4MATTERS- The new face for BDPollution

To all my readers, followers, advertisers, guest writers, WAIT, looks like no one would know this link yet. Anyways  I have been planning to rebrand BDPollution for a very long time. BDPollution was created in 2005 when I was just preparing for my A'Levels.  I felt that the name was not getting any traction even after 8 years and so decided it needed a new brand and new feel and look. All of my previous posts will remain the same, just the name has changed. BDPollution is now  4MATTERS .

4MATTERS has its new tag line Heart. Optimistic. Passionate. Enthusiastic. or in other words H.O.P.E. I would love to see the blog take newer heights and expect the new look to take it there. It will have majority content from Bangladesh and will cover the regular international news, reviews, products and services.

There are a lot of things happening in Bangladesh regarding the environment and want to share that with everyone. I want 4MATTERS to become the environment news vine  for Bangladesh covering almost all aspects..

Nektarina (S)pace interviews BDPollution and Bangladesh for their July Issue 2013

For their July issue 2013, Nektarina (S)pace, a monthly web magazine published by Nektarina Non Profit had requested to do an interview on BDPollution, me and Bangladesh. The interview spanned about 9 questions ranging from what is BDPollution to what inspired me to start BDPollution. Anyways go ahead and catch the article here at Nektarina (S)pace.. To be more specific, check from pages 75 onwards.

Interview courtesy to Sandra Antonovic, Editor-in-Chief, Nektarina (S)pace and CEO of Nektarina Non Profit..

A love story about the world’s first electronic TukTuk!

I want to tell you a story that begins in India about ten years ago. The story revolves around an American entrepreneur and a method of transport very familiar with pretty much everyone in the whole of Asia: the TukTuk!

Our American entrepreneur – let’s call him Adam Rice, as that’s his name - was struck by the challenges that faced the cities in Asia he often visited. Besides the typical issues of sanitation, housing and clean drinking water, he recognized that one of the biggest challenges facing cities like Mumbai and Bangkok was an effective means of transportation for its growing populations. And like most tourists and locals he loved the convenience of travelling around in a Tuk-Tuk. He then got thinking about the challenges in his own adopted country of Germany, and what lie ahead for the future. He realised that the TukTuk could solve many of the problems facing our increasingly crowded streets, but not in its current form, as however loveable, they are actually quite inefficient users of fuel and cause significant levels of air and noise pollution.  So what was the solution? 100% Electric motors of course! So fast forward a few years and we have the first eTukTuks hitting the streets of Europe.  Due to transportation regulations they are not (yet!) in use as taxis, instead they are used daily for tourism and special events. But they are an alternative way that the general public can experience first-hand the joys of electric driving and dispel all the myths. After one overnight charge the Tuk is good to drive for 85-100km depending on weather and driving conditions. Not bad eh. And before all the super-greenies out there start asking – yes the Tuks in Berlin are all powered by green electricity! In Germany we are lucky enough to be able to choose from four genuine providers of renewable, non-nuclear energy: Naturstrom, Lichtblick, Greenpeace Energy and EWS Schönau. 

In Berlin our eTukTuks are just one part of a transport revolution that seems to be taking place here at the moment. Carsharing schemes are really taking off and “cars-to-go” – even electric ones - can be found on every street corner. We also have a super public transport system and well-used cycle paths. However Berlin still isn’t meeting the EU standards on pollution despite laws requiring old cars to be removed from the roads and the creation of an “environmental zone” in the city centre.  So there is still a great deal of work to be done - which isn’t easy, especially when the German Chancellor is so influenced by the extremely strong German car lobby and exerts her power to weaken Europe-wide emissions targets. 

But meanwhile, back in happy 100% electric TukTuk land, we are doing the best we can do, to assist the long –overdue electric transportation revolution.

So where is the love story? Well, basically anyone who comes into contact with our eTuks falls INSTANTLY in love with them. They look great, sound great and smell great so what is not to love?  

--

This is a guest post.


Katie Griggs is Operations Manager at eTukTuk Gmbh. She is also Campaign Director for 10:10 Deutschland.

Global Power Shift - Could this be the new frontier to the climate change battle?

This year, actually starting from today June 24th to June 30th, 2013, 350.org are changing to higher gears in an attempt to wield the power of human movement. Global Power Shift is 350.org newest campaign towards international climate action.. A six-day conference in Istanbul, Turkey is being held to organize, make new strategies among leaders and organizations who can mobilize and create an unparalleled movement in the fight for climate change.

