World Environment Day 2011

I forgot to write about this event and it has been a while i am away from this blog. I am really sorry for that guys. Anyway, this year WED theme was "FORESTS: NATURE AT YOUR SERVICE". India is the host country for this year event. There quite an interesting programme arrange in India to celebrate this event. To know more about it, visit here: India Host Country.

Since the theme is mentionong about forests and service so the logo is really reprents it. Not agree with me? See this logo:

What did we do to celebrate this event here at my work place? There are two things that i involved in. We are working together with our employee's family at the housing area to do Green Earth Campaign, together with Agriculture Department. In-conjunction with that too, i was working with our Youth Group with our mini project Takakura Home Method Composting. We started it in March and this coming Saturday they will do a demo to our housing residence. Visit this group blog at PROJEK MINI BELIA - BAJA KOMPOS (but it is in Malay langauge).

The other one is, we will be involved as a host for ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION RACE 8 or better known as EERace 8 for teachers, end of this month. This programme is organized by Environmental Protection Department, Kota Kinabalu. This programme is a yearly programme and first initiate by Rainforest Discovery Centre (RDC), Sandakan.

So, that is a brief share of activities that i will involved in conjunction with WED 2011. How about you? What did you do at your work place or home? Together make our living greener.. Till then!

Earth Day 2011

Do you ever heard of Earth Day? Earth Hour was celebrated on 26th March and i did wrote a post about it even do some campaign about it too. So, for today i want to do some campaign about the Earth Day 2011. It will be fall on 22 April 2011. But, on the same day will be a Good Friday for Christian all over the world too.

Earth Day Movement History as adapted from Earth Day Network:

The idea came to Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson, then a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, after witnessing the ravages of the 1969 massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California. Inspired by the student anti-war movement, he realized that if he could infuse that energy with an emerging public consciousness about air and water pollution, it would force environmental protection onto the national political agenda. Senator Nelson announced the idea for a “national teach-in on the environment” to the national media; persuaded Pete McCloskey, a conservation-minded Republican Congressman, to serve as his co-chair; and recruited Denis Hayes as national coordinator. Hayes built a national staff of 85 to promote events across the land.

As a result, on the 22nd of April, 20 million Americans took to the streets, parks, and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment in massive coast-to-coast rallies. Thousands of colleges and universities organized protests against the deterioration of the environment. Groups that had been fighting against oil spills, polluting factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, freeways, the loss of wilderness, and the extinction of wildlife suddenly realized they shared common values.

Earth Day 1970 achieved a rare political alignment, enlisting support from Republicans and Democrats, rich and poor, city slickers and farmers, tycoons and labor leaders. The first Earth Day led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts. "It was a gamble," Gaylord recalled, "but it worked."

So, it is always, when something happen, then action will take place to make things better. Better world to live in. If you want to read more about the history of this movements or any other info about Earth Day, just visit the website Earth Day Network. Who knows you will be able to do something when you visit this site.

Oh ya... coincidently i found GLEE also promoting Earth Day 2011 for FOX. They shares their thought on Earth Day too.

So  how about us? What can we do to support this movement. To stop climate change and global warming.

It is all up to our actions. Till then! 

WORLD WATER DAY - 22 MARCH 2011

I supposed to promote this campaign a while ago but i forgot about this world wide event. To promote awareness is one of my agenda using this blog, but i forgot. Just a little reminder about this event, i would like to share a little bit info about it today.

International World Water Day is held annually on 22 March as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.

An international day to celebrate freshwater was recommended at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). The United Nations General Assembly responded by designating 22 March 1993 as the first World Water Day.

Each year, World Water Day highlights a specific aspect of freshwater. Here are lists of WWD celebration with each year theme since 1994.

