Remember our performance for the Earth Hour Youth Fest held at Sunway Giza? That's us, right there!
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Earth Hour Youth Fest
In conjunction with Earth Hour, the Earth Hour Youth Fest held at Sunway Giza from 4.30pm to 9.30pm was attended by around 120 youths from various schools in Klang Valley. The brainchild of this event was 15-year old Ravyna Jassani. Our Eco Music Band was invited to put on a performance for this event, and since we would be performing for a noble cause, we readily agreed to do so.
A majority of our members arrived at the venue at around 8.00 pm, and were given custom-made bookmarks to give to members of the public in order to spread awareness about our worthy cause. A flash mob ensued, where every participant of the event was required to freeze in their respective spots for 5 minutes. After the flash mob, the official Earth Hour began, which was kicked off by a performance by our very own Eco Music Band. The enthusiastic crowd clapped, sang, and even danced along, which gave us loads of encouragement.
Despite the fact that it had been a long day for every single one of us, we didn't lament that fact at all, for in a single day, we managed to entertain the attendees of two events which were held for noble causes.
A majority of our members arrived at the venue at around 8.00 pm, and were given custom-made bookmarks to give to members of the public in order to spread awareness about our worthy cause. A flash mob ensued, where every participant of the event was required to freeze in their respective spots for 5 minutes. After the flash mob, the official Earth Hour began, which was kicked off by a performance by our very own Eco Music Band. The enthusiastic crowd clapped, sang, and even danced along, which gave us loads of encouragement.
Despite the fact that it had been a long day for every single one of us, we didn't lament that fact at all, for in a single day, we managed to entertain the attendees of two events which were held for noble causes.
Organic Day 2011
The Organic Day 2011 was held on the 26th of March, in a field situated in SS2. The event began at 8.30 am, and ended at 2 pm, though the many volunteers and booth operators of that event were at the venue bright and early to prepare for the busy day that awaited them. Our members arrived at the venue before the event began in order to help out as volunteers, and were assigned various tasks such as setting up booths and operating game stalls.
There were many booths selling organic foodstuffs at the event, which included organically-grown fruits and vegetables, pastries made out of organic items which were at the same time, sugar free and gluten free, organic health products, organic noodles, organic seaweed... you name it, they have it! Also available at the event was a lucky draw booth, which contained attractive prizes sponsored by various parties, as well as a grand prize worth around RM200. People who wished to take part in the lucky draw were required to pay RM2 per lucky draw ticket. There were also two game booths for the younger crowd, which included a game where each participant was given a card with the names of three vegetables written on it, and was required to connect the names of the vegetables with their pictures. Another game required each participant to take a look at a comic strip, and come up with a story based on the given comic strips. Attractive prizes were awarded to the winners of both games.
Various talks about interesting topics such as weight loss, and organic cooking, was held as well, which attracted large crowds of attentive audiences.
Our Eco Music Band performed twice for the event, and one of our performances, which featured 'Bumi', was recorded by RTM, which was flattering, to say the least. We were all thrilled at the prospect of our band obtaining more media coverage. Despite the fact that the event tired each and every member out, we all had a ball. Most of our members left the event at around 1.30PM to go home and rest themselves in anticipation of yet another performance later on, at the Earth Hour Youth Fest held at Sunway Giza.
There were many booths selling organic foodstuffs at the event, which included organically-grown fruits and vegetables, pastries made out of organic items which were at the same time, sugar free and gluten free, organic health products, organic noodles, organic seaweed... you name it, they have it! Also available at the event was a lucky draw booth, which contained attractive prizes sponsored by various parties, as well as a grand prize worth around RM200. People who wished to take part in the lucky draw were required to pay RM2 per lucky draw ticket. There were also two game booths for the younger crowd, which included a game where each participant was given a card with the names of three vegetables written on it, and was required to connect the names of the vegetables with their pictures. Another game required each participant to take a look at a comic strip, and come up with a story based on the given comic strips. Attractive prizes were awarded to the winners of both games.
Various talks about interesting topics such as weight loss, and organic cooking, was held as well, which attracted large crowds of attentive audiences.
Our Eco Music Band performed twice for the event, and one of our performances, which featured 'Bumi', was recorded by RTM, which was flattering, to say the least. We were all thrilled at the prospect of our band obtaining more media coverage. Despite the fact that the event tired each and every member out, we all had a ball. Most of our members left the event at around 1.30PM to go home and rest themselves in anticipation of yet another performance later on, at the Earth Hour Youth Fest held at Sunway Giza.
Sri Aman's Earth Month
As we had mentioned in an earlier post, this year's Earth Day will be held on the 22nd of April. In conjunction with Earth Day 2011, the Toyota Eco Rangers club has decided to hold our school's very first 'Earth Month', which begins on the 22nd of March, and would end on the 22nd of April, which would be the official international Earth Day. Our club has come up with numerous activities which would be held in conjunction with Earth Month, which are: the 'One Class One Plant' campaign, an inter-house recycling competition, and Sri Aman Hour. Students and teachers are also encouraged to bring their own food containers throughout the entire duration of this month, as by doing so, they would receive coupons from the canteen operators, which can be inserted into the coupon 'banks' of each house, which are situated near the entry of the canteen. One coupon contributes one mark to the sports houses. Donation boxes would also be passed around to raise funds for the victims of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. The Earth Month was launched with a speech by Nur Farhanah and Sharifah Hani Yasmin, and was officiated by our headmistress, Datin Noorul Aini.
