HAZE 2008

[bactrus]

The annual event of the year is back! All Malaysians are participating in it! Suffering from parch throat and congested sinus. This morning is bad! Instead of being greeted with air (smell-less and clear), the air smell sulphuric and what else, Hazy.

Yesterday on the way to South saw in Penang and Perak State indiscriminate burning all along the highway. On the way down in the morning and same fire is burning when I drove pass in the evening. Where is the Jabatan Alam Sekitar (Department of Environment)? Theses people are blatantly flaunting the law!

Hope you don't mind. Just venting my frustration. Please tell your friends not to set fire to rubbish. Maybe good time to kick smoking.

Also, all those who are interest in exploring the jungles for Neps. Please refrain from going to Southern Perak. Do avoid venturing into that area- From Tapah to Tg Malim I'll say. The Chikungunya virus is active there. Two of my friends are already down. They are two of many who are infected. These two are strong people, ran up Cameron Highlands in 3half hours (I took seven half). The virus rendered they week for nearly a month already.

[Khoas]

What is Chikungunya virus ? I haven't heard of this one.

[bactrus]

http://www.searo.who.int/en/Section10/Section2246.htm

First there was Nipah Virus, now this... thank goodness you'll only get it once and immune to it and unless you develop a secondary infection or weak, yo'll survive... but not without a painful experience.

[Khoas]

Be expecting new virus and bacteria varieties. This will be side - effect of the changing enivoroment and increased population. Pollution seem help in developing new varieties. There nasty little virus are appearing in Australia, one deadly to horses and can jump to humans and , thankfully, rare rabies like virus in the fruit bats.

[David]

It's sad to hear all these knowing that the path our planet is moving too ain't bright.

I thought people and authorities will be more consious after the peat fire in Putrajaya last week where the firemen took 1-2 weeks to put out the fire. They caught the culprit who did the open burning. It was all over the newspapers and yet... (for those overseas, open burning was ban by the Malaysian government a couple of years back).

Yaa, talk about the haze. My block nose is acting up again and I can't get enough sleep at night.

[Khoas]

Interesting thing about fire. Many parts of Australia do need a good bushfire as part it natural cycle. Many of the really bad fires have occur because leaf littler had built up. Because of the dry climate, thing don't really rot down.

[bactrus]

Sometimes one cannot blame the slash and burn farmers particularly in Indonesia. They have no other means to provide for themselves except to burn. An excavator can feed teh village for months!

Australian bush needs fire to rejuvenate. That is the natural cycle. Keep the undergrowth clear and activating seeds. In the tropics, there is no need for this kind of burning. We have the fungi and beetles to breakdown vegetative matter.

One funny thing I observed about the Olympic opening. Days before they emphasised on keeping the air clean. The irony is, during the opening ceremony, days of saving up credits is "burn up" in a matter of hours.

Our planet... heading for definate doom unless some eco-warrior rise to fight the decline. Sometimes I wish Captain Plantet and the Planeteers are real.

[Khoas]

Life will go on. The question is: do we?

[David]

Originally Posted by Khoas

Life will go on. The question is: do we?

I guess whichever species that can adapt and evolve to the changing environment will suvive.

[bactrus]

Spot on! Now I wonder how humans will fare? A day without electricity or water supply will render us pretty helpless. Humans are most fragile. OOps!!! I stand corrected: carnivorous plants will perish first without water.

Earth will be a thing of the past as foretold.