I think the hit counter is spoilt.

It's impossible that no one is reading this.

Even Rainwater Harvesting is Possible in Desserts

It's pretty hard to imagine that somewhere in the driest part of India, rainwater harvesting is possible. And we're not talking about a few hundred gallons of water per harvest, but 3 million gallons of water per harvest. That's the kind of luxury the ancient Indians created in the harshest part of the planet. And this ingenious architecture was conceived 400 years ago and is still used until today.

It's not a question of where is the best place to harvest rainwater, but rather, how to survive when Mother Nature tests your survival skills.

In this inspiring and fascinating presentation by Anupam Mishra, you'll begin to understand that the modern man needs to learn more from his past in order to move forward. Every method used to produce these efficient megastructures to harvest rainwater is truly innovative and resourceful. Something only an astute engineer would think of. Only when this was 400 years ago, these men were not engineers nor were they architects, but merely villagemen. Every build was well-thought out in terms of functionality and practicality. Even the aesthetics was well-crafted.

Watch the video and see for yourself, the legacy of an architecture that surpassed any modern feat in rainwater harvesting. This is proof that a greener world is absolutely possible if we were to learn from our ancestors and their way of sustainable living.

Can CDs be recycled?

Both CDs and DVDs—which are primarily composed of polycarbonate, a type of plastic—can be recycled or reused. So can the jewel cases, which are made from a hard plastic called polystrene.

*Source: Green Consumer - National Wildlife Federation

Chris Jordan's stark truth about human and birds.

From Chris Jordan's website:

Midway - Message from the Gyre

These photographs of albatross chicks were made just a few weeks ago on Midway Atoll, a tiny stretch of sand and coral near the middle of the North Pacific. The nesting babies are fed bellies-full of plastic by their parents, who soar out over the vast polluted ocean collecting what looks to them like food to bring back to their young. On this diet of human trash, every year tens of thousands of albatross chicks die on Midway from starvation, toxicity, and choking. To document this phenomenon as faithfully as possible, not a single piece of plastic in any of these photographs was moved, placed, manipulated, arranged, or altered in any way. These images depict the actual stomach contents of baby birds in one of the world's most remote marine sanctuaries, more than 2000 miles from the nearest continent. ~cj, October 2009

--- end of message ---

We've seen a lot of gruesome photos unveiling new ways (every day) on how our inconsiderate thinking and actions have resulted to killings (in every way). Every day is a new story, every day comes with a new discovery. And we applaud individuals like Chris Jordan. We need 'researchers' such as them to reveal 'hidden' consequences such as these that we never thought of at all during point of action. Perhaps then, we learn to 'see' further than just momentarily gratifying our actions.

Change the way we look at sustainability in automotive business.

The influx of Hybrids and EVs becomes almost every manufacturer's intend in lowering CO2 emission at consumer level. I think it's high time they should look at the total CO2 emission right from the beginning, starting from manufacturing. That should speak more volume about the brand.

Lexus HS 250h claims that 30% of the combined interior and luggage area is made of Ecological Plastics (TM), which is created, in part, using plant-based materials sourced from the fibers of the kenaf plant and oils from castor seeds. Subsequently reducing the reliance on petroleum-based materials which helps to lower CO2 impact of manufacturing.

Carbon reduction should be considered at three different stages of the product-consumer cycle which is at point of manufacturing, at point of usage and at point of disposal. Therefore, to truly claim sustainability, automakers need to consider a holistic approach to the manufacturing process (because this cause the greatest impact on the environment). Putting out products which are kind to the environment will someday be a 'given' because as I mention before, social conscious consumers will 'vote' with their money. Last but not least, manufacturers should not stop there. They should also plan strategies to educate their customers on the disposal of their products. Now that's closing the loop.

Food Inc - Hungry for change?

Watched Food Inc. An independent documentary on the American food industry ala Michael Moore with better art direction. The big States seems to be always getting the spotlight for their lead role – the tyrant of all sorts when it comes to consumer scandals (whether or not it’s within their shores). Independent filmmaker Robert Kenner strips away America’s packaging without shame to expose some of the most hideous acts and pure selfish motivations of the country in the name of capitalist growth. It may seem insignificant now, but not in the near future.

