Repair Repair Repair... What about my jeans' butt?

I've recently been on a repairing/altering frenzy. My clothes that is. Clothes that I've grown out of... Erm, actually, I grew smaller. I shrank. So, most of my clothes either don't fit, or I can only wear those with belt loops and the waist scrunches in so bad I look like I'm wearing my hubbie's clothes. Well, maybe not that bad. 

Luckily I found a decent place nearby who does basic alterations. The lady owner seems a little blur sometimes, but otherwise nice. And she seems very kind and friendly to her staff of more ladies at the sewing machines. The ladies are actually locals. I like that. Providing jobs and empowering ladies locally. Which means they're usually better paid too. Me happy.

A while ago, I did another round of filtering my clothes to determine which I have left collecting dust because they just won't stay up. Got quite a few pairs of shorts. I'm happy. I've been thinking of getting new shorts. But now that I've got my old pairs, I'm really quite excited about bringing them to size! And I loved them too. Now I get to love them again! Yay! And I don't have to go out spending hours hunting for stuff that usually don't fit me, don't look good on me, or are made of poor quality materials, and if they're not, cost the earth to buy!

Except, my last pair of jeans. I've not worn them for months now. They are a pair of nice Levis just about less than 2 years ago. What the heck are jeans  made of these days?! They've got a very big patch of threads on the bum spreading from the middle seam outwards. I can't wear them out. A little too risque. It's been sitting there. I've been thinking endlessly, if not for that 'tear', it's otherwise still a very very nice pair of jeans.

:(

Can fix ar? Well, most sites I've been to just says that's the worst part to fix (you just can't prettily) or fix enough to make them wearable only while you're painting. There was a site recommended by many ecofriendly sites. I got really excited. Went to the site and checked them out. Wow, the visuals are so cool. They could really repair them. Like Jotun color matching thingie except this is for thread. Coolness.

But this is in the States. That's $7/inch and for international postage, $85. 

Hmph. 

Hari Organik

CETDEM's co-organising a Hari Organik with various other organisations. One of which is 'Slow Food' Klang Valley. 

I'm quite excited. I remember reading about Slow Food in the UK. It's nice that it's reached our shores. Increasing wealth and prosperity while at the same time decreasing time has really made an impact on our views and intake of food. I look forward to attending this weekend. If you're interested. Here're the details! :D

Jalan 19/22 Padang

1st August, 3rd October and 5th December 2009

8.30 - 2 pm

More info: 

of@cetdem.org.my

www.cetdem.org.my

Tel: +603 7875 7767

Save the turtles! :D ... the Turtle Ranger way

There's a trio of ladies who's trying to raise awareness for Turtles. They'll be travelling across Malaysia in a 'turtle' car (aka. the Volkswagon).

One of the first public contact will be this Sunday, 26 July  2009 at the Sunway Pyramid Main Entrance. 

Check them out! I won't be there unfortunately. I'll be looking out for seahorses and dugongs.

HSBC Online banking sucks!

Okay, this is not particularly related to Terra. But maybe it is. Reducing trips to bank etc. 

This evening, while doing my regular fund transfers on online HSBC, I encountered a very very serious annoying problem with their service. 

Very often with HSBC or any of the other banks for that matter, while you're conducting a transfer, sometimes their websites may fail or be under service or something along those lines and they'll put up some sort of an error message telling the transaction cannot be done and asking you to come back and try later. 

That's what happened this time. I gave all the particulars, clicked confirm, ok. Service error. Come back later. Oklah. Few minutes later, try again. Confirm. Ok. Went through. Moved on to the next transaction. Checked balance. 

*GASP*

The previous transaction went through twice! That transaction was worth over RM4K each! Ouch!

Called up to HSBC, they denied everything. Said it's the customer's (aka ME) fault. Told me to go talk with the beneficiary of the funds transferred to. 

Service. Go fly kite. Angry angry angry.

More on worms. Danger danger!

While doing some research on composting worms, I found a fact that's of importance to anyone who is currently doing or thinking of doing vermicomposting.

