Chemical Warfare - What is it?

The Nobel Peace Prize 2013 awarded to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) was announced on 11 October 2013 which was last year but it is brought into the limelight on internet in Malaysia recently when Mohd Nasarudin Mohd Yusof, one of the members of OPCW was discovered as a Malaysian. OPCW is an organisation established in 1997 with 190 Member States today to implement the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) to prevent the misuse of Chemistry in warfare. According to the OPCW website, the Convention contains four crucial provisions:

• destroying all existing chemical weapons under international verification by the OPCW
• monitoring chemical industry to prevent new weapons from re-emerging
• providing assistance and protection to States Parties against chemical threats
• fostering international cooperation to strengthen implementation of the Convention and promoting the peaceful use of Chemistry

Chemical warfare icon.
(Image taken from Icon Finder website)

We might be not familiar with chemical warfare in Malaysia but I am sure that most of us have heard of the sinister Agent Orange used by the United States military during Vietnam War to destroy trees foliages that provide covers for the enemies. This example of chemical warfare has portrayed the impacts of chemical weapon usage towards not only the human health, but also the environment. Compared to the spraying of chemical insecticides for example, chemical used in warfare comes in gallons, an amount so huge that can create mass destruction which might last for a very long time. Before the implementation of CWC, Geneva Protocol was signed in 1925 to prohibit the use of chemical and biological weapons due to their horrifying impacts on human and environment. The first use of  chemical agents in war was during the World War I while one of the most recent ones was in 1995, the attack on the Tokyo Subway.

Although the target of the chemical used is human, it is unavoidable that the chemical released brings an impact on the surroundings. Plants might not be able to survive with the presence of the huge amount of foreign chemicals. Animals, which are biological organisms like us, suffer from the effects of mustard gas and cyanide (types of chemical agents used in warfare) as well. Not all the chemicals are deadly, but they will certainly cause lots of sufferings such as blister and chocking. The chemicals might seep into the soil and linger around for a long time, causing the effects to persist for generations. In the past, even after the war ended, the elimination of the unwanted chemical weapons was done by dumping all the toxic chemicals into the ocean, which was the cheapest way to get rid of them. The chemical that was enclosed in bullet or shell eventually leaks due to erosion and gets carried away by ocean waves to everywhere.

War is never a good thing. At least the banning of chemical and biological warfare is a step forward to a better life in terms of humanity.

(Image taken from Live Leak website)

Extra readings:
Reaching Critical Will website - Chemical Weapons
Nuclear Age Peace Foundation website - Chemical and Biological Weapons: Use in Warfare, Impact on Society and Environment

It Turned Out to Be Something I Want [guest post]

For Nature and animal lovers, there might be a problem when choosing they want because there are many courses which are animal or plant related such as Veterinary (which often come first into mind), Animal Science, Zoology, Botany, Forestry etc. And usually, Environmental Science will not pop into our mind because it does not sound as related as much as other courses. Soil, water and air that we are using are directly related to the Nature. So do the animals and plants which often succumb to human development. Quality of the environment should be monitored so that our life will be balanced with life of flora and fauna which might live just adjacent to us or even within us.

This is a guest post from a second year student of Bachelor of Environmental Science from University Malaysia Sabah (UMS). There are not much public universities (and also private ones) that offer this easily-overlooked course. As far as I know, besides UMS, only University Malaya (UM), University Putra Malaysia (UPM), University Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), University of Nottingham and University of Monash offer this course (I believe that there are more). In this course, one of the thing we do (no matter which university we are studying in) is to go into Nature.    

This Course Was Not One of My Choices [guest post]

There is a chance where students received offer for a course which is not in their priority list when applying for public universities due to competition among so many pre-university graduates. Some of them might get courses that are not that well-known such as material science, forestry, instrumental science and also environmental science. Basically students who did not put these courses as one of their choices will react in either of these ways:

1) Oh my goodness what is this??? Why do I get this course??? *overcast sky*

2) Ok... Well, since I don't know what I want to study I will just go for it. *positive aura*

It is not surprising to see juniors asking around on Facebook about this course, looking for guidance from seniors. And probably there are some who do not ask at all because they are shy or they just lose hope and want to change the course as soon as possible. I can't help to have empathy towards juniors as there are not much information regarding this course in Malaysia, at least, not yet. They could be lost and worried about what is coming ahead and how do their futures look like. There are less than two weeks left until the orientation week of universities. While doing the final preparation, mental preparation is also important so that you will not get stressed out even before you enter the university. Having a light and excited mood throughout the orientation week is always a good start, you know.

