Ethiopia is back in the world spotlight because of El Nino triggered drought

Though the physical effects of El Nino, the warming of the tropical Pacific ocean has waned its effect on global climate continues. Many regions in South East Asia and India are facing drought while China is getting massive amounts of rain to put the Yangtze river basin on flood alert and the Three Gorges Dam to spout out giant plumes of water. But the most dangerous climate calamity that is brewing as a result of El Nino 2016 is drought in Ethiopia. Ethiopia is thirsting for water as it is hit by a dry spell it has not seen the likes of in 50 years.

Growing up through the 80's I read of Ethiopia as a sad, poor country where people were dying in the hundreds a day because of civil strife and drought that gave the news grotesque pictures of people literally reduced to skin and bones from lack of food and water. Even as millions of dollars in charity poured into the country to help the people the situation didn't improve much because the government and rebels were poaching the resources. It took UN military action to finally help the situation. The terrible situation in Ethiopia then was also the inspiration to mobilise global citizens together by rock stars and pop stars who used their popularity for charity through the Band Aid and USA for Africa programmes. At that time we were aghast and in disbelieve that such extreme starvation of an entire nation was happening in our modern world.

We can come together to reverse climate change.
The lyrics of of We Are The World can be used as is:
We are the world; we are the children; we are the ones to make a brighter day so lets start giving;
there's a choice we are making, we're saving our own lives, its true we make a better day just you and me.

As the decades rolled on Ethiopia overcame its calamity and progressed passed its civil strife. Hopefully we will not need to see those dreadful images coming out of Ethiopia again and the country will get the support it needs to fend off the drought before the situation get worse.

101 more life skills games for children: Ages 9 through 15

“What, really, are life skills? Aside from the practical skills required for getting on in life, children need to develop social and emotional skills in order to be- come well-adjusted adults. These skills are the focus of this book. In particular, the games in this book and in 101 Life Skills Games for Children (for children aged 6–12) are designed to foster competence and aware- ness in the following areas: self-awareness, self-regulation of emotions, active listening, verbal and nonverbal communication, collaboration with others in pairs and larger groups, and observing and understanding other people’s feelings. These are essential skills, the building blocks of a successful life. Participating in the games in this book in class or at a camp will help a child to develop at an early age.”
Excerpt from the preface of the book.

We used to learn a lot of our life skills simply growing up in our community. Our interactions at home, in school and in the playground thought us a lot usually subliminally or by example. Its recognised these days as informal learning. Nowadays though gadgets are taking up much of the social time kids would otherwise have in modern cities all over the world which is fuelling the worry of a generation that have shallow interaction skills with other people and impatience with real world situations.

If you are looking for ideas in helping your kid with even rudimentary skills like how to express their thoughts and feelings with intelligence and consideration or how to work with others or you or what relationships are what better way is that than to play games that teach these things. 101 more life skills games for children does the creative thinking for teachers and parents by outlining games that can be played in groups or pairs to help kids gain these skills. In an increasingly busy world this book can a blessing to have especially if you are wondering what to do with your kid during the weekends or free time.

The games are divided into categories–I Games, You Games, We Games. I am looking forward to use many of these games to play with my daughter and her cousins as they grow up. Keeps them busy, unsticks them from the digital glue and frees up my time too.

Turning your Point of View into Awesome Photos

Photography as an art form has always captured my interest since my father bought me the most simple film camera that shot 24 films in a roll. It was a kiddie camera but not a toy. It had no focus lens, the simplest ever point and shoot that nevertheless could take amazing photos albeit by luck. An amazing photo is just that–it stops you on your tracks, breath taking or pull on the heart strings so strongly it could open ones wallet to support a cause or decorate the living room.

Photography is modern art that has evolved since cameras were invented. How light is captured using a camera went through a golden age in the 1900’s as film technology and cameras became more sophisticated and less cumbersome to handle. The 20th century gave rise to the photographer greats whose philosophy shaped the art.

