Thais Need Practical Info On Reducing Global Warming

[george]

Thais need practical info on reducing global warming

BANGKOK: -- Despite having great theoretical awareness, most Thai people do not know how to contribute to the ongoing fight against the disastrous phenomenon of global warming, according to a recent poll.

Assumption University conducted the public opinion survey – better known as the ABAC Poll – among 1,281 people in Bangkok and outlying areas July 16-21.

As many as 97.7 per cent of the respondents said they had heard about the problem of global warming problem while 72 per cent said they knew what global warming was.

However, nearly 85 per cent said they wanted to know how any one person could help minimise the impact of global warming.

"The results of the poll highlights the necessity to run an urgent campaign to promote individual contributions to solving the global problem," said Dr. Noppadol Kannikar, director of the ABAC Poll Centre.

Some government agencies should play more active roles in tackling the problem, according to the poll. Some 70 per cent of the respondents urged the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to take part in identifying possible solutions and 56 per cent pointed at the Ministry of Energy.

--The Nation 2007-07-23

[jumnien]

It's really hard to tell if this global warming thing is anything more than media hype. The fact is that Westerners are getting fat at an alarming rate. As the layers of insulating fat grow thicker it does indeed seem much, much warmer to them. They tend to wear larger garments to cover their rotund figures a la Al Gore and the enormous blue jacket! Thais tend to be thinner and better able to stand warm climates. The biggest problem is that when people get all amped up about apocalyptic scenarios they tend to eat even more! A viscious cycle...

[canuckamuck]

It's really hard to tell if this global warming thing is anything more than media hype. The fact is that Westerners are getting fat at an alarming rate. As the layers of insulating fat grow thicker it does indeed seem much, much warmer to them. They tend to wear larger garments to cover their rotund figures a la Al Gore and the enormous blue jacket! Thais tend to be thinner and better able to stand warm climates. The biggest problem is that when people get all amped up about apocalyptic scenarios they tend to eat even more! A viscious cycle...

Just say no to biggie fries!

[Martin]

People would be best served by a few simple one-line messages.

I am reminded of World War II in Britain, where we had simple, cheap posters put up in buses and railway carriages. Two that I remember said: "Is your journey really necessary?", and: "Careless talk costs lives".

Top of the list, to me, would be: "Use less electricity".

Whether carbon emissions add to global warming, or not, seems to be a matter that can be argued over. But the thermal waste of power stations is a fact. For every unit of energy generated as electricity, a power station dumps about two units of energy in the form of heat into its cooling water and this just goes to warm up the climate.

To me, second on the list would be: "Travel less".

Third, "Take the bus, not the car".

And so on.

Actually, the rising price of oil may make us do all those things anyway.

We can argue forever over "Peak Oil", but it is really irrelevant.

What is a fact is that the oil price has done the other thing. It has 'troughed'.

From being expensive a hundred years ago, the price of oil dropped and dropped, but now it is rising inexorably.

All sorts of changes to our lifestyles will have to be accepted, and not because of "We ought to", but because of "No alternative".

[jayjayjayjay]

Edited.....The fact is that Westerners are getting fat at an alarming rate. As the layers of insulating fat grow thicker it does indeed seem much, much warmer to them. They tend to wear larger garments to cover their rotund figures a la Al Gore and the enormous blue jacket!

Edited...

I thought the fat is more appropriate in terms of ways and means of lining their pockets........ aka Al Gore... US$100,000 for a speach at a University........ convenient!

This is business in the big world theme park...

[Jai Dee]

Sufficiency Economy concept can resolve global warming

The permanent secretary of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment says the Sufficiency Economy concept can resolve global warming if it is applied properly and in line with the way of life of people.

Permanent Secretary of Natural Resources and Environment Pitipong Phuengboon Na Ayudhaya (ปีติพงษ์ พึ่งบุญ ณ อยุธยา) reveals that His Majesty the King’s Sufficiency Economy philosophy can reduce the emission of greenhouse gases, a main factor of global warming, as it make people live their life and consume natural resources wisely and economically. The philosophy also teaches people to conserve nature and environment.