There are about 500 youth climate activists from 130 countries participating. This just shows the massive scale and the actions that are being planned by 350.org. Currently attending the conference is Phase 1 of their mission. Phase 2 begins after June 30th and is aimed for 2013-2014.

To know more head over to their site at Global Power Shift or 350.org

A Single Man's Walking Challenge 1: Gulshan-Dhanmondi-Gulshan

                                                 (On the way)                                                                   

Last year, I realized I was not doing enough on my part to make a difference so I came up with an initiative of my own. I decided to come up with a series of challenges.  I normally go to the park once or twice a week to walk and jog, so I felt I was already trained. Trained for what?  The challenge was to walk from Gulshan 1 to Dhanmondi and back to Gulshan 1, a distance of about 15kms.

I created an event on facebook (since its one the popular social media platform if you want to spread the word about any event). Once I did that, I made a story to explain the challenge. 

The story begins about a young slim fellow, who is a little bit concerned about the environment and decides to make a little difference if not any at all. As he walks on the streets of Dhaka, it strikes to him why not do a series of walking challenges. A simple task to normal people however for him it seems like a challenge and something he feels he need to achieve. So he plans the route for his first challenge from Gulshan-Dhanmondi-Gulshan. A distance of more than 10kms.

Why walk?

Walking from his experience has indicated certain things

- It saves time
- It saves fuel

- It saves money

- Good exercise
- Makes you feel happier

As a 10:10er and eco-blogger, he feels its been awhile since he had a nice long walk. The timing is perfect with the nice winter weather and he knows he will not get bored while walking considering all the exciting and funny things that happens on the streets of Dhaka. 

When does he plan to do so?

Friday,February 10th, 2012

Route: 

Starting point- Gulshan-1 circleMid-way point- Dhanmondi(short pit-stop, not sure, it will depend on his spontaneity)Ending point- Gulshan-1 circle

Problems he might face:

- Getting mugged on broad daylight.
- Oversleeping and missing the challenge completely being a weekend.
- Getting ill prior to the challenge.

Updates about the event:

He plans on twittering while on the move.

Twitter
twitter.com/fhmtech

How can you participant? 

- Cheer him on!
- Criticize him for being an idiot ( there is something called a bicycle, or even better a car..)
- Spread the word that walking is good for many reasons and is not a tedious thing to do- When traveling short distances try walking instead of using the car.- Send an invite to your friends.

What is 10:10?

10:10 is a global campaign run through out the world to promote carbon cutting and reduce climate change. 10:10 Bangladesh joins with organizations, businesses and educational institutes and promote active participation of people through events/projects and raise awareness. www.1010global.org You can sign up your organization or yourself at www.1010global.org/bd (for Bangladeshi citizens)

Country hub of 10:10 Bangladesh- TERM Magazine, a concern of Bangladesh Information Gateway Ltd.(BIG) Ltd.


 The walk itself was very good considering a nice winter morning. I was a bit worried about the weather but it was perfect. I reached my check point in Dhanmondi and grabbed lunch at Nandos with a close friend. After a heavy stomach, I started the return journey, digesting all the food.

According to pace, I reached Dhanmondi in about 1 hour 30mins. It was slightly quicker if I compare with a car. This being the fact, the car is stuck in traffic most of the time. On the return journey, I took about 1 hour 45 mins, kinda slowed down. At the end it was a good challenge, seeing some interesting things on the way.

Surprisingly, I received a lot of interest from people and those who wanted to participate. Hopefully next time I might just let other people be part of it.

Also have to thank Sandra Antonovic for posting a guest post about the event on the web magazine. She is the CEO of Nektarina non profit, Editor in Chief of Nektarina (S)pace web magazine. Check it out here.

Alternate energy, may not be alternate any more

In my usual scourging on the net regarding environmental issues, I came across an article of The Economist which is couple of months old nonetheless and as I read through it, it made it realize that the term we use "Alternate energy" may not be alternate any more.

When scientists were giving presentations, seminars about the need of shifting the use of fossil fuel into alternate fuels around the late 80s, it definitely took time for it pick up. Currently the use of solar and wind energy have increased significantly over the last 10 years, powering a small portion of national girds of many countries. Initially costs of these were quite high, and not preferred such an example would be of solar energy. The entire process of harnessing the Sun's energy and converting that into electricity was very expensive but now with prices coming down ( notable because of research, production costs coming down) , it has become a common household item.