If you are wondering what it takes to capture a great photo learning to use the technical aspects of a camera like the aperture, exposure or ISO is not enough. 101 Quick and Easy Ideas Taken from the Master Photographers of the Twentieth Century
 shows how legendary photographers like Ansel Adams, Alfred Steiglitz, Julius Shulman and many more transformed their philosophy into amazing photos. You will get many tips about taking jaw dropping photos from this book and it will certainly help you in getting the best out of your camera and time spent with your camera. There are 37 chapters in the book, each dedicated to a legend in the photo world, altogether 220+ pages that will help you turn your thoughts about a person, place or moment into snapshot art.http://amzn.to/1SmIWjT

Its Earth Day today and I am making a pledge to my daughter

This is Nandhini my daughter. She is four and a half months old today, a baby blissfully oblivious to her surroundings with the most simple needs for now. To me she represents a generation who will be living full-on with the consequences of the lifestyle of my generation and the ones before mine who ushered the new world order after World War 2. The concern is that in a couple of decades when my daughter and the kids growing up now are in the prime of their youth they are going to be unfairly saddled with a tougher life.

The comes early to Malaysia because of burning tinder dry peat in forest caused by El Nino 2016

If you haven't caught up on the latest in global climate, last year was the hottest year ever in the planet since record keeping started but last year's record is going to be short lived. This year is already on the way to be hotter than last year. Multiply this trend by 20 years and the scenario that plays out in my mind–dangerous is the word that comes to mind. How much more of our planet will become desert? Will the tropics become so unbearably hot that our paradisiacal beaches will lose their charm? What about island nations like Maldives or Kiribati, even Hawaii, can we even dream of visiting these places anymore? What about Europe and the US, is spring going to become the new summer and summer going to become annual scorchers?

Then there is climate change economics which in most places means increase in the cost of living. Right now for us in the tropics keeping cool is a matter of comfort, the heat is a nuisance but when push comes to shove we can still do with a fan on full blast and a wet cloth draped on its grill. But if climate trends persist I think twenty years from now keeping cool in the tropics is going to be a health imperative. So energy costs is going to rise and if we are still powering ourselves mainly with fossil fuels then we will continue to feed a worsening loop in climate change. What about sea level rise? Twenty years from now I predict its biggest impact is going to be on the cost of staple foods like rice. Most of the world's biggest and most productive rice fields are on centuries old fertile river deltas–they are by the coast. The Mekong and Chao Praya deltas are already being affected by salt inundation caused by incremental sea level creep. That means these fields will have to move to less fertile places inland where it will cost more to produce the same amount of rice. Real estate is also going to be a challenge, finding a place to settle down that will be safe from the effects of sea level rise won't be easy.

If we are to buck the current trend of climate change there are only a couple of things we need to do. One is to simply stop using fossil fuels except in the most energy intensive industries. I think the only industry that can never do away entirely with fossil fuels is flying. Apart from that electricity production, ground transport, factories can all switch to renewable energy. Even if we need to do it incrementally the world can institute a complete ban on 100% gasoline and diesel engines for ground transport and switch to hybrid engines in five years. Then give a lag time of 10 years to completely give up internal combustion engines altogether for electric motors. In 15 years instead of 50 years we can reduce green house gas production by big percentages. The second thing we have to do is to leave nature alone and help it rejuvenate itself. We can help by planting trees, recycling our waste, switching to bio-plastics and regulating fisheries.

The pledge I am making to Nandhini is to make recycling and tree planting our passion. I will be looking forward to making tree planting our hobby and teaching her to enjoy nature the way I do and this is not only for Nandhini but her generation.

Ulu Bendul Rainforest, Malaysia in celebration of Earth Day

Equatorial rain forests, Earth's lungs. A mass of a multitude of giant trees that harbour so much life yet its so quite. Early in the 20th century our civilisations looked at the wild as places to tame with development. The human agenda then was to cull as much of the wild as possible, exploit as much of its seemingly inexhaustible wealth. Beat it down with cities, factories and agriculture; get rid of beasts that are dangerous to humans. We humans rule this planet and we were intent in being the masters of nature. 