The worms that are used in vermicomposting are exotic (meaning they're not local species). And worms to begin with have voracious appetites. If these hardy imported species get onto the forest floor, they will chomp away at all the thick leaf litter that nourishes tree saplings, prevents erosion and aside from that, due to their digestive system, the worms change the soil chemistry making it more alkaline. Rainforest floor is acidic and bacteria do not tolerate acidic soil thus this protects plants from disease and insects. However, when worms are introduced, they produce calcium carbonate which acts like lime on acid soil. This changes the microbial fauna from fungal to bacterial. And with rapid chomping and pooping, it overloads the soil with nutrients which injures the plants and/or leaches into streams and lakes. And if you have a tree garden, watch out for them too! 

Earthworms don't belong in forests. Forests decomposers are fungi, microflora and and fauna.

Point is, make sure your worms stay in your composting bins and out of our precious rainforest. 

These information were mainly based on studies done on Woodland floors. I'm not sure yet if they affect our tropical forest floors similarly, but the logic is there. If anyone has a more scientific confirmation on  this issue, please do respond! Thanks.

Vermicompost in Hulu Kelang!

I've been hunting high and low for some composting worm. Well, affordably that is.

Today, coming back from Sungai Congkak, I stumbled upon a place which sells the 'baja' (fertilizer). I drove in. Nobody. 

I'm going to try again tomorow! Well, calling anyway. They had a phone number and email. I'm so excited. I hope he can sell me worms! I'm not out to do it for commercial reasons. I just need it for my kitchen waste!

Wish me luck!

No Tuna or Waste Food? Dilemma dilemma

Most people who knows me well would know that I don't eat tuna. Why, coz at 12, I was apalled that one of my favourite animals then, dolphins, get caught when tuna does. And usually dies before they get thrown back into the sea. So, from then on, I would consciously avoid eating tuna. 

These days I realize that tuna doesn't get it that great either. So, that's another reason. But then, so does any other living creature that gets eaten. I'm trying to reduce my animal food intake. At the same time trying to balance between ethics and nutrition. 

Okay, but when you have a piece of tuna in front of you (not by choice) and nobody's eating it. And you know it's going to end up in the bin, thus wasting food. What's a girl like me to do? Do I leave it? Do I eat it? 

I chose to not touch it. 

Until the end when we're about to leave and it was still sitting there miserably in a sea of clean plates. 

Chomped it down. :( Good or bad? Sigh... 

Singapore Environmental Awareness ???

We recently visited my pregnant sister in Singapore. It was great, visiting her and Hubbie's relatives, my parents able to visit their faraway daughter, visiting a conservation area in Johor, visiting a very good friend in Batu Pahat, and best yet, all those nappies, nappy covers, pre-loved clothes, baby reusables can all be used and loved again! :D Happy happy. Sort of justifies the distance travelled. 

Anyway, what I noticed this trip disappointed me. 

When I got there, while waiting for my sister to come home, we loitered around the lift lobby area on the ground floor. Eating something out of a plastic bag, I asked Cerys to go throw it in the bin when she was done. And when she wanted to do that, she toddled to the bin, looked inside, ran back and asked:

'Mummy, where's the recycling bin?' or, something to that effect in her own language. 

I beamed. Ahh, how proud I am of her. But then it sunk in. Hm, where IS the recycling bin?

Over the next couple of days, I kept a look out everywhere I looked. From the ground up to the units, no sight of recycling bins or anything suggesting the like. Walking to the MRT station about 300m away, nada. MRT station shopping area, nada. MRT station, nada. WHERE ARE THEY?

Dunno, but if a very land-scarce country like Singapore doesn't separate it's waste and deal with it responsibly, where does all that rubbish go?

What I did see was on TV. On buses. On books. This Green thingie. It seems to be everywhere. But ground level, it doesn't look that great. Where can people put their recyclables if there aren't anywhere for them to put them? Out of sight, out of mind.

Shopping, bags seem to be everywhere. Well, so far, that isn't that different from it is here in the Klang Valley. 

And at the end of my trip, just a mere 4 days, I've accumulated a thick stack of good quality card meant as parking tickets. Where to responsibly throw? Hm. Makes me quite happy we don't need to deal with all that paper here. We do, but seems a lot less.

Brought those back. Cerys had fun with them as toys. Now that she's done, into my recycling pile.

These are just a few of the things I have noticed while I was there. Perhaps I didn't go to the right places to see the right stuff. Perhaps someone will correct me and shed some light on this. 

Baking soda works for pans!