The One Class One Plant campaign is a competition which every class has to partake in. Each class has to buy a plant and take care of it for a month. The winning chances of a particular class would increase if that class establishes an 'Eco Corner' in the class. The Inter-House Recycling Competition is a competition very much like the Inter-House Recycling Competitions we have held over the course of the years. Students are highly encouraged to collect aluminium cans and newspapers before contributing their accumulated recyclables to their respective sports houses. The house which has collected the highest number of recyclables would win marks as well as cash prizes. Ah, the Sri Aman Hour. The sheer mention of it brings a wave of nostalgia to the front of every Sri Amanian's mind. After the massive success of last year's Sri Aman Hour, we have decided to hold it once again, in order to remind every student, teacher, and staff of Sri Aman about the importance of conserving electricity and the important role electricity plays in our lives. The lights and fans of the entire school were switched off for an hour from 8.30am to 9.30am.
It has been one week into Sri Aman's Earth Month, and an apparent difference has already been made in our school. Hopefully, the rest of the Earth Month continues to be equally successful.
The One Class One Plant campaign is a competition which every class has to partake in. Each class has to buy a plant and take care of it for a month. The winning chances of a particular class would increase if that class establishes an 'Eco Corner' in the class. The Inter-House Recycling Competition is a competition very much like the Inter-House Recycling Competitions we have held over the course of the years. Students are highly encouraged to collect aluminium cans and newspapers before contributing their accumulated recyclables to their respective sports houses. The house which has collected the highest number of recyclables would win marks as well as cash prizes. Ah, the Sri Aman Hour. The sheer mention of it brings a wave of nostalgia to the front of every Sri Amanian's mind. After the massive success of last year's Sri Aman Hour, we have decided to hold it once again, in order to remind every student, teacher, and staff of Sri Aman about the importance of conserving electricity and the important role electricity plays in our lives. The lights and fans of the entire school were switched off for an hour from 8.30am to 9.30am.
It has been one week into Sri Aman's Earth Month, and an apparent difference has already been made in our school. Hopefully, the rest of the Earth Month continues to be equally successful.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Practice (25th of March)
Today, members of the Eco Music Band skipped our recesses once again to attend the short band practice that was held. The sequence in which we will be performing our songs was decided. We then practiced the songs we would be performing in the aforementioned sequence. We managed to rehearse our entire performances twice, before the bell signalling the end of recess rang, marking the end of our band practice.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Practice (24th March)
The practice was held during our recess, and began with Siti Sarah telling every band member which songs we are performing for our Organic Day and Earth Hour Youth Fest performances. We practiced and perfected two of our older drum solos in record time, though our new drum solo, Jungle, took longer to perfect. Before we knew it, our 30-minute recess was over, signalling the end of our band practice, which is a prime example of just how productive we can be whenever we encounter time constraints.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Meeting (21st of March)
The main agenda of today's meeting was to discuss the activities we would be carrying out throughout the entire duration of our Earth Month. Members were then divided into groups to carry out certain tasks. One group checked on the plants at the Orchard Garden and Mini Eco Forest, labeling plants which did not have labels previously and removing dead plants. Another group was asked to arrange plants along the walkway leading from our to the Herbs Garden, to liven up the walkway.
Some of our members were asked to cut the coupons which will be used for the inter-house Bring Your Own Tupperware competition, while other members weeded the herbs garden before covering the ground with black plastic trash bags. This was done to prevent the soil from being exposed to sunlight, as this will encourage the unwanted sprouting of weeds. A layer of coconut husk was then scattered over the black plastic bags to maximize the effectiveness of our measures to prevent weeds from sprouting.
Another group of our members were asked to put up labels along our Orchid Walkway, so that as people walk along the orchid walkway, they could identify and learn more about the orchids bordering the walkway. The meeting was adjourned at 4.30 pm, leaving our members feeling beyond exhausted, but glad at the same time for it was a very productive meeting.
Some of our members were asked to cut the coupons which will be used for the inter-house Bring Your Own Tupperware competition, while other members weeded the herbs garden before covering the ground with black plastic trash bags. This was done to prevent the soil from being exposed to sunlight, as this will encourage the unwanted sprouting of weeds. A layer of coconut husk was then scattered over the black plastic bags to maximize the effectiveness of our measures to prevent weeds from sprouting.
Another group of our members were asked to put up labels along our Orchid Walkway, so that as people walk along the orchid walkway, they could identify and learn more about the orchids bordering the walkway. The meeting was adjourned at 4.30 pm, leaving our members feeling beyond exhausted, but glad at the same time for it was a very productive meeting.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Meeting (18th of March)
On the 18th of March, which was part of the second half of our March school holidays, we, the extremely enthusiastic Toyota Eco Rangers returned to the one place most people would prefer to stay away from seeing as it was a school holiday, after all. The reason for our doing so was polish the appearance of the Eco Corner and Eco Workshop, which began with us repainting the main wall of our Eco Corner in a pretty shade of pale purple. Before we painted the wall, we decided to scrape the excess old paint off the wall so that the wall will be smoother and the paint, more evenly distributed.