Is nature humbling us now? We are products of nature. We can't go very far from it nor can we mess with its processes without dealing with troublesome consequences. We are realising that even if we don't live in forests anymore we need them more than ever. They are the silent manufacturers of the fresh air so vital to our survival. They provide us the atmospheric balance that make us take for granted that we are actually living in a comfortable blue-green bubble of life that is floating in the desolate and harsh environment of outer space. They are repositories of yet so much undiscovered variety that throws open the smorgasbord of potential inventions that can make our future exciting.

It is also the place we go for wonder and inspiration when we are tired of each other. Let's celebrate the wonder of Earth this Earth Day. Lets learn to leave nature alone. We need her more than she needs us.

Earth image courtesy of NASA: nasa.gov

Photos are from Ulu Bendul Permanent Reserve Forest, Kuala Pilah, Malaysia. A watershed that supplies water for hundreds of thousands of people downstream. Taken April 16, 2016. Original photos are 20MP @ 180 res. If you like a copy of the original seen in this post just send me an email (except of course the Earth pix).

Bamboo is the new timber–towards sustainable construction

What’s worse than our addiction to fossil fuels? Timber. Timber is an amazing product of nature. Making homes and furniture out of wood is a skill and art that is deeply embedded in human cultures. Carpenters and wood craftsmen usually have a profound even spiritual connection to their skill and they can come up with awe inspiring products that connects with nature. But ever since we went industrial with chopping trees we’ve been cutting them down like no tomorrow for decades. Even now with virgin forest cover all over the world at less than 50% we are still cutting them down to fulfil our insatiable appetite for gorgeous hardwood timber.

There is such at thing as ag-timber, timber plantations but they usually grow softwood trees mainly for pulp to make paper and fibreboards. Hardwoods which are the most prized timber are difficult to profit from in plantations. It usually takes more than a decade before the trees can be harvested and even then the diameter of the timber is small. Very few investors are eager to risk such long term returns, which is why a single tree from a virgin forest that is more than 1.5 meters in diameter can fetch close to a million bucks. It just takes minutes to fell the trees and with heavy equipment debarking the trees and trucking them to factories its money in the bank that is as difficult to resist as our appetite for pretty nature in our homes and offices.

We have reached a point where we have to stop all harvesting of virgin forest hardwoods from the temperate and tropical forests. For one thing we need these trees which are also the lungs of our planet to produce oxygen and sink carbon dioxide. The cheapest and most efficient way to reverse our present global climate change crisis is to simply leave nature alone. Allow nature to prosper and we can breathe easy. A global ban on virgin forest timber can help protect forests and help forests grow in range.

However this doesn’t mean we cannot use wood for practical and aesthetic construction. There is a well tested viable replacement for timber–its bamboo. Bamboo is the fastest growing plant in the world. Growing a blistering meter a day the bamboo industry that is estimated at $60 billion a year is starting to gain more traction. There are species of bamboo in South America and Asia that have tensile strength stronger than steel. Laminate floors, plywood, paneling, curtains, paper–bamboo is the way to move forward in the wood industry. The return of investment from bamboo plantations should look very attractive to investors.

Construction bamboo, which are species of bamboo strong enough to use for construction purposes–from scaffolding to support pillar and paneling can be found in Asia and South America. China is the biggest producer of construction bamboo but the South American construction bamboo is the strongest. The interest in growing bamboo commercially is increasing with the awareness of the need to protect remaining virgin forests and in anticipation of greater demand for bamboo construction products Africa is being eyed as a major bamboo producer.

If I had to build a building I would definitely use bamboo all the way. There is a company in Chiang Mai, Thailand that specialises in sustainable construction using only compacted earth and bamboo. Click here to check out Chiang Mai Life Construction. If you are closer to South America google brought up this website: Guadua Bamboo Construction and Architecture.

Isn't America still great?

Go down the street in Malaysia or anywhere else in South East Asia the mere mention of America is enough to illicit feelings of wonder and amazement. Whether its because of Hollywood or the Western Digital company in town hiring thousands of workers and providing them with thoughtful working conditions and sensible care, for most of us in South East Asia America conjures a model country to aspire to become or a dream migration destination. Yet when you read much of the political course coming out of the US these days, its as if the country is really bad shape.