Mr Pitipong suggests that it is necessary for people to reduce energy consumption, especially oil and gas, and to use more clean energy. Farmers are not encouraged to cut trees in a forest for economic purposes and are advised to work on hybrid agriculture, he says.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 23 July 2007

[Greenside]

Mr Pitipong suggests that it is necessary for people to reduce energy consumption, especially oil and gas, and to use more clean energy. Farmers are not encouraged to cut trees in a forest for economic purposes and are advised to work on hybrid agriculture, he says.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 23 July 2007

Meanwhile the tax system encourages the purchase of uneconomical, large engined pick-ups and imposes high levels of duty on electric scooters and the like..... Thailand is by no means the only offender but I do wish that all these government departments would consider pulling in the same direction.

[dkstoney]

Sufficiency Economy concept can resolve global warming

The permanent secretary of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment says the Sufficiency Economy concept can resolve global warming if it is applied properly and in line with the way of life of people.

Permanent Secretary of Natural Resources and Environment Pitipong Phuengboon Na Ayudhaya (ปีติพงษ์ พึ่งบุญ ณ อยุธยา) reveals that His Majesty the King’s Sufficiency Economy philosophy can reduce the emission of greenhouse gases, a main factor of global warming, as it make people live their life and consume natural resources wisely and economically. The philosophy also teaches people to conserve nature and environment.

Mr Pitipong suggests that it is necessary for people to reduce energy consumption, especially oil and gas, and to use more clean energy. Farmers are not encouraged to cut trees in a forest for economic purposes and are advised to work on hybrid agriculture, he says.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 23 July 2007

Even Thais want a bigger house, a nicer car, air-conditioning, projection TV, hot running water, loud music, and all the other things you care to add. Sufficiency economy theory isn't going to RESOLVE global warming. They are not going to reduce their energy consumption, especially oil and gas just like Americans won't until you price it out of range. Thailand wasted loads of money subsidizing the price of petrol so people wouldn't cry and it's still too low in price. One thing that would cut down on crap being expelled into the atmosphere is if they (and the rest of us) cut their reliance on plastic EVERYTHING. Bring a cloth sack to the store. Forgo the straws (usually too short for whatever you're buying).

[jayjayjayjay]

Sufficiency Economy concept can resolve global warming

The permanent secretary of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment says the Sufficiency Economy concept can resolve global warming if it is applied properly and in line with the way of life of people.

So could a world war killing off 3 billion people.. When will these guys shutup.......... the're not politicians, the're weasels!

[chownah]

I'm all for educating people about global warming but think about this: The people in my village usually pay the minimum on thier electric bills becaue their usage is so low. They mostly have motor scooters and probably buy a couple of litres of petrol a month (I'm guessing on this but it surely can't be very much more than a couple of litres per month since they never travel very far. To suggest that people living this lifestyle should conserve on energy usage mostly is a sign of the ignorance of whoever does the suggesting.

Let me stress that I'm all for educating people about global warming but I would just like to point out that in Thailand a very large percentage of the population are already doing their part by simply living the way they have always lived...it would be good if others could learn to emulate them....fat chance, huh?....who wants to live like a farmer?

By the way....my uncle and aunt bought an electric hot water shower....it is the first time they have ever had hot water in their house...they are not young...they have two grandchildren. Should we ask them to disconnect it to help stop global warming?

Chownah

Edited July 23, 2007 by chownah

[Pink Mist]

Thais need practical info on reducing global warming

BANGKOK: -- Despite having great theoretical awareness, most Thai people do not know how to contribute to the ongoing fight against the disastrous phenomenon of global warming, according to a recent poll.

Assumption University conducted the public opinion survey – better known as the ABAC Poll – among 1,281 people in Bangkok and outlying areas July 16-21.