Following that, we rearranged the plants and chairs at the Eco Corner to make it look neater, more organized, and much more presentable. We then proceeded to arrange our bottles of Bio Enzyme at the Eco Workshop. As luck would have it, Puan Yap, one of our schoolteachers, had a small, unwanted cupboard which she kindly gave to us. That was truly an unexpected stroke of luck as not only are we reusing an item, the item we reused also contributed greatly in making our Eco Workshop much neater and organized.
Once the paint on the wall of the Eco Corner had dried up, we rearranged the files that were placed at the Eco Corner in an orderly manner. Right before we went home, we paid a visit to our Eco Workshop once again to put our Bio Enzyme-making utensils in our newly-acquired cupboard. Despite the fact that members had to take some time out of their precious holidays to attend this meeting, we were all glad to have done something productive in our school holidays. (For once :P)
Following that, we rearranged the plants and chairs at the Eco Corner to make it look neater, more organized, and much more presentable. We then proceeded to arrange our bottles of Bio Enzyme at the Eco Workshop. As luck would have it, Puan Yap, one of our schoolteachers, had a small, unwanted cupboard which she kindly gave to us. That was truly an unexpected stroke of luck as not only are we reusing an item, the item we reused also contributed greatly in making our Eco Workshop much neater and organized.
Once the paint on the wall of the Eco Corner had dried up, we rearranged the files that were placed at the Eco Corner in an orderly manner. Right before we went home, we paid a visit to our Eco Workshop once again to put our Bio Enzyme-making utensils in our newly-acquired cupboard. Despite the fact that members had to take some time out of their precious holidays to attend this meeting, we were all glad to have done something productive in our school holidays. (For once :P)
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Attending Walk For Children 2011
Walk for Children 2011 was held in Merdeka Square on the 13th of March, a Sunday. Though the run began at 8.15 am, participants of the event were required to show up at the event from as early as 6.30 am in order to retrieve their goodie bags, and register their names. After a light warm-up session courtesy of Celebrity Fitness, participants made their way to the starting point of the walkathon after being reminded by the emcee of the event that should any participant be caught running, he or she would be disqualified, for it was a walkathon, not a marathon. The race began after YABhg Datin Paduka Seri Rosmah Mansor flagged more than 1000 participants off.
There were five different categories of the race. Category A was the open category for men, which spanned a distance of 5 kilometers. Category B was the open category for women, which also spanned five kilometers. Category C was the category for boys under 17, while Category D was the category for girls under 19. Both Category C and D spanned 3 kilometers. Category E was the category for the visually-impaired, who demonstrated strength and courage in the face of adversity by willingly taking part in a walkathon, despite being visually-impaired. The distance of their leg of the race spanned 1.8 kilometers, and every participant who came under Category E had the aid of two helpful escorts who guided them to the finishing line.
The prize-giving ceremony of the event took place at around 9.30 am. YABhg Datin Paduka Seri Rosmah Mansor presented prizes to the top two finalists of every category, while those who finished third, forth, and fifth, were presented attractive prizes by Paul Chmelik, the Head of School of the International School of Kuala Lumpur. After posing for a group photo, YABhg Datin Paduka Seri Rosmah Mansor took her leave.
The prize giving ceremony was followed by a talk by Matthias Gelber, a well-known environmental speaker who also gave a talk in our school during our Eco Carnival and International Conference held in November last year. The talk lasted for a brief fifteen minutes, before the commencement of all the entertainment and performances lined up for the day, conducted by Lisa Surihani and Farish Aziz. The performances and entertainment lined up for the day featured acts such as Farah Asyikin, Altimate, Aizat Amdan, Caprice, as well as Fabulous Cats. There was also a cultural dance by Tourism Malaysia, as well as two rock bands from the International School of Kuala Lumpur, namely, The Sects and The Zipper. Last but not least, there was a performance by Soul Bratz, a break dance group.
On top of the many performances which were lined up, the event also featured special appearances by local celebrities such as Amber Chia, Faizal Ismail, Tam Suhaimi, Aishah Sinclair, Betty Rahmad, and Ahmad Nabil.
All in all, it was a day that was both exciting and tiring at the same time, but we're close to being absolutely certain that no one would have wanted to have it any other way.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Wildly suitable for eco-knights
Wildly suitable for 'eco-knights'
Deputy Education Minister Datuk Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi (back row, third from left) launching the Anugerah Hijau competition at Dewan Produktiviti in Petaling Jaya on Tuesday. With him is New Straits Times PressSTP group managing editor Datuk Zainul Arifin (second from right). — NST picture by Hasriyasyah Sabudin
EcoKnights founder and president Yasmin Rasyid said the programme was into its third year and aimed to continue its effort in inculcating eco-consciousness in youths, aged between 14 and 25, through fun elements in the programme.
"The idea of organising Anugerah Hijau is to provide a platform to motivate and encourage youths to tackle pressing environmental problems through creative and innovative projects."
"The idea of organising Anugerah Hijau is to provide a platform to motivate and encourage youths to tackle pressing environmental problems through creative and innovative projects."
There are two categories -- Totally Active and Wildly Creative.
In the first category, participants will have to create a sustainable wear made from recyclable everyday objects while in the second category, participants will have to make a one to two-minute video on environmental issues.
Yasmin said they were seeking young talent who could come up with a strong message to raise awareness through fashion and videos.
