Beautiful Tatai

Earth day 2008

I'm late with Earth day again. Oh well we are all late, may very well be too late. If you want a good scare on OMG WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE then check out this book:


I enjoyed its tale of a dystopian future because I like that sort of fiction but it is sobering to realise that may be our future.

Do the usual things: turn off your aircon/ lights/ computer when you leave the office/home, carpool, recycle and write hundred of emails to big businesses, the UN, national governments. Realise that unless something changes, we are fucked.

Imagine: the polar ice melts, millions of environmental refugees, crop failures, food shortages, right-wing governments with protectionist policies, armies protecting borders, wars over natural resources, rioting, panicking, death. Yeah how many of those are already in motion? Turn off the lights...

Land grabbing - the same old story

Source

See the lake? The Boeng Kak Lake? It's known as backpacker central. People hang out, enjoy the breeze and patronise the local drinking establishments and guesthouses. Besides the backpackers, there are hundreds of families living around the lake, who earn their livings through the provision of services to tourists. They own their land, well legally anyway.

A Korean company has won the government-sponsored contract to drain 90% of the lake. Although they do not have a contract to dispossess the residents, that's that the Phnom Penh police force is for. Plans to evict hundreds of families from their homes are going ahead in spite of much local opposition.

Oh well the company's lease on the area is only 99 years. Perhaps the residents might get their land back eventually. It's the cost of living in Cambodia these days. Land grabbing and corruption are widespread. The government breaks its promises to provide new housing and support. It doesn't even matter that this is an election year because the PM has stated that if his ruling party doesn't win, he'll start a civil war.

Bad governance

With the discovery of oil in Cambodia and the potential for rags or riches, one can only reflect on how nice it is that we have good governance at home who would never compromise the good of the country. Yeah right. Hat tip to Mark.

Political Fact Sheet “An Act of Economic Treason”

In 1975 Justin Keating's terms for oil exploration included a provision for the state to require a 50% stake in any commercial find. There was also between 8%-16% production bonuses and a standard corporation tax of 50%.

Keating was basing his policy on the Norwegian model. The Norwegians offered direct assistance to their Irish counterparts to set up a state oil company and offered them direct involvement in the commercial development of the North Sea Fields.

Between 1975-87 Minister Dick Spring introduced a sliding scale of state participation on marginal fields. This was to attract further investment however the interests of the Irish state were still maintained.

In 1987 Charles Haughey appointed Ray Burke as the Minister for Energy. Burke began negotiating with the oil companies, meeting directly with executives on occasion against the advice and in the absence of his department officials. He introduced radical new terms, which included.

• Abolishing state royalties.
• Abolishing any state participation in oil and gas exploration.
• Abolishing any state stake hold on commercial finds.

In a Dáil speech during the same month Dick Spring called this “An act of Economic Treason”

Both Ray Burke and Charles Haughey have since faced criminal charges by the Mahon “Payments to politicians” tribunal. The tribunal investigated a payment of €30,000, which Burke received from Mr Robert Rennicks a director of a company owned by Mr Tony O’Reilly.

Coincidentally Mr O’Reilly is a 45% stakeholder in Providence resources, a major oil and gas exploration company. Providence has several prospects in the porcupine basin just of Irelands west coast. The company claims to have identified 25 trillion cubic feet of gas and 4 billion barrels of oil in the Dunquin prospect in the porcupine basin. This is estimated to be worth about 50 billion in monetary terms.

O’Reilly also happens to be the chief executive of independent newspapers, consisting of The Irish Independent, The Daily Star, The Sunday independent, The Sunday World and The Evening Herald. The question is independent newspapers really independent when it comes to the Corrib gas issue?

In April 1992, Bertie Ahern further improved terms for the oil and gas companies by needlessly reducing the corporation tax from 50% to 25%(lowest rate in the worldwide). Recent investigations uncovered that he had no bank account during this period as Minister for finance i.e. no records of his personal finances for this period.

In June 1992, the government introduced new licensing terms, which permitted oil and gas producers to sell their products at market prices.

This was a step away from the previous arrangement with marathon oil, which had sold gas to Bord Gáis from the Kinsale Field at a bulk discount for many years. This means that Bord Gáis must now pay full market prices for any gas purchased on behalf of the Irish public.

Bertie Ahern gives Bord Gáis permission for a pipeline to be built from Galway to Bellanaboy . By giving this permission Bertie unfairly influenced the planning process for the refinery by exerting political pressure on planning officials prior to their decision.

