Earth Hour and a burger

Tonight at 8.30pm more than one billion people around the world will be jumping into the band wagon to participate in the Earth Hour initiative by switching off non-essential lights. This efforts are most welcome to protect our only earth. After tonight, on top of living in darkness for an hour, can we do more? Maybe like eating one burger less per month. Wait a minute, what's the relation between our favorite burger and saving Mother Earth?

Well, below is an article prepared by my son for his school's English oral examination. Read on and he will tell us why eating one burger less will keep earth's temperature in control and protect Mother Earth.

GLOBAL WARMING AND US

Many of us love to eat burgers, whether it is beef burgers, chicken burgers, fish burger or cheese burgers. I am sure; most of us would have taken a burger recently.

Burgers are great stuff, at least for all the youngsters like us here. If we are supporters of burgers, has it come across to you how burgers affected the well being of our world today? Yes, I am talking about the issue of global warming.

Do you know that averagely, 20 thousands metric tons of carbon dioxide was released a year just to produce cheeseburgers in the United States.

For example, a simple cheese burger also contains carbon footprints because it needs transportation, cooking, keeping the meat cold and so on. Imagine how much carbon dioxide was released to produce other things that we consumed or used in our daily life? It will be very scary for sure.

The cows, goats, chickens also contributed in releasing methane - a type of greenhouse gas via its excretion. One unit of methane gas is equivalent to 23 units of carbon monoxide. Imagine how much these animals excreted per day!

The increase of temperature in our Mother Earth today was due to our overwhelming desire to fulfill our demanding modern lifestyle. Automobiles on the road, air-conditioners and cooling appliances in our homes and offices and gases released from industrial plants are some of the causes to global warming.

Scientists have established that the current episode of global warming of about 0.7 degrees Celsius in the last century has pushed Earth’s temperatures up to levels unprecedented in recent history.

According to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Mother Earth will warm up between 1.4 degrees Celsius and 5.8 degrees Celsius by the end of this century.

The Nobel Peace Prize-winning UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change states that at no time in the past 1,300 years has our planet been as warm as it is now, while records from the deep sea suggest that temperatures are now within a degree of their highest levels in 1 million years.

According to Mark Lynas, the author of Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet, - “six degrees may not sound like much, but such a rise in average temperature would be enough to destroy much of life and reshape our world almost beyond recognition.” Those who had watch the blockbuster “2012” would have a better picture of what he meant.

The world is not doomed yet. We can still do something to save our Mother Earth. The best way is the 3Rs which are Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. We can perform these 3Rs, especially reducing the consumption of goods and other items that causes global warming during its production and usage in our daily living.

We must change our lifestyle to suit the need of Mother Earth, not to hurt Mother Earth to fulfill our greed and lifestyle. I can do it, can you?

By : Ng E-Tjing, 13

So, can all of us eat one burger less every month for the rest of our lives? - Loka

Stranded at Suvarnabhumi Airport

The mayhem in Thailand had started again and luckily I was not in Bangkok around this time. But I will remember my last trip there. It was the first time in my life I have to sleep in an airport.

Well, I was on transit at the Suvarnabhumi International Airport on April 3, 2009, waiting for my 8.20pm Air Asia flight back to Kuala Lumpur. I arrived from Katmandu at about 6.25pm the same evening.

When I was leaving Katmandu earlier in the day, a Thai friend of my teases me on my attire. I was wearing a red T-shirt. Knowing well ahead the turbulance that is simmering in Bangkok that time, it will be rather " sensitive" for me to be in red attire when I reach Bangkok later. But then if I take a cab, maybe the driver will waive the fare since I was informed taxi drivers are the red shirts supporters.

Anyway my red T-shirt did not give caused me any anxiety or free taxi ride but it was the other red of the day that gives me the headache. My Air Asia flight was delayed for 4 hours and 5 minutes! The flight took off only at 12.25 am on April 4, 2009. That means I was stranded at the airport for 6 hours! Luckily I had my sleeping bag ready in my backpack.

Until now I did not receive not any official apology from the Air Asia management and neither the RM200 e-voucher guarantee that Air Asia promises to be delivered via email within three days of the delayed flight to those who are make to wait more than two hours from the actual flight schedule. Due to the delayed, I only arrived at the KLIA LCCT at 3.30am in the morning. Adding salt to injury, I was made to pay extra 50% midnight surcharge for my LCCT taxi. ( After waiting for two weeks, Air Asia emailed me the e-voucher worth RM200 on April 17, 2009 but I must redeem it within three months. There was no response on my query regarding the taxi surcharge paid by me due to the delay.)

I had already emailed my complaint to them via their website one week ago. No response at all. Tried calling them, no one picks up the phone!

Air Asia- promises are easy to make but find difficulty in honouring it. - Loka

Are hypermarts really patriotic?

