Volkswagen and Emission Politics

If I couldn't drive around in an electric car economically, I would at the very least opt for a car that is certified with high clean emission standard. But to find out that such a trusted brand as Volkswagen would knowingly cheat its customers to thinking that they were being environmentally responsible when they bought their cars is disappointing to say the least.

As far as I know Europe is leading the world in moving towards green and sustainable technologies and certainly Volkswagen is not a company that is short of ideas and innovative possibilities nor are they scrimped for resources. The other thing to ponder is also how authorities in Europe could have been fooled by the company, surely they must be aware of this cheat software. I mean if my job was to certify real Rolex from fake ones I would keep abreast with how cheaters fake a Rolex. It's hard to think that relevant authorities would omit checking a car for the cheat software. Then again maybe they too were conned by Volkswagen's trustworthy reputation.

John Oliver takes VW to the cleaners, be prepared its not for kids.

The silver lining of this story is that Volkswagen got caught with its pants down and will have to face expensive consequences. I think the CEO of Volkswagen coming out Jobs style with a show of sincere apology is not what customers are looking for–its lame. This will be a hard fix for VW's reputation and kudos to the media for highlighting this story and whacking a giant company where it hurts the most–undeniable facts. No pussy footing or politicking around what matters the most–a planet free from pollution.

Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Penida

It so happened that I was watching an Indonesian variety programme about amazing places to explore off the usual track in Indonesia. When it comes to thinking about Indonesia, Bali is almost always the next thought that comes to mind. I have been to Bali only once, that was in 1982. I loved the place as a kid. My parents were no adventurers or that much into nature, they just liked places with nice scenery where they could take photos comfortably. I on the other would relish at hiking into forests or jumping into oceans to check out the wild and natural. 1982 I was only 11 and simply went along with my parents idea of travel. Still I really enjoyed Bali's amazing exotic and friendly vibe.

I live in Malaysia it's the same region as Bali, we speak more or less the same language as them yet Malaysia with its industrial-developed nation ambitions gave only scant regard to preserving and highlighting much of its native culture. We are still the King in SEA when it comes to food variety but when it comes to nature, culture and that uniquely exotic South East Asia feel even we Malaysian's need to go Indonesia, Thailand or Indochina.

I sidetracked a bit. This post is actually a reminder for me to check out these two islands off Bali in my future visit that have amazing coastal scenery, diving and snorkelling spots. Bali itself doesn't have much to offer in diving and snorkelling but three islands Nusa Lembongan, Nusa Ceningan and Nusa Penida that are 20kms off Bali make up for that shortage.

Basic Directions:
Get there by ferry from a port in Sanur on Bali. Takes 45 mins. Most scuba trips from Bali go to these islands.
Agoda has more hotel deals on Nusa Lembongan compared to Ceningan and Penida. 

How To Read Bar Codes–Useful Info

Especially if you want to find out if Donald Trumps merchandise is made in China or Mexico.

Many products no longer show where they were made, only give where the distributor is located.
It is important to read the bar code to track its origin.

How to read Bar Codes
This may be useful to know when grocery shopping, if it's a concern to you.

If the first 3 digits of the barcode are 690 to 695, the product is Made in China.
471 is Made in Taiwan. 740-745 made in Central America.

This is our right to know, but the government and related departments never educate the
public.

Nowadays, Chinese businessmen know that many consumers do not prefer products "MADE IN CHINA ", so they don't show from which country it is made.

However, you may now refer to the barcode - remember if the first 3 digits are:

690-692 ... then it is MADE IN CHINA
00 - 09 ... USA & CANADA
30 - 37 FRANCE
40 - 44 GERMANY
471 ... TAIWAN
49 ... JAPAN
50 ... UK

Travel Ideas

I am a fan of the internet, from communications, recipes, creative ideas, education to travel it has certainly revolutionised the way I go about life. However when it comes to travel and adventure I sometimes think too much information spoils the experience. I don’t mean the convenience of booking travel tickets or accommodation, its just that there is less to explore and enjoy fresh without having the opinions of some random traveller in mind colouring the experience.Then again its really tempting to get info before hand from the web on what its like to visit a place, bazaar or restaurant. The problem is once a review is read the unexpected or surprise factor is lost.

Its hard to ignore what the internet has to offer before I even decide on a destination because I would rather not lose out on value for money. Reading first hand traveller reviews of a hotel is impossible to avoid. The benefits of this is obvious but on the other hand booking a hotel that looks good on paper but junk on hand is kind of a fun experience in retrospect. The unexpected is the stuff of adventures, the stuff of fun stories and interesting conversation fodder.