In 2002 the government introduced legislation, which allowed a private company (Shell) to place Compulsory Acquisition Orders on the land of Erris farmers. This is the first time in the history of the state that this has occurred. The legislation allowed the government to purchase the land for Shell without the permission of the farmers.

Astonishingly the current Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural resources Noel Dempsey in 2005(when the Rossport 5 were in prison) and as recently as November 2006 continues to grant exploration licences under the same overly generous terms and conditions to oil and gas companies. (Source)

And our government have the audacity to send advisors to help Cambodia on how to avoid the 'resource curse'. Get your house in order Fianna Fáil.

KFC = animal cruelty or PETA = delusional?

PETA's got another idiotic and vaguely insulting campaign going.

An international animal-rights organization has urged Prime Minister Hun Sen to prevent the U.S.-based fast-food chain Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) from opening in Cambodia, claiming that it threatens Cambodian culture, people's health and leads to animal abuse, local media said Wednesday. (Source)

Model Sarah Jane urging a boycott by posing naked with two chickens and the slogan 'chicks agree'. Aside of the obvious sexism, PETA is delusional with regard to the 'animal cruelty' issue. They are worried that KFC will hurt the poor chickens. Well since I've been in Cambodia, I've seen live pigs, ducks and chickens strapped to motorbikes. At the zoo adults throw stones at the animals to make them move and domestic animals are savagely beaten. Big deal on the KFC chickens!

One of the top ten beaches in Asia...

Allegedly... Ochheuteal, in Sihanoukville, is one of the top ten beaches in Asia. I find this curious, and if correct, then I'm out of here.

8. OCCHEUTEAL, CAMBODIA

Sihanoukville (aka Kompong Som) on Cambodia's pretty south coast is home to five fine beaches, even though the best one, Sokha, is reserved for a private hotel's guests. Sokha's neighbour, Occheuteal Beach, comes a close second with its long stretch of white sand lined with pine trees. Popular with Cambodians and travellers alike, Occheuteal's far northern end has become a backpacker hangout.

People go to Occheuteal because let's face it, there isn't a lot of choice. There first time I went I was not impressed but the Serendipity part of the beach is pleasant enough. It's nice to sit the the shade of a battered umbrella and get your toes tugged every five minutes with "madam you buy one. No she buy from me. No me". Don't worry children, I won't buy from any of you regardless of what you say or story you tell.

What I especially like about Occheuteal is that the water is so polluted that it feels like constantly getting pricked by pins all over your skin. Showering makes you feel better but the shower is in your guest house and far too far to walk for just a shower so you lie in the shade scratching and drinking your diet Coke. You have to down it in one because if you put your can down on the lounger beside you it becomes the property of the can collectors. They pour out the rest of your drink and make off with the can.

Aside from these admittedly minor inconveniences (except for the water - that's a biggie), Occheuteal is pleasant enough but one of the top ten... I think not.

Take the pledge

I PLEDGE:

1. To demand that my country join an international treaty within the next 2 years that cuts global warming pollution by 90% in developed countries and by more than half worldwide in time for the next generation to inherit a healthy earth;

2. To take personal action to help solve the climate crisis by reducing my own CO2 pollution as much as I can and offsetting the rest to become "carbon neutral;"

3. To fight for a moratorium on the construction of any new generating facility that burns coal without the capacity to safely trap and store the CO2;

4. To work for a dramatic increase in the energy efficiency of my home, workplace, school, place of worship, and means of transportation;

5. To fight for laws and policies that expand the use of renewable energy sources and reduce dependence on oil and coal;

6. To plant new trees and to join with others in preserving and protecting forests; and,

7. To buy from businesses and support leaders who share my commitment to solving the climate crisis and building a sustainable, just, and prosperous world for the 21st century.

Take the pledge

For info on 07 07 07 events in Cambodia click here

The seven wonders of the modern world

Has everyone cast their vote for the new seven wonders of the world? There are only 17 days left to do so. From the Acropolis of Athens to Timbuktu, and Angkor Wat to Neuschwanstein Castle many cultures are represented. So will you pick Machu Picchu, the Statue of Liberty or the Sydney Opera House? Perhaps you prefer your wonders ancient in which case you can choose between Petra, Stonehenge, the Colosseum or the Great Wall of China. It is such a educational and democratic process that I recommend you to look it up even if it is just to see how many of the nominees you have visited or know of!

One of the aims of the competition to to draw attention to the destruction of cultural heritage that is taking place all over the world. Highlight you willingness to preserve the wonders of this world through your vote.