From what I gather a lot of people have no jobs, the living is tough, people are suffering from health problems because they can't afford medical care and the country is being overrun by poor people migrating illegally and easily past its borders and there is also the crumbling infrastructure. How can such a country be great?

All this is happening while the US economy is recovering from the massive downturn in 2007-2008. So what's with the need for the 2007-2008 language being resurrected by the fight for the US Presidency? It seems disjointed that a candidate who can fear monger the best might become the next US President, hopefully this will not happen.

All said and done the US is looked up to by most of Asia and hopefully we won't end up having to deal with a US President who is a pseudo dictator whose only strength is sowing negativity and fear. So far as I can see the Obama Presidency has saved us a lot of turmoil because if the US military had gone in with boots on the ground in Egypt and Syria countries like Malaysia who are US allies would be massive targets for an even larger scale Islamic terror organisations than are the ones around.

Many miss the significance of Obama's effectiveness in combating terrorism. When Osama bin Laden was taken down it dealt a huge blow to Islamic terrorist organisations because for once there was a US President who understood the cat and mouse game that is the bread and butter of terrorism. The only way the US could have gained intelligence in finding is Osama was by partnering with Indian intelligence. Most US Presidents think that their most loyal ally in South Asia is Pakistan, not true. India is a much more sensible ally to the US compared to Pakistan. Obama was smart enough to turn the tables around in South Asia in allying with India in its battle against terrorism and decisive enough to get Osama in Pakistan's borders without even informing Pakistan's leaders. He knew Pakistan would have to accept US incursion because of their complicity in harbouring Osama while still demanding funds from the US to fight terrorism.

Obama understands the long haul required to take down terrorist networks. He knows that throwing fire power around like a madman in a show of force will beget more enemies than allies. So the idea that you can easily wipe out terrorists by carpet bombing them or throwing the might of the US military recklessly is foolish and smacks of intellectual stupidity. Terrorists don't live in specially marked camps, they live in homes like you and I. I hope when the US Presidential elections come around this year you all pick a President who will maintain your greatness as it is if not enhancing it. Please don't elect a know nothing buffoon or a vexing fox who will end up giving all of us problems.

SpaceX does it–landing its rocket safely onto a sea platform

Congratulations SpaceX and Elon Musk. It was simply a matter of time before a successful recovery of the Falcon 9 booster on a sea platform happened. Today it happened and it is something future generations will recognise as an important milestone in the dawning of the space age. January this year it almost happened, they almost recovered the rocket but it tipped over after touchdown and duly exploded to smithereens. So it was just a matter of tweaking the process. The implications of this success can potentially cut the cost of sending things to space by 30% according to the President of SpaceX.

Here is the math I lifted from The Verge website (click here to read their article on this breakthrough). It cost about $60 million to build the Falcon 9. The fuel cost is $200,000. A 30% savings would mean bringing the rocket back to the launch pad can be $20 million less, a considerable savings! This heralds a bright future for space entrepreneurship.

This is the second successful landing of the SpaceX rocket. The first one was in december, it was on a land platform. However landing on a grounded platform does not provide the cost savings as much as a sea landing does even if a sea landing is more tricky with its wobble. To find out why read The Verge article link above.

With this success SpaceX can notch up its credentials over public outer space enterprises. For decades space agencies were the domain of governments, meaning so long as the agencies could provide political mileage for government leaders money was not really an issue. So the drive to create technology to cut cost simply didn't matter. For a future in space we need the profit incentive, nothing drives innovation like profit. So congratulations SpaceX. Now I wonder when SpaceX is going to build its own space station, that would be the next breakthrough–a privately owned space platform. For young people who are interested in aerospace, go for it your future is bright.

All the best to SpaceX on the upcoming Falcon 9 launch

Falcon 9 CRS-8 poised for launch in 4 hours from Cape Canaveral. Photo courtesy NASA

Keeping my fingers crossed for the successful launch of Falcon 9 and the subsequent recovery of its booster rocket. The indomitable spirit of SpaceX to push forward quickly with the second launch after the Falcon 9 blow up in June last year is an inspiration. Space exploration is essential to our continued existence in the universe. From mining for resources to colonising planets and moons we are at the heels of the space age. Companies like SpaceX are the vanguard of this era with their idea of making travel into space more economical. The risk that they take with every launch is propelling us to an exciting extra planetary future. In a decade the world is going to need lots more aerospace specialists.