• 2010 -- Clean Water For a Healthy World
• 2009 -- Shared Water - Shared Opportunities
• 2008 -- International Year of Sanitation
• 2007 -- Coping with Water Scarcity
• 2006 -- Water and Culture
• 2005 -- Water for Life 2005 - 2015
• 2004 -- Water and Disasters
• 2003 -- Water for the Future
• 2002 -- Water for Development
• 2001 -- Water for Health - Taking Charge
• 2000 -- Water for the 21st Century
• 1999 -- Everyone Lives Downstream
• 1998 -- Groundwater - The Invisible Resource
• 1997 -- The Worlds Water - Is there Enough
• 1996 -- Water for Thirsty Cities
• 1995 -- Women and Water
• 1994 -- Caring for Our Water Resources is Everyone's Business

The main event for World Water Day 2011 was celebrated at Cape Town from 20th - 22nd March 2011. The African Ministers' Council on Water (AMCOW) is pleased to join UN-HABITAT and UN-Water in co-organizing the official World Water Day 2011 event. Ceremonies was hosted by the Government of South Africa at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.

Here is a bit of World Water Day 2011:

• This is the first time in human history that most of the world's population live in cities: 3.3 billion people ...and the urban landscape continues to grow.
• 38% of the growth is represented by expanding slums, while the city populations are increasing faster than city infrastructure can adapt.
• The objective of World Water Day 2011 is to focus international attention on the impact of rapid urban population growth, industrialization and uncertainties caused by climate change, conflicts and natural disasters on urban water systems.
• This year theme, Water for cities: responding to the urban challenge, aims to spotlight and encourage governments, organizations, communities, and individuals to actively engage in addressing the challenges of urban water management.

To read more and find more information about this year WWD event, do visit this site World Water Day 2011. Most of the info that i shared here also i get from this site. Happy Reading and let's support this campaign. Hope i can do something about this event too for next year. Till then!

EARTH DAY 2010

It's Earth Day today. I can see lots of my blogger friends blog about Earth Day for today's post. I make a quick surf on the net to find a little info about this movements. Since it is celebrated nationwide so, why not i share a little bit info or history how this movements started.

Earth Day began on April 22, 1970 and was instigated by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson. It was first observed on April 22, 1970 in Wisconsin. An estimated 20 million people nationwide attended the inaugural event.

After the official celebration of the first official Earth Day, Senator Gaylord Nelson said:

"That was the remarkable thing about Earth Day. It organized itself."

Earth Day is now observed in 190 countries, and coordinated by the Earth Day Network, a nonprofit organization founded by the organizers of the first April 22 Earth Day in 1970.

Global Logo for Earth Day Network Project

In many cities, the Earth Day celebrations are extended to Earth Week, an entire week of activities related to the promotion of activities related to the preservation of Earth. The Earth Week usually start on April 16, and end on Earth Day, April 22nd. 

Here's some interesting information that maybe can help us to think more about our responsibility to our Mother EARTH!

This is how long it takes garbage to break down:

• plastics take 500 years

• aluminum cans take 500 years

• organic materials take 6 months

• cotton, rags, and paper take 6 months

So, think before throw our rubbish..... HAPPY EARTH DAY TO ALL!!!!

Public Talk on TIGER

I just want to do some promotion for this talk in my blog. Dr. Bala at Planet of the Monyets did mention about public talk on TIGER that will held tomorrow. The info can be found direct to his blog link above. I just put in some info about this talk as well.

Talk : The status of tigers in Malaysia : Problems, issues and conservation efforts
Date : 17th April, 2010 (Saturday)
Time : 11.00 a.m. till 1.00 p.m.
Venue : WWF Malaysia, 49 Jalan SS23/15, 47400 Petaling Jaya
Tel : 03-78033772

Everyone is welcome. Do come as this talk will give you a very good idea about the status of our tigers, the threats the face, the efforts being taken by the NGOs and the governments, the challenges, etc. Plus, you will also get to meet some of the bloggers who are participating in the blogfest. Feel free to bring your friends and family along.

So, for those who are in KL, please attend  and support this effort. Kalau orang Melayu cakap "Tak Kenal Maka Tak Cinta", so if you don't know who is Mr. Tiger and what is exactly happen to their populations now, you will not understand them. If you are not understand them then how to help or support the conservation effort that taken by NGOs and other agencies. This reminds me of what my ex-bos said to me, "Understanding the species (in my case it was small mammals) is the key to conservation". So, that's it, if we don't know about tiger then what can we do?