No more of that kinda of thing

Khieu Kanharith said that stories of the (Global Witness) report has been published for one week already and that should be enough. (Source)

Yes please be so kind as to ignore the disturbing allegations of corruption and illegal logging by the ruling classes. Sure it's not even news any more. How could you possibly trust an organisation that is not 100% supported by the ruling junta? Besides it's become publish and perish as opposed to the more usual publish or perish. Pass the electric kool aid please...

Is breaking heads the best way to deal with the GW report?

The row between the Cambodian government and Global Witness continues. Hun Nenh is in favour of breaking heads -

"If they [Global Witness] come to Cambodia, I will hit them until their heads are broken," was how the prime minister's brother and provincial governor, Hun Neng, responded to accusations that he and his wife were involved in the illicit trade. (Source)

Breaking heads might be personally satisfying for the governor but it is hardly a worthy response of a government. The response of this government is denial -

The report has enraged government officials, who call it "fiction," and prompted the information ministry to ban it. (Source)

After its little temper tantrum, the government declared its intention to investigate the allegations and clear its name. It has not stated that it will use any means necessary but it is probably a given. It accuses Global Witness of a personal vendetta against the Cambodian government because of GW's expulsion from the country. Some entities have a tendency to accuse others of what they themselves are guilty of and perhaps this is the case here. The government takes any slights, perceived or otherwise, badly and overreacts. GW is saying what people have suspected for a long time.

Someone should try any prevent the governor from breaking too many heads before the legal right to "freedom of expression" bites back.

Everyone is connected II

From KI Media. Click the picture to see the detail.

Oops there goes the environment

World Environment Day was yesterday, well today in some parts of the world. I read this article a few weeks ago and was saving it for WE day. The article details the sea of plastics in the Pacific ocean.

It began with a line of plastic bags ghosting the surface, followed by an ugly tangle of junk: nets and ropes and bottles, motor-oil jugs and cracked bath toys, a mangled tarp. Tires. A traffic cone. Moore could not believe his eyes. Out here in this desolate place, the water was a stew of plastic crap. It was as though someone had taken the pristine seascape of his youth and swapped it for a landfill.

How did all the plastic end up here? How did this trash tsunami begin? What did it mean? If the questions seemed overwhelming, Moore would soon learn that the answers were even more so, and that his discovery had dire implications for human—and planetary—health. As Alguita glided through the area that scientists now refer to as the “Eastern Garbage Patch,” Moore realized that the trail of plastic went on for hundreds of miles. Depressed and stunned, he sailed for a week through bobbing, toxic debris trapped in a purgatory of circling currents. To his horror, he had stumbled across the 21st-century Leviathan. It had no head, no tail. Just an endless body.

“Every one of us has this huge body burden,” Moore says. “You could take your serum to a lab now, and they’d find at least 100 industrial chemicals that weren’t around in 1950.” The fact that these toxins don’t cause violent and immediate reactions does not mean they’re benign: Scientists are just beginning to research the long-term ways in which the chemicals used to make plastic interact with our own biochemistry.

The oceans are choking and humanity is producing more and more plastic and only a tiny percentage is being recycled. This is not just killing the planet but it is killing ourselves. It is said that in the future we will not be producing plastic because the price of oil will be too high. Well now is not the time to be sitting around twiddling our thumbs.

Click here for environmental information from UNEP.

PM's 1000 year plan

If I live for another 1,000 years, I will never want to see you. You enjoy your rights, and so do I mine. As a prime minister, I bear no obligation to see that guy, he said. (Source)

In an orgy of hyperbole, the PM just cannot stop. He must reply to every remark with more grandiose claims. The claim that not even in a 1000 years will he meet Yash Ghai is disturbing - is the PM really planning to be in power that long. He declared recently that he only intends another 30 years, and this new claim of 1000 years has disconcerted the expat / development / NGO community. They will have to throw out the 30 year plan and work on something a little more long term.

Various theories have surfaced regarding his means of remaining in power for so long. One reliable source claims that his life is being sustained not by the blood of the innocent as previously thought, but by the timber of illegal logging. if this proves true, it is worrying for the party considering that Cambodia has a finite supply of forest.

However hope remains. It might possible to rig up some cryogenic suspension fueled by the comments on NGOs and UN envoys which when mixed with the PM's brainwaves product a combustible fuel. The fuel could provide a link with a communicator that can spew vitriol to the entire Kingdom.

With modern technology, there is little that the political elite can accomplish and there is a possibility that the PM may be prepared to meet Yash Ghai on 6 June 3007 although it is entirely possible that the UN may send a different envoy.

Global Witness reveals...

The Cambodian government on Sunday banned circulation of a report by London-based environmental watchdog Global Witness connecting high-ranking politicians to illegal logging, claiming it was politically motivated.