So I am behooved to look for places to travel off the beaten track. I am going to use my blog here to also keep travel ideas that I encounter every so often through books, news and documentaries. For a start I got this book from amazon.com–The Road Less Travelled. 1000 Amazing Places Off The Tourist Trail by Eyewitness Travel. What caught my interest is ‘thousand places’. That should keep me spoilt for choice I reckoned. The book doesn’t disappoint. What I liked straight off is the way the content is organised which is based on travel themes–Ancient and Historical Sights, Great Journeys, Festivals and Parties, Architectural Marvels, Natural Wonders, Sports and Activities, Cities, Beaches & Art and Culture.

I am in South East Asia and I have never imagined going to Laos. This book says the Pak Ou Caves are worth a visit and it gives some basic information and the best way to get there and best time to go. I am sure I can get more info from the internet, but I would rather not wiki or google it until I’ve gone there. If you are interested in party holidays in Asia while there is the famous Koh Phagan full moon parties in Thailand, there is also the secret full moon parties in Goa, India.

 Crusing Lake Nasser vs Cruising the Nile

 Everywhere else in India except the Taj Mahal and Mumbai

 Never Run Out of Beach and Island Escapades! 

The Solution to Malaysia’s Haze Problem is Simple

Forest fires used to be very rare in South East Asia. In the 70’s and 80’s, during my schooling years there was no such thing as the annual haze. I remember in the late 80’s and 90’s you could see the sun occasionally covered by an ever so slight haze. It is nothing like what it is nowadays. For the most part of the 90’s I lived in as far as one can be from constraining pollution–the Hawaiian island of Kauai. When I came back to Malaysia in 2002 I got reacquainted with the haze as a season.

August through October, the driest months in Malaysia are also its haziest. We have learned not to bother complaining about it, to just live with it and walk around with a surgeons mask on especially acrid days. Every so many years, as in El Nino years, the haze gets so hazardous that the government has to shut down schools and advise people not to go out as politicians come out to speak about curing the problem once and for all–until the next year.

There is a city in there

This year El Nino is up and at it again. The haze has caused a nationwide shutdown of schools though for only one day but we are hoping that the worst is over. I live in the Klang Valley and yesterday after living through a two week blanket of haze and dry weather it rained for a whole day. What a relief. The not so great news is that the rains were the result of days of cloud seeding not the inter monsoon rains that anyway should be disrupted by El Nino. While the Met department is predicting that the the haze will abate, the dryness that El Nino is going to cause this year may be just beginning.

Kids nevertheless know how to have fun when schools out

The annual haze in South East Asia is attributed directly to agriculture. Slash and burn farming is still the cheapest way to clear land for new crop. The main haze contributing crop that is cleared are old growth oil palm–which are big trees. Once the trees are felled and the trunk hauled off for fibre boarding the left over leaves, trunk and root are set ablaze. The main culprits of these fires are small holder farms but because of the lack of enforcement many also believe that the big conglomerate farms are in on the action. On especially dry years like this year, these ‘agri’ fires spark off the forest peat which magnifies the problem.

Agri Slash and Burn

In nature tropical forest peat rarely catch fire, in fact forest fires in the equatorial tropics rarely occur because of peat. The peaty forest beds act as water sinks that prevent fires spreading unlike the forest fires in the temperate forests. Forest fires are also not a natural part of the equatorial ecosystem as it is in the pine forests. In the tropics, large farms need good drainage, the need for this drainage causes the peat in adjoining forest to dry out. When lit peat fires are very difficult and dangerous to put out as it is essentially fire below the surface that creeps at very high temperatures. Water bombing usually doesn’t do much. Incessant monsoon rains that usually get going towards the end of September is the cure. If El Nino interrupts these rains the peat will just have to burn out and the worst of the haze may be yet on the horizon.

Forest Peat on Fire

What strikes me about this haze problem is its scale. It seems so much foliage is burnt that it contributes annually to about 13% of CO2 increase and the resulting smoke blankets thousands of square kilometres engulfing nations for months.Even recent volcanic eruptions pale in comparison. Of course all this burning is renewable as the net CO2 increase will be reabsorbed by replanting what is burnt in a few years. So why not energy companies take advantage of this annual human endeavour and buy the bio mass on the cheap and run power plants instead of using coal. I am sure the volume of growth can last power plants until the next cycle and smoke from the burn can be captured and used by chemical industries and fertiliser plants. Is such an idea far fetched? Its probably easy to implement with the resources that power companies have available to them. Ultimately is about giving up the addiction to coal and crude–that’s as difficult as telling the farmers not to slash and burn. 

