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Green Power

2009-02-25T22:36:00.001+08:00

Green power

Governments push environmental change despite economic slump: report

Posted: February 25, 2009, 8:44 AM ET

Equities, PE, VC and infrastructure to get boost

Asset classes that could particularly benefit include public equities, private equity and venture capital, and infrastructure, the report identified. In public equities, cap-and-trade programs or carbon taxes can increase the value of so-called "clean" businesses.

Also, policies such as feed-in tariffs (programs in which regional or national electric utilities are required to buy renewable electricity at above-market rates set by the government), tax credits and mandatory standards create demand for "green" products and services.

In private equity and venture capital, research and development incentives and subsidies are supporting innovation and the scaling-up of cutting-edge "clean" technologies such as renewable energy (wind power, solar power, biomass, hydropower, biofuels), information technology, green transportation, electric motors, lighting and clean technology manufacturing.

In infrastructure, feed-in tariffs and tax credits make climate change-related projects economically sound and mandatory standards require the scale-up of green industries.

About 13.5% — or $106 billion — of the $787 billion economic stimulus package signed into law by President Barack Obama on Feb. 17 is committed to green, climate change-related initiatives, the report said. Of that, $85 billion is dedicated to direct spending measures, including $18 billion for mass transit, and $21 billion for renewable energy tax breaks.

Among other items, the report identified $11 billion in the stimulus package dedicated to electric power grid investment, $8 billion to capital assistance for high-speed rail corridors and intercity rail services, $6.9 billion to the Federal Transit Administration's transit capital assistance, $6.3 billion to energy efficiency and conservation grants, $6 billion to renewable energy and transmission loan guarantees, $6 billion to nuclear waste cleanup and $5 billion to weatherization assistance program.

The report also tracked several non-U.S. initiatives, including the €200 billion ($257 billion) stimulus package proposed by the EU Commission in November, which included €4 billion in low interest loans to promote "the safety and environmental performance of cars" and €10.6 billion to other green technologies, such as energy efficiency in buildings.

"While there has been a lot of focus on the U.S. initiatives, we think it is very important to put it into a global context," Mr. Fulton said.

Green ideas in China stimulus not clear

The report separated China from the $212 billion it identified globally for green initiatives, because it is not obvious with the information available how much of the country's $586 billion stimulus package announced in November would be considered green, Mr. Fulton said. But the report did identify about 12% of the package as being targeted at energy efficiency and environmental improvements. That included $70 billion to upgrade and integrate the national electric power grid, $29 billion for power plants, including a number of nuclear plants and a natural gas pipeline, and $2.9 billion for water conservation and irrigation projects.

The four main investment themes that governments are focused on worldwide, according to the report, are the promotion of solar and wind energy, the installation of energy-saving light bulbs (called advanced lighting initiatives in the report), investments in improving electric grids and the development of clean automobiles that run on batteries.

"We believe this trend toward greater regulation will provide crucial support to climate change industries during the current global economic downturn," the report said. "Coupled with increased government spending on key climate change initiatives as part of economic stimulus packages in countries such as the U.S. and the UK, this should provide a boost to 'green' industries in contrast to other sectors of the global economy affected by recession."

Contact Jennifer Byrd at jbyrd@pionline.com

http://www.pionline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090225/REG/902259997/1007

Green" Illusions

2009-02-25T22:32:00.001+08:00

"Green" Illusions

By Kenneth P. Green

Posted: Wednesday, February 25, 2009

ARTICLES

Windsor Star

Publication Date: February 23, 2009

Resident Scholar

Kenneth P. Green

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty has run afoul of two fallacies which plague governments with his new Green Energy Act.

The Act, which does not have a defined pricetag, would supposedly create 50,000 new jobs, putting people to work building windmills, solar power plants and bio-fuel plants.

Governments cannot create jobs, and labelling them "green" doesn't change the basic dynamics.

The Green Energy Act, he claims, will lead Ontario out of its recession and into a glorious future of clean energy.

Now, everyone would love to end the recession and enjoy clean, abundant and affordable energy. But there are some hard realities that suggest Premier McGuinty's plan isn't the smartest way to do it.

Let's review the reasons why governments cannot create jobs, and why labelling them "green" doesn't change the basic dynamics.

Let's start with the fallacy that governments can create jobs. This fallacy was exploded all the way back in 1845 by a French politician and political economist named Frédéric Bastiat. Bastiat pointed out that the only way governments can create jobs is by first obliterating other jobs.

Sometimes, they obliterate other jobs by diverting taxpayer money away from the economic uses the taxpayer would have pursued if they had kept their taxes.

Other times, they obliterate jobs by imposing regulations that kill off one industry in favour of another. In still other situations, they impose mandates, such as using recycled paper to create an artificial market for recycled paper which reduce jobs in fresh-paper production.

In the green energy case, they are doing all of the above: Taxpayer dollars are being used to subsidize the renewable energy sector; damaging regulations are being implemented on the traditional fossil fuel sector, and mandates for the use of renewable energy are being issued, creating a false market in wind power at the expense of fossil fuel and nuclear power. Governments also invariably siphon off a good part of the money for "administration," creating civil service jobs that pay comparatively higher wages than the private sector for similar activity.

Inevitably, government efforts to create jobs cost the economy jobs and, adding insult to injury, divert limited resources to inefficient uses, causing economic underperformance.

Now, let's look at the second fallacy: Call it "green" and, somehow, the fundamental laws of economics are suspended and we can all enjoy a free lunch and a utopian future of affordable, abundant and clean energy.

Of course, the only way to arrive at this fallacy is by inflating the expected value of green energy activities over the expected value from a non-green alternative.

In the premier's Green Energy Act, the expected value would result from a reduction of greenhouse gases related to energy production.

There's only one problem: The amount of greenhouse gases that Canada could eliminate, even if the entire country simply shut down, is not sufficient to retard global warming in any significant way.

Canada's fossil-fuel greenhouse gas emissions account for about two per cent of world emissions. Ontario's emissions are only seven-tenths of one per cent of the world total. China, which is building a coal power plant every week, emits more than 10 times all of Canada's greenhouse gases, and shows no signs of curbing its appetite any time soon.

Ontario's Green Energy Act will offer virtually no climate change protection or delay in warming, and no benefit to offset the costs of raising Canada's energy prices, raising the cost of goods and services, and rendering Canadian exports less competitive in world markets.

The premier, along with others such as U.S. President Barack Obama, has internalized the twin fallacies of job creation and a free lunch. He needs to undergo a reality check before he squanders limited resources and worsens the economic prospects for North America.

Taking actions to raise the cost of energy using a fallacious job-creation approach and fallacious benefit claims will only exacerbate Ontario's suffering in the ongoing world economic downturn.

Kenneth P. Green is a resident scholar at AEI.

from : http://www.aei.org/publications/filter.all,pubID.29443/pub_detail.asp

Ban on plastic bags makes HP clean

2009-01-22T09:57:00.000+08:00

Ban on plastic bags makes HP clean

Shimla, Jan 19: The hills are looking clean again. Once an eyesore, littering the verdant mountain slopes, choking drains and scarring the environment, plastic pollution has come down dramatically in Shimla and other parts of Himachal Pradesh, four years after this north Indian state banned the use of small polythene bags.

"Before the implementation of the ban, polythene pollution was a major problem in the state," R.K. Sood, joint member- secretary of the Himachal State Council for Science, Technology and Environment, told.

Describing the scene before the ban was imposed, he said: "Plastic bags littered the hillsides. During the monsoon, the rain water brought along heaps of polythene bags and other non-biodegradable material that choked most of the municipal drains. Now, the problem has been solved to a great extent."

Himachal Pradesh was the first state in India to ban the production, storage, use, sale and distribution of small polythene bags in June 2004.

Under the Himachal Pradesh Non-Biodegradable Garbage (Control) Act of 1995, any violator trespassing faced a fine up to Rs.25,000. The minimum fine was fixed at Rs.500.

"The ban on use of coloured polythene bags manufactured from recycled plastic was initially imposed on Jan 1, 1999. Later in 2004, the ban was imposed under Section 7(h) of the State Non-Biodegradable Garbage (Control) Rules on the use of polythene bags having thickness less than 70 microns and size less than 18"x12"," Sood said. As a result, paper and jute bags are now back in the state.

Sanjay Verma, project officer with the state Department of Environment Science and Technology, said: "Initially, it was a herculean task to enforce the ban. Special sensitisation drives were launched across the state to educate the common man about the ecological hazards and about which type of bags were exempted from the ban and which were not."

About 20 government officials were empowered at the district and sub-divisional level to ensure effective implementation of the ban."Still, 25 to 30 people are fined on an average every month in the state," Verma said. He said the problem is still acute in areas located along neighbouring Punjab and Haryana.

"The use of polythene continues in the border areas of the state. The problem can be checked when the neighbouring states enforce the ban too. Moreover, tourists generate more plastic during the peak season than the locals during the entire year," he said.

To dispose of Shimla's polythene waste, private firm Gujarat Ambuja Cements Ltd(GACL) joined hands with the city's municipal corporation in July last year as part of corporate social responsibility.

"As part of the understanding, we (GACL) are regularly getting truckloads of polythene waste that is scientifically burnt at our Darlaghat unit in Solan district," GACL official Sandeep Kapoor said.Around 1.5 to 2 quintals of polythene waste is collected daily in Shimla alone.

State Forest Minister J.P. Nadda said the state would soon have its environmental master plan to tackle critical areas of environmental degradation. "The master plan will include a baseline study of the environmental vulnerabilities and details of measures to tackle problems mainly related to urban solid waste, industrial pollution and ecological degradation caused by hydropower projects," he said.

IANS

resource: http://www.zeenews.com/sci-tech/eco-news/2009-01-19/499827news.html

still want to use plastic?

2009-01-22T09:54:00.001+08:00

SANGAM (ALLAHABAD): If you are still carrying foodstuff or essential commodities in polythene bags on the bank of the Ganga or the Yamuna during

Magh Mela, you run the risk of being penalised.

In fact, vigilant mela officials are on prowl on the entire campus to catch defaulters and initiate strict measures against them accordingly. Perhaps, this would be the first time in the history of Magh Mela in last one decade when usage of polythene or polybags was completely banned on the mela campus. Even the owners of shops of essential commodities and grocery, who have set up their business establishments in and around the campus, were not allowed to keep polythene bags with them to serve the customers.

The mela administration has assigned the special task to administrative teams of carrying out frequent raids at shops and punish the errant shop owners or carriers. The motive of banning polythene bags, according to insiders, could be an effective tool in reducing pollution in river Ganga and the Mela administration has been urging visitors to discard the use of polythene bags.

Till date, preventive action was initiated against 200 persons who had carried away polythene bags into mela campus due to ignorance or being of neighbouring district\state visitors.

District magistrate Rajeev Aggarwal said that the ban was put in place since the first day and would be effective till February 23. He added the orders covers all market areas, eating joints and hospitals.

He further stressed that there was an urgent need to educate and aware people about the disadvantages of using polythene bags. He, however, admitted that the usage of polythene bags has certainly declined in mela campus this year as the administrative teams had already seized polythene bags and related materials in the same regard.

Aggarwal also maintained that the mela administration has also sought the support of pilgrims and visitors, apprising them about the disadvantage of polythene made material and visitors have also assured them to keep them away from its usage. He added that preventive actions were being initiated against the defaulters and they were also given oral warnings.

Recently, a group of 15 visitors from Madhya Pradesh became so much impressed over the mela administration approach of banning polythene usage, claiming that it could reduce the pollution level of river ganga little a bit that they promised the concerned authorities to minimise its usage in their routine life too.

Resource: News

War of Choice: How Israel Manufactured the Gaza Escalation

2009-01-13T21:44:00.000+08:00

War of Choice: How Israel Manufactured the Gaza Escalation

Steve Niva | January 7, 2009

Editor: Erik Leaver

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Foreign Policy In Focus
www.fpif.org

Israel has repeatedly claimed that it had "no choice" but to wage war on Gaza on December 27 because Hamas had broken a ceasefire, was firing rockets at Israeli civilians, and had "tried everything in order to avoid this military operation," as Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni put it.

This claim, however, is widely at odds with the fact that Israel's military and political leadership took many aggressive steps during the ceasefire that escalated a crisis with Hamas, and possibly even provoked Hamas to create a pretext for the assault. This wasn't a war of "no choice," but rather a very avoidable war in which Israeli actions played the major role in instigating.

Israel has a long history of deliberately using violence and other provocative measures to trigger reactions in order to create a pretext for military action, and to portray its opponents as the aggressors and Israel as the victim. According to the respected Israeli military historian Zeev Maoz in his recent book, Defending the Holy Land, Israel most notably used this policy of "strategic escalation" in 1955-1956, when it launched deadly raids on Egyptian army positions to provoke Egypt's President Nasser into violent reprisals preceding its ill-fated invasion of Egypt; in 1981-1982, when it launched violent raids on Lebanon in order to provoke Palestinian escalation preceding the Israeli invasion of Lebanon; and between 2001-2004, when Prime Minister Ariel Sharon repeatedly ordered assassinations of high-level Palestinian militants during declared ceasefires, provoking violent attacks that enabled Israel's virtual reoccupation of the West Bank.

Israel's current assault on Gaza bears many trademark elements of Israel's long history of employing "strategic escalation" to manufacture a major crisis, if not a war.
Making War 'Inevitable'

The countdown to a war began, according to a detailed report by Barak Raviv in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, when Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak started planning the current attack on Gaza with his chiefs of staff at least six months ago — even as Israel was negotiating the Egyptian brokered ceasefire with Hamas that went into effect on June 19. During the subsequent ceasefire, the report contends, the Israeli security establishment carefully gathered intelligence to map out Hamas' security infrastructure, engaged in operational deception, and spread disinformation to mislead the public about its intentions.

This revelation doesn't confirm that Israel intended to start a war with Hamas in December, but it does shed some light on why Israel continuously took steps that undermined the terms of the fragile ceasefire with Hamas, even though Hamas respected their side of the agreement.

Indeed, there was a genuine lull in rocket and mortar fire between June 19 and November 4, due to Hamas compliance and only sporadically violated by a small number of launchings carried out by rival Fatah and Islamic Jihad militants, largely in defiance of Hamas. According to the conservative Israeli-based Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center's analysis of rocket and missile attacks in 2008, there were only three rockets fired at Israel in July, September, and October combined. Israeli civilians living near Gaza experienced an almost unprecedented degree of security during this period, with no Israeli casualties.

Yet despite the major lull, Israel continually raided the West Bank, arresting and frequently killing "wanted" Palestinians from June to October, which had the inevitable effect of ratcheting up pressure on Hamas to respond. Moreover, while the central expectation of Hamas going into the ceasefire was that Israel would lift the siege on Gaza, Israel only took the barest steps to ease the siege, which kept the people at a bare survival level. This policy was a clear affront to Hamas, and had the inescapable effect of undermining both Hamas and popular Palestinian support for the ceasefire.

But Israel's most provocative action, acknowledged by many now as the critical turning point that undermined the ceasefire, took place on November 4, when Israeli forces auspiciously violated the truce by crossing into the Gaza Strip to destroy what the army said was a tunnel dug by Hamas, killing six Hamas militants. Sara Roy, writing in the London Review of Books, contends this attack was "no doubt designed finally to undermine the truce between Israel and Hamas established last June."

The Israeli breach into Gaza was immediately followed by a further provocation by Israel on November 5, when the Israeli government hermetically sealed off all ways into and out of Gaza. As a result, the UN reports that the amount of imports entering Gaza has been "severely reduced to an average of 16 truckloads per day — down from 123 truckloads per day in October and 475 trucks per day in May 2007 — before the Hamas takeover." These limited shipments provide only a fraction of the supplies needed to sustain 1.5 million starving Palestinians.

In response, Hamas predictably claimed that Israel had violated the truce and allowed Islamic Jihad to launch a round of rocket attacks on Israel. Only after lethal Israeli reprisals killed over 10 Hamas gunmen in the following days did Hamas militants finally respond with volleys of mortars and rockets of their own. In two short weeks, Israel killed over 15 Palestinian militants, while about 120 rockets and mortars were fired at Israel, and although there were no Israeli casualties the calm had been shattered.

It was at this time that Israeli officials launched what appears to have been a coordinated media blitz to cultivate public reception for an impending conflict, stressing the theme of the "inevitability" of a coming war with Hamas in Gaza. On November 12, senior IDF officials announced that war with Hamas was likely in the two months after the six-month ceasefire, baldly stating it would occur even if Hamas wasn't interested in confrontation. A few days later, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert publicly ordered his military commanders to draw up plans for a war in Gaza, which were already well developed at the time. On November 19, according to Raviv's report in Haaretz, the Gaza war plan was brought before Barak for final approval.

While the rhetoric of an "inevitable" war with Hamas may have only been Israeli bluster to compel Hamas into line, its actions on the ground in the critical month leading up to the official expiration of the ceasefire on December 19 only heightened the cycle of violence, leaving a distinct impression Israel had cast the die for war.

Finally, Hamas then walked right into the "inevitable war" that Israel had been preparing since the ceasefire had gone into effect in June. With many Palestinians believing the ceasefire to be meaningless, Hamas announced it wouldn't renew the ceasefire after it expired on December 19. Hamas then stood back for two days while Islamic Jihad and Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades militants fired volleys of mortars and rockets into Israel, in the context of mutually escalating attacks. Yet even then, with Israeli threats of war mounting, Hamas imposed a 24-hour ceasefire on all missile attacks on December 21, announcing it would consider renewing the lapsed truce with Israel in the Gaza Strip if Israel would halt its raids in both Gaza and the West Bank, and keep Gaza border crossings open for supplies of aid and fuel. Israel immediately rejected its offer.

But when the Israel Defence Forces killed three Hamas militants laying explosives near the security fence between Israel and Gaza on the evening of December 23, the Hamas military wing lashed out by launching a barrage of over 80 missiles into Israel the following day, claiming it was Israel, and not Hamas, that was responsible for the escalation.

Little did they know that, according to Raviv, Prime Minister Olmert, and Defense Minister Barak had already met on December 18 to approve the impending war plan, but put the mission off waiting for a better pretext. By launching more than 170 rockets and mortars at Israeli civilians in the days following December 23, killing one Israeli civilian, Hamas had provided reason enough for Israel to unleash its long-planned attack on Gaza on December 27.
The Rationale for War

If Israel's goal were simply to end rocket attacks on its civilians, it would have solidified and extended the ceasefire, which was working well, until November. Even after November, it could have addressed Hamas' longstanding ceasefire proposals for a complete end to rocket-fire on Israel, in exchange for Israel lifting its crippling 18-month siege on Gaza.

Instead, the actual targets of its assault on Gaza after December 27, which included police stations, mosques, universities, and Hamas government institutions, clearly reveal that Israel's primary goals go far beyond providing immediate security for its citizens. Israeli spokespersons repeatedly claim that Israel's assault isn't about seeking to effect regime change with Hamas, but rather about creating a "new security reality" in Gaza. But that "new reality" requires Israel to use massive violence to degrade the political and military capacity of Hamas, to a point where it agrees to a ceasefire with conditions more congenial to Israel. Short of a complete reoccupation of Gaza, no amount of violence will erase Hamas from the scene.

Confirming the steps needed to create the "new reality," the broader reasons why Israel chose a major confrontation with Hamas at this time appear to be the cause of several other factors unrelated to providing immediate security for its citizens.

First, many senior Israeli political and military leaders strongly opposed the June 19 ceasefire with Hamas, and looked for opportunities to reestablish Israel's fabled "deterrent capability" of instilling fear into its enemies. These leaders felt Israel's deterrent capability was badly damaged as a result of their withdrawal from Gaza in 2005, and especially after the widely criticized failures in the 2006 Israeli war with Hezbollah. For this powerful group a ceasefire was at best a tactical pause before the inevitable renewal of conflict, when conditions were more favorable. Immediately following Israel's aerial assault, a New York Times article noted that Israel had been eager "to remind its foes that it has teeth" and to erase the ghost of Lebanon that has haunted it over the past two years.

A second factor was pressure surrounding the impending elections set to take place in early February. The ruling coalition, led by Barak and Livni, have been repeatedly criticized by the Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu, the former prime minister, who is leading in the polls, for not being tough enough on Hamas and rocket-fire from Gaza. This gave the ruling coalition a strong incentive to demonstrate to the Israeli people their security credentials in order to bolster their chances against the more hawkish Likud.

Third, Hamas repeatedly said it wouldn't recognize Mahmud Abbas as president of the Palestinian Authority after his term runs out on January 9. The looming political standoff on the Palestinian side threatens to boost Hamas and undermine Abbas, who had underseen closer security coordination with Israel and was congenial to Israeli demands for concessions on future peace proposals. One possible outcome of this assault is that Abbas will remain in power for a while longer, since Hamas will be unable to mobilise its supporters in order to force him to resign.