A statement signed by government spokesman and Information Minister Khieu Kanharith said the government had found that the report issued Friday was unfounded, and had been written in retribution for the group being banned from the country in 2005. (Source)

Yes because an NGO like Global Witness has nothing better to do than exact retribution from third world governments. The PM has declared that Global Witness is finished in Cambodia. All hard copies of the report have been banned and one government official is calling for a block of the site. The report is available here for now anyway.

Top officials in Cambodia are involved in illegal logging and helping to strip the nation of its natural assets, an international watchdog has said.

Global Witness claims that legitimate land concessions are being used as a cover for criminal activity.

The London-based organisation has also accused international donors of failing to act to stop the trade.

The Cambodian authorities, as well as officials named in the report, have dismissed the allegations.

Forestry Administration director Ty Sokhun, one of the officials accused, described Global Witness as "insane, unprofessional people" with no knowledge of forestry.

A company director also named in the report described the charges as "unacceptable".

Global Witness accuses ministers, business people and relatives closely linked to Prime Minister Hun Sen, as well as the military and police, of involvement in the alleged asset stripping.

"Logging is part of a massive asset stripping for the benefit of a small kleptocratic elite," Simon Taylor, Global Witness director, said.

"The forests of Cambodia have been ransacked over the past decade by this mafia with little or no benefit flowing down to the ordinary people," he added. (Source)

This comes as little surprise to us on the ground. The organisations working in development are in a don't ask, don't tell situation with the government. Everybody knows that the dice are loaded... everybody knows that the fight was fixed, the poor stay poor, the rich get rich, that's how it goes, everybody knows.

It's hard to miss the ravaged former forest in Ratanakiri and the impingement on the rights of ethnic minorities. It's hard to miss the constant and consistent land grabbing. It's hard to miss the bodyguards of the children of the elite in the Heart of Darkness. It's hard to miss the two Lamborghinis that belong the a son of a high ranking politician.

What is amazing are the denials and the need to counter any report or statement originating outside the party. It's probably due to a need to save face. However, the international community finds such denials... dubious.

Poison fish

Farm-raised fish in the Tonle Sap river ... were poisoned and almost 50-ton of them died during the night of 14 May, the fishes are still dying as of now. Fish farmers blamed the death of the fishes on the dumping of pollutants into the river by the SKD winery company located in Kilometer 6.

the dead fishes were taken to sell at the market while some others are frozen to later sale.

Reports indicated that along the Mekong and the Tonle Sap rivers, numerous factories are dumping pollutants into the rivers, these cause a serious pollution to the environment (Source)

Yes you read that right, the poisoned fish are being sent to the market to be sold. From there it will end up in the homes and restaurants of Phnom Penh. The report contains no details about the specific pollutants but something that kills 50 tons of fish cannot be great for anyone's health. Indeed the poison may effect humans too. Hospitals beware.

It really doesn't matter if there are laws on the sale of poisoned food. About two weeks ago a text did the rounds. A herd of cattle had died under mysterious circumstances and people were being warned not to eat beef. It comes to a point that you eat whatever you want regardless of rumours. If you get sick, well that's life. You go to the doctor and get some ciprofloxacin for the parasites or medevac'd to Bangkok. However, I think I'll give the fish a miss.

Save the planet

“We are on the edge of the greatest die-off humanity has ever seen,” said Lovelock. “We will be lucky if 20% of us survive what is coming. We should be scared stiff.”

Lovelock has delivered such warnings before, but this weekend they have a special resonance. Last week in Bangkok, Thailand, the world’s governments finalised this year’s third and final report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) setting out how humanity might save itself from the worst effects of climate change.

In it was a message of hope, albeit a faint one. The report set out a complex mix of political, economic and technological solutions. If they all worked, said the report, they could achieve huge cuts in the 25 billion tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) released by humanity into the air each year, thus keeping global temperature rises below 3C. (Source)

Will the Earth resemble Mars in fifty years time? Will Earth be arid, empty, and lifeless? Is this fear mongering or the far sighted view of a realist?

Whatever arguments are put up in the denial camps, it is clear that our climate is changing dramatically. I notice it in Cambodia even from one year to another. Here everybody dreads April and May. Many people get out of the country for those months because it is so hot and sticky. You sweat wearing a minimum of clothing while surrounded by fans. Even a dip in the pool brings no relief because it is too hot and muggy.

However, this year April and May have so far been tolerable. It is uncomfortable at 34 degrees and 100 humidity but it is tolerable - a far cry from last years experience. It has been raining a couple of times a week. It didn't rain last year.

