Reflection on Newspaper cutting: Pebble pinching perturbs Taiwan

Pebble pinching perturbs Taiwan, Thursday, 24th March 2016

This is a rather interesting article as to why it has anything to do with the environment at all. Not only are the Taiwan authorities confiscating pebbles collected by the tourist, most probably for momentos, but they are also imposing a fine of as high as NT50,000(S$21,000).

The reason that tourists are not allowed to collect stones from seascape areas in Taiwan is because the authorities fear that it might cause the erosion of the beaches in Taiwan and slowly erode the shore.
" Taking one or two doesn't seem like a lot, but our scenery will slowly disappear the more it happens," said Miss Lin Wei-Ling, Deputy Director of the East Coast National Scenic Area Administration.

Signs have been put up all over the seascape areas of Taiwan but they also focused on educating the public, using media such as this article itself to make the public aware, some visitors have also sent back rocks they have taken after knowing its illegal and harming the shoreline.

This is the sort of issue that seems minor but could have a major impact on the environment, thus thumbs up to Taiwan for educating the public on the issue and imposing a harsh fine to prevent people for further committing such acts.

Relfection on Newspaper cutting: Australia to pump $1 billion into clean energy

Australia to pump $1 billion into clean energy, Thursday, 24th March 2016

Australia Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, said that they will a A$1 billion(S $1.03 billion) clean energy innovation fund. This is reportedly to combat climate change, and his response to the people of his country who criticised the former prime minister for failing to support renewable energy . The money will be used bit by bit annually in clean energy technologies.

I feel that this is has both good and bad like all things, good as it serves as an example to other countries, which creates a beneficial kind of competition, like Singtel vs M1 kind of competition, other countries may also invest more in clean energy technologies to show that their country is not falling behind and that is what we need to reduce our heavy reliance on fossil fuels which increase the rate of global warming.
The downside, however is countries seeking to gain something from these clean energy technologies, or seeking profit of some kind, in this case is the Australian prime minister seeking approval from his people and this gives the upcoming generation an inappropriate impression and influence as countries do things for profit and popularity instead of trying to solve a worldwide problem. Clean energy technology might also be altered by manufacturers so that more can be sold for profit instead of being reliable.

Reflection on Newspaper cuttings: Abrupt climate shift perilously close(study)

Abrupt Climate Shift Perilously Close: Study, Thursday, 24th March 2016

"Rapidly rising sea levels may inundate coastal cities before end of century, warn researchers"
The world just might be coming to an end, not in 2012, but very very soon. Aside from the Kyoto Protocol, which was a good attempt in my opinion the nations of the world have established many other agreements to try to reduce the rate of global warming to a level where it is tolerable. However, this article states that despite all the efforts, the leading climate scientists have warned that the level of global warming that we are already at is beyond the threshold of tolerance for us. Any further increase will result in disastrous consequences, as the warming will lead to an increase in the intensity of natural disasters such as killer storms and also the rise in sea level caused by the acceleration of the melting polar ice sheets, sufficient to drown coastal cities by the end of the century! That's by 2099, we have another 75 years or so to come up with a solution!

The article addresses the one thing that is really of concern, which is ironically that the young people, myself included, are not taking this issue seriously and are not equipped with the knowledge or awareness to deal with the situation. We are being taught about global warming and almost all of us have a rough idea of climate change when we are asked in a test or in an interview but once we go back to our everyday lives, we basically flick a switch and do not care about our actions. We walk by recycle bins, take away food, choose meat over whole plant foods, all these actions, multiplied by the population of the world, actively contributes to the alarming rate of global warming. There are people that argue that a major contributor of global warming is agricultural farming and that it also uses a huge amount of resources, however, they fail to realize that a large percentage of these crops are used to farm the animals, such as cows and chickens, to get the eggs, milk, chicken and beef that we eat on a daily basis and is so highly in demand.

"In 2009, nations agreed to try to limit planetary warming to 2 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial level. The earth has already warmed by about half that amount."

The climate scientists in the article state that the rapid rise in sea level could rise to a high enough level to force humanity to retreat from all the coasts, and imagine what would happen if it increases further.

