Climate Change - An actual cause of concern?

Hello dear readers, it's been a while since my latest entry as work has been so time- & energy-consuming. I've got some good news to share - I've just gotten another contract job, in Labuan! On a shipyard, at that! Hopefully with time & the more I'm able to settle down here on the island & on the job, I'll soon do a write-up on my experience being able to work around boats and on a huge shipyard. Stay tuned for that! I'd also just like to mention that Labuan is a super chilled place with really friendly people. I've still not gotten the chance to head to Sabah & Sarawak yet, but I sure am planning to do so soon.

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But for this post, I'd like to talk about an issue that's been rapidly on the rise and one that should definitely not be taken lightly by us all. We humans are often very care-free in going about our daily lives and do not take heed regarding the nature and its beauty around us. And as we chase modernity, it is imperative that we take a step back, think & take action about the environment and how to preserve it as much as we possibly can. For if it isn't us humans killing each other, it is MOST DEFINITELY Mother Nature that will seek to reclaim what has been & is rightfully hers. Through nature's perspective, we humans are definitely a scourge that has devoured & destroyed almost everything in our path. We destroy vast lands of actual green jungles and replace them with grey concrete jungles, we spill oil & throw rubbish into the ocean as if water will never run out (now we even have embankments to build & develop more man-made structures), we EVEN scrape skies with huge buildings & airplanes/jets/rockets like there's no side-effect to the atmosphere. Heck, we even tar up roads thinking that one material is 'dirty' and the other 'clean'. When in actual fact it's very much the opposite, where tar is A LOT more hazardous to ourselves and the environment. How funny is that?

Is it not time we transition to a form of cleaner energy? Ever since we've dug up oil, it has been the main source of energy, powering most nations into what is now known as the age of Science & Technology, but at the same time sucking the Earth dry of this valuable resource. Worst, it's not only become a source of energy, it is now a power tool wielded by bigger nations to impose and manipulate at will, the smaller nations not so rich in said resource. Excessive use and exploration of Oil & Gas has been one of the biggest contributors of carbon footprint which has damaged much of the ecosystem around us. The combustion of petroleum greatly accelerates the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and other greenhouse gases. This as well as the burning of other fossil fuels, forests and open burning of wastes are the primary culprits to global warming, again due to too much carbon dioxide in the air. For those who do not know, carbon footprint refers to the amount of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere resulting from activities of an individual, organization, or community. I'm sure we all know who, or what, are the biggest culprits responsible for this very issue. Although I hold the opinion that combating climate change is definitely a responsibility for us all, I also strongly feel that the onus falls heavily on those at the top to instigate the change. Reduce your consumption, invest more into activities such as the Corporate Social Responsibility aka CSR, cultivate a more environmental friendly work-space and so on. It does not help when those at the top, and that have already consumed a bigger portion of the pie, condemn and instruct other less-fortunate individuals to control themselves, to reduce their consumption. When in actual fact, the "top percentile" consume so much more and contribute a much larger chunk toward this pandemic than the whole lot of us put together.

There are many possible steps that can & should be taken gradually so it would not be too much of a shock for everyone. It is only a natural human reaction, however petty it is, to only want to change after seeing others do it too, or more accurately, first. One of the only very few things in life that people are willing to let others do/get first. Again, how funny is that? I know this for a fact, because I myself was victim to this mode of thinking. It's sad, but true nevertheless. And when dealing with these issues that necessitate change, it is crucial to tread carefully, having to tackle the fact of not imposing on an individual and running the risk of chasing them further away from said change. It is an uphill climb, but one that will be made a lot easier with a concerted effort.

About a month or so back, I attended a talk on this very topic, climate change, held by the Malaysian Youth Delegation or MYD, for short. The talk covered smaller subtopics such as Energy Transition, Local Communities Climate Action and the Role of Media in Shaping Climate Action among others. Each subtopic was carried out by different individuals either representing a company/organization or themselves. But all passionate about battling climate change by giving back to the environment and spreading awareness as much as they can. Other than the talks, group activities & some brief workshops were also conducted to get the participants to engage with one another - discussing & exchanging solutions, brainstorming ideas, and just to basically get to know each other better. Overall, the group activities/workshops were very engaging but the talks could have been better. Content with more depth & strength, technical-wise, would have greatly helped the course of action they were trying to achieve with the talks.

No idea what I was trying to do or say here. But they were a cool group of people.

