Pathogens hitchhiking on plastics ‘could carry cholera from India to US’

Research finds ‘nurdles’ washed up on Scottish beaches tainted with E coli, with potentially far-reaching health implications
Karen McVeigh The Guardian 11 Mar 19;

Dangerous sewage pathogens have been found “hitch-hiking” on plastic litter washed up on some of Scotland’s finest bathing beaches, raising concerns from scientists the phenomenon could have far-reaching implications for human health worldwide.

The findings, by the University of Stirling, have confirmed environmentalists’ fears that ubiquitous, persistent and tiny plastic beads, or “nurdles”, found on beaches and in rivers and seas around the world, act as rafts for harmful bacteria, transporting them from sewage outfalls and agricultural runoff to bathing waters and shellfish beds.

The findings raise the potential for “cholera in India to be transported and washed up on a shore in the USA”, according to Dr Richard Quilliam, the study’s principal investigator.

Read more!

Best of our wild blogs: 11 Mar 19

Butterfly of the Month - March 2019
Butterflies of Singapore

Read more!

Malaysia: Water level at Air Itam Dam drops further

Nur Izzati Mohamad New Straits Times 10 Mar 19;

GEORGE TOWN: The water level at Air Itam Dam here continues to record a decline, believed due to the prolonged hot weather.

The effective capacity of the dam was recorded at 59.4 per cent today (Sunday), compared to 60.4 per cent on Friday

Based on the Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBAPP) website, the water level at Teluk Bahang Dam is 74.7 per cent, while Mengkuang Dam is 45.9 per cent.

Read more!

Indonesia: Fire burns almost 1,700 hectares of land, forests in Riau

The Jakarta Post 10 Mar 19;

The forest fire in Riau has expanded as haze spreads to more cities in the province.

The Riau Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD Riau) revealed that, as of Sunday, the fire had spread across nearly 1,700 hectares of land from a little over 1,100 ha on Feb. 28, causing smoke in Pekanbaru and Dumai.

BPBD Riau acting head Ahmadsyah Harrofie said Bengkalis regency was currently the worst affected area, as quoted by tempo.co.

Read more!

In land-scarce Singapore, new spaces for homes on the sea and in the air, possibly

A floating island and apartments perched over roads and old buildings are just some of the ideas for how Singapore could overcome its land shortage, as the show Land Unlimited discovers.
Derrick A Paulo Channel NewsAsia 10 Mar 19;

SINGAPORE: Mr Shinichi Takiguchi has visited Singapore several times, and from the windows of his hotel room, all he can see is the sea. He believes that will change in future.

The managing executive officer at construction giant Shimizu Corporation is part of a team working on building a floating city for upwards of 50,000 people. And they have been poring over maps of Singapore, discussing potential locations.

They are sure that what they call the Green Float will be part of the sea view here one day – with homes at the top, offices in the middle, vegetable farms at the bottom and beaches around it.

Read more!

Commentary: Is Singapore’s decades-long shift away from agriculture about to take a U-turn?

The food industry can thrive in land-scarce Singapore, looking at other small but successful food exporting countries, says RSIS’ Paul Teng.
Paul Teng Channel NewsAsia 10 Mar 19;

SINGAPORE: Singapore has gone through such spectacular changes in its bicentennial history that today’s visitors to the country may be forgiven if they think it has always been a glitzy concrete shopping paradise and financial hub.

It was only at the turn of the 19th century that Singapore grew, exported and traded in gambier, nutmeg, cinnamon, among other produce. And until the 1970s, orchards, chicken and pig farms thrived on the main island.

As Singapore accelerated its transformation from Third World to First post-independence, so too did its policy makers confront difficult choices on the use of limited land.

Read more!

Malaysia: Nearly dried-up Sungai Golok attracting residents baking in heatwave

Sharifah Mahsinah Abdullah New Straits Times 9 Mar 19;

RANTAU PANJANG: Sungai Golok here is drying up due to the unrelenting heatwave – ironically, though, this is allowing scorched residents to safely enter the now-shallow river and indulge in water activities to cool down.

