It's Easy Being Green

Thailand might not have any melting glaciers, but there are signs that it’s starting to feel the heat. Though studies have yet to decisively pin the blame for recent storms and droughts on climate change, scientists say their increased frequency is probably linked to global warming.

For instance, before 1975, southern Thailand saw an average of one tropical storm every seven years, says Dr. Anond Snidvongse, a climate expert at Chulalongkorn University. Since 1975, it’s one tropical storm every three years. And while average rainfall hasn’t changed much, the number of extreme weather events, including massive downpours, has risen in recent years, he adds. Witness to this are the horrendous flooding and landslides in the country’s north this year.

Conversely, many regions in the country have experienced severe drought, Dr. Anond notes. The drought that gripped Thailand in 2004-2005 ended up costing B7.2 billion, mostly in damaged crops, says Greenpeace.

So what’s in store? First, temperatures will keep climbing. Average temperatures may increase from a range of 21.5-27.5 degrees Celsius to 25-32 degrees Celsius, according to Greenpeace. More to the point, the number of days when the mercury rises above 36 degrees Celsius is going to increase, says Dr. Anond. Meanwhile, the number of cool days is going to fall.

Thailand is probably also going to see more bad weather, including droughts, tropical storms and stronger monsoons, warns Dr. Anond. We’re also in for higher sea levels and higher sea temperatures, both of which are going to hurt Thailand’s economy, the World Bank says in a recent report.

Environmental Wish List

Here’s what we’ve seen in other places and we’d love to have here. Most of these things are up to the government to regulate, but it’s up to us as democratic citizens to demand it from them. It’s our country after all!
• A clean river like Singapore’s

• A ban on non-recyclable plastic

• A total ban on CVCs (the particles coming out of aerosol cans that destroy the ozone layer)

• Tax breaks for those who own hybrid cars or solar panels

• More energy-efficient appliances

• Real enforcement of laws regulating air and water pollution

• Electric buses, or at the very least more strictly enforced emission standards for automobiles

• A hotline for blowing the whistle on flagrant offenders and a lab where citizens can send samples (air, water, etc.) for testing.

Where to start?

There are more ways to go green in Bangkok than you might think. Here are a few to get you started.

Bangchak Petroleum Public Co., Ltd. (www.bangchak.co.th). Since its inception, this company has been caring for the environment with interesting projects. One of them is recycling used vegetable oil. Just drop by at one of their five main stations (Ekkamai-Ramintra, Soi Mahatthai, Nawamin, Permsin or Prachauthit) and trade used vegetable oil from your kitchen for a voucher you can use for gasoline (B12/kg). The vouchers are also good in their convenience stores and at Intanin Coffee shops. For more info call 02-745-2444.

Ministry of Energy (www.energy.go.th). This site provides lots of information on how to preserve energy wisely. Find out how to make your car as fuel-efficient as possible, run your computer in energy-save mode and even use vegetable oil with a diesel engine.

Greenpeace Southeast Asia (www.greenpeace.or.th). You don’t have to be an activist to participate in one of Greenpeace’s many Earth-friendly campaigns. Currently, they are trying to push mobile phone companies in Thailand to take back and recycle old mobile phones and batteries. Go Greenpeace!

Pollution Control Department, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (www.pcd.go.th). The name says it all—if you want to help decrease pollution in the city, visit this site. There is a lot of information about pollution problems in Bangkok and Thailand, as well as details of what you can do about it. One interesting project is fluorescent light disposal. Simply fill out the form online and the PCD will pick up and dispose old fluorescents from your place twice a year for free. For more info call 02-298-2436/8.

Conservation International (www.conservation.org). This non-profit organization works on conserving spaces for wildlife worldwide, but they also have a special division devoted to addressing global warming. Visit the “Climate Change” section for more info on global initiatives and how you can get involved. Go here also to calculate what your total carbon dioxide emissions are.

Global warming scares the bejesus out of us. It’s been giving us more nightmares since we watched the documentary about former US Vice President Al Gore’s spine-chilling slideshow on climate change, An Inconvenient Truth.

Basically, the story goes like this: Since the Industrial Revolution in the late 19th century, the world’s climate hasn’t changed very much. Temperatures inched up in the early part of the 20th century, then fell a bit. Then temperatures started to creep up again.

Seems normal, right? But this time around, scientists are worried that the planet is heating up a lot quicker than it normally would. The UN reckons temperatures worldwide will rise between 1.4 and 5.8 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. What’s causing this? Just look around you: cars belching exhaust, offices and apartments running their air conditioning units at full tilt, and factories gobbling up electricity which is in turn being fired up from coal. All these things are exhaling carbon dioxide at record levels.

