Another oil rig parked off Pulau Semakau
on the wild shores of singapore blog
Johor prepares for year-end flooding
on the wild shores of singapore blog
Our damselflies
Vestalis amoena and Vestalis amethystina on the Creatures Big & Small blog
Chinese Sparrowhawk sighted
on the Bird Ecology Study Group blog
Barbets and cavity excavating
on the Bird Ecology Study Group blog
Go ahead, enjoy life's little pleasures
Sylvia Toh Paik Choo, The New Paper 8 Nov 08;
THE hip or the foot?
That may have to be the choice facing residents of Marine Drive after Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong's speech in their precinct last night.
As adviser to Marine Parade GRC grassroots organisations, SM Goh launched the Home Improvement Programme (HIP) for Blocks 72 to 79. He also officiated at the polling for HIP.
In his short speech - first in Mandarin, then in English - he, of course, could not avoid the financial crisis.
While saying that next year's economy will be tougher, he also urged Singaporeans not to give up on life's little pleasures. Like taking in a movie, eating out, going to a spa, using taxis, donating to charities, having a foot massage.
Can a foot massage lift the economic doldrums?
It can, if you have enough savings to indulge now and again. Mr Goh said: 'It's what economists call the paradox of thrift.'
In a time of global financial tsunami, he cautioned, if we all go into what he termed 'power save mode', then for sure the economy will really go into a recession.
With a knowing smile, he added: '(In) slow period, get best bargains.'
Wah, minister ask me to spend money. With the promise of discounts!
'If those with savings, who can afford to spend, and they don't, then this will affect the vibrancy of the economy,' he said.
Those with little or no savings can still be in for improved living, with HIP. Like an episode out of television's Home Improvement, Mr Goh was walked through a mock-up of a five-room HDB flat. For some reason, even the toilet bowl was tied up in gold ribbon.
He also toured an exhibition of essential (government-paid) and optional (government-subsidised) home improvements, encouraging residents of the eight 30-year-old blocks to vote yes.
So will it be hip, hip, yay, yay then? For HIP to be implemented, 75 per cent of eligible homeowners must vote for it. The upgrading programmes will cost billions.
'We can afford it,' Mr Goh reassured the residents. 'Because of our past economic growth, and we have been careful with money, so now, confronted with this financial crisis, we can help people.'
The four- and five-roomers of Marine Drive turned up on the hard court of Block 75 for the event as a lion dance poom-poom-cheh SM Goh to his seat.
Children put on a ballet, another child in a new dress for the occasion handed 'Uncle Goh' the gold scissors to cut the ribbon to the exhibition.
As grassroots leaders milled about, a couple told me: 'And to think when these flats came up, nobody wanted to move here - because it's reclaimed land!'
So this weekend, it's okay to spend. And don't mind me if I put a dollar or two on the unit number of the mock-up apartment: 2193.
When times are tough... go indulge
Singaporeans are doing just that, splurging on 'little treats' like premium foods and wine
Sandra Davie, Straits Times 9 Nov 08;
Economic crisis? Spend more money, urge the economists. And some Singaporeans are taking that advice to heart.
They may have put a hold on big-ticket purchases but are not letting up on 'little treats' like Godiva chocolates, otoro sushi or white truffles, now in season and served up at $10 a gram in upscale restaurants.
Chef-restaurateur Mervin Goh keeps up with the news on the credit crisis that is unfolding around the world. But the 36-year-old, who runs seven Japanese restaurants with two of his brothers, said that on some days, he wonders when it will hit Singapore.
Especially on days like Friday and Saturday over a week ago, when his two most expensive restaurants - the Akashi Japanese restaurant and Inakaya Robatayaki grill at Orchard Parade Hotel - were completely full.
'I felt bad. I had to turn away several customers who turned up at the restaurants. On weekends like this, I feel optimistic.'
He said business has been largely unaffected. Singaporeans still splurge $1,000 on a meal for two, including wagyu beef which costs $40 per 50gm and otoro (fatty tuna belly) sushi which costs $20 a slice.
