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Malaysia: Prevent human-elephant conflicts, Johor urged
nelson benjamin and esther tan The Star 14 Jun 19;
JOHOR BARU: The state government must take measures to better protect areas where wildlife roam freely to prevent an escalation in human and animal conflicts in future.
Malaysian Nature Society vice-president Vincent Chow said there were several major areas in Johor which needed protection, the Panti and Lenggor forests in Kahang and Mersing, and Labis National Park.
“Elephants roam these areas. Plantations might be destroyed as a result,” he said.
“If we continue to encroach into their habitat, the animals will be forced to come out and look for food in our villages.
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Malaysia: Sabah to cap visitor numbers at marine park to prevent overcrowding
kristy inus The Star 14 Jun 19;
KOTA KINABALU: The carrying capacity to the five islands under Tunku Abdul Rahman Park (TARP) here will be capped due to overcrowding, as proposals to "facelift" the islands are also being considered.
Sabah Parks director Dr Jamili Nais said that at present the numbers can reach up to 2,000 visitors per day, with an average of 400 to 500 visitors per island.
“We are going to limit the numbers but that can only be done once we go online to sell entrance tickets.
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Malaysia: Shock over Canada's refusal to accept returned plastic waste
AUDREY DERMAWAN AND BALVIN KAUR New Straits Times 14 Jun 19;
GEORGE TOWN: A senior Penang lawmaker has expressed shock over news report that Canada is refusing to take back plastic waste from Malaysia.
After all, Canada has willingly taken back its plastic waste from the Philippines.
State Environment Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh said he had given due respect to the Canadian representatives by not inviting the media during a visit to show the condition of the containers and their content at the North Butterworth Container Terminal (NBCT) on Tuesday.
“At the federal level, the Malaysian and Canadian ministers are dealing with the issue, but when they put out this kind of statement, they (Canadian government) are not showing any respect to Malaysia, especially Penang.
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Indonesia: Floods in South Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi, Central Sulawesi and East Kalimantan Provinces
International Federation of Red Cross And Red Crescent Societies ReliefWeb 14 Jun 19;
This bulletin is issued for information only and reflects the current situation and details available at this time. The Indonesian Red Cross – Palang Merah Indonesia (PMI), with the support of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), are continuing to monitor and respond to the situation with local and national resources. If required, additional financial resources will be sought via the relevant IFRC international disaster response mechanism.
The situation
High intensity rainfall triggered flooding in several areas of Sulawesi and Kalimantan in early June 2019. Three provinces in Sulawesi, namely South Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi and Central Sulawesi; and one province in Kalimantan – East Kalimantan, still suffer flooding from significant increase of water discharge, worsened by the high tidal wave.
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Major oil companies commit to carbon pricing at Vatican
NICOLE WINFIELD and FRANK JORDANS, Associated Press Yahoo News 15 Jun 19;
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Some of the world's major oil producers pledged Friday to support "economically meaningful" carbon pricing regimes after a personal appeal from Pope Francis to avoid "perpetrating a brutal act of injustice" against the poor and future generations.
The companies, including ExxonMobil, BP, Royal Dutch Shell, Total, Chevron and Eni, said in a joint statement at the end of a Vatican climate summit that governments should set such pricing regimes at a level that encourages business and investment, while "minimizing the costs to vulnerable communities and supporting economic growth."
The CEOs, as well as leaders of major asset managers such as BlackRock and BNP Paribas, also called for companies to provide investors with clarity about the risks climate change poses to their businesses and how they plan to transition to cleaner energy sources.
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Climate Change Is All Most of Us Have Ever Known
Nathaniel Bullard, Bloomberg Yahoo News 15 Jun 19;
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- In May, the Toronto Star launched an in-depth series on climate change in Canada, with a straightforward title: “Undeniable.” It’s an apt description of the evidence within the reporting and elsewhere in publicly available data.
“Undeniable” might be a useful descriptor, but let’s frame climate change differently: how this reality manifests itself within the human experience, and how politics are being shaped by that experience. Let’s begin with global average temperatures.
Global surface temperatures have surpassed the 1951-1980 average every year since 1977, which means anyone born since has lived their entire lives in an already changed climate.
In 2015, the global median age was just below 30, so a changing climate is the only thing most people on Earth have known.
Different age groups have contrasting views of a climate of constant change and volatility. A recent Gallup poll separated Americans into three climate change cohorts:
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Two-hour ‘dose’ of nature significantly boosts health – study
Researchers say simply sitting and enjoying the peace has mental and physical benefits
Damian Carrington The Guardian 13 Jun 19;
A two-hour “dose” of nature a week significantly boosts health and wellbeing, research suggests, even if you simply sit and enjoy the peace.
The physical and mental health benefits of time spent in parks, woods or the beach are well known, but the new research is the first major study into how long is needed to produce the effect. If confirmed by future research, two hours in nature could join five a day of fruit and veg and 150 minutes of exercise a week as official health advice.
The finding is based on interviews with 20,000 people in England about their activity in the previous week. Of those who spent little or no time in nature, a quarter reported poor health and almost half said they were not satisfied with their life, a standard measure of wellbeing. In contrast, just one-seventh of those who spent at least two hours in nature said their health was poor, while a third were not satisfied with their life.
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