It seems the hypermarkets are having a competition to attract consumers to their outlets especially to shop for Chinese New Year goodies. Full page promotions and offers were splashed daily in the newspapers announcing special offers on selected items. These offers are a good choice for the consumers to compare prices to save every sen for each item.

Once a consumer steps into the hypermarts looking for the offered items, it will not be surprising to find a notice announcing the said price cut items are out of stock. This might give the consumer the feeling that they had been cheated. Many had already gone thru this before. You go into a hypermart thinking to grab the special offer item but can't get one because it is out of stock and you ends up filling your trolley with other not-so-competitive promotional items.

Well, that's the intention of the hypermart anyway. The purpose is to attract the consumers into their hypermart and once your are inside, what will stops you from dropping the other items into the trolley.

If consumers thinks that the hypermarts are such a patriotic lot with high corporate social responsibility that responses to the government's campaign for price reduction, think again. How many items are price reduced compared to the total items in the hypermarts? And of most of the price cut items, how many are really popular items which are in demand by consumers?

Even if the selected price cut items are of popular items, do the hypermarts really cuts their profits too? Not really. The hypermarts will still demand for the same margin from the suppliers. It is the suppliers that have to bear the extra cost of any price cut items. If any suppliers do not give in to the hypermarts demands, their goods will only be available on limited volume in the respective hypermarts. The hypermarts are becoming too powerful in dictating the distribution of the suppliers products. The hypermarts are just making a good PR move at the suppliers expenses and with increase sales volumes too when consumers go in droves to their hypermarts to buy the items on offer.

But then as consumers, as long as the prices are slashed, we don't care as long as we pay less. We will only be affected when the products we want are not on the shelves because the suppliers declined to submit to the hypermarts lop sided pricing policy. The hypermarts will stop ordering goods from the particular supplier to force it to accept the hypermarts terms. Unless the supplier is also a huge multi national company and its products are always in demand and available in every nooks and corners. Then the supplier will be able to dictate their own terms. One of these companies is Nestle, which items like the Milo brand chocolate drink and Maggi instant noodles are purchased and consumed by nearly everyone in country. But this type of supplier are not many in town. - Loka

Government teh tarik blunders?

My favourite Hokkien mee costs RM 4.50 per plate nowadays. It was RM3.80 before June 08 and was just RM3.50 a year ago. A difference of RM1.00. My regular mamak corner also increases my usual teh tarik and tosei.

My neighbourhood chicken rice was just RM3.3o per plate a year ago and now I am paying RM4.00 for it. Serving still the same. No extras.

Consumers has been complaining why the prices of food is still the hike up price since the petrol price already dropped drastically. Price of petrol per litre was increased from RM1.92 to RM2.70 by the government in June 08 with the reason being the impact of global price increase of crude oil per barrel. So the manufacturers, transporters, supplier, retaurants, hawkers and whatsoever merrily took the opportunity to increase their prices citing sky rocketing costs.

Now crude oil per barrel already dropped to below USD70, why the food and consumers goods is still the hike up price? The law of the market is that, whenever the costs goes up, the selling price will go up; whenever the costs goes down, the price will remained the same. No use reasoning with the hawkers. I already done that umpteen times since last week. They will always blamed the suppliers or just put on a wide smile. If we asked the suppliers, they will blamed it to the farmers, transporters and whatever they can think of. The finger pointing need to stop somewhere isn't it?

Well, I think the buck should stop with the government! Why did they increase the petrol price with such a huge different? Now when the oil prices dropped, the government just reduce the petrol price bit by bit, sen by sen. Do they expect the Hokkien mee and chicken rice seller to reduce their price by 5 sen or 10 sen each time? No way man! They will tell you the petrol price reduction is so small that it makes no difference to their costs!

So, did the government make the following blunders.

1. Increase the petrol price drastically by 40% margin in June 08, which ultimately provides a good reason for everyone in the market to increase prices for their goods.

2. Reduce the petrol price in stages and in small percentage each time at about 5% only, which does not make much difference to the costs and conveniently no changes to the food selling price.

With just a little price slashing campaign side-show from the hypermarkets, do we expect all businesses to follow suit? Maybe the politician are too busy campaigning themselves to really take note on the peoples well-being. - Loka

AIA remain strong

Last few days has been busy attending calls from my friends and clients enquiring on the impact of the financial situation faced by AIG to it's Malaysian subsidiary AIA Berhad.

It was business as usual in AIA Malaysia. I was in my branch office yesterday and it DID NOT experience the rush to surrender policies as what happened to "kiasu" Singaporeans. There were the usual routine with policy holders paying their due premiums and making changes of addresses, beneficiaries and etc on their policies.

The letter from AIA CEO to AIA policyholders on the issue can be read here.