'Touch wood, people are still spending. On a good night, I can sell 400 slices of otoro,' he said.
Mr Goh's business is not the only one yet to see the effects of the economic slowdown. The cash registers at popular high-end restaurants and shops that sell premium foods like hand-made chocolates, French fare and single malt whiskies are still ringing away.
Brand manager Sebastian Lim, 32, who represents the single malt scotch whisky Macallan, was bracing himself for lacklustre sales. But some 4,000 bottles of Macallan, which run up to about $298 a bottle at bars, were consumed here last month, 3 per cent more than in October last year. He expects sales to be even higher this month and in December.
Gourmet shop Le Bon Marche, which recently opened a cafe on its premises in Tiong Bahru, also reports brisk business. 'Call to book a table,' husband-and-wife team Stephane Herve and Shirley Tang advise Singaporeans eager to dine at their cafe, where a cup of hot chocolate costs $7.50.
No wonder figures released for August showed that the volume of retail sales remained constant. According to the Department of Statistics, telecommunications and computer products saw the biggest year-on-year jump in retail sales. Supermarkets, apparel and footwear retailers, jewellery shops and department stores all raked in higher sales.
Singaporeans seem to be still splurging, despite warnings from economists that the current down cycle may be way worse than the Asian financial crisis in 1997 to 1998 and projections of at least three quarters of negative growth next year.
Singapore Management University's Associate Professor Seshan Ramaswami said this is not atypical. Spending patterns during past recessions have shown that indulgence products do not fare that badly.
What people hold off buying are big household durables such as 50-inch plasma TV sets, cars or a new home, as these are often bought on credit and involve monthly debt repayments. But having forgone larger, big-ticket indulgences, they seek out smaller, affordable luxuries in bad times.
Retail expert Lynda Wee, who has a PhD in retail marketing, agreed: 'Since buying a new home is no longer affordable, people may think, 'Let's own that dream bag or watch first'.
'Consumers buy to de-stress in a down period, to feel good so that they can keep going on with their work, and to keep their spirits high.'
Indeed, 11 shoppers interviewed at high-end brand name shops in Takashimaya and Paragon shopping centres said they knew they are not immune to the recession. A 25-year-old lawyer, who had just paid over $3,000 for a Louis Vuitton bag, and declined to be named, said: 'Life has to be worth living. Why am I working so hard if I can't buy a handbag I want?'
Ms Candice Lim, 29, who was stocking up on handmade Belgium chocolates at Godiva, spoke like a true banking executive when she said: 'You have to figure out what your personal recession is. What are you willing to bear?
'Some like me are willing to hold off on buying a BMW or a 50-inch LCD TV set. But don't ask me to give up my favourite Godiva chocolates. They keep me going in these stressful times.'
Fright Night with this nature guide, anyone?
Straits Times 9 Nov 08;
Participants have been known to scream in fear when they go on night tours of Pulau Ubin led by nature guide Ben Lee.
'Yes, there were some people who freaked out when they heard loud noises coming from the trees,' said the 47-year-old.
He is unsure of the origins of the noises.
'Only once have I seen an unusual shape flying off from high up in the tree. That trip had about 28 people, so what I saw was not as frightening as it might have been if there were fewer people,' he said.
'The rest did not see what I noted and I kept very quiet about it,' said Mr Lee, who founded non-profit group Nature Trekker Singapore in 2003.
It has more than 2,100 members and he runs it full- time.
He will lead another night jaunt - with 26 or more people - through the wilds of Pulau Ubin on Nov 15.
There are some ground rules.
For example, do not aim your torch anywhere you want to but on the path in front.
'Once an animal is sighted, you can focus the light on it for a short time to get a better look and to take pictures,' said Mr Lee, who majored in human resource management at the University of Tasmania.
You can expect to spot resident wildlife such as wild boar, civet cat, leopard cat, otter, pangolin and python.
