Playing God

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From Father to Son, Last Words to Live By

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Europe Turns Back to Coal, Raising Climate Fears

Today must be "Thanks to Coal" Day.

I read this article and it lead me to a whole list of reports in the past year by New York Times about the coal and energy crisis in various parts of the world.

A whole afternoon didn't allow me to finish digesting (or rather indigesting) the harrowing accounts of people who live practically next to coal-powered plants or mines.

The prospect of even more coal-induced carbon emissions into the fragile atmosphere by more new coal-powered plants in various parts of Europe and Asia left a charcoal taste in my mouth.

What are these nations thinking? To turn back to coal in the face of rising oil prices just to keep up with the high consumption of electricity is a short-sighted "solution" put mildly. Its in fact more like burning off the bridge that was precariously linking us back to environmental balance. Whatever happened to reviewing our consumption levels? Population control? Renewable sources of power such as wind, water and sunlight??

Apparently, the majority vote against the erection of a new coal-fired plant by the residents in context fell on deaf ears. Like what the StoryofStuff was saying, the government has become the feet-kisser of corporations with greater economic say than themselves.

What a great example to the Asian siblings.

The Earth is like the Human Body, and Water, like the Blood in its Veins

A man at the site of what used to be a fertile farmland. The rift was one of the many created by over-mining of coal in Shanxi, China.

The earth there is sinking with underground coal mining from all sides; the once pristine river had run dry, and the wells rendered useless.

The villagers found themselves at high risk of being buried alive by the mounting coal waste (reportedly 50 stories high) if they did not abandon their homes soon.

This report was made in Jun 2006. I wonder what their fate had become...

Story of Stuff.com

If you've ever wondered about where all stuff comes from and goes to, this is as simple and straightforward answer as you can get. A no-brainer even for kids.

So what if it's an american setting set for an american audience, i'm sure it's not too difficult to extrapolate the idea to other places in the world. Many are guilty in varying degrees, but how many actually raise up their hands like that?

It's common to have polar voices between government and its people. But trust American citizens to rally support among themselves in classical American fashion: humorous, simplistic, and most of all, positivity.

I'm usually critical of complex issues that get watered-down and twisted for various propaganda - environmental concerns being the most recent exploitation - 'educating' the public just enough for their purposes, and the passive public in turn taking them at face value.

But the endeavor this time is truly refreshing; a complete picture simplified without frills. In such a complex and obscured world today, perhaps starting off with this formula lets people have something to hang on to.

USA has been accused of many things: giant consumer, polluter, a super power that takes more from the earth and its counterparts than it gives. But these are the works of the bad spirits. There are shining good ones out there using their resources to save the world, and advocate hope and wisdom where others are hesitant to make.

Now, back to the real question:
where's all this leading to? We're all going to die anyway, and the earth is going to explode eventually, so what's the point? might as well enjoy while we can?

Human race is just another footprint on the face of the earth whilst it lives out its "infinity". Unlike any other species, we evolved with enough intelligence to understand most of the clockworks. To ignore our mis-manipulations of it is to demean ourselves to the levels of ostriches with buried heads.

If life is about journey, i wish likewise our existence be a meaningful one.
A show of an everlasting human spirit, not a deteriorating one.

Anyway, watch the video.
A must-see.

"The Sustainable Man" DIY

Little things that make my day

Captain Planet's bag of tricks

"I guess we can call this nonviolent chemical warfare," - Capt. Paul Watson

This article reminded me of the "Captain Planet" cartoon series i used to watch as a child, where a blue-skinned n "green" version of superman would use his super powers to save the day, and of course, the planet from polluting baddies.

It's not just amusing but refreshing to read about the tactics these anti-whale hunt activists resorted to in trying to stop the whale-hunting ships. (They threw rotten butter to stink up the ship and soap-like chemicals to make people slip on the deck. U may laugh, but it worked.)

When it comes to good heros, they are forced to invent offensive strategies that are harmful to the enemies YET gentle to the planet. That's definitely more brain-work than baddies have to do.

Hmm. So i guess this concludes one thing: The bad guys in the cartoons are really as stupid as they looked.

Faces of Spain

I did an architectural travel course to Spain last winter. Same golden opportunity offered by the school to trot around a country steeped in its own unique blend of history and culture as did my previous journey to India.

Armed with my own camera this time, I zealously took 3000 photos in 3 weeks, covering mostly architectural settings and the lively members of this expedition.

