Text Production #DRAFT 1

What are the potential effects of global warming in terms of climate change and how can they be arrested?

The unparalleled rising in world average temperature has startled the public of how grave the earth is jeopardized in this industrial revolution. Although the intractable global warming issue has come to the forefront, many countries still remain unperturbed with the emanated warnings from the climate change. Global warming is the negative effect arose from the trapping of heat inside the atmosphere by greenhouse gases. Array plausible researches show that the world is experiencing substantial spike in temperatures, yet not much efficacious measures are being conducted even if the public is exposed to unadulterated view of its detrimental fallouts. Our planet is currently taking a heavy toll resulting in a fair chunk of disastrous consequences such as climbing temperature which lead to topography changes and losses of lives and species which deserve swift actions to deter the deteriorating situation.

According to Holli Riebeek, inordinate temperature and rainfalls are the most conspicuous effect of global warming. Since 1750, carbon dioxide levels have increased 35 percent, while temperatures have gone up between 0.6℃ and 0.9℃. (Holli Riebeek, 2007) The erratic increase in temperature leads to the breaking of Larsen-B ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula and the melting of ice in Himalaya, Switzerland and Alps. Besides, the melting of land-based ice triggered by the melting of sea-based ice also leads to the occurrence of flood in Europe, China and India. Paradoxically, global warming also causes more droughts when water evaporates rapidly and the land cracks due to extreme dryness. Lake Chad, once one of the largest lakes in the world also dried up over the last few decades to almost nothing.(Al Gore, 2007) Significantly, the geographical features of the earth will change dramatically if the world pays invariable concern towards this issue.

Global warming also potentially plagued the living creatures particularly when the heat wave in Europe killed 35000 people. The escalating ocean temperature leads to rage storms and horrendous hurricanes such as the most destructive Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. The higher elevation of mosquitoes and other vectors also causes the outbreak of many infectious epidemics, such as SARS and Avian Flu. Besides, with a relatively rapid climate change, plants and animals may not be able to adapt quickly enough—and many will become extinct.(Chris Woodford, 2006) Coral reefs in the whole world are bleached because of global warming and other factors. (Al Gore, 2007) In Arctic, polar bears may be unable to survive if the sea ice melts and in United States, pine trees face vigorous attack from pine beetles that are usually killed by the cold winter weather. In short, innocent lives will be sacrificed if the sophisticated countries still show lackadaisical attitude over the impacts of global warming.

The aggravating conditions that bring lots of negative consequences should no longer be neglected. Therefore, provisional parasites of the planet, such as people from all social strata should rise to arrest the severe degradation of the environment. Al Gore opinions that the use of more efficient electricity appliances, end-use, carbon capture and storage, passenger vehicle and other transport and renewable technologies will help us to achieve carbon dioxide emission in 1970. You can replace the incandescent lamps in your home with energy-saving fluorescent lamps, switch to renewable energy, bicycle, walk, or take the bus from time to time instead of using cars. (Chris Woodford, 2006) Nowadays, almost every country takes part in reducing carbon dioxide emissions either by joining Kyoto Protocol or has their own acts. It is unethical to let the situation worsens, so let’s put your knowledge into action. (Al Gore, 2007)

In the nutshell, global warming is threatening the earth, environment and living creatures. Proponents should advocate everybody to implement rigorous measures in combating this knotty moral issue start from today. We do not have to choose between the economy and environment because economy would not exist if we do not have a planet, wealth and job opportunities would be the fruits if we are doing the right thing, consequently, the economy will inevitably, moves forward. The solutions are in our hands. (Al Gore, 2007) It is inconceivable to root out global warming as greenhouse gases are long-lived, however, we can at least do something to minimise the degree to which global warming changes lives on earth.

-------------------------------------------------------

I'm glad if everyone can leave some comments after reading, so i can know where my weaknesses are ^^

Woman fined $9000 after caught living in car with 23 animals

By Lean Fineran

AN Australian woman who lived in her car with 23 pets - 12 of which were cats - has been fined $9000 and forced to surrender all the animals to authorities.

The Gold Coast Bulletin reported Carol Lynette Samuels, 66, said she was a successful cat breeder but tough financial times last year had forced her to move out of a $1.5 million mansion on Macleay Island in Moreton Bay.

She told the Southport Magistrates Court she no choice but to move into her car along with her pets which she considered to be her "children".

An RSPCA inspector found Samuels and her pets in the undercover carpark of the Arundel Shopping Plaza in September after a complaint.