'Most of the participants will round off the trip with a meal in Changi to talk about what they've experienced, including any scary moments,' he said with a laugh.
Loh Keng Fatt
To find out more about the night tour, visit www.naturetrekker.org
Elena Chong, Khushwant Singh, Straits Times 8 Nov 08;
A TRAINEE diver, just one dive away from qualifying as an open-water diver in February last year, never finished his quest.
A scuba tank filled with an exceptionally high level of carbon monoxide ended it for Mr Sue Qing Wen off Pulau Hantu. The 20-year-old sank out of the dive crew's sight and drowned; his body was found three days later, the tank still strapped on.
Lab tests found the tank to contain 785 parts per million (ppm) of carbon monoxide and 12.3 ppm of hydrogen sulphide - both toxic. The compressed air in a normal scuba tank should contain 80 per cent nitrogen and 20 per cent oxygen.
Nobody at the inquiry into his death could explain how so much of these poisonous gases got into his tank; neither could it be determined how inhaling them could have affected him.
State Coroner Victor Yeo thus recorded an open verdict.
The Health Sciences Authority's forensic scientist Chia Poh Ling said the high level of carbon monoxide in the tank could have come either from a contaminated air supply or the tank having been filled where there was a high level of the gas. Another tank taken off the boat was found filled with the expected 20.7 per cent of oxygen, 55 ppm of carbon monoxide and 1.7 ppm of hydrogen sulphide.
The manager of Dolphin Dive & Adventures Francis Yeo, 29, testified that when he filled up the 24 tanks a day before the dive, he did it by the book. He said he also turned off the boat's engine and placed the air-intake valve upwind of the compressor engine so exhaust would not be sucked into the tank.
Associate Professor Philip Eng of the Department of Respiratory Medicine at the Singapore General Hospital said too much carbon monoxide causes dizziness and nausea; fits set in within 45 minutes, and unconsciousness, in two hours.
Exposure should not exceed more than 35 ppm of the gas over eight hours.
On Feb 17, Mr Sue and five other dive students headed out to Pulau Hantu with several others for their final dive assessment following theory lessons and a practice session in a pool.
The first two dives were uneventful. Before the third and final dive, the trainees changed tanks.
Mr Sue was paired with fellow trainee Mohamed Fairus Jumali, 35. They entered the water with divemaster Gerald Chew Tiau Chin, 27, descending vertically by holding onto a line tethered to the seabed.
When they had gone down 8m, the trio paused to make way for another trainee going up. This was when Mr Chew and Mr Fairus lost sight of Mr Sue. Mr Chew looked for him on the sea bed to no avail.
He resurfaced and alerted Dolphin Dive employee Joanne Sim Hui Jun, 28. It was she who saw Mr Sue surface a distance away, waving and without his breathing apparatus.
She signalled to him to put it back on and inflate his buoyancy compensator device, a vest worn by divers which can be inflated or deflated to control buoyancy.
A lifebuoy thrown towards Mr Sue fell short of him. Ms Sim said Mr Sue, then conscious, sank into the water amid strong currents.
The family's lawyer Simon Tan, said Mr Sue's parents felt that the circumstances of his death are no clearer now and want to see justice done. They are considering commencing legal action against the relevant parties.
Mr Tan said that on the day of the incident, the family waited for Mr Sue to join them for their Chinese New Year reunion dinner.
Instead, they got a visit from the police after 8pm bearing the news that he had gone missing.
Bernama 2 Nov 08;
JOHOR BAHARU, Nov 2 (Bernama) -- The mangrove swamps of Kampung Sungai Melayu and Kuala Sungai Skudai near here have been identified as a habitat for the Milky Stork, a bird species listed as near extinct by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) technical adviser (Johor branch) Vincent Chow said the state government should utilise the Milky Stork (Myceteria cinerea) by turning the mangrove swamps into a tourist attraction.
