Khazanah Sungai Melaka

MELAKA: Sebuah lagi buku mengenai pembangunan Sungai Melaka berjudul 'The Rejuvenational Of A National Culture Heritage' diterbitkan bagi panduan semua pelancong yang benar-benar ingin memahami proses pembangunan di Sungai Melaka.

Chromium 6 Emissions From ESCO in Portland

This story comes the NW Examiner in the Northwest Neighborhood of Portland, Oregon. http://www.nwexaminer.com/issues/11November2009.pdf

Hexavalent chromium accumulates in organisms and does not break down in the environment. No level of human exposure is considered safe.

The EPA says that the respiratory tract is the major target organ for chromium 6 toxicity, both for acute (short term) and chronic (long-term) inhalation exposures. Shortness of breath, coughing and wheezing were reported from a case of acute exposure to chromium 6, while perforations and ulcerations of the septum, bronchitis, decreased pulmonary function, pneumonia and other respiratory effects have been noted from chronic exposure. Human studies have clearly established that inhaled chromium 6 is a human carcinogen, resulting in increased risk of lung cancer.

Most of the of the 64 toxic substances emitted by ESCO have multiple health consequences. In addition to seven substances known to cause cancer, another 12 are suspected carcinogens.

ESCO is increasingly the topic of discussion among anti-toxics groups in Oregon. Neighbors For Clean Air, the Northwest District Association, and now the Oregon Toxics Alliance are all taking note of ESCO's toxics emissions. Please join these groups to help put pressure on the DEQ to do its job.


sumber: http://www.theenvironmentalblog.org

RM343,087.60 bantu anak angkat zoo

MESRA... Mohd Ali bermesra dengan beberapa ekor
gajah di Zoo Melaka, semalam.

MELAKA: Program Skim Anak Angkat Zoo Melaka 2009 disambut baik oleh 54 syarikat serta badan berkanun di negeri ini apabila sejumlah RM343,087.60 berjaya dikumpul sebagai dana kebajikan anak angkat di zoo.

Sambutan Minggu Alam Sekitar Malaysia

Assalamualaikum dan salam sejahtera,

Alhamdulillah syukur kepada Tuhan kerana Program sambutan Minggu Alam Sekitar Malaysia Peringkat Negeri Melaka 2009 anjuran bersama JAPERUN Pantai Kundor dengan kerjasama Majlis Bandaraya Melaka Bersejarah, Jabatan Kerja Raya Negeri Melaka, RTM (Radio Melaka FM), Jabatan Hal Ehwal Negeri Melaka, Rumah Ku Syurga Ku, Petronas Penapisan Malaysia, Syarikat Meriahtek (M) Sdn. Bhd dan Polis Diraja Malaysia berjalan lancar.

Program ini dirancang bagi meningkatan kesedaran awam dan pembabitan masyarakat JAPERUN Pantai Kundor khususnya. Program sambutan ini dilakukan selama 2 hari dengan tujuan merapatkan jaringan perhubungan antara masyarakat dengan kakitangan Jabatan serta golongan pemimpin kawasan tersebut.

Move to restore mangrove forests

YEARS ago, the whole of the Pulau Indah coastal area off Klang, was covered with mangrove trees. Now, only about 20% of the trees remain.

“This island used to be covered with 2,000ha to 3,000ha of mangrove forest but now only a small portion of it is left.

“Part of the area, which used to be a forest reserve had been degazetted a few years ago, allowing development but at the cost of these mangroves.

Old and new: A combination of natural restoration and manual planting will yield faster results for mangrove restoration in the area.

“Even areas that were not supposed to be affected suffered damage,” said Global Environment Centre (GEC) director Faizal Parish.

The trees were chopped to make way for development which also involved land clearing to provide access to the site.

Water flow into the mangrove forest was also interrupted due to the creation of an access road and this contributed to the damage.

“Some of the areas are recovering naturally, in others, the damage is still visible,” added Faizal.

In efforts to restore the mangroves, GEC together with the Selangor Forestry Department have started replanting activities in the area.

The first activity was launched on Saturday with about 1,500 bakau kurap (Rhizophora mucronata) saplings planted in the eastern tip of the island.

About 300 people, including the local community and students from Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Tengku Ampuan Jemaah, Sekolah Menengah Datuk Hamzah, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Pandamaran Jaya and Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Perempuan Raja Zarina, took part in the exercise.

Starting early: Khairul Nizam Shaiful Bahari, nine, and Norhan Adli Haziq Hasbullah, 10, learning how to plant the mangrove tree during the tree-planting activity on Saturday

In addition to creating awareness on the importance of preserving the mangroves and its eco-system, the programme also hoped to instil a sense of ownership among the participants.

will biofuel from algae look like Big Oil or Big Agriculture?

Hundreds of companies and laboratories are racing to find an economical way to make “green crude” from algae. The biofuel industry is grappling with a series of hurdles, which players readily recognized at a summit this week in San Diego and we cover in this story.

One question asked by one of the sector’s early leaders is will biofuel from algae look like Big Oil or Big Agriculture.

Steve Mayfield, who directs a new center for algae biotechnology at the University of California, San Diego, believes it should be more like .

“We’re not going to grow it in the lab … We are going to grow it on rice patties,” Mayfield said at the Algae Biomass Summit in San Diego.

Mayfield also helped found Sapphire Energy, a privately held company that has pulled in $100 million from venture capitalists. The company is looking at gene-based techniques to create a strain of algae that can be grown and harvested on a massive scale.

“What we need to do is domesticate algae. We are taking wild type strains and asking them to do what never was asked to do or evolved to do in the wild,” Mayfield said, pointing to how genetic changes have boosted crop yields.

Photo credit: Reuters

SOLAR HEADS TO DEVELOPING WORLD

While solar power has investors on Wall Street seeing green, countries in the developing world also see a bright future in solar technology.

They believe solar power systems that convert sunlight into electricity can help power developing areas without going the route of dirty coal-fired power plants.

Solar companies like China’s solar panel maker Suntech and California-based eSolar, have recently announced forays into the developing world.

Suntech is teaming up with Pakistan’s alternative energy development board, which the company’s chairman and chief executive Zhengrong Shi called “a clear example of the promise of solar energy.”

Solar thermal company eSolar said last week that it is expanding in Africa and earlier this year it partnered with an Indian company to build solar power plants in India over the next 10 years.

And a $400 billion euro plan is gaining steam to power Europe with Sahara sunlight, despite critics.

Today’s top solar market — and lots of profits — are found in Germany while the United States and China are fast-growing alternative energy sectors. Will countries like South Africa join their ranks one day? How will countries and governments make good on the promise of solar energy for the developing world?

Photo: Workers build a thermo-solar power plant in Beni Mathar August 20, 2009. Photo credit:REUTERS/Rafael Marchante

World leaders told to seal climate deal in person

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain urged world leaders on Monday to turn up in person to salvage a U.N. climate deal in Copenhagen in December, and Australia and India outlined ways to curb their greenhouse gases.

Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown speaks at the Major Economies Forum in central London October 19, 2009. Britain urged world leaders on Monday to turn up in person to salvage a U.N. climate deal in Copenhagen in December, as Australia and India outlined steps to rein in their greenhouse gas emissions. (REUTERS/Kirsty Wigglesworth/Pool)

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown told representatives of 17 major emitters meeting in London that success was still within reach for 190-nation talks in Denmark from Dec. 7 to 18, up to now intended as a gathering for environment ministers.