One of my coursemates has written a short article of her experience when she enrolled in this course and she did not know much about this course either. Hope that it can give you some inspirations and motivations to keep going. Cheers!

A Little Opinions about The Future of Environmental Students

Morning view in UPM (there are too many trees in UPM that I forgot which place is this LOL)

It is the time of the year when people receive their offering letter to pursue their study in university! Congratulation to all who got the course that they want while for others who are not that lucky, it is just another window leading to a bright new world for you. Before you slam the window close, try looking out the window and feel it, at least for one semester. You will not know whether this is the thing you have been wanting for your future career or not because you have not seen it or heard about it. Yes I am going to focus on environmental studies again because the same thing always happen. It happened on me, and it happens to the following new batches of students coming into this faculty, the Faculty of Environmental Studies in University Putra Malaysia (for other universities, this course might be placed under the Faculty of Science)

I should take this picture from a lower angle.

Don't panic if you got this course out of nowhere. Students who chose this course as one out of the four priorities are RARE. It is not surprising if more than half of the students are offered this course because they can't get the one they actually wanted. The most concerning question regarding the course is: What we will be after we graduate? Those who study Medicine will become a doctor; those who study Law will become a lawyer; those who study Education will become a teacher. This is what generally people know. How about courses like Material Science, Wood Science, Forestry etc.? I don't know either since I have never investigated their backgrounds and not many people talk about it. Now we have university graduates everywhere who are looking for jobs. Some even ended up doing something unrelated to what they have studied for three or four years (which is kinda sad). So what am I going to do after I graduate with a title of Bachelor of Environmental Science and Technology?

One of the corner of my faculty. The place I like the most when the scorching sun is not high up there yet.

Here is a situation I have read somewhere else some time ago.
Company W wants to recruit a university graduate who holds a degree in Microbiology; Company X wants to recruit someone who studied Genetics; Company Y wants to recruit a person in Zoology field. So if you own a degree in Biology, you can apply for all the three companies because what you have studied covers Microbiology, Genetics and Zoology. Actually what matters is not the title you get after you graduate but the content of your course. Employers will see what you can give to the company instead of simply showing a piece of paper saying that you graduated from this course. This is the list I copied from our faculty's website (besides what have been listed down there, there are actually more which have not been updated here).

Course Offered

• Environmental Health
• Environmental Measurement Technique and Method 1
• Principles of Environemental Biology
• Hydrology and Water Resource
• Meteorology
• Water Pollution Control Technology
• Toxic and Hazardous Waste
• Coastal Processes
• Professional Training
• Project
• Hydrogeology
• Man and Environment
• Chemical Principles In The Environment
• Principles of Environmental Physics
• Principles of Drinking Water Treatment
• Air Pollution and Noise
• Environmental Chemistry
• Solid Waste Disposal Technology
• Pollution Biology
• Energy Systems
• Environmental Seminar

Basically our course covers all three main sciences: Biology, Chemistry and Physics because when we study the environment, we cannot separate the air from the water, or the plants from the soil. Everything is interrelated. So according to the list above, we can be involved in various industries because many factories need to use water in some of their processes (cooling, rinsing, cooking etc.) and they will produce industrial wastes that need to be carefully disposed of. Precautions have to be made to minimise pollutions as well. If you like Nature more, you get involved in conservation and preservation of natural habitats or endangered species. Get into the jungle, dive into the ocean or skate through Antarctica (maybe?). Besides, you can be an environmental forensic officer who examine the samples taken to see whether they contain excessive amount of certain chemicals which should not exist (we call them pollutants) and identify who is responsible of the pollution. If you do not want to straight away hop into workforce after graduate, you can continue to do scientific researches in Master or PhD to prove the happening of global warming, to investigate the threats caused by persistent organic pollutants found in pesticides, to renovate better solar energy generator or to come out with a greener technology. Out of all the choices above, if you are not interested in anyone of them, you can be an educator to educate the public regarding importance of sustainability in our lives and spread the awareness. You can also just be a science teacher because you have the knowledge of all the sciences.