Not too long ago, we completed the research on ‘The Green Chronicles’ and have been actively pursuing and propagating sustainability by encouraging people to make the right decisions. Not by going against the system but by actually utilizing the same system these capitalist monsters have been using against gullible human and nature, called consumerism. Yes, you can vote every single day for what you believe in and what is right for your family, community, society, country and ultimately the world by spending your dollar wisely, choosing only manufacturers and service providers that put social business back into commerce. Corporations have always been consumer-centric anyway, but it’s increasingly important for us to acknowledge the importance of being crowd-centric instead. Considering communities as a whole before profit, even before the consumer, I dare say... Simply because being consumer-centric only means profit generation. The problem starts when they get all fuzzied vision about it and forget that they too are living in a society spiraling downwards in this era of environmental doom.

Well, vote responsibly with your money and support local industry (I speak for Malaysia – please understand that a lot of the ‘nice imageries of delicious foods and made-up vitamins’ come from packaging design and really smart brand marketing – take it from someone who is from the advertising industry aight’?), so yea… if the quality isn’t too bad then why not vote for local produce the next time you purchase something? Find out more about the slow food movement and collaborate with your local community and perhaps, start food appreciation at home instead of external food establishments.

I’ll be interested to find answers to these questions in Malaysia. Please share if you have them.

1) What are the laws which are protecting consumers and which ones are protecting the food industry and what is the balance?

2) What are we importing and exporting and why are we exporting better goods offshore instead of providing it to local consumers?

3) What agricultural practices are we implementing that take a holistic approach from ensuring farmer’s wellbeing up to consumer consumption education? For example, the UTZ Certified coffee beans in New Zealand that strongly practice sustainability in their coffee, tea and cocoa production supporting local communities.

4) Exactly how sustainable are we? In all our food productions; fisheries, agriculture, etc? And how many graduates are we churning out per year who do not just take over their seniors but to one day, lead and innovate these important but most overlooked industries?

On a separate note, read about this new spot in Manhattan called Rouge Tomato. It’s another one of those posh places where dining is fine art I supposed. But what’s commendable is, it too, is riding the wave of social-consciousness that’s sweeping across America hence providing an alternative to high-end customers. To wine and dine at their place, simply because RT belives in Grass-Fed New York Strip Steak (mind you, not CORN-fed. If you watch the movie, you’ll understand what I mean). Here's a peak:

Switch Off

This exercise ran a week before the Polystyrene exercise. We've asked everyone in Dentsu Utama to turn off their computer main switches and other switches (i.e. printer and copier) before leaving the office. We've found out that when the main switches are not turned off, we're draining up to 5 watts of unused energy per hour, per switch. Imagine if you multiply that by the number of non-working hours in a year?!

So we've imposed a fine of RM2 if anyone's caught not turning off their main switches. We've seen 80% improvement in the past one month. Though repeat offenders' attitudes are hard to change, but their money is good enough to cover our other 'green' expenses for the office :) At first we have 4 repeat offenders, a week later, it was down to 2. I'm really happy with the progress :)

No Polys Allowed

About a month ago, Dentsu Utama imposed a ban on Polystyrene food containers. Anyone seen using Polystyrene will be fined RM2. (I think our VP owes us RM10 :D)

It was a tough habit to scrape off but I think it's working out progressively.

We've purchased 10 plastic containers and left 5 of them at the Mamak downstairs, Alai Restaurant, for any delivery order made from Dentsu Utama. The other 5 was left in the pantry for anyone who wishes to 'tapau' food from other vendors in the vicinity.

Though I must say, educating Alai was a pain in the neck. I think it took then nearly 2 weeks to make sure they get it right. I've explained to them more than 3 times to use those containers instead of Polystyrene boxes when sending food to the office.

Another Green Buddy, Daphne, almost vomitted blood and her guts content telling the mamak guy to never ever ever ever pack her food in a Polystyrene container, otherwise the food will not be allowed to enter Dentsu Utama. And I have a pretty good feeling the mamak guys must be thinking that Dentsu Utama is allergic to Polystyrene.

Well, actually not us, but the earth :)

What really goes on in Dentsu Utama.

An email conversation on any day...

