Seasons Greetings

Merry Christmas and Happy 2008

to my friends

From Dr. Chong

.....................................

Positive thinking......when there is a will, there is a way to good health...etc

food choice

Buying animal products of any sort raises its own questions of animal welfare and greenhouse-gas emissions, as livestock farming is said to be one of the most significant contributors to climate change.

Should we eat fish?

Fish stocks are threatened by overfishing and practices that destroy habitats, and by quotas that result in overcaught or undersized fish being thrown back dead. Some quota systems have helped dwindling populations of some species restock.

The Marine Conservation Society has identified species that are at risk and others who are in healthy abundance.

For example, Atlantic halibut has been overfished, which means it is caught in such high numbers that a sustainable stock cannot be maintained and the species is classed as endangered by the World Conservation Union. The MSC recommends choosing Pacific halibut or farmed Atlantic halibut instead.

In the UK, the flatfish dab has healthy stocks and is recommended as a fish to eat, especially if caught by seine netting, which causes less damage to the seabed than other methods of trawling.

What about food from abroad?

Fairtrade food often comes within the wider definition of sustainable food. And it is the developed world markets that sustain many producers in poorer countries.

So if you are buying foreign foods out of season, campaigners say the sustainable option is to choose Fairtrade-certified products imported from poorer countries, to ensure a fair deal for disadvantaged producers.

The Soil Association, which certifies 70% of the UK's £1.9bn organic food sector, requires foreign farmers to prove they provide employment at fair pay and that they are trying to lessen dependence on air travel.

Save energy, wise food choice

All these technologies and so-called "food miles" - the distance the food travels from producer to consumer - bring with them implications for greenhouse-gas emissions and consequent effects on the climate.

Although eating local food according to the seasons is the most sustainable option, if this cannot be done it is important to consider how producers make the food available out of season. For example, some studies show importing items such as lettuce from abroad results in fewer emissions than freezing locally grown produce.

What does sustainable food mean?

Sustainability takes into account the process from field to plate. A key word in the sustainable food dictionary is "local" - minimising energy used in food production, transport and storage.

save our world, save energy

全球目前登记的10万艘轮船有6万艘可加装天帆，包括货柜轮、油轮在内，根据风力状况可节省10%至35%的燃料，风力最理想的短期间甚至可节省50%的燃料。

　　在原油价格迈向每桶一百美元的压力下，能够利用不花钱的风力为替代能源的确是好消息，以“白鲸天帆号”来说，只要一天省下20%燃料，就是1600美元。天帆公司已接到不少订单，包括拖网渔船和超级游艇，预计2015年将有1500艘船使用“天帆”。

海滩放风筝带来灵感

　　瑞格15岁时在海滩放风筝时便萌生以风筝带动船只航行的念头，但是直到2001年，他的创意才首先在豪华游艇上实现，进而成为货轮的动 力推进系统。他坦言，虽然过去五年以55公尺长的船只进行近30次试航，节省能源的效益都远超过预期，但看到“白鲸天帆号”启航难免紧张。

one of the factor to ensure good water quality

Lab facility.

A New Zealand laboratory has come first of 70 laboratories around the world in water dating.

The GNS Science tritium and water dating laboratory in Lower Hutt was four times more accurate than the second-placed laboratory in the international comparison run by International Atomic Energy Agency.

Each laboratory was asked to measure tritium concentrations in six blind water samples. GNS Science was the only one to get all six right.

Laboratory manager Uwe Morgenstern said the result was gratifying.

"We can now say unequivocally that we are the most accurate tritium dating lab in the world.

"That will help considerably in attracting new business, especially from Europe and North America."

Tritium is a rare isotope of hydrogen, which can be used to find out when water falls to earth as either rain or snow.

GNS's tritium measurements have been adopted by the New Zealand government as a benchmark for the security of drinking water from aquifers, as water age indicates if groundwater is free of pathogens.

watch out for pollution

（北京讯）中国民间组织“公众与环境研究中心”最近完成了“中国空气污染地图”，总共有4000多家企业榜上有名，初期先公开15个南方省份和150个以上城市的空气品质等信息，民众将可了解自己所在城市空气品质在全中国的排名。

　　据《中国青年报》报道，这是“公众与环境研究中心”在一年前发布“中国水污染地图”后，再一次为中国的环境污染把脉。

greetings from Dr.Chong

rain +++

flood around east coast of Malaysia.

Richard using SIA via Singapore to Auckland