MYCJN

by Jin Yun

Once upon a time, Ann* and KP** were engaged.

They couldn’t live without each other. Ann needed KP to be safe and feel a sense of security, and to discipline herself to maintain a sustainable and green household. On the other hand, KP would be nothing without Ann. KP needed Ann to carry out life targets and aims.

Yet, word had it that Ann was not ready to commit to the relationship. In fact, Annhad not been fulfilling the sweet promises between them. At the same time, KP couldn’t wait forever. KP would leave Ann soon, or would eventually die of heartbreak.

It had been long suspected that the relationship will end soon, but things took a turn during the UN Bonn III meeting recently.

Ann and KP got married!!

Wedding Video Part 1 (Bonn III Action)

Wedding Video Part 2 (Bonn III Action)

For the media, journalists, paparazzi, and those of you who wanted to see More Pictures!

Photo credits to http://www.klimaretter.info/kiimagipfel-bonn-3-2010/hintergrund/6521-youngos-sorgen-fuer-herzschmerz-

Photo credits to http://www.klimaretter.info/kiimagipfel-bonn-3-2010/hintergrund/6521-youngos-sorgen-fuer-herzschmerz-

*Annex 1

**Kyoto Protocol

WHAT IS THE KYOTO PROTOCOL?

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But that was not all.

The day after the wedding was the last day of the AWG-KP Session.

During the session, a youth delegate asked the chair, “Will you marry me?“

Perhaps others would think she was being very demanding, but she was doing so not only for herself, but for the greater good.

“We can build commitment gradually, but it starts now with an adequate 2nd commitment
period with Annex I targets that follow the science to keep temperatures below 1,5°.
So this means an aggregate target for Annex I Parties of at least -40% based on 1990, without offsets and loopholes, and a review of its adequacy.

This means everybody must do their share.

It means, we need them to make more ambitious targets public before we meet again.”

Nevertheless, she liked leaders who were decisive, and who could make the right choices.

“But time is not on our side, we need to order the cake.

To do this we need a location, please tell us that we can send the cake to Cancun and hold the wedding ceremony there.
Because I am young, I won’t, we can’t wait for you forever!”

For now, let’s watch closely how world leaders would response to the proposal and demands!

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True love needs commitment. Do we truly love our world, our people, and our future generations?

Will this end with ‘happily ever after’?

If yes, how long are we willing to make it last?

by Jin Yun

The Dead Sea has been shrinking at an alarming rate for decades.

(Watch Video at AlJazeera)

But it’s not just about losing the volume of water…

Losing the Identity of a Nation

The Dead Sea is a prominent feature that defines Jordan.

I have asked a friend from Jordan about the response of the general public towards the issue. I always think that this is really serious to the people in Jordan since the Dead Sea brings in so much tourism and all.

However, the friend says that people simply are not aware and would rather care about Aqaba. I pondered and reasoned that though many people are involved in tourism and farming activities near the Dead Sea, majority of the people are not. Second, a lot of tourists go there each year, and perhaps the number even increases since they feel a need to go there before the Dead Sea is gone in the future.

Yet, how long can the Dead Seas last? Is Jordan capable of preserving its national identity?

This is tantamount to Paris without an Eiffel Tower, Malaysia losing its rainforests (it’s the oldest in the world!), and Justin Bieber losing his child-like vocals!

(Yet, it’s funny how responses to such similar scenarios would be totally different!)

Agriculture

Again, climate change always affects the most vulnerable, or the less affluent community.

As the water level drops, large sink holes appear along the shores (undermining infrastructures such as roads and bridges) and farming lands are full of cracks. This leads to serious implications towards the farmers and the agricultural sector in Jordan.

No doubt, climate change causes food crisis and is related to the issue of hunger and poverty. More and more parts of the world are showing early symptoms, if not already experiencing the effects.

Is it better to keep it dead or Red?

So, there have been suggestions to channel water from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea. Yet it poses risk of negative ecological effects.

http://www.nature.com/news/2010/100421/full/4641118a.html?s=news_rss

So it won’t disappear?

“Contrary to popular wisdom, the Dead Sea will not entirely disappear. It could drop another 300 feet or so from its current maximum depth of 1,240 feet over the next hundred years, according to Ittai Gavrieli, director of the Geological Survey of Israel, a government body. Then, he said, evaporation would slow down as the surface area shrank, and the water level would stabilize.”

Quoted from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/05/world/middleeast/05deadsea.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

A teacher at my school has told me that he doesn’t believe in climate change because he believes that nature will take care of itself.

