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An Inconvenient Truth
I watched the Academy Award-winning movie ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ with Al Gore
on DVD the other day. Although I was bit skeptical at first about the much-hyped
tree-hugging flick, originally released in 2006, I was pleasantly surprised and
didn’t get bored for a minute – quite on the contrary.
The film is based on the slide show American ex-vice President Al Gore has been
giving around the globe since he lost his bid for the US presidency in 2000.
Although he had been an environmental advocate long before that traumatic
experience, it seems that quitting politics has only fuelled his determination
to make the whole world aware of global warming.
Instead of spoiling the plot for potential viewers, I can only do what Al asked
me to do: encourage others to watch his movie. You won’t get bored and might
even learn a bit more about the dangers of global warming.
Although I personally think there are more and other dangers threatening our
planet’s future and our very own survival - such as pollution in general,
overpopulation, nuclear warfare, etc. – global warming is certainly one of them
and people should be aware of its potentially destructive nature.
Even if it’s too late to stop the Earth from warming up – after all, we have
been burning fossil fuels for a long time as if there’s no tomorrow – viewers
will get a better understanding of the phenomenon and hopefully change their
lifestyles and attitudes. Even if it doesn’t stop global warming, at least it
will reduce pollution and the destruction of natural resources.
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Although little seems to be done to combat global warming and pollution in
Thailand, it’s not that nobody cares. In her last birthday speech, Queen Sirikit
herself urged the Thai population and government to take the utmost care of the
environment. She was especially worried about the worsening pollution in the
South, the illegal logging of pristine forests nationwide by unscrupulous and
greedy individuals and the sad condition of the once majestic Chao Praya River,
now on its way to becoming an open sewer due to uncontrolled dumping of waste
water and dangerous chemicals by numerous factories.
As if the environment only matters when the Queen says so, a day later several
government agencies and officials vowed to combat illegal logging, pollution and
encroachment of national parks and reserves. As if they shouldn’t have been
doing this all along - bunch of hypocritical sycophants.
Her husband, King Bumibon, wholeheartedly agreed and pointed the finger
accusingly at large-scale logging operations – both legal and illegal – as the
prime culprit for the recurring flash floods in the North of the country.
Although the highly venerated King and the Queen have often iterated their
concern over the environment, both government agencies in charge of enforcing
the law and potential perpetrators seem to quickly forget their promises, the
latter often even colluding with members of the former in order to get rich
quickly and ensure the destruction of the environment. Let’s just hope the
Queen’s wishes come true and that these mafia-style tycoons redeem themselves
(‘Fat chance! ‘ is what cynical readers now say or think).
Bangkok had its own initiative to reduce global warming a few months ago.
Governor Apirak called on everyone to switch off non-essential lights from 7 to
7.15 pm one weekday evening. This small-scale, almost insignificant campaign
supposedly decreased the amount of CO2 or carbon dioxide released into the
atmosphere by a staggering 143 tonnes.
I must admit that I'm a bit of a sceptic when it comes to believing news reports
about reducing global warming, especially when they mention these mind-blowing
figures. I always wonder where and how they get their numbers. Does turning off
the lights for a mere 15 minutes in a big city really cause such an important
reduction? I mean, 143 tonnes is not a small amount.
For a non-scientist like me, it's hard to compare something as esoteric as CO2
in the atmosphere to anything tangible, but if these carbon dioxide particles
were solid matter, they'd fill about seven 20-tonne trucks. Now that’s a huge
amount of black dust I you ask me. By the way, I’ve no clue whatsoever as to
what colour CO2 is supposed to be, but I have this idea that it’s black, ugly
and dangerous (I’m sure some science geek will email me to say it’s really
transparent or white). So if this insignificant urban gesture does that much
good, why don’t we turn off the lights a bit more often?
Similarly, I guess it would be an equally good idea to replace all the ancient
buses that still run all around the city. As you may know, I'm referring to the
probably more than 40-year old, smoke-belching monsters that are still
omnipresent in modern-day Bangkok. They are predominantly red (big buses) and
green (minibuses), although other colours exist. Keeping them from the streets
or replacing them with new buses would definitely have an enormously positive
effect on the air quality in Bangkok and at the same time combat global warming.
If there are hundreds of billions of baht available to build new Skytrain and
underground routes (an initiative I totally support), then surely there must be
some money left to buy new buses? Why wait any longer?
Also in Bangkok, a solar-powered petrol station opened its doors on August 1 in
the centre of Bangkok. Three hundred solar panels mounted on its roof provide
electricity for the fuel pumps. Although it’s a very good start, all the hype
and fanfare accompanying the opening seemed to have overlooked a few more
sobering facts. First, the solar panels can only generate 10 per cent of the
electricity the petrol station needs – the remainder being provided by the
regular electricity grid. Second, the company has no plans to open more
solar-operated stations, given the relatively high installation and operating
costs. Finally, I don’t think that many motorists care. Anyway, it’s a very good
initiative. Let’s hope the price of photovoltaic cells comes down soon and urge
the government to give some incentives to green companies.
To end with more upbeat news concerning our endangered Mother Earth, I have
noticed that many of the newer passenger vans operating in and around Bangkok
run on NGV (natural gas for vehicles), thereby joining the huge fleet of taxis
that ply the streets and expressways of the capital. Have business operators
become aware that saving energy and reducing CO2 emissions is vital for the
long-term survival of the planet? Maybe so, although the lower cost of NGV –
which sells at about a third of the price of diesel - could be the determining
factor for choosing to go green on the road. Don’t let it spoil the fun.
Should you wonder what I have done personally to keep the Earth cool, I can
announce that I am the proud owner of two sets of rechargeable batteries and
that I haven’t used the lift in my apartment building since January this year.
Although the initial price of rechargeable batteries is significantly higher
than disposables, they make an excellent and environmental-friendly investment
in the long run. Also, Thailand doesn’t seem to have a system in place to pick
up or recycle dangerous waste such as batteries, so they used ones probably just
end up in a landfill. As for running up and down six flights of stairs every
day, I just consider it free exercise.
That’s it for this month. If you have any tips or suggestions yourself, don’t
hesitate to send them to me. Just to remind you, if you haven’t done so already,
don’t forget to rent the ‘Inconvenient Truth’ movie and watch it. Ninety minutes
of guaranteed entertainment. If the video store isn’t too far from your house
(this probably means less than 5 km for most people and less than 200m for
Thais), you could walk or cycle. Burning fat apparently doesn’t contribute to
global warming.
The author of this article can be contacted at
philiproeland@hotmail.co.uk.
1/9/2007
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