Have you ever wanted to install solar panels at your home, but couldn’t afford the capital cost? Once the Renewable Energy Act comes into force, this dream could become a reality. Passed by the Dewan Rakyat on 4 April 2011, the Act will allow individuals to sell electricity produced from renewable sources like solar photovoltaic […]
As If Earth Matters
Taking on the MRT
As if Earth Matters By Gan Pei Ling
Touted as the new “backbone” of public transport in Klang Valley, the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) has been the talk of the town since its first line of its overall scheme was revealed on 13 Feb 2011. An estimated 51km long, the Sungai Buloh-Kajang line will have 35 proposed stations. Total construction cost will only […]
Forests in Selangor under threat
As If Earth Matters by Gan Pei Ling
THERE was much cause for celebration when Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman announced on 16 Feb 2011 that the plan to build a 30 megawatt coal plant in the state’s pristine east coast had been scrapped. Instead, the government is now considering gas and other cleaner energy options like biomass. Activists, particularly those […]
Green issues: Top 10 in 2010
As If Earth Matters by Gan Pei Ling
WHAT were the environmental highlights and low points of 2010? Do we stand a chance in conserving Malaysia’s amazing biodiversity and rich natural resources? With the help of several “greenie” friends, I made a list of 10 major environmental happenings in Malaysia in 2010. These events give us an indication not only of how the […]
Plastic matters
As If Earth Matters by Gan Pei Ling
SELANGOR’S No Plastic Bag Day campaign recently came under attack in a report on online news portal The Malaysian Insider. The 9 Nov 2010 report claimed that “hypermarkets and retail shops” in Selangor have suffered up to 30% decline in their businesses on Saturdays since the Selangor government implemented the campaign in January 2009. In […]
Restricting indigenous rights
As If Earth Matters by Gan Pei Ling
IN the upcoming Galas by-election, Umno is expected to harp on “Ladang Rakyat”, a PAS state government development project that has reportedly benefited a private company over the rights of settlers. While Umno is championing the land rights of Malay Malaysian settlers, however, the Orang Asli remain one of the most impoverished communities under the […]
Threatening the turtles
As If Earth Matters by Gan Pei Ling
WHEN a friend said he wanted a photo of himself riding on a sea turtle’s back, it made me flinch. And yet, I doubt I would have winced had I not heard stories about how divers and snorkelers have disturbed and distressed turtles in the sea. If not for my marine-biologist friends, I probably would […]
Lessons from The Story of Stuff
As If Earth Matters by Gan Pei Ling
HAVE you ever wondered where all your stuff comes from, and where they end up after you throw them out? I do, and environmentalist Annie Leonard does, too. That was the reason she created The Story of Stuff. The video became an online hit soon after its December 2007 release. In 2009, The New York […]
Protecting our corals
As If Earth Matters by Gan Pei Ling
IN July 2010, several popular dive sites in Peninsular Malaysia were closed due to coral bleaching. Marine Park Department director-general Abd Jamal Mydin told reporters that in Pulau Payar in Kedah for example, an estimated 60% to 90% of corals were affected by the bleaching. Besides the peninsula, signs of coral bleaching have also been […]
The plastic menace
As If Earth Matters by Gan Pei Ling
PENANG was the first to launch the No Plastic Bag Day campaign in July 2009. Selangor launched its own campaign after that. Subsequently, the Miri and Sibu municipal councils in Sarawak, as well as Kota Kinabalu city hall and six other districts in Sabah announced similar campaigns.
How effective are these campaigns? Can they really help save the planet? And what can be done to make these campaigns more popular?