The Donald's tripe tugging The Trump into dire straits

The Trump brand could be in jeopardy in the Donald's high stakes gamble to become the US President

I google Donald Trump at least twice a day. I just can't help it even if I believe that it is impossible for him to become the President of the US. Finding what The Donald's campaign is up to has become regular leisure activity for me even as the back of mind barks that I am wasting my time even if its only for leisure. But the comedy talk shows are just doing a bang-up job taking satire up a notch that its all simply too hard to resist. At least I am learning a lot about the delegate selection process of the Republican party but what good it will do me–I have no clue but its very interesting nonetheless and very consternating to The Donald it seems.

Prior to this election cycle all I knew about Donald Trump was that he was a billionaire. In high school the 'trump card' was part of our vocabulary. I caught a few episodes of The Apprentice but didn't find it even remotely as interesting / intriguing as The Donald's stump deliveries. I did follow the ludicrous Obama 'birther' thing that The Donald kicked up and LOL at Obama's take down of Trump during one of the Whitehouse Correspondence Dinner. I thought the take down might have been so bruising to The Donald that it prompted him to throw his hat into the Presidential nomination race to at least have a stump and mic which he could use to whack Obama. Whatever his intention to run for the Presidency even Trump admits that he didn't think he would get this far.

A week ago I read an article that speculated that Trump was running for the Presidency as a value add for his brand. It made a lot of sense that he was making the run for the President of the US just to make a show of it for bragging rights. Such is the oneupmanship among billionaires. If the notion was ever proven true, Trump playing on the loyalties of his beloved followers could well be his achilles heel. Then again if it was true he should be winding up his campaign after Wisconsin instead of digging in like he is–spending money on establishment experts to win over delegates after the first ballot of the Republican convention. He must have been told by now that he won't make US President, the polls which enamours The Donald so, say he is doomed against either The Lady or The Socialist.

The Donald is supposedly an expert of when to pull out when dealt a losing hand. It seems this has been the key to his success–he knows when and how to wind up and still claim victory. No matter how tight the Republican race maybe the race for the President of the US is the goal, so what is keeping The Donald in? I think its The Trump.

The Donald has been sucked too deep into the whirlpool of politics to pull out now even if he wanted to. Politics is really about dirt. You can go to any political contest anywhere in the world and in any organisation and there filth on a contender will have value. Political scrutiny always ends up getting embroiled in character assassination and in Donald Trump's case, his character is his brand–Trump. It is possible that The Donald's fight now is not about "Make America Great Again," but for the survival of The Trump. The political process thus far has pointed a laser like scrutiny on The Trump dragging it deep into the mud. Decades old failures, shenanigans and stumbles have been neatly packed in a single cache that could be so disastrous to The Trump that The Donald is showing signs of desperation. Hiring establishment experts is going to tear his campaign apart into the amateur camp and the expert camp which will most likely give The Donald a headache and The Trump a migraine. Still he has to play against the odds for the sake of his name in a game where the winner takes all–Trump 2016, its a do or die battle.

NASA launches portal that lets us all monitor sea level rise. Thank You NASA.

sealevel.nasa.gov

This is exactly what we need to help us plan for our kids future. With this portal we can get up to date scientific data and analysis on global sea level rise and how we might apply it locally to our areas. Until now all we can use to glean the effect of climate change on our most important decisions are foreboding documentaries and scientist warning of imminent dangers, though their time scale is measured in decades if not centuries. All of this is great for raising alarm and awareness but not of much use when it comes to planning where the best location would be to buy housing or land that might be of value in a changing natural world.