We could look at renewable sources of energy, waste to energy and also clean sources of energy, but ultimately, in my opinion, it our actions in our everyday lives that we have to watch if we want to prevent a potentially world ending disaster in the near future. I agree also that in public and among our friends and family it is not an easy task to change our habits such as suddenly going vegan or collecting all used plastic bottles and other recyclable materials due to peer pressure. We just have to remember that every individual effort counts, and we can always start simple. Every small action can have a great impact, it is not really the action that counts, it is the attitude that you develop. When we are bold enough to do what we feel is the right thing to do, we will also develop courage in other areas of our lives, and realize that other people's opinions of us do not matter sometime. We as a society do not like to be left out or do something out of a social norm due to our conditioning since birth and also our fear of being left out, but how can we ever improve and evolve as a human being if all we are concerned about is pleasure, profits and being up to date on trends?

We have to realize that we are a part of earth, and the earth is also part of us, always connected. The things we throw to the earth, whether beneficial or harmful, comes full circle to us. The waste we throw, such as plastic, decomposes and produces gases harmful to the environment WE are living in. The rubbish that we conveniently dump into the sea affects the marine life which is a major source of food for us, and it also pollutes other nearby water bodies. These are just a few of the countless examples. One small action such as throwing a plastic bottle into the sea can have a large impact, but so can recycling one plastic bottle. Until we see that we are the ones that control our own fate, and that we are creating "hell on earth" for ourselves, we will not actually fix anything but continue to contribute to global warming.

Local newspaper article on environmental sustainability issues and clean energy

Trouble in renewable energy spotted in China's idled wind farms

This article addresses the shortcomings of renewable energy, quoting the wind farms in China as an example. It states that China has a large concentration of wind turbines in the country, "accounting for about one in every three turbines currently installed, according to the Global Wind Energy Council. In turn, Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology". However, even with its large capacity, the efficiency of the wind farms in China is outweighed by wind farms in USA which has only half the capacity of wind turbines.
China's wind capacity increased by 89 times from 2006 to 2015, while USA wind capacity only increased by 7 times. However, China's wind farms only produced 0.5 Terrawats/hour more electricy than USA.
The inefficiency of China's wind farms is due to various regions, which include the low quality wind turbines with low turbine efficiency used in their wind farms due to a shift on low cost energy production. Wind quality is also another factor which impacts the energy output of the wind farms in China, the breezes are weaker in China compared to USA and wind turbines work more efficiently on short periods of strong wind as compared to long periods of constant weak wind. There are also many other issues such as grid connection problems and reluctance of connecting wind energy to the grid due to preference for other energy sources such as coal in China, as coal is more predictable and reliable and does not have the problem of being intermittent. 
Despite the huge increase in renewable wind energy in China, majority of its energy still comes from coal-fired power generation, which is much less environmentally friendly, and China has to, at some point, make sacrifices in one area in order to stablize the energy output from different sources.
In my opinion, they should focus on having more high quality wind turbines instead of using more coal as coal not only one of the most non environmentally friendly sources of energy but is also a rapidly depleting source and is not a reliable source in the long run. The impact on the environment in China would also be increased negatively by coal. China is now in a lose-lose situation as they are not using renewable energy efficiently, and also relying on a non-renewable carbon heavy source. I feel that they should sacrifice some of the profits made from coal and move on to cleaner sources of energy if they are striving for a sustainable environment in China in the future.