Ok so as the article goes, solar and wind energy cannot be termed as alternate energy source anymore. Why? Its because as I mentioned, they are now powering major countries. Germany is now mostly dependent on solar and wind if not fully but with its nuclear programs being shut down by 2020, these two sources of energy will eventually become its main contributor of power.

Anyways read the article here.

Want to throw food, think again - World Environment Day 2013-

An annual program organized by UNEP (United Nations Environment Protection,) the World Environment Day falling on June 05, is back this year with the theme Think.Eat.Save. The theme focuses on not wasting food, as it seen that it takes a lot of effort to produce the food which in turns reflects to the amount carbon emissions produced. The UN Food and Agriculture estimates that about 1.3 billion tonnes of food is disposed off. Considering that amount of food wasted, it is possible to feed an entire continent of people for several years.

With a global population of 7 billion and growing, needing to feed such a population has been a burden on natural resources. The UN’s Food and Agriculture estimates that one third of the world’s food is wasted or lost. There are places in the world where people starve of hunger and are not able to have a proper three square meal. So imagining that 1.3 billion tonnes of food are wasted, this year’s theme seems very appropriate Think.Eat.Save.

It is not only about saving food but considering the fact of preserving other resources when consuming food. One of major requirements of producing food is water. I found an article from the Guardian published this year January indicating how much water is required to produce common food stuff. As I went through the article, it seems we waste a lot more water and I mean a lot. For example to produce 1 kg of chocolate, 17,196 litres of water is used. So now do the math, 1.3 billion tonnes of food wasted and multiple the amount of water wasted.

On the top of that, the production, manufacturing, shipping and transportation of food lead to a massive trail of carbon footprint. I again say, this year’s theme is about thinking before you eat, then eat and finally save/protect the environment.

They have created some interesting posters with facts for those of you who want to see, check it out.

10:10 Bangladesh Sustainable Hunt

It has almost been three (3) years since the inception of 10:10 Bangladesh and it has so far been quite an interesting journey. Their next event, 10:10 Bangladesh Sustainable Hunt, is another such fascinating event. This time, they have come up with a contest where contestants are supposed to share their sustainable ideas and energy- saving habits.

The contest is divided into two categories

Category 1- Energy-saving success story (a habit/story that can inspire us).

Category 2- A sustainable idea/project (your idea of a project can be of any sort, but it has to be done in an energy-efficient manner, unique and scalable).

The winner will have his/her own documentary film about how they are doing their part on creating a sustainable environment. On top of that, the winning idea will have the opportunity to implement their idea or project with the collaboration of 10:10 Bangladesh.

Unlike previous endeavors, where contestants can apply from any part of the world, this time the competition MUST be within Bangladesh. The reason behind this was to highlight Bangladesh.

To know more details about the event, and how to participate, visit the facebook page at 10:10 Bangladesh Sustainable Hunt.

Rio+20- Fingers crossed?

With less than 13 days left for the Rio +20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable development, the question arises will this summit be the turning point or just a get together of world leaders thinking about how to cook their food or just fall asleep into discussions.

After all the conferences that lead up to this, it is expected Rio to be the last hope or as the slogan for this conference is "The Future we want." The conference will focus on two broad issues

- Green economy in the relevance to sustainable development poverty eradication
- Institutional framework for sustainable development.

 These two broad issues then have been broken down into 7 critical issues that will need a proper framework  to pave for a sustainable future. The issues are

1- Jobs
2- Energy
3- Cities
4- Food
5- Water
6- Oceans
7- Disasters

Each one of them are interlinked with each other making it harder to maintain some sort of equilibrium. It is said that it would cost $100bn to sustain climate change each year. So that would mean if such a proper framework is to be finalized at Rio(fingers crossed), then this money of $100bn would be spent tackling these 7 critical issues. Looks like we have to wait and see...

To know more visit the site at UN Conference on Sustainable Development..

Environmental Asbestos Exposure

There are six different forms of asbestos that can be found naturally in soil and rocks around the world.Although asbestos is not dangerous when left undisturbed in the ground, mining or removal of the mineral can release asbestos fibers into the air, where environmental exposure can lead to serious illnesses such as malignant mesothelioma cancer and lung cancer.

Some types of asbestos, such as amosite and crocidolite, are usually found in their natural form in foreign countries like Africa.