And finally, Israel was pressed to take action now due to its sense of the American political timeline. The Bush administration rarely exerted constraint on Israel and would certainly stand by in its waning days, while Barack Obama would not likely want to begin his presidency with a major confrontation with Israel. The Washington Post quoted a Bush administration official saying that Israel struck in Gaza "because they want it to be over before the next administration comes in. They can't predict how the next administration will handle it. And this is not the way they want to start with the new administration."
An Uncertain Ending

As the conflict rages to an uncertain end, it's important to consider Israeli military historian Zeev Maoz's contention that Israel's history of manufacturing wars through "strategic escalation" and using overwhelming force to achieve "deterrence" has never been successful. In fact, it's the primary cause of Israel's insecurity because it deepens hatred and a desire for revenge rather than fear.

At the same time, there's no question Hamas continues to callously sacrifice its fellow Palestinian citizens, as well as Israeli civilians, on the altar of maintaining its pyrrhic resistance credentials and its myopic preoccupation with revenge, and fell into many self-made traps of its own. There had been growing international pressure on Israel to ease its siege and a major increase in creative and nonviolent strategies drawing attention to the plight of Palestinians such as the arrival of humanitarian relief convoys off of Gaza's coast in the past months, but now Gaza lies in ruins.

But as the vastly more powerful actor holding nearly all the cards in this conflict, the war in Gaza was ultimately Israel's choice. And for all this bloodshed and violence, Israel must be held accountable.

With the American political establishment firmly behind Israel's attack, and Obama's foreign policy team heavily weighted with pro-Israel insiders like Dennis Ross and Hillary Clinton, any efforts to hold Israel accountable in the United States will depend upon American citizens mobilizing a major grassroots effort behind a new foreign policy that will not tolerate any violations of international law, including those by Israel, and will immediately work towards ending Israel's siege of Gaza and ending Israel's occupation.

Beyond that, the most promising prospect for holding Israel accountable is through the increasing use of universal jurisdiction for prosecuting war crimes, along with the growing transnational movement calling for sanctions on Israel until it ends its violations of international law. In what would be truly be a new style of foreign policy, a transnational network that focuses on Israeli violations of international law, rather than the state itself, could become a counterweight that forces policymakers in the United States, Europe, and Israel to reconsider their political and moral complicity in the current war, in favor of taking real steps towards peace and security in the region for all peoples.

Steve Niva, a professor of International Politics and Middle East Studies at The Evergreen State College, is a contributor to Foreign Policy In Focus. He is currently writing a book on the relationship between Israel's military violence and Palestinian suicide bombings.

source :http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/5776

Small Tsunami Waves

2009-01-05T19:48:00.000+08:00

Twin Papua Quakes Collapse Hotel; Trigger Small Tsunami Waves

Japan coast braces after twin quakes in Indonesia
TOKYO, Jan 4, 2009 (AFP) - Japan's Pacific coast could see some minor tsunami waves on Sunday after two powerful earthquakes off Indonesia, but nothing big enough to cause damage, the country's meteorological agency said. Waves up to 50 centimetres (1.5 feet) could reach the Pacific sides of islands from the Okinawan chain to the main island of Honshu, it said in an advisory -- which is less significant than an urgent warning. The agency advised people from going near beaches and estuaries. A 7.6-magnitude quake and 7.5-magnitude aftershock hit Sunday morning off.
by Staff Writers
Manokwari, Indonesia (AFP) Jan 4, 2009
Two powerful earthquakes rattled Indonesia's West Papua province early Sunday, triggering panic among residents but there were no immediate reports of any casualties or heavy damage.
The first 7.6-magnitude quake struck at 4:43 am (1943 GMT Saturday), about 150 kilometres northwest of the city of Manokwari, the US Geological Survey said, triggering a tsunami alert that was later withdrawn.

It was followed almost three hours later at 2233 GMT by a 7.5-magnitude aftershock, the US agency said.

Both quakes were fairly shallow, with the first hitting at a depth of 35 kilometres (22 miles) and the second at 45 kilometres.

Distressed residents ran out of their homes as the quake rattled Manokwari, the seaside capital of the province, but there were no immediate signs of heavy damage or injuries, an AFP correspondent in the town said.

Thousands of residents including children and the elderly could be seen thronging the roads of the town in the darkness of a blackout and heading away from the sea despite the tsunami warning being lifted.

Little damage could be seen initially in the town apart from cracked walls.

"The quake was quite strong and we felt it for about three minutes. The electricity blacked out after the quake," a policeman who identified himself as Ketut said.

"The police and military are working right now to help people get to higher ground due to the tsunami alert and the fact that we're on the coast," he said.

Several smaller aftershocks were also reported in the hours following the first quake, Indonesian seismologists said.

Indonesia, which sits at the meeting of continental plates, is frequently hit by earthquakes and tsunamis.

The Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, which was triggered by a massive quake off the coast of Indonesia, killed at least 168,000 people in the country's Aceh province and Nias island.

Hotel collapses after powerful Indonesian quakes
A hotel in Indonesia's West Papua province collapsed when the second of two powerful earthquakes hit the region Sunday and three people were pulled alive from the rubble, officials said.

The three guests who had been staying at the Mutiara hotel in the city of Manokwari were taken to hospital, but their condition was not immediately clear. No other hotel staff or guests were believed to be trapped or missing.

"Those three hotel guests returned to their room after the first big quake. They failed to evacuate after the second powerful quake struck and got trapped in the hotel rubble," a hotel staffer identified as Harun told AFP.

"The three have been brought to a nearby hospital. But it's not clear what injuries they suffered," he added.

He said that the hotel had failed to withstand the quake as it was old but that other buildings in the neighbourhood had received only minor damage such as cracks to the walls.

The first 7.6-magnitude quake struck at 4:43 am (1943 GMT Saturday), about 150 kilometres northwest of Manokwari and was followed almost three hours later by a 7.5 magnitude aftershocks, the US Geological Survey said.

resource : http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Twin_Papua_Quakes_Collapse_Hotel_Trigger_Small_Tsunami_Waves_999.html

Series of quakes hit Indonesia

2009-01-05T19:46:00.000+08:00

Series of quakes hit Indonesia,
killing 42009-01-05 02:26:01 -
MANOKWARI, Indonesia (AP) - A series of powerful earthquakes killed at least four people and injured dozens in remote eastern Indonesia Sunday and briefly triggered fears of another tsunami in a country still recovering from 2004's deadly waves.One of the quakes _ a 7.3-magnitude tremor _ was felt as far away as Australia and sent small tsunamis into Japan's southeastern coast.Residents near the epicenter in Papua province rushed from their homes in search of higher ground shortly after the first 7.6-magnitude quake struck at 4:43 a.m. local time (1943 GMT), afraid that huge waves might wash over the island.The epicenter was about 85 miles (135 kilometers) from Papua's main city of Manokwari and occurred at a depth of 22 miles (35 kilometers), the U.S. Geological Survey said. It was followed by dozens of aftershocks.At least four people died, dozens were injured and some 135 homes and other buildings were badly damaged or toppled in the province. Power lines fell, cutting off electricity, and the runway of Manokwari's Rendani airport was cracked, prompting the cancellation of commercial flights.The government initially issued a tsunami warning but lifted it within an hour after it was confirmed that the epicenter was on land, not water.Quakes centered onshore pose little tsunami threat to Indonesia itself, but those close to the coast can churn up large waves that sometimes reach the coastlines of other countries such as Japan.Japan reported tsunamis between 4 inches (10 centimeters) and 16 inches (40 centimeters) high hitting its shores following the temblors.A huge quake off western Indonesia caused the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that killed about 230,000 people, more than half of them on the western Indonesian island of Sumatra. Four years on, the multibillion dollar rebuilding process is almost complete.Residents in Papua's Manokwari _ a jumble of low-lying brick and cement structures home to 167,000 people _ remained jittery late Sunday, with thousands prepared to sleep outside for fear of aftershocks.«We don't feel safe,» said Simon, 32, who like many Indonesians goes by one name. He was staying outside with his wife and three kids. «It's just in case there are strong aftershocks.Local officials drove through the streets warning people not to return to structures that might be vulnerable if an aftershock hit.The Indonesian healthy ministry was sending an aid team to Manokwari Sunday night as well as four tons of medical supplies and baby food, spokeswoman Lily Sulistyowati said.Relief agency World Vision Indonesia was flying in 2,000 emergency provision kits, including canned food, blankets and basic medical supplies, said spokeswoman Katarina Hardono. She said its team will try to reach Manokwari by plane, but if needed will make a 36-hour trip by boat.The National Disaster Coordination Agency said 135 houses and buildings were badly damaged or collapsed.Hengky Tewu, director of a local hospital, said 19 patients were being treated there for broken bones, cuts, crushed fingers and other injuries.Twenty quake patients were being treated at a navy hospital, said Ina, a nurse who also goes by a single name.Papua _ located about 1,830 miles (2,955 kilometers) east of the capital Jakarta _ is among the nation's least developed areas, and a low-level insurgency has simmered in the resource-rich region for years. It is off limits to foreign reporters.Indonesia straddles a chain of fault lines and volcanoes known as the Pacific «Ring of Fire» and is prone to seismic activity.The quake was felt 800 miles (1,300 kilometers) southwest of Papua in Australia's northern city of Darwin but no damage was reported there.
Associated Press writers Zakki Hakim and Niniek Karmini contributed to this report from Jakarta.
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Should We Worry About Global Warming? The Benefits of Atmospheric Warming

2008-12-22T10:17:00.001+08:00

Should We Worry About Global Warming?

The Benefits of Atmospheric Warming
Resource: http://www.enter.net/~jjfhome/globalwarming.htm

The Problem
"At stake is nothing less than the survival of human civilization and the habitability of the earth for our species."

A. Gore

If you believe today's press, nearly all the world's respectable scientists believe that mankind is causing the atmosphere to warm, and the temperature increase will lead to disastrous consequences for animals and man. Furthermore, only man can "save the planet", by costly methods and by putting man's environment ahead of the interests of man himself. Could it be possible that rising atmospheric temperatures are good for humanity? Over the earth's history, the climate has constantly changed, warming and cooling. At the present time, we are in a slow warming trend. Reason tells us that atmospheric warming is better than atmospheric cooling, because it is easier to adapt to warmer temperatures than to cooler ones. In the light of reason, the quote above from Mr. Gore is absurd.

A review of the planet's history

The earth has been warming for the last 18,000 years since the current interglacial event began. The warming has neither been linear nor monotonic. Within historical times, man has seen the medieval warming period, during which time Greenland and Newfoundland were colonized. George Washington experienced the Little Ice Age while at Valley Forge.

Throughout the history of the earth the climate has often changed but predicting future changes on the time scale of decades or centuries by using numerical models will never work. Just look at numerical weather prediction models. It is hard to predict a week ahead, and these models are particularly weak when they attempt to call a change in the weather. If we cannot reliably call the turn in the weather 48 - 72 hours out, how can we possibly suggest that global climate models could have any validity over centuries. Models are good at one thing--solving equations. Models cannot account for variables not programmed into them. In the case of climate, some variables that cause problems include: clouds, biologic activity, dust, land use, and carbon reservoirs such as: land plants, soil, atmosphere, oceans, & fossil fuels. To repeat myself, models are good for solving equations, period. Whatever you believe about the future of the climate, do not believe model predictions!

What causes climate change

Some causes of climate change include:

Changes in solar activity
Cycles in the earth's obliquity, eccentricity, and wobble
Plate tectonics
Vulcanism
Impact by extraterrestrial body
Changes in greenhouse gases (H2O, CH4, CO2, and others)

Of these gases, water and methane have the most greenhouse effect, but it is not easy to blame mankind for them. Clearly most of the climate change over the last two million years did not result from human activity, but it is likely that man is partially responsible for the current warming. It is not easy to prove either way, but it has become axiomatic in the press that it is man's fault. There is a correlation between CO2 concentration (currently about 385 parts per million) and atmospheric temperature, but although a cause and effect relationship has not been established (cum hoc ergo propter hoc), the relationship could be causal. The concentration has been higher and lower in the past, and given the history of climate change, man's effect is probably not overwhelming. After all, the CO2 concentration is only about 0.01 that of the water vapor concentration. Now let's take a look at politics.

GEO-4

In October 2007, the UN issued a report called Global Environmental Outlook.

In its press release, GEO-4 says, "There are no major issues raised in Our Common Future for which the foreseeable trends are favourable."

However, according to the EPA, "The common view that the environment is deteriorating in almost all respects is not justified. Several important trends are moving favorably as a result of applications of science and technology as well as behavioral and policy shifts in both developing and industrialized countries. For example, energy intensity, the source of major environmental problems when fuels are dirty, is decreasing, and the fuel mix is decarbonizing, signifying a shift to cleaner sources."

Geo-4 says, "Sea-level rise caused by thermal expansion of water and the melting of glaciers and ice sheets will continue for the foreseeable future, with potentially huge consequences." While true as stated, sea level has risen 100' in 18,000 years. Why does GEO-4 imply that this rise is recent?

GEO-4: "The situation on air pollution is mixed, with some successes in both developed and developing countries, but major problems remain...Despite progress in reducing emissions, air pollution still poses risks for both human health and the environment."

Intergovernment Panel on Climate Change: "There is little published evidence that changes in population health status actually have occurred in response to observed trends in climate over recent decades."

The Environment

The word "environment" refers to man's surroundings. Even if used to mean the surroundings of an animal, the word is used only by humans, not by the animal. It should be appropriate then for man to take pleasure in his environment, use its resources, and take care of it. However to some, "environment" and "earth" have taken on the characteristics of a god, and devotion to the environment has become a religion. To those people, man is viewed as evil; whereas, animals, trees, and ice are viewed as good. They seem to think the world would be a better place, if only there were no humans. If the atmosphere is warming, that is good for most people. Those living on low-lying islands or seacoasts seem to be the only exception.

According to the EPA, aggregate emissions from six principal pollutants in the USA has decreased 54% since 1970. From that I conclude man has done a good job in recent years in taking care of his environment.

A review

What have we learned so far? The earth has been warming for a long while, and humans may be contributing some of it now. What is the goal of radical environmentalism? Is it to reverse global warming and produce cooling? That would be a true catastrophe. Is it to stop warming? That is impossible until the next glaciation. Is it to reduce the rate of increase? To what purpose; how low should we reduce it; how will we know when we have done enough? Why is the goal never stated?

When have you heard an environmentalist propose a solution (not goal) that did not hurt people or business? Goals such as clean air and water are good; solutions that hurt people, cost money, resources, and the expenditure of great effort by man should be subjected to a cost/benefit analysis. Note that only CO2 emissions from transportation and electricity generation are addressed.

What about changing our forestry practices to put out more fires, such as cutting out the underbrush?
What about building more nuclear power plants?
What about engineering solutions like adding aerosols to the atmosphere?
What about using less ethanol in gasoline so we do not disturb a major carbon sink, the soil?

On balance ethanol in gasoline puts more carbon in the atmosphere.

The benefits of "Global" Warming

Amid all this despair about anthropogenic global warming, could it be possible that warming is good? First of all, warming is not global. It occurs most in colder places and times such as: northern latitudes, mountains, night, & winter. It occurs least in tropical climates. Let's compare some benefits with drawbacks.

Drawbacks Benefits
Low-lying areas get flooded Reduced energy use
Loss of biodiversity More land is available for mankind & farming
Arctic ice melts Northwest passage opens
More heat-related deaths Fewer cold-related deaths
More severe storms?? Better conditions for crops and forests

Although the consequences of warming outlined in red in the table are significant and problematical, there are offsetting consequences that are good. On balance, decide for yourself, are energy savings and increased land availability better for mankind than loss of low-lying areas and loss of biodiversity? When have you ever heard anyone cite the advantages of warming? Would you rather cooling or warming?

Conclusions

The earth has been warming since the latest glaciers started to melt. Isn't that better than cooling? Let's all enjoy the energy savings.

Should we worry about global warming? Yes, if you live on a low-lying island or barrier island, otherwise no. We should welcome the warmer temperatures in the polar and temperate climates and accept the trends we cannot control.

J. J. Friel, Ph. D.

CLICKING THAT HELPS

2008-12-16T09:29:00.004+08:00

http://www.thehungersite.com/clickToGive/
http://www.thehungersite.com/tpc/THS_linktous
http://www.care2.com/click2donate/

Come on, try checking them out.

IT'S FREE. YOU DO NOT NEED TO DONATE $$ TO HELP.

These site have buttons for you to click LOL

Well, it works like this. The donations use money given by companies that put their advertisement there. When you click, It will shows those advertisement below the buttons. Each click count. And the advertisement's money will go to charity.

Sorry if you don't understand... Check this, it explains better:
The Hunger Site provides a feel-good way to help promote awareness and prevent hunger deaths every day — through easy and quick online activities.

With a simple, daily click of the yellow "Click Here to Give - it's FREE" button at The Hunger Site, visitors help provide food to those in need. Visitors pay nothing. Food is paid for by the site's sponsors and distributed by Mercy Corps worldwide and by Feeding America (formerly America's Second Harvest) to food banks throughout the United States.

Please remember to click every day to give help and hope to those most in need. Every click counts in the life of a hungry person.

Obama left with little time to curb global warming

2008-12-15T11:55:00.000+08:00

Obama left with little time to curb global warming

By SETH BORENSTEIN, AP Science Writer Seth Borenstein, Ap Science Writer Sun Dec 14, 6:49 pm ET

WASHINGTON – When Bill Clinton took office in 1993, global warming was a slow-moving environmental problem that was easy to ignore. Now it is a ticking time bomb that President-elect Barack Obama can't avoid.

Since Clinton's inauguration, summer Arctic sea ice has lost the equivalent of Alaska, California and Texas. The 10 hottest years on record have occurred since Clinton's second inauguration. Global warming is accelerating. Time is close to running out, and Obama knows it.

"The time for delay is over; the time for denial is over," he said on Tuesday after meeting with former Vice President Al Gore, who won a Nobel Peace Prize for his work on global warming. "We all believe what the scientists have been telling us for years now that this is a matter of urgency and national security and it has to be dealt with in a serious way."

But there are powerful political and economic realities that must be quickly overcome for Obama to succeed. Despite the urgency he expresses, it's not at all clear that he and Congress will agree on an approach during a worldwide financial crisis in time to meet some of the more crucial deadlines.

Obama is pushing changes in the way Americans use energy, and produce greenhouse gases, as part of what will be a massive economic stimulus. He called it an opportunity "to re-power America."

After years of inaction on global warming, 2009 might be different. Obama replaces a president who opposed mandatory cuts of greenhouse gas pollution and it appears he will have a willing Congress. Also, next year, diplomats will try to agree on a major new international treaty to curb the gases that promote global warming.

"We need to start in January making significant changes," Gore said in a recent telephone interview with The Associated Press. "This year coming up is the most important opportunity the world has ever had to make progress in really solving the climate crisis."

Scientists are increasingly anxious, talking more often and more urgently about exceeding "tipping points."

"We're out of time," Stanford University biologist Terry Root said. "Things are going extinct."

U.S. emissions have increased by 20 percent since 1992. China has more than doubled its carbon dioxide pollution in that time. World carbon dioxide emissions have grown faster than scientists' worst-case scenarios. Methane, the next most potent greenhouse gas, suddenly is on the rise again and scientists fear that vast amounts of the trapped gas will escape from thawing Arctic permafrost.

The amount of carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere has already pushed past what some scientists say is the safe level.

In the early 1990s, many scientists figured that the world was about a century away from a truly dangerous amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, said Mike MacCracken, who was a top climate scientist in the Clinton administration. But as they studied the greenhouse effect further, scientists realized that harmful changes kick in at far lower levels of carbon dioxide than they thought. Now some scientists, but not all, say the safe carbon dioxide level for Earth is about 10 percent below what it is now.

Gore called the situation "the equivalent of a five-alarm fire that has to be addressed immediately."

Scientists fear that what's happening with Arctic ice melt will be amplified so that ominous sea level rise will occur sooner than they expected. They predict Arctic waters could be ice-free in summers, perhaps by 2013, decades earlier than they thought only a few years ago.

In December 2009, diplomats are charged with forging a new treaty replacing the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which set limits on greenhouse gases, and which the United States didn't ratify. This time European officials have high expectations for the U.S. to take the lead. But many experts don't see Congress passing a climate bill in time because of pressing economic and war issues.

"The reality is, it may take more than the first year to get it all done," Senate Energy Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., said recently.

Complicating everything is the worldwide financial meltdown. Frank Maisano, a Washington energy specialist and spokesman who represents coal-fired utilities and refineries, sees the poor economy as "a huge factor" that could stop everything. That's because global warming efforts are aimed at restricting coal power, which is cheap. That would likely mean higher utility bills and more damage to ailing economies that depend on coal production, he said.

Obama is stacking his Cabinet and inner circle with advocates who have pushed for deep mandatory cuts in greenhouse gas pollution and even with government officials who have achieved results at the local level.