Reflection the short film: A SEA Change

A SEA CHANGE is an environmental documentary shot in Diego Martin, Mayaro and Toco, Trinidad. People always ask is climate change really affecting the world? Or how is it affecting us? This documentary uses Trinidad and Tobago as examples of the devastating effects of our human activities on the environment and climate, which ironically affects our livelihood. 
As Diego Martin, where the documentary is filmed, is located near the sea the main topic addressed is how our human activities, which all have a carbon footprint, is affecting the sea and climate in that area.
Diego Martin has been affected several times by hurricanes, floods and landslides that destroyed many homes in the area, as mentioned in the documentary. Locals that were interviewed said that it was hotter during both wet and dry seasons, and that the rains during both wet and dry season were also heavier. The climate expert in the video, Dr Roger Pulwaty from the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change, mentioned that the reason for this seemingly odd climate change is that every desert is shaped by water, as the temperature of the atmosphere affects the amount of water it holds, thus affecting the rainfall patterns. A warmer atmosphere holds more water, thus having larger interval between rainfalls but has is more intense as more water is released.
The documentary then moves on to talk about the various negative effects of climate change, such as floods, caused by a mix of human and physical events, humans are responsible for the design of drainage systems and also the management of the wetlands and forests in the area which serve as natural protections against floods, as for physical (natural) factors, they are unpredictable. Another significant impact on Diego Martin is the obvious loss and erosion of land, which is caused by higher sea levels and also a not so known factor which is the increasing acidity of the ocean. The acidity of sea rises due to carbonic acid produced when carbon dioxide in the atmosphere dissolves in the sea. The acidity of the ocean not only affects the shores and the structures near the shore but also several coral specimens which therefore affects the food web of the sea, resulting in a decline in the number of fish in the sea. This phenomena is witnessed by the local fishermen of Diego Martin as they said they used to be able to catch truckloads of fish everyday during the fishing season but now only maybe one or two days of the fishing season they are to catch that amount.
Next, the documentary shows the importance of well managed forest areas as they help reduce storm runoffs, as the leaves of the trees and plants reduce impact of the intense rainfall on the surface thus help keeping local water bodies such as rivers and nearby seawaters clean of pollutants such as fertilizers and pesticides that may be present in the soil when it is eroded into the river.
A group of passionate locals in Diego Martin, aware of the climate changes in their area, constantly work on Reforestation, which is planting of trees and plants to restore forested areas destroyed by landslides and forest fires. 
The host of the documentary stated that, " The best way to save the environment is to plant more trees.". Trees are often overlooked, as they seem to just stand and do nothing, however they are of huge importance to the environment. They are silent workers, helping to regulate the ratio of carbon dioxide and oxygen through photosynthesis, helps to remove other more harmful gases such as Sulphur oxide, Carbon Monoxide and also Nitrous Oxides, and lastly, help prevent soil erosion as their roots cling firmly on to the soil, not allowing surface runoff to wash away the soil. Preventing soil erosion also improves the quality of water in the water bodies as less soil and pollutants enters the water bodies which also leaves the flora and fauna in the water bodies unharmed as their living environment is not tampered with. Therefore, well managed forest = Better quality of water in water bodies.
Lastly, the documentary touched on how the daily activities and the daily choices of the locals in Diego Martin and also everyone, affects the climate.  One factor that is most significant but we all are ignorant to is our food choice, which is now a luxury for all of us, we do not even check the labels on our foods to see where it comes from. The main comparison is Local VS Imported Food. The host recommends local food as it has less embodied energy, as it does not require pesticides, and a huge amount of workmanship and non-renewable energy sources spent on agricultural machines and transport required for the food to be imported from one country to another, which is not environmentally friendly in the least.
Plastic also causes many problems to the environment from the way people handle them as garbage. Plastic is produced from another non-renewable source, oil, and does degrades in a much longer period of time compared to organic matter, and also produces harmful gases when it is incinerated. The plastic bottles when dumped into the water bodies, restrict the flow of water and affects the fauna of water bodies if any happen to ingest the plastic bits thinking its food. The hosts started a program to help educate the locals on recycling, teaching them to separate the plastics from their trash and giving it to them to bring to recycle.
The documentary ends of by giving 6 tips on how to improve the environment and reduce our carbon footprint and impact on the climate: 
1. Plant trees
2. Eat/ Grow local food
3. Reduce Reuse Recycle
4. Preserve Wetlands
5. Improve drainage systems
6. Refrain from building on flood prone areas or hillsides


Personal Opinion
I feel that it is a very inspiring documentary and that they show us the effects of climate change around each one of us instead of melting ice glaciers which no one can relate to. They also mention that the most important thing is Inter-generation equity, which is one generation of humanity preserving the environment for the next generation. I also feel that climate change not only affects our livelihood and environment but also affects us psychologically as we are constantly in fear of intense natural disasters which could be reduced or prevented. 
We all play a part in preventing climate change and saving the environment as we are the creators of our own future through our everyday actions. As quoted at the start of the documentary, " Change, like sunshine, can be a friend or a foe, a blessing or a curse, a dawn or a dusk." , all dependant on what we do with it.The link to watch the documentary is below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRX-ZmPbjms&index=2&list=PLeH6JyFuC4snZADrdMvd-K7hZQRQlrc7d

