Eco Driving

Are you an Eco-Driver? Here is some driving tips from TOYOTA.












When running in the city, start/acceleration is frequently repeated, which consumes much fuel. Good start/acceleration plays an important role in energy saving. In case of a car with an eco drive indicator, adjust the accelerator so that the indicator will light .

Roof Garden

The roof garden or sky garden was introduced on 7 century by Nebuchadnezzer, known as Babylonia Hanging Garden.

This is a very logic way to build greener cities with limited green areas for their citizens.

Sky gardens offer several benefits one of them is as city lung. 155meter square of sky garden will produce enough oxygen for 1 person for 24 hours. If the garden also comes with trees, it will produce enough oxygen for 10 peoples. Exciting!!

In several developed countries, roof garden is one of the alternatives to provide green area for peoples.

There are Skyrise Greening Project in Singapore which is part of Taman Negara/ County Park project, Flying Green Project in HongKong which included roof garden as a standard for high-rises building, Ecoroof Project in German, also in Manhattan, Vancouver, London etc.

So, when is your turn, Indonesia?

Gambling, Betting?

Gambling is a big ‘No-No’ in Indonesia. Categories of gambling: football bets, toto/ lotto, casino etc.

The reason: gambling will damage Indonesian morale further, and is forbid in Islamic teaching.
Is that so?
Malaysia is one of Islamic Country has Genting High Land, a paradise for gambler and an entertaining weekend passage for families with fantastic theme parks and up scale hotels, Singapore, rule stricken country, soon to be will have Casinos on Sentosa Island and Marina Bays and so many Cruises which also as on board Casino are eying potential customer from Indonesia. Monaco, Macau, Las Vegas are some examples of up scale gambling cities which their main economic structure are from casinos, so well managed, and the morale of their people are fine.
So what’s the fuss?
Even the authorities has banned all kinds of gambling in Indonesia, still the rich ones will spend their dimes on another countries and on cruises, so, who is losing here?

Since 2004/2005 after gambling was banned, Bantam, used to be one of the very prospective free-trading provinces in Indonesia, the economic has hit the bottom. From previous surveyed with local people, almost 80% of the economic has been doldrums. Hotels, apartments, real estates, restaurants were hit by the effect. Unemployment has increasing drastically. Local economic structures are spiraling downward.

Let’s be frank and a bit open minded here:
Casino can liven up infrastructure surrounding them; which employs lot of local people, from executive managerial jobs to cleaning services or office boys. Uncountable hawkers stall will grow on the streets around them, including ojek, bajaj, taxis and even hotels, restaurants, cafés, bars etc. Of cause there’ll be some negative impact such as growing prostitution, drugs dealer etc but as Chinese Wisdom Saying: To keep in harmony, just balancing Ying and Yang, So, with the right management, it all can be settle. Totally banned is absolutely useless and wasteful, as even gambling is banned, monies will fly to other countries.

And how can you banned a group of people watching one sports or event such as footballs, basket balls, boxing from putting bet? Betting has been part of cultures for centuries. Indonesian people so accustomed with ‘karapan sapi’ or ox racing, ‘sabung ayam’ or cocks fight, ‘buru celeng’ or pig hunting, also dog fight, birds whistle competitions, to erase it is similar not acknowledge own culture, right?

For my point of view (mind you, I’m not a gambler, not even football lover, never put any bets in Indonesia just bought a few lotto in Aussie) the authorities better using men powers, full forces, to catch drugs dealer , illegal logger, misused HPH by oil palm companies which’re more destructive then gamblers or bet-ers. Or even better, trying hard to clean up insider corrupted law enforcement.

By deforestation, the effect not only oneself on one family which gambling would cause but the whole world ecosystem and the lost are so much and irreversible.

Casino owner would also try to ‘clean up’ moneys by making large amount of donations or even better built ‘charities organizations. Mostly all of plantation owner felt they are doing ‘clean business’ only put aside some money just to avoid taxes or to be acknowledging by societies. Blah…who’s more dignity here?

Greener lives to save the world

Based on previous post about human and mother earth, now, what can we, humble human being whose voice is clearly ignored by politician, rich and famous can do?

We can start living a greener life. We can create greener environment. Can u imagine how good it will be if everybody is trying to live a greener lives?
So, how to live a greener life? Words are easier to be said, you know. Many will think: Ah….. if only me, won’t affect the world. Well... WRONG!!! Small steps leads to great result right?

First: We can reduce the using of fossil fuel by using energy efficiently.
Don't turn on air-con if you're not in the room, turn off your electrical equipments, don't just put them on stand-by mode. Use energy efficient lamps, don't build a house as big as palace if only a small family member who'll live in it (I know houses which are around 1000 meter square, three stories height and contain only 5-7 family members plus 5-6 maid. What a waste of land and energy),
Don't buy car as big as Hummer if you only use it as city car. Use car as needed and use public transport instead (although I can't apply it with Indonesia public transport condition, we don't only arrive our destination filthy, sticky with dust and sweat but also risk of being robbed or sexual harassment). Travel with neighbors if heading same destination ex. mall, church, temple, school office. Walks or cycles.
Second: Bring your own bags or basket to groceries store. Reduce using plastic bags. Plastic need ages (1000 years) to be unravel

Third: Bring your own chopsticks, to avoid using wooden/bamboo dispose able ones.

