sageisreal

Air quality is one definite reason tourists are and will be staying away from Northern Thailand. Chiang Mai is a fine place with plenty to do. The mountains of the North are a true gem of natural beauty, but no one wants to visit a place where they can not breathe half of the year. It used to be only the hot season that was really bad. But the air now seems heavily smoke degraded whenever it is not actively raining. This is a very real, major problem in all of the North that has a direct affect on Chiang Mai.

I am a small business person born in the North. I started out with very little and have worked very hard to try to accomplish something and better my lot in life. I have put everything I have into trying to develop a small tourist resort in the mountains of Thoeng. I only have four bungalows and a small restaurant. I have made it as nice as possible and I am trying to make it a very green project. We grow our own organic vegetables and raise our own eggs. We support the local farmers and markets as well as make jobs for local people. We are trying to cater to educated international travelers who would like to see the real, rural Thailand.

I am writing for help in an effort to make a change. We have a very serious problem here in Northern Thailand. UNCONTROLLED BURNING. The worst smoggy day in Bangkok is like the mountain air at the top of Doi Inthanon compared to the air in Chiang Rai Province in the hot season. This is also a problem in all the other Northern Provinces.

This burning problem used to be only the rice fields for two to three months in the hot season. This was certainly bad enough and I would just close my business for that period. But now people burn the King's trees in the mountains to grow mushrooms and are making huge smoldering fires of corn waste. These smoky fires burn day after day into weeks and months and cause unbearable pollution, ruining our otherwise beautiful environment. The burning seems to go on most of the time when it is not pouring rain. I don't exaggerate when I say the air quality is very unhealthful for at least half of the year and not really clean most of the rest of the time. When it is clear and not smelly and smoky there isn't a more beautiful place on Earth.

The people want to gain from tourism all over Northern Thailand, but as long as this pollution continues foreigners will only laugh at Thailand professing green tourism and natural beauty. Amazing Thailand type advertising may bring them once. But don't you want them to return to explore further and also tell their friends what a beautiful country we have?

The Government is the only recourse for solving this problem. Strong laws must be passed, but they have to have teeth and be enforced. After a few heavy fines and threats of jail time the fires will stop. We as a people must stop this loss of our forest and quality of life. Every human being should have the right to breathe clean air. The waste can be buried and composted. It will become fine new soil in a few years. A strong effort toward this end can only improve tourism, the economy and the health of the people here in the North.

I know there are many political problems facing the country at this time. But this is an urgent matter for the health and well being of the entire country. This pollution will keep away more people than any Red Shirt bomb or demonstration ever could.

For these reasons, all those in the tourist industry should get behind pushing the government to stop this uncontrolled burning and educate the farmers to a better way of dealing with agricultural waste. I know clearing the skies of the Northern half of the country can be accomplished. It has been done in other countries quite quickly and successfully. It is simple, you stop the burning and the smoke goes away. If Thailand wants to promote itself as green and as a world class tourist destination this problem has to be addressed.

I hope all of you in the tourist industry will give this situation the attention it so sorely deserves. Each and everyone of you can make a difference. Make yourselves heard by the people in charge of the environment and the heads of tourism related departments.

In all hope for a bright future for Thailand, Doublearrow

Air quality is much better in CM than in BKK mate

The truley sad thing i s that this highlights the level of ignorance about Thailand that exists in the forum. I teach here and from my own experience I would say caning, hiting on the head (usually lightly),cutting chunks of hair very near the scalp, spanking hard, walloping kids and screaming at them are all part and parcel of thai school life. over a hundred kids in a school of nearly 3000 will come late everyday, the boys often get caned for that,but it happens EVERY DAY.

Oh sure, its illeagal. But if the parents "consent" then its no biggy. Yeah, I was shocked the first few times. I would add, I've only seen it done to boys in a mixed school. But given this was on the news and everyone here is Korat knows about it. To see the same little Hitlers out today at assembly with their sticks meating out punishments... and as I walked through the gates I saw a pile of students hair where they had the shears out and were enforcing the school hair cut on non-compliant students. To a westerner, yeah seems barbaric. But then this is Thailand.

:jap:

Let's also remember the serious level of domestic violence in Thailand, canings, slappings, and what-not at school sure as heck are not helping in teaching children that violence shouldn't be condoned.

I wonder how many of the people supporting beatings for children also think wives "need to be shown their place" every now and then.

totally agree

Horrible! Saw the picture of the kid who got canning with a golfclub...

May I ask you guys who are teachers here; why do you think they hit the kids is it because they have done something really bad or is this common practice when students haven't done their homework or such?