However, environmental asbestos exposure in the United States is more common than many people understand, with rocky areas and mountain ranges being the typical spots of natural asbestos deposits. Large deposits of various forms of asbestos have been found in California, in the Rocky Mountains, in the Kootenai Mountains in and around Montana and also in other U.S. national parks and forests.

Unfortunately, many people unknowingly stir up naturally occurring asbestos while hiking and picnicking. Vacation activities such as four-wheeling through asbestos-contaminated hills can stir up the asbestos dust and cause inadvertent exposure. Once asbestos fibers are airborne, even walking through the area can lead to inhalation or ingestion of the fibers.

Although these fibers are natural, they are hardly harmless.

The six types of asbestos are labeled as carcinogens, and hundreds of other asbestiform minerals are thought to cause similar health problems. Illnesses that have been directly linked to environmental asbestos exposure include mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis. Some cases of other cancers, such as ovarian cancer and laryngeal cancer, also have been linked to asbestos exposure.

To help reduce the chance that you are environmentally exposed to asbestos, you should take extra precaution while engaging in any outdoors activities in areas where asbestos is a known threat.

These are areas include Coalinga, California, Sall Mountain, Georgia and Libby, Montana. Be sure to heed any asbestos warnings posted in state parks and recreational areas, and avoid disturbing any rock or mineral deposits where asbestos may occur.

Another environmental exposure to be aware of is that of a damaged or imploded building. We've all seen on TV: hotels, office towers, parking garages, old sports arenas and civic center’s get imploded. One minute they are there, 30 seconds later they have disappeared in a carefully engineered pile of rubble.

All good, except: Old buildings have asbestos in them, and dust from these implosions is not good to breathe in.

The safety lesson, then, is not to be a spectator for or cheerleader of these implosions and also to stay away from the rubble afterward. Unless the building was abated before it was ruined, asbestos fibers are in the air and can be breathed in.

iPic Theaters: Earth Preservation Contest

iPic Theaters is organizing a Film Festival Contest themed under "Earth Preservation". The winning video will have their chance to get their video premiered at iPic Theater for a month. The winning contestant will also receive $4000.

How to get involved?

Create a short film on the theme of Earth Preservation with a timeline of two to six minutes. Submissions will be accepted from Jan 7th,2012 - Feb 10th,2012. Results will be published on Earth Day, April 22nd 2012. Time is running out as the deadline approaches. To know more about the event go over to the facebook event here.


*All applicants must be 21 years or older.

Reason for businesses going green

When going green started out couple of years back, businesses were very reluctant not to go towards that. There was a myth that going green was a waste of money and just a business-killer. However over time becoming more environmental-friendly became an investment to companies in the long run.

I worked on some technical aspects on renovating businesses/industries into green industries in Dhaka and found certain things why it’s worth it:

When it came to energy auditing, generally the entire energy flow would be mapped. Then after mapping that, you know where you are losing extra energy. So if you plug that portion of energy down, you save energy. So what’s the benefit of saving energy? Firstly you spend less fuel (with fuel prices increasing, you would be definitely glad if fuel was saved), you save electricity are just some places where you save. However the strongest motivation is money, and trust me you save a lot of money. For businesses

Saving Money = Profits

Anyways I got an article from The Economist on as to why firms go green.

Link courtesy @Julika Niehaus- Global Campaign Manager at 10:10

GreenMyParents- Parents taught to save the planet

A program launched on Earth Day 2010, GreenMyParents is a concept developed by young people to teach their parents and their peers to help the economy, earn money at home and to save the planet through simple everyday actions. When it started it targeted 100 kids to save $100 and spread through more kids so that through Earth Day 2011, it was intended to save $100 million.

Its actually simple! By following household efficiency and conserving energy it will take you a long way ahead in savings. They have also launched a book to give you tips on how to manage and be efficient. You can grab a copy at Amazon. Anyways to get a starter kit head down to their website.

The United Nations has designated the first Monday in October as annual World Habitat Day.

On Oct. 4, 2010, in recognition of World Habitat Day, Habitat for Humanity will raise awareness of the need for improved shelter and highlight Habitat’s priorities: the worldwide connection between human health and housing, and, in the United States, neighborhood revitalization. These themes echo the United Nations’ chosen theme for 2010 for events in the host city of Shanghai, China and the rest of the world: “Better City, Better Life.”