"We must frankly face the plain fact that our negotiators are not getting to agreement quickly enough," he said.

"Leaders must engage directly to break the impasse," he told the two-day talks ending on Monday. "I've said I'll go to Copenhagen, and I'm encouraging them to make the same commitment."

Talks are bogged down in disputes between industrialised and developing countries over how to share out curbs on emissions, mainly from burning fossil fuels. Just one week of formal talks remains before Copenhagen, in Barcelona in early November.

The two-year U.N. talks launched in Bali, Indonesia, in 2007 are particularly stuck on how big carbon cuts recession-hit rich countries should make by 2020, and how much they should pay developing countries to fight global warming.

Among signs of action on Monday, Australian Climate Minister Penny Wong said the government would bring carbon trade legislation back to parliament on Thursday and will demand a vote on the controversial laws before the end of November.

POSSIBLE ELECTION

The conservative opposition on Sunday demanded changes to the scheme, already rejected once by the upper house to avert a second defeat that would give Prime Minister Kevin Rudd an excuse to call a possible snap election.

The government, which is ahead in opinion polls and could benefit from an election, wants to start carbon trading from July 2011, putting a price on greenhouse gas and helping curb emissions in one of world's highest per capita polluters.

The Australian scheme will cover 75 percent of Australian emissions from 1,000 of the biggest companies and be the second domestic trading platform outside Europe. Companies will need a permit for every tonne of carbon they emit.

An Indian newspaper said Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh wanted New Delhi to accept curbs on the country's rising carbon emissions, dropping insistence that they should hinge on new finance and technology from rich nations.

"We should be pragmatic and constructive, not argumentative and polemical," The Times of India quoted Ramesh as writing in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

In an interview with Reuters on Friday, Ramesh signalled a willingness to make compromises to win a deal.

India, China and other big developing countries fear they will be hard hit by climate change and say it is in their national interest to try to limit the effects more extreme droughts, floods, rising seas and melting glaciers that feed major rivers.

The London talks of the Major Economies Forum focus on how to turn a patchwork of national policy plans, from China to the United States, into a deal. Countries attending account for 80 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions.

"The rich countries in the Major Economies Forum must urgently put new money on the table," said Friends of the Earth Climate Campaigner Asad Rehman.

A big sticking point for Copenhagen is that the United States, the only industrialised country outside the current Kyoto Protocol for curbing emissions, is unlikely to pass carbon-cutting laws by December.

In Cape Town, South Africa pointed to one area of soaring emissions -- next year's soccer World Cup. Emissions would leap almost tenfold from a 2006 benchmark set by Germany, partly because air travel would be added to the count.

"The FIFA 2010 World Cup will have the largest carbon footprint of any major event with a goal to be carbon neutral," Water and Environmental Affairs Minister Buyelwa Sonjica said.



The Star 19.10.2009

Hypermart on a drive to save dolphins

CARREFOUR recently invited popular award winning film actress and nature lover, Maya Karin to witness the kick start of a 100-day countdown to end free distribution of plastic bags at the checkout counters of its newest outlet in Bandar Tun Hussein Onn, Cheras.

The beneficiary of this campaign are the Irrawady River dolphins that are often sighted along the coasts of Sarawak and Sabah.

Carrefour, in association with the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS), decided that it was timely to raise awareness to protect the dolphines as their natural habitat had been seriously jeopardised by plastic bags.

To monitor closely: Actress Maya Karin at the launch of Carrefour’s ‘No Plastic Bag’ campaign.

An exhibition has been put up to engage customers into adopting a new habit of reusing their shopping bags.

”My role here is almost like a guarantor.

“In 100 days, this store will further reduce its environmental footprint once there is no more free distribution of plastic bags.

“I will follow up very closely on the efforts and will even step in to speak to the customers about the importance of cutting back on plastic bags,” said Maya after the launch.

MNS head of communication Andrew Sebastian said he was proud that Carrefour had taken the initiative to address the issue.

According to Carrefour Malaysia’s marketing and communications director Low Ngai Yuen they have eight eco-friendly checkout lanes that prioritise customers who have chosen to reuse their shopping bags.

The Star 09.10.2009

Henti import bahan pemusnah ozon

ROSNANI (dua dari kiri) bersama Nur Saidah Nor Mohamad (kanan), N. Jainthy dan Cheong Lin Lin (kiri) membincangkan sesuatu pada majlis sambutan Hari Ozon Antarabangsa 2009 di Kuala Lumpur semalam.

KUALA LUMPUR - Mulai 1 Januari 2010, Malaysia memutuskan untuk tidak lagi mengimport bahan pemusnah ozon (ODS) seperti kloro fluoro karbon (CFC), halon dan karbon tetraklorida.

Bahan-bahan ODS itu lazimnya digunakan untuk alat pendingin hawa, peti sejuk, penyembur rambut dan alat pemadam api.

Ketika mengumumkannya, Menteri Sumber Asli dan Alam Sekitar, Datuk Douglas Uggah Embas berkata, pendekatan itu adalah selaras dengan komitmen negara terhadap Protokol Montreal.

Menurutnya, Protokol Montreal yang disertai oleh 196 negara itu merupakan satu perjanjian untuk mengawal pengeluaran dan penggunaan ODS bagi membantu mengurangkan masalah pemanasan global dan perubahan iklim dunia.

"Bagi bahan hidroklorofluorokarbon (HCFC), pengawalan penggunaannya akan dimulakan pada tahun 2015 dengan pengurangan sebanyak 10 peratus daripada had pembekuan pada tahun 2013 sebelum diberhentikan pengimportannya pada Januari 2030," katanya pada majlis sambutan Hari Ozon Antarabangsa 2009 di sini semalam.

Teks ucapan beliau dibacakan oleh Ketua Pengarah Alam Sekitar, Datuk Rosnani Ibarahim.

KOSMO 06.10.2009

Program pemuliharaan alam sekitar dipertingkat

MUHYIDDIN berkata sesuatu selepas memberi ucapan pada Perhimpunan Bulanan Jabatan Perdana Menteri di Putrajaya, semalam. Turut kelihatan, Koh (tiga dari kanan), Jamil Khir (kiri), Liew (dua dari kanan) dan Idris.

UTRAJAYA: Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin mahu dasar dan program pemuliharaan dan pemeliharaan alam sekitar dipertingkatkan bagi menjamin khazanah kepelbagaian bio yang dimiliki negara dipertahankan untuk generasi akan datang.

Timbalan Perdana Menteri berkata, usaha itu juga penting bagi mengelak bencana alam melanda negara ini.

"Walaupun sudah ada pelan tindakan yang disediakan, kita masih melihat sikap dan rasa kurang bertanggungjawab mengenai alam sekitar yang masih berlaku."

"Gunung dan bukit kita ditarah, hanya tinggal pohon-pohon yang sudah terkulai, sungai masih terus tercemar dan tasik-tasik yang kita bangga dulu sudah dirosakkan oleh perbuatan manusia," katanya pada perhimpunan bulanan Jabatan Perdana Menteri (JPM) di sini hari, semalam.

Hadir sama tiga Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri, Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon, Datuk Jamil Khir Baharom dan Datuk Seri Idris Jala. Turut serta Timbalan Menteri di JPM, Datuk Liew Vui Keong, Datuk SK Devamany, Datuk T Murugiah dan Ketua Setiausaha Negara, Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan.