"Eighteen Milky Storks had been sighted in Kampung Sungai Melayu and Kuala Sungai Skudai. There are only about 5,000 Milky Storks worldwide and their number is fast declining," he told Bernama here today.
The Milky Storks could also be found in Larut, Perak where only two birds had been sighted.
The migratory bird had been sighted in Johor and Pahang (1980s), Melaka (1940s), Selangor (1930s) and Kedah in 1907.
Milky Storks could also be found in five other countries including Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia.
Chow said the state government should ensure that development near mangrove swamps did not destroy the natural habitat of the Milky Stork.
The bird habitat is within the Danga Island Villas luxury housing project bought mostly by foreigners.
He said the Milky Storks made Kampung Sungai Melayu and Kuala Sungai Skudai mangrove swamps their home because of the abundant source of food particularly "ikan belacak" (mudskippers).
"We hope the state government and developer can cooperate with MSN and the Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) to conduct a scientific study on the Milky Stork habitat in the area," he added.
The mangrove swamps were also visited by other migrant birds including the Painted Stork (Myceteria leucocephala) which could be found in Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Myanmar and Cambodia.
Chow said MNS also believed that the Milky Stork and Painted Stork had created a hybrid bird species in the mangrove swamps.
-- BERNAMA
Bernama 7 Nov 08;
KOTA KINABALU, Nov 7 (Bernama) -- The designation of the lower Kinabatangan-Segama as a Ramsar site is another milestone in the biodiversity and ecosystem conservation initiative in Sabah, State Secretary Datuk Sukarti Wakiman said today.
He said the designated area comprised three contiguous protected forests -- the Trusan Kinabatangan forest reserve, Kulamba wildlife reserve and Kuala Maruap and Kuala Segama forest reserve -- with total area of 78,803ha.
"This area is not only the biggest Ramsar site in Malaysia but is even larger than the total combined area of the five previously designated sites in the country, three in Johor and one each in Sarawak and Pahang," he said at the certificate presentation ceremony for the first Ramsar site in Sabah here. His speech was delivered by Deputy State Secretary Datuk Gregory Joitol.
Ramsar Site In Kinabatangan-Segama Another Milestone In Biodiversity Conservation In Sabah
Sabah Biodiversity Centre Director Abdul Fatah Amir handed over the official certificate to Datuk Sam Mannan, Director of the Sabah Forestry Department.
The official certificate was awarded at the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar COP10) in Changwon, Korea, on Oct 28.
The convention on Wetlands is an inter-governmental treaty which provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. It was adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971 and came into force in 1975.
Sukarti said the lower Kinabatangan-Segama wetlands area was very rich in biodiversity and had very unique ecosystems.
"The site is a very good representation of coastal mangrove forest and rare peat swamp forest and rich in fauna such as sumatran rhinoceros, proboscis monkey, tembaedau, Borneo pygmy elephant and storm's stock.
"It is also recognised as an ecologically important spawning and nursery ground for fish and prawn. This designation is also a recognition of the importance of wetland ecosystems in conservation of fauna and flora," he said.
Speaking to reporters later, Sam said the certification was a world recognition for Sabah in the conservation of wetlands.
-- BERNAMA
Lower Kinabatangan-Segama Wetlands declared Ramsar site
Jaswinder Kaur, The New Straits Times 28 Oct 08;
Home to the endangered Sumatran rhinoceros, Borneo pygmy elephants and a range of other wildlife, the Lower Kinabatangan-Segama Wetlands on Sabah's east coast was today designated as a Ramsar site at an international conference held in Changwon, South Korea. The state's first Ramsar site which extends over 78,803 hectares of mangrove forests and peat swamps, is almost the size of Malaysia's smallest state of Perlis and covers 80,302ha.
Comprising the Trusan Kinabatangan, Kuala Maruap, Kuala Segama forest reserves and the Kulamba Wildlife Reserve, the country's sixth Ramsar site is larger than the five other designated sites put together (55,355ha), making this certification perhaps the most significant one to date.