As many as 97.7 per cent of the respondents said they had heard about the problem of global warming problem while 72 per cent said they knew what global warming was.

However, nearly 85 per cent said they wanted to know how any one person could help minimise the impact of global warming.

"The results of the poll highlights the necessity to run an urgent campaign to promote individual contributions to solving the global problem," said Dr. Noppadol Kannikar, director of the ABAC Poll Centre.

Some government agencies should play more active roles in tackling the problem, according to the poll. Some 70 per cent of the respondents urged the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to take part in identifying possible solutions and 56 per cent pointed at the Ministry of Energy.

--The Nation 2007-07-23

1281 people in Bangkok and outlying areas, where 16 million is an approximate population is a narrow sector, are the poll figures correct?

[Mid]

However, nearly 85 per cent said they wanted to know how any one person could help minimise the impact of global warming.

simple answer , they can't .

WE have ALL got to play our part on this planet WE call home .

[Pink Mist]

However, nearly 85 per cent said they wanted to know how any one person could help minimise the impact of global warming.

simple answer , they can't .

WE have ALL got to play our part on this planet WE call home .

one person can make a difference, two people doubles the impact, it's an old cliche but we all play our part and it happens

[Mid]

but we all play our part and it happens

plurals ......................

[meemiathai]

It's really hard to tell if this global warming thing is anything more than media hype. The fact is that Westerners are getting fat at an alarming rate. As the layers of insulating fat grow thicker it does indeed seem much, much warmer to them. They tend to wear larger garments to cover their rotund figures a la Al Gore and the enormous blue jacket! Thais tend to be thinner and better able to stand warm climates. The biggest problem is that when people get all amped up about apocalyptic scenarios they tend to eat even more! A viscious cycle...

[Martin]

'chownah' is right. It is in the urban areas thatr the big energy savings are to be made, not where the majority of the people live, in the farming villages.

Last year, we were visiting my sister-in-law's village to collect some bamboo shoots, as she and some others had been foraging in the forest on the previous day.

Whilst everybody as sitting around having a bit of 'kin kaeow' and gossiping, I noticed the electricity meter on the pole near the house. (Not something that is possible in the West. The vandals would strike at a great rate.)

I wondered how much those meters clock up, and the answers I got were: 125 bahts a month for a household of man, wife and 14-year-old daughter, and 50 bahts a month for an old widow living alone.

Not much scope for dramatic savings there!

[gampaan]

Has Al Gore ever signed his little "pact" that he wants all the rest of us to sign??? The answer is NO. He wants you to change your life, but he hasn't time for that. Do you realize what this planet has been though? Plate tectonics, magnetic reversal of the poles, volcanoes, ice ages, warming trends, meteor strikes, millions of species eradicated long before cars and humans ever arrived on the scene, just to name a few. And we have the vanity to think that we can change the climate of this planet??? We can't even make it rain during a drought....! Face it, the climate changes, that's what climate does. There are sea shells on Everest, and the Sahara used to be green. Did we cause that also? Who's to say that this present climate is the optimum? Sure, keep your own little piece of it clean, great. Have you ever seen the Sun? It actually has a great deal of effect on this planet. There are still alot of things we still don't understand about it, and probably never will. Get the gov't out of the way and lift restrictions on finding new oil reserves which are known to exist. Like it or not, oil is what drives the planet at this time. That won't change until it is depleted and then the buggy vs. car scenario will begin again. The free market always takes care of itself.

[pascharay]

my theory on global warming is that the earth is passing through a warmer section of space left over from the Big Bang coupled with so many fat people' body heat rising the world temperature as well as global revolution speed slowing due to the fiction of the air striking the bloated body surfaces.

Blame everything on fat people

The only reason they drive SUVs is because they feel thinner in them

[pascharay]

I agree with you

bring back the khmer rouge and march all governmetn and media and lawyers into the rice paddies