Timbalan Perdana Menteri berkata, memandangkan Malaysia adalah sebuah daripada 10 negara di dunia yang kaya dengan kepelbagaian bio yang tinggi nilainya, perhatian yang istimewa seharusnya diberikan untuk memastikan keadaan alam sekitar sentiasa dilindungi dan dipulihara.

"JPM yang terbabit secara langsung dan tidak langsung bagi memastikan langkah pemuliharaan dan pemeliharaan kepelbagaian bio itu dapat dilaksanakan dengan berkesan," katanya.

Timbalan Perdana Menteri berkata, rakyat juga perlu berusaha untuk mengurangkan gas rumah hijau dan mengurangkan pencemaran serta mengambil langkah untuk menjimatkan penggunaan tenaga khususnya di bangunan kerajaan.

"Putrajaya mungkin boleh jadi contoh," katanya.

Sementara itu, Muhyiddin berkata, Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Razak sudah menyatakan komitmen Malaysia untuk menghulurkan apa saja bentuk bantuan dan pertolongan diperlukan bagi meringankan beban usaha menyelamat yang sedang dijalankan akibat gempa bumi yang melanda Padang, Indonesia.

Tarah bukit punca banjir lumpur

Syarikat pengurusan tanah perkuburan Cina langgar syarat operasi

SENGGARANG: Syarikat pengurusan tanah perkuburan Cina di Batu 4 1/2, Jalan Minyak Beku, di sini, perlu mematuhi beberapa syarat yang ditetapkan kerajaan bagi memastikan keselesaan penduduk sekitarnya terpelihara.

Antara syarat itu, pihak terbabit perlu membina sistem saliran yang sempurna bagi mengelak limpahan air ketika musim hujan, membina dinding penahan tebing bukit dan menyediakan zon penampan.

Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri (Adun) Senggarang, Ja'affar Hashim, berkata syarat itu ditetapkan kerajaan negeri ketika meluluskan permohonan untuk menjadikan kawasan itu sebagai tapak perkuburan pada 2004.

Bagaimanapun, katanya, syarikat terbabit didapati tidak mematuhi syarat itu apabila menarah lereng bukit sehingga menimbulkan kebimbangan penduduk setempat.

"Perbuatan syarikat itu menggondol bukit menyebabkan penduduk berhampiran menjadi mangsa apabila dilanda banjir lumpur setiap kali hujan lebat sejak enam bulan lalu.

"Penduduk yang tidak berpuas hati membuat beberapa siri bantahan dan saya akui memang wajar penduduk membantah kerana keselesaan hidup mereka kini terganggu," katanya ketika ditemui pada Majlis Rumah Terbuka Aidilfitri Adun Senggarang di Dewan Terbuka Senggarang. Hadir sama, Adun Rengit, Ayub Jamil dan Adun Penggaram, Koh Chee Chai.

Ja'affar berkata, berikutan itu beliau membawa penduduk menemui Menteri Besar, Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman, baru-baru ini untuk mengadu masalah yang mereka hadapi itu.

"Hasil pertemuan itu, Menteri Besar mengeluarkan arahan kepada Majlis Perbandaran Batu Pahat dan Jabatan Kerja Raya supaya memantau kerja tanah yang dilakukan syarikat itu supaya ia mematuhi syarat yang ditetapkan," katanya.

Ja'affar berkata, berikutan bantahan berterusan penduduk sejak beberapa tahun lalu, kelulusan pembakaran mayat di tapak perkuburan itu kini dibatalkan.

"Syarikat itu kini hanya dibenarkan menguburkan mayat, bukan lagi membakarnya kerana ia jelas mengganggu ketenteraman penduduk sekitar ekoran kedudukannya yang berdekatan dengan kediaman.

“Saya juga akan terus memantau aktiviti mereka selain berjumpa dengan pengurusan kubur itu bagi memastikan mereka mematuhi syarat ditetapkan," katanya.

Sebanyak 15 rumah penduduk berada berhampiran dengan tanah perkuburan seluas tiga hektar itu.

Berita Harian 06.10.2009

Satu tan barang kitar semula dikumpul

PASIR GUDANG: Lebih satu tan barangan kitar semula berjaya dikumpul sepanjang sehari Program Rakan Alam Sekitar peringkat Parlimen Pasir Gudang yang diadakan di Taman Air Biru di sini.

Semua barangan berkenaan hasil sumbangan penduduk sekitar Taman Air Biru dan Rumah Pangsa Air Biru termasuk komputer lama, telefon bimbit, komputer riba dan barangan elektrik.

Pengerusi Program Rakan Alam Sekitar Taman Air Biru, Ismail Yahya, berkata sambutan orang ramai terhadap program kitar semula amat menggalakkan.

Katanya, selepas program berakhir, masih terdapat beberapa penduduk sekitar Taman Air Biru yang menyatakan minat untuk menyumbang barangan untuk dikitar semula.

"Pihak kami masih menerima lagi bahan untuk dikitar semula sebelum dihantar ke Jabatan Alam Sekitar (JAS) Daerah Johor Bahru untuk tindakan selanjutnya. Ini satu perkembangan baik dan perlu ditanam dalam diri setiap penduduk di sini terutama kepentingan menjaga kebersihan alam sekitar.

"Program yang diadakan amat berguna dan bermanfaat kepada penduduk di sini kerana mereka didedahkan dengan banyak maklumat mengenai cara untuk kitar semula barangan yang sukar untuk dilupuskan," katanya.

Pengerusi Program Kitar Semula Peringkat Zon Taman Air Biru, Abdul Rahim Latif berharap program berkenaan akan diadakan setiap tahun untuk mendidik orang ramai supaya lebih peka terhadap program kitar semula yang dianjurkan JAS.

Abdul Rahim berkata, sebelum ini, program seumpama itu jarang diadakan di kawasan Taman Air Biru menyebabkan penduduk agak sukar untuk menyerahkan barangan untuk dilupuskan bagi tujuan kitar semula.

Beliau berharap kesedaran turut disampaikan kepada pelajar sekolah kerana golongan itu yang kerap terdedah kepada maklumat berkaitan kitar semula barangan.

Berita Harian 06.10.2009

Coming clean

Healthier and eco-friendly ways to dry-clean clothes can be found here.

AS consumers become more savvy about the products and services they pay for, it is only natural that they also start becoming more discerning.

The story Dirt From Dry-cleaning (StarTwo, May 12) on the possible environmental and health impacts of dry-cleaning solvent perchloroethylene (perc) prompted questions on what alternatives Malaysian consumers have if they choose to avoid perc-based dry-cleaning.

The majority of local laundries still use perc, even though the highly volatile solvent has been identified as being harmful to health and the environment.

In fact, the state of California in the United States is phasing out the use of perc all together.

Jeeves Malaysia CEO Jeffrey G. Walmsley says the Green Earth dry-cleaning machine uses the same process as traditional drycleaning, but eliminates the environmental and health concerns associated with the use of perc.

The use of perc can be safe if dry cleaners take the necessary precautions, like keeping machines in pristine condition so that minimal perc residue is left in clothing.

There is, however, no way to completely eliminate this. Operators should also store, transfer and dispose of perc responsibly in order to minimise its release into the environment.

There is, however, a sore lack of enforcing these practices in Malaysia.

While used perc is a scheduled waste that comes under the Department of Environment, laundries and dry cleaners fall under local authorities.