The other five Ramsar sites in Malaysia are the Kuching Wetlands National Park in Sarawak, Pulau Kukup, Sungai Pulai and Tanjung Piai in Johor and Tasek Bera in Pahang.
Ramsar Convention Secretariat deputy secretary general Dr Nick Davidson awarded the official certificate to Sabah Biodiversity Centre director Abdul Fatah Amir at the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar COP 10) which kicked off today.
DID steps up mitigation systems ahead of monsoon, including dredging rivers
The Star 9 Nov 08;
JOHOR BARU: The Drainage and Irrigation Department has gone into high gear in its preparation for possible floods during the end-of-the-year monsoon season and early next year.
Natural Resources and Environ-ment Minister Datuk Douglas Uggah Embas said the department had been ordered to set up flood command centres and monitor all flood detection systems in the country.
“The department has also been told to make sure all flood mitigation systems were running smoothly in a meeting with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi a few days ago,” he said after launching the environment rehabilitation campaign in the Southern Region Marine Department.
Douglas said research had identified 9% of the country as flood prone.
He said river dredging was also being conducted nationwide as part of preparations for the yearly floods.
In Johor, the rivers dredged were Sungai Lenik and Sungai Juasseh in Segamat; Sungai Tampok, Sungai Pinggan and Sungai Air Baloi in Pontian as well as Sungai Masai in Johor Baru.
Douglas said this was part of a total allocation of RM365mil for flood mitigation projects in Johor, which also included research on master plans for five estuaries.
He also announced that 134,000ha of mangrove swamps nationwide had been gazetted as Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar) sites.
“The mangrove sites gazetted are Tasik Bera in Pahang; Kuching Wetlands National park in Sarawak, Lower Kinabatangan-Segama wetlands in Sabah, as well as Sungai Pulai, Kukup Island and Tanjung Piai in Johor.
“RM26.43mil has been allocated under the Ninth Malaysian Plan to ensure the pristine conditions of these sites,” he said.
DID to deepen all rivers
By Anis Ibrahim, New Straits Times 9 Nov 08;
GELANG PATAH: Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has asked the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) to deepen rivers nationwide to prepare for floods that hit Johor and Pahang badly last year. Environment and Natural Resources Minister Datuk Douglas Uggah Embas said the prime minister stated this in a meeting with him earlier this week.
"He (Abdullah) wants us to be ready for floods that can occur either at the end of the year or early next year," he said after launching the Johor Environmental Preservation Campaign yesterday.
"The department has been instructed to deepen all rivers."
Abdullah, he said, intended to prevent a repeat of the floods that hit the two states badly in December 2006, with rivers in Johor overflowing their banks and causing death and damage to properties.
"An allocation of RM355 million has been set aside for Johor.
"Work on Sungai Lenik and Sungai Juasseh in Segamat, Sungai Tampok, Sungai Pinggan and Sungai Air Baloi in Pontian, and Sungai Masai in Johor Baru has begun."
On short-term measures, Douglas said work had been completed at Sungai Johor in Kota Tinggi and Sungai Pekan in Pahang.
"The flood-mitigation project, which covers all rivers nationwide, is urgent and will be completed as soon as possible."
Earlier, he witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between UEM Land and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM).
The MoU covers a grant of RM230,000 for UKM to draw up an environment masterplan for Nusajaya, Johor's new administrative centre under Iskandar Malaysia.
UEM Land is Nusajaya's main developer.
Nusajaya lies next to the Sungai Pulai Ramsar site, an area measuring 91.2 square kilometres which has been gazetted as wetlands.
Douglas said the government was committed to protecting the six Ramsar sites in the country, three of which are in Johor.
The Ramsar Convention is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable usage of wetlands.
Jenny Barchfield, Associated Press Yahoo News 8 Nov 08;
PARIS – French scientists say they hatched a new gecko species from an egg plucked from its nest in a South Pacific island and carried it 12,000 miles to Paris in a box lined with Kleenex.
