Doing Simple Things for the Planet

(This article is contributed by our guest writer, Irene Rafer, and was first published in The Shape of My Life.)

“Wastes segregation begins at home.”

Practicing proper waste segregation reduced our household waste to 20% – the rest being recycled.

Metro Manila disposes tons of garbage everyday and time will come that its landfills can no longer accommodate all its wastes.

Our household trash is ordinarily composed of old news papers and scrap papers; cartoons and card boards; plastic bottles and plastic scraps; Styrofoam and the inedible parts of fruits and vegetables that we consume. Instead that those trashes end up to the garbage collectors we managed to segregate and recycle. We piled the scrap papers and card boards in a big cartoon then we allocated a separate sack for our plastic bottles and plastic scraps. Our lifestyle here sometimes demands for the consumption of plastic bottled drinks. Nevertheless, we are trying to be responsible consumer by properly disposing our plastic trash. Read more

Five Things Filipino Should Know About Climate Change

(This article is contributed by our guest writer, Irene Rafer, and was first published in The Shape of My Life.)

I received this article as a forwarded e-mail message from a concerned co-earthling. I think I should post it here as one of my simple acts for this planet.

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“Don’t run away from your problem,” 10-year-old Xandrinne admonishes her playmates who hurriedly left their game to seek the intercession of a favorite relative. Eavesdropping, I marvel at the child’s wisdom and maturity. How I wish the same could be said of our political leaders.

Politicians scrambled for the allocation of additional congressional districts (visualize added fat pork barrels) with the news of a galloping population growth. With overpopulation, poverty, pollution, and the fish and agriculture crisis hounding this nation, people expect their leaders to forget politics and instead craft stringent policies to lessen the repercussions on the limited and threatened resources, the economy and human development. Read more

People

Founder and Editor – Eugene Tay

Eugene is the Director of Green Future Solutions and the Founder/Editor of AsiaIsGreen and Green Business Times. He has a master’s degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the Nanyang Technological University and a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Engineering from the National University of Singapore. He has worked as an adjunct lecturer teaching ecotourism at a local polytechnic and also as a project officer at the National Environment Agency, Resource Conservation Department, managing waste minimisation and recycling issues.

Eugene is a volunteer with the Environmental Challenge Organisation and a Youth Environment Envoy with the National Environment Agency. He was a commendation award winner of the Green Wave Environment Competition 2007. He also writes frequently to the local newspapers and his published letters and articles are listed below:

• ‘Clean’ power plant – “One step forward and two steps backward in our green efforts.” (Straits Times, 4 Oct 08)
• To save ourselves, we must get back to nature (Straits Times, 25 Dec 07)
• Clean power, green power – Electricity suppliers should disclose carbon footprints (Today, 22 Oct 07)
• After Live Earth, Give Up Hope (Today, 7 Jul 07)
• Six things we can do to protect the environment (Straits Times, 6 Jun 07)
• The green spirit (Today, 5 Jun 07)
• Global warming: Four possible scenarios (Straits Times, 15 May 07)
• The real culprit of global warming? Human activities (Straits Times, 5 May 07)
• Data on waste useful (Sunday Times, 6 Aug 06)
• Score a Green Goal for Singapore too (Straits Times, 8 Jul 06)
• Bouquet for SingTel’s efforts to be environmentally friendly (Straits Times, 22 Jun 06)
• It takes time to inculcate recycling culture. Do more to educate people to cut waste (Straits Times, 15 May 06)

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Guest Writer – Julian Wong

Julian Wong is the author of The Green Leap Forward, a blog that explores China’s green efforts, policies and technologies, and also the author of The Solar Coaster, a blog on solar energy. He is currently a Fulbright Scholar at Tsinghua University in Beijing researching renewable energy policy and entrepreneurship, and holds a M.A. in Environmental and Energy Policy from Duke Nicholas School of the Environment, and a J.D. from Duke Law School. Julian was a private equity mergers and acquisitions attorney in New York and Hong Kong and a member of the New York City Bar Association Energy Committee.

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Guest Writer – Irene V. Rafer

Irene V. Rafer is a private citizen of the Philippines. She is the author of “The Shape of My Life” – a personal blog about her family, background, childhood, education, her hearts desires and conscience, and about the people who taught her the meaning of life. She also write about environmental issues. She is a supporter of Greenpeace Southeast Asia.

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Guest Writer – Saad Khan

Saad Khan is the community editor of Social Bridges where they are having active discussions on corporate social responsibility, sustainability and greener options in Pakistan. He is a student of media sciences with an emphasis on sustainability and green living. He does not have any huge academic or practical experience in this field (just 22 right now) but have participated in many local environmental and social campaigns – a green activist – to be more precise.