The President-elect has said that one of the first things he will do when he gets to Washington is grant California and other states permission to control car tailpipe emissions, something the Bush administration denied.

And though congressional action may take time, the incoming Congress will be more inclined to act on global warming. In the House, liberal California Democrat Henry Waxman's unseating of Michigan Rep. John Dingell — a staunch defender of Detroit automakers — as head of the House Energy and Commerce Committee was a sign that global warming will be on the fast track.

Senate Environment and Public Works Chairman Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., vowed to push two global warming bills starting in January: one to promote energy efficiency as an economic stimulus and the other to create a cap-and-trade system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from utilities. "The time is now," she wrote in a Dec. 8 letter to Obama.

Mother Nature, of course, is oblivious to the federal government's machinations. Ironically, 2008 is on pace to be a slightly cooler year in a steadily rising temperature trend line. Experts say it's thanks to a La Nina weather variation. While skeptics are already using it as evidence of some kind of cooling trend, it actually illustrates how fast the world is warming.

The average global temperature in 2008 is likely to wind up slightly under 57.9 degrees Fahrenheit, about a tenth of a degree cooler than last year. When Clinton was inaugurated, 57.9 easily would have been the warmest year on record. Now, that temperature would qualify as the ninth warmest year.

___

Associated Press writer Dina Cappiello contributed to this report.

source : http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081214/ap_on_sc/global_warming_obama/print

A Forum For Us

2008-12-14T15:34:00.003+08:00

http://rainbowsociety.invisionplus.net

It's a forum for us, so register quickly because I am lonely there... It's for everyone, not just the commitee members.

Oh, when you first enter our forum, read the Announcement section first. There's not much there(for now), BUT what's inside are not rubbish. Read it, it's not lagging at all!

Currently, I have no idea what to article/topics should I put into the forum for us to discuss. So if you think you can be the first person to do it, go ahead. I don't care if you are the one to 'First Blood'....What? Well, what do you expect me to say?

2008-12-13T12:14:00.000+08:00

The Big C.

Cancer is the big C that strikes fear into most hearts. Almost everyone knows who has died from some form of cancer. In this new millennium, more and more people are getting cancer, and at even younger ages too. The top cancers for men worldwide are cancer of the lung, nasopharynx and colon, whereas for women, it is breast, cervix and colon cancer.

The body has natural cycles of cell elimination and reproduction- for instance skin cells regenerate themselves in 28 days, while red blood cells are reproduced every four months to replace expired cells. Cancer happens when the body cells proliferate or grow faster than they should.

Scientist are still searching for the answers on why does this things happen – but there is already research that links cancer an\d abnormal cell conditions to family history, environmental pollution, unhealthy lifestyle, high-fat diets and lack of physical activities.

The most alarming part about cancer is that the symptoms usually manifest themselves quite late. By the time there are symptoms, cell proliferation would have been quite substantial, which means the cancer is already in an advanced stage.

Some of the most common signs include an unexplained lump or growth in the breast or neck that does not go away, unusual bleeding from any part of the body, changes to a spot or mole, a sore that does not heal, changes in bladder or bowel habits and difficulty swallowing.

Recent research suggests that the diet plays the major role in cancer risk. Cancer rates are found to be much higher in the western countries with the culture of high-fat diets. As Asia gets increasingly westernized particularly in the dietary habits, the rates of cancer are rising in tandem!

Therefore, what can we do to keep cell activity healthy and normal so as to keep the big C at bay?
Here are some suggestions:

1. Maintain a healthy body weight because obesity has been found to be the cause of many chronic diseases.

2. Stay active physically exercise at least 3 times a week, 30 minutes each time.
3. Reduce fat in your diet and practice using low-fat alternatives in your cooking.
4. Increase foods with high fiber content such as fruits, vegetables and grains to promote intestinal activity.

5. Increase intake of vitamin C found naturally in citrus fruits and vegetables for better absorption of nutrients.

6. Reduce caffeinated beverages and opt for refreshing yet beneficial alternatives such as green tea.

7. Include natural immune booster such as mushrooms, onions, garlic and herbs to keep your immune system balance.

8. Go for regular check-ups instead of visiting a doctor when there is a pain, injury or diseases.

So the most important is the awareness and attitude towards cancer prevention. Remember, cancer cuts across all race and religion. Early detection and treatment will prevent you from becoming a statistic!
By Audrey Lim
13th December, 2008.

2008-12-10T11:32:00.001+08:00

Christmas gift

2008-12-10T10:48:00.003+08:00

Today has already 10th of December,
Christmas's eve will be left with another 14 days!!!!
Have you bought gifts to your love ones, family and friends???
Expensive and big budget to spend?
NO!
why don't look for something GREEN and eco-friendly????

I found a website just now, look nice and affordable ;)
check it out!

http://www.greenchristmasmarket.blogspot.com/

Maybe you can DIY DO.It.YOURSELF to show your love ones that you CARE and LOVE them!!!

check this :
http://christmasgiftsnow.net/handmade-christmas-gifts.htm

Christmas's cookies always the best serve and homemade gift
http://www.christmas-cookies.com/

posted by : Elly See

ANNOUCEMENT, Labi trip

2008-12-10T10:35:00.002+08:00

ANNOUNCEMENT:

RE : LABI TRIP FOR RAINBOW SOCIETY COMMITTEE MEMBERS

1. Date and Venue

a. Date: 27th December 2008, Sunday
b. Venue: Labi, mukim Sg.Liang ,Negara Brunei Darussalam

2. Rules and Regulations

a. This trip is strictly for Rainbow Society Committee Members only. Even if a Committee Member is unable to join the trip, no other people can be invited to join this trip.

b. Committee Members are expected to wear the Rainbow Society T-shirt and may bring an extra t-shirt if they wish to do so.

c. Every Committee Members must ensure that their parents know about this trip, and that their parents give their approval for the committee members to join this trip.

d. All items and belongings that each Committee Members bring are his or her responsibilities. Damage or loss of belongings will not be compensated. Members are also expected to take care of themselves as Rainbow Society will not be responsible for any damage acquired during the trip.

e. Committee Members are expected to make preparations a day before the trip and be ready on time for the transport.

f. Committee members are expected to obey the president and behave as they should for the trip.

3. Things Necessary For Each Committee Members To Bring

a. Respective cutlery, i.e., plates, spoons, forks and so on
b. Respective drinks, if possible, in the form of mineral water
c. An extra t-shirt
d. Mobile phone for contact
e. Ointment like sunblock or sunscreen

Note: Members are allowed to bring other things other than those listed above.

4. Miscellaneous

a. Committee Members must follow the Rules and Regulations stated above.
b. For additional information, please refer to the President.
c. This file is confidential and thus should not be forwarded to anyone else.

***All of the committee participants are expected to bring some info/general facts about GREEN Living/activities during the trip to share with others.
*Collections should be clear at least 1 week before the trip to Pei Fen, RS's treasurer or Ah hao, RS's asst.treasurer.

prepared by : Yee Jien (Jess Sia)
Approved by : Elly See ,president of RS

2008-12-08T08:29:00.000+08:00

Chilean glaciers retreating due to global warming: report
SANTIAGO, Dec 7 (AFP) Dec 07, 2008
Chile's glaciers are on the retreat, a sign of global warming but also a threat to fresh water reserves at the southern end of South America, a report has found.
In a November report, the Chilean water utility -- Direccion General de Aguas de Chile (DGA) -- said the Echaurren ice fields, which supply the capital with 70 percent of its water needs, are receding up to 12 meters (39.37 feet) per year.

Twenty of the glaciers studied receded between 1986 and 2007 in Campos de Hielo Sur, the third largest ice reserve in the world after Antarctica and Greenland. At the current rate of decline, Echaurren and other small glaciers close to Santiago could vanish over the next half century.

"The results indicate that the Campos de Hielo Sur glaciers generally tend to recede, which could be due to climate change in the region," the study said.

"The glaciers have receded up to 580 meters (1,900 feet) due to reduced rainfall recorded by weather stations in Patagonia and temperatures rising by about one degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) in the region over the last century."

The Chilean glaciers, located mostly in the remote flatlands of Patagonia, have receded by about 67 meters per year between 1986 and 2001 and by about 45 meters between 2001 and 2007, according to DGA.

The Jorge Montt receded the most of all glaciers studied, by 11 kilometers (6.8 miles) in 21 years, a loss of 40 square kilometers (25 square miles). The San Rafael glacier in southern Chile lost 12 kilometers (7.45 miles) over 136 years.

"The fact that the glaciers are receding is one of the most dramatic consequences of global warming, because that's where climate change is most obvious," glaciologist Andres Rivera of the Valdivia scientific studies institute (CECS) told AFP.

The melting or collapse of the ice wall formed at a glacier's extremity is not due solely to global warming, according to the scientists who wrote the DGA study. The depth of the lakes or fjords into which they fall also causes the glaciers to crumble.

Loss of glaciers along Chile's Andes mountain range, home to 76 percent of South America's glaciers over a surface of 20,000 square kilometers (12,400 square miles), is threatening the water supply for people and agriculture.

"The glaciers will continue to provide fresh water for at least a hundred years. The cities and crops will expand and a time will come where the glaciers will be the population's water source," the study warned.

But two glaciers bucked the trend. Pie XI, the biggest glacier in Hielo Sur, is also the only one that continues to expand in Chile. Perito Moreno in neighboring Argentina is its only glacier that is still spreading.

"These two examples are anomalies, exceptions in this region where the glaciers are receding and losing mass."

source :http://www.spacedaily.com/2006/081207220535.1tew1335.html

Quake with magnitude of 6.1 hits northern Japan

2008-12-05T11:00:00.000+08:00

Quake with magnitude of 6.1 hits northern Japan
1 day ago

TOKYO (AP) — A 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of northern Japan on Thursday, the Meteorological Agency said. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

The quake hit Thursday morning off the coast of Miyagi, about 180 miles (290 kilometers) north of Tokyo, the agency said. It struck at a depth of about six miles (10 kilometers).

The agency said there was no danger of a tsunami from the earthquake.

Masakazu Murakami, an official in charge of disaster management in Miyagi, said the quake caused no damage to utilities such as water, electricity, gas and telephone lines.

"I was in the office when the quake hit this morning. But I did not feel any tremors," Murakami said.

A police official in Miyagi said authorities there had not received any reports of damage or casualties. The official spoke on condition of anonymity, citing department policy.

Japan is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries.

The most recent major quake in Japan killed more than 6,400 people in the western port city of Kobe in January 1995.

Experts believe Tokyo has a 90 percent chance of being hit by a major quake over the next 50 years.

source :
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j2Of-mRPmlnRRq09DW2EVRHLWqnAD94RIKN80

2008-11-24T23:17:00.000+08:00

ANNOUCEMENT

2008-11-23T11:20:00.003+08:00

ANNOUNCEMENT:

After a few days break, we are back!
Rainbow society members are going to back in their base and starting to plan for more strategy, activities as well as some official work-done here.
For more update, please keep in touch in this blog :D

ELLY SEE
President of RS

Indonesia's Quake Toll Rises To Six, 10,000 Displaced

2008-11-21T11:05:00.000+08:00

(RTTNews) - Six persons were killed and over 10,000 others were displaced after a strong earthquake of magnitude 7.5 rattled Indonesia's Sulawesi Island Monday. Health ministry reports said that over 150 persons were injured.

The shallow quake hit Indonesia early Monday with its epicenter 138 km northwest of Gorontalo city. Indonesia's meteorology agency issued a tsunami alert, but the warning was lifted later.

Two more bodies were pulled out from the rubble Tuesday adding to the four already reported dead in Monday's quake. The Health Ministry crisis center reports said that over 1,000 buildings were damaged in the quake and over 10,000 persons had sought safe shelters out of their homes.

Indonesia had just launched a hi-tech tsunami alert system to issue early warnings, but experts said that large parts of the country are still not covered and the system will not be fully operational till 2010.

Meanwhile, a moderate earthquake of magnitude 5.5 rocked eastern Indonesia Tuesday. However, there were no reports of damage or casualties.

by RTT Staff Writer

For comments and feedback: contact editorial@rttnews.com
Source: http://www.rttnews.com/ArticleView.aspx?Id=779460&SMap=1

2008-11-17T14:22:00.001+08:00

16 November 2008
Showcases Its Revolutionary Air Purifer; Confernce A Success

The EnviroCities 2008 International Conference that was held at the Bustan Rotana Hotel, was organized by the 'Environmental Centre for Arab Towns', in association with Harvard University- School of Public Health. More than 20 experts from different parts of the world had spoken about the health hazards of pollution and the ways to combat them, such as the use of Plasmacluster Ion Purifier developed by Sharp Corp. The conference was attended by ministers, senior government officials, NGO's, healthcare professionals and other dignified invitees.

This conference had attracted the attention of the world leaders, the conference calls for the immediate government intervention in emission control and the subsequent healthcare. "We are proud to say that Sharp Plasmacluster ion technology can help to provide healthier and comfortable indoor environment. The Plasmacluster ion purifier from Sharp generates positive and negative ions that can inactivate airborne virus, bacteria, odour and allergens." Mr Fred Yamaguchi, the newly on board Managing Director of Sharp Middle East said in his presentation speech in EnviroCities conference.

The effect of the Plasmacluster has proven its effect against more than 17 kinds of airborne and harmful species including bird flu H5N1.It has also been proven that the trigger of allergic asthma can be reduced by the Plasmacluster ions, and Sharp has granted the certificate from Asthma Society of Canada in the year 2004.

More than 25 collaborative researches have been conducted with academic bodies and associations all over the world, including the Asthma association of Canada, as well as the Professors from Harvard School of public health in the US, University of London in the UK, and University of Lubeck in Germany.

Sharp had built stalls around the conference area to demonstrate the Plasmacluster air purifiers, a technology that was verified by harnessing the intellectual power of experts across the globe, in the field of healthcare control.

The conference also emphasized about the active involvement of the government in cutting the carbon and other greenhouse gas emission. It has highlighted about the repercussions that will result if strategies to control all forms of pollution are not implemented immediately. Sharp Corp, the Platinum sponsor of the conference wants to provide the people with clean air to breath, a clean and green earth for the people to live in.

- Ends -

About Sharp Middle East FZE
Sharp Middle East Free Zone Establishment (SMEF) began operations on April 1, 1998, in the Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZ) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). A Dhs30m ($8m) enterprise wholly owned by Sharp Corporation, Japan, SMEF was established as a central base to handle all regional marketing activities, including sales, service and distribution. Not only is SMEF working to expand its sales activities in the Middle East and Africa, but in Pakistan, Iran and Central Asia as well.

For more Information please contact
Mr. Shaukat
Tel:04 32176200

© Press Release 2008

http://www.zawya.com/story.cfm/sidZAWYA20081116131515/Sharp%27s%20Air%20Purifier%20Draws%20Attention%20at%20EnviroCities%202008

2008-10-30T20:06:00.001+08:00

2008-10-30T19:47:00.001+08:00

(Corrects funds under management to more than $1.6 billion in last paragraph, instead of more than $150 million)

By David Fogarty, Climate Change Correspondent, Asia

GOLD COAST (Reuters) - The world still has the funds and ability to fight climate change and nations should not use the financial crisis to delay policies on tackling global warming, a top carbon expert said on Thursday.

James Cameron, vice-chairman of London-based Climate Change Capital, said the mobilisation of trillions of dollars over recent months had demonstrated the strength and scale of cooperation in tackling a global crisis.

"We run the risk that governments will choose to focus on the near-term crisis and allow themselves the delusion that there is more time available to deal with a crisis coming slowly from afar," he told a major carbon conference in Australia.

"So I accept that there is a danger that climate change could slip in the priority list for governments," he told delegates.

"But we have learned that we are able to cooperate across borders to deal with the financial crisis, and beyond political boundaries, so we can mobilize capital very fast and that we do so in ways that support the continuation of our market systems."

He said if governments combined that same capacity to cooperate with a matching urgency in tackling climate change, then the world could deal with both crises at the same time.

There are concerns the financial crisis has already called on large reserves of public capital and that countries would be reluctant to make near-term climate change commitments that would cost their economies or threaten jobs.

But Cameron, a senior member of one of the world's leading investors in clean-energy projects, said such a short-term focus was unwise.

"If you are making investments that are designed to deliver public good in dealing with a crisis that will undeniably cost our economies substantial amounts over decades to come, it trivialises the issue to do a near-term cost-benefit analysis."

"We are not, despite the recent drastic fall in the value of stock markets, without the capital to invest in solutions to this problem," he added.

Climate Change Capital has more than $1.6 billion in funds under management and focuses on companies and institutions affected by the policy and capital market responses to climate change, the firm says on its website.

from: http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-36219820081030?sp=true

News From Times : How to win the war on Global warming

2008-10-20T20:18:00.001+08:00

Wednesday, Apr. 16, 2008
How to Win the War on Global Warming
By Bryan Walsh

Americans don't like to lose wars—which makes sense, since we have so little practice with it. Of course, a lot depends on how you define just what a war is. There are shooting wars—the kind that test our mettle and our patriotism and our resourcefulness and our courage—and those are the kind at which we excel. But other struggles test those qualities too. What else was the Great Depression or the space race or the construction of the railroads or the eradication of polio but a massive, often frightening challenge that we decided as a culture we ought to rise up and face? If we indulge in a bit of chest-thumping and flag-waving when the job is done, well, we earned it.

We are now faced with a similarly momentous challenge: global warming. The steady deterioration of the very climate of our very planet is becoming a war of the first order, and by any measure, the U.S. is losing. Indeed, if we're fighting at all—and by most accounts, we're not—we're fighting on the wrong side. The U.S. produces nearly a quarter of the world's greenhouse gases each year and has stubbornly made it clear that it doesn't intend to do a whole lot about it. Although 174 nations ratified the admittedly flawed Kyoto accords to reduce carbon levels, the U.S. walked away from them. While even developing China has boosted its mileage standards to 35�m.p.g., the U.S. remains the land of the Hummer. Oh, there are vague promises of manufacturing fuel from switchgrass or powering cars with hydrogen—someday. But for a country that rightly cites patriotism as one of its core values, we're taking a pass on what might be the most patriotic struggle of all. It's hard to imagine a bigger fight than one for the survival of the country's coasts and farms, the health of its people and the stability of its economy—and for those of the world at large as well.

The rub is, if the vast majority of people increasingly agree that climate change is a global emergency, there's far less consensus on how to fix it. Industry offers its plans, which too often would fix little. Environmentalists offer theirs, which too often amount to naive wish lists that could cripple America's growth. But let's assume that those interested parties and others will always be at the table and will always—sensibly—demand that their voices be heard and that their needs be addressed. What would an aggressive, ambitious, effective plan look like—one that would leave us both environmentally safe and economically sound?

Forget precedents like the Manhattan Project, which developed the atom bomb, or the Apollo program that put men on the moon—single-focus programs both, however hard they were to pull off. Think instead of the overnight conversion of the World War II�era industrial sector into a vast machine capable of churning out 60,000 tanks and 300,000 planes, an effort that not only didn't bankrupt the nation but instead made it rich and powerful beyond its imagining and—oh, yes—won the war in the process.

Halting climate change will be far harder than even that. One of the more conservative plans for addressing the problem, by Robert Socolow and Stephen Pacala of Princeton University, calls for a reduction of 25�billion tons of carbon emissions over the next 50 years—the equivalent of erasing nearly four years of global emissions at today's rates. And yet by devising a coherent strategy that mixes short-term solutions with farsighted goals, combines government activism with private-sector enterprise and blends pragmatism with ambition, the U.S. can, without major damage to the economy, help halt the worst effects of climate change and ensure the survival of our way of life for future generations. Money will get us part of the way there, but what's needed most is will. "I'm not saying the challenge isn't almost overwhelming," says Fred Krupp, president of the Environmental Defense Fund and co-author of the new book Earth: The Sequel. "But this is America, and America has risen to these challenges before."

No one yet has a comprehensive plan for how we could do so again, but everyone agrees on what the biggest parts of the plan would be. Here's our blueprint for how America can fight—and win—the war on global warming.

First, Price the Sky

The most important part of a blueprint to contain climate change is to put a charge on carbon emissions. As long as the sky is free, renewable energy will never beat fossil fuels. But put a price on carbon, and suddenly the alternatives look a lot better. The most feasible way to do this is through a cap-and-trade system that sets ceilings for carbon output and lets companies that come in under the limit sell credits to those that don't, allowing them to keep polluting—a little. The effect is that overall carbon levels fall, and there is even money to be made by being greener than the next guy. That drives investment and research dollars into renewable energy and efficiency. "Cap and trade changes everything," says Krupp.

The 1997 Kyoto Protocol was an early attempt at such a system, with the aim of having developed nations reduce their carbon emissions an average of 5% below 1990 levels by 2012. The accords were meant to drive cuts in greenhouse gases and promote investment in clean tech in developing nations through carbon trading. What probably doomed Kyoto was the absence of some key players. Large developing nations like China, India and Indonesia were excused from the treaty, since limiting their emissions was seen as likely to limit their burgeoning economies. The U.S., whose participation was necessary if the treaty was going to succeed, cited this perceived favoritism when it abandoned Kyoto altogether in 2001.

