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Showing posts with label Energy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Energy. Show all posts

Sunday 2 June 2019

It’s not cool to waste electricity

Time to Change way we use appliances

https://youtu.be/Bd9mNswv5ZI

https://youtu.be/7N_y3O3LHYI
https://youtu.be/P9IF-t45mYE

PETALING JAYA: Cooling homes and offices is big business due to Malaysia’s year-round hot and humid equatorial climate.

But changing a few simple habits can save consumers’ money and will be better for the environment, says Malaysian eco-activist Gurmit Singh.

“Research has shown in typical urban households in Malaysia, the highest electricity consumption goes to the air conditioner, followed by the fridge and water heater.

“If we tackle these three pieces of electrical appliances, we will be able to save a fair bit of electricity usage,” he said.

The chairman and founding executive director of Centre for Environment, Technology and Development Malaysia (Cetdem) said many do not realise the temperature need not be set too cold.

“The same goes for offices. It is a waste of electricity by setting the temperature so low.

“Some hotels and offices are so cold that people have to dress as if they are in winter.

“Every degree we raise we are saving 10% of electricity consumption. If we raise five degrees, then we save at least 50% of the consumption.

“I think there is a lot of potential to reduce electricity consumption by increasing the thermostat or temperature setting of our air conditioner,” he said, adding that another simple rule of thumb is to switch off any electric appliances when not in use.

Gurmit, however, noted that in general, Malaysians care very little when it comes to saving energy.

“The problem with Malaysians is that we are so used to cheap electricity that many just couldn’t care less about electricity.

“Many tend to think they have enough money that they can afford to use as much electricity as they want.

“Such mindset has been like that for many years. They only hurt when their electricity bills surged suddenly,” he added.

Gurmit was referring to the case of consumers complaining of an unusual increase in their utility bills, which Tenaga Nasional acknowledged was a technical glitch in the system. (see related post below)

Pointing out that Malaysia’s electricity consumption is rather high, Gurmit noted the fact that the generation of electricity also contributes to the emission of greenhouse gases must not be omitted.

“Our per capita greenhouse gas emission is one of the highest in our region – we are probably only second to Singapore and similar to some European countries.

“It clearly shows that we use a lot of energy unnecessarily, not only in the electricity sector,” he said, adding that Malaysians must move away from that practice.

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Unhappy lot: Some of the consumers making a report over their inaccurate electricity bill at the TNB counters.  MELAKA: Tenaga Na...

  


Yeo said the high electricity bills problem was in most cases due to TNB’s technical problem in billing the customers. — Picture by Saw S..


Saturday 4 August 2018

Trump's overture to emerging Asia drowned out by trade war with China

US Trade war with China overshadows US$113m investment initiatives trumpeted by US Secretary of State

https://youtu.be/4GR3Z37XaWY
https://youtu.be/fToa31LONM4

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - When the U.S. Secretary of State flies into Southeast Asia this week with a new investment pitch for the region, the response could be: thanks a million, but please stop threatening a trade war with China that will make us lose billions of dollars.

Analysts say the $113 million of technology, energy and infrastructure initiatives trumpeted by Mike Pompeo earlier this week - the first concrete details of U.S. President Donald Trump’s vague ‘Indo-Pacific’ policy - may be hard to sell to countries that form an integral part of Chinese exporters’ supply chains.

It may even further inflame tensions with Beijing, which has been spreading money and influence across the region via its Belt and Road Initiative development scheme.

“The Southeast Asian capitals are more worried about any blowback effects for them of U.S.-China trade tension than they are about how much they can benefit from this $113 million initiative,” said Malcolm Cook, senior fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore.

“Pompeo has a hard selling job. There is still no real positive trade story for Asia coming out of the United States.”

Hot on the heels of Washington’s new economic plan for emerging Asia came reports the United States could more than double planned tariffs on $200 billion of imported Chinese goods from dog food to building materials. China called it “blackmail” and vowed retaliation.

After a brief meeting with new Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in Kuala Lumpur, Pompeo will fly to Singapore - a global trading hub that could be one of the hardest-hit in the region by a trade war - for a sit-down with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Friday.

Singapore’s biggest bank, DBS, estimates that a full-scale trade war - defined as 15-25 percent tariffs on all products traded between the U.S. and China - could more than halve Singapore’s growth rate next year from a forecast 2.7 percent to 1.2 percent. Malaysia’s growth rate in 2019 could fall from an estimated 5 percent to 3.7 percent.