Jeremy>
As many of you know, thanks to Sue Yin’s “Turn off your main switches” and “Polystyrene-Free Office Starting Tomorrow” e-mails, Dentsu Utama is now eco-friendly!
And to add to the list of “Green things to do”, we’re also conducting a “No lights lunch time” initiative. Don’t worry, it’ll be only done once a week, on Fridays.
So, from this week onwards, the office will be in the dark during Friday’s lunch time.
If you must work, and REALLY, REALLY, REALLY (You get the idea) need a light, then you may switch on a light. Only one.
First ‘No lights lunch time’: Friday, 11th September 2009. 1pm – 2pm.
Thanks!

Sue-Anne>
I supply candles la!

Amirrul>
Open BURNING!!!....

Jonn>
Hmm candles huh? Used previously for what ah?

Jeremy>
Dear all,
“No lights lunch time” will commence in 10 minutes… Get ready to sit in the dark….

Sue-Anne>
http://thegreenchronicles.blogspot.com/
Should have taken a photo of darkness…

Amirrul>
Photo of darkness....sue anne...we can still take picture one..i'll switch off the lights for you..want or not? it still looks the same...

Jeremy>
I’m famous! I’m on a blog….
Congrats people. I know this mail is a little late, but….. good one on the “No lights lunch time”!

The Green Buddies' Experiment

Ok, here's what happened to the second seed. It didn't grow. So we sowed another seed and we had little plant-lets. It's so cool. We were so happy to see them emerging from the soil. And it took a long while to wait.

Now we know how it feels to wait for something to grow.

I learnt that it takes a lot of patience to grow a plant and i think Mother Nature is patient enough to wait a few million years to see her forests grow into green canopies that spread across continents. And only to find out in the end that those canopies are beginning to disappear because of industrialisation and capitalism.

New division launched!

It's been a crazy week at work. The stuff you do every day and should be doing every day, the stuff that brings in the dough and feeds the mouth, the stuff that lifts morale and sparks passion, the stuff that is right for the nature of our business and nature, period.

We've finally got around launching a new division in my employer's company which is called Sustainability & Change Management. While we're not claiming to be the experts, but this certainly seals a serious commitment for Dentsu to move towards a sustainable future. Not just for ourselves, but our clients and the community which surrounds us. IMPORTANT: This is beyond going green. I think the key word is BALANCE. Our world is too extreme which is why our eco-system is tipped and screwed up.

Get wired here and police us ;) We welcome that. Oh by the way, our new batch of namecards is 100% made from recycled paper. How bout that for a start?

Meanwhile, if you're interested to know more. Get in touch.

A very cute mail ;)

A very cute email just arrived in my inbox ;)

***

Title: We want your rubbish.

Dear all,

Please bear with the mess behind the creative area for a bit more. I’ve contacted the man in charge of the pick-up schedule (Yes, they actually have such position) from Alam Flora. We’re looking at sometime next Monday or Tuesday. It’s a bit painful to get those guys to call back for confirmation but the promise is by early next week!

In the meantime, the Green Buddies could use more of your contribution. *BIG GRIN* If everyone in the office brings a small bag of recyclable rubbish. Imagine how much we can recycle as a group. I’ll spare you the nagging if you would be so inclined to give us your rubbish from your house. Papers, cans, plastics, glasses….send them over this way please.

So, you know the drill: Gather your rubbish and place them accordingly into the bags, dump them into your car, and put them at the Recycle Corner behind the creative area (If you see Erman then you’ll see it) He’s in charge of giving you the right direction. And if ever you need assistance to carry your stuffs, he’d be happy to help you. Hey, anything to help that new daddy to reduce his waistline.

Remember, you have one week to contribute. Thank you in advance for reading this and your kind consideration to recycle.

Don’t be lazy,
The Green Buddies

***

Hey guys at Alam Flora! Buck up yo!!

Responsible seafood consumption.

About a year back, I questioned if we're depleting our protein source faster than we can say fish. Because of our disgustingly huge appetite for all things natural and swimming, our grandchildren may really think all fishes look like Nemo in decades down the road. Here's a really interesting article which I'd like to share. Snippet originally from TimeOut KL, July issue: All you can't eat, pg30.