Global Warming Board Game

13/5/2016
I played the Global Warming Board Game on 13th May with my classmates during ENE class and it was a very interesting experience. Its a 2 to 4 player game and it is a game that kind of simulates the real world competition over oil control and all the players get to choose how happy their country is and how large their carbon footprint on the world will be.
All players start the game with 5 dollars in their bank and they can use the money to buy oil, or to place a consumer or environment card. A player can either draw 3 cards and discard as many as they want(max 7 cards in hand), play a card, or place an oil rig in any country that is available, buy oil from countries which they have placed an oil rig in, or lastly pass a turn, if they dont want to do anything for that turn. There are 3 barrels on the global warming track, which is an indicator for the total carbon emissions from our industrial actions in the game and there are 3 markings, on the 30, 60 and 100 point mark, when we pass the marks we have to do some actions, depending on which mark we pass. The game ends when all the oil and money has been used up or when the 100 point mark is reached, and the player whose country has the highest happiness index, which is increase by the use of consumer or environment cards, wins the game.
In my opinion, the game answered all my questions of why different countries in real life, are fighting so hard for control over oil. At one point of the game i had around 20+ dollars in the bank and i had a rig in Saudi Arabia, so when it was my turn i bought 8 barrels of oil for $16, as it was $2/barrel, this gave me a huge advantage as i was able to have more money as i was able to use the oil to carry out more industrial actions and also to increase my happiness index. Thus oil is not only a source of energy but also power. The global warming index was also very difficult to keep under the 3 marks as we had to carry out industrial actions that increase the temperature of the world for money but even though individually the temperature increase seems little it adds up over time.
I learnt alot from this game especially in terms of how important natural resources are to the world and also how each country contributes to global warming and i strongly recommend this game to all who are in the age limit:)

Reflection on Livestock and Climate Change article

Livestock and Climate Change
This article(link above), touches on the subject of GHG(Greenhouse Gas) emissions produced by livestock farming, which is the farming of animals such as poultry, cattle and pigs for consumption purposes. The article states that the livestock and feed farming accounts for 18% of total global GHG emissions and is also an industry that is destroying rain forests, which are major carbon sinks carrying up to 200 tons of carbon per hectare, compared to a degraded grassland used to feed cattle, which only carries 8 tons.
I feel that this article touches on a very good point that we overlook, that is how these livestock farming practices are destroying the environment and have a similar if not greater impact than that of fossil fuel use. The article states that aside from destroying the rain forests and all the ecosystems within it, the respiration of the livestock also accounts for global carbon emissions as there are much more animals now than there were in the past due to livestock farming. Not only that, "Fluorocarbons (needed for cooling livestock products much more than alternatives),which have a global warming potential up to several thousand times higher than that of CO2. Cooking, which typically entails higher temperatures and longer periods for meat than alternatives, and in developing countries entails large amounts of charcoal (which reduces carbon absorption by consuming trees) and kerosene, each of which emits high levels of GHGs. Disposal of inevitably large amounts of liquidwaste from livestock, and waste livestock products in the form of bone, fat, and spoiled products, all of which emit high amounts of GHGs when disposed in landfills, incinerators, andwaterways. Production, distribution, and disposal of byproducts, such as leather, feathers, skin, and fur, and their packaging.  Production, distribution, and disposal of packaging used for livestock products, which for sanitary reasons is much more extensive than for alternatives to livestock products. • Carbon-intensive medical treatment of millions of cases worldwide of zoonotic illnesses (such as swine flu) and chronic degenerative illnesses(such as coronary heart disease, cancers, diabetes, and hypertension leading to strokes)linked to the consumption of livestock products. Full accounting of GHGs attributable to livestock productswould cover portions of the construction and operation of pharmaceutical and medical industries used to treat these illnesses.", all these provide larger problems for the environment.
I agree with the article on the point that we should market a more vegan based diet to reduce the amount of livestock farming, it states in the article that forests have the ability to regenerate if we stop the farming practices. After all, we only eat meat because we are used to its tastes and not many of us are aware of the farming practices thus I feel that marketing veganism is not impossible as we just have to shake the common myths about it and also show that farming vegetables and plant based foods are much more friendly to the environment and also safer, as plants do not carry as much diseases as animals and also does not lead to chronic diseases due to saturated fat related diets which comes with meat consumption.
Why does meat taste so good?
The video above explains why we prefer the taste of meat, because we flavor our meat with plants.  It also shows that we are able to survive on a plant based diet as well and that there are many options even if we are vegans so it is not impossible to make a change. FYI, the best tasting burger in the world is a vegan burger!
However there are many people who have jobs in this sector and countries who rely on livestock for economy so they have to find alternatives to strike a balance between livestock farming and also reducing its carbon footprint.