Yasmin said they were seeking young talent who could come up with a strong message to raise awareness through fashion and videos.
The Anugerah Hijau was launched by Deputy Education Minister Datuk Dr Puad Zarkashi on Tuesday and supported by Malaysia Productivity Corporation, CIMB Foundation and Shell Sustainable Development Grant. Its official media partner is the New Sunday Times and it is endorsed by the Education Ministry.
Students who want to take part in the competition must submit a proposal on their project at its official website at www.anugerahhijau.my by May 31.
Twenty teams will be shortlisted and they will attend one of two workshops on video-making and fashion design.
There is no limit on the number of entries per school.
The grand prize winner in each category will receive RM3,000 and four runners-up will receive RM1,500.
All finalists will also receive a CIMB Junior account with RM100 in each account.
Also present were New Straits Times Press group managing editor Datuk Zainul Arifin, Shell Malaysia general manager for corporate affairs Rowina Ghazali and CIMB regional director central 2 Freddie Acho Bian.
Earth Day 2011 (22nd of April)
Earth Day 2011: A Billion Acts of Green®
Description
In recognition of the power of millions of individual actions, Earth Day 2011 will be organized around A Billion Acts of Green®: Personal, organizational and corporate pledges to live and act sustainably. At over 45 million actions to date, A Billion Acts of Green® campaign – the largest environmental service campaign in the world – is steadily building commitments by individuals, corporations, and governments in honor of Earth Day. A Billion Acts of Green® inspires and rewards both simple individual acts and larger organizational initiatives that further the goal of measurably reducing carbon emissions and supporting sustainability. The goal is to register one billion actions in advance of the Earth Summit in Rio in 2012. A Billion Acts of Green® website quantifies acts of green through an easy-to-use online registration tool. A Billion Acts of Green® demonstrates the kind of environmental impact that can be made when millions of people, corporations and organizations make commitments, both small and large, to better their environment.
Elements of the 2011 Earth Day campaign include:
- Athletes for the Earth: Bringing the voices of Olympic and professional athletes to the environmental movement
- The Canopy Project: Supporting global reforestation
- Green Schools: Greening America’s Schools within a Generation
- Women and Green Economy (WAGE)™: Engaging women leaders in the creation and development of a global green economy
- Creating Climate Wealth: Convening 200 of the world’s entrepreneurs to solve climate change and create a new green economy
- Arts for the Earth: Celebrating the work of environmental artists in all media, and partnering with the American Association of Museums to bring sustainability to museums nationwide
Athletes for the Earth™: Bringing the voices of Olympic and professional athletes to the environmental movement, Athletes for the Earth™ has a proven track record in illustrating the interaction of athletes with their environment and connecting popular athletic activities with environmental stewardship. Participating athlete/celebs include Olympic Gold Medalist Billy Demong, Olympic Bronze Medalist Andrew Weibrecht, World Champion Freeskier and founder of the Save Our Snow Foundation Alison Gannett, Boston Bruins Defenseman Andrew Ference, Olympic Gold Medal swimmer Aaron Peirsol, and NFL linebacker Dhani Jones.
The Canopy Project: In 2010, Earth Day Network planted over 1 million trees in 16 countries under the Avatar Home Tree Initiative. In 2011, EDN will continue that effort with another 1 million trees in large-scale, sponsor‐supported tree-planting projects in partnership with non‐profit organizations throughout the world. Locations where reforestation is most urgently needed include Haiti, Brazil, Mexico and urban areas of the US. Help us green our future, one million trees at a time.
Women and the Green Economy (WAGE)™: To accelerate and provide the new thinking and creative power for a global post-carbon economy, Earth Day Network is engaging women business, government and NGO leaders in its “Women and the Green Economy” (WAGE™) campaign. Our goal is to create a policy agenda for Rio+20 and relevant generate national initiatives that will promote the green economy, secure educational and job training opportunities for women and channel green investment to benefit women.
Arts for the Earth™: Arts for the Earth is an innovative education program developed to teach sustainability and environmental education through museum and arts community networks.
Head on over to the official website of this event to learn more. :)
Walk For Children 2011
KUALA LUMPUR: Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor flagged off more than a thousand participants of a charity walk yesterday.
The “Walk for Children: 1Malaysia Goes Green” held at Dataran Merdeka was organised by the International School of Kuala Lumpur to raise funds for two children’s homes – Rumah Kasih Sayang Rawang and Shelter Home for Children.
The walk was open to the general public and members of the Malaysian Association for the Blind also took part.
Noble spirit: Rosmah (in red jacket) and participants showing the 1Malaysia sign at Dataran Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. — BernamaThe event was aimed at educating participants on how to lead a more eco-friendly lifestyle.
“I’m happy to see children being active in sports and becoming more aware about climate change issues,” said Rosmah, who is the wife of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
She also offered her condolences to the people of Japan who lost their loved ones and homes in the recent massive earthquake and tsunami.
“As a wife and mother, I am deeply saddened by the lives lost and damage caused by the disaster,” she said.
World Water Day 2011
An international day to celebrate freshwater was recommended at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). The United Nations General Assembly responded by designating 22 March 1993 as the first World Water Day. Each year, World Water Day highlights a specific aspect of freshwater. The theme of this year's celebration is Water for cities: responding to the urban challenge.