The usage of perc itself, however, does not seem to be monitored as such. Bigger laundry operators seem to self-regulate, while the smaller outfits simply do so on an ad hoc basis.

Green and clean

So what options do consumers have to clean “dry-clean only” clothes, while also protecting themselves and the environment? One lesser known but effective process is wet-cleaning. Admittedly, the idea of putting clothes labelled specifically for dry-cleaning through a wet process might turn off many customers. Wet-cleaning, however, is actually a viable alternative for most types of garments.

In wet-cleaning, computer-controlled washers and dryers are used to simulate the motion of a very gentle hand wash (to compare, a washing machine would rotate clothes a few dozen times a minute, while wet cleaning machines can spin as slowly as six times per minute). These machines can also be programmed for variables such as time, temperature, and mechanical action, allowing the wash to be tailored to the type of fabric. The cleaning agents used are simply detergents and softeners, similar to the ones we use at home.

The pre-washing process forms an important part of wet-cleaning. Here, spotting agents are used to remove stains from the garments. This removes the need for a strong wash. The clothes might then go through finishing (pressing or stretching) in order to retain the original shape and fit. Through these methods, wet-cleaning is able to tackle almost any type of clothing that should supposedly only be dry-cleaned, including leather, suede, woollens, silk and rayon.

Many people are not aware that wet-cleaning is actually available in Malaysia. Peggy Liew, whose company Kraft Trading brought in the Seitz wet-cleaning technology, shares that they have outfitted 124 laundries nationwide with the system.

“The chemicals used in the wet-cleaning process are completely biodegradable. Even our detergents are fruit acid-based,” Liew says, adding that the used detergent can go down the drain. She further explains that unlike when handling perc, laundry workers don’t need any protective gear while wet-cleaning.

She further claims that wet-cleaning is considered more hygienic in comparison to perc, which is distilled and reused. For garments used for prayers, for example, wet-cleaning might be preferable for this reason.

Zarina Ismail, who owns the Drop & Wash laundry chain, says wet-cleaning is the safest alternative to dry-cleaning, as it is a water-based cleaning process that does not generate hazardous waste nor pollute the surrounding environment. Utilising the Lagoon technology that incorporates washing, drying and finishing processes in one machine, Zarina currently operates five outlets in the Klang Valley and is offering their licensee package nationwide.

Providing options

For those who still prefer dry-cleaning, perhaps the alternative would be to use a perc-free service. Jeeves Malaysia does dry-cleaning using GreenEarth, an inert and non-toxic solvent made from silicone.

Chief executive officer Jeffrey G. Walmsley believes that while wet cleaning is effective, it is best to have more than one tool in the toolkit. He says certain garments may require proper dry-cleaning, such as those which aren’t colourfast, those that might lose their shape or finish (such as sunray skirts with many pleats), and certain fabrics like chiffon that are prone to shrinking in water.

The GreenEarth dry-cleaning process is similar to that using perc, except that the solvent itself poses no discernable threat to either the environment or health. Made from pure liquid silicone, or as Walmsley describes it, “liquefied sand”, GreenEarth breaks down into sand and trace amounts of water and carbon dioxide. Liquid silicone is also the base ingredient in many shampoos, conditioners and lotions, which makes GreenEarth safe to come in contact with the human body.

Consumers who think they may have to fork out exorbitant amounts for wet-cleaning are in for a surprise: it actually costs the same to wet-clean and dry-clean.

Walmsley, on the other hand, acknowledges that cleaning with GreenEarth is slightly more expensive. “The solvent is much more expensive than perc, and it is also more complicated to use, requiring more people and expertise. However, we believe that the benefits to our customers and their clothes are worth it. But the more consumers know about the cleaning processes, the better equipped they are to choose what’s best for their clothes, their health and the environment,” he says.

Liew agrees, saying consumers should ask more questions and be open to suggestions when dropping their clothes off for cleaning.

“Some operators say they are dry-cleaning when they are actually using wet-cleaning, simply because customers refuse to understand what wet-cleaning is. They assume that the only thing that will work is (perc-based) dry-cleaning, without realising how harmful it can be,” she says.

The Star 06.10.2009

Tireless campaigner

Dr Martin Abraham may help shape global green policies and initiatives, but his heart lies in improving the lives of the community through his work in environmental activism.

HIS might not be a household name but for the past 30 years, Dr Martin Abraham has tirelessly championed consumer rights and environmental protection, both locally and globally.

Through his work in numerous non-governmental organisations and United Nations bodies, he has had a hand in shaping global green initiatives and policies.

His quiet, unassuming ways belie years of experience which have placed him as a respected figure in environmental circles.

His deep knowledge of all things concerning the planet has seen him playing advisory roles in various think-tanks and conservation groups, and involved in writing up global treaties and policy documents.

Eco-champion: Dr Martin Abraham’s green credentials include one of the most esteemed environmental awards, the UNEP Global 500 Roll Of Honour For Environmental Achievement.

He has worked on a diverse range of topics, from chemical safety to hazardous wastes, sustainability, traditional knowledge, persistent organic pollutants, trade, endocrine disrupting chemicals, tobacco, biotechnology, genetically modified organisms, consumption patterns, energy and climate change.

For the past 10 years, Abraham has been instrumental in helping community groups obtain Global Environment Facility (GEF) funds to carry out sustainable development projects.

As national co-ordinator of the GEF Small Grants Programme (GEF-SGP), he has helped these groups shape their project concepts and prepare documents to support their applications for funding.

The funds have helped the single mothers of Wanita Inovatif Jaya Diri (Wijadi) in Kelantan to grow and market medicinal herbs, communities in Selangor to set up the Kota Damansara urban park, and Sarawak fishermen to stop overfishing of the endangered ikan terubok.

“By building the capability of NGOs and local communities in implementing activities that promote sustainable livelihoods and at the same time conserve natural resources and ecosystems, my work in SGP has brought about positive changes in the lives of people,” says Abraham, 54.

He left the GEF-SGP programme in July, however, following policy changes at the headquarters and now works as an independent environmental consultant.

His wife, Rajeswari Kanniah, is the dean of law at Taylor’s University College and they have a daughter, Gowri Chitra, 17.

Tracing back his green roots, Abraham can count himself as one among the small group of people who were witness to the rise of the budding Malaysian environmental movement during the 1980s.

Armed with a doctorate in marine microbiology, he had joined a local university in 1983 as a research co-ordinator but ethical conflict saw him quitting soon after.

“Seabed oil exploration was just taking off then and I was involved in a project to look for oil-eating bacteria in Malaysian waters, which can prevent oil spills from destroying mangroves and coastlines. When I found no such bacteria, I was instructed to doctor the data. It was against my ethics, so I left.”

The loss of a capable scientist in the research community, however, was a gain in the fledging environmental movement, for Abraham then joined Sahabat Alam Malaysia.

As a research officer, he used his science background to eject science-based principles into work related to water pollution and pesticides.

His next positon was with the International Organisation of Consumers Unions (now renamed Consumers International) in Penang, where he campaigned against harmful chemicals and tobacco trade, among other things.

In the aftermath of the 1984 Bhopal industrial disaster where a leak in the Union Carbide pesticide plant in the Indian town exposed 500,000 people to the toxic methyl isocyanate gas, Abraham was among those who lobbied for better management of chemicals.

His books on this subject cover hazardous technologies, unsafe pesticide manufacturing in the Third World and the denial of justice for the Bhopal victims.

