Indonesian presidential hopefuls vow energy self-sufficiency through palm

Reuters Yahoo News 18 Feb 19;

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia's two presidential candidates pledged on Sunday to achieve energy self-sufficiency by boosting the use of bioenergy, particularly fueled by palm oil, to cut costly oil imports by Southeast Asia's biggest economy.

Indonesia, the world's biggest palm oil producer, has been pushing for all diesel fuel used in the country to contain biodiesel to boost palm consumption, slash fuel imports, and narrow a yawning current account gap.

In a televised election debate, President Joko Widodo said if he won a second term the government planned to implement a B100 program, referring to fuel made entirely from palm oil, after last year making it mandatory to use biodiesel containing 20 percent bio-content (B20).

"We hope 30 percent of total palm production will go to biofuel. The plan is clear, so we will not rely on imported oil," Widodo said, adding that Indonesia's crude palm oil production had reached 46 million tonnes a year.

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Best of our wild blogs: 17 Feb 19

Nudibranchs and Natural Values
Hantu Blog

Our Cool and Amazing Forest – Love MacRitchie Walk (Feb 2019)
Love our MacRitchie Forest

Afternoon Walk At Windsor Nature Park (16 Feb 2019)
Beetles@SG BLOG

Finding Samurai
BES Drongos

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Burning smell in north-east Singapore likely related to fire at landfill in Pasir Gudang: NEA

Timothy Goh Straits Times 17 Feb 19;

SINGAPORE - A burning smell in north-east Singapore is likely related to a fire at the Tanjong Langsat landfill in Pasir Gudang, Johor, according to the National Environment Agency (NEA).

The agency told The Straits Times on Sunday (Feb 17) that it had received nine feedback cases on the smell between Friday evening and 11pm on Saturday. Eight of them were received after 6pm on Saturday.

Several netizens living in Yishun, Ang Mo Kio, Sengkang, and Hougang also reported a "smoky" or "smoggy" smell on social media.

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NEA launches year-long battle against food wastage

Fabian Koh Straits Times 16 Feb 19;

SINGAPORE - With food waste among the five largest sources of waste in Singapore, the National Environment Agency (NEA) hopes to get people to adopt three habits when eating out so as to combat wastage.

The year-long drive, part of the Year Towards Zero Waste campaign, was launched by Senior Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources Amy Khor at Yishun Park Hawker Centre on Saturday (Feb 16).

It encourages people to order only what they can finish; ask for less rice or noodles if they are unable to eat that much; and say "no" to side dishes they will not consume.

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Malaysia: 15 sheep deaths blamed on tiger

Nur Aqidah Azizi, Abnor Hamizam Abd Manap New Straits Times 16 Feb 19;

JELEBU: Fifteen sheep have been found dead at Kampung Geylang Pertang, here. It believed that they were attacked by a tiger last night.

Pertang state assembly coordinator Azmi Abd Rahman said the incident was reported by the owner, who found the carcasses this morning.

“The owner was shocked to find the sheep were dead when he wanted to feed them this morning at 8am,” he said.

“The sheep were found with their guts ripped out.

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Indonesia land-burning fines unpaid years after fires

STEPHEN WRIGHT Associated Press 15 Feb 19;

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian plantation companies fined for burning huge areas of land since 2009 have failed to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties meant to hold them accountable for actions that took a devastating environmental and human toll.

The 10 palm oil and pulp wood companies involved in fires owe more than $220 million in fines and the figure for unpaid penalties for environmental destruction swells to $1.3 billion when an illegal logging case from 2013 is included, according to separate summaries of the cases compiled by Greenpeace and the Ministry of Environment and Forestry.

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Fears flood water runoff could 'smother' Barrier Reef

AFP 15 Feb 19;

Runoff from recent floods in northern Australia is flowing onto parts of the Barrier Reef, scientists said Friday, starving coral of light and providing fodder for the predatory crown-of-thorns starfish.

Parts of northern Queensland are still reeling after nearly two weeks of unprecedented rainfall that turned roads into rivers and inundated hundreds of homes with floodwater.

Scientists at James Cook University say the floods swelled a number of rivers along hundreds of kilometres of coastline, spilling sediment onto the reef which has reduced water quality and much-needed sunlight.

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Best of our wild blogs: 15 Feb 19

Birdwatching with Civetgirl @ Pasir Ris Park: smooth-coated otters, grey herons, fragrant Tembusu and spotted wood owls
Toddycats!

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Dominica-flagged vessel sinks in Singapore’s waters near Pedra Branca

A supply vessel was travelling along the Singapore Strait when it capsized at around 7.15am on Feb 14, 2019, about 3 nautical miles from Pedra Branca.
TODAY Online 14 Feb 19;

SINGAPORE — A Dominica-flagged supply vessel sank in Singapore’s waters early on Thursday (Feb 14), making it the second maritime incident in a week.

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said in a press release that the vessel, Ocean Cooper 2, was travelling along the Singapore Strait when it capsized at around 7.15am, about 3 nautical miles from Pedra Branca.


Map showing the location where Ocean Cooper 2 capsized. Photo: Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore

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Crocodile spotted at Lower Seletar Reservoir, water activities suspended

Channel NewsAsia 14 Feb 19;

SINGAPORE: All water and fishing activities at Lower Seletar Reservoir have been suspended until further notice after a crocodile was spotted in the area on Thursday (Feb 14).

A PUB contractor spotted the reptile in the morning, said the national water agency in a Facebook post, adding that it will be working with National Parks Board to capture the crocodile.

"For public safety, all water activities and fishing activities at Lower Seletar Reservoir have been suspended until further notice," said PUB.

"The public is advised to be alert and avoid going near the reservoir water edge."

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Tasmania fires may 'wipe out' ancient species

AFP Yahoo News 15 Feb 19;

Hobart (Australia) (AFP) - Tasmania's ancient rainforest and alpine flora species face an uncertain future, scientists have warned, after out-of-control bushfires consumed vast tracts of wild bushland.

As authorities downgraded emergency warnings Friday, with wetter weather -- and even some snow -- bringing respite from more than a month of rolling fires, scientists warned they are still assessing the damage to the island's unique environment.

Wildfires have scorched over 205,000 hectares (500,000 acres) in the southwest, centre and northwest of the island -- fuelled, scientists believe, by climate change.

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El Nino is back but it's late, weak and probably no big deal

SETH BORENSTEIN, Associated Press Yahoo News 15 Feb 19;

WASHINGTON (AP) — An El Nino, which can alter weather worldwide, has formed but it's so weak and late that it shouldn't be a big deal, U.S. forecasters said.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Thursday that the climate feature formed in the central Pacific, but forecasters don't expect it to last more than three or four months.

An El Nino is a natural warming of the ocean that once it interacts with the atmosphere often warms up the globe and changes rainfall and temperature patterns, making some places wetter and some places drier.

When there is an El Nino, there are generally fewer and weaker hurricanes in the Atlantic, but this one might not make it to summer and have any effect on the next storm season, said Mike Halpert, deputy director for the NOAA's Climate Prediction Center.

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