via TreeHugger:
“Expansion of cultivation of (oil palm) in East Asia has been associated with widespread deforestation and violation of human rights of indigenous people,” states the report, which singles out top producers Indonesia and Malaysia as countries where - in addition to deforestation and indigenous conflicts - palm oil production has also resulted in the destruction of key habitats of endangered primates.
via NST:
“Although Malaysia is located on the stable Sunda plate, pressure on the continent is mounting because the Australian, Eurasian and Philippine plates around us are moving and pushing into us.
“To relieve this stress, cracks occur on the surface. As the pressure intensifies, cracks are more frequent and bigger,” said Azlan, who heads UTM’s Structural Earthquake Engineering Research.
According to Azlan, the major Aceh earthquake in 2004 had disturbed the surrounding plates.
The plates are moving closer towards the Sumatran fault line and a shift of a few centimetres towards the west was recorded after the incident.
“We are now closer to the epicentre. In the event of an earthquake, the pressure will be greater,” he said at a recent national seminar on earthquakes.
David wrote:
Money vs. Life - The Cancer of Money-Begetting-More-Money at Any Cost
The problem is this: a predatory global financial system, driven by the single imperative of making ever more money for those who already have lots of it, is rapidly depleting the real capital - the human, social, natural, and even physical capital - on which our well-being depends . . . the money system becomes like a cancer that consumes its host and ultimately destroys itself.
During a visit to Malaysia some years ago I met the minister responsible for forestry. In explaining Malaysia’s forestry policy he observed that the country would be better off once its forests were cleared away and the money from the sale was stashed in banks earning interest. The financial returns would be greater. The image flashed through my mind of a barren and lifeless world populated only by banks with their computers faithfully and endlessly compounding the interest on the profits from timber sales.
This article is pretty old, but somehow I found it while surfing. I wonder if his Malaysian experience is real? Not too long ago, I think there was a Pahang guy who said it’s more profitable to hold on to our forests than to cut them down…
ironwulf wrote:
I have always been a nature person. Given a choice if I’ll hang around a mall or the countryside I’ll definitely choose the latter. With my friend already off back to Singapore by bus yesterday, I’m on my own on my last day in Kuala Lumpur. So what am I to do on this city of skyscrapers and railways before I fly out by night? I’ve already explored the Mini-forest at Bukit Nanas near the Menara Tower and been around the malls and parks in the city. So very early in the morning I went to the nearest LRT, bought a ticket and took the first train to Wangsa Maju station since I decided to go a bit out of town to climb Bukit Tabur in Taman Melawati.
can’t believe this is near KL…lol
An abandoned Oil Rig converted into a Dive Resort. Seaventures Dive Resort, a scuba dive heaven, 1km off the coast of Mabul, Sabah, Northern Borneo. The resort used to be a Oil Exploration Platform, These days it is home to divers from all over the world who want that little bit extra from their dives.
Beautiful isn’t it?