The court was told inside the car, which stank of ammonia, the inspector found 11 long-haired Persian cats and a Himalayan cat inside seven cages on the back seat and nine Pomeranian dogs and two poodles beside the car.

Vet checks showed the cats were malnourished had matted fur, fleas and cat flu. The RSPCA seized the animals and one cat had to be put down.

Samuels yesterday pleaded guilty to nine counts of breaching the Animal Care and Protection Act by failing her duty of care to feed, clean and provide adequate shelter for the cats.

"I'd lost an awful lot and a didn't want to lose my cats as well because they are the only family I've got," she said.

Magistrate Michael Hogan fined her $4000 and ordered her to pay the RSPCA $5000 for veterinary care and to pay $73.80 in court costs.

------------------------------------------------
Critique:
This is one of the special news i have ever read. It again implies the various characters in this world, some treat their pets like their own children, just like Samuels in the context above, controversially some tyrannize the tiny lives just like they arent living creatures. However, it is so exaggerating than one will see her own living less important than breeding 23 animals until she sold her mansion and lived in a car with her so-called children. The seizing of her pets must have left her in great agony as she has lost her home and now her children. It is just so unbearable that it needs time to fill up the void in her heart.

::oyaya in penang::

happy holiday~

When Farm Sprays go astray- The Australian

Leigh Dayton and Matthew Denholm ( April 11, 2009 12:02AM )
WHEN fisheries veterinarian Matthew Landos got his first look at the double-headed fish embryos in a Queensland hatchery, he had no idea he would soon team up with a Tasmanian doctor worried that the widespread use of agricultural and forestry chemicals was making her patients sick.

"In hindsight it makes perfect sense. If exposure to agricultural chemicals could cause deformed and dying fish, as the evidence suggests, of course the chemicals had the potential to trigger serious health problems with other animals, including people," says Landos, who runs a consulting practice called Future Fisheries Veterinary Services and is a research associate and honorary lecturer with the University of Sydney.

Late last year hatchery owner Gwen Gilson hired Landos to find out why - after years of healthy hatchings - embryos and fish fry were dying in huge numbers, while others showed bizarre physical or behavioural abnormalities. His investigation suggested the problem was the result of a cocktail of chemicals sprayed on a nearby macadamia plantation.

Pathology reports on Gilson's fish, written by Roger Chong of Queensland's Biosecurity Sciences Laboratory, backed Landos's conclusion. It revealed the deaths, deformities and behavioural abnormalities of fish and fish fry were consistent with exposure to the types of agrichemicals used to treat macadamia trees.

Landos's work led to a report last January in The Australian of a possible cancer cluster among residents living close to the plantation. The residents have since asked Queensland Health to investigate. That coverage struck a chord for Alison Bleaney, a GP at St Helens on Tasmania's east coast.

About a decade ago Bleaney began wondering why so many of her patients were getting so sick. "I just started feeling something wasn't right. It just didn't make sense." She was seeing a rise in cancers, auto-immune diseases, diabetes, thyroid problems, reproductive difficulties, children with behavioural problems and lots of flu-like illnesses.

The situation puzzled her for years until, in 2003, a helicopter used for aerial spraying of agrichemicals crashed in a forest plantation in the upper George River catchment. A short time later, there were mass deaths of oysters in Georges Bay.

"Suddenly I thought, 'What is happening to our drinking water?'," Bleaney says. "There had been a rapid increase in plantation areas in the catchment and a corresponding increase in pesticide use. It struck me, and still strikes me, as being consistent with the timing."

Turning to scientific reports, Bleaney concluded that the rise in local cancer cases she had documented between 1995 and 2005 made sense. Agrichemicals and cancer go hand in hand, she thought, despite Tasmanian Director of Public Health, Roscoe Taylor, finding no evidence to back her fears.
Although Taylor found no proof of a cancer cluster in Bleaney's data, he remains concerned about some commonly-used agricultural chemicals which are applied by aerial spraying in drinking water catchments. He has called for an end to all aerial spraying.

Today, Landos and Bleaney are waving the warning flag for all Australians, not just Queenslanders and Tasmanians. They point to a growing body of international scientific and circumstantial evidence suggesting that the fungicides, pesticides and weed killers used on the nation's farms and forests can cause a range of human health problems. These run from transient stomach pain and headache to far more serious conditions such as reproductive and neurological disorders, and even cancer.

While many of the studies are conducted on experimental animals such as fish, experts suggest that because backboned animals share biological systems with people, the findings are worrying.

