Chiang Mai: "Smog crisis? What smog crisis? No one told me" - arrests for setting fires

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Chiang Mai: "Smog crisis? What smog crisis? No one told me" - arrests for setting fires

 

Picture: Chomthong News

 

Media in the north of Thailand reported that two people were arrested in the Doi Tao area of Chiang Mai for setting illegal fires. 

 

Doi Tao police responded to calls that a couple of people were burning trash and branches near Route 1103, the Hot to Mae Teun Road. 

 

Picture: Chomthong News

 

One of the suspects, Singha, 19, reportedly said he had no idea there was a ban in place from January 10th to the 30th of April. No one told him. 

 

Chomthong News published a picture on Facebook of a relative of Singha called Jaras holding up a police charge board. 

 

It indicated that the charge was burning within 500 meters of a road that would represent a danger to passing traffic. 

 

Source: Facebook

 

 

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[trainman34014]

Ignorance is Bliss in a Society where Millions are barely literate !

[Classic Ray]

Don’t believe it, no vinyl poster proving the case!

[CLW]

1000s of other pyromaniacs out there to fine and arrest.

But at least there is a start...

[cardinalblue]

Scapegoat....but it gives the impression the authorities are doing something...

 

sorry way too little way too late...go after the crop burners....all around our land in Mae Rim the fields were on fire about 1-2 months ago...

 

the education/enforcement campaign is a farce...PM readings the last 3 weeks is the evidence...

 

and over the next 3 months will continue to get worse....what day will hit 300? Think late Feb or early March

[Ireland32]

48 minutes ago, CLW said:

1000s of other pyromaniacs out there to fine and arrest.

But at least there is a start...

Charge 2,000 b for lighters

[Berkshire]

19 minutes ago, cardinalblue said:

Scapegoat....but it gives the impression the authorities are doing something...

 

sorry way too little way too late...go after the crop burners....all around our land in Mae Rim the fields were on fire about 1-2 months ago...

 

the education/enforcement campaign is a farce...PM readings the last 3 weeks is the evidence...

 

and over the next 3 months will continue to get worse....what day will hit 300? Think late Feb or early March

?????  Why would you have a problem with this?  I hope the authorities make an example of these guys.  Arrest them, parade them on TV, fine them big or even put them in jail (doubtful).  Anything to help deter open air burning.  If this scares a few people and stops them from burning, better than nothing. 

[anterian]

Thai government always catches the minnows never the sharks.

 

[keith101]

They always burn when still green and that's why so much smoke , if left until totally dead its mostly flames and very little smoke .

[sead]

So it is ok to burn as long as its 500m away from the road. omg

[Happy Grumpy]

2 minutes ago, sead said:

So it is ok to burn as long as its 500m away from the road. omg

Thai smoke only travels 500m. 

[30la]

Is there also a legal fire?
In Thailand there are laws that prohibit burning anything ...
It seems to me that there are two types of law, for the poor, who are presented as great evildoers and, for the rich who get away with a bribe!

[30la]

2 hours ago, CLW said:

1000s of other pyromaniacs out there to fine and arrest.

But at least there is a start...

The same thing happened also last year, but after the first arrest everything stopped, the police received his positive publicity and ... all actors without script ... they don't know what to do yet .. .
A small suggestion to the government, pay the waste collection for all the needy, many fires will not light up anymore ...

[legend49]

One of the suspects, Singha, 19, reportedly said he had no idea there was a ban in place from January 10th to the 30th of April. No one told him. 

Darwin award of the month!

[whimsicalmike]

1 hour ago, Happy Grumpy said:

Thai smoke only travels 500m. 

Is that because it is lazy. ????

[newnative]

    Which leads me to ask the musical question, why isn't the burning ban year-round, highly-publicized, and highly-enforced with very high fines.

[hansnl]

3 hours ago, anterian said:

Thai government always catches the minnows never the sharks.

 

That Sir, is a worldwide occurence.

[sirineou]

1 hour ago, 30la said:

The same thing happened also last year, but after the first arrest everything stopped, the police received his positive publicity and ... all actors without script ... they don't know what to do yet .. .
A small suggestion to the government, pay the waste collection for all the needy, many fires will not light up anymore ...

I have read many threads amd many posts on the subject. Perhaps there were others that I did not see. but you are the first post I see with  the only viable solution.

They ask people not to burn, but they dont give them a viable alternative solution. Pick up the garbage and people would not burn it. Give them an alternative solution to sugar cane clearing and they will not burn it.

Approximately 400,000 acres of sugarcane are harvested in Florida annually (my home state) I never saw a fire.

[mrfill]

6 minutes ago, sirineou said:

I have read many threads amd many posts on the subject. Perhaps there were others that I did not see. but you are the first post I see with  the only viable solution.