Checks by NST along the river last night showed dozens of people taking the opportunity to swim or play with sand along the riverbank. Some are even able to easily cross the river to enter Thailand .

Amidst the carnival-like atmosphere, sand is clearly visible on the river bed.

Read more!

Best of our wild blogs: 9 Mar 19

FREE visit to Raffles Lighthouse: March and April 2019
Celebrating Singapore Shores!

EIA discussed in Parliament – what it means for Love MacRitchie
Love MacRitchie

NSS Kids’-ESN Fun with Birds & Butterflies
Fun with Nature

Read more!

Parliament: Action plan to give youth more say in shaping Singapore's future

Tiffany Fumiko Tay Straits Times 8 Mar 19;

SINGAPORE - More power to shape the future of the country will be placed in the hands of Singapore's youth, under a new initiative that will allow them to highlight issues they care about and propose solutions.

A panel will be formed to help articulate a youth vision for the Republic in 2025 and create an action plan to achieve it, Senior Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth Sim Ann said in Parliament on Friday (March 8). The ministry defines youth as those between the ages of 15 and 35.

Appointed youth leaders from various sectors and organisations will engage their peers in developing the SG Youth Action Plan, Ms Sim said during the debate on her ministry's budget. The plan will identify priority areas, which may range from jobs and employment to mental health, she added.

Opportunities will also be created for young people to provide policy recommendations and create partnership projects with government and other stakeholders. The panel will be formed by the middle of this year and jointly led by Ms Sim and a youth leader, who has yet to be named.

Read more!

Malaysia: 35 treated for methane poisoning after illegal waste dumping in Johor's Pasir Gudang

Channel NewsAsia 7 Mar 19;

JOHOR BAHRU: Thirty-five people, mostly students, have been hospitalised after breathing in methane from chemical waste that had been illegally dumped into a river in Pasir Gudang.

Those who fell ill were students and canteen workers from two schools, which were ordered shut on Thursday (Mar 7) while investigations take place.

"Twenty-one people are warded at the Sultan Ismail Hospital here including three in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), five are being treated at the emergency unit of the hospital while the rest were given outpatient treatment and allowed to go home," said Johor Health, Environment and Agriculture Committee chairman Sahruddin Jamal.

"All of them, aged from seven to 40 years, are reported to be stable."

Dr Sahruddin had said earlier on Thursday that eight people were in critical condition. A student had fainted and five more started vomiting after breathing in methane on Thursday morning.

A tanker lorry is believed to have dumped chemical waste into the Kim Kim River in Johor on Wednesday morning.

Read more!

Body of warm water in Indian Ocean heading to Malaysia

The Star 7 Mar 19;

PETALING JAYA: A conservation group monitoring coral in Malay­sian waters has warned of a body of warm water forming in the Indian Ocean which can lead to coral bleaching.

Reef Check Malaysia general manager Julian Hyde said a review of information from the United States’ National Oceanic and Atmo­spheric Administration (NOAA) showed that the body of warm water was slowly moving eastwards towards Malaysia.

“We haven’t had reports of bleaching yet. It’s a little early.

“For bleaching to start, there needs to be several consecutive weeks of warm water, which requi­res an even more extended stretch of hot weather. So far, nothing yet,” he said in a statement yesterday.

Read more!

Malaysia: Counter measures to take effect if dry weather persists

intan amalina mohd ali The Star 8 Mar 19;

GEORGE TOWN: Dry weather control measures will be initiated if the hot weather persists over the next two months, said Penang Water Supply Corporation Sdn Bhd (PBAPP) chief executive officer Datuk Jaseni Maidinsa.

He said the measures include initiating an emergency drawdown of raw water from the Mengkuang Dam, requesting Kedah to release more water into Sungai Muda and appealing for cloud seeding from the federal government as well as seeking a delay in the padi planting season so that more raw water can be used for water supply purposes.

“Among the actions taken to ensure no water rationing are the daily monitoring on Penang dams, Sungai Muda and the Kedah dams that release water into Sungai Muda, minimising raw water drawdowns from the Ayer Itam Dam and pumping water from other sources to meet water demand in the Ayer Itam and Paya Terubong areas,” he said.

Read more!