While President George W. Bush has little environmental cred left after seven years of the least green Administration in modern memory, in this case he had a point. Carbon is a global pollutant, meaning that it has the same impact whether it's emitted from an suv in Boston, a factory in Beijing or a burning forest outside Brasília. Dramatic reductions in U.S. emissions won't bring the intended environmental benefits if emissions by other countries increase at the same time. The problem is, if we don't clean up our own mess because developing giants don't have to, what's the incentive for them to clean up theirs? "If we don't act, China and India will simply hide behind America's skirts of inactions and take no steps of their own," says Senator John Warner of Virginia.

If the U.S. breaks the logjam and adopts a national cap-and-trade program, it may be Warner who will deserve much of the credit. Last December, a bill that the veteran Republican co-sponsored with independent Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut passed out of the Senate's Committee on Environment and Public Works, giving it the best opportunity of any of the many proposed cap-and-trade bills to become law. Lieberman-Warner, as it's known, calls for cutting carbon from most sources to 2005 levels by 2012 and then 70% below 2005 levels by 2050. Environmentalists would like to see it strengthened, with less wiggle room for polluting industries, but with little else on the table, an attainable good bill may be a lot more attractive than an unattainable perfect one. "The sooner we can get something, the better," says Eileen Claussen, president of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change.

Lieberman-Warner hasn't yet gone to a full vote in the Senate, although it may reach the floor by late spring. It will face opposition from the White House, as well as from many Republicans and some Democrats from coal-dependent states. The principal rap against cap-and-trade proposals is that they would be a drag on the economy. A new study by the National Association of Manufacturers, an industry trade group, estimates that Lieberman-Warner would cost the U.S. up to 4�million jobs by 2030 while eroding gdp by up to $669 billion per year. "The environmental community would have you believe that you can make these changes and not only will there not be negative consequences, there'll be positive consequences," says Republican Representative Joe Barton, ranking minority member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

It's true that there will be costs associated with any carbon-pricing plan; ending climate change won't be free. "You want a clean environment, you have to pay for it," says Peter Fusaro, founder of the green investment group Global Change Associates. But just how high will the tab be? An Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) study found that gdp would grow just 1% less from 2010 to 2030 under Lieberman-Warner than without it—and that doesn't take into account the potential economic benefits. In an April study, the International Monetary Fund concluded that smart carbon-cutting policies could contain climate change without seriously harming the global economy. And while the U.S. business community will fight hard over the details of any cap-and-trade plan, a growing number of companies are now begging for the certainty that will come from what many see as inevitable legislation. "I believe it will be a challenge, but it's doable," says Peter Darbee, CEO of the West Coast utility PG&E.

Of course, such a challenge is easier for a major utility to face than it is for some consumers. Any carbon cap with teeth will boost electricity and gas prices in the short term, before carbon-free alternatives can be scaled to market, and that will hurt those already struggling to heat their homes and fill their tanks. Here's a solution, courtesy of Peter Barnes, a pioneering green entrepreneur: a cap-and-dividend system that returns the revenue raised by a cap-and-trade system to citizens through a flat rebate, similar to the way Alaskans receive oil-industry dividends from the state government.

Though a federal cap-and-trade system for carbon would largely be a foray into the unknown, we can examine how the idea is working in the states, many of which are far ahead of Washington. At the New York City headquarters of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), organization president Frances Beinecke shows a map that identifies in green those states that have committed to or are considering mandatory carbon caps. A year ago, the map was mostly white, but now it's less than half. Not only are states coming aboard one at a time, but some are joining in groups, as in the West and Northeast, where regional greenhouse-gas trading blocs are being launched. "The momentum that has built up in the states is unbelievable," says Beinecke.

To see why a serious cap-and-trade system doesn't have to come at the expense of economic growth, take a look at California. In 2006, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the most aggressive carbon regulation in the country: California has now implemented law AB�32, which mandates that the state's greenhouse-gas emissions be cut to 1990 levels by 2020, a reduction of about 25%. "There are so many states in the U.S. that have signed on to [carbon cuts]," says Schwarzenegger, a Republican who has bucked the White House and led the way on global warming.

Schwarzenegger's plans have plenty of critics. Cathy Reheis-Boyd, the chief operating officer at the Western States Petroleum Association, worries that if California gets out too far ahead of the rest of the country, local businesses will flee to unregulated states, a phenomenon called "leakage"—which is another reason a national cap is so important. "I think our industry could be effectively pushed out of�California," says Jim Repman, CEO of the California Portland Cement Co.

Past predictions that environmental laws like the Clean Air Act would decimate California's economy, however, proved false, and AB�32 could be no different. A 2006 report by the University of California, Berkeley, concluded that the law would actually boost the state's gdp by $60�billion and create 17,000 jobs by 2020 as the state's entrepreneurial tech culture churns out new companies to meet the need for energy efficiency. While energy-intensive industries like cement-making may indeed be driven out, they could be replaced by clean-tech start-ups like Solarcity, which has become in a couple of years the state's fastest-growing solar installer, employing more than 200 people. Nationwide, the American Solar Energy Society estimates, there are already 8.5�million jobs in the clean-tech sector, which it projects could grow to 40�million by 2030 with the right policies.

Energy by the Sip

The next big piece of a global-warming-control plan involves learning to be more efficient with the fossil fuels we continue to burn. America has long been astoundingly wasteful about energy use, but for years, that mattered little because power and fuel were so cheap. "Until recently, using more energy was a way to get more productive," says Kevin Surace, CEO of Serious Materials, a green building company. "That doesn't change until energy costs go substantially up."

Surace has a point. There are a lot of reasons Western Europe and Japan are so far ahead of the U.S. on energy efficiency, but one is that their higher energy costs simply forced their hand. With oil now well over $100 per bbl., that crisis moment may have arrived for the U.S. too. The answer is an "efficiency surge," a crash improvement that can help offset the steady increase in energy prices and so buy time for the development of carbon-free alternatives. "We need to create breathing room," says Rick Duke, director of NRDC's Center for Market Innovation. "But an unguided market won't take care of that alone."

A coherent plan could. Recent research from the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) shows that we could slash the projected growth in the world's energy demand by at least half by 2020 just by taking advantage of existing opportunities to cut waste. Think of simple, costless changes like turning off the lights in offices at night—that's "money on the table," in the words of efficiency guru Amory Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute. MGI says annual industry-wide investments of $170�billion per year in efficiency improvements like green buildings and higher-mileage cars could yield an additional $900�billion per year in savings by 2020. More important, the emissions cuts resulting from better efficiency could deliver up to half the carbon reductions needed to keep warming at no more than 2�C hotter than the present—considered to be an upper safe level. "There's so much water pouring out of the bottom of the bucket that it's insane to put more water into it," says Adam Grosser, a partner with Foundation Capital, which has invested heavily in energy-efficiency companies.

Some of that hole-plugging has already begun. Last year's federal energy bill raised corporate average fuel economy (cafe) standards for the first time in three decades, to 35�m.p.g. for cars by 2020. That's not world-beating compared with Europe's average of 40�m.p.g., but it's a good start. Efficiency standards could be put in place for household appliances and lighting as well. Japan's smart Top Runner program takes the best model in the marketplace and sets its performance as the industry requirement. Similar rules could be applied to architecture. Since nearly half of U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions channel through buildings, there's a sizable opportunity for savings if we mandate green design rather than simply depend on architects and builders to adopt it voluntarily. And if utilities were able to institute variable pricing—charging customers more for power during periods of peak demand and less during off periods—you'd see enormous efficiency improvements.

California—again the leader—has implemented a pilot program for just such a variable-pricing plan. It uses what are known as smart meters, which provide real-time information about customer energy use and make billing more precise and savings more predictable. Since the project began, energy demand has fallen 13%, giving a taste of the wider savings that could be captured with a more comprehensive, permanent plan. Other efficiency programs have managed to keep per capita energy use in California—already the lowest in the country—essentially flat for the past three decades, even as energy use per person in the U.S. overall jumped 50%. California's pleasant clime plays a role, but efficiency still matters. Darbee of PG&E estimates that the state's green policies have eliminated the need for 24 power plants over the past 30 years—a process called "demand destruction," or cutting carbon before it's even born.

Invent, Invent, Invent

Even an epic surge in efficiency, though, won't by itself solve our energy woes, because demand in the booming developing world will outpace the best productivity measures. Hence the need for the final and most difficult step in the blueprint: the creation of a new energy system, one that doesn't depend on carbon. There's a chasm between where we are and where we need to be—and our current strategy for bridging it is murky at best. "What we need to do over the next 10 to 20 years is redesign our relationship with nature and energy," says Nicholas Parker, chairman of the Cleantech Group, a green research organization.

No problem, right? But the good news is that there are already thousands of very smart people working on alternative energy in what Daniel Yergin, chairman of the Cambridge Energy Research Associates, calls "the great bubbling." Venture-capital funding in the clean-tech sector hit $5.18�billion in 2007, up 44% from the year before. And no surprise, the biggest bubbling is happening in California, specifically Silicon Valley, where a combination of the state's progressive environmental measures, unmatched scientific talent and entrepreneurial culture is giving birth to dozens of start-ups.

Among the new companies is Amyris Biotechnologies in the Bay Area, where Jack Newman and his team are developing ways to genetically modify bacteria to make better biofuels, sidestepping the food-vs.-energy debate that has long dogged the field. With nearly $100�million in venture backing, Amyris is trying to engineer yeast or bacteria that can metabolize biofuel feedstocks like wood chips and dramatically increase the amount of biofuel that can be extracted from them. "There are staggering things that technology can do," says Newman. "But we need to make this happen in as short a time as possible."

That's where government can help. There may be nothing like free enterprise to unleash innovation, but there's nothing like government to put a whip hand to the process. A firm carbon price will accelerate creativity by making alternatives that much more economical. If Washington better allocated its own research-and-development dollars—as it did in the storied Apollo days—it could accelerate things even more. Currently, the Federal Government budgets about $5�billion per year for research and tax incentives for renewables and energy efficiency. With a federal budget of $2.9�trillion in 2008 and the Iraq war alone burning through an estimated $12�billion per month, there is clearly money to be spent if we decide to reprioritize. A plan floated by Democrats to eliminate $18�billion worth of tax breaks for the oil industry and use the money to support research into renewable fuels would be a smart place to start.

There's no shortage of ways to spend whatever money is made available. Photovoltaic solar panels have made significant improvements, but they are still five to 10 years away from achieving economic parity with fossil fuels—at least at current rates of development. More promising are solar thermal power plants, like the one inaugurated this spring in the deserts of Nevada by Spanish clean-energy giant Acciona. The installation—a 300-acre array of 182,000 mirrors, each aligned to catch and concentrate the sun's energy—heats a synthetic oil that runs in a pipeline and produces steam, which drives turbines to generate electricity. Mirrors and turbines are comparatively cheap, and they're hardly the stuff of high technology. The trick is scaling up and pricing down.

Wind power, the most mature renewable technology, is growing fast, but we need to find a way to store electricity when the breeze isn't blowing. Then there are more fringe alternatives like tidal power, geothermal energy and even nuclear fusion—any of which could take off with enough luck and money.

While Washington should flood the zone with research funding, it should refrain from trying to pick a winner. The great biofuel scam—in which government support for corn ethanol choked the market with a fuel that simply creates other problems, such as deforestation and food price spikes—shows that straightforward subsidies can easily be perverted for political reasons. But a national renewable portfolio standard, which would mandate that a certain percentage of the nation's electricity supply must come from renewable sources, can force utilities to adopt alternatives on a wider scale, going with the technologies that are producing the best results. For that to happen, though, the government has to stop providing the fossil-fuel industry with billions of dollars in subsidies, which boost the sector's built-in advantage even more. "How can the oil industry need a dollar in the days of $100 crude oil?" says John Berger, CEO of Standard Renewable Energy.

Finally, there are micropolicies, like tax credits, that can make solar power and green building more economical on a house-by-house basis. Such credits have helped the wind and solar industries grow out of infancy, but the laws establishing them periodically expire if they're not renewed. The solar investment credit, which was part of the 2005 energy bill, provides a 30% tax credit for the purchase of solar power but will cease to exist at the end of the year if it can't move out of the legislative gridlock that is blocking its renewal. Fortunately, Congress seems ready to extend it. "If it expires, it will take out all the good work that's been done on the state and commercial level," says Julie Blunden, vice president of public policy at SunPower, a leading solar manufacturer and installer. "We could watch our business essentially evaporate by the end of the year."

The Long War

If we took all the steps outlined here—a national cap-and-trade system with teeth, coupled with tougher energy-efficiency mandates and significant new public and private investment in green technologies—where would that get us? We'd be a little poorer—a sustained battle against climate change will hit our wallets hard, absorbing perhaps 2% to 3% of gdp a year for some time, according to energy expert Henry Lee at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, though unchecked warming could end global prosperity. But think of it as an investment: that money, if matched by action internationally, can reduce emissions radically over the next half-century, contain warming and lead us to a postcarbon world.

Ultimately, global warming is not a battle that will be fought fiscal year by fiscal year; it's a fight that will occupy us for generations. Our policies have to operate on the same time frame, even if our politics run on election cycles. We've learned from think tanks and war colleges that the outcome of any crisis is usually determined by one dominant global player that has the innovators who can churn out the technology, the financiers who can back it and the diplomatic clout to pull the rest of the planet along. That player, of course, exists, and it is, of course, us. The U.S. has enjoyed an awfully good run since the middle of the 20th century, a sudden ascendancy that no nation before or since has matched. We could give it up in the early years of the 21st, or we could recognize—as we have before—when a leader is needed and step into that breach ourselves. Going green: What could be redder, whiter and bluer than that?

—with reporting by Kristin Kloberdanz/Modesto, Calif., and Massimo Calabresi, Mark Thompson and Adam Zagorin/Washington

Find this article at:
http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1730759_1731383_1731363,00.html

A cool video

2008-10-15T15:03:00.001+08:00

green salad

2008-10-08T06:50:00.001+08:00

How to make a GREEN salad?
A healthy recipe has been shared by a member of Rainbow society!
Try it out!!!
GREEN salad~
Healthy chill~

INGREDIENTS:
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 pinch white sugar 1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 avocados - peeled, pitted, and cubed
4 cups mixed salad greens
1/2 cup sliced almonds

2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, white wine vinegar, mustard, salt, pepper, sugar, parsley, lemon juice and garlic. Add the avocado, and stir to coat with the dressing.
2. Just before serving, add the salad greens, and toss to coat with dressing. Sprinkle sliced almonds and feta cheese over the top.

2008-09-30T09:43:00.001+08:00

Something I found while surfing the Internet. While this is (through my understanding, which may be wrong) mostly directed at U.S.A, I think other people from other countries from other continents from the other side of the Earth may benefit something from this article. i do not dare to change anything for fear it may change the originals meanings.

“

IT'S TIME TO STOP AMERICA'S ADDICTION TO FOREIGN OIL
America is in a hole and it's getting deeper every day. We import 70% of our oil at a cost of $700 billion a year - four times the annual cost of the Iraq war.

I've been an oil man all my life, but this is one emergency we can't drill our way out of. But if we create a new renewable energy network, we can break our addiction to foreign oil.

Al Gore's challenge tackles the most critical source of greenhouse gas emissions. But directly alongside the threat of global warming is the impending peak of global oil production. In the near future we will launch a plan for replacing oil with solar energy for routine travel without resorting to the tragedy of trashing our soils and water reserves for the sake of hopelessly inadequate biofuels production.

from : Interactive Oil Depletion Atlas from David Strahan, whose new book, The Last Oil Shock, was released in April 2007 and can be obtained in the Americas from Amazon Canada.

"There are currently 98 oil producing countries in the world, of which 64 are thought to have passed their geologically imposed production peak, and of those 60 are in terminal production decline."

New GAO Peak Oil Report Provides Urgent Call to Action: U.S. Vulnerable and the Government Unprepared for Unacceptably High Risks of Oil Supply Shock, by Congressmen Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD) and Tom Udall (D-NM), co-chairmen of the Congressional Peak Oil Caucus [2007 March 29]

"This GAO peak oil report is a clarion call for leadership at the highest level of our country to avert an energy crisis unlike any the world has ever before experienced and one that we know could happen at any time. Only the President can rally the country to take the urgent steps necessary. Potential alternatives to oil are extremely limited. Technology won't save us without time and money to develop and scale them up."

GAO Peak Oil Report (Complete), Highlights

"... [B]y 2015 these technologies could displace only the equivalent of 4 percent of projected U.S. annual consumption. Under these circumstances, an imminent peak and sharp decline in oil production could have severe consequences, including a worldwide recession. If the peak comes later, however, these technologies have a greater potential to mitigate the consequences."

Within the energy profession there are groups (e.g., ASPO, ASPO-USA) grappling with the challenge of "Peak Oil." While the efforts of Al Gore and others have raised awareness of the threat of global warming, society is not in any way prepared for the imminent decline in global oil production.

In the near term, declining production will impact certain countries more than others. Cantarell, the largest field in the western hemisphere, is declining rapidly. Over the next couple of years, Mexico's economy will be hard-hit.

Without imports, the USA's domestic oil reserves would be exhausted in three years at the current rate of consumption. The Oil War option is losing favor. Technological breakthroughs will be too slow and voluntary conservation will be too shallow to avert widespread disruption of economic activity, especially transportation and consequently food. Lacking the political will to make conscious, rapid, drastic changes, Americans will be subjected to Mother Nature's adjustments; She did not negotiate with the Mayor of New Orleans; nor will She negotiate the American Way of Life when Saudi Arabia's Ghawar field collapses of its own accord.

Liquid fuel substitutes (tar sands, coal-to-liquids, oil shale, surprisingly even ethanol and biodiesel) are carbon intensive and will only exacerbate global warming. Plus they cannot be scaled up on a timely basis.

It would take one new nuclear power plant every week until 2050 to fill the oil gap. Minor detail, uranium shortages would emerge long before 2050, unless as yet unproven breeder reactors come on line soon.

While it will take time, direct conversion of solar radiation to electricity (photovoltaics and concentrating solar power) can be scaled up. One viable sustainable alternative also exists for repetitive travel (e.g., commuting -- more than half of all urban transport). It is the rapid build-out of solar powered electric vehicles on fixed guideways (the "podcar"). A continuous solar array, well within the width of the guideway, is sufficient to provide 100% of the power required for this efficient form of high capacity transit.

”

From: http://www.energycrisis.org/

Oh dear, if this goes on, i won’t even have a future where i can help people. that could be a good excuse to slack off in my study, no? :P

by: en

White Rabbit comes under scrutiny

2008-09-26T11:53:00.000+08:00

White Rabbit comes under scrutiny

Editor:Sharon Lee
Source:中国日报网
Updated: 2008-9-26 11:11:59

SHANGHAI -- The municipal government in Shanghai is inspecting the White Rabbit creamy products of confectionery manufacturer, Guanshengyuan.

Wang Yiyi, spokeswoman of the Shanghai-based company, said the inspections only involve products for export. Products sold domestically are not affected.

"We're currently also conducting internal inspections and will come up with more effective measures soon," Wang said. She declined to give more details.

The Shanghai Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau said the inspections are in response to media reports that the brand had been recalled in Singapore after being tested positive for melamine last Sunday.

It was the third Chinese made dairy product found to contain melamine, the Associated Press reported, citing Singapore's Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA).

Earlier, Yili yogurt bars and Dutch Lady strawberry milk, were found to contain melamine.

The AVA in a statement said: "Retailers and importers have been instructed to recall these products and withhold them from sale."

The Shanghai bureau will strictly examine all imported and exported dairy products to ensure they are not contaminated, spokesman, Chen Qiwei, said.

White Candy is exported to more than 50 countries and regions and has grossed sales of about $160 million in five years.

Hu Minghua, spokesman for Wal-Mart in Shanghai, said the company had not received any notice from the authorities to ban the product.

Carrefour said the same.

"We have only heard rumors, and are keeping a close eye on progression of the issue," Chen Bo, press manager of Carrefour Greater China, said.

The Shanghai municipal government also plans to tighten safety checks on all non-dairy products destined for export.

The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine too is testing White Rabbit products.

Shanghai authorities also revealed on Thursday that a recent citywide health check of children under three years old showed about 5 percent were diagnosed with symptoms of possible kidney stones after being fed contaminated powdered milk.

Song Guofan, deputy director of the press department of the municipal health bureau, said those diagnosed were immediately referred to hospitals.

The bureau, however, said on its website the number of sick babies reported in the past week has begun to fall.

White Rabbit candy, made by the 90-year-old Guanshengyuan, has long been a household brand name among Chinese.

It became popular in 1972, when it was presented as a State gift to then US president Richard Nixon.

