Categories
Economics Environment Poetry

[393] Of the 393rd post

I need to sleep well,
but sleep is a waste of time,
so I will sleep late.

I want to sleep late,
but I will wake up late,
damned be dilemmas.

Damned be my eyes,
why cannot it be closed now?
I want to sleep well.

Still open I see,
and I see everything,
I need not see it.

Close I beg you please,
to see sunlight ere I sleep,
is too much to bare.

p/s – the recycling culture in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Funny how the recycling culture opposition asserts that recycling is a waste of money. Pittsburgh city council on the other hand has this to say:

Costa said failing to recycle costs the city money. It’s paid $11 a ton for glass, cans and plastics and $30 a ton for newspaper, Costa said. Statewide, the average cost to take municipal trash to a landfill is about $57 per ton, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection.

Regardless of that, people who think recycling is wasteful usually forget about the main drive behind recycling: it is about reducing waste, not about making money.

And efficiency includes not merely greenbacks but also includes the utility of having a cleaner environment (unless you like an environment comparable to the dumpyard, maybe a cleaner environment is an griffin good for you) to name one. or the utility of having more trees to name two.

pp/s – BusinessWeek is running an issue on global warming. It is long but nothing is new except the part where the article claims the business sector is ahead of the Bush administration in term of policy and technology concerning global warming.

Categories
Economics Environment History & heritage Politics & government

[392] Of 59 years later

Today is the 59th anniversary of the dropping of the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Approximately 80 000 people died on that day and many others in later due to deadly radioactivity. It was the finale of the greatest war in human history.

Let us hope that such weapon may never be used again. The first step to ensure that is to urge the US to adhere to ABM Treaty that it signed more than three decades ago. And the only way to do that is to remove Bush from the White House.

Go Ralph Nader!

Heh.

Anyway, I donated a few bucks to the local Green Party earlier. Hopes it is worth it.

p/s – there is a plan in California for a greater expansion of solar energy:

California officials are proposing that half of all new homes in the state be running on solar energy in 10 years, an effort spurred by $100 million in annual incentives paid for by electricity consumers.

Denmark is known for its wind energy, California will be known for its solar energy.

Categories
Economics

[391] Of $50 per barrel

I have always believed that $50 per barrel of crude oil is possible but for the price reach that level before the year ends is way too soon.

p/s – a must read entry. Extremely hilarious. I had my first smile of the day because of that blog.

Categories
Environment

[390] Of minor oil slick near Sabah

A few days ago, a pipeline in Sabah, a Malaysian on the northern part of the island of Borneo, ruptured, spilling crude oil into the sea. It was reported that an oil slick with the dimension of 2800 meters by 30 meters was observed. The pipeline was repaired quickly, preventing more spills and I am sure, cutting the owner of the pipeline losses, which happens to be Shell.

Though pipeline was repaired, slick was merely observed on the first day. A report in The Star, a local press has the exact wordings:

“One of our vessels is monitoring the oil slick,” the spokesman said, adding that there were no reports of casualties or immediate threat to people and facilities.

On the second day, Shell monitored again without doing anything. I was already agitated. Shell had this to say:

A Miri-based Shell spokesman said yesterday that the slick was “dispersing and disappearing” with heavy rains over the area while the emergency response team was also carrying out cleaning works.

“It is not a major slick, the amount leaked could have been about three barrels of oil,” he said, adding that the pipelines had been depressurised.

Three barrels. I do not really know how much is that but let say the thickness of the slick is one millimeter. We know the both the length and the width of the slick so, the volume should be 84 meter cube.

On the third day, or maybe it was the fourth:

“The situation is back to normal and the minor oil sheen has dispersed naturally,” according to a statement from Sabah Shell Petroleum Company.

What does that supposed to mean? Naturally dispersed? You have just responsible for tossing almost 100 meter cube of carcinogenic material into the sea and you call that being naturally dispersed?

It would only be natural if the spill were not there at all, you irresponsible dimwit! You should have cleaned your mess!

I wonder if passing the buck to Mother Nature is a culture in Shell Malaysia?

Categories
Liberty Politics & government

[389] Of Sudan and the United Nations

It is incredibly slow how the world community is reacting against the alleged genocide in Sudan. Yesterday, the United Nations Security Council merely passed a resolution threatening economic and diplomatic sanction against Sudan. That is probably a progress but nevertheless, it is a frustratingly slow development. The Sudanese government on the other hand has rejected the resolution swiftly.

Whether it is genocide or not, people are dying as the moments pass. I believe the United Nations should send a size of credible peacekeeping force to make sure Sudan would disarm the government-backed militias that are currently displacing many. Enough rhetoric; now it is time to act.

What I am more disappointed in is the Islamic community, especially the OIC which is currently led by Malaysia. An uproar was heard when the Muslims were the one on the other side of the gun. However, when one of them is holding the trigger, they stay quiet and act as if nothing big is happening.

This is absolutely true when I was attending the Friday prayer at the local mosque probably three weeks ago. After the prayer, somebody went up and announced a few minor things. But one of the not so minor issues was Sudan. He claimed that the media is manipulating the issue, depicting the Muslims as the aggressors. He went further but claming in actuality, it is the Muslims that are being oppressed.

Clearly in Sudan, it is the Muslims that are committing the atrocity, not the other way round. I who was sitting in the mosque hearing the announcement was utterly shocked. I stood immediately after that and left, disgusted by the hypocrisy shown by probably a prominent local Muslim figure.

The African Union (AU) had promised to send in some sort of force into Sudan but so far, nothing has happened yet. The AU said they have to delay the deployment due to logistic problem.

The Arab League offered help earlier but was refused by Sudan. Even if the Arab League was accepted by Sudan, I doubt it would do any good. The Arab League is useless because they cannot even solve their own problem and thus, there is no strong reason to see how the League would be of any help. In the end, it is only the United Nations that could help. The excessive red tape does not help however.

In the resolution, the UN gives Sudan 30 days to comply with the UN demands. I hope during those 30 days, Sudan will comply. I however do not feel Sudan will comply and if this if true, I hope those 30 days will end fast and thus, allowing tougher stances to be developed.