They ask people not to burn, but they dont give them a viable alternative solution. Pick up the garbage and people would not burn it. Give them an alternative solution to sugar cane clearing and they will not burn it.

Approximately 400,000 acres of sugarcane are harvested in Florida annually (my home state) I never saw a fire.

Have you been to Specsavers lately?

https://foodtank.com/news/2019/11/big-sugar-in-florida-faces-lawsuit-for-sugar-field-burning/

[sirineou]

6 minutes ago, mrfill said:

Have you been to Specsavers lately?

https://foodtank.com/news/2019/11/big-sugar-in-florida-faces-lawsuit-for-sugar-field-burning/

I stand corrected.

I Have lived in Florida for over 20 years and I have never seen any smoke even though Florida has a large sugar cane industry. It seems that it is only because of where I live and that some areas have similar problems as Thailand. 

Thank you for pointing it out.

Further reading suggests that "Green harvesting" is a solution practiced in many Sugar producing countries such as Brazil . Perhaps that might be a solution for Thailand and similarly Florida also. . 

[BTB1977]

Hell, no one told me either?.. news to me. 

[HaleySabai]

Yes,this dude should be arrested for blatant stupid-ness.....burning 'green' IS stupid!

I pile my off cut into a destinated fire pit,let it dry out for a week or more and then poof,up in flames in a few minutes with very little smoke.The majority of our waste is composited.

From my observation there is SO much burning that is just plain unnecessary on the small scale.

Even on the larger scale there are solutions,but these take a few extra steps to implement of which 'lazy-ness' will simply resist.

However, this unusual show of enforcement is encouraging that just maybe a quantum leap in social engineering is underway......hahahaha.....

[rickudon]

Is there a reward? My M-i-L does garden fires nearly every week.......

[sirineou]

On 1/23/2020 at 7:23 AM, HaleySabai said:

Yes,this dude should be arrested for blatant stupid-ness.....burning 'green' IS stupid!

I pile my off cut into a destinated fire pit,let it dry out for a week or more and then poof,up in flames in a few minutes with very little smoke.The majority of our waste is composited.

From my observation there is SO much burning that is just plain unnecessary on the small scale.

Even on the larger scale there are solutions,but these take a few extra steps to implement of which 'lazy-ness' will simply resist.

However, this unusual show of enforcement is encouraging that just maybe a quantum leap in social engineering is underway......hahahaha.....

IMO it is not laziness or stupid, it is simply economics.  If a better way was made available to them and they did not take it, then it would be stupid. The government should subsidise mechanization.

from what I read Brazil and Australia  had a similar problem,Thailand should send a fact finding delegation to Brazil and or Australia, see what worked and what did not. no need to reinvent the wheel. 

"For centuries, sugarcane fields around the world have been burned to remove sugarcane straw (the plant’s tops and leaves), drive away snakes and other potentially poisonous animals, and make it easier for workers to cut the cane by hand. However, technological advances and environmental concerns have increased demand for mechanized harvesting because it eliminates the need to burn the field. " 

 

"Mechanization already exceeds 95 percent of the harvest in São Paulo, Brazil’s top cane-producing state. It is the only means of harvesting in São Paulo in areas that can be mechanized since 2017, "

https://sugarcane.org/best-pratices/

[LomSak27]

Just now, sirineou said:

MO it is not laziness or stupid, it is simply economics.  If a better way was made available to them and they did not take it, then it would be stupid. The government should subsidise mechanization.

 

And that is the problem/answer and the reason there will be a smog problem for the foreseeable future. No Government, no Thai government,  is going to pay money to help farmers, nor is anyone else. 

 

 

No animals were harmed during the writing of this reply.

 

[sirineou]

46 minutes ago, LomSak27 said:

 

And that is the problem/answer and the reason there will be a smog problem for the foreseeable future. No Government, no Thai government,  is going to pay money to help farmers, nor is anyone else. 

 

 

No animals were harmed during the writing of this reply.

 

I think they will, when it becomes more expensive no to.

Money always follows the path of least resistance. When resistance to the economy from tourism revenue loss becomes more prevalent in the system , them money will look for an alternate path. I think Green harvesting can introduce an alternative path with the additional benefit of a biomass for the possible production of biofuels (ethanol). 

In conjunction with the 2020 E20 initiative

"Thailand to phase out E10 in favor of E20 in early 2020 " 

https://www.biofuelsdigest.com/bdigest/2019/11/12/thailand-to-phase-out-e10-in-favor-of-e20-in-early-2020/

Personally I am confident that Sugar Kane burning will be phased out in the few coming years not because it is the right thing but because it is the economically smart thing.   

[cerox]

Oh thats great, thats why AQI was "only" 170 today and not above 200.

5555