Every week, more than a million people are born in, or move to, cities in the developing world. As a result, the urban population of developing countries will double from 2 billion to 4 billion in the next 30 years. (Kissick, et al: 2006)



By the year 2030, an additional 3 billion people, about 40 percent of the world’s population, will need access to housing. This translates into a demand for 96,150 new affordable units every day and 4,000 every hour. (UN-HABITAT: 2005)

Habitat for Humanity hopes that by raising awareness and advocating for universal decent housing we can dismantle and alter the systems that allow for poverty housing and make an affordable, decent place to live a reality for all.

Habitat for Humanity World Habitat Day events

Around the world, many Habitat for Humanity local offices have organized World Habitat Day events. Habitat for Humanity’s 27th annual Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project is a World Habitat Day event this year. It will be held Oct. 4 – 8 in six cities in the United States. Held in a different location each year, Habitat’s Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project is an annual, internationally-recognized week of building that brings attention to the need for simple, decent and affordable housing. This year, the Carters will work alongside volunteers in Washington, D.C.; Baltimore and Annapolis, Md.; Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minn.; and Birmingham, Ala. to build, rehabilitate and improve 86 homes.

UK kicks off one of the world's largest wind farm

As UK leads one of the largest coordinated global event 10:10:10, the Global day of Doing, this news sounds great. UK embraces renewable energy to a whole new level.

Details, basically this wind farm is one of the world's largest offshore wind farm situated off the Thanet in Kent. The project was at a cost of £780m ,and is expected to generate enough electricity to power 240,000 homes.

Read more about it.

UN Secretary General endorses 10/10/10

Its great to hear that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has endorsed 10/10/10, the Global Day of Doing. As he quotes

“It’s time for us to roll up our sleeves and get to work on building the clean energy future that will generate economic opportunity and provide a better, safer, healthier world for our children. On October 10, I encourage everyone to do his / her part to be part of the solution to the climate challenge.”

He further said

“It’s time to roll up our sleeves.” Let’s get to work pulling in those 35 remaining countries and signing up even more work parties for 10/10/10. Together, we’ll show our nations what unity is all about.

Why the rest 35 countries? Apparently in 350.org website, 25 countries are still not active about 350 as in no activities relating to 350 have taken place. If they did last year, probably not this year. Just before posting this article, I was going through the list of the countries at 350.org website.

Read more about it.

An American setting an example

Mr. David Sandalow served in the State Department and at the National Security Council during the Clinton administration. Mr.Sandalow also have helped the Obama administration to up speed the development of electric cars and offer incentives for consumers and communities to begin taking steps to make transitions off conventional vehicles.

He travels on a Prius, which he converted to the latter models which allows you to plug it at an electric outlet and charges the battery. He fills his Prius will gasoline only once or twice a month. Just imagine the amount of CO2 emissions he saves!

Hats off and its great that officials like him are setting the example.

Get the full article here.

10:10 Bangladesh in action at the enviro fair

The enviro fair was held as mentioned in the previous post on August 19th-21st, 2010. When I arrived at the fair, I was wondering if I was at the right place, it just did not feel right.

Well I got out of the car, and walked all the way ( it was quite some distance) to our 10:10 stall and was awed. As you can see from the pictures, the stall was truly amazing. A great start to the 10:10 campaign in Bangladesh.

Before I began the tedious task to go around signing up people, I thought why not walk a bit, understand the people who are there. So I adventured, peeping through the different stalls, some to be quite impressive. An eco-resort, a company selling solar panels while other products being powered by solar.

Then few of our team at 10:10 got their guns loaded( giving them their sign-up sheets and a pen) and we began approaching people about 10:10.

The enviro fair turn-out was not high being a festive month and I just cause of the downpour, overall a successful 10:10 event.

More pictures can be seen at 10:10 flickr page here.

Yamaha's zero electric scooter

Yamaha has announced, actually last month that it has added a zero-emission electric scooter to its arsenal. The scooter is a 50cc and apparently can travel five times farther than its gasoline counterpart.

The scooter, EC-03, can travel 43 kilometers on a single 6-hour charge from a normal household power outlet .The model will be launched in September 1st,2010 with a price tag of $2,800.

Courtesy of Physorg.com

Put Solar On it

Another campaign initiated by my favorite group 350.org in light of the 10/10/10 Global Work Party called the Put Solar On It, there aim to target world leaders on installing solar panels on the roof of where the leaders work. Like the US, the White House, India the Rashtrapati Bhavan; in Mexico they call it Los Pinos.

We all know that installing solar panels will not solve the climate crisis, but will send a strong message, setting an example. This is a perfect opportunity for leaders to get involved on the 10:10 goal.