***

“Eating a bluefin tuna is like eating a rhino,” claims WWF Hong Kong conservation director Dr Andy Cornish. Extreme as this might sound, the comparison is accurate. The world’s relentless demand for seafood has pushed many fish to the verge of extinction.

Humans rely on seafood as a source of nutrition and as a livelihood. According to London-based international charity the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), established by the WWF and Unilever in 1997, the diets of 2.6 billion people depend on fish as a source of animal protein. They estimate that 52 per cent of fish stocks are ‘fully exploited’, which means they are being fished at their ‘maximum biological capacity’.

Human consumption of fish has risen from 93.6 million tonnes in 1998 to 100.7 million tonnes in 2002. The MSC doesn’t want people to stop eating fish. Instead, it wants people to ensure consumers source their seafood from a well-managed fishery, which in turn guartantees a future for the industry and all those who depend on it for their livelihood. Shoppers who want to minimise the environmental and social consequences of eating fish should look out for MSC-certified products, which display a distinctive blue fish on the packaging.

Nevertheless, there are other ways to reduce your impact on the the world’s fish supplies. A few years back, WWF survey released a pocket-sized guide (visit http://www.wwf.org.hk/ to download it for free) that categorises 60 types of fish according to their sustainability. Alaskan Pacific salmon, North American black cod and Western Australian rock lobster (which are also availale MSC certified) are fine for consumption because they are not over fished. But shoppers should steer clear of Chinese shrimp, Hong Kong grouper and orange roughy (which share the endangered list with the bluefin tuna).

But with so little MSC-certified fish in our supermarkets, and even fewer restaurants serving it, the onus still lies with the consumer. But experts believe that even though change must come from the consumer, it is also the restaurant’s job to make sustainable food appealing and to supply their customers with information about the source of their seafood.

It is recently discovered that people are slowly becoming more proactive. In Hong Kong for example, it’s the younger Chinese generations that place around 60 per cent of the orders for MSC fish. Similarly in KL, with more youngsters refusing to consume shark’s fin, it’s a matter of time before we move our environmental consciousness up another notch.

***

(Bold mine)

Statistic from: http://www.dof.gov.my/

Also just to give you a clearer picture of where your fishes are coming from if you're living in Malaysia. Just remember, aquaculture good. Overfishing bad. We're not saying you should stop eating. But hey, keep your knack for exotic endeavours somewhere else perhaps?

The Green Buddies support responsible seafood consumption.

The Buddies' Entertainer

It's amazing how the Buddies' have talented friends...particularly this one :D

The Green Experiment

This is probably our first experiment. Well, our paper supplier was kind enough to supply us with it.

We thought that this so called green paper technology would never arrive here in Malaysia. But it did. And we were thrilled. What the supplier did was to fabricate a few pieces of recyclable paper and crush a few packets of seedlings in the midst of the process. The result, you get a few sheets of paper with crushed seedlings in it. And the good news is, you can plant that piece of paper after you've used it. So the more paper you use, the more trees you'll be planting. Isn't it brilliant.

The Greenbuddies decided to experiment with this piece of paper that the supplier gave. We got ourselves a small flower pot and planted the paper. And so it began, the Buddies' first experiment.

We watered the plant for 2 weeks and we saw its tiny little leaves sprouting from the soil (well, actually there were only two tiny leaves). We were thrilled. And it felt good to have grown something. At least for some of the Buddies.

Sadly, a certain Buddy forgot to water the plant for 3 days. The plant died.

So we're starting the experiment again. Hopefully this time, no one forgets to water the plant.

We'll be updating you on the progress of the experiment.

Thank You Conqueror paper for supplying us with the paper. Now we know how it's done, we'll spread the technique to other eco-conscious citizens.

The Green Chronicles.

The Green Chronicles 2009

View more presentations from createsparks.

We've got the kind permission from our employer to share the findings of our social research on environmental awareness and conservation efforts in Malaysia. One of the biggest reasons why we've decided to share this openly is to spark thoughts and discussions on really how to design effective 'green' strategies, for we all know that this is a global or in a smaller scale, nationwide cause. It's not a battle that can be fought (and won) by one single company, and definitely not a single agency. So, please feel free to share your thoughts if you have any.