Fourth: Women, Use cloths pads for your monthly menstruation.
No, not our mum's type but now there are many comfortable and absorb able cloth pads with pretty prints also with wings.

Fifth: For new mums, use cloth diapers instead of disposable diapers which are made of papers and full of chemical. Same goes with disposable baby wipes, please use cloth wipes.
There are many brands and pretty prints of cloth diapers and wipes out there, mostly made and sell by WAHM.

Sixth: Plants trees as many as possible such as in the gardens, side walks, roof, etc. Trees act as world lungs as they breathe in CO2 and release O2 which will help to clear up the air.

Seven: Pile/ divide domestic rubbish into two group.
One dry garbage for papers, tins, glasses etc and wet garbage for scrape foods, etc.
Keep your environments clean. Rubbish will produce methane gas which contribute large portion of glass-house effect.

Eight: Don't order food excessively so it won't be soiled or throw away uneaten.
So many and increasing starving people in the world. How can you throw away your dinner if so many undernourishments children in the world crying with hunger and their parents only able to feed them with plain water to ease their stomach pain?

Nine: Stop Deforestation!
The world is not belonging only by human; so many other creatures live in it. Please consider the other. You will not happy if your neighbor car is parking in your garden, right? So stop the greed and egoistic thinking and respect other living creature. They have the same right as we, human, to live harmony in this world with different pattern.

Ten: Contractor and all real estate empire. Build vertically not horizontally.
Create a greener environment in your estate and provide park as “city lungs“ in your housing project.

Eleven: Reduce using tissue paper, because it’s un-recycle-able, use handkerchief instead.

Twelve: Preserve water by use water efficiently and reduce buying mineral/spring plastic water bottles. Each one little of water bottle needs 16 liter of water to cool down the plastic bottle in process.

Twelve are not enough but these will lead to big result if we apply them in our daily lives.

So, Please... SAVE THE EARTH!!!!

Human and Mother Earth

Now, almost everywhere we heard slogans (whispering, not screaming, considering only a small group of people pay attention to them) about: Safe our planet, safe our world, etc. The truth is, is this sentence ringing your inner bell?

Hello..... We can see our world is really sick and start showing sign such as catastrophe everywhere including: extreme weather either Heat waves or Cold waves, Floods, Landslide, Arctic ice melting, Island sinking, Tsunami, Floods etc, etc...

The culprit is us, human, who treat the world as unlimited source, who took it for granted. You see, we’re not the only creature in this world. There’re animals, plants, insects, etc and yet they must face the consequences and sufferer for what human had done.

They get the worst hit although they do nothings to cause these; they just run their life as generations before them. They are innocent but the must bear the consequence of us, human, arrogance. I pity them….

Look What we have done to their circle of life, we have damage the food chain by our industrial pollutant, by spilling tons of fuel on the sea, by illegal logging, by illegal hunting (I read an article from newspaper recently about a group of baby seal were massacre by unknown local youngster, really made me sick: how young people can did such unthinkable bad things?). We cause the famous "Global Warming" (Quote it because it's only empty words to most of us) and that leads to many...many disaster, we steal their forest by deforestations either for plantation, mining and housing.

Forest animal who had smaller and smaller habitat area will surely out of the forest to find foods for living. Elephants and other animals such as monkeys, tigers who actually scare of human, dare themselves to go to the village to steal crops and then must face being murdered or poisoned. Even tiger, lions that were once called "King of The Jungle" were king no more because being hunt for their skin, claws, bones, organs etc.
Animal become extinct. And once they're in endangered/extinction group, what we human do? We hunt them even more to sell to the collectors who dare to pay high price.
Gosh...What cruel creature we're!!
Yes, humans are not exception especially on the third counties ones. Starvation, calamities, weird epidemic, disease are everywhere. But for some, they are just number, just news on TV no means anything to them.

I wonder, do we really have humanity as a human after all? Do we have love in our heart? Or have it deteriorating along ago with the dying earth?

Only YOU, Yourselves, can answer that!

BioFuel An Energy Crisis Solution Or New Disaster?

In these past 2 years, the world food price become out of control. Some of important food such as canes, soy, corns and cooking oil become more and more out of hand.

Why? As far as we knew, the harvests were good so the stocks must be abundant. What’s really happening here?

With fossil fuel has broke its own record, increased up to US $130/ barrel and the “hotter” Global warming issues, there’s emergency needs for every countries to find cheaper and greener energy alternatives. Bio fuel is considered to be the “one” everyone is looking for, which is far cheaper and produce less CO2.

