Hope in a Changing Climate

HOPE in a Changing Climate – the groundbreaking BBC documentary that shows how ecological damage can be reversed – may provide one of the key solutions to global warming and climate change, but only if it is adopted as a matter of urgency.
The 22-minute film shows how farming and over-grazing led to soil erosion on [...]

Popularity of electric bikes increasing rapidly in China

BANGKOK ~ The number of electric-powered bikes in China has jumped from 10 million in 2005 to more than 20 million in 2007, according to a report issued today.
The Clean Air Initiative-Asia (CAI-Asia), said rapid growth in demand is due to several reasons, including China’s bicycle culture, recently introduced policies that allow e-bikers to use [...]

Coal-fired pollution to cost China US$390 billion

TAIPEI ~ Without significant action, by 2020, air pollution could cost China
US$390 billion per year as a result of disease, illness and premature death, states a report issued last week.
The report, entitled The True Cost of Coal, and commissioned by Greenpeace, WWF and the Energy Foundation, states that China’s coal-fired power stations are the country’s [...]

China oil ventures in Burma add to climate change woes

BANGKOK ~ The unregulated development of oil and gas fields in Burma (Myanmar) is creating a potential environmental disaster that will have a major impact on global warming and climate change, a study released today revealed.
“Blocking Freedom”, a damning new report by environmental and human rights group Arakan Oil Watch said Chinese companies will soon [...]

Cambodia wants US$4billion for dams

BANGKOK ~ Cambodia has embarked on studies for the construction of a series of dams that will cost in excess of US$4 billion and do untold damage to the country’s fragile environment.
Local reports suggest that the government wants to build more than 10 dams and irrigation systems in four northwestern provinces.

Cheaper solar energy units coming soon

CANBERRA ~ Genuinely affordable solar power units could soon grace rooftops from Mumbai to Shanghai thanks to a new partnership between Australian, American and Chinese researchers.
Scientists from the Australian National University (ANU), Tianjin University in China and a US company called Chromasun, are joining forces to create roof-mounted solar systems that are more cost-effective than [...]

China to implement new environmental law nationwide

HONG KONG ~ China’s top legislature has passed a raft of environmental laws that will come into force throughout the country on New Year’s Day, 2009.
The objective of the new legislation is to boost sustainability through energy savings and the reduction of harmful emissions.

Greenpeace calls for probe into US$67million logging scandal

SINGAPORE ~  Logging companies operating in Papua New Guinea allegedly paid US$67 million into a government minister’s private bank account in Singapore, says a statement from Greenpeace.
“The government of Papua New Guinea (PNG) has a very poor forest-management record, wrapped in accusations of corruption and misappropriation of funds,” said the statement.
“If PNG is seeking carbon [...]

Myanmar opens hydro-electric station to supply China

RANGOON ~ The Shweli River hydroelectric power plant has begun feeding electricity into the national grid and should reach full capacity within six months, according to newspaper reports.
Located about 27 kilometres southwest of Mantet village in Namkham district, northern Shan State, the 600-megawatt (MW) plant is 90 percent finished, said the New Light of Myanmar. [...]

Asean inks pact with China’s Guangdong province

INDONESIA ¬ Energy and the environment are among seven sectors covered by a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed in Jakarta today by the Association of Southeast Nations (Asean) and the province of Guangdong, China.
The parties agreed to cooperate on agriculture, information and communications technology, trade and investment, tourism promotion, energy and environment, education, and [...]