Me and my coursemates during our first fieldtrip.

The only three Chinese in my batch. Guess what, this course was our first or second choice when we apply for university. *proud*

What I have stated above is just my two-cent opinion which might not be 100% accurate. I am just a second year student-to-be and have yet to go through another three years in my university to graduate. If you ask me what I want to become in the future, I am still uncertain of which way to go. I chose this course as my first choice because I know this is what I want. At the end things do not turn out as simple as it is. There are so many paths that I can go that I innocently thought that I just want to be an 'environmental scientist'. Well I guess this is not the time for me to think about it before I study deeper into this course. 

I hope I have answered this tricky question which I may not be able to answer orally because I don't know where to start. So I prefer to write it down. Spread the words and I wish you all the best in pursuing your new journey in the university. =)  

Me when I just entered UPM.

Extra readings:

Environmental Students versus Medical Students

Inspirations I Got Throughout My Life that Led Me Here

Lake Chini Fieldwork

I Proudly Announce That, I Am An Environmental Volunteer

Everything Is Awesome - Comfort Zone

Shah Alam Trees for Life August 2014 - Trailer

(Image taken from the event page)

As you can see from the banner, it's the Shah Alam Trees for Life of August 2014. Date, time and location, all the details are up there, just get out from your bed in the morning on the event day and plant something instead of wasting time snuggling up in bed... *awkward silence*  Hahaha, just kidding. Well it's the time of the month again! Shah Alam Trees for Life has come back with something special!

I am not sure why I am crazy over this 'special' thing. Maybe you will say, 'nah, it's just some fruit trees'. YOU ARE WRONG! Won't you feel excited when you walk around in the park and see red rambutans dangling from the branches? The flaming red colour in contrast with the green leaves, swaying as wind blows by. That's just sound awesome simply by imagining it! If  you are lucky enough you might even have the chance to take a bite from the white juicy flesh (you have to be lucky because...you know, sometimes they just disappear the day before you decided to grab it as you have been waiting a bit too long for them to get ripe or you are just not tall enough and you do not dare to climb trees, hahaha). Don't like rambutan? How about the queen of fruits - the mangosteen?? Maybe the purple colour will not be that obvious to see but who cares, they tastes great!

Species of trees going to be planted. Basically there are shady trees, shrubs and fruit trees. The common names of the fruits are stated in Malay, so I have some problems in identifying what they really are except a few such as mangosteen, starfruit and rambutan. Maybe you can tell me? *wink*

If you are interested to join in for some fun with your friends, go to the event page and press 'going' (Facebook is really convenient in this). This can be a low budget gathering suitable for students like us. Why always go to the mall for gathering when we have some other meaningful things to do? Breakfast and lunch are also provided! So no more argument about where and what to eat, hahaha. What you have to bring is just gardening gloves (you can skip this if you want to have closer contact with Nature) and water tumbler (using paper cups are like cutting down trees, how ironic). All gardening tools will be provided and I believe that holes for trees are dug before hand as well (according to my past experiences, hehe). There are approximately 2000 Groots, erm, I mean trees, waiting for you in Shah Alam. After the event ends, it will give you another reason to come back to this very place with your friends again the next year and next next year and next next next year. Friendship goes on, just like trees grow on, right?

Imagine this is what you see months later after you planted them with your own hands!
(Image taken from Taste My Vietnam website)

Although I can't make it this time because I am currently having my semester break in Penang, I will look forward to the one in the following months. I have written two blog posts about Shah Alam Trees for Life, one in 2013 and the other in June 2014. So this is the first trailer I wrote for the event! Since trailer is provided, put your hesitation aside and come! Cheers!