World Consumption Exceeds Resources After Today - thedailygreen.com

2008-09-23T11:01:00.001+08:00

World Consumption Exceeds Resources After Today - thedailygreen.com

Posted using ShareThis

Born, Live And Death

2008-09-15T22:36:00.002+08:00

Born, the starting of a new life. Given a name by his/her guardians. He/She is going to makes differences in this word.
Live, the way how he/she will use his/her time to do something. either for good or for bad. They get their rewards for doing these things. When it comes to choose to be good or to be bad, it is up to he/she to makes decision.
Death, the time when he/she is going to say goodbye to the world. Funeral is organise because it show to other people that he/she has live his/her life completely. There is always someone who cry for he/she if he/she pass away. There are 2 ways, to heaven or to hell. This is decide by what he/she has been doing when he/she is still alive. With more good deeds, he/she can goes to heaven. With more bad deeds, he/she can only goes to hell.

Done By Tommy
15th September, 2008.

Rainbow society's members

2008-09-14T19:23:00.006+08:00

So far we have 53 members who have already been confirmed by Rainbow society's membership officer Miss. Audrey LIM.

Please check on whether your application have been approved or not,

If you can't find your name on the list, please refer to our membership officer or any of the committee members.
*For those who haven't submit the picture, please submit it as soon as possible.

I would like to say sorry due to the late delay on this posting.
A confirmation email might be send to approved members (at the end of Sept 2008).

For further information
Contact:
email : rainbow.society@hotmail.com
audrey_leewen@hotmail.com (membership officer)

H/P: +673 8188630 (President of RS_Elly SEE)
+6738132855 (Membership officer_ Audrey Lim)

By Elly See (President of RS)

Global warming: Evidence is much more than hot air

2008-09-11T23:28:00.001+08:00

Global warming: Evidence is much more than hot air

By CHRISTOPHER BRETHERTON AND PHILIP MOTE
GUEST COLUMNISTS

State Sen. Jerome Delvin states that the Western Climate Initiative constitutes "foolish environmental policies" prompted by "faulty and often-discredited climate change research" ("Hot air over global warming," Sept. 3 guest column). While we have no comments about the merits of the WCI, Delvin's dim view of science stems from a highly selective sampling of available evidence.

Science is built on evidence, expressed through peer-reviewed papers in which conclusions are scrutinized by other experts before publication. Scientists have published thousands of papers on a wide range of relevant subjects in Earth system science.

Every major scientific body that has assessed this vast array of papers has concluded that the Earth is warming and that humans are at least partly responsible. The largest assessment, by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, stated in 2007 that evidence of global warming is "unequivocal."

By contrast, Delvin cites, as an authority, a widely discredited petition for which signers needed only to claim to be scientists. In what other realm is expert opinion sought by consulting a loosely controlled petition, rather than by directly asking known experts? Most signatories claimed no expertise in climate science, and an investigation by Scientific American magazine of some who did claim expertise found that only a tiny minority actually had such expertise and still agreed with the statement they signed.

Delvin also claims that climate models "have never been validated through observable data." That is simply untrue. In 1991, when Mount Pinatubo erupted, scientists predicted the amount of global cooling that would result; the predictions turned out to be remarkably accurate. Simulations in 1990 and again in 1995 of the rate of global warming were also remarkably accurate, according to the scientists who scrutinized them for the 2007 report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Delvin's statement that "We have had 10 years of global cooling since 1998" is a red herring. The year 1998 was exceptionally warm the world over because of a large El Niño event, but the whole of the past decade stands out as exceptionally warm by historical standards. In fact, the past decade includes eight of the 10 warmest years of the past century and just continues to strengthen the case for global warming.

The evidence shows that global warming is real, serious and far more than a lot of hot air, as politicians from both parties recognize. Our children and grandchildren will have to deal with the consequences of climate change. Their job will be easier if we act quickly and decisively to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions based on the abundance of warming signs already before our eyes.

Christopher Bretherton is director of the University of Washington Program on Climate Change. Philip Mote is the state climatologist.

From: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/378606_climaterebut11.html

Brunei To Try Solar Power

2008-09-04T19:32:00.001+08:00

Brunei To Try Solar Power
By Amin Hosni

Bandar Seri Begawan - Brunei Darussalam may have enough LNG reserves to cater to the country's energy needs for years to come but it is also leaving no stones unturned in its pursuit of renewable energy.

With the help of a Japanese firm, Brunei is embarking on a large-scale Photovoltaic (PV) demonstration project, considered the largest in Asean.

Solar power will soon be an additional source of energy to power the nation's electricity grid with the utilisation of Photovoltaic (PV) cells to be installed at one of the power stations in the country.

Yesterday, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Energy Division at the Prime Minister's Office and Mitsubishi Corporation.

By signing the MoU, the government of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam and Mitsubishi Corporation have agreed to work together to carry out the large-scale Photovoltaic (PV) demonstration project in Brunei.

The project called `Tenaga Suria Brunei (TSB)' under the MoU will see the PV system with a capacity of 1.2 MW to be installed at Seria Power Station in the Belait District and connected to the existing power grid.

This project is expected to be commissioned in 2010.

The increasing demand for energy worldwide has put great pressure on the price of oil. Solar power is one of the alternatives that is not only renewable but also very clean.

With the utilisation of this system, the Energy Division at the Prime Minister's Office, Department of Electrical Services and Mitsubishi Corporation (MC) will jointly carry out verification tests of several different types of PV module over a period of three years to evaluate the suitability of each module for use in Brunei's tropical climatic condition.

The TSB project in one of Mitsubishi Corporation's corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities with the intention to help support the sustainable development of renewable energy in Brunei Darussalam.

Mitsubishi Corporation will provide capital, knowledge and expertise for the successful implementation of the TSB project. The project will not only strengthen the relationship between Brunei Darussalam and Mitsubishi Corporation but is also seen as a major step to promote the development of renewable energy in Brunei.

Overseas field visits and site training will also be provided by MC to develop the local expertise and capacity building in the field of PV system.

Awang Haji Ismail bin Pehin Orang Kaya Pekerma Setia Dato Paduka Haji Ibrahim, Deputy Permanent Secretary (Energy) at the Prime Minister's Office hoped that the Tenaga Suria Brunei would also help facilitate the development of photovoltaic industry in Brunei Darussalam and create job opportunities and help diversify Brunei's economic base. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

Brudirect.com News

source:

http://www.brudirect.com/DailyInfo/News/Archive/Aug08/140808/nite01.htm

Mitsubishi Corp and Brunei

2008-09-04T19:27:00.002+08:00

TOKYO (Reuters) - Mitsubishi Corp said on Thursday it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Brueni's Energy Ministry to build and operate a test solar power plant in the western part of the sultanate in a three-year project starting in 2010.

Mitsubishi, Japan's biggest trading company, will transfer needed technology, educate local staff and shoulder the project's total cost, estimated at 1.5 billion yen ($13.7 million), a company spokesman said.

The tiny but wealthy nation on Borneo island is aiming to introduce renewable power sources to diversify its primary energy supply, with hurdles yet to be cleared including the grid system and know-how on installation and maintenance.

"Brunei heavily relies on oil and natural gas, both natural resources with deposit limits," the Mitsubishi spokesman said. "As a business partner with a history of almost 40 years, we'd like to do something for the economy's sustainable growth."

In a joint venture with the Brunei government and Royal Dutch Shell, Mitsubishi has since 1972 produced and shipped natural gas mainly to Japan.

It is the sole such project, and Japan relies on Brunei for about 10 percent of its annual natural gas imports.

Mitsubishi said the test solar plant will be fitted with a range of solar panel types and produce data to gauge the most suitable one under for the region's climate.

The plant will be located at an abandoned thermal power plant in Seria, about 70 km (44 miles) west of the capital of Bandar Seri Begawan. Its capacity of 1.2 megawatts would be enough to power some 400 homes.

($1=109.37 Yen)

(Reporting by Risa Maeda; Editing by Michael Watson)

Source

http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUST16550020080814

Our drawing

2008-09-01T21:59:00.005+08:00

Our drawing:
*I will post another posting of this picture (my scanner isn't work well today)
The drawing is drawn by our committee members

The ‘Greenhouse Effect’ Of Carbon Dioxide

2008-08-29T11:22:00.000+08:00

In the last 100 years, the atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration has risen from about 0.027 per cent to over 0.033 per cent as a result of the increased combustion of coal and petroleum, in our industries and motors vehicles.

Carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere by being dissolved in the sea and being taken up by photosynthesis. Destruction of large areas of tropical forest could significantly reduce the proportion of carbon dioxide removed by photosynthesis.

An increasing concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide may have the effect of ‘trapping’ the sun’s radiant energy in a similar ways to a greenhouse. This could results in a warming of the Earth’s Atmosphere, the melting of the polar ice-caps and a rise in sea level. There could also be climatic changes which would affect the important food-growing areas of the world.

So far, there is little convincing evidence that the global temperature is rising but case against the continued deforestation is persuasive even if the ‘greenhouse effect’ is discounted.

Done by: AuDrey

Radioactive Waste.

2008-08-29T11:21:00.000+08:00

Radioactive products, useless very carefully controlled, could pollute land, sea, air and inland waters. There once, an accidental discharge of radioactive waste from the nuclear processing plant at Sellafield, polluted the beaches and the sea in the area.

Nuclear or atomic power stations and the others industries use or process radioactive materials. The radiation from these materials can cause cancers such as leukaemia. The radioactivity cannot be destroy by burning or any others means of disposal and many of the compounds remain radioactive for thousand of years. The compounds have to be stored or transported in containers which do not allow the radiation to penetrate.

The wastes can be disposed of at the sea or by burying on land or on the sea bed but at present, there is considerable opposition to both of these methods.

Done by: AuDreY

2008-08-26T22:29:00.000+08:00

\'Catastrophic\' Flooding as Tropical Storm Fay Stalls Off Florida Coast - thedailygreen.com

2008-08-26T22:12:00.003+08:00

'Catastrophic' Flooding as Tropical Storm Fay Stalls Off Florida Coast - thedailygreen.com

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apology

2008-08-26T21:31:00.003+08:00

RE: Apologies

Dear Rainbow society members:

I would like to make some apologies here:

1.regarding some delayed updates in this blog on the past few weeks due to our committee's members exam. Well, most of us have settled our qualify exam. This blog has been activated now (started 936pm).
2.Regarding the member cards, the distributions of member cards will be delayed due to some internal factor in our council committee. The date of member cards' distribution will be announced A.S.A.P once all the official/legal work have done.
3.The registration/purpose this society to the gov't sector (MOE) will too be delayed.

All of the matters which I have mentioned here will be solved as soon as possible. I promise you all that I will make our society run smoothly (mean solve all the matters) before March, 2009.
In this mean time, we can only have our informations/debates/discussions of some global warming impacted issues online/via internet,email,msn and others.

Sorry for the inconvenient.

Thank You.

Elly SEE
(President of Rainbow society).

2008-08-26T17:56:00.002+08:00

How does it feel when all the memories you have with your friends are completely gone? Do you regret disturb and bully them? or do you even care about their feelings? You know what? Injury can be cure easily, but a broken heart, sadness cant be cure easily. Never ever try to make them feel that you are making fun of them. Talk to them, help them, treasure and cherish them. Because without them, you won't be able to be who you are right now.

Water Pollution

2008-08-22T14:19:00.002+08:00

source: click here

What you dump into a river, sea, lake, etc can cause pollution. Especially when we usually dump into the water is what we do not need. Does it ever occurred in your mind that your trash is not needed to the organisms in the water? In fact, it might even be more harmful to the whole ecosystem then to you.

Our oceans absorb a great deal of the carbon dioxide and other pollutants being dumped in them. But pollution levels of our entire Earth system are reaching beyond carrying capacity. As the human population has increased, so has the deterioration of the Earth’s ocean ecosystems. Over two-thirds of the major cities in the world are built along the coastlines, and millions of people visit them each year. Pollution from developed areas drains into the oceans and kills marine life, threatens our health as humans, causes toxic algae blooms and forces beaches to close which has effects on the shorelines and the economy.

Our large population is destroying coral reefs and coastal habitat which are vital for breeding, food and shelter of the marine species. Vast amounts of pollutants are draining into our waters every day from human consumption. Ocean currents can carry pollutants far from the point of entry and further out in the ocean where different species consume and absorb them. Pollutants have caused major declines in species, and are threatening the Earth’s ecological stability; and therefore, threatening our life-support system.

We consume and dump a lot of harmful things into our oceans. We do so with reckless abandon and most of us refuse to face the facts. We can’t treat our planet so utterly terribly without facing consequences for our actions. The evidence is already there, and it is enormous. Ocean water is not a never-ending filter. Just because the bodies of water are extremely large, doesn’t mean they will absorb and cleanse themselves. Just imaging putting a little drop of bleach or another harsh chemical in a gallon of drinking water, would you still want to drink it? Imagine the harm it’s causing the marine life. Our oceans are littered with chemicals and other pollutants that are turning the water acidic and resulting in damaging acid rains. This chemical imbalance could, in theory, correct itself if given enough time. But the pollution must stop.

The list of things we dump into our oceans is large. Some of the toxins include: Sewage, toxic chemicals, pulp mill and manufacturing wastes, soaps, fertilizers, detergents, litter and refuse disposal, oil spills and leaks, runoff, radioactive wastes, plastics, and much more. All of these things are contaminating our oceans at an alarming rate. The fresh water, which makes up only about 3% of the Earth’s water, is also being polluted by these dangerous items. It is too much in excess of what the natural filtering and recycling systems can sustain. As some hazardous chemicals are banned locally and or worldwide, many other chemicals continue to be developed and dumped which cause harm to our oceans and its natural ecosystem.

When you think about man-made waste, you must think of things like huge cruise ships. These ships are like floating cities out on our oceans. Imagine the cumulative effect of what gets dumped into our oceans from ships that carry close to five-thousand passengers. If you calculate the more than half a million passengers that take these ships in just one summer season cruising the Alaska’s Inside Passage dumping over 200,000 gallons of wastewater daily, that’s millions of gallons a year. The world is full of cruise ships which do the same thing each year; they are all contributing factors to our problem of pollution. Ships carry non-native species and pathogens in their ballast waters and discharge them in water at destination ports. These exotic species can take over the native species and cause catastrophic harm and completely change the marine ecosystem and biodiversity.

We also litter the oceans with plastics and nets. Wildlife is dying from litter and uncontained trash improperly discarded by people. Plastic drink holders are killing fish and other animals like birds that are part of the oceans ecosystem. Marine animals sometimes mistake debris for food and they can swallow them or become caught and die. Debris and trash can be carried downstream in our rivers and endanger all life on its way to the ocean where it will drift along the ocean currents for years to come. Plastic floating in the ocean can resemble marine life like jellyfish. As a result, many creatures like the leatherback turtle can die from mistaking the plastic for its favorite food.

We dump approximately 7 billion tons of litter into our oceans annually. About 60% of that is plastic. Plastic items can take up to 20 years to decompose. That’s a very long time to have so many murder weapons in our ocean. Along with the waste dumped in by humans, it’s a wonder that our oceans can even support life. With the amount of abuse we dish out, they should have become inhabitable years ago. It won’t be long before they are.

by: O.o

Pictures of our surrounding...

2008-08-18T19:41:00.002+08:00

Below are the pictures taken by our lovely member, Pei Fen :

Nice scene?

Who led this???

Love to live in this kind of environment?

Next time
please think,
before you throw your rubbish out from your car window
or
perhaps you might just leave it on the ground as what happened on those pictures..........................

Global Warming is Changing the Wild Kingdom

2008-08-14T17:42:00.002+08:00

Global Warming is Changing the Wild World

The planet is warming, humans are mostly to blame and plants and animals are going to dramatic lengths to cope. That's the consensus of a number of recent studies that used wildlife to gauge the extent of global warming and its effects.

The strange behaviors in the wild kingdom are leading many scientists to conclude the world is changing in unnatural ways.

A study analyzed numerous studies involving wild plant and animals for changes due to global warming. Out of the nearly 1,500 species examined, the researchers found that about 1,200 exhibited temperature-related changes consistent with what scientists would expect if they were being affected by global warming.There will be no doubt as animals only react directly according to what they feel.

Here are some changes occur among animals and plants due to unnatural climate change:

Land animals
*Reindeer are expected to disappear from large portions of their current range by the end of the century.
*Marmots are ending their hibernations about three weeks earlier than they did 30 years ago.
*Canadian red squirrels are breeding about 18 days earlier.
*Red foxes are spreading northward, encroaching on territory normally occupied by their arctic cousins.
*North American Fowler's toads are breeding six days later than they did a decade ago.
*Polar bears today are thinner and less healthy than those of 20 years ago.

Sealife
*Coral reefs around the world are predicted to increase by up to a third in size.
*Elephant seal pups are leaner because their prey is migrating to cooler waters.
*Loggerhead sea turtles are laying their eggs about 10 days earlier than they did 15 years ago.
*Rising temperatures are influencing the sex of Hawkbill turtle hatchlings, with more females than males being born.
*Tidal organisms like rock barnacles, mollusks, and tidal snails commonly found in warm southern waters are moving northward.
*Many fish species are moving northward in search of cooler waters.

Birds
*The diet of some songbirds are changing, with some avoiding insects that consume leaves exposed to high levels of carbon dioxide.
*North American tree swallows are laying their eggs about nine days earlier than they did 40 years ago.
*Common murres are breeding 24 days earlier than they did a decade ago.

Plants
*Some plants are thriving in areas where their growth was limited before, thanks to temperature changes that provide more water, heat and sunlight.
*American flowering plants like columbines and wild geraniums are blooming earlier than before.

Insects
*Edith's checkerspot butterflies are moving northward in search of cooler temperatures.
*A gene in the fruitfly Drosophila normally associated with hot, dry conditions has spread to populations living in traditionally cooler southern regions.

Increase in temperatures will not only affect ecosystems and wildlife but also human being. The rising of temperatures could aggravate health risks such as asthma for the elderly, the poor, and especially for those in poor developing countries. Many scientists believed that it may not be too late to save the earth from global warming even though it might be a very hard task to accomplish.

By: CeSCa (A.S.Rainbow Society)
Source from: LiveScience

Olympics vs. Global Warming???

2008-08-14T17:38:00.001+08:00

Olympics vs. Global Warming???

There had been reports from sources that by the time the Olympic-torch relay is over, the torch would have produced about 11 million pounds of carbon emission. In the long way of the torch, concerned conservationists had been protesting.

Also, when the Olympic torch is not carried around in streets and cities, it moved around via an Air China A330 painted with the Olympic logo. According to some sources, the A330 burns about 5.4 gallons of fuel per mile. The entire trip might have used about 462400 gallons. Estimating that every gallon of jet fuel burned produces 23.88 pounds of carbon dioxide, the Olympic Torch Relay had added about 11 million pounds of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.

11 million pounds of carbon dioxide is not a little amount. It took years for people to exhale 11 million pounds of carbon dioxide, but less than a year for the Olympic torch to emit this much of carbon dioxide. No wonder the environmentalists are protesting…

Some news had said that London has a plan to ensure that the 2012 torch relay ends up carbon neutral, so hopefully in 2012, there will not be another 11 million pound of carbon dioxide released into the air. Again.

Article By: Jessyca, Rainbow Society Secretary

2008-08-11T22:01:00.000+08:00

ELEPHANT seals in the Southern Ocean are giving scientists an insight into icy underwater environments usually inaccessible to humans.

Scientists say the information could have ramifications for understanding the effects of climate change on the planet.

Fifty seals have been tagged with sensors as part of an international project involving CSIRO and Antarctic Climate & Ecosystem Cooperative Research Centre scientists and their counterparts in the U.S., UK, Norway and France.

The primary aim of the tagging project is to learn more about the behaviour of seals and where they feed and swim but climate scientists can study the climatic conditions of oceans at the same time, using data from improved sensors attached to the seals.

They can study how rapidly sea ice forms as the seals swim around and under the sea ice in the Antarctic.

The more sea ice there is, the more heat is reflected from the planet.

The findings will be released tomorrow in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Co-author Dr Steve Rintoul said the seals went to parts of the ocean scientists cannot get to any other way.

"In the Antarctic we don't understand (the formation of sea ice) as well as we do in the Arctic and that is due to a lack of observations, but this is really closing a gap there," he said.

From http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,24164561-5006301,00.html

Beware of Drug Abuse

2008-08-09T21:16:00.002+08:00

Initially, it looks affordable.
Subsequently, it becomes impossible.
Gradually crumbling my dignity.
I lose my loves ones and family.
Beware of lies curiousity,
from peer pressure and bad company.
Availing myself for good use,
refraining from drug abuse.

Money

2008-08-06T18:08:00.001+08:00

Modern people like us cannot survive or live without money. Human beings have already considered money as an important part of their lives for centuries. Most people think that money is their everything, without money they cannot survive. Money can buy everything we want, what do you think about that? For me, money of course...can get almost everything humans want but the only exceptions are health and happiness.