The Gulf Stream, Northwestern Atlantic as seen from a satellite. Image-courtesy of NASA

Enter NASA's Web Portal on Rising Seas @ sealevel.nasa.gov . Launched in early April this portal is aimed at providing information on the most current data from satellites and other oceanographic instruments on sea levels. This portal is going to be very valuable to all of us because all the data is public and can be used liberally. Here is a quote from the site on part of its mission:

-- An interactive data analysis tool, launching in mid-2016, that will allow direct access to NASA datasets on sea level. Users will be able to manipulate these datasets to automatically generate charts, graphs and maps of sea surface height, temperature and other factors. The analysis tool will also allow users to make forecasts of future conditions, as well as “hindcasts” -- retroactive calculations of past trends and conditions.

This is the reasons why I praise the US of A among my friends in Malaysia who are usually cynical of the US government. Obviously it has cost billions of dollars to the US taxpayers to put up the infrastructure to provide us with this kind of information. This is the generousness of the US that I take into consideration when I draw my conclusions on US foreign excursions. So thank you very much NASA and USA.

Celebrating Earth Day, April 22

We live in an amazing world that inspires wonder.

Where variety is its splendour.

We are but new arrivals

part of its grandeur

living off of its lushness.

Yet how often is it that we stop

to admire the simple beauty

of verdant valleys

and luscious life

that take us away from the madness of a civilisation

that could care less

about the magnificent mother

whose benevolence is beyond compare?

Not often enough!

It is time we take stock of the vestiges of nature around us and ponder on the significance of its survival to ours.

Photos are from Gasing Hill Educational forest in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. A vestige of nature that was hard fought by the residents of the city to preserve. Taken March 27, 2016. Original photos are 20MP @ 180 res. If you like a copy of the original seen in this post just send me an email.

Climate, weather and clean power news as we head for Earth Day, April 22

NASA has confirmed that the Arctic sea ice this year has hit yet another record low cover. Every year the sea ice in the Arctic grows and dwindles following the seasons. At the height of winter NASA’s satellites measure the maximum reach of the ice cover and it seems it has been reducing steadily for the past 13 years. This year is nothing new just that the ice growth recession was somewhat more intense than previous years. 

Meanwhile the El Nino induced heat wave is creating a major drought in the world’s most important rice exporter. Farmers in in Thailand are suffering from the lack of water to the extent that the Thai government has asked that the much anticipated Thai New Year festival, Songkran be muted to water sprinkling instead of water splashing. Tourist usually flock Thailand for this fun festival where people splash each other with water but in a show of solidarity with the difficulty farmers are facing Songkran related festivities this year has been advised to me conservative with water. In Borneo Malaysia's Sabah state raging peat fires exasperated by dry weather has caused the closure of many schools in affected districts as the bullish heat continues to swelter the region.  

In the US renowned philosopher and scientists Noam Chomsky chimed in on the US presidential race when speaking about the possibility of a Trump presidency. His biggest fear is that the current effort by the Obama administration to heighten awareness on climate change and push for the advancement of renewable energy in US power production will be rolled back. He rates the dangers of the ignoring climate change or just flat out denying it as the most dangerous position to take for the future of any country let alone the planet. He believes that climate conditions are changing at rates hundreds or even a thousand times faster than expected. Its time we all think very seriously about what its going to be like for our children in two decades and decide how best to prepare them for changing nature of all things. 

On the progress front scientists from the Chinese University Hong Kong (CUHK) have made an important breakthrough in the production of hydrogen fuel. It has always been a holy grail for futuristic energy science to be able to harness power from hydrogen gas produced from splitting water molecules. Up to now the process has been too complicated and costly. Some scientist have gone the way of studying plant photosynthesis to figure how plants do it so effectively but duplicating that process in a lab is also complicated and costly. However in a muted breakthrough CUHK scientists in Hong Kong who have discovered a cost effective method of splitting water molecules by adding red phosphorous to water and exposing it to the sun–lo and behold hydrogen is produced and at room temperature at that. The amount of H2 gas produced is still too small for industrial scale use but further research is underway to optimise the process. Red phosphorus is abundantly available (and cheap) and it is a stable compound. I imagine within the next decade scientists are going to find an effective process of splitting water molecules to its constituent parts, hydrogen and oxygen to re-combust and form water and lots of energy that can be turned to electricity. It will be another victory in the push to sustain human civilisation on green energy.