Not surprisingly if most developed countries such as USA, Europe, North America have invested more and more money on Bio fuel from US$38 milliard in 2005 up to US$100 Milliard on 2010.

Is Bio fuel the real solution? Nah here is the ugly parts

Bio fuel is made from plants, both food and edible crops. Bio fuel crops include corn, soybeans, rapeseed (canola oil) sugarcane, palm trees (palm oil) and cassava, as well as experimental "second generation" crops such as switch grass, jatropha/ Jarak, giant reed, hemp, and algae. USA using corns to produce maize-ethanol ( a.k.a vodka minus H2O) Brazil using sugar canes to produce ethanol and Europeans countries using seeds ( mainly rapeseeds) mixed with palm oil (a.k.a cooking oil), imported from Malaysia and Indonesia, to produce bio-diesel.

Increased demand for bio-fuels crops is causing fundamental changes to agricultural pattern where farmers starts to switch their crops to bio fuels’ crops rather than others to gain more benefits, and on the other hand, the diverting increasing amount of basic food crops (corns, soybeans, rapeseeds) from farm animal feeds (which produce dairy products, eggs, meats) to bio fuel cause the costs of animal feed being pushed up. Beside, bio fuels require massive amounts of nitrogen fertilizers to produce, and the price of fertilizer rose by more than 200% in 2007 alone. Nitrogen fertilizers are largely made from natural gas. Bio fuel are pushing up the cost of all foods that require fertilizers and farm made products , including rice, wheat, potatoes, tomatoes, lettuce, broccoli, eggs, meats and dairy products.

Competition between crops for bio fuel rather then for food has caused massive decrement on world food supply. FAO has declared global food prices had jumped up to 40% in 2007 and warned that 82 countries are facing food emergencies (a.k.a starvation) because cereal stocks are at an all-time low.

Bio fuels frenzies also cause environmental damage the two great world sponge of CO2. The increasing speed of deforestation of tropical forests in mostly in Asia countries (2.8 million hectare/year) for oil palm plantation has caused ecosystem damage. And the increasing acidity of oceans due to pollution has caused their losing ability to absorb CO2.

No wonder the new studies show that Bio fuel isn’t solution after all but another disaster which make global warming even worse by destroying world lungs.

Is bio fuel must be banned? Maybe not if the second experimental generations (mentioned above) actually work.

But, Scientist, why don’t make used of unlimited solar source instead? Is the invention of using solar energy has already hit the wall or has it become out of fashion? Please answer me….

Have you ate your breakfast today?

In this modern world where people live in fast lanes, mostly will skip breakfast (approximately 15 per cent of teenagers and one-third of adults don’t eat breakfast). The majority reasons are: no time, too tired to bother, need more the extra time dozing in bed and no readily available breakfast foods in the house.

Well, actually, Breakfast is considered an important meal because it breaks the overnight fasting period, replenishes your supply of glucose and provides other essential nutrients to keep your energy levels up throughout the day.

For additional info: Glucose is the body’s energy source. It is broken down and absorbed from the carbohydrates you eat. In the morning, after you have gone without food for as long as 12 hours, your glucose levels have dropped. Your body compensates by releasing the glucose that has been stored in your muscle tissue and liver, called glycogen.

Once all of the energy from the glycogen stores is used up, your body starts to break down fatty acids to produce the energy it needs. Without carbohydrate, fatty acids are only partially oxidized, which can cause reduced energy levels.

So eating breakfast can boost your energy levels as well as your metabolism for the day.

Extensive research in world wide has found that

• Many children who skip breakfast are significantly heavier than those who eat breakfast
• Skipping breakfast can diminish mental performance. Breakfast helps learning, as you are better able to pay attention and are more interested in learning.
• Eating high fiber breakfast cereals reduces fatigue.
• Children who eat an inadequate breakfast are more likely to make poor food choices for the rest of the day and in the long term.
• People who eat breakfast have more nutritious diets than people who skip breakfast. They also have better eating habits as they are less likely to be hungry for snacks during the day.

It’s essential for all of us to eat breakfast, As Chinese wisdom said “guidelines for 3 meals of the day are of nutritive breakfast, fulfilling lunch and just enough dinner” so no need fancy food for breakfast ,the most important is the nutrients value.

Some quick suggestions for easy to prepare breakfast yet nutritive are: whole-wheat or wholegrain breakfast cereals (such as wheat biscuits, muesli or bran cereals) , porridge (use quick oats or regular oat cook in microwaves or for more scrumptious one: throw some brown rice, some meats and other ingredient into slow cooker the night before and adjust the timer to be ready cooked in the morning), fresh fruits, whole meal or multi grain bread to toast with toppings, such as baked beans, eggs, cheese or spreads,Muffin and crumpets, yogurts, fresh fruit juices and of course low fat milk.

If you’re a type a person whose stomach will turn with the idea of eating breakfast, switch to morning tea or mid-morning snack time instead.

So, Ready to be breakfaster now?