Humans today can do everything just because because of 'money'. Money is a very common word which has been spoken by everyone of us. It seems like our community today like to apply the notion "no money, no talk!" shopping, clinics or hospital, restaurant or foods even donations all need money. We work hard and study because of money and living.

Money itself sometimes really do create or bring us lots of problems. Because of money, we dare and are forced to hurt our love ones, our family, friends even our earth. Money does lead us to do crime; do you agree? Crimes because of money are widely committed all around the world. The most common examples are kidnapping and drug's trade. Believe it or not, you are able to hire a killer to murder the one you hate! When human come to his or her dead ended road, she/he get no way to go just he/she might think of the fastest and easiest way to gain/earn money because of personal reasons like family's burden, unemployment,foods, educations and others. DO you realize all of these reasons are because of living and self-benefits? Gaining money from criminal/illegal activities are usually betrayed our consciences and make us lost our humanity. Another example which compiled with money and our only home, earth is deforestation. Deforestation means cutting down those big trunks or trees in the forest for selling or trading purposes. THose businessmen and authorities never think of how much would their future generation suffer if our earth has run out of trees! Deforestation has destroyed the habitat of animals and the growing ground for flora and fauna. Extinction of living organisms become active and has increased in this past decades due to the industrial revolution. This has also led to the suddenly increase of greenhouse gases,unstable climates, outbreak of unknown pandemics and others.

Human dare to do everything because of money even we have already know what side complications money will bring us in the future. Politicians and economists usually play a role in business of the earth natural resources. We can use the current issue on the dramatical hike of world fuel's price as an example. As we all know that back to the past years a gallon of fuel only cost around USD 35 but now it has hiked to USD 141 (early July) per gallon which is around 400% from the past price. What is the reason or factor leading to this? We are now demand for more fuels in our daily life. Usage of fuels play an important role in our life due to those dramatically increase of world fuel's price...Normal people like us suffer alots! We need more money to buy fuel for lubricant the thirst of our modern technology fantasy's living. All of these associated with money! Drilling non-renewable resources make our earth at risk of global warming, drilling those resources for money purposes speed up the sinking of our sea-bed down to our earth plate. Why we still practice or doing these? The only reason is just because of MONEY!

As a conclusion, money bring allot of problem to us. Only human is busying and then work/live for money; that is also a reason why human nowadays do something which betrayed their own consciences, religions as well as their humanity. I think this world will be much prettier and harmony if human could let themselves not to be too money faces and understand that happiness and family are everything; so conflictions, crimes and arguments of money's business will become less.

By Elly See (14/July/2008)

How to Report an Environmental Crime - thedailygreen.com

2008-08-05T22:28:00.001+08:00

How to Report an Environmental Crime - thedailygreen.com

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Drought in Southeast Asia.

2008-08-02T22:54:00.001+08:00

Due to global warming/human activities:
Drought in Southeast Asia.

committee lists

2008-07-31T22:21:00.000+08:00

Committee List of Rainbow Society:

Consultant 1: Nicholas Ang Shao Kem

Consultant 2: Hjh. Norbayah

President: See Hui Ling

Vice President: Chung Kui Phin

Secretary: Sia Yee Jien

Asst. Secretary: On Chee Fei

Treasurer: Kho Pei Fen

Asst. Treasurer: Lim Wee Hao

Membership Officer: Lim Lee Wen

Asst. Membership Officer: Dk Lyana binti Pg Hj. Roslan

Chief Newsletter 1: Li En Ru

Chief Newsletter 2: Sia Kao Xiang

Promoter: Sia Yung Sook

Asst. promoter: Yu Sze Tee

RULES AND REGULATIONS OF RAINBOW SOCIETY

2008-07-31T21:42:00.003+08:00

RULES AND REGULATIONS OF RAINBOW SOCIETY:

1. Since this society is open to the public in this country, which consists of people of different races and religions, there must be no existence of racialism.

2. Every member in this society must respect each other. Members must not be discriminated and it is very significant to respect every races and religions.

3. The members will need to work as a family and practice teamwork to ensure that this society can run efficiently and smoothly.

4. No disputes will be allowed in this society. If any member is discontented with any of the arrangement in this society, he/ she should refer to the counsellors appointed by the president and resolve it peacefully.

5. Members should try their best and work collectively to achieve the aim of the society in harmony and peace.

6. There will be no sexism or chauvinism in the society. Members should treat everyone equally and prejudice should be put aside to avoid any unwanted or unnecessary arguments.

7. It is a serious offence if a member misuses the name of this society for any purposes. The associated member, regardless committee members or ordinary members, will be instantaneously expelled.

8. Members should not underrate any other members based on their academic performance, prosperity or any other types of comparison. Members are also expected not to boast around of their own success or achievements.

9. Discussion should be carried out amongst committee members for any verdict. Any decision made by the committee members should confer to the President for approval. The final decision will then be made by the President or Vice President.

10. Dishonesty is not allowed in this society. Members who attend any meeting must not lie to any of their guardians of their whereabouts. They should make sure that their guardians know where they are and what they will be doing.

11. Committees in charge with funds are strictly debarred from any act of corruption. Corruption is a serious offence and any associated members, regardless committee members or ordinary members, will be expelled from the society.

12. Discipline must be well preserved. Mannerism is very important in this society.

a. Members are not allowed to use mobile phones during meeting except if he/she has an acceptable or sensible reason.

b. Impolite words and also insults must be avoided and should not be directed to any members to avoid unnecessary disputes and to prevent the loss of harmony and peace.

c. Members should not be subjected to brutality and violence. Peacefulness is valued in the society and the members should always be calm and halcyon in handling all their problems.

13. Every committee members should act as they are told by their respective leaders and the president. Committee members are allowed to discuss with their respective leaders on what they have to and no need to do, but the final decision will be made by their respective leaders.

14. Every committee members should do their own work and must not interfere with any other departments’ working system unless it is necessary for them to do so.

15. There will be at least one meeting in a month and every committee members are required to attend it.

16. Every member should know how to arrange their own timetable for their work/study and the activities of the society because this society will not be responsible for any improvement or declination of their academic/working performance.

17. Members should not be late for any meeting and must come on time for every activities held by the society.

18. If any committee member is absent for more than five meetings continuously, he/ she would be questioned by the president or vice president. If the reason is not accepted, he/ she will have to resign from the committee group.

19. Representative Chairman from every school must attend the meeting held by the committee members whenever it is necessary. It is not a must for every ordinary member to attend every meeting held by the committee members. However, every ordinary member will have to attend all the activities if possible, and will need to inform the Representative Chairman of the society in the respective school if he / she is unable to come.

20. Every committee member must post at least one article per month in the official blog of the society. The article posted must concern about global warming, the earth, or recent disasters occurring around the world.

21. Committee members should take any criticisms as a challenge and make improvements on their mistakes. They should not give up easily no matter what had happened.

22. Every meeting should be taken seriously. Members need to pay attention. They are expected to know what was talked about during the meeting and hopefully make some notes and summary for their own reference.

23. Every member should do their job systematically and must not be lazy. They are expected to be able to fulfil their responsibility and complete the tasks that are given to them. Members who are not serious is doing their work may be chided by either the president or disciplinarian.

24. There will be no last minute work. Members should finish their work before the day they are expected to complete it. It is also very important for every member to do their work willingly. They should not just do it because they were told to; they should be doing it seriously.

25. Members should be friendly and be helpful to anyone who needs the help. They should be helping other people willingly and are not supposed to hope for any rewards.

26. Every member is expected to behave like a civilised person. For every meeting or activity, vandalism and other immoral practices should be avoided in order to preserve the name of the society.

27. Commercial businesses are not allowed in this society no matter what the reasons are.

28. Members should not only promote "Practise Green" to other people, but they themselves must also practise recycling and conserving the nature. Members, especially the committee, are expected to be the role model to the public.

29. Members are expected to wear suitable attires when attending the activities held by the society. Committee members are also expected to wear the society t-shirt when attending the meetings and activities.

30. Committee members who abandoned their given tasks for two or more times will be questioned. If a suitable and acceptable reason is given, the member will be excused. However, if the given reason is unacceptable, the member will be warned and might lose his/her position in the committee.

31. Any official matters discussed during a Council Committee Meeting should not be told to anyone who is not a Council Committee Member of the Rainbow Society.

Lawmakers to ban toxins in kids’ products

2008-07-29T20:52:00.001+08:00

MSNBC.com

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lawmakers to ban toxins in kids’ products
White House, chemical lobby say health concerns over phthalates unproven
By Lyndsey Layton
The Washington Post
updated 12:08 a.m. ET July 29, 2008
Congressional negotiators agreed Monday to a ban on a family of toxins found in children's products, handing a major victory to parents and health experts who have been clamoring for the government to remove harmful chemicals from toys.

The ban, which would take effect in six months, would have significant implications for U.S. consumers, whose homes are filled with hundreds of plastic products designed for children that may be causing dangerous health effects.

The rare action by Congress reflects a growing body of scientific research showing that children ingest the toxins by acts as simple as chewing on a rubber duck. Used for decades in plastic production, the chemicals are now thought to act as hormones and cause reproductive problems, especially in boys.

It also signals an important crack in the chemical industry's ability to fend off federal regulation and suggests that the landscape may be shifting to favor consumers. The movement to ban the toxins accelerated last year when California prohibited their use in children's products.

White House may veto ban
Earlier this year, the country's largest retailer, Wal-Mart; the biggest toy seller, Toys R Us; and Babies R Us told their suppliers that they will no longer carry products containing the chemicals, known as phthalates, as of Jan. 1, 2009. Toys containing these chemicals, however, will still be on many retail shelves during the holiday season.

White House spokesman Tony Fratto said that President Bush opposes the ban but that it is too early to say whether he will veto the measure, which is part of popular legislation to reform the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Among other things, the legislation would ban lead in children's products and would give consumers access to a new database of complaints or accident reports for goods. The measure also allows stiffer fines for violations and enhanced enforcement of consumer safety laws.

Under language finalized yesterday, House and Senate lawmakers agreed to permanently ban three types of phthalates from children's toys and to outlaw three other phthalates from products pending an extensive study of their health effects in children and pregnant women.

Phthalates make plastics softer and more durable and also are added to perfumes, lotions, shampoos and other items. They are so ubiquitous that in one 1999 study, the Food and Drug Administration found traces in all of its 1,000 subjects.

Chemical industry has resisted regulation
The measure had wide support in the Senate, but it bogged down in the House, where the chemical industry waged a costly battle to defeat it. The campaign was led by Exxon Mobil, which manufacturers diisononyl phthalate, or DINP, the phthalate most frequently found in children's toys. The company spent a chunk of its $22 million lobbying budget in the past 18 months to try to prevent any ban.

Daryl Ditz, senior policy adviser at the Center for International Environmental Law, said industry viewed the ban as a benchmark that might signal a shift in Congress's willingness to toughen restrictions on toxins.

"The great fear is that if a big, established chemical like this can be driven from the market, what's next?" he said.

Said Andy Igrejas of the Pew Charitable Trusts: "The debate over this one set of chemicals is a referendum on a broken system. Congress saw just how screwed up the system is in protecting people from chemicals, especially children."

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who sponsored the measure, said yesterday that the action is a first step toward moving the United States closer to the European model, where industry must prove the safety of a chemical before it is allowed on the market.

"Chemical additives should not be placed in products that can impact health adversely until they are tested and found to be benign," she said.

U.S. companies manufacture $1.4 billion worth of phthalates annually, and less than 5 percent of that is used in children's products, according to the American Chemistry Council, which represents chemical makers.

Congress putting children at risk?
Sharon Kneiss, a vice president at the trade group, said Congress acted prematurely. "There is no scientific basis for Congress to restrict phthalates from toys and children's products. With over 50 years of research, phthalates are among the most thoroughly studied products in the world, and have been reviewed by multiple regulatory bodies in the U.S. and Europe," she said.

Exxon Mobil contended that banning phthalates may inadvertently expose children to greater risks, because manufacturers will be forced to use substitute chemicals that may be even more hazardous.

"What's at stake is, in fact, children's safety," said Elissa Sterry, a vice president at Exxon Mobil Chemicals. "If DINP is replaced by alternative products, that's a potential risk to children."

The industry's position was repeated by Keith Hennessey, director of Bush's Economic Policy Council, who wrote to the Senate saying that a ban could hurt children.

"Banning a product before a conclusive, scientific determination is reached is short-sighted and may result in the introduction of unregulated substitute chemicals that harm children's health," he wrote.

Most research on phthalates has been performed on rodents, and chemical makers say there is no evidence that humans are similarly affected. They also contend that children are exposed to phthalate levels far below the doses administered to laboratory rats.

Studies link chemicals linked to cancer
But the first study involving human babies in 2005 raised questions about those arguments. Federally funded research by the Center for Reproductive Epidemiology at the University of Rochester Medical School, found that male babies born to women with high levels of phthalates in their blood exhibited changes related to low sperm count, undescended testicles and other reproductive problems. In that study, the infants were exposed to phthalate levels way below the doses administered in rat experiments. Other studies have connected some phthalates to liver and kidney cancer.

Health experts argue that dangers may be more significant from cumulative exposure, because phthalates surround babies not only in toys and products but also in breast milk if the mother has been exposed to the chemicals.

The European Union banned six phthalates from children's products in 1999 and more than a dozen other countries have done the same.

California's ban has been followed by legislation in Washington state and Vermont.

Staff writer Annys Shin contributed to this report.

© 2008 The Washington Post Company
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25893316/

Tropical Trees Cool Earth Most Effectively

2008-07-28T18:11:00.003+08:00

A new study finds that tropical trees are better at combating global warming than trees in higher latitudes.

"Our study shows that only tropical rainforests are strongly beneficial in helping slow down global warming," said study team leader Govindasamy Bala of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California.

Forests affect the climate in three different ways:
1) By absorbing carbon dioxide (a major greenhouse gas) to help cool the planet;

2) By evaporating water which forms clouds, helping to keep the planet cooler;

3) By absorbing sunlight with their dark leaves. This warms the Earth.

Trees in snowy places absorb sunlight that would otherwise be reflected back to space by the bright white snow.
However, tropical rainforests trap larger amounts of carbon dioxide and evaporate more water to produce clouds that reflect sunlight back to space.
"Tropical forests are like Earth's air conditioner," said Ken Caldeira of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, Bala's colleague.

By simulating the effects of deforestation in different parts of the world, the study, published in the April 9 online issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that deforestation in the tropics is more destructive to Earth's climate than deforestation in higher latitudes, and that trees in mid- to high-latitudes could actually cause warming.

The scientists warn that these findings don't mean it's time to take out the axes and cut down all the trees outside of the tropics.

"A primary reason we are trying to slow global warming is to protect nature," Caldeira said. "It just makes no sense to destroy natural ecosystems in the name of saving natural ecosystems."

Source from: http://www.livescience.com/environment/070409_deforest_cooling.html

By: CeSCaDVL (A.S)

global warming?together, global warming is nothing:)

2008-07-27T21:11:00.002+08:00

The above video was captured and done by Akinari ( Elly See's friend).
Special thanks for his video and support on rainbow society:)

www.youtube.com/akinari

TO THOSE WHO WISHED TO HAVE CHILDREN IN THE FUTURE

2008-07-25T20:06:00.004+08:00

At least leave something for them, don’t take everything we can use and destroy what we couldn’t take. Those excess water, fuels, uranium, low temperatures, they need not be wasted. Leave for your descendant.

You know about global warming, you know about pollution. So let’s cut the story short here: water is in a crisis too. We are facing water shortage. Not the overall water, but the clean water. There’s only 3% of earth’s water that’s drinkable. And only 1% is available to us, these 6 billion life forms that have selfishly take what they need and return what they don’t to Mother Nature.

How much important water is, you ask? Everything we depend on needs water. Every activity has a connection to water. Your food needs water. Without water, you don’t have KFC; you can’t clean and make yourself appealing to your girl/boyfriend. In some third-world countries, water is fought for. They don’t get water facilities like us, and they fought for water more dirty than what you make after bathing.

What we have been doing to “appreciate” this small amount of water (even clean water) is to throw rubbish into the rivers, wasting the purified water supplied to us by the government, destroying pipes and taps (causing water leakages) and such.

We can’t make liquid H2O air from because Hydrogen is explosive and Oxygen support combustion. Making enough water to be of any use will be highly hazardous. We can’t think of using cloud-seeding for a source of freshwater as well. The risk of causing severe flood when playing with the force of nature can be shown in Britain. Inventor Max Whisson has invented the Whisson Windmill and although it is environmentally green, the number of this Windmill is still too small to make enough difference to the world.

So maybe you can start learning not to waste and start now. If everyone says “what can one person do to change it?” then no one will be doing anything.

by your beloved newspaper-boy,
en,
0.o

Tropical Trees Cool Earth Most Effectively

2008-07-25T17:53:00.000+08:00

Tropical Trees Cool Earth Most Effectively
A new study finds that tropical trees are better at combating global warming than trees in higher latitudes.
"Our study shows that only tropical rainforests are strongly beneficial in helping slow down global warming," said study team leader Govindasamy Bala of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California.
Forests affect the climate in three different ways:

1) By absorbing carbon dioxide (a major greenhouse gas) to help cool the planet;
2) By evaporating water which forms clouds, helping to keep the planet cooler;
3) By absorbing sunlight with their dark leaves. This warms the Earth.

Trees in snowy places absorb sunlight that would otherwise be reflected back to space by the bright white snow.
However, tropical rainforests trap larger amounts of carbon dioxide and evaporate more water to produce clouds that reflect sunlight back to space.
"Tropical forests are like Earth's air conditioner," said Ken Caldeira of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, Bala's colleague.
By simulating the effects of deforestation in different parts of the world, the study, published in the April 9 online issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that deforestation in the tropics is more destructive to Earth's climate than deforestation in higher latitudes, and that trees in mid- to high-latitudes could actually cause warming.
The scientists warn that these findings don't mean it's time to take out the axes and cut down all the trees outside of the tropics.
"A primary reason we are trying to slow global warming is to protect nature," Caldeira said. "It just makes no sense to destroy natural ecosystems in the name of saving natural ecosystems."

Source from: http://www.livescience.com/environment/070409_deforest_cooling.html

By Cesca On

Man Jiang Hong, Frankie yu

2008-07-25T02:03:00.000+08:00

Special Announcement

2008-07-24T12:56:00.005+08:00

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT:

To all Rainbow society members and readers;

I am the president of Rainbow society, Elly SEE HUI LING.
I would like to announce that starting from today; registration or application for new member of our society will be FREE of CHARGE ...This means that we wont ask for any application fees for members, this also not include the event's fee. Members are ask to pay joining fees for events which will including the prizes and refreshments.

For those who had already paid the member fees to our membership's officer (AUDREY LIM), you can collect the refund from her starting from tomorrow 24th July 2008 to 1st August 2008
*please bring your receipt, if possible!

Well regarding to the member cards,
I would purchase the first 100pieces of member card personally. So, just collect the member card once there is further announcement/news been announced.

Thanks you.

Elly SEE
(president)

Greenhouse Effect

2008-07-23T21:36:00.000+08:00

The greenhouse effect is the rise in temperature that the Earth experiences because certain gases in the atmosphere (water, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane, for example) trap energy from the sun. Without these gases, heat would escape back into space and Earth’s average temperature would be about 60°F colder. Because of how they warm our world, these gases are referred to as greenhouse effect.

Have you ever seen a greenhouse? Most greenhouses look like a small glass house. Greenhouses are used to grow plants, especially in the winter. Greenhouses work by trapping heat from escaping. This causes the greenhouse to heat up, much like the inside for a car packed in sunlight, and keeps the plants warm enough to live in the winter.

The Earth’s atmosphere is all around us. It is the air that we breathe. Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere behave much like glass panes in a greenhouse. Sunlight enters the Earth’s atmosphere, passing through the blanket of greenhouse gases. As it reaches the Earth’s surface, land, water and biosphere absorb the sunlight’s energy. Once absorbed, this energy is sent back into the atmosphere. Some of the energy passes back into space, but much of it remains trapped in the atmosphere by the greenhouse gases, causing our world to heat up. The greenhouse effect is important, without the greenhouse effect, the Earth would not be warm enough for humans to live. But if the greenhouse effect becomes stronger, it could make the Earth warmer than usual. Even a little extra warming may cause problems for humans, plants, and animals.

Elly's view

2008-07-22T20:36:00.001+08:00

Video/pic by Elly See

Arctic is starting to melt

2008-07-18T21:56:00.000+08:00

A General Article Related To Global Warming:

On 2nd of February, 2007, the United Nations scientific panel studying climate change declared that the evidence of a warming trend is "unequivocal," and that human activity has "very likely" been the driving force in that change over the last 50 years. The last report by the group, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, in 2001, had found that humanity had "likely" played a role.