The 'Before' photo

And 'After' shot.


Skip the harsh cream cleansers, those awful powders, harsh steel scourers and do your pots and pans (not to mention your home and hands) a favor. 

Use BAKING SODA. 

It's something I've used for a long time now. But just recently I had an excellent specimen (two really, but I forgot to take photo) of just how easy it is to use baking soda to rid nasty stains from steel pots and pans. 

Check out the before and after picture of the pan.

Just make a thick paste of baking soda and water, apply it on the stains if stained really badly like this one. Leave overnight. Gently scrub (read : relax, no need for hard scrubbing) the next day. And voila. Ok, this particular pan took a few soaks and rubs. But the point is, YOU really don't need to do much. Just leave it there. Let the baking soda work. And the pan stays scratch free. After that, just try and maintain by using a little baking soda on your sponge sometimes when you need it when washing up. Much easier and keeps the pan shiny shiny. Not to mention less harmful to the environment and your health.

The second specimen (no photos) was on the inside of a slow cooker heater unit. It was aluminium I think and the stain had really gotten stuck for 14 years. Yes, you read that right,  14 years. Again, make a thick paste, apply, leave, and wipe. This one came off much easier than the one on the pan even. :)

And I also use it all over the home. Wash basins, bathtubs, inside of teapots, stained cups, compost bin (I put it in a little container with holes), you get the drift. Excellent stuff.

Good luck! 

Oh, for much cheaper options of baking soda, ditch going to organic shops or supermarkets, get your bags of 1kgs for under RM3/kg from baking supply shops. I get mine for just RM2.20 from Ampang's Perfect Formula.

A Compressed Natural Gas Fuel Q&A

GREEN LIVING COLUMN PENCINTA ALAM AUGUST 2009
A COMPRESSED NATURAL GAS (CNG) FUEL Q & A
By guest contributor Ee Lynn


Here are some questions asked of the Green Living coordinator via e-mail and at outreach events:

Q: WOULD A CNG CONVERSION/RETROFIT REDUCE THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF DRIVING MY CAR?

It definitely would! CNG or compressed natural gas is a domestically available, economical, clean-burning, alternative fuel source for vehicles. In addition, natural gas does not contaminate lakes, rivers, or groundwater as petroleum fuels do, because it quickly dissipates into the atmosphere if a leak or spill occurs.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency calculated the potential benefits of CNG versus petroleum based on the inherently cleaner-burning characteristics of natural gas:
• Reduces carbon monoxide emissions by 90%-97%
• Reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 25%
• Reduces nitrogen oxide emissions by 35%-60%
• Potentially reduces non-methane hydrocarbon emissions by 50%-75%
• Emits fewer toxic and carcinogenic pollutants
• Emits little or no particulate matter
• Eliminates evaporative emissions
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has called the natural gas Honda Civic GX the cleanest internal-combustion vehicle on Earth.

Q: I READ OF THE RECENT EXPLOSION OF A CNG-POWERED VEHICLE (A.K.A. NGV). IS NATURAL GAS SAFE TO USE AS FUEL?

The authorities are still trying to determine the cause of the explosion of the NGV reported in the newspapers. However, all professional bodies including the (U.S.) Union of Concerned Scientists and Environmental Protection Agency are of the opinion that natural gas is a much safer fuel than petroleum.

Natural gas is lighter than air. This means that it will not puddle (like petroleum) or sink to the ground like propane, which is heavier than air. Instead, natural gas will rise and dissipate in the atmosphere. Natural gas also has a higher ignition temperature. This means that it is much harder to ignite. Also, the US Dept of the Environment reports that the storage systems used for compressed natural gas are infinitely stronger that the petroleum tanks found on cars and trucks today.

Q: WHAT FACTORS SHOULD I TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION BEFORE MAKING THE DECISION TO RETROFIT/CONVERT MY CAR TO RUN ON CNG?

Although some environmentalists have expressed concern that natural gas is also a fossil fuel and reliance on it may be ‘prolonging the problem’ of finding an alternative to fossil fuels, and that increased use of natural gas will require infrastructure investments that have a high environmental impact, the Union of Concerned Scientists believes that experience with gas-based fuels and their transportation/transmission infrastructure will facilitate a transition to future alternative fuel systems, such as hydrogen fuel. At the moment, natural gas is the most economical, widely accessible and cleanest-burning fuel for vehicles available.