One scientist exposing human cells to agrichemicals such as endosulfan in the laboratory is Dayanthi Nugegoda, , an ecotoxicologist with RMIT in Melbourne.

"Endosulfan is terrible," says Nugegoda. "We found it's very toxic in our in-house experiments."
The active agents in the so-called agrichemicals on Landos's and Bleaney's personal hit-list include wetting agents that break down into compounds such as nonylphenol, known to disrupt hormonal production, organophosphate, a known neurotoxin, and carbendazim, a hormone disruptor which also causes developmental abnormalities in foetuses.

Farmers often use more than one of these toxic agents on their crops, says Landos.
"A NSW Department of Primary Industries study of vegetable residues found up to six residues on individual vegetable crops."

Worse, when two or more such chemicals are combined they may pack a mightier punch than each would individually. Earlier this year US researchers reported they had observed exactly that in a study of the effects on young fish of various mixtures of organophosphate and carbamate pesticides.

"Several combinations of organophosphates were lethal at concentrations that were sublethal in single-chemical trials," they wrote in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives (doi:10.12889/ehp.0800096).
Then there's atrazine and a related compound called simazine. Used to prevent weed growth in tree plantations and in most agricultural food productions in Australia, these "triazines" disrupt human hormones.
Developmental endocrinologist Tyrone Hayes, with the University of California at Berkeley, has conducted laboratory experiments that show atrazine promotes the growth of breast cancer cells by altering the production of the hormone oestrogen.

On a visit to Hobart last month, organised by Bleaney, Hayes told Weekend Health the triazine-cancer phenomenon had been neatly exploited by industry.

"The same company that makes atrazine (as a herbicide) spun out a new company that makes an anti-breast cancer medication that blocks its action," he says, noting that the company involved has complained formally to UC administrators about his public pronouncements on the subject.

Similarly, Landos's and Bleaney's concerns are not welcome in Australian industry circles. The Australian Macadamia Society and forestry giant Gunns Limited, for instance, dispute the suggestion that their agrichemicals make anyone sick.

They argue that they follow safety guidelines set by state authorities and the national regulator, the Australian Pesticides & Veterinary Medicines Authority.

Setting aside the possibility of misuse of the agrichemicals, both outfits are right. The chemicals are approved for use by the APVMA. And that's exactly the problem, the critics argue.

Speaking of the triazines, Hayes says: "My professional opinion is that I don't think they can be used safely. They harm the environment and human health and reproduction. We need to protect the people using it and manufacturing it".

Hayes may get his wish, at least in the US. Atrazine is at present under review by the US Environmental Protection Agency. As well, a bill to ban it outright is before Congress, where Congressman Keith Ellison is leading the push to get a full hearing on the matter in key committees.

In Australia, the APVMA has no plans to review atrazine. But the Tasmanian Government has requested a formal review of triazines due their persistence in waterways potentially sourced for drinking.
As to organophosphates, they too are approved for specific uses by the APVMA. And carbendazim? It's been under review by the AVPMA since 2007.

According to Hayes, they too should be banned, along with another group of insecticides, the pyrethroids.
"They're so toxic I don't study them because the harm they cause to animals is so early in development it's too early to study their endocrine systems," he says.

[Full article click here]
--------------------------------------------------------
Summary:

Matthew Landos, a fisheries veterinarian who saw the double-headed fish embryos in a Queensland hatchery teams up with a Tasmanian doctor to halt the spreading of life-threatening agricultural and forestry chemicals. Landos voices that the agricultural chemicals may affect the growth of marine lives and put the animals, including people’s lives on risk. An investigation shows that the deformation and abnormal behaviours of fish are mainly caused by the chemical sprayed on a nearby macadamia plantation. There was also an increase in the number of patients suffering different kinds of illnesses. The bizarre situation puzzled Alison Bleaney, a GP at St Helens on Tasmania's east coast until the incident of massive deaths of oysters in Georges Bay due to the aerial spraying. It is proven that endosulfan threatens human cells, worse when it is concocted with atrazine, triazines or more other chemicals. However, those chemicals are permitted for use by the Australian Pesticide & Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) and the approvals of these chemicals raise the conflicts among the nations. According to this, Tasmanian Government has asked for a formal review of triazine even though the APVMA does not plan to review atrazine.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Critique:

From this article, the use of certain agricultural chemicals such as endosulfan, atrazine and triazines has became a debatable issue as these chemicals may endanger the lives of living creatures. I do agree that the approval of these chemicals by APVMA should be reviewed to prevent the further widespread of the negative impacts on humans and animals. Although these agricultural chemicals help to improve the quality of macadamia plantation, but the issue brought by the use of these chemicals should gained more concern by the Australian government,the Queenslanders and Tasmanians. There must be other chemicals that are more appropriate to be used, and I believe that it is not a big deal for the current advanced technology to invent a new chemical.