Arctic is starting to melt, due to the increasing temperature of the earth. Scientists are unnerved by the polar ice melt, its implications and their ability to predict it. The melting of Arctic is putting the polar bears and other inhabitants of Arctic into danger. The animals now face another threat: a changing climate.

Several countries and companies had tried to improve the situation. The Ontario provincial government of Canada had said that it would conserve a huge swath of its forest to protect polar bears and other animals and help fight climate change on the 15th of July 2008. On the same day as well, Exelon, the electric company based in Chicago, promised to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 by an amount larger than its total emissions in 2008.

The sad thing is that while some countries no longer deny the science of climate change, they still insist on putting the concerns of industry over the needs of the planet. If this continues, the planet might continue to experience global warming, and a lot of innocent lives, especially the animals, might be in danger.

We might not be able to stop global warming completely, but at least we can try our best to reduce it. Just remember that while we are reducing global warming, we are increasing our own future comfortableness.

Can you imagine how will the future be like if global warming continues? You can’t, because there will be no future if it continues.

Source from: http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/science/topics/globalwarming/index.html

Article By: Jessyca, Rainbow Society Secretary

Plastics and styrofoam

2008-07-17T21:31:00.005+08:00

Plastics + Styrofoam and bottle drinks~

How many polythene plastic bags have you used today?
How many paper bags have you used today?
How many bottle of drinks have you bought and threw in your life?
How many boxes of Styrofoam have you threw in a month?

Lets have a read the article below.

Do you know??
According to some online references which I read before,
paper bags have the highest global warming impact compared to other types of bags.
There is a fact ..according to the US EPA, 70percent more global warming gasses are emitted making a paper than a plastic bag!!!
They cause 50times more water pollution, as well as deforestation!!!!
Believe or not...
10billion paper shopping bags= 14million trees!!!

Some research make by environmentalist have noted that ..the petroleum used to make 14 plastics bags is enough to drive a car a mile
( THIS MEANs THAT 140 plastics bags can drive for 10miles, oil's prices have hiked to USD 141...)

Americans alone throw away 380billion of plastic bags which mean that they have already thrown the amount of plastics which equal to millions barrels of petroleum. This really contribute to global warming, depleting oil supplies and driving up the costs of petroleum based products.

Styrofoam never break down completely to the ground..
Sea animals like eating this plastic foam and it usually kills them and chemicals in Styrofoam cause global warming
; the manufacturing of Styrofoam involves many polluting chemicals harmful to life. Styrofoam is a notorious environmental pollutant and a non-biodegradable substance.

SO??
You guys still want to use those non-biodegradable products?

By Elly See

Elly's report

2008-07-12T21:57:00.010+08:00

Last days, the committee members and I (Elly) had been gone for a short video shooting for our society. We planned to make the videos as a reference part on our presentation which we are going to have in our launching day in SMSBT (may god bless our society could run smoothly in SMSBT).
* I will post the video up here ONCE we have finish doing the mastering progress and others.:)

Well, the day before the shooting...
I have go around Brunei, looking for some common "mistakes/careless/foolish actions" which always been done by us in our daily life. I could point out more than 10 examples which we done in our daily life within my 1hour walk around the market which found here.
Plus recently I have heard a lots of complains from my friends and teachers about the HOT temperature.

Picture no.1:
I was inside the car actually when I took this picture.
It was 32 degree Celsius!!!
Compare to the past temperature reading of Brunei...which was 28degree celcius...
It is very obvious that...the temperature has sometimes been rise up to +4 due to some solar radiation factors as well as...THE signal/signs from our sun that ...our earth is now on the border of its limit. GLOBAL WARMING IS ON RISK!!!!!

PLEASE DO SOMETHING TO COOL DOWN OUR EARTH.

According to some research reports which I read, hot temperature/condition make humans feel frustrated, anger, moody and lazy.

Picture no.2:
If we stop agriculture now..COULD WE supply with all these rich food products?
Could buildings feed us?
Could those iron/lifeless buildings provide us oxygen for breathing?

Picture 3: Plastic/polythene made sheet?
well for some sheltering purpose I agree them to use it. but why a broken one? HRm..if they could replace it with some environmental friendly materials..I guess it could make Brunei=nicer ..WHO KNOW can bring out another tourism BOOM here?this could increase our country's wealth as well as SAVING our environment...
If our ancestor could live without polythene in the past..Why cant us? We have the technology for creating MORE Better Environmental friendly products..Why dont we use them instead of making some harmful/danger products?

*Well for your information..
actually I got something to share here..
well hrmm...no no no..NOTHING funny:
Just now..while I was shopping with leewen around the Mall...
Instead of carrying the goods we bought with polythene plastics bags...we put them into our own bags We asked the shop assistant whether We could buying those goods without packing them into plastics bag (because the things we bought werent that necessary for us to use/place into plastics) sooo..YUP! with the payment receipts...we placed those goods into our own bags by the witness of shop keeper:p

Funny?
Why dont I use recycle bag?
I have forgotten to bring my recycle bag..Thats why.. Plus I couldnt find any recycle bag in the store (sad things...so far I only know Supa Save and Giants do offer their customers to use non polythene recycle bags...they might cost around 79cent to $1 each ***they are valuable to buy!!! Believe me!)

well well well...
Along our shopping trip...there were alots of people distributing some commercial catalog ...*I think majority of them are wasting the papers
because..I could see the catalog which they gave to the publics/past-by were end up in...the floor and rubbish bins..

I think it would be a good idea for them to display their products/advertised them online (since it is cheap and free+fast) . We have to suit into this IT world!!!

***LEE wen and I didn't collect any of the catalog just now... haha
It doesnt mean we are rude ..but we are more onto the logic's state as we know..we wont need those botox/laser/slimming treatment.
Plus even I asked them some professional questions on the products..they couldnt give me a good+logic answer.. They just remain BLUR there and silent( the most common replied Im not sure)...This means that ..even themselves not even sure about the safety of those products.

By: Elly SEE

'Global Warming Causing California Glacier to Grow'

2008-07-12T21:31:00.001+08:00

From the "You've Got To Be Kidding Me" department: "Global Warming Causing California Glacier to Grow, Scientists Say."

What? Hasn't Nobel Laureate Al Gore and every climate alarmist in the media been warning us that global warming is causing glaciers to melt, and that we're all going to die if we don't do something about it?

Well, not so fast, because according to the CBC, much like climate change can cause droughts AND torrential rains, it now seems the tricky little devil can make glaciers grow too (emphasis added, better stow fluids and sharp objects):

The glaciers on Mount Shasta in California are growing because of global warming, experts say.

"When people look at glaciers around the world, the majority of them are shrinking," said Slawek Tulaczyk, a University of California, Santa Cruz, professor who studied the glaciers.

But the seven glaciers on Shasta, part of the Cascade mountains in northern California, "seem to be benefiting from the warming ocean," he said.

As the ocean warms, more moisture evaporates. As moisture moves inland, it falls as snow — enough on Shasta to more than offset a 1 C temperature rise in the past century.

Hmmm. That's not what NASA said in March, as reported by Green Daily (emphasis added):

Researchers with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory studying temperature changes in the world's oceans are finding no evidence of heating up in the last 5 years or so.

Scientists have been working with a program called Argo, which looks at ocean temperatures using robotic buoys which dive down to three thousand feet to collect data. Since the study began in 2003, measurements have not only failed to find evidence of warming, but in fact have picked up a slight cooling trend.

Well, maybe the Banana Slugs of Santa Cruz hadn't heard about this NASA study...or didn't care.

Update: NBer danbo rightly states in the comments section that the average yearly temperature has declined in the Mt. Shasta area since the '90s

Isn't it also interesting that the temperature in Shasta for the past three years has been lower than some of the years prior to WWI?

—Noel Sheppard is the Associate Editor of NewsBusters.

from: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2008/07/09/headline-global-warming-causing-california-glacier-grow

Committee tshirt

2008-07-12T18:35:00.003+08:00

Well remember that I have mentioned about Rainbow Society's committee tshirt?
Now they have done..(I mean the Tshirt)
Below are the pictures of the tshirt. (Elly)
***I will try my best to take our committee's group photo with the t-shirts:)

Thank you every One:)
By Elly See

THE LITTLE KITTEN AND RS

2008-07-10T22:32:00.004+08:00

Sorry for posting this late.
HERE IS THE STORY.
Around 3pm on 6thJuly2008, while trying to start shooting on our drama for the lauching day, we (Ke Jing, Hui Ling, Chee Fei, Pei Fen) heard a cat's meowing. At first, we decided not to pay attention, but the meowing didnt stop. Chee Fei decided to check it out. After rummaging through the things, she found a newborn kitten in the drain. All of us huddled looking at the kitten, of course. The skinny members, Ke Jing, Chee Fei and Kui Phin tried to reach the kitten as the the metal covering the drain was permenantly fixed to the ground, so we couldn't just carry the metal thing. So, in that process, somehow, En Ru's handphone fell down into the drain along with one of the props for the drama-Kui Phin's shade. Everyone searched for something that could be used to get the kitten out, Kui Phin found a rusty metal probably 1 + metre long. he bent it so that it was like a hook. The handphone and shades were successfully retrieved. Just the matter of the little kitten was still not resolved. Then, we decided to use a water pipe as a "broom" to push the kitten onto the metal earlier. To make it safer, Hui Ling covered the water pipes with banana leaves and Kui Phin made sure the sharp edges were not pointed towards the kitten with the help of En Ru. Slowly and carefully, Hui Ling and Kui Phin attempted to get the kitten out. For the first time, it didnt work out and for the second time, it finally worked. The only problem was the "sweep" manuveur could only get the kitten as far as half the height of the drain. Ke Jing and Chee Fai literally lend their hands and reached for the kitten. In the end, the kitten was out of the drain and quickly rushed to a nearby water tap. Instead of using the water tap in front of them, Ke Jing and En Ru ran to a water tap which was a few metres away. Ooh yeah, En ru's handphone wasnt damaged but it did smell terrible. The rest of the afternoon was spent on feeding and cleaning the kitten. Unfortunately, the kitten died the next day as Hui Ling texted at the chat box due to the drain water. At least, it lived hours longer than it would have being in the drain.

I do apologise if there's any mistakes in the spelling or anything. ^_^

Leehom wang

2008-07-08T23:44:00.003+08:00

Leehom wang's visit to Laos (world vision)

Effects of electronic waste to the environment

2008-07-08T22:51:00.000+08:00

E-Waste Poses a Very Real Environmental Threat -Recycling Your Wireless Cell Phones, PDA's, Pagers and Digital Cameras Can Help Protect the Earth

Studies have consistently shown that electronic waste from devices like mobile phones, PDA's and digital cameras contains toxins that are damaging to our environment. That is why recycling charity donations are so important. When you donate your cell phone, you are helping to keep toxic elements out of landfills. Consider the harm you are averting when you donate cell phones to charity:

Element	Use in Wireless Technology	Harmful Effects
Lead	Used primarily in soldering of circuit boards and other device components	Extremely harmful to the human body; damages both the central and peripheral nervous systems; can cause seizures, retardation, high blood pressure, damage to the kidneys and liver; adversely affects child development
Beryllium	Forms significant portions of electrical connectors and battery contacts	Long term exposure can be carcinogenic, especially for the lungs. Extreme exposure can lead to a potentially fatal condition known as Acute Beryllium Disease
Arsenic	Used in some integrated circuits and semiconductors	Arsenic is a notoriously potent poison; causes severe damage to the digestive tract
Mercury	Can be found to a degree in batteries and circuit boards	Attacks the central nervous and endocrine systems; harmful to mouth, teeth and gums; poses risk in the neurological development of unborn fetuses
Antimony	Used in production of diodes and batteries. Pure form used in semiconductor production	Toxic to humans in ways similar to arsenic; fatal in large doses
Cadmium	Used in soldering, semiconductors and chip resistors	Potentially carcinogenic; Repeated exposure can damage the lungs, kidneys and liver

The potential dangers are obvious. Recycling for Charities is committed to preventing such hazards from contaminating the environment

from: http://www.recyclingforcharities.com/Environmental-Effects-of-E-Waste.php

Artists also promote LOVE and concern about global warming

2008-07-07T22:13:00.005+08:00

Gary Chaw & rock Unity:

Leehom:

DannyOne

*the english/malay version of artist's contributions on the matter above, will soon been posted (if only I could found some of the examples)

By elly see

RS and cat

2008-07-07T21:55:00.002+08:00

The story of the title above..will soon been posted here:)

Below are the pictures which taken by Elly SEE :

watch this

2008-07-05T23:28:00.001+08:00

Teens green's tips

2008-07-01T22:51:00.006+08:00

Today's teens are more wired up, plugged in, worldly and savvy than ever. Many care deeply about the threats facing our environment, and are committed to making difference. But it's not always easy to know exactly what to do. Here are some suggestions to get started.

* 1. When You're Done Surfing and IMing, Turn Your Computer Off. If you shut your machine off before bedtime, you'll save an average of $90 worth of electricity a year — tell your parents that, and ask for a raise in your allowance! If you must leave your computer on, tell it to go into "sleep" or "hibernate" mode, which saves power. Save even more juice by unplugging your computer (or flip the switch on a surge protector) to stop the "phantom load" problem.

* 2. Put Together a Cool Vintage Outfit. Impress your friends with your fab style sense when you show up to a party in a vintage Betsey Johnson number (you can find gently used clothing for a steal at thrift stores and garage sales). Go glam by raiding your parents' closet for 1970s and '80s pants, vests and jackets.

* 3. Instead of Insisting on Driving, Catch the School Bus. No, it may not be as cool as driving yourself, but it is a lot safer, according to the National Academies of Science and Engineering. Buses are also much more fuel efficient than cars, saving gas and lowering emissions that cause global warming.

* 4. Get Involved! Most schools have environment or Earth Day clubs, so give them a chance! It's a great way to meet nice people, and you can learn so much from your peers. Many clubs convince their schools to recycle, start a garden or hold an Earth Day fair.
* 5. Turn Off the Lights Behind You. Remember that riddle about the tree falling in the forest when no one is around? Well, why leave a light on when no one is around? It's just plain waste. Your parents may even bug you about it because they have to pay the energy bills, and they know lighting accounts for an average of 11% of that total.

* 6. Join the "Virtual March." Founded by eco-warrior Laurie David, Senator John McCain and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Stop Global Warming Virtual March is a Web-based effort to bring people together to take a stand against climate change. So far nearly 900,000 people have joined up to demand that our leaders begin reducing carbon dioxide emissions now.

* 7. Help Lose the Litter. Littering is a blight on our landscape that chokes wildlife and releases toxic chemicals when it breaks down. Plus it's just plain ugly! Many neighborhoods hold regular cleanups, so volunteer! It's an easy way to get some exercise while making a difference and meeting new people.

* 8. Go Veggie Once Per Week. The commercial meat industry takes a huge toll on our environment. It takes 4.8 pounds of grain (fed to cattle) to produce one pound of beef, as opposed to serving those grains directly to hungry people. One pound of wheat can be grown with 60 pounds of water, but a pound of red meat requires 2,500 to 6,000 pounds of water. In a world where water, land and energy are premiums, making a small cutback in the meat you eat is healthy for the planet, as well as your body.

* 9. Instead of Buying Bottled Water, Get a Refill. Ever see an empty water bottle tossed by the side of the road? Less than 20% of those single-use containers make it to the recycling bin. They also waste fuel for shipping — water is heavy! Get a cool metal bottle instead and fill it up when you're thirsty, and cut down on the expense and waste.

* 10. Get a New Shampoo — and Make It Natural! Typical drugstore shampoos can have some pretty scary-sounding chemicals in them (just look at the labels!), but why take the risk of putting all those lab compounds on your sensitive scalp? Lots of companies make more natural shampoos from plant extracts and even organically certified ingredients. They smell great, and are less toxic to make.

* 11. Download (Legally!) the Latest Album from an Eco-friendly Star. John Mayer. KT Tunstall. Dave Matthews Band. Kanye West. A number of today's hottest musicians are also going green in big ways, by running tour buses on clean-burning biodiesel and recycling all their show waste. Do your part by buying music online, which cuts out waste from shipping and all those CDs and cases.

* 12. Ask Potential Colleges About Their Eco-Practices and/or Check Out a "Green Collar Career." College can be the best time of your life, but you don't want to be dragged down by a school that doesn't get your green values. Fortunately, many colleges are leading the way with exciting recycling and reuse programs and even eco-friendly dorms! Whether you seek higher ed or not, think about a career that makes a positive difference: not just park rangers, but also teachers, government workers, organizers and media.

* 13. Buy a Comfy Organic Cotton T-Shirt. Cotton is one of the most pesticide-intensive crops, and millions of gallons of toxic residue runs off cotton fields into rivers and lakes, poisoning wildlife. Plus, why put something that had been treated in harsh chemicals so near your skin? Organic cotton is now widely available (from H&M to Wal-Mart to boutiques), in the cutest styles and graphics.

* 14. Take Friends and/or Family to See The 11th Hour. Leonardo DiCaprio's recent doc is a heavy hitter, but it's also inspiring and gorgeous. It just may be the push to get your dad to start recycling his papers, or your friend to stop littering. And it's pretty entertaining.

* 15. Make Your Next Cup of Coffee Organic and Fair Trade. Coffee may pep you up, but it may have been grown under chemical-intensive conditions that destroy rainforest and poison poor workers. Organic means no industrial chemicals are used, and fair trade means growers are given incentives to protect local forest and tend plots sustainably. They are paid a decent living wage, so you can feel proud about what you're buying.

* 16. Earn Great Grades (Mother Nature Needs Smart People to Help Protect Her). Sure, you've heard it a million times before: it pays to stay in school. Here's one more reason: human population, and consumption rates, continue to swell, while habitat for wildlife shrinks. Global warming, ozone damage and acid rain are scary stuff. Humankind can right a lot of our wrongs and invent new technology to live lighter on the Earth, but it will take a lot of smarts.

* 17. Green Your Boyfriend or Girlfriend. Everyone knows that a significant other can influence our behavior in major ways. So way not encourage your honey to cut down on unnecessary trips, turn the water off while brushing his/her teeth and other common-sense tips? You'll grow closer together as you share in protecting the Earth.

edited by ELLY SEE

from MSN GREEN

2008-06-29T23:39:00.001+08:00

North pole:'(

2008-06-29T21:24:00.003+08:00

North Pole may have no ice this summer: US expert

WASHINGTON (AFP) — There could briefly be no ice at the North Pole this summer, a US scientist said Friday, an event that would mark a new stage in the melting of the Arctic ice sheets due to global warming.

"We could have no ice at the North Pole at the end of this summer," Mark Serreze, a scientist with the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colorado, told AFP in an interview.

"And the reason here is that the North Pole area right now is covered with very thin ice and this ice we call first-year ice, the ice that tends to melt out in the summer."

If the ice, albeit briefly, were to break up completely this summer it would be the first time this had happened in human history.

Serreze put the chances of this occurring at 50 percent -- if it does happen, in September "it's possible" that ships could sail from Alaska right to the North Pole.

Last summer, melting ice allowed ships through the Arctic's Northern Passage linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans for longer than ever before.

Serreze pointed out that even if there were no ice left at the North Pole, there would be ice in other parts of the Arctic Ocean this summer.

But he recognized the symbolism of an ice-free North Pole in the minds of the public, and said it was yet another indication of the environmental changes taking place because of global warming.

"There should be ice at the North Pole, and there might not be at the end of the summer and that is telling that something is wrong," he said.

"Clearly if you look over what we have seen in the past three years and where we were headed, we are in ... this long-term decline and we may have no ice at all in the Arctic Ocean in summer by 2030 or so," he said.

He recalled that a few years ago, such a scenario was not expected to happen until between 2050 and 2100. Personally, he said that five years ago, he would not have imagined the situation occurring now.

In last year's Arctic summer, the surface of the ice sheet in mid-September was the "the least sea ice that we have ever seen in satellite record, probably the least in a century," Serreze noted.

The sheet melted by 23 percent, breaking the previous record from 2005.

Arctic ice begins to melt in about mid-June and reaches its thinnest level around mid-September, before beginning to freeze over again and reaching a maximum around mid-March.

Cutting greenhouse gas emissions to reduce the rate of global warming should slow down the effect of such melting but to reverse the trend will take a long time, Serreze said.

On the upside, the melting of the Arctic ice sheet could help ships by providing an alternative route around the world to the Panama Canal, while it has also made accessible areas rich in natural resources, experts say.

from: http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iU9UOmEQ5-DXROTg33PsMch2Xopg

Edited by : ELLY SEE

No more north pole?

2008-06-29T21:21:00.001+08:00

Just a couple hours ago, our vice president Kui Phin has informed me about the melting of North Pole. So, I quickly browse into the chinese newspaper and read it. Below is the english version.

PLEASE , FOR NOW ON EARTH ...DO SOMETHING! TO SAVE OUR EARTH!!!!!