“We are all acutely aware of the storm clouds of trade war,” Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said at the opening of an ASEAN foreign ministers meeting on Thursday that precedes meetings with the United States and other nations.

Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said earlier this year that a trade war would have a “big, negative impact” on the country.

Ratings agency Moody’s said this week that an escalation of trade tensions in 2018 had become its “baseline expectation”, and that Asia was “especially vulnerable” given the integration of regional supply chains.

SANCTIONS ON NORTH KOREA

As well as trade, Friday’s meeting will also cover security issues such as South China Sea disputes and North Korea’s nuclear disarmament. The United States will press Southeast Asian leaders to maintain sanctions on Pyongyang following reports of renewed activity at the North Korean factory that produced the country’s first intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching the United States.

Pompeo will also travel to Indonesia during his trip - Southeast Asia’s biggest economy which under Trump faces losing some of the trade preferences given by Washington for poor and developing countries.

Few officials around the region offered comment on the Indo-Pacific strategy when contacted by Reuters for this story. One said that the ASEAN meeting in Singapore would be an opportunity “to have clarity and a more unified position” on the vision.br

One reason for caution is that the region has been wrong-footed by U.S. advances before.

Former U.S. President Barack Obama’s “pivot” to Asia went on the backburner after Trump won the 2016 election promising to put “America First”. One of his early acts in office was to pull out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement, which involved four Southeast Asian states.

The result was that across Asia, more and more countries were pulled into China’s orbit: softening their stance on territorial disputes in the South China Sea and borrowing billions of dollars from Beijing to develop infrastructure.

The Philippines is one example of a country which has taken a more conciliatory approach to China despite a bitter history of disputes over maritime sovereignty.

Its President Rodrigo Duterte frequently praises Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping and in February caused a stir when he jokingly offered the Philippines to Beijing as a province of China.

Thailand, one of Washington’s oldest allies, is another major regional power perceived to have moved closer to China after U.S. relations came under strain because of concerns about freedoms under its military-dominated government.

Thai foreign ministry spokesperson Busadee Santipitaks told Reuters the country was proceeding with “a balanced approach” towards the United States and China.

U.S. officials said the Indo-Pacific strategy does not aim to compete directly with China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Yet, in an apparent reference to China, Pompeo said Washington will “oppose” any country that seeks dominance in the region.

While Chinese officials have not criticized the U.S. approach, its influential state-run tabloid the Global Times said in an editorial on Tuesday: “Belt and Road is destined to continue to flourish. This has nothing to do with certain forces that are selfish and engage in petty practices and make jibes.”

John Geddie Reuters

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Wednesday 10 July 2013

Exercise can affect your DNA

Exercise doesn't only improve your appearance, it can alter your genes, cutting your risks of obesity and diabetes, a new Swedish study finds.

While inherited DNA cannot be altered, the way that genes express themselves can through exercise, diet, and lifestyle, researchers from Lund University Diabetes Center explained, noting that a workout can positively affect the way cells interact with fat stored in the body.

Lead author Charlotte Ling, associate professor, and her team looked at the DNA of 23 slightly overweight but healthy men aged around 35. The men previously didn't exercise but attended indoor cycling and aerobics classes for six months. “They were supposed to attend three sessions a week, but they went an average 1.8 times,” says associate researcher Tina Rönn.

Using technology that analyses 480,000 positions throughout the genome, they could see that epigenetic changes had taken place in 7,000 genes (an individual has 20,000 to 25,000 genes). A closer look revealed genes linked to diabetes and obesity, also connected to storing fat, had also been altered.

“We found changes in those genes too, which suggests that altered DNA methylation as a result of physical activity could be one of the mechanisms of how these genes affect the risk of disease,” said Rönn.

“This has never before been studied in fat cells. We now have a map of the DNA methylome in fat,” Lind added.

The findings, announced this week, appear online in the journal PLOS Genetics.

A separate study published this March in the journal Cell Metabolism shows that when people exercise for as little as 20 minutes, it can alter their DNA almost immediately. - AFP Relaxnews

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Tuesday 6 November 2012

South-East Asia in the frontline of US containing China rise?

The US presidential contest will make very little difference to us. American policy in the Asia-Pacific has already been reconfigured. The die has been cast.