In 1989, his environmental activism work was acknowledged – he was elected into the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Global 500 Roll Of Honour, the second Malaysian to receive that accolade. (The first was former IOCU president Datuk Dr Anwar Fazal).

Abraham recalls that the years leading up to the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, were a whirlwind of non-stop jetsetting for him as he travelled the globe as an NGO representative for talks on environmental concerns.

By then, his scope of work had widened from toxics and chemicals to include indigenous rights, transnational corporations, trade-environment issues, biotechnology, consumption patterns and climate change.

“I was travelling eight months of the year and accumulated so many days of leave that my boss ordered me to go on a year’s leave. It so happened that at the same time, Dr Mostafa Tolba (then UNEP executive director) invited me to be one of his consultants and advisor.”

During that year-long tenure in Nairobi, Kenya, Abraham joined negotiations running up to the Earth Summit and helped draft UN documents – everything from Agenda 21 (the blueprint for sustainable development endorsed at the Summit) to the UNEP annual environment report and even Tolba’s speeches.

Upon his return to Kuala Lumpur in 1993, he took up a new position at WWF International, heading its new division on “wasteful consumption and pollution”.

Four years into the programme, it emerged that corporations found to be toxics emitters were also major funders of the conservation group.

A decision was made to close that division. Abraham was then asked to work on WWF’s core area of wildlife conservation but he declined.

“I’m not into cuddly animals. I’ve always been more interested in toxics as that affect people and will lead to extinction,” he says of his decision to quit WWF.

Brief stints in the private sector ensued – brief because his ethical convictions again saw him quitting both companies.

In one, an environmental consultancy, Abraham witnessed how Environmental Impact Assessment reports were produced, “sometimes four reports a day from someone sitting at his desk”.

“There were conflicts of interests and being a consultancy, the bottomline is profits.”

His next position at an environmental monitoring consultancy was short-lived too because of differences in directions, in particular his stand that Air Pollution Index (API) figures should be made public.

When he joined the GEF Small Grants Programme in 1999, he finally found gratification because he could work with communities, especially marginalised groups. “People have always been the focus of my work. The orang asli, for instance, have been a major beneficiary of the Small Grants Programme,” says Abraham.

Indeed, the SGP has funded numerous indigenous people projects, such as the rafflesia ecotourism by the Semai of Ulu Geroh, Perak, and the conservation of rice biodiversity in Tanjung Purun, Sarawak.

Having witnessed the growth of the Malaysian environmental movement, Abraham is heartened by the rise in green awareness, action and advocacy but is frustrated that policy changes have remained dismal.

“There is space for improving environmental conservation in Malaysia. We need more strategic approaches such as abiding by the ‘precautionary principle’. Now, we tend to be reactive and not proactive, and have a tendency to focus on the symptoms rather than the root causes of environmental problems.”

He also sees a need to shift from individual, site-specific EIAs to more comprehensive and cumulative studies, especially in ecosystems of ecological significance.

And he still advocates the principle that had guided him when he first joined the NGO movement – the community’s “right to know”. “Now, people get to know about a coal plant only after it has been approved. We should not only be guided by the 3Ps … people, profit and plant. They must be underpinned by justice and equity, too.”

The Star 06.10.2009

Cancer villages

All across China, villagers are suffering the consequences of the country’s economic boom.

ONE needs to look no further than the river that runs through Shangba to understand the extent of the heavy metals pollution that experts say has turned the hamlets in this region of southern China into cancer villages.

The river’s flow ranges from murky white to a bright shade of orange and the waters are so viscous that they barely ripple in the breeze. In Shangba, the river brings death, not sustenance.

“All the fish died, even chickens and ducks that drank from the river died. If you put your leg in the water, you’ll get rashes and a terrible itch,” said He Shuncai, a 34-year-old rice farmer who has lived in Shangba all his life. “Last year alone, six people in our village died from cancer and they were in their 30s and 40s.”

Highly polluted: Heavy metals contamination has coloured this lake near Dabaoshan in north Guangdong, a sick red. Pollution has turned hamlets in this region of southern China into cancer villages

Cancer casts a shadow over the villages in this region of China in southern Guangdong province, nestled among farmland contaminated by heavy metals used to make batteries, computer parts and other electronics devices. Every year, an estimated 460,000 people die prematurely in China due to exposure to air and water pollution, according to a 2007 World Bank study.

Yun Yaoshun’s two granddaughters died at the ages of 12 and 18, succumbing to kidney and stomach cancer even though these types of cancers rarely affect children. The World Health Organisation has suggested that the high rate of such digestive cancers are due to the ingestion of polluted water.

“It’s because of Dabaoshan and the dirty water,” said the 82-year-old grandmother. “The girls were always playing in the river, even our well water is contaminated,” Yun said.

The river where the children played stretches from the bottom of the Dabaoshan mine, owned by state-owned Guangdong Dabaoshan Mining Co, past the ramshackle family home. Its waters are contaminated by cadmium, lead, indium and zinc and other metals.

The villagers use well water in Shangba for drinking but tests published by BioMed Central in July show that it contains excessive amounts of cadmium, a heavy metal that is a known carcinogen, as well as zinc which in large quantities can damage the liver and lead to cancer.

“China has many ‘cancer villages’ and it is very likely that these increased cases of cancer are due to water pollution,” said Edward Chan, an official with Greenpeace in southern China.

But it’s not just water, the carcinogenic heavy metals are also entering the food chain.

Mounds of tailings from mineral mining are discarded alongside paddy fields throughout the region.

“If you test this rice, it will be toxic but we eat it too, otherwise, we will starve,” said He, the farmer, as he shovelled freshly milled rice into a sack. “Yes, we sell this rice too.”

Few families in the villages downstream from the Dabaoshan mine have been left untouched by cancer. The most common cancers are those of the stomach, liver, kidney and colon, accounting for about 85% of cancers. Cancer incidence rates in these villages are not available, but rights groups say they are far higher than the national average.

He Kangcai, 60, who is suffering from stomach cancer, at his home at Shangba village, north Guangdong. The river that runs through the village is heavily polluted and is said to have sickened villagers.

“In southern China, where communities depend largely from ponds or lakes for drinking water, the rates of digestive system cancer are very high,” said a report Environment And People’s Health In China, published by the World Health Organisation and United Nations Development Programme in 2001.

Across China, there are hundreds, perhaps thousands of small, anonymous villages that are suffering the consequences of the country’s rapid economic expansion, villages with rates and types of cancers that experts say can only be due to pollution. This may be the fate of more and more of China’s population as mines and factories spew out tens of millions of tonnes of pollution every year, into the water system as well as the air, to produce the fruits of China’s economic growth.

Death rates from cancer rose 19% in cities and 23% in rural areas in 2006, compared to 2005, according to official Chinese media, although they did not give exact figures. The health burden has an economic price. The cost of cancer treatment has reached almost 100 billion yuan a year (RM52.5bil), accounting for 20% of China’s medical expenditure, according to Chinese media.

The lack of a national health system means that most of the victims must pay their medical bills themselves. Health care costs took up 50% of household income in China in 2006 due to inadequate health insurance, according to a paper published in the Lancet in October 2008.

China does not have a comprehensive state health care system and more than 80% of farmers have no medical insurance at all, although there are plans for sweeping reforms so that by 2011, most of the population will have basic medical coverage.

The residents of so called cancer villages, meanwhile, struggle to fund their medical care, often going into debt to pay crippling pharmaceutical and doctors’ bills.