--Welcome to leave your comments-- HUHU

:: oyaya @ RC4-L12 ::

Chinese New Year survives wild weather

THE tiger roared as Chinese New Year celebrations kicked off in Sydney under a blanket of rain but thousands of cultural revellers remained captivated.
Thunderstorms closed in on Belmore Park in Sydney's CBD shortly after 7pm (AEDT) tongiht for the launch of the Chinese New Year 2010.

Celebrating The Year of the Tiger, more than 5,000 people - locals as well as overseas visitors - sampled Chinese food from dozens of stalls and took in authentic performances.

Visiting artists from Chongqing City in China performed an ancient face-changing ritual in which they wore brightly-coloured masks, swapped within a fraction of a second.

Other performances included lion dances, roving entertainers and a contemporary dance by Chen Wen of Sydney Dance Company.

But just before the good times rolled, rain bucketed down, forcing some revellers out of the park and under cover.

Luckily, most people brought umbrellas and remained for the festivities which saw rain ease and almost abate by the time scheduled fireworks concluded events.

British tourists Tom and Gemma Fowler found about the festival on the internet before they embarked on their Australian holiday.

The couple and their two young daughters, who live in Colchester about 100km from London, chose to spend their last night at the launch because they don't see much of other cultures back home.

"I quite like Chinese New Year stuff and I wanted to see what was going on here,'' Mrs Fowler told AAP.

Tessa Boyd-Cainem, who has been living overseas for the past five years, said she was surprised to find the launch had "become a really big thing''.

"I've always wanted to check it out but I've missed all the others in Sydney,'' she said.

The Chinese New Year Festival runs for nearly three weeks and will showcase 40 events, including Chinese markets, a film festival and a performance of Chinese opera.

The celebrations conclude on February 28 with the finals of the dragon boat race competition on Darling Harbour.

More than 600,000 people attended the 2009 Chinese New Year celebrations in Sydney.

-----------------------------------------------------------
Critique:

Chinese New Year is just a day ahead! i think not only the chinese but everyone is anticipating. Over in Australia, the sudden rain almost spoil the chinese new year celebration. However in Malaysia, once again we experience the scorching new year sun and the freaking hot weather. The hot weather irritates the chinese because they always end up having their new clothes wet with sweat after house-to-house visit. So, its new year again, and we could feel the hotness since a week ago, the hot weather hints us " Chinese New Year is coming!!"

GONG XI FA CAI!

enjoy ur chinese new year holiday~

LET GO

life is unpredictable,
sometimes people may say,our life is in our hands,
we can twist it,consummate it or ruin it,
However,its not always true,
life is sometimes uncontrollable when something is fated to be happened..
---------------------------------------
i think everyone knows about the tragedy involved a family of our friend,
i know it is difficult for me to fathom the pain felt by her family,
but yet i could sense her pressure and agony,
i can do nothing for her,
but to help a little bit from her studies and support her..
-----------------------------------------
Quote from mr.yee:

Let It Be,
Just Let Go and Do Your Best

Things that already happened can not be restarted,
but things that havent happen can still be halted,
since we do not know whats going to happen next,
why dont we just treasure each seconds and make our lives worthful..
-----------------------------------------
Foresee our bright future and walk towards it!
Let the passed be the PASSED

::back to normal::

oyaya

Lazybug eats nothing

Yo..it has been so long after my last article..
be frank,i have no clues at all on what to blog,
Since it's still my blog,i should keep it updated,
atleast once a few months,not neglecting it..
--------------------------------------------
It is a brand new year,
where we have more setbacks to encounter,
more challenges to overcome and more achievements to be reached,
i always have some uncanny feeling in this new semester,
no matter in the classroom or in the room,
seems like 2months holiday had brought some subtle changes,
or maybe im the one who changed~
yea~ appearantly, i had made some changes on my hairstyle,especially the colour..
but i received more negative feedbacks than positive one..
sobx! /\
-------------------------------------------
Time flees and everything is like go-and-pass in an extremely fast pace,
next on the chinese new year,valentine's,........................
So as the public exam,it's approaching!
and i could feel that people are getting serious over the academic,
The 2months holiday supposed to be a recharged for us,
but i felt the negative way,i had not get ample rest..
and so i feel tired now..
its not that i disparage my capability,
but i really doubt my ability to fight till the end..
--------------------------------------------
This is life~
so just enjoy it to the fullest and make it as meaningful as you could,
besides holding your responsibility as a student,...
--------------------------------------------
People, lets live the way it lives..