DON’T wait up. As the world’s second-largest (and most expensive) democracy elects a president, South-East Asians might as well switch off. The US presidential contest will make very little difference for us.

Obama or Romney? Republican or Democrat? Who cares? American policy in the Asia-Pacific has already been reconfigured. The die has been cast.

After a decade-long obsession with Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States has finally switched its focus further east.

In essence, Washington has acknowledged Asia’s centrality both economically and now, politically.

The move has been dubbed the “pivot” as a steady shift towards Asia (and especially the “containment” of China) becomes more deeply-institutionalised in Beltway thinking.

Another less well-known development is accelerating this shift.

Basically, the United States after decades of being a net importer of energy is emerging as a new exporter.

This trend – driven by the shale gas revolution (powered by the “fracking” technique by which gas is extracted from rock) – will reshape the way Americans view the world.

Certainly, petro-powers such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates will see their influence dipping in Washington DC.

According to the US Energy Information Administration, the world’s second-largest energy consumer after China has huge shale gas reserves (some 860 trillion cubic feet).

Indeed, The Economist in July 2012 estimated that shale gas currently contributes one third of America’s gas supplies and by 2035 this could rise to 50%.

Moreover, these new developments could create three million jobs in the United States by 2020.

There’s also the possibility – controversial and hotly-debated– that America might start exporting its LNG surplus, generating, according to Michael A. Levi of the Council on Foreign Relations in an August 2012 New York Times article, an additional US$3bil per year for the American economy.

It’s hard to imagine how an energy-independent America will behave.

There’s no doubt that the Middle East will no longer be so central to US foreign policy. Instead, a resurgent America may well have greater wherewithal to check China in their common Asia-Pacific backyard.

Moreover, an influx of American LNG imports could strengthen its influence on countries like Japan (which is seeking to step away from nuclear power) and radically upend Asian energy markets, including in South-East Asia.

For starters, Indonesia’s coal will be less sought after.

At the same time, the region’s large and costly LNG facilities may well end up experiencing a drop in profitability as long-term contracts lose their attractiveness.

Ironically, America’s new-found energy independence is contrasted by China’s increasing energy import-dependence.

In July, Beijing’s National Energy Administration reported that the Middle Kingdom imported 81.09 million tonnes of coal (up 70.6% year-on-year), 30.2 million tonnes of crude oil (up 30.2%) and 4.08 million tonnes of LNG (up 100.2%) in the first half of 2012 alone.

China’s demand for energy is vast.

Imagine then a super-power that views its energy security with mounting unease, if not “paranoia”: watching developments in the South China Sea, the Strait of Malacca and Myanmar as a series of deliberate moves to limit its reach.

So, while the US presidential elections won’t have any direct bearing on our lives, South-East Asians are going to have to get used to being an important geopolitical stage as the two great superpowers jockey for pre-eminence.

For starters, our hitherto uneventful Asean meetings (durian fests, golf, silk batiks and bad karaoke) will become argumentative, testing all of us.

What happened recently at the Asean Foreign Ministers meeting in Phnom Penh when the Cambodian hosts refused to sign off on a joint communique will become a regular occurrence as Great Power rivalry courses its way through our association.

Having said this, the region barely featured during the actual campaign.

The third and final Obama-Romney debate on foreign policy was merely a set-piece of China sabre-rattling.

Still, Obama’s “pivot” towards Asia and Romney’s talk of a “Reagan Economic Zone” of “free trade”-oriented nations to combat China’s influence underlines the shift.

Of course, all of this is not surprising. We all know that economic gravity is shifting to Asia which in turn will also boost the strategic importance of South-East Asia.

So, like it or not, the next American president’s main foreign policy challenges are likely to come from South-East Asia as anywhere else.

Let’s not forget that China will also have a new leadership in place by then as well, fronted by that princeling extraordinaire Xi Jinping.

As I said earlier, South-East Asia is likely to be at the frontlines of the next global contest for supremacy. Let’s hope we’ll be able to cope with all the attention.