“An official did come to give me our compensation, 20 yuan (RM10.50),” said Liang Xiti, whose husband died of stomach cancer at the age of 46. His medicines alone cost the family 800 yuan (RM400) a month, she said.

Zhang Jingjing, a lawyer who is helping the villagers, said the local mine has promised to distribute a few thousands yuan to all the villagers every year. Even though the funds will barely cover medical expenses, Zhang says it is an encouraging first step. “This means the mine admits it is polluting the environment. If it did no wrong, it won’t give out this money.”

-Reuters

The Star Tuesday29.09.2009

Rakan Alam Sekitar Negeri Melaka Mengucapkan

Tanah Bukit Di Kitar Semula

Kerajaan negeri sedia gudang khas untuk kegunaan projek akan datang

MELAKA: Selama ini, banyak tanah bukit berharga di negeri ini dipercayai 'hilang' begitu saja apabila pemaju projek yang membangunkan sesuatu kawasan memunggahnya keluar tanpa membayar wang permit kepada kerajaan.

Amalan kontraktor yang lazimnya membuang atau menjual semula tanah milik kerajaan itu kini dihentikan apabila Ketua Menteri, Datuk seri Mohd Ali Rustam campur tangan dan mahu sistem itu diubah.

"Setiap lori yang membawa keluar tanah dari tapak sesuatu projek mesti ada permit dan tanah berkenaan mestilah disimpan di dua kawasan milik kerajaan tanpa dikenakan sebarang bayaran,” katanya.

Justeru beliau mengarahkan tanah bukit yang diratakan atau tanah biasa di negeri ini disimpan sebagai stok kerajaan di dua lokasi iaitu di tanah lapang di belakang Pusat Dagangan Antarabangsa Melaka (MITC) dan Kampung Tun Razak di Ayer Keroh.

"Kita perlu simpan tanah ini untuk kegunaan projek akan datang, ia tidak boleh dibuang begitu saja, saya mahu setiap pegawai kerajaan negeri yang terbabit dalam projek pembangunan melaksanakannya mulai hari ini," katanya.

Beliau berkata, amalan sebelumnya didapati merugikan kerajaan dan membazir apabila terpaksa berbelanja untuk membeli tanah untuk menambah sesebuah kawasan pembangunan yang memerlukan tanah berkenaan.

Selain tanah dan batu batan, Mohd Ali juga mahu agensi kerajaan terbabit mewujudkan sebuah gudang khas seperti milik sebuah syarikat swasta di Bukit Rambai yang khusus untuk menyimpan papan dan kayu dari bangunan lama yang diruntuhkan.

"Menerusi amalan kitar semula bahan buangan ini, kerajaan banyak menjimatkan wang kerana jika ia tersimpan di satu kawasan, mudah untuk kita dapat bahan itu semula pada bila-bila masa,” katanya.

Sumber : Berita Harian
Isnin. 14 September, 2009

Mesra Alam

Oleh itu hargailah alam sekitar kita.

Glittering minefield

To most of us, that old mobile phone languishing in the drawer is practically worthless. But to an electronic waste recycler, it is quite literally as precious as gold.

AS I held that bar of pure gold in my hand, it was hard to imagine that the precious 1kg ingot had been produced from thousands of unwanted mobile phones. Yes, there’s gold in your mobile phones, as well as other electronics. Being an excellent conductor of electricity and also extremely resistant to corrosion, the metal is commonly used in communication equipment, electronics cables, motherboards and of course, mobile phones.

But before you start harbouring dreams of raking in the bucks by selling your old mobile phones and PCs, be warned – there is only a minuscule amount of gold in them. In fact, says John Ashok, deputy managing director of electronic waste recycling company, TES-AMM, one needs more than 200,000 mobile phones or three tonnes of electronic waste (e-waste) to produce a single 1kg gold ingot.

Trash to treasure: A TES-AMM employee separating a pile of used mobile phones according to their various main components such as batteries, phone, wires and headset.

Besides, recycling e-waste isn’t just about gold prospecting – such waste has lots of other useful stuff that can be extracted too. Almost 97% of a mobile phone, for instance, can be recycled for plastic, ferrous metals and lithium, among other things. Only its LCD screen is non-recyclable because of its heavy metals content.

Recycling e-waste is vital not only for the environment but for the manufacturing industry as well. Not only does it prevent e-waste from ending up in landfills and contaminating the environment with toxic and heavy metals, it helps reduce the need to create or mine raw materials for new products, which also reduces manufacturing costs.

So what happens when mobile phones and other electronic items are brought to an e-waste recycling plant? I was given a tour of the TES-AMM plant in Seberang Prai, Penang, and shown step-by-step, how the most precious mineral in the world is extracted from an unwanted piece of junk.

Collecting the waste

E-waste recycling is all about volume. The more the supply, the more raw materials you can glean from it. The bulk of TES-AMM’s supply comes from industrial and corporate sources. The old mobile phones and accessories collected by Nokia, for instance, are sent to TES-AMM for recycling.

It takes about 200,000 mobile phones to produce one 1kg gold ingot.

“We simply can’t survive on public input alone,” says Ashok. TES-AMM has the means to recycle almost any electronic item. Ashok says you can even drop your old TV at the factory, though you are not likely to get much out of it besides the good feeling of having done something for the environment.

Unfortunately, most people still expect to be rewarded for bringing in their electronic items. After all, if they can get a few ringgit for a pile of old newspapers, why should they get peanuts for something which they had paid hundreds if not thousands of ringgit for?

“People need to understand that the reason why they have to pay so much for a new item is because of what it can do for you. Once it breaks down, it is just a worthless piece of junk made of plastic and metal,” says Ashok. “They also need to understand that we still need to foot the bill for transporting, recycling and disposing the item. However, whenever possible, we will work out some form of incentives for them, whether in the form of vouchers or a token sum for their effort.”

Weighing and separating

All the collected e-waste is shipped to the 11,220sqm TES-AMM factory and stored in a large warehouse. As we walked into the building, we were greeted by numerous piles of electrical and electronic items – from computers to monitors, televisions, mobile phones and large industrial machinery.

E-waste brought here is first weighed, verified, recorded, and then sorted manually according to type, which makes it easier to determine how best to recycle the waste. Mobile phones are then separated into components such as batteries, phones, wires, headsets and so on, after which they will be dismantled.

The protection of intellectual property is an important consideration in a recycling plant. Security is extremely tight around the plant. Nokia-related waste, for instance, is stored in a secured area. It can only be acessed under supervision by a Nokia personnel.

Dismantling

At the end of the e-waste recycling process at TES-AMM, the 99.9% gold dust is smelted under a temperature of 1,200°C and processed into a gold ingot.

Here, a line of workers work quickly and diligently, stripping the items down to even smaller components, and categorising them into a “waste stream” consisting of plastic, ferrous metal, electronic scraps and so on.

Plastics and ferrous metals are crushed, packed and shipped to other recycling factories that specialise in such materials, as is the paper packaging waste. Even the carbon collected from printer toner cartridges is collected and sent to paint manufacturers to be reused.

TES-AMM has permits from Malaysian and Singaporean environment authorities to ship items containing cobalt and lithium (such as phone batteries) to their plant in Singapore where these heavy metals are extracted. (Permits are required as hazardous waste cannot be freely transported under the global treaty, the Basel Convention.)