The main point is that AIA Malaysia remain strong and is not impacted by the ongoing financial issues in the US.- Loka

Changing lifestyle, what's next?

Its about a month now since the last petrol and diesel monstrous price hike. The man in the streets lifestyles already changed but I am not so sure about those in the corridors of power or those power maker wannabes.

Last few weeks has been a economically and socially challenged indeed. I will leave politically challenged aside to those politicians with their stage shows or sandiwara.

I was shopping around for new household items and the usual statements from the shops sales people or shop towkays or '"seetaopor" (wife of the boss) is," You better buy or order now or the price of these items will increased next month." Some even showed me circulars from their suppliers on the impending price increase from 1 July onwards. So being the usual "kiasu" or should it be "kialiau", deposits were paid to put caveat on the "old price" for those desired items.

On the other hand, the petrol price increased had also socially challenged those who seek out donors for their fund raising projects. It is getting tougher nowadays to ask for donations for our community projects. My children's school PTA which was raising funds to pay the balance owed to the contractor that built the school hall and auditorium were hard pressed to sell tickets for the 600 seats musical show at the new auditorium. The show was presented by the acclaimed Dama Orchestra featuring lead singer Tan Soo Suan. Understanding the current financial climate, I just couldn't hard sell the tickets to my friends.

Another fund raising project which I was involved also faced the similar trend, the donors are just not taking out their wallets as easier as last time. The increasing cost of living already affected the generosity of Malaysians in supporting community and welfare projects. I can't deny this may also due to people already contributed to the disaster funds linked to the Szechuan earthquake in China and the Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar.

With the petroleum price per barrel still increasing, greater challenge is still awaiting all the men in the streets. At the end of the day, no one will bothers who sodomized who; or who will be the PM; whether a politician wife watched a girl blown away by C-4; who will be the president of which party; who is snooping at who; whether a pu'er tea is better than whisky; to wear or not to wear the songkok and et cetera et cetera.

The question lingering in many heads nowadays is, how can we manage the rising cost of living?

Changing Lifestyle

The petrol price hike of 78 cents per litre already affected the lifestyle of many.

Visited the petrol station twice this week and the petrol price hike shows clearly on the receipts. Have to forked out extra RM50 for petrol in one week and it will be that way until the end of the year. I hoped. The government promised the petrol price per litre will stays until end of the year. This means by 1st Jan 2009, we might get a new year "gift" if the petrol price keep on rising. Hope this time around they will keep their word.

Previously they say no price increase after the general election but what happens? They raised the petrol price from $1.92 to $2.70 per litre.

But it seems on the ground, the people are shouting out loud for the government to review the price hike. Not everyone has a fat pay cheque. One thing for sure, our usual lifestyle has to be changed. But hoped the government too will act wisely. Those non essential projects, mega of not, should be postponed or even scrapped. Some of them includes the various corridors projects and the National Service Training Program.

Those with babies fed with infant formulas will be experiencing the pinch in feeding their babies. Price per tin will be on the rise. It will be worse for those going for premium infant formulas.

Those with school going children already got the news- the bus fare has already been raised, with or without the authorities permission. The price of food at the school canteen, if it is not increased, the servings will be reduced. Maybe the children should pack their tea breaks or lunches from home.

Those who frequents the local coffeeshops and mamaks for their regular cuppa of coffee and teh tarik will need to reduce their visits. But at least it is still very much cheaper than starbucks or coffee bean.

Crowds during lunch breaks especially in major cities and towns be prepared to pay more for a serving of the local curry mee, asam laksa, prawn mee, char kueh tiaw etc, etc. Unless of course you opts for instant noodles. But then price of instant noodles had also increased.

If you don't have medical insurance, it is not the best of time to fall sick. If you really need to be admitted, the government hospitals will be a cheaper option even though you may be complaining about the service.

For those who drives to work or for leisure, there is a need to plan your destination well. Sometimes it it much cheaper to use tolled roads or highways to avoid burning more fuel in congested roads. Carpooling will be a good option now even though we need to do some adjustments to accommodate other fellow passengers. Public transport is another option but be prepared to wake up earlier and reach home later. Also prepared to be wet - either due to the heat or drenched by rain because the public transport connectivity is still much to be desired.

There was a demonstration in Kuala Lumpur on Friday by thousands of those objecting the petrol price hike. From reports it won't be the last and a big one expected on July 5.

Petrol Cyclone

The first news I received after arriving from Myanmar tonight was the petrol price hike from $1.92 to $2.70 per litre. This "scary" news was conveyed to me by the taxi driver that fetch me from the airport. He also told me there will be a boycott by the airport limousine taxi drivers on Friday.

This petrol "cyclone" will surely affect millions in this country just as Cyclone Nargis tortured many in Myanmar. More information on my trip to survey and deliver humanitarian aids to Myanmar later....