Free Photography Books by National Geographic–Eye Openers!

In my younger days I used to travel the world vicariously through National Geographic photos. Those photos taught me to appreciate our truly amazing and beautiful world. Nice photos can capture not just moments but beauty, inspiration, joy, freedom, pain, consternation in a way that cannot be adequately substituted by words.

I've always liked simple point and shoot cameras, even now I am biased to them. Perhaps some day I might get myself a digital SLR but for now I like the ones that I can stash away in my pocket without the hassle of caring too much for it, though I'm not that into camera phones just yet. My favourite point and shoot is the Canon IXUS because of it's awesome colour reproduction. Compared to Sony, Nikon and Olympus which all have their own plus points, Canon's Digic colour processor is outstanding.

Some of my forays with the IXUS

Malaysia's aborigine children ready to eat! The food was provided by a charity that I am part of.

Larger than Life, statue restoration project that I supported.

River Crossing, Takua Pa, Thailand

Temple ruins in a forest, Takuapa, Thailand

Vacation! Tioman Island 2006

Pillow soft glassy coral sand, Tioman Island

Timeless scene. Tanjavur Big Temple, India

Tanjavur Big Temple, India

I don't consider myself anywhere close to a professional photographer, but I have found these following giveaway books on photography by National Geographic very helpful. Here are the links to these books:

Guide to Photography–Photographic Basics is a gem of a book. If you need a simple book to quickly get a grasp of what it takes to take good photos this book on the basics goes a long way. I would say for most of us wannabes who are not really interested in investing time and money in professional photography but want some simple tips just to take decent photos, this is the book to read. You will be done in 10 minutes and realise what the art of taking photos is all about. 

Ultimate Field Guide to Photography is about understanding digital photography. It goes through all the basics of a digital camera, its parts and functions and how exposure, depth of field and the philosophy of backgrounds play their effects on photography. The book is more in-depth and gives a sense of what a professional photographer should know such as light metering, flash effects and so forth. 

The Canon IXUS is also the Powershot ELPH

The Future Now with Elon Musk

As the world continues to ignore the ramifications polluting it (the haze problem in SEAsia caused by unnecessary open farm burning is one of the worst ever this year) that is already going to last for generations to come, we can at least be thankful that there are billionaires out there who have enough of a heart to work for and take big risks for our planetary future. This interview by Stephen Colbert highlights Elon's work with a touch of humour–wondering if Elon should be in the league of a superhero or super villain–while masterfully recapping his achievements. It is an irony that in our planet of 7 billion people that the lifestyle of our future hangs in balance of the achievements of a few resourceful and far sighted individuals. Elon Musk is certainly one of these few people and unlike Barack Obama, can stay in his office as long as his business stays afloat–hopefully it does, his business gambles in both Tesla and the Space X are huge.

On the 6th of December the UN and French government are going to try to secure a legally binding agreement to curb carbon dioxide emissions for the world to ratify. It will be a miracle if the world's governments, especially the big nations like the US, China, India and Russia actually decide to roll up their sleeves and commit to transforming their national economy to centre around renewable energy. If they do, within a decade we can be looking at a much more positive future. The tech is already there–people like Elon and the EU show us that it can be done quickly.

6-Year-Olds' Wit

A 1^st grade school teacher had twenty-six students in her class. She presented each child in her classroom the 1st half of a well-known proverb and asked them to come up with the remainder of the proverb. It's hard to believe these were actually done by first graders. Their insight may surprise you. While reading, keep in mind that these are first-graders, 6-year-olds, because the last one is a classic! 

Learning The Fun Way–The Future of Education

When it comes to the future of learning methods, to be progressive, I believe we must understand two paradigms shifts–one has to do with need and the other is time. Need in other words can be encapsulated in the question–why do I need to know this? The traditional schools that we still send our children to is based on a classroom where a group of students are exposed to new knowledge systematically by trained teachers. If not for schools students would otherwise not get the same knowledge at home or from any other source–this is the premise of the factory like schools that are still the norm. Students move from grade to grade slowly enriching their depth of knowledge and complexity of thinking. It would take an average student anywhere between 15 to 20 years of academia to be recognised by his or her community as an educated person. The new paradigm in education that is making factory schools obsolete is the ease in the availability of knowledge and education over the internet. In most developed and developing countries with good internet penetration children who are trained from young to access the knowledge they need over the net may never need to go to school for academic knowledge. Children who are able to harness the internet to grow their knowledge by themselves, perhaps with some supervision from a mentor, will probably be able to accomplish what students in schools did in about 2 decades in half the time. This is the paradigm shift in time that we find ourselves in where children tend to know more than we did at their age.