Upon returning, I faithfully filtered out 1000 of those that documented our journey to share among my tour mates, and condensed them further to just under 180 for the general public for an overall impression of Spain.

One friend responded in return:

"it seems most all your pictures are for coffee table book or some architecture magazine. they are cold. what i mean by raw reality is nature in pure form, not contrived, not planned. people are from nature. for example, are there any beggars or prostitutes in your pictures. is there anyone sleeping under bridge or on cardboard. the children seem mostly from distance so can't really "see" what they are thinking or who they are, and it seem again more about color and cold things like capturing contrast. touristy pictures are boring. what is thrilling (to me) is what's really going on in life, what's happening below the facade. if i remember correctly, kinda like the picture(s) you took of/with the children that came running up to you in the street, that was scratching the surface or raw, spontaneous, pure. that is moving in the direction. to have these chance to see life like this, and capture these moments, requires change in your thinking. need to delve into places that maybe you are afraid to go, then can start to see, and have chance to capture. sometimes many times it's so amazing and you become so lost in moment that you don't even think to take picture. that to me is beauty."

Thanks to him, i went back and looked through my 3000 pics again, recalling my endeavors to capture not picturesque Spanish settings but the 'raw' response of the people in it - stripped-down, spontaneous, in-the-face moments of real people in real but indiscriminate situations, almost as if the images were taken inadvertently by a passing bee...



I've compiled these 45 photos to re-introduce my own version of Spain, liking them for their instinctive Iberian identity and their power to narrate hidden stories amidst their ordinariness.

My quest was more limited than in India though. Cos in Europe, it's wise to be discreet.

Gorilla Massacre

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1287043068/bctid1312371912

Sea Ice in Retreat

Click on this link for an interactive view at a glance of the sea ice changes in the North Pole in the last few years.

Articles to Disseminate

China's Crisis #1: Lake Tai 〈太湖〉

China's Crisis #2: As China Roars, Pollution Reaches Deadly Extremes

China's Crisis #3: Beneath Booming Cities, China's Future is Drying Up

After a 3-month hiatus... (Part I)

Yes, i'm back in the US again.
Back from a long summer break in Taiwan, surrounded by people, activities and lively chaos.
This aspect of Asia is most nostalgic to me, and i had indulgently basked myself in it for the past few months.

No sooner was i there that i also realized it is this very freneticism that impedes many people in Asia to think much beyond their everyday lives. The government and its people share a very different relationship from that in Europe and America: while its mostly up to the common folks to work extremely hard to fend for themselves, everything on a national or global basis is left to the business of their government. So if its environmental issues we're talking about, "well, the government will handle it. "

For this reason, environmental awareness was hardly detectable amongst the public of Asian countries, and any news of it or measures to be taken were entirely up to the governing body's discretion. One positive aspect of this however, if executed, is its extent of influence : the Taiwanese government introduced the sale of plastic bags in all grocery and convenience stores several years ago in a bid to cut down on plastics, and recently even banned the use of paper or styrofoam cups in all government related functions.

Without a clear long-term agenda and awareness campaign however, citizens will not fully comprehend its importance (many Taiwanese only saw the conservation efforts as an inconvenient legislative law), and continue to undermine such efforts by other irresponsible actions against the environment. This brings to point that while i could easily access environmental reports in English on the WorldWideWeb, there are far too few translated reports in Chinese or other minor languages for non-English speaking (or other european languages) Asians to read up on as easily. (I'm chagrined to say that i am also ill-equipped to write my blog in Chinese for my Taiwanese counterparts!)

Censorship breeds ignorance, and ignorance breeds complacency.
But this is just one part of the story. In an economy-driven world, it is considered "frivolous" if conservation efforts were to supercede economic strategies, and many developing countries couldn't afford - nor are willing to abide to - the high price...not after their time of progress has finally come. Down to human-scale, what do you do when you tell a tree-cutter to "stop cutting down trees for sale or there won't be trees left tomorrow", and he'd reply that he and his family can only afford to live by the day?

Faced with all these disputes and complexities within and between countries, one has to concede that environmentalism has become just another poker deal for world leaders - all about money and gambling our chances with our only habitat.

However, as individuals, we don't have to judge upon the fairness of the game, nor wait for the outcome. So long as you're in a position to conserve and promote for the environment, do it.
Nothing's fair since the day we were born, why start debating about that now?

Think about it...you're lucky to afford to do so where others can't.

How's the Weather Over There?