Yet, how much damage and suffering must climate change cause before ‘nature takes care of itself’? Can we always take things for granted? What if one day nature decides not to take care of us?

The Dead Sea is only one of the many examples of how we have been depriving ourselves from our right to climate justice and a sustainable environment.

When the Dead Sea is dying, does our hope die too?

Or do we want to continue fighting? NOT waging war against the Earth, but fight for our rights to climate justice!

by Jin Yun

Yes, it’s possible. Gary Chang, an architect living in Hong Kong, managed to transform his 344-sq-ft apartment into a really amazing living space. He named it the ‘Domestic Transformer (Watch Video Here!)’.

CREDITS: Fellow MYCJN-er, and my dear friend, Tham Ying Ying tagged me on the video! Thanks =)

As we all know, Hong Kong is very densely populated and land is particularly expensive. The people have to learn to live and fully utilise the limited space they have. Sometimes, I wonder, is it because our earth is blessed with so many resources, that we have been taking them for granted? As Gary Chang can maximise the functions of such a limited space, hopefully someday our knowledge in science and technology has improved to the extent whereby we could achieve the maximum result using minimal resources, increasing the efficiency and reducing usage and waste of resources.

Besides that, one doesn’t have to be dubbed an Environmentalist to address green issues. Some people have the tendency to think that it’s an environmentalist’s job to find solutions, when in fact people from all fields play a part. As people of different expertise or different disciplines play different roles in society, it’s important for all of us to work on combating environmental issues together, in our respective ways.

You may also want to read about the ‘Suitcase House Hotel’ by Gary Chang

http://phayung.blogspot.com/2009/03/suitcase-house-hotel-by-gary-chang-edge.html

by Jin Yun

I think you must have already known that while seeking ways to lead a convenient life or in the name of development, we have, in one way or other, very conveniently become a contributing factor to a long list of environmental problems.

Many a time, people are guilty of using polystyrene, plastic bags, and do every other thing that can deteriorate the environment because of convenience; many refuse to avoid wasting resources and to lead a more eco-friendly lifestyle, because they may think that it’s very inconvenient and troublesome to do so.

Activists try very hard to convince the public to make a little effort to help. We try to let you know how serious the problem is. We try to let you know that sacrificing a little convenience is worth it for the betterment of our world.

Yet, what if things can go another way round? What if those little actions regarded as eco-friendly can become more convenient for us to practise? What if the bad habits deemed as ‘un-green’ can become so inconvenient that we naturally give them up?

Imagine. The rubbish bin nearby is just one receptacle in which all kinds of trash are thrown without being sorted into categories.

You probably won’t go an extra mile just to find a recycling bin to throw a piece of paper, if there’s even one at all. If the paper is not going to be recycled, so be it! You probably feel you have much more important things to do than to worry about the paper.

And I don’t blame you. I can, but I don’t. (But I’d find you contemptible!)

I trust that if several trash cans are laid side by side for the public to dispose rubbish according to categories, you would actually bother to put that piece of paper into the right place where it can be sent for recycling.



This simple trash sorting measure may be common in some places, but in many places, including my own country, Malaysia, it’s usually found in airports and such, and hardly seen in public parks, roadsides, or anywhere a regular resident would pass by daily.

On the other hand, many of us have the impression that Danish are eco-friendly people. Yet, from as far as I know, they don’t cycle because they make a conscious effort to reduce carbon emissions. Maybe they are aware, but it doesn’t mean they intentionally think about being green all the time. Sometimes, they just do it because it’s the natural thing to do. If there are cycling tracks that can lead you to your destination, everyone else cycles, and cycling is convenient and cheap, why not?

Thus, though people are the ones who shape the surrounding environment, we could also create an environment that could shape people’s habits or attitude. It works both ways.

We could

1) Create an environment that makes going green more convenient for the public.

2) Create an environment that makes habits that affect our planet negatively very difficult to practise.

For example, the government should provide relevant facilities (including something as simple as the trash sorting system) available to the people. It’s good if you want to raise the price of petrol (petrol hike was quite an issue in Malaysia) to encourage carpooling and avoid using the vehicle too much, but that’s only if you make greater effort to improve the public transport system. Public transport in certain places/countries still does not get you to your workplace, inefficient and have irregular timings, or perhaps the bus/metro station is nowhere near your home.