The traditional school system is fast becoming archaic and boring for students who realise that they can access whatever knowledge they want or need whenever they want over the net. Even the much admired ability of memorising facts that used to be the rage when I was studying in the 80's is not so cool anymore now that it all can be googled. Keeping up with this trend qualifying exams that used to favour memorised facts are now trending towards reasoning ability. This new paradigm of education is being called informal learning, where the old style of learning is called formal learning.

Informal learning is nothing new. It is simply learning without studying. It is about getting the knowledge that you are curious about from parents, peers, friends or media off-campus. It is the most effective way of gaining knowledge because it is based on a need or desire. Informal learning is also cheaper than formal learning–this will eventually make us question why we need to spend so much money to educate ourselves or our children. Hopefully this will lead to new form of education qualification which is based on what you can actually do instead of expensive theory driven qualifications that has watered down the efficacy of university degrees.

If you are interested in informal learning and how to harness its benefits for yourself, your kids or your employees this book–informal learning - Rediscovering the Natural Pathways That Inspire Innovation and Performance by Jay Cross is an eye opener.  If you are considering homeschooling this book is a must have.

Chapters: Out of Time, A Natural Way of Learning, Show Me The Money, Emergence, Connecting, Meta Learning, Learners, Envisioning, Conversation, Communites, Unblended, The Web, Grokking, 'Unconferences' and Just Do It.

Global Warming and Sea Level Rise–Here and Now–Best videos I have found on Youtube

If you look up Global Warming or Climate Change on Youtube you will find an array of videos. Here are some of the best that I have found.

PBS–NOVA The Signs and Science of Global Warming

Quick Facts

2:24 Over the past 100 years we have seen 1 deg Fahrenheit rise. Alaska has seen between 4 to 7 deg Fahrenheit rise over the past 50 years.
4:00 Glaciers in the Alps are retreating twice as fast compared to the rate 150 years ago.
5:00 Greenhouse gasses–water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane have kept Earth's temperature stable for millions of years until recently.
6:10 60% of carbon emissions come from electricity generation and transportation.
6:50 In 1750 CO2 in atmosphere was 280 parts per million to 370 ppm today.
9:25 We could reach 9.3 billion people by 2050
11:20 Big cities run 3-5 degrees warmer than their surroundings, increasing mortality due to heat waves.
15:00 Rising temperatures are also increasing the range of diseases, vectors like mosquito, also stronger hay fever season.
21:00 El Nino of 1983–5 months of continuous rain and tidal flooding. In 3 months it rained as much as it did in 25 years.
24:00 The infrastructure prep required to prepare for climate change is neither simple nor small and they need to start now.
26:00 Centuries old plantation fields and ranches are starting to dry out and suffer diminishing yield as watershed ecosystems are disrupted.
30:00 1 degree Celsius warming will reduce rainfall by 10%. Imagine 10% less world food supply. In 100 years we need 60% more food to cover population growth with less arable land. Food security is going to be of major concern for nations.
34:00 Disruption in the Gulf Stream because of reduced salinity from Greenland, Arctic and Glacial melts could cause sudden and catastrophic climate or weather shifts.
40:00 Technology already available to make a difference in significantly reducing pollution and CO2 emissions. Each day the sun sends enough energy to power life for all of us for 27 years! Solar energy  creates 4 time more jobs per kilowatt hour of electricity generated compared to fossil fuel generated power.

The Effect of Global Warming on Earth up to 6 degrees Celsius. Presently we are up 0.8 deg Celsius

Anthropocene–This video provides very good data on Global Warming and Sea Level Rise.

National Geographic–Earth Under Water, solutions for saving major coastal cities. New York, London, San Francisco and others. The tech is already available to protect some cities not all. Miami, Bangladesh let alone small island nations may not see through 2200 unless we start to make major strides in affecting green house gas levels.

Lawyer-Jury Joke for Keeps

The Jury...

