tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72639439365975548882011-12-16T13:13:56.395+07:00Good and Bad Environmental IssuesJakartassnoreply@blogger.comBlogger371100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263943936597554888.post-86516032795373907402011-12-05T22:00:00.001+07:002011-12-15T16:01:35.140+07:00

... who can google.Earlier this year, in August, The Jakarta Post published an article of mine entitled 'New clear thinking before nuclear power.' Unfortunately, it would appear that no-one in BATAN (Indonesia's Nuclear Energy Agency) read it.If they had, then Tri Murni Soedyartomo, a senior researcher at BATAN, would not, as reported in the Post on 12th November (Nuclear power needed before 2025

Jakartassnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263943936597554888.post-91310958079357345692011-11-27T17:00:00.001+07:002011-12-15T16:15:58.514+07:00

Anyone interested in the slaughter of our cousins, the orangutans of Kalimantan and Sumatra, because oil palm plantation managers view them as "pests" will find that the UK Observer newspaper is giving great prominence to the issue.Read it here

Jakartassnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263943936597554888.post-43361659372050324462011-11-13T17:00:00.000+07:002011-11-13T17:26:06.641+07:00

Indonesian studies scholars rarely attempt to shed light on how technology is particularly suited to serve the political interests of those who seek to control other groups or to establish a political order maintaining the status quo. Sulfikar Amir: The State and the Reactor: Nuclear Politics in Post-Suharto Indonesia (2010) Back in March, the spokesman of the Nuclear Energy Agency (BATAN)

Jakartassnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263943936597554888.post-91622759533962925722011-10-27T11:08:00.000+07:002011-11-13T18:23:02.756+07:00

I very rarely copy and paste anything straight from another publication, preferring to provide links to my references and sources. However, the article below, taken from the front page of yesterday's Guardian Online does not need much by way of commentary, that is, apart from one line: the project appears to be hampered "by the byzantine Indonesian system." .....................................

Jakartassnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263943936597554888.post-31146313451128835442011-02-06T12:00:00.001+07:002011-02-06T12:19:49.497+07:00

fr. an interview in Time Out Jakarta Emily Sutanto is one of the lucky gals awarded the title of  "10 Most Powerful Women in Indonesia 2010." Not your typical farmer, Sutanto has also been named in the "100 Unique Indonesian Exporters," and has contributed as a guest speaker for the Biofach Germany 2010 conference on  the development of Indonesia's fair trade. This farming guru talks to TOJ

Jakartassnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263943936597554888.post-87915995342591369912010-06-18T18:30:00.001+07:002010-06-18T18:48:08.001+07:00

I subscribe to the weekly email sent out by to Eco Geek. I'm particularly interested in small scale inventions and developments which could, with a little will, be applied here in Indonesia. Street Lamps Powered by Garbage A cool new design concept marries composting with clean energy: garbage-powered street lamps. The Gaon Street Light from designer Haneum Lee keeps food waste out of landfills

Jakartassnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263943936597554888.post-34507415428495060822010-03-16T16:30:00.001+07:002010-03-16T23:19:16.669+07:00

I first wrote a month ago about the shenanigans in Balikpapan Bay which, thanks to land speculation and massive investment, largely from South Korea, will enrich local businessfolk and higher echelon government officials at the expense of the environment and local aspirations. The following email from Stanislav Lhota is an update. Dear All, There is more news in the media (in bhs. Indonesia)

Jakartassnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263943936597554888.post-25585840135445709162010-02-14T08:30:00.005+07:002010-02-14T08:30:00.285+07:00

I presume it's a mere coincidence that today is St.Valentine's Day as well as being Hari Raya Imlek, the first day of China's Year of the Tiger. One must hope that among the feasts and festivities, there won't be any tiger body parts consumed. Tiger parts such as skin and bones are mostly used in traditional medicine purportedly to cure ailments from convulsions to skin disease, and increase

Jakartassnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263943936597554888.post-22389522624321973462010-02-12T12:33:00.000+07:002010-02-12T12:33:46.863+07:00

I haven't written about Kalimantan before although I do know where it is. I once sat in my seat on a Sempati plane as it sat on the tarmac at Balikpapan airport in transit to Jakarta. This blog isn't called Jakartass for nothing, but I am concerned about maintaining Indonesia's biodiversity and I abhor political shenanigans and its embedded corruption so when I received the following email my

Jakartassnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263943936597554888.post-43027396521552515142009-06-26T14:00:00.001+07:002009-06-26T14:42:37.426+07:00

I have been asked by Fen Montaigne, Senior Editor of Yale Environment 360, an online publication of the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, to disseminate a moving story and photographs by Rhett Butler of Mongabay.com that they have just posted on the plight of orphaned orangutans in Borneo and Sumatra.As Borneo's rain forests are razed for oil palm plantations, wildlife centers are

Jakartassnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263943936597554888.post-18333443505144074002009-02-02T16:30:00.002+07:002009-02-02T16:45:25.424+07:00

Jakarta BirdingSerial blogger Antony Casual has revived Jakarta Birding.That's what I call REAL twittering.

Jakartassnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263943936597554888.post-76531991216496087792008-11-27T18:30:00.001+07:002008-11-27T19:02:40.688+07:00

Three little girls in Sampangan district, Semarang, participate in a feast to celebrate the rice harvest season on Saturday. The feast is part of a traditional culture that is beginning to make its way back to the life of modern-day farmers in Semarang.That's all it says on this page, and I presume there's a photo that goes with it which my dial up connection couldn't handle. But no matter: just

Jakartassnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263943936597554888.post-21469755028267308252008-09-06T19:00:00.000+07:002008-09-06T19:02:13.909+07:00

Amongst my email subscriptions is Avaaz.org, which is "an independent, not-for-profit global campaigning organization that works to ensure that the views and values of the world's people inform global decision-making. (Avaaz means "voice" in many languages.) Avaaz receives no money from governments or corporations, and is staffed by a global team based in London, Rio de Janeiro, New York, Paris,

Jakartassnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263943936597554888.post-24464506642238157152008-07-25T08:00:00.001+07:002008-11-13T23:23:14.097+07:00

It was among the fastest, most efficient production cars ever built. It ran on electricity, produced no emissions and catapulted American automotive technology to the forefront of 'green transport'.It was designed and built by General Motors and they killed it. Why?How about the oil companies which are grinning smugly at their record profits?High oil prices are to big oil company profits what

Jakartassnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263943936597554888.post-79839008954773519622008-07-23T19:00:00.001+07:002008-07-23T19:18:22.001+07:00

There was a very short article in yesterday's Post, one I can't find online. Yet it's probably one of the most serious attempts to hoodwink the Indonesian public I've ever come across.Indonesia and France on Thursday signed an agreement on cooperation in nuclear power plant research.The agreement came amid a long-standing controversy over government plans to build a nuclear power plant in the

Jakartassnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263943936597554888.post-44673751815767643352008-06-08T08:00:00.002+07:002008-11-13T23:23:14.856+07:00

Although news about Indonesia's proposed nuclear power plant has been scant recently, it is worth reminding ourselves - and the élite of the business and political worlds - that no country has yet achieved energy self-sufficiency from nuclear power and, most importantly, no country has solved the problem of the disposal of the radio-active waste generated.I have burdened readers of my

Jakartassnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263943936597554888.post-77693394656124331602008-02-13T16:42:00.002+07:002008-02-13T18:31:11.755+07:00

We live in a “Back to the Future” era where most of what powers our daily lives is in essence “Time Travel”. Exploiting the compressed remains from prehistory - the constant rain of plankton onto the ocean floor and the settlement of vegetation in anoxic swamps during the Carboniferous period - we are mining and extracting our distant past for acceleration in our present.Our future, if we

Jakartassnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263943936597554888.post-75209771275950395412008-02-07T09:04:00.000+07:002008-02-07T11:21:38.187+07:00

Aksara Bookshop has BYOB - Bring Your Own Bag Programme, sells 100% recycled paper from Equinox whose Publishing Division has, since August last year, produced all its books using recycled paper. To date, their product had received greater interest from multi-national organisations. Local businesses have to create the demand from within.XSProject buys plastic consumer waste from Jakarta’s trash

Jakartassnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263943936597554888.post-53069138825832396842008-01-20T10:00:00.000+07:002008-01-20T11:55:32.470+07:00

Crossing a footbridge in central Jakarta yesterday, there were several supporters of Greenpeace. I stopped and suggested that they write to me whenever they had campaigns that needed some publicity. Thanks, they said, then asked if I wanted to join a demonstration. I pointed out that in setting up this website and through my posts on Jakartass I was doing my bit.Taking responsibility for our

Jakartassnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263943936597554888.post-2525182098885416712008-01-07T19:00:00.000+07:002008-01-07T18:48:08.171+07:00

That headline in the Guardian caught my eye, not least because I really do not believe that the case can be made for just 50 individuals. That was the comment I made on their blog and many more agreed.Those who are the most articulate may grab the publicity and the grant aid, so for them it's much easier to mount a platform and perform. However, it's all of us who are not in the headlines who are

Jakartassnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263943936597554888.post-49661612830934243482008-01-06T20:30:00.000+07:002008-11-13T23:23:15.429+07:00

Did you know that paper bags are worse for the environment than plastic bags? I didn't until today, which shows that Jakartass is behind the times. But then, so is Lucy Siegle, the 'green' correspondent of the UK Observer, who writes about her collection of bags for life, bags for today, bags for tomorrow... I am in danger of turning into a bag lady. Not sartorially speaking, but because every

Jakartassnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263943936597554888.post-21153726719596785452008-01-02T19:00:00.000+07:002008-11-13T23:23:15.588+07:00

No-one in the UK lives more than 100 kilometres from the sea and 'taking the waters' was embedded in my upbringing, not least because my grandparents lived in Eastbourne, on the south coast. Every year my sister and I would traipse down to the beaches, which are pebbly and really difficult to hobble across, and into the cold briny waves. We were told that it was good for us, but we preferred

Jakartassnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263943936597554888.post-47979469716176675522007-12-31T12:30:00.001+07:002008-02-17T10:18:26.469+07:00

All these snippets of good news from Indonesia have been gleaned from the Jakarta PostBioporeJakarta residents are being encouraged to drill 1 million 'biopore' absorption holes, which are about 30cms (1 foot) wide and 1 metre deep, to help solve the regular flooding problem.Given the causes and scale of the flooding, this is probably a forlorn hope. However, the holes are supposed to be filled

Jakartassnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263943936597554888.post-69815451560291308082007-12-31T09:30:00.002+07:002008-02-17T10:20:40.599+07:00

Contained Energy is a ‘foreign investment corporation’ (PMA) located in Jakarta, and now in Bali, offering renewable energy and sustainable solutions, generally through sponsorshipThis is a partial list of their projects in Aceh:* Solar power for 100 satellite radios.* Solar/wind pumping for GTZ project.* Solar water heating for Hotel Jeumpa.* Solar/wind power for Bukit Suharto health clinic.*

Jakartassnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263943936597554888.post-43217993769487769232007-12-19T13:00:00.000+07:002007-12-19T12:55:25.572+07:00

As widely expected, the Bali Conference proved to be an inconclusive shebang. Most media have focussed on the USA's intransigence and unwillingness to join the global consensus until it was time to go home. A few conciliatory words from their chief delegate lead to a standing ovation then a rush to the exits.George Monbiot has written thus:"After 11 days of negotiations, governments have come up

Jakartassnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263943936597554888.post-4664776407977349362007-12-02T17:00:00.001+07:002008-02-17T10:18:16.019+07:00

The eyes of the world will be focussed on Bali for the Global Warming and Climate Change Conference hosted by Indonesia and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, joint Nobel Peace Prize winner from 3 - 14 December.You can get all the news on the conference, its speeches, declarations and reports without reading this blog, so I'll continue to Think Globally but Write Locally.

Jakartassnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263943936597554888.post-69086107106707638512007-11-14T09:30:00.000+07:002008-11-13T23:23:15.846+07:00

Six of the world's eight species of bear are threatened with extinction, according to a report from the World Conservation Union (IUCN). Only two bears - the brown bear and the American black bear - were listed as being of "least concern".The IUCN, which has updated the status of the seven species of terrestrial bear on its Red List of Threatened Species, said despite claims that panda

Jakartassnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263943936597554888.post-8772855262311227932007-11-09T01:00:00.000+07:002008-11-13T23:23:16.101+07:00

The rush to palm oil and biofuels threatens to release 14 billion tonnes of carbon from Indonesia's peatlandsJohn Vidal, environment editor o The GuardianMany of the largest food and fuel companies risk climate change disaster by driving the demand for palm oil and biofuels grown on the world's greatest peat deposits, says a report, Cruel Oil (.pdf), issued today by Greenpeace.Unilever,

Jakartassnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263943936597554888.post-44510913918207878072007-11-04T08:00:00.000+07:002007-11-03T18:36:41.941+07:00

This is, I hope, the first in a series of monthly jottings I have gleaned from various sources. If you have an event or issue you think could be usefully jotted here, please email me. This is how I learned about items 1 & 2.1. Grain Blog reports that the push to plant hybrid rice seeds is more hype than hope.Both the government and the seed industry are well aware of the susceptibility of hybrid

Jakartassnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263943936597554888.post-24918868066074109132007-11-02T04:00:00.000+07:002008-11-13T23:23:16.258+07:00

There's much ado about Indonesia hosting the next, the thirteenth, United Nations Climate Change Conference on the island of Bali from December 3rd -14th.A week ago, SBY hosted a two day informal meeting in Bogor of ministers and senior officials from about 40 countries aimed at building a foundation for the conference.He called for developed countries to continue to take the lead in

Jakartassnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263943936597554888.post-19437130840483407322007-10-23T10:00:00.000+07:002007-11-01T18:33:57.994+07:00

Q. So why are rice fields, paddies in English, flooded?A. To keep down weeds.A study published by WWF two weeks ago, with a focus on India - a country which faces a major water crisis, yet has the world’s largest rice cultivated area - found that the system of rice intensification (SRI) method has helped increase yields by over 30% - four to five tonnes per hectare instead of three tonnes per

Jakartassnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263943936597554888.post-80700476824242344782007-10-23T09:59:00.000+07:002007-11-01T18:35:13.825+07:00

Bayer aren't alone in foisting sterile hybrid rice seeds on Indonesian farmers; however it is worth noting that they also supply Burma's vilified military regime.Monstrous MonsantoAmong the sources of these seeds in Indonesia is the American company Monsanto. This company has long been vilified as one of the producers of agent orange, the defoliant sprayed over the forests of Vietnam which have

Jakartassnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263943936597554888.post-28272116997692976842007-10-23T09:58:00.000+07:002007-11-01T18:34:08.400+07:00

My first post in this thread had been germinating for a few days. It seemed important to applaud a major breakthrough in agriculture which would not only increase rice yields by over 30% but also require 40% less water. Given the current re-emphasis on Indonesia once again becoming self-sufficient in rice production, here seemed to be a radical solution.Other obvious benefits would accrue. If

Jakartassnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263943936597554888.post-66591654672073240372007-10-23T09:56:00.000+07:002007-11-01T18:30:55.352+07:00

The push by Chinese hybrid seed companies, often in association with western companies such as, for example, Bayer which has already forged a relationship with Burma's Ministry of Agriculture, into other Asian rice-producing countries is because the Chinese seed companies are aware that in terms of rice productivity per hectare, the 'Great Yield' has failed.Most of the farmers who opted for

Jakartassnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263943936597554888.post-5024876246936109792007-10-23T09:55:00.000+07:002007-11-01T18:29:50.936+07:00

Given the forces aligned against them, the simple answer to the question Is there a glimmer of hope for those farmers in Indonesia who want to retain a semblance of independence? is 'no'. With the decentralisation of governments to the provincial and regency level, there are few if any safeguards to protect local communities.That is how Indonesia has permitted the planting of genetically modified

Jakartassnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263943936597554888.post-23584618320516814192007-10-23T09:54:00.000+07:002008-11-13T23:23:16.629+07:00

Multi-national seed conglomerates wishing to impose non-appropriate and 'standardised' agricultural technologies are backed up with the might of central and decentralised local governments which provide support with their security forces and interventionist legal powers.SBY (in middle) plants hybrid rice 15.1.07Mainstream international and domestic laws and policy often override customary laws.

Jakartassnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7263943936597554888.post-29562086155390560732007-10-01T02:00:00.000+07:002008-11-13T23:23:20.831+07:00

On an overcrowded and overheating Earth, where a billion people are obese and a billion people are malnourished, humanity squabbles over scarce and rapidly diminishing resources, goaded by politicians in thrall to businessfolk who take orders from the gods created by their own delusions.Axis of GreedThat is surely the only way sane folk can interpret deforestation, the rapid depletion of

Jakartassnoreply@blogger.com0