Make people hate plastic bags because they have to pay for requesting them. If you own a boutique or supermarket, please offershopping bags with cooler designs (you can still print your own logo on them without sacrificing aesthetic values) so that people actually happily and willingly use the shopping bags. If you’re working in the office, gather your misprinted (on one side) or unwanted sheets of paper and put them in a nice stack near the printing machine, hopefully your colleagues do the same, and you all can use rough paper to print drafts or scribble random things.

We should help one another, and also ourselves, to create an environment that is convenient for us to live life the green way.

By Sonia Yeow

Hari Organik is back again by popular and growing demand! This 5th edition will see more participants and visitors, as well as interesting activities.

Date: 4th July 2010, Sunday

Time: 8.30am – 2.00pm

Venue: Jalan 19/22 Padang, Petaling Jaya

By Sonia Yeow

Source : WWF Malaysia

Malaysia celebrates World Oceans Day with sustainable seafood guide

Petaling Jaya – WWF-Malaysia and the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) launched the Save Our Seafood (S.O.S.) Campaign today in conjunction with World Oceans Day.
The objective of the campaign is to raise awareness on the status of Malaysian fisheries, where in some parts of Malaysia our demersal fish stocks have declined by as much as 90%, and to promote sustainable seafood choices through Malaysia’s first sustainable seafood guide.

The pocket-sized, bilingual guide in English and Bahasa Malaysia provides an insight into the sustainability of the 50 most popular Malaysian seafood species. The guide uses a simple traffic light system of categorising the seafood species: Green (preferred or recommended eating choice) Yellow (eat only occasionally) and Red (avoid eating).

“The seafood guide empowers the seafood consumers and businesses to make informed decisions in choosing sustainable seafood, which means seafood that is caught and farmed responsibly and does not cause damage to our marine environment,” said Dr Loh Chi Leong, Executive Director of Malaysian Nature Society (MNS).

Malaysians are the biggest consumers of seafood in Southeast Asia with an average consumption of 1.4 billion kg yearly. Our demand for seafood has resulted in a rapid decline of our fish supply due to overfishing. A group of fisheries scientists have predicted that globally in another 40 years, we run the risk of not having any seafood to eat, if we continue to consume indiscriminately.

Therefore it is important for Malaysians to start thinking about our seafood consumption patterns and how each of us can play a role to conserve our marine resources for future generations.

A survey commissioned by WWF-Malaysia showed that only a quarter of Malaysian consumers are aware of the declining fish supply in our seas. However, more than 70% of Malaysians are willing to reduce seafood consumption if they are aware that fish stocks are declining.

“It is important for seafood consumers and businesses alike to know where our seafood comes from because some are sourced sustainably and some are not, due to different fisheries management regimes in different parts of the world. At present, we are taking some of our fish stocks out of the oceans faster than they can be replenished. If this scenario continues, we may eventually lose all of our fish along with other marine life,” said Dato’ Dr Dionysius Sharma, Executive Director/CEO of WWF-Malaysia.

“We hope that seafood lovers in Malaysia will re-evaluate and eventually change their consumption patterns by using this guide as a reference when ordering or purchasing seafood. I will also promote sustainable seafood in my future programmes,” added Datuk Chef Wan.

The seafood guide is just one of the starting points of our marine conservation work which aims to eventually improve fisheries management and trade, beginning from the oceans to the plate.
The Malaysian sustainable seafood guide can be downloaded for free at www.saveourseafood.my. It is also available free of charge at both MNS & WWF-Malaysia’s HQ offices in Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya respectively and its branches, including Sabah and Sarawak, Little Penang Café outlets in Mid Valley, The Curve and KLCC and Eastin Hotel, PJ. Those interested to distribute the guide can also contact WWF-Malaysia or MNS.

In the spirit of World Oceans Day, let’s show our appreciation and support of our oceans. Spread the word, use the Sustainable Seafood Guide, and have a happy World Oceans Day!

6th June is World Environment Day. Here’s a letter from UNICEF representative.

Sonia Yeow

______________

By Hans Olsen

Dear children and young people,

THERE is no doubt that the world you live in today is different from when I was your age. There were no compu-ters, mobile phones or Facebook, but it was also a world with fewer factories, fewer cars and people. This meant less air pollution and less human waste.

There are 6.8 billion people living on this planet today who in too many cases still go about life as if the world’s resources were endless. But Mother Earth has started to respond with clear signals that this is not the case.

Years of industrial and human pollution, particularly in industrialised countries, has brought about enough damage to the environment to cause climate change and many of the natural disasters we have seen in recent times like droughts and floods.