As the writer of this column has been using a vehicle retrofitted to run on CNG since October 2008, her advice to those contemplating a CNG vehicle retrofit/conversion is as follows:
- Utilise only the services of licensed NGV installers and repair/service workshops.
- Ensure that there are at least 2-3 NGV stations within 3km of your home and/or workplace or along the route you regularly use. Refuel during non-peak hours so you will have a shorter queuing/waiting period.
- Recognise the fact that there may be a slight reduction in your vehicle’s torque/power, especially when going uphill or carrying a heavier load than usual.
- Sign up with online NGV locator forums to find out about the availability of NGV stations outside of the Klang Valley and to receive news on the opening/closure of NGV stations.
- Find out about, and adhere to, the JPJ and Puspakom certification and endorsement procedures.

Let's make sure the trees live!

I just thought about it recently after hubbie suggested to me on what to do with my very full tubs of compost. Originally I had planned to bring them to an organic farm that's crazy miles away. But he suggested that we take care of our back yard. Literally.

Living in an apartment means I have no where to efficiently utilise my precious compost. Whether fortunately or unfortunately, right in our back yard almost, there's a nastily turfed up piece of land that's been very recently replanted with trees. Hubbie and I have been very cross to find out that that land is actually forest reserve land, but that's another story. After all the damage that's done to it, the land is parched and the trees don't seem to be doing too well.

Today, armed with a spade, hat, and a curious 2 year old, I finally took my tub of compost out and spread it around two very scraggly trees.

Which made me think. All the exercise I hear about tree planting is all great. In fact, I've also been involved in it myself. However, I don't know about what happens to the tree after that. Really, did it survive? Did it dry out? Is it a glorious tree now? I have no idea.

Now, back to the trees right here in my 'back yard'. They weren't planted by me. But I wanna try and help them flourish.

Kills six birds with one stone. i) eliminate kitchen waste ii) get rid of compost iii) help trees grow iv) contribute to increasing comfort in my home area v) teach kid about nature vi) get a bit of good ol' exercise. Hmm, one more and I'm the like the gallant tailor. Ha, I wish.

There are at least another 20 trees more to go. Two down. Second tub ready in a week.

Nice.

Economics of Climate Change in SEA

I recently attended a presentation on a report called the Economics of Climate Change in SEA. It's a very interesting look at the financial aspects of NOT doing anything to tackle climate change and the cost of and benefits of actually DOING something.

The report is a modelled after the Stearn Review but it focuses on SEA. It uses for it's analysis four countries - Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia. Having the largest amount of coastal lines (when comparing by continents), being already of relatively warm temperature, over 45% of reliance on sustenance agriculture, SEA will be severely affected by climate change. And if no urgent measures and actions is taken for South East Asia, it is believed that temperature may rise 4.8 degree centigrade and sea level will rise by 70cm by 2100 from 1990 levels. One thing they highlighted was that rice production could decrease by 50%. Scary thought for us rice loving Asians. In financial terms, loss of GDP could amount to over 6.7% which is twice more than the global average. This means it seems that we in SEA will get it worse than most in the rest of the world.

In the report, it details the amount of cost investments and the benefits it ill bring at the end of the projected period. I suggest that you read the report lest I misdocument or misinterpret the data.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/16893757/ADB-Economics-Climate-Change

or just go to www.adb.org

It's not wholly applicable to Malaysia since every country differs. And as one individual noted during the Q&A, Malaysia's largest source of GHG emission is not due to LULUCF (land use, land use change and forestry) but energy. The report claims that the largest contributor is LULUCF amounting to over 75% of total SEA GHG emissions. Although I personally feel differently about this particular issue that individual highlighted, I haven't yet got the facts to justify it.

New e-Eco-Magazine for Malaysia

I only found this just a while ago while surfing for something else. I might as well post it here and get feedback on it. Anyone read it yet? What do you think?

http://ecomalaysia.org/

Not abandoned

Just wanted to update this. I've not abandoned this blog. Just that recently things are a little hectic around the home. With visits to the doctor a little too regular for my liking.

Oh, and the door's handle's not looking too good. It's turning green. Photos later.

And I'll also be nourishing some scraggly trees nearby soon with my home made compost! Yay!