France's National Museum of Natural History said it was the first time a new lizard species has been catalogued based on an individual raised from an egg.
Given the Latin name Lepidodactylus buleli, the gecko makes its home near the tops of the trees that line the west coast of Espiritu Santo, one of the larger islands of the Vanuatu archipelago east of Australia, the museum said.
A 2006 expedition to Espiritu Santo to study the ecosystems of the forest canopy led to the discovery of the 3-inch-long gecko. The expedition included climbers who scoured the canopy for plant and animal samples.
Ivan Ineich, a reptile specialist at the museum, said he first noticed the little lizard when he saw a bloody carcass accidentally hacked in half by one of climbers.
"I said to myself 'this guy looks bizarre,' but I couldn't tell right away it was a new species because it had been so massacred," Ineich said in a phone interview.
Climbers then harvested a plant where female geckos had hidden nine minuscule eggs, Ineich wrapped them in wet Kleenex, packed them into a pillbox and carried them home to the French capital.
There, he gave the eggs to a friend who raises lizards as a hobby. Eight of the baby geckos died after temperatures in the terrarium plummeted during a power outage, but the ninth lived.
___
Associated Press Writer Nathalie Gentaz in Paris contributed to this report.
Palm oil is used in a third of all groceries. But can it ever be produced without causing environmental devastation as some big companies are promising?
Fred Pearce, guardian.co.uk 6 Nov 08;
The plutocrats of palm oil are in trouble. The makers of Wall's ice cream and Dove soap and Flora margarine are worried you'll get the idea that these products are being produced at the expense of the rainforests of southeast Asia. Because they are. And, so far, efforts to rebrand palm-oil plantations as oases of sustainability have proved about as convincing as those old ads that insisted you couldn't tell the difference between butter and margarine.
In late November, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) will hold its sixth annual meeting in on the Indonesian island of Bali. Food manufacturers, commodity traders and plantation owners will applaud the "first trickle" of palm oil certified as wildlife and climate-friendly and definitely not grown on recently deforested land.
Sadly, this will underline how, after six years of trying to identify sustainable sources of palm oil, the RSPO has to admit that 99% of the ubiquitous edible oil – found in a third of all the products on supermarket shelves – cannot be shown to have been produced sustainability.
In the chair in Bali will be Unilever's director of sustainable agriculture, Jan Kees Vis. The Anglo-Dutch conglomerate Unilever (purveyors of the Wall's, Dove and Flora brands) began life as Lever Brothers, obliterating the forests of west Africa a century ago to create palm oil plantations. Today, it buys more than a million tonnes of the oil annually from deforested Malaysia and Indonesia.
The world is getting in a fuss about growing palm oil for biofuels. But the vast majority of the crop – more than 80% of which comes from these two countries – goes into foodstuffs and soap products. Rainforests are being burned and felled across the islands of Borneo and Sumatra to create new land for palm-oil plantations.
Fearing a backlash from consumers, Unilever was one of the founders of Roundtable. But six years on, that body is being dismissed as a front for continuation of business as usual in the jungle clearings. Earlier this year, about 200 environment and human rights groups signed an "international declaration against the greenwashing of palm oil by the RSPO".
And one of Unilever's leading suppliers has been singled out. The Singapore-based Wilmar International has a huge land bank across Indonesia waiting to be cleared and planted with palm oil. Wilmar was recently forced to concede defeat in a long dispute with Friends of the Earth over whether it was linked to illegal land clearing for palm oil.
Unilever insists that it is sincere. Some other food manufacturers are seeking alternatives to palm oil. But Unilever promises instead that by 2015 all its palm oil will come from sustainable plantations. Leading retailers such as Sainsbury's make similar promises. Last November, Sainsbury's announced that it was "switching to sustainable palm oil" in its own-brand food. Critics say such promises are pie in the sky. At Sainsbury's, a year after that bold promise, just one brand of fish fingers has switched.