I was in the queue waiting to board the bus back to Providence this morning, and I overheard yet again the most popular topic we earthlings pick as a conversation starter:
“So did u have fun in the city while u were here?” a friendly man in the same line started asking another stranger behind him.
“What’s that? Oh, sure… the weather was surprisingly autumn though…I’ve never experienced such cold weather at a time like this in New York…”
“Oh yeah, usually summer temperature can be felt way into October even, easily 80-90 deg Fahrenheit, but this year…” the friendly man concurred, “Where you from by the way, I’m from Newport. You ever been there? It's up north, a beautiful place, with beaches…”
And the conversation gets an extended life.

It’s no wonder why the environment or weather always find its way back into everyday conversations… you may smirk, but this ubiquitous ice-breaker is probably the only common link man share that’s "diplomatic", harmless, yet significant enough to talk about.

But of course, a few countries do fall through the net in terms of significance.
From where i came (mono-season Singapore is blessed without a single natural calamity), chatting about the weather with my fellowmen can be a pretty mundane subject.
In contrast, when I hit upon the typhoon season in Taiwan this summer, the ignorant well-frog in me couldn't help being intrigued by all the hype and fuss an encroaching typhoon would stir up...

With its entitled name, XX Typhoon was just like a new starlet who literally took the town by storm (i couldnt help with the pun, sorry). Locals glued their eyes and ears to the media; some cursed n whined over jeopardized outings, some scrambled to prep their homes against flooding, yet others cheered at the prospect of a "national holiday" declared by the government...

And when she finally arrived, the God-fearing ones would meekly seek shelter n watch her perform her antics, throw her tantrums...ample time to worry about how to pick up the pieces left in her tracks later on.

All this is of course from the incorrigible frog's exhilarated perspective...only a native can truly relate to the havoc and trauma such natural disasters would cause - year after year.

For all the sophisticated scientific gadgets human intelligence could devise, mankind is always a few steps behind predicting forces of nature, much less seeking prevention. To this day, human errors and negligence combined with uncountable unaccountable factors have time and again resulted in cataclysmic tragedies:
The oversight of Boxing Day Tsunami in 2004 due to the lack of tsunami warning systems in the Indian Ocean, and the extensive failures of levee systems during Hurricane Katrina in 2005 are painfully raw reminders that still burn.

Indeed, when Mother Nature decides to unleash her wrath, who can really block her way?

List of Ten Deadliest Natural Disasters

	Event	Location	Date	Death Toll (Estimate)
1.	1931 Yellow River flood	Yellow River, China	1931 summer	1,000,000-4,000,000
2.	1887 Yellow River flood	Yellow River, China	1887, September-October	900,000-2,000,000
3.	1970 Bhola cyclone	Ganges Delta, East PakistanBangladesh) (Now	1970 November 13	500,000-1,000,000
4.	1938 Yellow River flood	Yellow River, China	1938	500,000-900,000
5.	1556 Shaanxi earthquake	Shaanxi Province, China	1556 January 23	830,000
6.	1839 India Cyclone	Coringa, India	1839 November 25	300,000+
7.	1642 Kaifeng Flood	Kaifeng, Henan Province, China	1642	300,000
8.	1976 Tangshan earthquake	Tangshan, China	1976 July 28	242,000*
9.	2004 Indian Ocean earthquake/tsunami	Indian Ocean	2004 December 26	230,000
10.	1138 Aleppo earthquake	Syria	1138	230,000

Its not hard to imagine how such catastrophes must have seemed like "Judgment Day" for their victims. Fact is however, such are the natural cycles of the universe, and if our actions show more fear and respect for this planet, to some extent tragedies can be averted. (Points to note: Hurricane Katrina - A man-made disaster? In the Tsunami of 2004, human destruction of coral reefs played a significant role in aggravating the tragedy.)

Personally, i'd worry more about man-induced disasters that could hasten up this day. I found this on the internet:

List of "Causes of hypothetical future disasters",

Natural:

• Famine
• Supervolcano
• Asteroid impact event
• Megatsunami
• Cumbre Vieja
• Cascadia Megathrust earthquake
• Hypernova

Man-made:

• Dysgenics
• Famine
• Overpopulation
• Nuclear warfare
• Pandemic
• Peak Oil
• Gulf Stream shutdown
• Antibiotic resistance
• Global warming

Global warming tops the risk chart at the moment as its consequence is most likely to trigger any of the man-made or natural calamities (not inclusive..there's still the more common contenders - flooding, drought, heat wave, epidemics etc) listed above.