Just a thoughts from an ex-conservationist which love to be back on the track!

Environmental Awareness Workshop for Youth - Part One

I think i almost forget to share about the green programme that we organized for our youths two weeks ago. Seems to be it was yesterday we finished the training.  Nevermind, allow me to share some of my great moments with them and not so good moments.

It was my first time organized such a programme and it was a bit mess here and there. However, i am grateful because i have colleagues and friends to help me most of the time. Help me with the preparation and support me when i already feel down and thought that i will not make it. Hey guys! Thank you so much for your never ending support (walaupun aku dah macam maok give up dah time ya..huhu).

Get helping hands from youths that participate in our workshop set up the banner a week before the programme started [Thank you Chal, Noel & Etherly for your help]. 

The objectives of this workshop were:

1. To create environmental awareness among youths/students and reinforce responsible behavior that supports a cleaner living environment, sustainable resources, good public health in schools and all surrounding areas.
2. To empower the environmental capacity of youths through activating and acquainting them with their natural environment with various methods to sustain it.
3. To create environmental leaders who can pass on their knowledge and behavior to others in their schools and local society.
4. To develop environmental skills of youths by imparting them with basic knowledge and experiences needed to support environmental conservation and sustainable resources.

Okay, that is the idea why we need this workshop. We need more young generations that sensitive to the environments around them.

Are they really get it? Are they successfully absorb all the information and ideas that have been given to them through this four days workshop? Hmmm..... me, myself wonder what is actually they get from this workshop? 

Sometimes it is easy to explain by words, in our writing or speaking but how about ACTION? Do you think they will practice it? It is difficult when people (especially adults) around you didn't do the things that they told you (youths/students) to do. Am i right? [me, myself still struggling on how to make a difference myself guys, never stop trying, ok].

How about, buying your meals/food (tapau) by bringing your own food container? Rather than using those polystyrene container? Or, bring your own shopping bag to a supermarket rather than using plastic bags? Or, the simple action is to switch off lights for an hour on 27th March 2010 from 8.30pm - 9.30pm? 

From my observation and what i heard from people around me, what was their response to me? They told me this.... "Who cares? Other people also doesn't care about it. Why should i care?".... So, youths/students, when adults saying things like this what do you feel? Do you think you shouldn't voice out your own opinion? Speak up for what you think the right thing to do. Then, YOUR VOICE SHOULD BE HEARD. 

Ok. Till tomorrow. I have lots more to share. Need to have a good sleep tonight for a better fight tomorrow. Night all.

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER

21 March
World Forest Day

Theme 2010: Save Our Planet

22 March
World Water Day

Theme 2010: Clean Water for a Healthy World

For More Info: World Water day 2010

22 April
Earth Day

Theme 2010: You Matter. It Works
For More Info: Earth Day Network

6 May
Astronomic Day

Theme 2010: .........

22 May 

International Day for Biological Diversity (World Biodiversity Day)

Theme 2010: Biodiversity, Development and Poverty Alleviation

For More Info: Convention on Biological Diversity

5 June
World Environment Day

Theme 2010: Many Species. One Planet. One Future

For More Info: UN World Environment Day 2010

8 June
World Sea Day
Theme 2010: .......

2 July
World Population Day 
Theme 2010: Responding  to the economic crisis: investing in women is a smart choice

For More Info: World Population Day

15-17 Sept
World Clearance Week
Theme 2010: ...........

16 Sept
International Ozone Day
 Theme 2010: Save O3ur Sky: Ozone Friendly Planet, Our Target

For More Info: International Ozone Day

4 Oct
World Habitat Day
Theme 2010: ......

For More Info: UN-HABITAT: World Habitat day 2009

21-27 Oct
Malaysia Environmental Week

Theme 2010: ......

11 Nov
National Recycle Day

Theme 2010: .........