Progress seems bound to be slow while most of the producers of palm oil remain in denial about their problems. The Malaysian Palm Oil Council is haughtily dismissive of any suggestion that the methods of its members may be less than perfect – claiming that they only plant on land zoned for agriculture.
But that provides little comfort for conservationists. Particularly in Sarawak, the Malaysian province on Borneo, large amounts of forest land is zoned for agriculture, and the state is aggressively promoting conversion. Researchers say active deforestation is still creating space for palm oil.
Nonetheless, the Malaysian council's boss, Yusof Basiron, tells anyone who will listen that the RSPO, of which the council is a prominent member, is merely a promotional tool. Its system of certification is a "condition imposed by certain markets to certify practices that Malaysian planters have been undertaking for years." Such statements appear to breach the RSPO's own rules which forbid "claiming conformity to RSPO principles and criteria" without formal certification.
Can the likes of Unilever and Sainsbury's get all their palm oil from "sustainable sources" by 2015 as they promise? In one sense, maybe. Cynics point out that rainforest scientists expect both Borneo and Sumatra to be virtually treeless by then. There will be no more to chop down, so palm oil plantations will no longer be accused for deforestation.
But meanwhile, the patina of sustainability being wrapped round our biscuits and soap and ice cream and margarine and cosmetics and much else is helping fuel their final destruction.
Glenn Chapman, Yahoo News 8 Nov 08;
SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) – Former US vice president Al Gore said an Internet revolution carrying Barack Obama to the White House should now focus its power on stopping Earth's climate crisis.
The one-time presidential contender turned environmental champion told Web 2.0 Summit goers in San Francisco Friday that technology has provided tools to save the planet while creating jobs and stimulating the crippled economy.
"The young people who have been inspired by Barack Obama's campaign and the movement that powered Barack Obama's campaign want a purpose," Gore said.
"One of the reasons we were all thrilled Tuesday night is it was pretty obvious this was a collectively intelligent decision."
The Internet's critical role in Democrat Obama's victory in the presidential race against Republican John McCain was a "great blow for victory" in addressing a "democracy crisis" stifling action against climate change, Gore said.
The Web has "revolutionized" nearly every aspect of running for US president and delivered an "electrifying redemption" of the founding national principle that all people are created equal, according to Gore.
"Some week," Gore said in greeting to an audience that leapt to its feet cheering. "It really was overwhelming. It couldn't have happened without the Internet."
Obama's victory, seen by many as a repudiation of policies of president George W. Bush, was validation of sorts for Gore, who lost to Bush in a controversial election outcome in 2000.
"Belated redemption is part of what we are celebrating this week," Gore said.
Since leaving politics Gore has been awarded a Nobel Peace Prize for his relentless efforts to combat climate change and starred in an Academy Award-winning global warming documentary "An Inconvenient Truth."
He also founded Current TV, a cable television operation that taps into user-generated videos and news coverage fed to its website.
The one-time newspaper reporter said his reasons for creating Current included a belief in the need to "democratize television media."
"One of the main reasons why our political system has not been operating well until this election is the unhealthy influence of the television medium as it has operated," Gore said.
"The Internet comes in and democratizes information again and it is so exciting. All the vibrant forms of information are living on the Internet but TVs are still dampening it."
Current TV teamed with Twitter and Digg on election night to weave feeds from the popular Internet websites into its coverage of the vote.
The Web has the potential to "revolutionize almost every aspect" of running for US president, according to Gore. He believes that social activism made possible by people connecting and sharing information online is in its infancy.
"What happened in the election opens a full new range of possibilities and now is the time to really move swiftly to exploit these new possibilities," Gore said of turning the power of the Internet to cooling global warming.
Gore said Obama should announce a national goal of getting all US electric power from renewable and non-carbon energy within the next decade and spend the billions necessary to build an "electrinet" smart power grid.
"Web 2.0 has to have a purpose" Gore said.
"The purpose I would urge is to bring about a higher level of consciousness about our relationship to this planet and the imminent danger we face. We have everything we need to save it."
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