And please. Respect intellectual property. Read. Don't rip.

Green Buddies Drinks.

Happy green people.

That simply looks wrong...

Green Buddies DRINK.

Cute Ali and friends.

Before.

During.

After. That should how Green Buddies eat. CLEAN.

The first one.

The last one. Happy birthday Sue Yins!

After party.

Without the crowd. T'was a good night ;)

And it's a wrap!

Was supposed to meet up with the guys from Waste Association Malaysia last Friday but it got cancelled last minute. Anyway, this project is a wrap. We're done and we're ready to share. If anyone out there is interested in finding out about Environmental Communications and Motivations in Malaysia, mail us.

But this blog I reckon, will still go on. I think it's good to just have a continuation in sharing some green initiatives that have been happening. Especially, in Dentsu U, where The Green Buddies is still active ;)

By the way, we've just had our first GB Drinks last Thursday. Although we only spoke about KPI for er.. what, 5 minutes? The rest of the time, peeps were just trying to relax and get used to calling each other buddy. But it's good. Looks like everyone's got something that they'd like to work on. Ali, Sue and I might be considering the trip to Simpang Pulai with the Waterfalls Survivors this weekend (yo guys, you still up for it?). We'll see. 3 campaigns running is. NOT. funny... I may just jump off the cliff on Saturday and call it a day :S

On transition to become 'greener'.

So what happens if my favourite colour is not green? You're gonna discriminate me?

I've decided to list down some of the things which I realised that I'm consciously doing to be more environmental friendly (lately). I am sorry but I'm loving 2.0 performance cars. I try not to pollute too much nor use too much fuel by voting for the best fuel-efficient power-packed engine technology with my dollar. But I'm willing to trade my carbon footprint with some of these habits:

1) At a restaurant:
- I tell them to clear all the unused plates/cutleries so that they don't have to wash it unnecessarily even though it's still clean after my meal.
- No garnishing is needed. Except for some strange stalks, I believe they're all food. I don't eat my garnishing so, don't waste. Give it to those who do.
- Don't over use tissue papers even though they're free.
- I finish everything in my glass because water is precious (something I learnt from Kenya).

2) At home:
- I don't charge my e71 every day because it's new and the battery sustains for a good couple of days even after fairly extensive talk time and accessive SMSes.
- Turn off the electricity at the powerpoint because electricity do still trickle into appliances even when not in use.
- Think twice before I buy anything. Buy something I need even though it's expensive, so that I don't have enough money to buy other stuff that I don't need.

3) At work:
- Reduce, reuse and recycle papers. And everything that falls under the 3R campaign.
- Revving everyone up to be more environmentally friendly and trying to incorporate this (however informally and whenever I can) into the company's policy.
- Organising 'Green Drinks' session so that the Green Buddies committee can be more relaxed while updating each other on the eco-projects we're currently working on.

4) With friends
- Give a dirty look to those who are 'dirtying' the place
- Joined the 'Waterfalls Survivor' group to get people to start appreciating our country's natural gems

So far, that's what I've been doing. I don't know if it's good enough for me to trade off the carbon footprint of my car (by the way, I'm not driving a GTi, in case you're wondering. (Yet :)). But I think it's hard to get everyone to care for the environment in the same way since none of us are manufactured in that way in the first place :P

Green weekend

T'was a long weekend and I attended the 'Pachamama' Symposium so kindly organised by the Eco Warriors. Before you say 'patch whurt?', it's native language for 'Mother Earth' for the people of Andes. The symposium was designed to 'open the floodgates of environmental awareness as well as providing empowerment to its attendees'. It was a cross between Al Gore and Asiaworks if you ask me. It's not good and not bad, just how it was delivered. I think to people who have voted for Green but not know what to do, this is something which they can participate to gain that little nudge to push them forward. As for the people who may not have voted for Green entirely, I think it puts them on a mild guilt trip more than creating that positive energy for change which I'm sure was what the symposium intended to do. However, having said that it was the first trial and I think Eco Warriors did a fantastic job at that. I'm interested to see how things will evolve and what will happen when the numbers snowball and become bigger. Could this be the 'tipping point' in Malaysia? I don't know but let's see.