It's not an excuse, but I just wonder; are thai kids more playful in the classroom than their western counterpart or is it the same? One teacher I meet said that it's too many students per class so it gets rather noisy and hard to interact with the students.

Kids are kids, where ever they are from. They are not really that different, other than the religion and the usual brainwashing. But the expression from the teacher when he is canning, is scary. They do thoroughly enjoy it. When I leave my school, I will publish my little video.

I would much rather prefer to see this:

I would like to see the video when you put it up

I agree this method is a much better method of punishment

For all you limp-wristed 'spare the rod' brigade,a short teaching gig in a Thai school might cure your bleeding heart.

..but I am repeating myself.

i have taught in a school in Thailand , and i can assure you if you can TEACH . There is no need to use physical violence againist children .

Whether it's wet or dry, hot or cold, the ice caps melt, or expand -- whatever happens -- the AGW theorists claim it confirms their theory. A perfect example of a pseudo-science similar to astrology.

AGW is not science at all, because a scientific theory makes non-obvious predictions which are then compared with observations that the average person can check. AGW mumbo-jumbo has spectacularly failed to do this. The theory has predicted steadily increasing global temperatures, and this has been refuted by experience.

They are simply medieval mystics, palm readers and fortune tellers, in both method and intent.

As Cardinal George Pell said in 2006:

"In the past, pagans sacrificed animals and even humans in vain attempts to placate capricious and cruel gods. Today they demand a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions...."

Pell is a religious nutcase , that is not a very good source

People in glass houses..................! I'm in the UK just now and I despair of the standard of English here in ALL spheres of life. It appears that all the rules of grammar are totally forgotten. Split infinitives, using between instead of amongst, or aggravate instead of annoy, the misuse of the appostrophe; the list is endless. Ask a school kid nowadays about general analysis or parsing and you are looked upon as either cursing or talking a foreign language. Also the amount of Americanisms creeping into everyday usage is worrying as everyone knows the Yanks can't spell and their speech philosophy seems to be 'Why say something in two words when ten will do?!' My favourite hate, which is meaningless to boot, being 'At this moment in time' - urgh! What's wrong with - now?

Yes I agree Americans are killing the english language and as I have said if these thai english teachers are being taught by Americans then they may very well fail and no fault of thier own. If an American was to sit an english exam in an english school they to may surely fail because they have been taught American. Just look on your microsoft word program you have a choice between the American language and the english language.

I'm surprised the administrator let this mini sub-thread to stand. The guy (I am Welsh/Canadian) complaining about the Yanks cannot himself spell the word "apostrophe" (I guess he doesn't use Spell Check). As for the "Yes, I agree Americans are killing the english [sic] language.." guy, what an appalling demonstration of how to spika da eeengleesh without a clue.

What is a school Kid ? a kid is a baby Goat ! . try child or children

Aparently all you seem to need is a degree in Thailand to teach

More than 80% of Thais I ask don't know most of there times tables 6x6 7x7 8x8 etc I have had than permenantly etched in my brain since I was about 8

there ?????? . try their

HOT: Red-shirt Leaders to Stop Deaths/Injuries to Regroup in Future

The key red-shirt leaders have taken the red-shirt stage and called for an end to the red-shirt rally to put an end to the deaths and injuries.

But reiterated that the 'fight' of the red-shirt movement will not stop, adding that the 'fight' will be carried on via democratic means.

Thank you PM Abhisit for LIBERATING Bangkok. Back to normalcy, PLEASE.

at last it is over

Anyway I for one am very proud of the young brave soldiers going in to rid the vermin of the streets whether they are my nationality or not.

Yeah well said. Hat's off to the brave soldiers going about their duties in one of the very worse set of circumstances, fighting people from their own nation.

FULL RESPECT.

seconded....

agreed : it has to be done

I was wondering how long it would be before they were outside protesting against the Reds.

No doubt - chafing at the bit to get involved. And where were they when the PAD was protesting?

They WEREN'T issuing threats against Jatuporn if he spoke out against them. At least the ones that were PAD, which means also that not all faculty members of Chulalongkorn University are PAD as you erroneously posted.

You're right about "not all faculty members of Chulalongkorn University are PAD'".

Only ninety-nine per cent are.

Evidence of this statement?

The Germans would have scared the lady boys in the area

The evidence that the Pro-red and pro-yellow give in their answers is propaganda, the same thoughtless and brain-dead responses that we see in political parties worldwide

The red shirts and yellow shirts leaders are Hi-So, these rich people manipulate the working class Thai's to do their bidding.

They rip off the Thai people then give the Thai people bribes.

The only losers are the Thai people.