in Earth Hour and to help take a stand against climate change. Think about how you could spread the word about Earth Hour in your area, how can you encourage the most people and businesses to turn their lights of for one hour at 8:30pm on Saturday 28 March 2009?
Thinking small can be big thinking We’ve created a website to help you spread the word about Earth Hour. Register at www.earthhour..org and recruit your friends to the Earth Hour cause. Getting your friends and neighbourhood involved is the easiest way to be a part of Earth Hour and help make a difference to our planet.

Think big
Who in your town uses lots of power? First stop? The city. The city is one of the largest users of power in your area. Write to your mayor or present the Earth Hour idea at your local council. If you can get the city involved in turning off their non-essential lighting for Earth Hour (you can leave street lights on for safety), your town can make a huge difference. Office buildings and big retail stores also use a lot of power. Write to the businesses and stores in your area and ask them to darken their buildings, neon signs, stores and restaurants for one hour for Earth Hour..
Ask your favourite restaurants to have a candle-lit dinner hour (using beeswax candles of course) and feature fresh “cold” dishes in the menu or use local products. Write to your local newspaper or television channel and tell them what you’re doing - try and get some news coverage of what your town wants to do for Earth Hour and the planet...think big!

3) Be creative!
As well as asking as many people and businesses as possible to turn off their lights in your city or town at 8:30pm on 28 March 2009, think creatively about how to bring your friends and family together for the night. Organise a “block party” in your neighbourhood with “in the dark” games and activities, organise a movie or music night at someone’s house, look up at the stars, use the hour to talk about what you can do every day to save energy. Think about the different ways to have fun with Earth Hour.

4) What to do everyday
Turning off your lights for one hour at 8:30pm on 28 March 2009 is the first part of getting involved in Earth Hour. Making a difference to the future of our planet by making energy savings every day is the second part. When spreading the Earth Hour message, don’t forget to encourage your friends, family and workmates to turn off unused lights and appliances every day of the year.

5) Make it happen
Every town and city is unique and can bring its own special touch, identity and passion of its communities to create its own Earth Hour on 28 March 2009. But making Earth Hour happen is up to you! Whatever you can organise to help turn out the lights on 28 March – whether it’s a backyard barbeque or asking your local mayor to turn off the city’s nonessential lighting - will be a success. You can make Earth Hour happen if you work together.

Join us for Earth Hour at 8:30pm Saturday March 28 2009!

http://forestexplorers.blogspot.com

Would you believe that human hair can be used to repel wild boar?

Monday March 9, 2009
Human hair can repel wild boar, claims planter

TAWAU: Would you believe that human hair can be used to repel wild boar?

Although there is no scientific proof to support his claim, Kampung Sungai Laba estate manager Mohd Nuin Rusni said he has been using human hair to prevent wild boar from destroying his young oil palms.

“Previously, if we planted 300 oil palm trees today, we would find that by the next day all the trees would have been uprooted and eaten by the wild boars.

“However, after placing human hair around the young crops, the wild boars don’t destroy them,” he said when met recently.

Mohd Nuin said he learnt this method of protecting young oil palm crops while working on a plantation in Sandakan previously.

“A handful of hair was placed near the young crop so that when the wild boar sniffs the hair, it would think that there are humans present or the hair will get into its nostrils and thus, it will run off,” he said.

Mohd Nuin said it took about three months to gather 200 sacks of human hair from the barber shops in Tawau with each sack costing RM5. — Bernama

250ha of forest reserve devastated

Friday March 6, 2009
250ha of forest reserve devastated
By GEETHA KRISHNAN

LOGGING with the sanction of the previous Selangor state government has devastated a large part of the Sungai Jelok Forest Reserve in the Hulu Langat district.

According to Selangor Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman Lee Kim Sin, the approval for logging to be carried out on 202ha was given during a state executive council meeting on Nov 8, 2006.

“This is for a proposed rubber estate project by Perbadanan Kemajuan Pertanian Selangor (PKPS). Following the exco decision, the Selangor Foresty Department issued a logging permit to a private company,” Lee said during a site visit to the forest reserve.

Lee, the state assemblyman for Kajang, said the logging activities were reported to the PAC in November last year, and by that time, 90% of the trees had been felled and bare patches had begun to dot the 250ha forest reserve.

“This is shocking because there is no point in gazetting a forest reserve and then allowing logging activities to be carried out with the weak excuse of purportedly developing a rubber estate,” Lee said.

The Sungai Jelok Forest Reserve is a hilly lowland dipterocarp forest. Its size has shrunk over the years due to development and logging activities. The forest reserve is a water catchment area for Sungai Jelok, a tributary of Sungai Langat.

“After July 16 last year, Sungai Jelok overflowed its banks with alarming frequency.

“We attributed this to land-clearing activities near the Kajang Prison but now we are sure the logging in the forest reserve is also a contributing factor,” Lee said.

At present, upgrading work is going on at Sungai Jelok to alleviate the floods in Kajang.

The logging is now viewed as a setback to the river-widening and deepening work.

Lee said he would seek the state auditor’s help to investigate the matter further and to seek clarification from the PKPS director and Selangor Forestry Department director as to why a forest reserve and water catchment area had to be sacrificed.

“Both the Hulu Langat Land Office and District Office have been instructed by the state government not to allow activities against sustainable development and yet this had happened,” Lee said.

“It is bad enough that one part of the forest reserve has been turned into a stone quarry,” he said.

On Dec 19 last year, Selangor Forestry Department director Mohd Yunus Zakaria replied to Lee’s letter on the logging activities in the forest reserve, saying that a logging licence was issued based on a decision made at the exco meeting on Nov 8, 2006. No further detail was given.