The Cove - Review

(Image taken from the Examiner.com website)

This is the second documentary that I watched and decided to write a post about it. In my the other blog I wrote a post regarding extracted information from the documentary The Inconvenient Truth, the facts behind global warming. When I am trying to do the same to The Cove, I found difficulties in doing so because The Cove is more like a real life action movie of a group of activists risking their life to reveal the truth behind dolphin hunting in Taiji, Japan rather than a collection of facts. This documentary was awarded the Oscar Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2010 as they brought attention of the world towards inhumane treatment towards dolphins especially the dolphin slaughter in Taiji, Japan.

Beautiful cove of Taiji.
(Image taken from Tiffany&Ink blog)

We often see the dolphin shows on TV where the dolphins leap out of the water gracefully and interact cheerfully with their trainers. This dolphin show trend was not popular until the release of Flipper TV Series in 1964 which was about story of a bottlenose dolphin named Flipper and Ricks family. Since then, dolphin captivity became more common and makes a lot of money from the audiences. However, people do not know the suffering of dolphins behind the show just like other animals in the circus. Ok this might not be the focus of the documentary but the dolphin slaughter which is covered up by the Japan government. Yes we slaughter cows, pigs, poultries, fish etc. for food but the secret slaughter of dolphins is just so unreasonable since their meat is not suitable to be consumed and they have high intelligence, even higher than dogs and cats (many people around the world are mad at dog meat trade in China). There is no big protest towards dolphin slaughter in Japan because people do not know about the blood spilled at the cove in Taiji.

Pristine sea stained red with blood.
(Image taken from Digital Journal website)

During the seasonal migration of dolphins passes by Japan in September, that is when the hunting season for dolphins begins. The hunters scare the dolphins to the shore by creating noise and trap them there until the next day when the dolphin trainers will come and select the ones they want. The rest of the dolphins will end up bleeding to death at the cove, out of everyone's sight. The number of death can be up to 23 000 each year. It was a very risky and tough work of the team leading by Louie Psihoyos in uncovered what has been happening behind the beautiful cove of Taiji by using hidden cameras and hydrophones. My heart was in my mouth when they were carrying out the mission in the dark because if they were caught, they would be dead. The team also did surveys on the streets and found that hunting dolphins as the Japanese culture was just a lie to make things seem rightful. The consumers in Japan are even tricked to buy dolphin meat which is sold as high quality whale meat. If you watch the documentary you can see things done by the Japan government to hide away the ugly side of Taiji.

Dolphin meat? Whale meat?
(Image taken from National Geographic website)

I do not hate Japan because of things they have done in the past and the dolphin slaughter, but the lies they have told to the world make me feel disgusted towards the Japan government. Since animals are given to human as food, slaughtering of animals is normal but unnecessary killing is just a sin that is unforgivable (of course when people see the scenes in the normal slaughter house they will be disgusted as well). They kill because they can.

Here are some dolphins facts extracted from the documentary:

• In the wild, dolphins can travel 40 miles per day.
• Instead of sight, sonar system is dolphins' main sense in 'seeing'.
• Due to their sensitivity towards sound, dolphins get stressed up when the surrounding is too noisy.
• The language people used to communicate with dolphins is a version of American sign language.
• Breathing is a voluntary movement for dolphins (unlike human, we breath automatically) which requires conscious effort. 
• Dolphins are self-aware, they can understand how to manipulate circumstances, how to interact with people and how to use their imagination in creating innovatively.
• During the Greek era, harming a dolphin could lead to death sentence as dolphins were known to save humans' lives.
• Two animal rights activists, Jenny May and Jane Tipson got murdered because they tried to stop dolphin traffics.
• Dolphin meat is heavily loaded with mercury (20 times higher than recommendation by World Health Organisation), a heavy metal which contributes to Minamata disease. 

Atlantic Bottlenose dolphins. Bottlenose dolphin is the one common in dolphin shows.
(Image taken from Horizon International Solutions site)

Take your time and watch the movie. Brace yourself for some unpleasant feelings. For your information, the effort of old Ric to rescue the dolphins is still going on. You can check out this website to find out more.