CERITALAH By KARIM RASLAN

Related posts: 
The role that the US plays in Asia: Containment of China! Nov 27, 2011 
China advises ASEAN to be independent Jun 26, 2012
Singapore warns US on anti-China rhetoric! Feb 11, 2012
China warns US on Asia military strategy Jan 07, 2012
US Military Strategy to Asia: Poke a Stick In China's Eye Jan 22, 2012
US threat: superpower gun barrels pivot east Aug 12, 2012

Monday 12 December 2011

New Solar-Powered Classroom Brings Science to Schools in Developing Countries



ScienceDaily (Dec. 9, 2011) — An innovative project led by a chemistry academic at the University of Southampton is using solar generators to provide IT resources and 'hands-on' science for students in developing countries.
 The solar-powered classroom. (Credit: Image courtesy of University of Southampton) >

A major difficulty in teaching science subjects in developing countries, especially in rural schools, is that students are rarely able to get 'hands-on' experience of experiments. This could be partly due to a lack of equipment, chemicals and facilities but mainly because of a lack of electricity and running water.

Now, Professor Tony Rest, a visiting Chemistry academic at the University of Southampton, and Keith Wilkinson, formerly a teacher at the International School at Lusaka in Zambia, have devised a solar-powered solution based on a digital projector and low-cost solar energy panels so that students can gain access to IT and other modern teaching methods.
Professor Rest says: "The lack of electricity is a particularly serious matter for rural schools and this situation is unlikely to get better in the near to medium future. With drawbacks to petrol generators, due to difficulties in getting supplies and safety hazards, solar energy generators have become available at cost-effective prices and provide a sustainable answer as rural schools have an abundance of the basic energy source required to power them -- sunshine.



Most data/video projectors require 200-300 watt and cannot be economically sustained by solar power in rural villages. However, the advent of mini-projectors, which require about 50 watts of power, has revolutionised the situation and made battery powered projection feasible.

The solar energy generators, which consist of solar panels, batteries and inverters, can be linked to the projector for students to get practical classes via multimedia resources to show laboratory experiments and stress practical techniques.

Professor Rest adds: "These experiences can be extended to other science subjects from physics, biology and maths, to subjects involving practical elements, such as engineering, and to craft subjects, including plumbing, carpentry, and catering, where students need see how to acquire skills. By extending the breadth of subjects benefiting from the use of IT, the overall cost of using a solar energy generator is reduced. Another spin-off is that students in rural schools gain access to valuable IT skills."

The project has been developed by the 'Chemistry Aid' project, the Chemistry Video Consortium based at the University of Southampton, with support from the Royal Society of Chemistry, which has provided multimedia teaching resources.

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Tuesday 27 July 2010

Ideas for positive energy,Tips on harmonising bad vibes, Spiritual activity heightens






 Spiritual healer gives talk on home decoration

SPIRITS are everywhere so even if your home is next to a cemetery, you should be able to sell it if the price is not too high, said spiritual healer Master Ong Q Leng.

She was speaking during the question and answer session after her talk themed ‘Protecting Your Property From Bad Energy’ at the Star Property Fair 2010.

Master Ong giving feng shui tips to the crowd
.
“Spirits are everywhere all the time, day or night, you just can’t see them.

“There are people who are not superstitious and they will be willing to buy the property, especially if they can make a profit from it,” she said, when asked if it was okay to leave an apartment empty if there were cemetery plots on both sides of the property.

“If a property does not sell, it is not necessarily because of bad feng shui. You may be asking too high a price. A buyer will already have scouted the area for the right price. Try lowering the price, and you might be able to sell it off.”

To a question on colour schemes, Ong said certain people suited certain colours and people should observe how they felt or how things fared when they chose a certain colour to wear.

Asked if it was really suay (unlucky) to wear all black or black and white, Ong said that it was true that the colours did not suit many people:

“Try it for one or two days, if it does not feel good or things go wrong, then the colours are probably not suited to you,” she said.

Speaking in Hokkien and Mandarin, with English translation provided by master of ceremonies Por Joo Tee, Ong also advised the crowd to try not to wear red or use too much red.

A couple then told how they fell in love with a painting of a tiger and bought it for their home only to be told by a medium that the tiger would “eat up” all their fortune.

Ong said paintings of animals had no bearing on people but reminded them to place them only in the hall and not in the bedrooms, and that the paintings had to face another wall and not the main door or balcony.
“It is only a painting, and cannot harm us. But if you feel unhappy after putting up any decoration, then just take it down,” she said.

Asked on the best stance or image to choose when buying idols of deities, Ong said what mattered more was the idol’s condition.

“If after some time praying to the idol, you feel that things are going well, then it should be fine. If you feel that things are falling apart, then it’s probably not right,” she said.

