Forum On The Environment

Chairman (Youn Fei): Welcome to 'I Heart The Environment: A Forum on Caring for the
Environment'. To begin with the discussion I would li!e to state the "ur"ose of this forum. The
Environment Forum is established b# Council to assist reduce the "ollution and natural disasters
caused b# the human activities. That is wh# there the environmental "lanning is inaugurated.
Environmental "lanning concerns itself with the decision ma!ing "rocesses where the# are re$uired
for managing relationshi"s that e%ist within and between natural s#stems and human s#stems.
Environmental "lanning endeavors to manage these "rocesses in an effective orderl# trans"arent
and e$uitable manner for the benefit of all constituents within such s#stems for the "resent and for
the future. &resent da# environmental "lanning "ractices are the result of continuous refinement and
e%"ansion of the sco"e of such decision ma!ing "rocesses. 'ome of the main elements of "resent
da# environmental "lanning are:
a( 'ocial ) economic develo"ment
b( *rban develo"ment
c( +egional develo"ment
d( ,atural resource management ) integrated land use
e( Infrastructure s#stems
f( -overnance framewor!s
,ow allow me to introduce the "anellists of the da#. The one on m# left is 'ir Wilson the stunning
#oung man on m# right is &rofessor I.aa! the one with frea!ishl# long legs is /r. 0arthi! and
finall# m#self Count Alfred as the chairman for the forum toda#. 'o 'ir Wilson could #ou elaborate
some of the other wa#s to ta!e care of the environment1
Sir Wilson: Than! #ou Count Alfred. 'ome of the ste"s in saving the environment are b#:
a( 'witching off an#thing that uses electricit#. If #ou're not using it turn it off. This goes for lights
televisions com"uters "rinters and so on.
&ut timers on lam"s that will turn off lam"s at the same time on a dail# basis. Timers li!e
these can be found in hardware stores and the# can be "lugged into #our lam".
2a!e it a routine to shut off lights and electrical a""liances whenever #ou leave a room.
b( *n"lug. 3eaving devices "lugged in such as la"to" chargers or toasters can eat u" 4"hantom4
energ#. Even when an a""liance is turned off it ma# still use "ower. Tr# un"lugging when "ossible.
If it will be at least 56 hours before #ou use it again un"lug it.
Turn lots of things off with a "ower stri". 7ou can "lug all #our a""liances in one area 8
sa# #our com"uter 8 into a "ower stri". Then when #ou're done using all a""liances
sim"l# turn the "ower stri" off at the switch.
c( *se renewable energ# sources. In the *'A around 9:; of electricit# is "roduced b# burning
fossil fuels. <urning coal or other fuels emits greenhouse gases and "ollution in the environment.
An average home "owered b# a coal utilit# will burn :=>>> "ounds of coal a #ear and will cause
about the same amount of "ollution as = cars. <# using renewable energ# as the "rimar# "ower
source the reduction of "ollution "er household would be e$uivalent to that of "lanting ?>> trees.
2an# electric com"anies offer "ower from renewable sources @sometimes at a slightl#
higher fee(. Another o"tion is to rent solar "anels as these are becoming increasingl#
e%"ensive. Contact #our local energ# "rovider for more information.
Encourage #our congressional re"resentatives to su""ort environmental issues and
renewable energ#.
d( Trade in #our dr#er for a good oldAfashioned clothesline. It ma!es #our clothes smell nice and
fresh and it's environmentall# friendl#. Tumble dr#ers are among the biggest energ# users in most
households after the refrigerator and air conditioner. If #ou do use a dr#er ma!e sure to !ee" the
vent clear.
Chairman (Youn Fei): I bet that those ste"s would be e%tremel# useful for the citi.ens worldwide.
How about letting &rof. I.aa! to state and e%"lain about the im"ortance of conserving the
environment1 3et us welcome him.
Prof. Izaak: He# than! #ou gu#s. ,ow let us tal! about the im"ortance of conserving the
environment. All answers lead to one thing. We "reserve the environment because it's what we live
in and changes to it can be bad for us.
:( 2aintaining the environment as it was before human additions allows "lants to continue
growing "lants that hel" regulate tem"erature humidit# CB= levels an "rovide o%#gen.
=( 2aintaining the environment hel"s "reserve animal s"ecies that combine with the environment to
hel" maintain "lants @seed dis"ersion "ollination b# insects etc( on which we de"end.
5( 2aintaining the environment allows us to live free of an# "ollutants or ha.ards that we might
introduce into our environment. That leaves us free to tr# to survive in the 4natural4 environment
which includes things li!e shar!s "oisonous insects and re"tiles "ollen "oisonous "lants viruses
bacteria thousands of "arasites and other animals that com"ete for food and land.
?( 2aintaining the environment allows future generations of humans to grow and live without
having to deal with an#thing we've done to contaminate the environment in which we do live and
the# will live.
C( 7ou fill in the others. I did D>; of the wor!.
Chairman (Youn Fei): Well good enough. 3et us "roceed to the ne%t "anellist. /r. 0arthi! do #ou
have an# o"inion on who is res"onsible for all these conservation and "reservation Eobs1
r. !arthik: Finall# the most interesting $uestion I have heard whole da# longF <# thin!ing
rasionall# and criticall# those that are res"onsible for all these conservation and "reservation Eobs
are:
G -reen"eace International @-&(
G Earth '#stem -overnance &roEect @E'-&(
G -lobal Environment Facilit# @-EF(
G Intergovernmental &anel on Climate Change @I&CC(
G *nited ,ations Environment &rogramme @*,E&(
G World ,ature Brgani.ation @W,B(
G World Wide Fund for ,ature @WWF(
for the worldwide state.
Bn the other hand at the regional state there are:
G Euro"ean Environment Agenc# @EEA(
G &artnershi"s in Environmental 2anagement for the 'eas of East Asia @&E2'EA(
While the local organi.ation is:
G IC3EI A 3ocal -overnments for 'ustainabilit#
World Wide Fund for ,ature @WWF( for instance is an international nonAgovernmental
organi.ation wor!ing on issues regarding the conservation research and restoration of the
environment formerl# named the World Wildlife Fund which remains its official name in Canada
and the *nited 'tates. It is the world's largest inde"endent conservation organi.ation with over C
million su""orters worldwide wor!ing in more than :>> countries su""orting around :5>>
conservation and environmental "roEects. WWF is a foundation in =>:> deriving C9; of funding
from individuals and be$uests :9; from government sources @such as the World <an! /FI/
*'AI/( and ::; from cor"orations.
Chairman (Youn Fei): Than! #ou m# dear "anellists. 7ou all had gave me such outstanding
o"inions about the environment. We would li!e to end this forum with a bow. Wishing all of #ou
would attend the forum on the following #ear.