This is the first time in human history that most of the world's population live in cities: 3.3 billion people ...and the urban landscape continues to grow.
38% of the growth is represented by expanding slums, while the city populations are increasing faster than city infrastructure can adapt.
The objective of World Water Day 2011 is to focus international attention on the impact of rapid urban population growth, industrialization and uncertainties caused by climate change, conflicts and natural disasters on urban water systems.
This year theme, Water for cities: responding to the urban challenge, aims to spotlight and encourage governments, organizations, communities, and individuals to actively engage in addressing the defy of urban water management.
To learn more about World Water Day in general, do head on over to the main website of this annual celebration. To learn more about this year's celebration, do pay a visit to the official page of this year's celebration. All the information found in this blog post were sourced from the aforementioned webpages.
SNAPSHOT-Developments after major Japan earthquake
TOKYO |
(Reuters) - Following are main developments after a massive earthquake struck northeast Japan on Friday and set off a tsunami.
- Death toll expected to exceed 10,000 from the quake and tsunami, public broadcaster NHK says. About 2,000 bodies found on two shores of Miyagi prefecture, Kyodo news agency reports.
- Japan battles to prevent nuclear catastrophe. A hydrogen explosion jolts the No. 3 reactor of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo. Operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) (9501.T) says 11 people were injured.
- Before the blast, officials said 22 people had suffered radiation contamination. Up to 190 may have been exposed.
- Nuclear fuel rods at the No. 2 reactor are fully exposed, news agency Jiji says, meaning a meltdown cannot be ruled out. This would raise the risk of a radioactive leak. TEPCO begins reinjecting water into the reactor in the hope of cooling it.
- Nuclear safety agency rates the incident a 4 on the 1 to 7 International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale, less serious than Three Mile Island, a 5, and Chernobyl at 7.
* Switzerland's energy minister says suspends approvals process for three nuclear power stations so safety standards can be revisited. German Chancellor Angela Merkel intends to announce the suspension of her previous decision last year to extend the life of nuclear power plants, a German news website reports.
- U.S. warships and planes helping relief efforts have moved away from Japan's Pacific coast temporarily because of low-level radiation.
- Authorities have set up a 20-km (12-mile) exclusion zone around the Fukushima Daiichi plant and a 10-km (6 mile) zone around Fukushima Daini.
- Strong aftershocks persist in the stricken area.
- About 450,000 people evacuated nationwide in addition to 80,000 from the exclusion zone around the nuclear power plants. Almost 2 million households are without power in the freezing north and about 1.4 million households have no running water.
- Reactor operator says rolling blackout to affect 3 million customers, including large factories, buildings and households.
- Japan's Nikkei share index falls more than 6 percent, dragging European stocks to their lowest in three months.
- The Bank of Japan (BoJ) offers to pump a record $85 billion into the banking system.
- Credit Suisse estimates the loss at between 14 trillion yen and 15 trillion yen just to the quake region.
(Tokyo bureau; World Desk Asia, Singapore)
Earthquake devastates Japan
Earthquake devastates Japan
Country hit by worst earthquake in its recorded history, leaving more than 1,000 people dead and many missing
More than 1,000 people were believed dead and many more missing after the worst earthquake in Japan's records struck its north-east coast, unleashing a 10m-high tsunami, setting towns ablaze and sparking a nuclear emergency. The 8.9-magnitude shock triggered tsunami alerts and evacuations across the Pacific region, with Russia, the Philippines and Hawaii all moving vulnerable citizens to higher ground.
As dawn broke this morning, the full scale of the damage began to emerge. In one of the worst-hit residential areas, people buried under rubble could be heard calling out "Help" and "When are we going to be rescued?", Kyodo news agency reported. TV footage showed staff at one hospital waving banners with the words "Food" and "Help" from a rooftop.
The earthquake rocked buildings 235 miles away in Tokyo and experts said it was around 8,000 times more powerful than the recent New Zealand quake. Footage on Japan's state broadcaster NHK showed apocalyptic images of the ensuing tsunami sweeping homes, ships and trucks across the land and of buildings burning in the night.
There were unconfirmed reports of 88,000 people missing. Police said they had found 200-300 bodies in a coastal area of devastated Sendai city. Another 137 died elsewhere, with 539 injured and 351 missing. In other developments:
• Officials evacuated 3,000 people when a nuclear plant's cooling system failed, and Japan's trade minister warned of a possible of a radiation leak. Levels inside the plant have surged to 1,000 times normal. A state of emergency was issued at a second nuclear plant early this morning.
• The coastal town of Kesennuma was hit by widespread fires and one-third of the city was under water.
• Emergency response teams were searching for four missing commuter trains and a ship with 80 workers on board.
Japan's prime minister, Naoto Kan, urged people to help their neighbours and to try to minimise damage, as his the country attempted to come to terms with the destruction. "We ask the people of Japan to exercise the spirit of fraternity, help each other and act fast," he said.
Barack Obama said the earthquake was "a potentially catastrophic disaster". He warned citizens on the west coast of America to heed warnings to evacuate coastal areas. "Do as you are told," he said.
The quake happened at 2.46pm local time (5.46am GMT), about six miles below sea level and 78 miles off the east coast of Japan. The shock was felt as far away as Beijing.