Asked if the idols of Hok Lok Siu (three Chinese deities representing good luck, status and longevity) could be placed inside the house, Ong said they could only be placed as decorative pieces but not as idols to pray to because they were only supposed to reside at temples and not at houses.

She also told the audience to pray from the heart and not out loud and face the sky with eyes closed and hands clasped together, preferably between 6am and 11am, and to say please when praying.

“Don’t be too greedy but remember to pray for your own health and strength first before praying for your loved ones,” she added.

Ong’s talk received a great response from the large crowd.

Source: Starmetro

Tips on harmonising bad vibes

By PRISCILLA DIELENBERG
prisdberg@thestar.com.my

TECHNICALLY, there is no house with bad feng shui, according to spiritual healer Master Ong Q Leng.

“Even houses with the worst chi (vital energy) can be corrected,” claimed Ong, 34, who offers healing, spiritual cleansing, feng shui tips and general consultation services.

Ong: Her talk will be in Hokkien and Mandarin.
She said some old houses had bad chi because of spirits that co-habited the space over the years.

“There are three types of spirits - those that are wandering as they could not move on after death, those that chose not to move on though they could, and the bad ones that go around causing trouble,” she said.

Ong added that proper cleansing had to be done to appease the spirits that caused distress or unrest to those who occupied the house.

“When I enter a premises with bad chi, I use my sixth sense to get a clear picture of the situation and instructions from my spiritual master, and take it from there,” said Ong.

She will share her thoughts on a combination of feng shui and paranormal phenomena during her talk on ‘Protecting Your Property From Bad Energy’ at 4.30pm on Sunday at the Star Property Fair 2010.

Her talk will be in Hokkien and Mandarin, with a smattering of Bahasa Malaysia and English. There will be a translator on standby to help with the question-and-answer session. The talk is for non-Muslims only, and admission is free.

Ong will also be giving tips on auspicious locations within a house, choosing colour schemes and how best to arrange certain furniture.

The talk will be among the highlights of the three-day fair to be held at G Hotel and Gurney Plaza from 10am to 10pm starting today until Sunday.

More than 20 major developers, including some from Kuala Lumpur and Ipoh, will offer an array of property launches, special packages and attractive rebates during the event, organised by Star Publications (M) Bhd in collaboration with Henry Butcher Malaysia Penang.



Spiritual activity heightens

By PRISCILLA DIELENBERG
prisdberg@thestar.com.my, 10/9/2010

THE seriously ill are more susceptible to death during the Phor Thor or Hungry Ghost month, according to spiritual healer Master Ong Q Leng.

Ong, 34, said in the recently concluded seventh lunar month, a few of her patients, who were on the road to recovery, simply gave up and succumbed to their illnesses rather than burden their loved ones who had to care for them.

“One patient was progressing well. The colour had returned to her cheeks but she had a change of heart and told her daughter who was bathing her one morning to hurry up as ‘they’ were waiting for her.

“She suddenly passed on in the middle of her bath,” said Ong, who also noted that there had been many cases of murder and suicide during the period.

She said those, who had seriously ill loved ones, should provide them with more love and care during the seventh month.

“You can tell that it is time for them to depart if they can no longer eat and sleep, the face has turned pale and yellowish, and the eyes are lifeless,” she added.

The Hungry Ghost month had always been a busy time for Ong, who offers services of healing, spiritual cleansing, feng shui tips and general consultation.

“One client sought my services after friends spotted two young children in the back seat of her car. It turned out that she had two previous abortions and the boy and girl spirits were her two children.”

Ong said spirits were at their most powerful during the seventh month but those released from the gates of hell were not harmful.

“The harmful spirits are the wandering ghosts that roam the earth freely throughout the year.”
During the Hungry Ghost month, she said it was best that children, aged below five, stayed indoors after 7pm, and adults low on luck did the same after 9pm.

She also advised people not to consume too much alcohol or speak nonsense during the seventh month, and not to quarrel or fight at home as that would attract an “audience” to watch the drama.

“Don’t scold but be more loving to your spouse and children, and smile more to avoid misfortune,” she said.

Ong also advised those who observed the Hungry Ghost festival to burn smaller offerings for their departed loved ones during that month.

“When you burn too many things, it will attract greedy evil spirits who come and snatch the offerings from your loved ones.

“Smaller amounts attract less attention and that means more chances that your loved ones will receive them.

“You only need to burn offerings for someone once a year and it should be done during the day, that is between 8.30am and 7.30pm,” she said