::oyaya::

Character Review -- Nullah (AUSTRALIA)

AUSTRALIA

(by Baz Luhrmann)

Nullah, a half-caste child in the movie “Australia” is played by Brandon Walters. In India, Nullah means a watercourse, especially one that is often dry. He is the son of an aboriginal woman, Daisy (Ursula Yovich) and Neil Fletcher (David Wenham), the cruel yet cold-blooded station manager. His grandfather is an ever-present Gullah or Medicine Man, named King George (David Gulpilil). Nullah as a member of Australia’s “Lost Generation” is derisively known as “creamy”, he is neither a white fella nor a black fella who looks small but mentally and physically strong. A dark skin with a head of short curly brown hair, embellished with a pair of big watery and heart-warming eyes make Nullah stands out among the children although he does not own a deep and beautiful feature. He always looks innocent and pitiful especially when his mother died. He is always in tattered clothes, usually in a white loosen singlet with slippers, or sometimes without shoes. Being ostracised by the whites, he does not mingle around with other children much.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
The eleven years old mixed aboriginal and Caucasian boy Nullah is not erudite as he lives in deprived area. He is fatherless and he lives together with his mother in the Faraway Downs. He is unschooled and only taught the story of life by his grandfather, King George who guilds him through the mysteries of maturation to the way of “Walkabout”, or exploring . He speaks Australian-English concocts with the chanting in their languages. He loves singing and the famous quote from him is “I sing you to me”.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Besides, Nullah is also an obedient and loving son of Daisy. He obeys what his mum says and never think of rebelling her words. Since he is a half-caste “creamy”, he has to be stripped from his aboriginal mother and sent to the church on another island to be westernized and married the whites under the Australia’s policy to “breed the black out”.
He will run whenever his mum asks so when the whites are coming after him. The tight relationship between the mother and the son makes Nullah collapses in agony when Daisy passes away in order to protect Nullah. Lady Ashley(Nicole Kidman) enfolds him and sings him “Somewhere Over The Rainbow”. Although he seems to be came out from the tragedy, but the void left by his mother’s death is still difficult to be filled.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
It is undeniable that Nullah is courageous and harsh. He volunteers to join the droving team even though he is only a small kid with inept skills. In addition, he is brave enough to run away from the mandatory custody. He promises Lady Ashley that he will be fine on that island because he is no more an immature small child, but he is bold enough to take good care of himself. After the bombing, he even assists the Drover (Hugh Jackman) to lead all the still-alived children who are trapped on the island to the boat without the conscious of the japanese. His bravery helps a lot at the juncture and he manages to rescue all the children on the island.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

“Mama say, I Galapa. I magicman. I wizardman!” says Nullah. He inherits the magic from his kind. It can be proven when the bulls are frightened and running directionless in stark terror. Nullah, with superhuman magical ability runs to the end of the cliff and tries to stop the bulls by using his cystal-clear and haunting voice, and they stop miraculously before heading down from the cliff. He could also transmit his thinking and blessings as well through singing.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Although Nullah is uneducated, but he is smart in the way that he is observant and analytical enough to figure out what is happening in his surrounding. Nullah is the only one who sees Lady Ashley (Nicole Kidman) differently as the saviour of the Northern Territories. He even addresses Lady Ashley as “Mrs.Boss”. He believes that Mrs.Boss comes in answer to his people’s magic song. Although he is a young kid, but he is smart enough to reveal Fletcher’s fraud by showing Lady Ashley the working windmill which is locked upon the fake faulty reason.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
At the end of the movie, Nullah once again shows his bravery characteristic as an adventurous half-caste child who is born to go off “walkabout” to become a real man. After saying goodbye with Lady Ashley, he takes off his shirt and shoes, and goes explore with his grandfather.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

From this impressive little character, we could understand how tough a kid would be in such a dire misery condition. They, the aboriginal children are forced to become mature to protect themselves and their love ones. Frankly speaking, it is not an easy task for a young child to undergo all these things, not even an adult living in the city. Learn from Nullah, and we will come to the bright endings after overwhelming all the challenges and obstacles of lives.

::prepared by SL::