Every catastrophe - man-made or natural - that befell mankind had seemed like "Judgment Day" for the victims, served as a solemn warning for their neighbors, and gone unnoticed or unconcerned for the rest outside its locus of influence. Factor in human resilience, hubris and poor memory, and we'd find ourselves experiencing "dejavu" time and again throughout human history.

Mankind may have set foot on the four corners of the earth, but changes in seasons and weather are the best reminders that human species are extremely vulnerable; we don't dictate this planet...Nature rules, and the rules of survival are simple:

Want Mother Nature to grant us an extension?
Listen and learn from mistakes made.

Condolences to the Goddess of Yangtze River

www.baiji.org

On Dec 13 2006, Baji, a rare freshwater dolphin species which thrived in the Yangtze River as early as 20 million years ago, was declared functionally extinct.

There are only 6 species of freshwater dolphins and porpoise in the world - 3 in Asia, 2 of which are found exclusive in the Yangtze River in China. Baiji has since disappeared, leaving another one on the brink of extinction.

It was a painful awakening to witness the demise of yet another species from the face of the earth. I had naively thought no news probably meant good news, until today. (fact is the media is just more interested in digging up for news on little bear cubs like Knut.) Really, scrolling down the list of recently extinct animals online just now was like reading through "Planet Earth's Obituaries" column...

Since the classic case of the Dodo bird, we hadn't been able to stop the onset of animals from slipping through our fingers day after day (in fact, according to 365 Ways by Philippe Bourseiller, more than 2 species are disappearing every hour) despite numerous laudable efforts.

Argument that evolution is part of a natural process is redundant here, cos to have large mammals near the end of the food chain disappearing when climate conditions havent yet changed drastically enough is anything BUT normal. It could only be due to human activity.

I shudder to even think about what the combined powers of climate change n man can do.

"Man would die of great loneliness if all the beasts are gone. For what happens to beasts will also happen to man." - anonymous

A 16 yr old's Tribute to the Days...

A Tribute to the Days

Please remember,
When land was rich and trees stood tall.
The plot of arid desert was very small,
Until farmers came and set the place burning;
Then left the forest creatures yearning.

Please remember,
When we could enjoy a clean, fresh breeze
Not mingling with soot or soaked with grease.
In those days there was no need to go high places,
Just to find somewhere devoid of hazes.

Please remember,
When the color of water reflected the sky,
Never too murky or loaded with dye.
We needn’t worry about the fury of fish
Stained with mercury on our dish.

Please remember,
When we hadn’t possessed any greed,
And never took what we didn’t need.
We hadn’t yet created the hunting gun,
Just so we could have a little fun.

Please remember,
What we have sold
To Hell’s creator:
The Days of old.

"...I underestimated the damage a coward with power can do..."

Words to incumbent US President from a fired newspaper columnist, Dan Guthrie - unminced, unsalted - words of fire. Highly fueling.

Click on it!

A tribute to Earth Day?

Doesn't matter if Earth Day was yesterday - sounds kinda paradoxical to me...aren't we living on Earth everyday??

But if making certain days special spurs sentimentality, and people prefer to label down just one day for the Earth to officially encourage one another to change their habits / schedules as a tribute to our Mother, well...at least that's a start. In Dr. Jane Goodall's words: "Knowledge fosters Compassion, and Compassion leads to Action".

So here's my "special tribute":

A speech by Dr. Jane Goodall that resonates exactly my sentiments towards Mother Nature, Humanity and our Future...




Here's one more: take a few minutes each day to read about one man's tribute to the Earth - all 365 days* of it...

Click on it!

*cnmmnc strives to keep it posted up-to-date, so please be patient if it lags once in a while...

TED

Recently, a good friend of mine from singapore introduced TED to me in response to one of my posts.

Just this morning, i came across a message by RISD's acting president (Roger Mandle), who wrote about sustainability, and his participation in TED conference early this year, providing a link to TED's website.

Somehow, good things find their way around to be shared. Now it's my turn to pass it on.
http://www.ted.com/


In Roger Mandle's words,

" I know that when artists and designers join engineers, educators, politicians, public policy-makers and environmental activists then new ground will be broken. Together we will create innovative solutions that will help lead the way for future generations. I encourage everyone to join this critical effort to sustain our environment and planet. In doing so, we honor the profound importance of natural resources to our earth, including its beauty, its people and the creatures who inhabit it"

The TED video below is dedicated to all those mentioned above.