Aftershocks continued for hours after the first tremor, many of more than magnitude 6.0. Joseph Tame, a Briton living in Tokyo, said concrete buildings shook as if they were made of jelly and high-rises swayed back and forth as the quake hit.
Miyagi, Fukushima and Iwate prefectures further north bore the brunt of the damage from the shock and the ensuing tsunami. Muddy torrents swept across embankments, tearing buildings from their foundations. Houses blazed as they were carried along by waves, and vehicles smashed into walls and roads, only to be dragged back out to sea as the water reversed its course. Ships crashed into harbours and footage showed a vessel struggling to escape a giant whirlpool.
In Sendai the wave carried everything in its path across miles of farmland. Thick mud, choked with cars, buses and even light planes, inundated the airport.
In Onahama, the Tokyo Electric Power Co said pressure inside the no 1 reactor at its Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear plant was rising, heightening the risk of a radiation leak, Japanese media reported early Saturday local time. The company was taking measures to release the pressure, the report added. Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, revealed that the American air force had flown in emergency supplies of coolant. Officials earlier evacuated 3,000 residents after the cooling system stopped working. Shaun Burnie, a consultant to the nuclear industry and former head of nuclear campaigns at Greenpeace International, said there was a very real risk of a leak if nuclear fuel inside the reactor core was left to heat up to unsafe levels. "This is a serious situation which could get very much worse. The last thing the people of Japan need after the tragedy of this earthquake and tsunami is a nuclear catastrophe."
Much of Kesennuma, a town of 70,000 people in Miyagi prefecture, was ablaze, NHK said. Japan's coastguard said it was searching for 80 dock workers on a vessel swept away from a shipyard in Miyagi. Across the north-east roads buckled, pylons toppled and buildings collapsed. Airports closed and rail services came to a standstill across much of the country. "Our initial assessment indicates that there has already been enormous damage," the chief cabinet secretary, Yukio Edano, said.
Phone voice services were out of order in much of the north-east, but data services allowed some people to contact friends and relatives. London-based Naoya Tatsuzawa said his 74-year-old father had sent an email saying he was trapped on the roof of a building north of Sendai city.
"As far as I know he was in good spirits and they were supporting each other, but it has been snowing and is very cold. It must be awful," he said. David Halton in Sendai said via Twitter: "Broken buildings. People without electricity. It's freezing."
In Tokyo millions were stranded as train services closed. Many spent the night at shelters in schools and other public buildings. Four million were without power.
Across the Pacific, scores of countries were on tsunami alert, with experts expressing particular concern about low-lying islands. Warnings were later lifted for many locations including Australia and New Zealand but experts warned that successive waves could grow larger through the day.
The US geological survey said the shock was the biggest earthquake to hit Japan since records began in the late 1800s. Japan is one of the most seismically active countries and this shock was one of several to have struck the north-east this week, including one of magnitude 7.3 on Wednesday. In 1933 a magnitude 8.1 quake in the area killed more than 3,000 people.The United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki moon, has pledged it will do "all it can to mobilise humanitarian assistance". David Cameron told a press conference in Brussels: "We stand ready to help in any way that we can."
A visit from Hong Kong and Singapore
On the 9th of March, 2011, 12 students and 2 teacher representatives from the reputable Diocesan Girl’s School situated in Hong Kong, as well as 110 students accompanied by five teacher advisors from the equally-established Cedar Girls’ Secondary School located in Singapore, paid our school a visit. The purpose of their visit was to learn more about Malaysian culture and get a taste of Malaysian school life. What better place to experience all that and more than our beloved school, right?
The day began when three long buses packed with teachers and students pulled up at the front gate of the school. Needless to say, they were given a warm welcome by our students who promptly ushered them into the school hall, where the welcoming ceremony, emceed by Angela Chong and Nur Farhanah, was held. Puan Yeap, our school’s vice-principal, gave them a warm welcome and thanked them for paying our school a visit in her opening speech, before the teacher representative of Cedar Girls’ Secondary School returned the favour with her equally inspiring speech.
An informative video presentation our school was then shared with everyone in the hall, acting as a prelude to the day that awaited them. Everyone in the hall was then treated to an entertaining performance by our school’s Eco Music Band, who effectively demonstrated the various ways everyday waste can be reused. Puan Yeap then exchanged small tokens of appreciation with the teacher representatives of both the schools. A photo session ensued, before the students and teachers were taken for a tour around our school. The tour featured the numerous facilities available at our school, as well as the many green projects our school is carrying out. The students were shown around by our own students, while Puan Yeap took the teacher representatives around our school. They all had a great time.
After the tour, everyone gathered in the hall once again, for an ice-breaking session conducted by two of our Peer Counselors, Mai Najihah and Nadiah Roslan. The games played were Ninja, Human Knot, as well as Billy Banja, a highly entertaining ice-breaking game taught to us by the Cedarians which involved a lot of footwork synchronised with the catchy Billy Banja cheer. A Billy Banja competition was then held to see which group could best perform the Billy Banja according to Mai’s instructions. The winners of the games were awarded attractive prizes such as book marks, as well as compilation of English essays written by our students.
The day ended with a delightful lunch consisting of traditional Malaysian delicacies, during which students from each school bonded with one another through a series of meaningful conversations. All too soon, their time at our school was up, and after a final group photo with everyone present, the students of Diocesan Girl’s School and Cedar Girls’ Secondary School took their leave, promising to keep in touch with every single one of us.