The delicate balance between different forms of life on our planet is also being disturbed. The biodiversity, which simply put is the variety of plants and animals that live together in perfect balance, is at risk after many years of unchecked “development”.

The cutting down of forests and clearing of land have had terrible consequences for many countries’ biodiversity. Some plant and animal species have disappeared and some are on the verge of extinction. This is also bad news for us humans as we depend on this diversity for food, medicine, fuel and other basic things.

“But why is he telling me about all these depressing things?” you might ask. “I can’t do anything about it anyway. I am only a child.”

Well, you might be young but that does not mean you cannot be a leader. You can set an example by the way you behave and take an active interest in defending the environment that you will inherit. And there is another important reason for you to speak out. When things go wrong due to climate change, those worst hit are often children.

Climate change, which causes extreme conditions like floods and droughts, brings failed crops, lost income, poverty, hunger and disease. Stagnant and dirty drinking water and poor sanitation cause diarrhoea, malaria and dengue. Less food production means children do not get much of the nutrition they need.

Natural disasters also often damage homes and public infrastructure such as schools. Again children pay the price in lost education. And even if the school remains, poverty in many places forces children out of school because there is no money for school fees or they have to work to help their families put food on the table.

In short, children have a lot to lose if we do not take care of the environ-ment. You can help just by deciding to do some small but important things.

The first is how you use water. When you take a shower or brush your teeth, be sure not to keep the tap running. When you help your family wash the car or water the plants, use a bucket rather than a hose. And remind your parents to do the same. Remember, you are saving clean water for your future.

Avoid using plastic bags. Instead, bring your own bag from home when you and your parents shop. This is important because plastic is a material which is not biodegradable. This means that it never moulders and disappears. Lots of plastic bags get washed into the sea and remain float-ing there, killing animals like dolphins and sea gulls that get caught in it.

The third thing is to help save on petrol and keep car exhaust to a minimum. Encourage your family to use the shortest routes when going about their daily business. Try to go many in one car instead of travelling separately. Better still, use public transportation when you can.

You might think this does not sound like much. But believe me, you could very well be the person who starts a big change in your family or even neigh-bourhood. Just imagine what 2.2 billion children on Earth could achieve if they decided that “enough is enough”.

With knowledge and determination you and your friends can play an important part in changing the world for the better. Of that I am convinced.

Best regards,

Hans Olsen
Unicef Representative to Malaysia
Unite for Children

Nuke Off! (Belia Tanpa Nuklear)

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By Richard Black Environment correspondent, BBC News

Ms Figueres is regarded as having deep knowledge of the UN process

Costa Rica’s Christiana Figueres is to be the new head of the UN climate convention, BBC News understands.

The UN is expected to confirm her appointment to take over from outgoing chief Yvo de Boer later in the week.

Sources close to the UN said she emerged as front-runner after an intervention from small island states.

The US-based diplomat, daughter of former Costa Rican president Jose Figueres Ferrer, has taken part in UN climate negotiations since 1995.
Continue reading the main story

The first task would be to project the correct view that the UN processes, its practices and principles, are respected

Martin Khor The South Centre

She emerged as the undisputed front runner only in the last few days.

A number of small island developing nations told UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that they preferred someone from a smaller developing country to the other leading candidate, South African tourism minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk.

Although respected personally, small island states that feel threatened by climate change are understood to have resisted the appointment of someone from the BASIC bloc of countries (Brazil, China, India and South Africa), which argued against swingeing carbon curbs at December’s UN summit in Copenhagen.
Bali to Copenhagen

Ms Figueres has chaired many working groups and committees within the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and is regarded as having a deep understanding of its processes and its outstanding issues.

Following her confirmation, her immediate task will be to rebuild confidence in the UN negotiations in the lead-up to this year’s major summit in Mexico at the end of the year.

“There is this misguided view that the UN system doesn’t work,” said Martin Khor, executive director of the South Centre, an intergovernmental organisation of developing countries.

“What happened [in Copenhagen] was deviation from the UN process with the selection and elevation of a small group of countries.

“So if you’re the new UNFCCC head, the first task would be to project the correct view that the UN processes, its practices and principles, are respected,” he told BBC News.

Mr de Boer announced in February that he would step down in the middle of this year to take up a position with global accountancy firm KPMG as a consultant on climate and sustainability issues, and to work with several universities.

The Dutch official steered the UNFCCC through the most tortuous phase of its existence, spanning the Bali summit of 2007 that promised a new comprehensive global agreement within two years and the Copenhagen summit of 2009 that failed to deliver such an agreement.