North Pole ice may completely melt away this summer

Updated Fri. Jun. 27 2008 12:59 PM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

For the first time in modern history, the North Pole may be iceless this summer. Scientists say it's an even bet that sea ice in the region will completely disappear in the next few months, perhaps as soon as August.

Ice at the North Pole quickly and significantly melted away last year, and that may be causing further melting this summer. Scientists say the disappearance of long-term and thicker ice formed over the years has disappeared. Now, most of the ice that's left is seasonal ice, which melts away much more quickly during warm weather.

"This year there is a lot of young ice. There's always some, but this year there's a lot," Andy Mahoney, a researcher at the University of Colorado's National Snow and Ice Data Center, told CTV.ca.

Satellite observations indicate the ice remaining at the poles is melting faster than last year's rate, which was already a record year for Arctic ice loss. Scientists say whether or not the ice melts completely, this year's northern melt is yet another example of the impact that global warming is having on the planet's environment.

"There were some people who were saying last year was a rogue year. If the same thing happens again a lot more people are going to be persuaded about the consequences of global warming," Mahoney said.

"A lot of people think it's a very small change in temperature. This shows that the change in sea ice is quite a dramatic consequence."

As the ice melts, interest in the region is intensifying. Canada and other nations that border the Arctic -- including Russia and the U.S. -- are scrambling to lay claims to vast parts of the area, which may someday allow new resource development and shipping lanes.

"If the North Pole melts, then you don't have to worry about the Northwest Passage. It will still be significant, but going on top of the globe would be politically easier," Mahoney said.

A UN panel is supposed to decide on control of the Arctic by 2020. Last year, Canada's Conservative government announced plans to acquire up to eight Arctic patrol ships and to build an army base in Resolute Bay and a naval station in Nanisivik.

Under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, Arctic countries have 10 years after ratification to prove their claims under the largely uncharted polar ice pack. All countries with claims to the Arctic have ratified the treaty, with the exception of the United States.

copy from: http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080627/iceless_north_080627/20080627?hub=CTVNewsAt11

edited by : Elly SEE

Stop dodo! seeking for job?

2008-06-29T18:49:00.002+08:00

Seeking for a job for long?
Ever thinking for a job which could help on earth?
why don't try this:
http://www.stopdodo.com/

Stop global warming

2008-06-25T12:35:00.006+08:00

The presentation slide below was the one I read before, I think it would be a very nice idea for me to share it here:

| View | Upload your own

Well back to the title above,
STOP GLOBAL WARMING?

could WE Stop this?

What do you guys think?

STOP GLOBAL WARMING....
To conduct activities which with the aim of stopping global warming...Really isn't an easy piece of work in Brunei.
Due to some circumstances and narrow knowledges of public regarding global warming, it makes us (those who want to conduct/run these activities) facing a lots of problems which stop us for doing these.

Could we stop global warming?
of course WE COULD!!!
There is nothing impossible for us if we want to do.
JUST NEED OUR OWN cooperations and FOREVER HOT BLOOD for doing these.
If we don't stop this...What would happened to our earth after decades?
Perhaps some of the small small forest and islands will vanished. The temperatures will rise dramatically, plants die...animals lost their habitat and humans lost their humanity.

Tsunami, typhoon, earthquakes,drought, floods,hailstones and some other serious disasters have actively happened on our earth recently.
Don't you think they are all the warning been given by our god mother/earth to us?

Humans , because of our own selfishness and mind of "busy chasing money"+wild with technology have killed and make a lots of complications for us now.

We make factories/buildings for making more money (business) and own benefits,in the same time...The factories emitting a lots of industrial harmful waste to our atmosphere as well as our water source like rivers. They have polluted the aquatic habitat for those aquatic animals.
We also clearing the forest/burn it for empty land to build big buildings and residents. We got buildings and residents now, but those wild become extinct because their food sources and habitat have been destroyed and clear.

Lastly share some JOKES with you guys here..WELL Please take note!! below are just JOKES

By: Elly SEE

updated news

2008-06-23T23:15:00.000+08:00

MANILA, Philippines - A group of 28 ferry passengers and crew washed ashore after drifting at sea for more than a day from the site where a typhoon capsized their ship and left most of the hundreds aboard missing and presumed dead, officials said today.

Manila's DZBB radio said the survivors, 20 male passengers, four women and four crewmen, drifted at sea for more than 24 hours wearing their life jackets, reaching Mulanay township in eastern Quezon province late yesterday. The head of the coast guard, Vice Adm. Wilfredo Tamayo, announced early today that they had been found, raising the total number of survivors to 38. All were discovered after making it to land.

Tamayo said rescuers might have to bore a hole in the capsized ferry to allow divers access to areas where many aboard the Princess of the Stars were believed to have been trapped.

Coast guard frogmen who managed to get to the stricken ship got no response when they rapped on the hull with metal instruments, then had to give up late yesterday because of the strong waves. The ship carried more than 740 passengers and crew.

Rescuers hoped to get inside with U.S. assistance requested by the Philippine Red Cross. Typhoon Fengshen has killed at least 163 people across the sprawling archipelago, setting off landslides and floods, and knocking out electricity.

Six bodies, including those of a man and woman who had bound themselves together, have washed ashore, along with children's slippers and life jackets.

About two dozen relatives went to the Manila office of the ferry's owner, Sulpicio Lines. Some wept as they waited for news.

"I'm very worried. I need to know what happened to my family," said Felino Farionin, his voice cracking. His wife, son and four in-laws were on the ferry, which was going from Manila to Cebu.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo talked to officials in a teleconference aired live on nationwide radio yesterday, scolding coast guard officials for allowing the ferry to leave Manila late Friday despite the bad weather.

Reynato Lanoria, a janitor on the ship, estimated that about 100 people could have survived, "but the others were trapped inside."

"I think they are all dead by now," he told DZMM radio.

Lanoria said he was on the top deck when a crew member ordered people to put on life vests about 11:30 a.m. Saturday. About 30 minutes later, the ship began listing so rapidly that elderly people and children fell on the wet deck.

Jesus Gica, a passenger, worried that many people were trapped below when the ship listed.

"There were many of us who jumped overboard, but we were separated because of the big waves," he said. "The others were also able to board the life rafts, but it was useless because the strong winds flipped them over."

The ferry initially ran aground a few miles off central Sibuyan island Saturday, then capsized, said Mayor Nanette Tansingco of Sibuyan's San Fernando. With the upturned ferry visible from her town, she appealed for food, medicine and embalming fluid.

The nearly 24,000-ton ferry - with 626 passengers and 121 crew members on board - was "dead in the water" after its engine failed about noon Saturday, Tamayo said.

Pope Benedict XVI said yesterday that he was praying for the victims of the ferry disaster, particularly the large number of children aboard. The Philippines is predominantly Roman Catholic.

The typhoon-prone Philippines was the site of the world's worst peacetime maritime disaster when the ferry MV Dona Paz sank in 1987, killing more than 4,341 people.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/world/bal-te.philippines23jun23,0,5043085.story

another typhoon?Oh, noooo

2008-06-23T22:25:00.004+08:00

*ELLY: Sorry guys, I don't have time to write/update the info in this blog today. Well I just share with you guys the recent typhoon happened which attacking Philippines on last Saturday.
More discussion/summaries will be done on next coming days. Sorry for this:)

Hundreds still missing after Philippines typhoon· 28 survivors from ferry alive after 24 hours at sea
· Navy and coastguard scouring waters around ship

Twenty-eight more survivors of the Philippines ferry accident were found today when they made it to shore after drifting in a tiny rubber life-raft for 24 hours.

The discovery of the party more than 80 miles from the scene of the sinking brought the number of those discovered alive to just 32 out of 863 aboard the MV Princess of the Stars, which capsized when it sailed into Typhoon Fengshen on Saturday.

Rescuers from the Philippines navy and coastguard scoured the waters around the ship's upturned hull still visible above the waves, though it is feared many of the missing may have been be trapped inside the vessel when it capsized.

Divers who reached the ship sitting on a sandbank several miles off-shore, banged on the hull but got no response. They were expected to cut into the vessel in the slim hope that survivors had been trapped in air pockets.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo criticised authorities for allowing the Sulpicio Lines' ship to set off on the 22-hour voyage from Manila to Cebu on Friday when there were typhoon warnings.

But officials said the 23,824-tonne ship was in compliance with the regulations for larger vessels, and that Typhoon Fengshen had intensified and altered course dramatically.

The ferry's engines failed shortly before noon on Saturday and it ran aground on a sandbank off Sibuyan Island in the mountainous seas whipped up by winds gusting to 120mph. Radio contact was lost and rescuers were beaten back by the storm, only reaching the ship 24 hours later.

Nine bodies - all men from the ferry - washed up on the central Philippines island of Masbate, while life jackets and clothing from the stricken vessel was discovered all along the coastline.

The 28 survivors - mostly men - drifted in the life-raft were found by villagers at Mulanay township, Quezon province. It was reported that two people were washed overboard in the huge seas. One survivor wearing a life jacket was picked up by a fishing boat.

Richard Gordon, chair of the Philippines Red Cross said another survivor described towering waves and chaos as the ferry sank on Saturday afternoon.

"According to him it was so dark," said Gordon. "It was high noon but it was so dark, and there was too much rain and the waves were just too much for the ship."

Emotional relatives waited at the Sulpicio Lines' offices in Cebu, desperate for word of their loved ones as nuns and priests tried to comfort them.

Edgar Go, vice-president of Sulpicio Lines, today expressed his regret over the loss of life. "Sulpicio Lines deeply mourns the tragic loss of lives and its good ship, Princess of Stars, last 21st June 2008, losing to the untamed fury of mother nature in an unfortunate tragedy that nobody, least of all the company, wanted to happen," he said.

The official death toll from Saturday's typhoon reached 163, with authorities saying that 250,000 hectares of farmland - mostly paddy fields - had been damaged.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2008/jun/23/philippines
Watch the video above, thank u!

from http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jun/23/typhoon?gusrc=rss&feed=travel

Typhoon Fengshen kills 17 in Philippines

2008-06-23T01:33:00.000+08:00

Typhoon Fengshen kills 17 in Philippines

The Associated Press

Sun, Jun 22, 2008 (12:06 a.m.)

Navy and coast guard ships battled huge waves and strong winds Sunday to reach a stranded ferry carrying more than 740 people after Typhoon Fengshen battered the country killing 17.

Rescue vessels aborted an initial attempt Saturday to get to the MV Princess of Stars after it ran aground near Sibuyan island, but efforts resumed amid stormy weather Sunday, coast guard chief Vice Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo said.

Fengshen lashed the central Philippines for about four hours Saturday, setting off landslides and floods, knocking out power, and blowing off roofs from houses.

Packing sustained winds of 74 miles per hour and gusts of up to 93 mph, the typhoon shifted course Sunday to the northwest and battered the capital Manila at dawn, chief government forecaster Nathaniel Cruz said.

In southern Maguindanao province, at least 14 people drowned in flash floods Saturday, including 10 who were swept away from riverside homes, said provincial administrator Norie Unas. Five others were missing.

Meanwhile, the 23,824-ton ferry _ with 626 passengers and 121 crew members on board _ was "dead in the water" after its engine failed around noon Saturday, Tamayo said.

Port captain Nestor Ponteres said the ferry's owner, Sulpicio Lines, had lost radio contact with the ship and the fate of its passengers remained unknown.

"A lot of efforts have been done to send off rescue boats, but we really can't get through the very rough weather," Tamayo said.

A 50-year-old man and his 10-year-old grandson were killed when a landslide buried their hillside shanty in Cotabato city Saturday, Mayor Muslimin Sema said. Authorities recovered the body of a farmer, one of three people reported missing in neighboring Cotabato province.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo directed the defense and local government departments to stand by for relief and rescue missions before she left for the United States late Saturday.

Officials said neck-deep flood waters had risen further with a high tide, forcing the evacuation of 5,000 people in Sultan Kudarat township in southern Shariff Kabunsuan province, near Cotabato city.

Officials ordered the evacuation of more than 117,000 people from areas prone to floods and landslides in central Albay province. But many returned home by midday Saturday after the typhoon missed the area.

The National Disaster Coordinating Council reported flooding, landslides and power outages caused by toppled power pylons in many areas in the southern and central Philippines. More than 100 domestic flights were canceled because of the typhoon.

Application form

2008-06-21T22:15:00.002+08:00

Application form (demo) is now available for public.

http://www.upload.ae/file/5145/-www-upload-ae-registration-form-new--doc.html

Our logo

2008-06-21T19:28:00.004+08:00

Hello!
Rainbow society is now having its own LOGO!
The logo is having a copyright protection under Rainbow society.

Meaning behind the colours of rainbow:
Blue = SPIRITUALITY

Blue is the color of distance - oceans, skies, the heavens. The energy of blue helps us to look beyond the immediate environment, expanding our perceptions towards the unknown.

Blue is the color of Divinity. It brings:

Peace and understanding
Enhances the easy flow of communication with yourself or others
Calms and relaxes

Yellow = WISDOM

Yellow is naturally associated with the sun itself, and so with its life giving and sustaining energy.

Yellow enriches, lightens and activates many of the systems of the body. It's bright sunny energy brings about:

clarity of thought
orderliness
memory improvement
better decision making skills
alleviates confusion

Red = VITALITY

Red is the color with the longest wavelength,

We feel in red - ACTIVITY. The red ray furnishes sustenance for the physical body. It brings about:

energy
enthusiasm
interest and passion
security

When blue is in harmony with yellow and red, there is peace and balance in body and mind. From this trinity of primary colors emanate the secondary colors...

Orange = CREATIVE ENERGY

Orange combines red and yellow. It contains the fiery energy of red with the wisdom and control of yellow. Orange is a dynamic energy like red but more thoughtful and controlled.

Orange brings about:

creativity
playfulness
exploration on a practical level
relief from boredom
equilibrium

Green = LIFE, BALANCE, NATURE

Green is the merging of yellow (mind) and blue (spirit). It is located exactly at the point of color balance - midway between red and violet on the color spectrum.

The human eye is able to recognize more variation in the color green than in any other color.

Its energy contains:

harmony
sympathy
health
abundance
balance
growth and expansion

Indigo = INFINITY

Indigo amplifies the energy of blue in a profound way. At a physical level, while blue is calming, indigo is sedating. It deepens and turns blue energy inward.

The indigo ray symbolizes the bridge between the finite and the infinite and opens the door to the mystical borderland.

While blue energy is fast, Indigo energy is more often lightening fast.

opens the subconscious
spiritual attainment
self-mastery
wisdom
sudden awareness
intuition
psychic abilities

Violet = HIGHEST ELEMENT OF SPIRITUAL MASTERY

Violet is the ray of spiritual mastery. It is the highest and most subtle specialization of light, being at the opposite end of the color spectrum to red.

It should be viewed as both a completion as well as a beginning of the energy vibration beyond the visible color spectrum.

Violet is a combination of both red and blue and this is key to understanding this color. It brings a stabilizing energy to the franticness of red. It lends practicality to the undirected spaciousness of blue.

darker tones are associated with sorrow
deep purple signifies high spiritual attainment
pale lilac brings love for humanity
bluish purple brings idealism
sparks the imagination and inspiration
integrates other energies for healing purposes

copy from http://www.crystal-cure.com/color-emotions2.html

We will soon designed some society's T-shirt and post out here.

2008-06-19T20:46:00.000+08:00

NO END IN SIGHT - Discuss the Wargreat free widgetsWidgetbox

About Global Warming

2008-06-18T21:34:00.008+08:00

I guess you might already heard about "global warming".
But do you know what are the factors causing global warming?
Do you ever heard about the complications from global warming?
Have you noticed that in these recent years,
many parts of the earth's continents being suffered and attacked by the dramatic attacking disasters like tsunami, tornadoes, earthquakes, floods,snowstorms etc...?

Rainbow society hopes you could join us to concern about our earth's future.
Please join us and learn/know more about Global warming . Together, we COOL our earth.
To cool our earth?
Do we need to be COOL?
LOL!!!!

What is global warming?
Well, global warming hrmmm...
according to MSN encarta;

Definition:

increase in world's temperatures: an increase in the world's temperatures, believed to be caused in part by the greenhouse effect

Global warming is the observed and projected increases in the average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans.

The Earth's average temperature rose about 0.6° Celsius (1.1° Fahrenheit) in the 20th century

Temp. increase in the last 1'000 years
(graph from http://www.globalwarmingart.com/images/b/bb/1000_Year_Temperature_Comparison.png)

What causes global warming???

Cause of global warming

Almost 100% of the observed temperature increase over the last 50 years has been due to the increase in the atmosphere of greenhouse gas concentrations like water vapour, carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane and ozone. Greenhouse gases are those gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect (see below). The largest contributing source of greenhouse gas is the burning of fossil fuels leading to the emission of carbon dioxide.

The greenhouse effect

When sunlight reaches Earth's surface some is absorbed and warms the earth and most of the rest is radiated back to the atmosphere at a longer wavelength than the sun light. Some of these longer wavelengths are absorbed by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere before they are lost to space. The absorption of this longwave radiant energy warms the atmosphere. These greenhouse gases act like a mirror and reflect back to the Earth some of the heat energy which would otherwise be lost to space. The reflecting back of heat energy by the atmosphere is called the "greenhouse effect".

The major natural greenhouse gases are water vapor, which causes about 36-70% of the greenhouse effect on Earth (not including clouds); carbon dioxide CO₂, which causes 9-26%; methane, which causes 4-9%, and ozone, which causes 3-7%. It is not possible to state that a certain gas causes a certain percentage of the greenhouse effect, because the influences of the various gases are not additive. Other greenhouse gases include, but are not limited to, nitrous oxide, sulfur hexafluoride, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and chlorofluorocarbons.

Global warming causes by greenhouse effect

Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere (see above) act like a mirror and reflect back to the Earth a part of the heat radiation, which would otherwise be lost to space. The higher the concentration of green house gases like carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the more heat energy is being reflected back to the Earth. The emission of carbon dioxide into the environment mainly from burning of fossil fuels (oil, gas, petrol, kerosene, etc.) has been increased dramatically over the past 50 years.

Effects of global warming

There are two major effects of global warming:

Increase of temperature on the earth by about 3° to 5° C (34° to 41° Fahrenheit) by the year 2100.

Rise of sea levels by at least 25 meters (82 feet) by the year 2100.

More details about the effects of global warming :

Increasing global temperatures are causing a broad range of changes. Sea levels are rising due to thermal expansion of the ocean, in addition to melting of land ice. Amounts and patterns of precipitation are changing. The total annual power of hurricanes has already increased markedly since 1975 because their average intensity and average duration have increased (in addition, there has been a high correlation of hurricane power with tropical sea-surface temperature).

Changes in temperature and precipitation patterns increase the frequency, duration, and intensity of other extreme weather events, such as floods, droughts, heat waves, and tornadoes. Other effects of global warming include higher or lower agricultural yields, further glacial retreat, reduced summer stream flows, species extinctions. As a further effect of global warming, diseases like malaria are returning into areas where they have been extinguished earlier.

Although global warming is affecting the number and magnitude of these events, it is difficult to connect specific events to global warming. Although most studies focus on the period up to 2100, warming is expected to continue past then because carbon dioxide (chemical symbol CO₂) has an estimated atmospheric lifetime of 50 to 200 years. For a summary of the predictions for the future increase in temperature up to 2100

The above texts have partially been taken from Wikipedia.org and then adapted and complimented accordingly.

Try this:

For your information

2008-06-18T20:20:00.003+08:00

Rainbow society is a new society been found by HUI LING & her friends.
For your information,
Rainbow society is a non profit youth organization.
rainbow society is still a new society which haven't been register.
Hui Ling plan to register the society once she got the link/cooperate support from some success green organization. If she couldn't get any of them by September 2008, she will then just try to register/propose this society under Brunei Ministry of Education (PLAN1)

This is the platform where public/students from other schools could join.

The founder named this society as RAINBOW society, it is because she thinks that rainbow shows the sign of life, with seven different colours. Rainbow also represents the happiness and peace of being together. In this society, there is no racialism and other negative activities but just HELPs and contribution of us to our only home, earth. It also means that this society is opened to everyone of us with no limitation of ages, sexes, races and ranks.

Our earth is now facing some traumas, which are the "greenhouse effect/global warming" and "natural disasters". As a member of earth, we should do some actions to save our earth. With the strength of our members, we couldnt make up any differences. SO, we decided to set up this blog as a platform where all of us (people in cyber world/other regions) could exchange our ideas and information with this particular matter.

The aims of setting up this society:
*Help those victims and people in the third-world.
*Giving awareness to others/public on global warming issues.
*Spread Green
*Spread/share information and let others know about what happened in the third-world.
*Show our love to those unfortunate people and save our only home, earth.

For further information please contact:
1. rainbow.society@hotmail.com
or
2.crazy_elly@hotmail.com

You can get the registration form from ELLY SEE (crazy_elly@hotmail.com)