“At our plant, we only retain components with gold in them, such as the PCB (printed circuit boards), the PC motherboards and so on. Everything else is left in their original forms and shipped elsewhere for recycling,” says Ashok.

Electronic scraps containing gold are sent for chemical processing while those with no apparent gold content have to be mechanically crushed first.

Crushing

This process is used to crush electronic parts that contain traces of precious metals into powder form, which makes it easier to extract the gold in them later on.

It also reduces the size of components like plastic housing and ferrous materials before they are shipped out to other locations for recycling.

Chemical process

Arguably the most important part of the entire recycling process, this is where gold is extracted from the waste. There are two different processes for this. The first is for waste with apparent gold. The stripped down components are dumped into a bin, which is then lowered into a sequence of different chemicals that will dissolve the gold. The resultant solution is then put through an electrolysis process, which separates the gold into plates. Meanwhile, the materials with non-apparent gold content, which have been crushed into powder, are put through a chemical solution that strips away all precious metals.

Gold smelting

And now we come to the final and most glamorous process of them all – making the gold ingots.

After the gold has been collected via the mechanical and chemical processes, it is refined through a chemical process to produce 99.9% pure gold in dust form. The gold dust is then smelted under a temperature of 1,200°C and processed into a gold ingot.

“This gold ingot will be out of our factory within hours of being smelted. Everything we produce here is already pre-booked and pre-sold to industrial buyers for reuse, so it doesn’t stay in the plant for long,” says Ashok.

Recycling e-waste will generate waste of other kinds due to the chemical processes involved. Ashok says such waste is dealt with properly, through a series of refining and treatment. The resulting wastewater is clean enough to be released into drains, while the sludge containing toxic materials such as tin, lead and arsenic is disposed of at the Kualiti Alam toxic waste facility in Bukit Nanas, Negeri Sembilan.

A phone for a tree

According to a recent global survey by Nokia, only 3% of consumers recycle their old mobile phones. Also, three out of four people do not even think about recycling their devices and nearly half are unaware that it is possible to do so.

The survey also found that one of the main reasons why so few people recycle their mobile phones is because they simply don’t know where to do so.

With that in mind, Nokia has set up special kiosks at four locations in the Klang Valley to make it easier for consumers to recycle their mobile phones.

The programme includes a unique “recycle a phone, adopt a tree” scheme called NEWtrees. This is a joint venture with WWF Indonesia, Nokia and Equinox Publishing, which aims to replant trees in Lombok, Indonesia.

For every phone you recycle, NEWtrees will plant a tree in your name.

The GPS co-ordinates of its location will be e-mailed to you.

You can then monitor its growth online through Google Earth.

The image will be updated every six to nine months.

You can drop off your mobile phones and accessories (all brands will be accepted) for recycling at these Nokia kiosks:

> Nokia Concept Store, Lot T-242B, 3rd Floor, The Gardens, Mid Valley City, Kuala Lumpur / Tel: 03-2284 3929

> Nokia Store, Lot G92, Ground Floor, The Curve, Petaling Jaya / Tel: 03-7725 0396

> Nokia Kiosk, K3, Level 3, Suria KLCC, Kuala Lumpur / Tel: 03-2070 0190

> KTS Cellular, Giant Hypermarket, Bandar Kinrara, Puchong

sumber:
http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2009/9/1/lifefocus/4388135&sec=lifefocus

Buangan Toksik

Anda Tahu Apa Itu BUANGAN TOKSIK dan BERBAHAYA?

Buangan Toksik dan berbahaya atau buangan terjadual bersifat;

• Mudah terbakar


• mudah menghakis


• beracun


• mudah bertindakbalas atau meletup bila bercampur dengan bahan lain

Buangan Toksik dan berbahaya atau buangan terjadual boleh wujud dalam bentuk;

• cecair


• pepejal


• separa pepejal

Kesan Utama

• Pencemaran kepada alur air, air tanah, atmosfera dan tanah tanih


• Keracunan kepada manusia, tumbuhan dan hidupan lain


• Kesan kepada kesihatan sepertii penyakit barah, merosakkan kulit dan tisu badan


• Kebakaran di tapak pelupusan
  

Pengurusan Buangan Terjadual

• Diperolehi kembali di kemudahan atau premis yang dilesenkan oleh Jabatan Alam Sekitar (JAS)


• Pelupusan akhir di tapak pelupusan selamat


• Pembakaran di insinerator yang dilesenkan oleh JAS

HENTIKAN PELUPUSAN HARAM BUANGAN TOKSIK DAN BERBAHAYA (BUANGAN TERJADUAL)

HUKUMAN DENDA TIDAK MELEBIHI RM 500,000 DAN 5 TAHUN PENJARA MANDATORI JIKA SABIT KESALAHAN

Pelupusan buangan toksik dan berbahaya dan berbahaya (Buangan Terjadual) secara haram MEMBAHAYAKAN dan DILARANG SAMA SEKALI.

ARTIKEL PELUPUSAN HARAM SISA TOKSIK DAN BUANGAN TERJADUAL.

http://www.sjgov.org/illegaldumping/Effects.htm
http://www.epa.gov/ebtpages/wasthazardouswaste.html

http://www.doe.gov.my/en/hazardous-substances

Pertumbuhan Populasi dan Alam sekitar : Masalah Global

Bila negara makin pesat membangun, populasi manusia akan meningkat . Ini menyebabkan kadar permintaan manusia terhadap sesuatu keperluan adalah tinggi. Ianya terjadi apabila manusia memerlukan;

• tempat tinggal



• pekerjaan



• bekalan air



• bekalan elektrik



• pengangkutan
  


• makanan
  


• dan lain-lain
  

Ini bagi memastikan mereka memperolehi kehidupan yang lebih sempurna. namun permintaan ini terhasil disebabkan perbezaan eknomi dan keadaan demografik.

Amerika Latin, Asia Barat dan Selatan Eropah merupajkan negara yang sedang membangun dari sektor perindustrian. Perladangan, perdagangan, dan pertanian memerlukan kawasan tanah yang luas bagi pembinaan kilang , pembukaan tanah baru bagi pertanian/perladangan dan membangunkan bandar-bandar baru bagi meningkatkan ekonomi negara.

Selain itu gaya hidup manusia yang mahukan kehidupan yang lebih baik seperti rumah , bekalan elektrik dan air, kereta dan lain-lain menyebabkan permintaan terhadap sumber semulajadi semakin tinggi.

Penghijrahan penduduk dari satu negara ke negara yang lain secara haram atau melalui saluran yang betul juga menyebabkan mereka berpindah bagi mendapatkan peluang pekerjaan dan mengubah gaya hidup mereka.

Pengurusan semulajadi yang terancang seperti penebangan hutan secara berleluasa, pelepasan effluen yang tidak terkawal dan pembuangan sisa toksik ke sungai serta pelepasan asap hitam ke atmosfera boleh menyebabkan pencemaran kepada alam sekitar. Namun kesan kepada alam sekitar boleh dihubung kait dengan faktor -faktor di bawah:

• Masalah Sumber Bekalan Air
  
  

Bekalan air bersih akan tercemar dan berkurangan akibat penebangan pokok di kawasan tadahan air da pencemaran sungai akibat dari hakisan tanah dan pembuangan sisa toksik.

• Pengurusan Sisa Pepejal
  
  

Penghasilan sampah sarap oleh manusia yang semakin banyak dan tapak pelupusan sampah yang tidak bersistem boleh menyebabkan larut resap oleh sampah sarap yang memasuki sungai yang berdekatan atau meresap air bawah tanah dan mencemar bekalan air.