In a criminal justice system based on 12 individuals not smart enough to
get out of jury duty, here is a jury to be proud of:


A defendant was on trial for murder. There was strong evidence indicating
guilt, but there was no corpse.


In the defense's closing statement, the lawyer, knowing that his client
would probably be convicted, resorted to a trick.


"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I have a surprise for you all," the
lawyer said as he looked at his watch. "Within one minute, the person
presumed dead in this case will walk into this courtroom." He looked
toward the courtroom door. The jurors, somewhat stunned, all looked on
eagerly.


A minute passed. Nothing happened.


Finally the lawyer said, "Actually, I made up the previous statement. But
you all looked on with anticipation. I, therefore, put it to you that you
have a reasonable doubt in this case as to whether anyone was killed, and
I insist that you return a verdict of not guilty."


The jury retired to deliberate. A few minutes later, the jury returned
and pronounced a verdict of guilty.


"But how?" inquired the lawyer. "You must have had some doubt; I saw all
of you stare at the door."


The jury foreman replied:

"Yes, we did look,
But Your Client Didn't."

3 Feet Rise in Sea Level– Seriously So What?

And there's no stopping it. But that's to happen at the turn of the century there about. Still a long time away–85 years. If I didn't care about global warming, I wouldn't because 85 years is way past my lifetime but I care because I love this amazing planet we are on.

This quantum of sea level rise is not new many scientists have been warning of this for decades. However for most of us–so what? Life goes on as usual as it has been for decades. I am not living very far from the sea and the sea is certainly not at my doorstep–so what? Even if we want to do anything at all to make a difference, what can we do? Electric cars are still too expensive and too few and charging stations are almost non-existent; at the most we can recycle most everything we use. Really though, to make a difference in carbon emission how much difference can a population make if our electricity relies on coal or gas or diesel. So long as there are people who still worry about the price of crude being too low because they are not going to make much profit off of it and governments are committed to crude oil economics and consumption we have no choice but to prepare for the sea knocking at our doorstep if we live too close to it.

To be practical and pragmatic, lets face it our addiction to crude oil–from 6 litre V12 super cars to cheap coal fired energy is not going to abate in the near future. So lets roll up our sleeves and try to get a picture of what we will have to be contending with, with our seas.

No. 1 on my list, the tiny island nations that are already in trouble. Here is a collection of Youtubes to put things in perspective.

No. 2, NASA has made the numbers on the level of sea rise official–one to three feet within the turn of this century, with higher probability that it will be closer to three feet. You can read all about it on JPL's website here. They are confident about these numbers from observing the trend of sea level rise in the last 30 years which are based on very accurate satellite data. An interesting fact I learned from this article is that a third of sea level increase is attributed to thermal expansion of water–as the average sea temperature rises its volume increases correspondingly or like metal expanding when it is heated. The remaining two thirds is as is widely publicised, sea ice and glacial melt which is already very evident as polar bears and arctic whales can testify to if they could speak.

Basically the gist of the article is that portends for a 1 meter (about 3 feet) sea level rise minimum is optimistic at best. So lets assume that this is going to be the conservative reality in the year 2100, this would mean a 10 cm rise every decade from 2000. Thus far we have reached 15 cm and people in the Maldives, Tuvalu and Kiribati are very concerned. It is likely that by 2030–30cm sea level rise, these island paradises may be uninhabitable if all their ground water supply gets contaminated by sea water and by 2050–50cm sea level rise, these nations may be no more than sand shoals with their population living in other countries. 20 to 35 years from now these youth in Kiribati in the video above will most likely be telling the world a sad story living as some of the first climate refugees from a host country.

No. 3, Watch Obama speak on global warming–published 31 August 2015. The talk was no where as popular of the recent MTV VMAs on Youtube, perhaps it should be at least as popular, then again Global Warming is as yet a popular subject. Even Hollywood hasn't picked up on it, perhaps a futuristic movie about a new watery world with less land, less fresh water and less food would do it. Anyway at least Obama is pushing the facts up the hill. Watch the video if you want to understand the current state of affairs with regard to climate change in a nutshell.

So what does a seemingly innocuous 1 meter rise in sea level mean for the rest of us who are not living in low lying small island nations? Presently at least we don't experience any difference from how things had been so far? I've been scouring the internet for information on what a 1 meter rise actually translates to since the number is an average and the sea level is affected locally by tides. I will post my findings in the next post.
• Best Videos on Youtube on the Science of Climate Change, Best Info Analysis and Fixes