Here's a video of the Billy Banja cheer!
Saturday, March 12, 2011
'Knights' to reward 'green, creative' youths
SMK (P) Sri Aman students performing at the launch of Anugerah Hijau 2011 at the Malaysian Productivity Corporation on Tuesday. — Picture by Hasriyasyah Sabudin
EcoKnights, a non-profit environmental organisation, hopes to achieve this with Anugerah Hijau, a competition challenging youths, between 14 and 25, to think "green" creatively.
The competition was launched on Tuesday at the Malaysian Productivity Corporation here.
The competition was launched on Tuesday at the Malaysian Productivity Corporation here.
The competition comprises two categories -- Totally Active and Wildly Creative. Totally Active is about making a one to two-minute short film on any green issue, while Wildly Creative involves creating fashion attire where 70 per cent of its materials have to come from everyday recyclable items.
"This year's theme is all about bringing creativity and innovation to understanding and addressing green issues through short films and fashion wear," said Yasmin Rasyid, president and founder of EcoKnights, which has been organising Anugerah Hijau since 2009.
"We want to build a future generation of shakers and movers, those who can champion a green cause by designing sustainable and/or eco-friendly fashion wear and by making films with urgent and inspiring green messages to the general public," added Yasmin.
"We want to build a future generation of shakers and movers, those who can champion a green cause by designing sustainable and/or eco-friendly fashion wear and by making films with urgent and inspiring green messages to the general public," added Yasmin.
Every year, the competition's goal is the same -- to give back to the environment by encouraging innovation and creativity among youths.
"We need to eradicate the 'fear' that one needs to have a science background to protect the environment. That's a big misconception.
"We want this competition to ignite creative ideas among youths from all backgrounds, whether in engineering school, boarding school, arts or science stream, multimedia students or even aspiring accountants or lawyers. We can't expect only the scientists to save the world, all of us live on the same planet, and that means all of us have to individually do something positive. Collectively, we can be a force," added Yasmin.
The competition is open to all secondary schools and higher institutions of learning in Peninsular Malaysia. There is no limit to the number of ideas an individual or a group can submit. All submissions must be done electronically via the official web portal, www.anugerahhijau.my.
Upon selection by Anugerah Hijau's panel of judges, ten best ideas from each category will be shortlisted and announced in June.
The finalists will have to attend a one-day facilitated workshop in July where their original ideas will be moulded, improved and expedited. The workshop is designed to help prepare the finalists for the competition.
Finalists will also get a chance to pop by the Sepang International Circuit for a pit tour and a chance to watch the Shell Eco Marathon Race.
One of the workshop facilitators is Lara Ariffin, an experienced local filmmaker who has made films such as The Smart Tunnel, The Malayan Emergency and Among the Great Apes with Michelle Yeoh. Silas Liew, who won MIFA's Most Promising Designer of the Year in 2001, is the other facilitator.
Individuals or groups from secondary schools, colleges or universities who sign up and participate in this competition between now and May 31 will automatically qualify for a free environmental awareness talk and environmental film screening by EcoKnights.
Anugerah Hijau ambassador Sari Yanti and expert judges will be evaluating all ideas submitted after its May 31 deadline and a special announcement will be made with the New Sunday Times as its official media partner.
Prizes include RM3,000 for the winner of each category, a certificate, trophy, an opportunity to catch the Shell EcoMarathon Race in Sepang (July), a CIMB Junior account with RM100 deposit, free privileged movie passes to watch the premiere of Green Hornet, courtesy of Warner Brothers, a spot in a special environmental leadership camp courtesy of Yuber, special green hampers and more.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Opening Ceremony of Anugerah Hijau
On the 8th of March, 2011, we, Sri Aman's Eco Music Band finally got a chance to showcase the product of our many practice sessions and our diligence in memorising their drum beats over the course of the weeks leading up to our performance at the Malaysian Productivity Centre, during the opening ceremony of the annual Anugerah Hijau competition. The event was launched by Deputy Education Minister Datuk Dr Puad Zarkashi and was also attended by many esteemed guests of honour, including the New Straits Times Press group managing editor Datuk Zainul Arifin, Shell Malaysia general manager for corporate affairs Rowina Ghazali and CIMB regional director central 2 Freddie Acho Bian.
In the presence of such a number of big names in their respective fields, be it politics or mass media or perhaps even finance, it was no secret that we were anxious about our performance, though each and every one of us hoped for the best. The event began with everyone singing our national anthem, before we were called on stage to kick the event off with our performance. We sang one of our crowd favourites, Bumi, a parody of Justin Bieber's 'Baby', featured a new song, a parody of Katy Perry's 'Fireworks', gave a soulful rendition of our 'Twinkle, twinkle little star' parody, aptly retitled 'the Green Song', and of course, threw in one of our favourite drum beats, 'Durarara', for good measure.
After our performance, the founder and president of EcoKnights, Miss Yasmin Rasyid, remarked that Anugerah Hijau, a competition that has been held since 2009, has seen a marked growth in the number of participants since its establishment. She also commented on the capability of participants when it comes to pushing the bounds of creativity by going above and beyond the requirements of the competitions, citing last year's competition where participants were required to make robots out of recycled materials as an example. 'They were only told to create robots, robots that didn't necessarily have to move, but most of them came up with moving robots! We were very impressed.'