• Haiwan Perosak
  

Bilangan haiwan perosak yang tinggi seperti tikus lipas dan lalat mampu menyebarkan penyakit kepada manusia semakin berleluasa.

• Pencemaran Udara
  

Pelepasan karbon dioksida ,chloroflurocarbon (CFC), sulfur dioksida dan gas-gas lain dari asap kenderaan dan kilang menyumbang kepada pencemaran alam sekitar yang mampu menyebabkan kesan rumah hijau dan penipisan lapisan ozon.

• Masalah Kesihatan
  
  

Air tercemar mengandungi bahan-bahan toksik atau mengandungi vektor yang membawa penyakit kepada manusia dan haiwan seperti taun, kolera dan sebagainya.

• Kepelbagaian Biodiversiti
  
  

Penebangan hutan yang tidak terkawal dan tidak terancang mampu mnyebabkan spesis flora dan fauna yang amat berharga akan pupus.

• Perubahan iklim dunia
  

Gas rumah hijau yang terbebas ke udara hasil dari pembakaran bahan api fosil akan terperangkap di dalam atmosfera dan menyebabkan bumi akan panas. Apabila suhu bumi meningkat, paras lautan menjadi tinggi dan ini akan menyebabkan banjir. Masalah kepanasan bumi ini akan juga menghasilkan kemarau berpanjangan.

Bagaimana kita Mengatasinya?

Cara masalah ini adalah melalui tiga perkara yang perlu dititikberatkan iaitu;

• menstabilkan populasi


• mengurangkan penggunaan sumber
  
• pengurusan sumber yang berkesan.

Menstabilkan Populasi

Apabila kita mampu mengawal kadar pertumbuhan populasi , kita dapat mengurangkan kadar permintaan populasi terhadap semulajadi. Ini membolehkan sesebuah negara memfokuskan kewangan negara ke bidang pendidikan , kesihatan dan peluang pekerjaan . Dengan mengawal kadar populasi juga ia mampu meningkat produktiviti dan kualiti hidup apabila rakyat mampu untuk menabung dan melabur kewangan dengan baik.

Mengamalkan Kitar Semula

Dengan mengamalkan sikap kitar semula bahan terbuang , penggunaan semula bahan terpakai , mengurangkan pembelian bahan yang tidak boleh dikitar semula dan mengamalkan mesra alam seperti mengurangkan penggunaan elektrik dan air mampu mengurangkan penggunaan semulajadi dalam penghasilan sesuatu produk.

Pengurusan Sumber Yang Berkesan

Menguruskan dan mengawal sumber alam semulajadi dengan efisien dan berkesan. Dengan ini sumber tersebut boleh bertahan bagi jangkamasa panjang. Dengan mencari sumber alternatif yang boleh menggantikan sumber yang sedia ada akan membantu dalam memelihara sumber semulajadi daripada pupus.

PEMBANGUNAN LESTARI

Untuk mempacapai pembangunan lestari perkara-perkara yang erlu digabungkan dengn sebaiknya ialah ekonomi, sosial, politik, dan ekologi bagi mencapai kestabilan serta mewujudkan kualiti hidup yang seimbang seiring dengan perkembangan pembangunan negara.

Kesimpulan, pertumbuhan populasi dunia dan kesedaran dalam memelihara alam sekitar merupakan masalah global yang perlu dihadapi oleh masyarakat dunia masa kini demi untuk memastikan pembangunan lestari dapat menjamin masyarakat dunia mendapat kualiti hidup yang lebih baik .

Kekayaan Manusia, Kemiskinan Bumi

Apakah Peranan Pengguna?






Saban hari, mesyarakat pengguna terdedah kepada pelbagai isu alam sekitar yang seringkali di muatkan dalam media massa. Antaranya beberapa isu utama yang melibatkan pencemaran;

• air
  
• udara
• bunyi
• tanah tanih

Secara lebih spesifik , antara isu pencemaran yang membelengu fikiran dan keharmonian serta kesejahteraan manusia ialah isu;

• pencemaran sungai

• isu perlupusan sisa pepejal atau sisa terkawal yang kurang terurus

• isu kelemahan penguatkuasaan undang-undang berkaitan pelbagai jenis pencemaran dan pengurusan alam sekitar

• isu tanah runtuh atau gelinciran

• isu banjir kilat di beberapa buah bandar utama seperti Kuala Lumpur

• isu permanasan global

• isu perlupusan haram sisa toksik
  

• dan lain-lain

Persoalannya, apakah langkah kita apabila berhadapan dengan pelbagai isu pencemaran sedemikian?

• Adakah kita hanya berpeluk tubuh dan sentiasa mengharapkan agensi tertentu atau orang lain yang menyelesaikannya?

• Apakah yang harus kita lakukan supaya sebarang masalah atau isu pencemaran dapat ditangani dengan segera?

• Adakah kita hanya perlu menadah tangan ke langit dan mengharapkan Tuhan seberapa segera mengatasinya?

• Adakah kita hanya membiarkan insiden tersebut harus berlaku tanpa ada sedikitpun rasa tanggungjawab untuk cuba menyumbang sesuatu yang terbaik untuk negara tercinta?

Inilah perkara yang semestinya kita amalkan sebagai rakyat yang prihatin:

• terus memberi sumbangan yang tidak terhingga dalam usaha mengatasi masalah pelbagai isu pencemaran yang berlaku di peringkat dunia atau antarabangsa.

Sebagai masyarakat pengguna yang positif:

• mestilah mempunyai pengetahuan yang cukup dalam aspek pengurusan dan pencemaran alam sekitar.

Rakyat Malaysia :

• mesti sentiasa sentiasa mengembangkan ilmu pengetahuan berkaitan dengan alam sekitar
• meninjau atau mengkaji cara negara lain mengatasi masalah atau isu yang seakan-akan sama dengan negara kita;
• apakah teknologi baru dan terkini yang semestinya digunapakai dalam pelupusan sampah yang menggunung tinggi. Contohnya seperti penggunaan insinerator atau penggunaan teknolgi pemabakaran dalam relau.
• apakah kajian tentang teknologi berkaitan yang digunapakai di negara lain seperti Eropah, Jepun, Australia dan sebagainya yang telah dilakukan namun masalah isu pencemaran alam sekitar di negara ini masih terus berlaku tanpa batasan?

Peranan kita semua

• Kita mesti tahu peranan positif kita sebagai pengguna yang prihatin terhadap isu alam sekitar

• Kita mesti celik undang-undang dan peraturan yang ada di negara kita.

• Kita mesti tahu apakah agensi utama yang bertanggungjawab dalam pelbagai aspek pengurusan alam sekitar. Sebagai Contoh, iklan di televisyen berkaitan pencemaran air sungai yang mengakibatkan kematian banyak ikan , siapa yang seharusnya dipersalahkan dan siapa yang semestinya memikul tanggungjawab untuk membenterasnya supaya tidak tidak berulang lagi?

Ini merupakan sebahagian besar tanggungjawab yang dipikul oleh setiap dari kita yang bergelar masyarakat pengguna.

Kuiz untuk Anda

Penebangan hutan yang tidak terkawal dan terancang boleh menyebabkan spesis ........................... dan ............................ yang amat berharga pupus.



jawab ye... bagi otak berjalan sikit....