These changes are profound, sudden and worrying. What does this mean for the rainy season? Will we get a monsoon or a drought? The fortune tellers in Cambodia are predicting a bad harvest and whether one believes in that or not, change is coming. I have already mentioned the climate changes in Ireland last winter. And the changes in these two countries are just highlighted because of my observations.

Climate change is bringing disease, flooding and drought. Tropical diseases are finding their way into temperate zones. Will Europe have to deal with Malaria again? How about Dengue or Japanese Encephalitides?

Additional anticipated effects include sea level rise of 110 to 770 mm (0.36 to 2.5 feet) between 1990 and 2100,[40] repercussions to agriculture, possible slowing of the thermohaline circulation, reductions in the ozone layer, increased intensity and frequency of hurricanes and extreme weather events, lowering of ocean pH, and the spread of diseases such as malaria[41] and dengue fever.[42] One study predicts 18% to 35% of a sample of 1,103 animal and plant species would be extinct by 2050, based on future climate projections. (Source)

It is time to do something. Everybody can save the planet in their own way but governmental cooperation is necessary to really turn the tide. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report

report set out a complex mix of political, economic and technological solutions. If they all worked, said the report, they could achieve huge cuts in the 25 billion tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) released by humanity into the air each year, thus keeping global temperature rises below 3C.

It would involve much international cooperation when the current mentality seems to be "a total pig-headed unwillingness to look facts in the face" (Blackadder). Governments, be pragmatic. More climate change is coming and lifestyles and habits are going to have to change. US senator Obama acknowledges this:

The need to drastically change our energy policy is no longer a debatable proposition. It is not a question of whether, but how; not a question of if, but when. For the sake of our security, our economy, our jobs and our planet, the age of oil must end in our time. (Source)

Let's not kill the planet until space travel is more developed and we can escape our own mess. Governments, be responsible enough and adult enough to acknowledge your responsibility in the resolution of this crisis.

Anyone else feel like screaming into a void on this issue?

Earth Day 2007

The blogosphere is banging on about Earth Day, which apparently was yesterday, so I am a little late and not a little surprised. I was under the impression that Earth Day was at the spring equinox - in March. But event that promotes awareness of the continued deterioration of the environment is a good thing in my book.

A few examples of this FUBAR

Very little arctic thick sea ice replenished in 2005

Sudden sea level surges threaten 1 billion

China says that global warming threatens development

World must invest now to counter impact of extreme weather from global warming

Small farmers hit by changes in the climate

Extreme weather threatens over one million people

UNFCCC Executive Secretary says significant funds needed to adapt to climate change impacts

We've all seen An inconvenient truth. Global warming is a threat to the Earth and the unkindest cut of all is that it effects the developing world most severely. Citizens of the developing world have to deal with global warming on a daily basis - famine, drought and flooding.

Save the planet

Solar power is the answer?

Here it is - the solution to global warming and oil prices. It is solar power. It is clean, cheap in long term and provide resources in the developing world where already they are suffering the effects of global warming.

Could it work? Admittedly the big oil businesses would have no more work and billionaires need their toys. It would involve much international cooperation when the current mentality seems to be "a total pig-headed unwillingness to look facts in the face" (Blackadder).

Here's hoping that we won't be living in Waterworld when my nephews are all grown up. That is not a pleasant prospect.

World Heritage?

UNESCO's World Heritage Centre wants to designate the Tonlé Sap Lake as a World Heritage Site. The lake provides a living for nearly three million people and represents much of Cambodia's annual fish catch. There are several floating villages that move according to the season. They call it the Heart of Cambodia.

Now the esteemed PM is not having any of it. He said soon there will be oil underground - not only in the sea. When we admit it in World Heritage we have to discuss it will others. It is ours - why do we need to consult with them if it is ours. Oil is corrupting before anyone draws a drop. Drilling for oil in the Tonlé Sap would be an ecological disaster. The lake feeds into the Mekong Delta so Cambodia would not be the only country affected. Three million people depend on the lake for industry, water and fishing. Yet the government will not accept the Heritage label just in case there is oil.

The second issue is fishing. His take on that is Khmer people have been catching fish since Angkorian times. They are used to getting fish for eating and they would not be able to if the Tonlé Sap area became a World Heritage site.

While that is true, the most common fishing method at the moment is to build a small dam and dynamite the fish. Obviously that method kills everything - fish, eggs, plants, insects. Many NGOs and international organisations have programmes to educate fishermen on how to fish in an ecologically-friendly manner. But education takes time and most fishermen follow the path of least resistance. As a World Heritage site UNESCO may be able to ban dynamite fishing, while others continue to teach.