This year, some changes have been made to the competition guidelines. Instead of only being open to secondary school students, college students are also allowed to participate in this year's competition. There would be two categories, 'Totally Active' (Capture the Green) and 'Wildly Creative' (Trashion in Action), with the former requiring students to come up with a one to two minute video about the environment, while the latter requires students to create fashionable clothing out of everyday recycled items.
10 teams would be shortlisted in each category-five from secondary schools and five from colleges based on their submitted proposals, following which the shortlisted candidates in the 'Totally Active' category would attend a workshop conducted by Lara Ariffin, while the shortlisted candidates in the 'Wildly Creative' category would get the opportunity to attend a workshop conducted by Silas Liew.
The grand prize-winning team in each category would receive RM3000 in cash.
In the presence of such a number of big names in their respective fields, be it politics or mass media or perhaps even finance, it was no secret that we were anxious about our performance, though each and every one of us hoped for the best. The event began with everyone singing our national anthem, before we were called on stage to kick the event off with our performance. We sang one of our crowd favourites, Bumi, a parody of Justin Bieber's 'Baby', featured a new song, a parody of Katy Perry's 'Fireworks', gave a soulful rendition of our 'Twinkle, twinkle little star' parody, aptly retitled 'the Green Song', and of course, threw in one of our favourite drum beats, 'Durarara', for good measure.
After our performance, the founder and president of EcoKnights, Miss Yasmin Rasyid, remarked that Anugerah Hijau, a competition that has been held since 2009, has seen a marked growth in the number of participants since its establishment. She also commented on the capability of participants when it comes to pushing the bounds of creativity by going above and beyond the requirements of the competitions, citing last year's competition where participants were required to make robots out of recycled materials as an example. 'They were only told to create robots, robots that didn't necessarily have to move, but most of them came up with moving robots! We were very impressed.'
This year, some changes have been made to the competition guidelines. Instead of only being open to secondary school students, college students are also allowed to participate in this year's competition. There would be two categories, 'Totally Active' (Capture the Green) and 'Wildly Creative' (Trashion in Action), with the former requiring students to come up with a one to two minute video about the environment, while the latter requires students to create fashionable clothing out of everyday recycled items.
10 teams would be shortlisted in each category-five from secondary schools and five from colleges based on their submitted proposals, following which the shortlisted candidates in the 'Totally Active' category would attend a workshop conducted by Lara Ariffin, while the shortlisted candidates in the 'Wildly Creative' category would get the opportunity to attend a workshop conducted by Silas Liew.
The grand prize-winning team in each category would receive RM3000 in cash.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
EARTH HOUR FEST 2011
'IF YOU DON'T DO YOUR PART, THEN YOU AIN'T GOT HEART!'
EARTH HOUR FEST 2011
|26 MARCH|5.00PM-9.30PM|PADANG KOTA, KOTA DAMANSARA|
Are you one of those people who has absolutely nothing planned on the 26th of March 2011?
You're just going to sit at home in the dark for an hour, all ALONE?
THEN you're in LUCK!
Because NOW you don't have to celebrate Earth Hour alone! :D
THEN you're in LUCK!
Because NOW you don't have to celebrate Earth Hour alone! :D
On Saturday, 26th of March 2011, the day Earth Hour will be held, we will be organising an Earth Hour Youth Fest, for all youths in Malaysia! We’ll be having plenty of activities going on, so there won’t be a moment where you’ll have nothing to do!
What’s happening at the Youth Fest, you ask?
The Fest will kick off with a tree-planting activity that the first 50 participants who register on the day will be able to take part in. There’s no better way to give back to Mother Nature and reduce your carbon footprint, then by planting trees to make the world a cleaner, greener place! Don’t worry though, for those who don’t get to plant a tree you’ll get to start on the Pledge, involving hand-printing on a huge banner to show that you’re a part of this movement. Then we will start with the preparations that will lead to our main event of the day, The Gen (Y) Green Attack and Flash MOB! happening at Sunway Giza.
The Gen (Y) Green Attack will involve creating awareness by handing out flyers and walking around with Giant Sandwich Boards to remind them to switch off their lights for Earth Hour. When it's time for the Flash Mob we will all freeze on the spot for 5 minutes, before resuming to walking around, handing out flyers and etc. This will DEFINITELY be a fantastic way to grab people's attention and make people aware of our fantastic cause and to switch OFF their lights for Earth Hour =)
Once the mission is accomplished, we will all head back to Padang Kota where we will celebrate Earth Hour which officially begins at 8:30pm, all electronic devices will be turned off, we'll be having candles and glow sticks distributed as well! During this time there'll be a number of live acts to keep you entertained, performing music using only recycled materials!!
Each Participant is Extremely Encouraged to donate money in order to fund for Future Pangaea Borneo Projects (To read up about the Borneo Projects click here: http://www.mikehorn.com/en/yep/young-explorer-act-projects/pangaea-borneo-project/ ) and to fund for local community projects.
The FIRST 100 participants who donate RM 25 or more, will get a goodie bag worth RM100 including an EXCLUSIVE t-shirt designed especially for this project!!
REMEMBER, WE DO NOT INHERIT THE EARTH FROM THE ANCESTORS, WE BORROW IT FROM OUR CHILDREN.
Go HERE for more details.
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