"Hmm these ladies can actually act". One of the workshops conducted, this was in regards to the subtopic of The Role of Media in Shaping Climate Action

One of the organizations represented was "Kelab Alami", an environmental education club located in Mukim Tanjung Kupang, Johor. Check them out through this link: https://kelabalami.weebly.com/about-us.html & show your support for the local environmental communities. Do check out their website to see a gist of what they've been up to & what activities they have on offer for visitors! There are quite a few tours available - Mangrove Habitat Walk, Seagrass Habitat Walk, Fishing Tours & so on. Other activities include cooking classes and village cycling tours. This club, or organization, was incubated by a certain Dr Serina Rahman and was initially planned for implementation in either Pulau Tioman or Langkawi. Nevertheless, it was made a reality in Johor with the help of a local Tg Kupang-ian, Shalan Jum'at. Their main objectives are to raise earnings to further build & expand their beloved "Kelab Alami" while also developing alternative incomes for the local communities and indirectly saving them from vice. But sadly enough, they are actually under great threats from the previous planning & development of the real estate property, Forest City as seen below. If you look closely enough, you will observe that the whole ocean area of Tanjung Kupang is completely made obscure by the Forest City development. Just imagine how much of the ocean flora & fauna is destroyed from this, and not to mention how grievous it is to the lives of the fishermen living there, whose lives depended heavily on fishing as their mode of income.

Another company represented that is worth noting was CENERGI, a company that is in the renewable energy sector, focusing on the production of biogas and biomass as a source of energy. It is a cleaner form of energy, but much research & work needs to be done to improve the cost-efficiency factor. Currently, they own & operate 7 plants, which altogether generate about 10.1MW of power, with another 5 plants to be commissioned in 2020, totaling about 8.7MW of power. They have also recently completed an energy efficiency project that guarantees electricity savings of up to 33% for a local university. They are currently one of the largest grid-connected Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) biogas players in South East Asia. Looking at the amount of power that it is able to generate, it clearly shows that it is not that far off from being a commercially-viable source of energy/power. The efficiency must be tremendously increased in order to justify the cost, both short-term & long-term. CENERGI aims to promote sustainable practices and greatly reduce the carbon emissions across South East Asia. The photo below shows the procedure of how Palm Oil is extracted and processed into Palm Oil Mill Effluent and finally converted into energy/power.

To compensate for the unclear photo, I'll try to briefly explain in point form of said process:

• Palm oil is extracted from the fruit, and the empty fruit bunches are processed for biofuel.

• From here, the products are split into 3 channels of differing processes - Sterilization, Crude Oil Clarification and Cracked Mixture Separation. Each process with different purpose & different outcomes, but ultimately it is to purify and discharge of waste water etc.

• Once the products of the palm oil plantation have gone through those processes, we end up with what is referred to as Palm Oil Mill Effluent aka POME, and this byproduct is able to reduce 80% of greenhouse gas emissions.

1. Sterilization is to basically disinfect & sterilize the palm oil plantation products before it is moved on to the next phase.

2. Crude Oil Clarification is to produce clarified oil. To produce said oil, the solids/solid material must be removed. There are a couple of methods to do so - filtering it through finely-woven material, or by strongly heating it with water.

3. The Cracked Mixture Separation process is to separate the kernel and shell, both products of palm oil mills.

• Next, the POME will go through an Anaerobic Digester, where a biological process takes place and microorganisms break down biodegradable materials.

• After the biodegradable materials have been broken down, raw biogas is produced and can be combusted to generate electricity and heat, or processed into renewable natural gas.

• This raw biogas is then put through a Scrubber & Dehumidifier, one to remove poisonous Hydrogen Sulphide while the other to remove water vapor.

• The treated biogas is used as fuel for combustion engines which convert the gas to mechanical energy, powering an electric generator. The electricity produced is then transferred to the national power grid and distributed & used nationwide.

An old schoolmate, Megat, and I caught holding our faces & hoping that the barrage of questions would stop because it's way past 5pm lol

Malaysia seems to be heading to a more eco-friendly and green approach to combat climate change & have more determination in instigating climate action, which is a welcome change to me, as we aim for a more sustainable future. There are plans of action in place to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by the year 2030. Around the world there are also talks of this energy transition, where Acts and Bills are being discussed & heavily scrutinized such as the recently passed Paris Agreement. This agreement's long term aim is to keep the increase in global average temperature to well below 2 degrees Celcius and to pursue efforts to limit the increase to 1.5 degrees Celcius, recognizing that this will greatly reduce the risks and impacts of climate change. Although we think that these minute changes in temperature throughout the years are irrelevant because we do not really feel or see the effects, but this factor actually carries A LOT of weightage in the overall temperature of the world. This ever-increasing average global temperature is a major cause of accelerating the rising of global sea-level. Even in the last few years, marine heatwaves have doubled in frequency compared to years before. Marine heatwaves are prolonged periods of abnormally warm seawater temperatures that are detrimental to marine ecosystems, arising from local and/or remotely forced mechanisms in the atmosphere.

Actions must be taken gradually to mitigate this change in climate. A planned response is in order to upkeep and maintain what beautiful & reducing nature we have left, to ensure a sustainable future for the generation's to come. There are many other subtopics concerning climate change that I would like to talk about but I think this post is long enough as it is, and I don't want you guys to lose interest before it even ends. There's an abundance of information available online & in books, so I implore those reading this to study on renewable energy and other climate-related topics. Before any action can be taken, there must be awareness. Before there can be awareness, we must equip ourselves with the proper knowledge & mindset.