spaghetti incident?

new development! we've our first spaghetti incident while moving on to the election day. every day the world is changing from bad to... worse.

atlantis

this is good. just like the Atlantis but this is real. as an engineer, I kept thinking how this could happened. it is beyond my understanding so its better for me to say nothing.

picture says a thousand words, they say.

Somalia

years ago my father used to show us pictures in newspaper showing hungry and abandoned children in Africa. I cannot recall whether the picture was taken in Somalia which today faced a serious humanitarian crisis - famine. and I believe most of us has seen Kevin Carter's picture of a starving toddler in Sudan. the picture won him a Pulitzer Prize. but like most of us, he finally realised that money is evil and the society is corrupted.

to see the picture, search on the net.

regards,
human

Japan, nuclear free nation

so the PM of Japan has finally spoken on the future of nuclear power plant. but does it translated into the government policy? I really want to see what this advanced nation has in store to replace one-third of her electricity energy source. energy efficiency society? natural energy resource?

according to Wikipedia, Japan is using 868 W/ person. that is less than Finland (almost 2000), Norway (almost 3000) and Iceland (slightly more than 3000) (of course cold countries). Japan's figure is lower than Qatar and Kuwait (more than 1700 and 1500 respectively) (ok, small, hot energy-hunger countries). and the figure lower than Singapore (947) but is slightly more than Brunei (801). other G7 countries electricity energy consumption stands as follows: France (851), German (822), Italy(603), UK(667), US (1460) , Canada (1910). Wow, Italy and UK are low at less than 700.

so Japan, show your colour.

uk nuclear power plants sites

ok now the UK has named their nuclear power plants site. Japan is still studying, I guess, since there is no news about their fuel strategy. as my country, still no news.

environment V

notice the white shade on the hill edge? it is sort of greenhouse for plants. the last time I was here, the place was still green. now it's white and green. yeah, sure. people need money to buy food. they can't eat the trees, aren't they?

environment III

this is a view from top of isolated mountain 1 km towards low land. two decades ago there were only a handful of buildings. but today I can see that they can't even stop the construction of buildings. perhaps they'll never do. I don't see the point of having barren or landscaped highland when my intention to go to such places is to see the nature in its 'natural' condition.

yes, I'm among those who support nuclear for electricity. but there must be places where we developed them and then places where we can have breath of fresh air. yet the people around this pristine areas longed for development (or in other words it is actually money). for thousands of years we have been plundering this earth for wealth. is it all that we need?

environment II

this is a village my family & I went last week end. I got to know that this is a traditional village. so I suggest the view here, except the tarmac, must has been here centuries ago. it's all natural, in colour and the life.

environment I

few days ago my family & I went for a famous tourist spot in our country. it is a highland with few small towns.

the picture above shows a lake by the old main road. there are few outlets there selling fresh vegetables and fruits. there was a food outlet but it was closed. the lake is actually feeding an electrical power station. the lake was a major attraction then. few years ago I read about the lake was clogged with dirt. the culprit, the report said, was the extensive forest clearing to make way for commercial use. today the river is barricaded with construction hoarding. there is 'No Entry' sign. the view is blocked. the road in front of the picture is actually the path used by lorries that transporting dirt. may be they are digging out the dirt out of the lake. there is picturesque view no more. even some of the outlets are closing down including the only one which selling food. my plan to sip a hot fresh tea beside the lake was hold back.

thank to the development.

Fukushima

I watched our local TV news last night. there was a news that the radiation level at Fukushima power plant's reactor no. 1 has been declined & they'll send workers inside to do some cool down job. well I guess they managed to overcome the situation there. I really hope that the situation will be put under control soon.

and then I read in the internet about the Japanese government is to look at their energy strategy because they're now too dependent on nuclear plants. this is an exciting event. I would like to learn how an advanced nation like Japan will act on this situation. revert to fossil fuel-fired power plant? I hope not. green energy technology? I really hope so. I really hope to see a real green technology power plant in action. from my reading, the biggest solar power plant produces 97 MW in Canada. while largest wind farm generates about 870 MW (US). but just compare to the largest power plant, Three Gorges, China, with the capacity of 18,460 MW. even in my country the biggest power plant, fossil fuels fired, is more than 2000 MW.

I really hope to learn from the Japanese on this issue.

GREENHOUSE GAS RELEASED: 0.117 kg

sky crappers

this is one of sky scrappers in the capital. the height is around 150 m and was built in 1985. I went there before while working with an engineering consultant firm. we were labelled as 'stupid' by the company's deputy GM for development (the same company which owns the building).

Commoners can enter the building but of course at limited areas. the company which own the building is actually is a custodian of commoners money. but several years ago there was a case where some of their senior officers took away some of the money. I don't know what happened exactly but it is a sad episode. a commoner who works in an institution which keep another commoner money has the heart to do such an evil doing.

so you cannot even rely on another commoner, I guess.

GREENHOUSE GAS RELEASED: 0.05 kg

leptospirosis, environment

last Saturday my kids and I went to search for a recreational area last visited by me 25 years ago. we are commoner, so we need to go where commoners go. no Bahamas or the like. so I asked several people the route to the place. to my shocked one man told me that the place was closed due to the contagious of leptospirosis. later I got the information that the place was reopened after the disease was cured.

so we got there (as in picture). however I noticed that the water was not as clear as 25 years ago. there were people having their good time in the water though I was reluctant to let my kids to go into the water. there were plastic containers and other rubbish being dumped all over the place. the coolness was still there but so was the danger.

so once again human being are able to destroy their own planet. due to their inability to keep the world clean, the disease comes and kills. and how on earth human being prefer dirty water compare to clear water to dive in? my kids, who born just 15 years after my first and last visit to the place can no more cool themselves in the cold water. they just only 15 years late to be born.

people, help us all to help us all, including our kids. you don't need a damaged nuclear power plant to spoil the earth. you need just your hand.

country life, 'The Third Wave', Alvin Toffler

this is my grand ma's barn. what you can see here is the wood logs and an old wood stove. she cooks certain dishes using this wood-fired kitchen. i loved to sit here to get the aroma of the food as well the smell of the burning wood. i wonder if this kitchen is less environmental-friendly compared to gas or electricity fired stove. i should do some research on this fact!

whenever there is a need to cook dishes on a larger scale, e.g. during festive, we will swarm this place. we need to get a hand in preparing the food. it used to be joyous, momentous and free from the outside world. but after my grand pa passed away few years ago, the event is not as joyous or momentous as before. there are less participation nowadays. in fact the conversation becomes more and more about work, car, house, technical, money and about people. the modern life has finally creep into this country life.

is country life style need to be defended? may be it is because i notice that more and more vacation planners promote this 'country life' getaway. i, myself, longed to live in this kind of life style. but according to Alvin Toffler in his book 'The Third Wave', the change is initiated by every one of us.

about a year ago i worked in a company overseeing massive development areas initiated by the government. one of the area is very close to a small town. one morning, i am having my breakfast alone in a traditional styled outlet when a local man, about 50 years old, came and shared the table with me. after learning where i'm working he expressed his eagerness to know about the development. but after that he expressed his concerned on what will happed to his sleepy town, traffic, to their villages and also the effect on the environment. immediately my mind struck back to the Alvin Toffler's book.

i believed i heard someone talking about 'the price of development' not long ago. but i couldn't remember the context of the conversation. may be i, myself, can fill in the context of such phrase. after all, i, is the one who initiate the change.