Sure, we need carbon dioxide and other “greenhouse” gases in order to make the Earth inhabitable—they create a layer in the atmosphere that helps trap solar energy and thus, warms the planet’s surface. The problem is that we’ve been wantonly burning fossil fuels like oil, gas and coal, and that has added way too much carbon dioxide. At the same time, we’ve mowed down too many trees that would otherwise have helped absorb that nasty CO2. Thus, the surface temperature of the planet rises to unhealthy levels… and this time it might not drop.

Greenland and Antarctica are effectively defrosting because of hotter temperatures, making sea levels rise. If this defrosting continues at its present rate, coastal cities like Hong Kong and New York could lose major parts of their livable areas in the next ten years. This in turn would displace millions of people, simply because their homes are under water. A permanent heat wave also means mosquitoes can breed at higher altitudes, bringing with them malaria, dengue fever, encephalitis and other horrible brain-boiling diseases. Animals such as polar bears are rapidly losing their habitats and food sources, and in turn breaking down delicately balanced food chains. And last but not least, so-called extreme weather—droughts and storms—is becoming more and more common.

So, looks like the choices are either to invest in more summer wear or take a stab at a more environmentally friendly existence. The experts tell us all this is still preventable—if we do something about it now. How about it, Bangkok? Though Toyota Priuses and cloth diaper services haven’t made it here yet, here are some suggestions for living green in the City of Fumes.

Take public transportation, walk or bike

It’s no secret that cars are huge carbon emitters, and the transportation problem is something of a vicious circle in Bangkok. People insist on driving their cars or taking taxis, therefore clogging the streets with more carbon dioxide-spewing vehicles and ultimately raising the temperature. The next time you’re sitting in rage-inducing traffic or complaining about the air quality, remember this: The more people who take public transportation or decide to take a bike or walk, the fewer cars there are on the streets. Besides, walking and biking are cheap, good exercise.

Even as recent as 10 years ago, bicycles were a much more common sight on the streets. At that time, cycling was not just for leisure, but a part of our everyday lives. Why can’t we bring those good old memories back again? If you think no one bikes in Bangkok anymore, think again. A visit to the website of the Thailand Cycling Club (www.thaicycling.com) will surely change your mind. The site features the bicycle law for free download, bicycle recycling projects, trips, tips and techniques for newbies.

Make your office environmentally friendly

The office is where we cogs-in-the-machine spend most of the day, so why not launch your green revolution there? Start saving energy by turning up the thermostat a notch (everyone wears a sweater at work already) and making sure the lights are turned off at night. Unplug those mobile phone chargers and other machines that aren’t being used–they still eat up energy even when they’re not being used. Don’t print documents out unless you really need them and use both sides of the paper. And when you can, take the stairs instead of the elevator, you lazy bum.

Make your home greener

The same rules that apply for the office are good for your home, as well. Don’t blast the air conditioning in every room, and clean out the filters while you’re at it—this makes the A/C more energy-efficient by up to 15%. Use energy-efficient light bulbs—they sell them at Carrefour. Dry your laundry on a clothes rack. And take more cold showers. Who needs a hot shower in 36-degree heat? Finally, don’t use your washing machine or dishwasher unless you have a full load—both these machines are huge energy eaters and they waste lots of another precious resource, water. Speaking of water…

Cut down on water use

The next world war isn’t going to be over oil. It’s going to be over water. We may be surrounded by it, but most of our planet’s water isn’t drinkable. In fact, less than 3 percent of it is usable. According to the UN, in 1995, it was estimated that 1.76 billion people worldwide didn’t have enough water. Over the next 20 years, that number is going to soar to about 5.5 billion—and that estimate was made before the anxiety about global warming kicked in.

Luckily, cutting down on water use is relatively easy as long as you don’t have an enormous lawn or a special affinity for hot baths. Make sure you fix leaky faucets as soon as you notice them—one leaky faucet can equal liters of wasted water per day.

Cutting down on water use is easy with a little smart shopping. Look around Home Pro (Home Pro Ploen Chit, 55 Wave Place Bldg., Wireless Rd., 02-655-3400. Open daily 10am-9pm), where you can find tons of energy-saving equipment. At B200-B300, you can buy a filter for your tap, which increases oxygen levels by adding more bubbles in the water. As a result, you not only save water and money, but also produce a softer touch.

The toilet is another big water waster. If you rent an apartment or can’t afford a water efficient toilet, try putting a brick in your toilet tank. Sounds weird, but anything that takes up room back there will decrease the amount of water the tank uses per flush (don’t worry, it’ll still go down). Another option is less flushing. Some find the principle of “when it’s yellow, let it mellow; when it’s brown, flush it down” to work rather well, but that can be used at your own discretion.

Recycle or sort your garbage

How is recycling connected to global warming? Not only is it good for the environment in decreasing the amount of waste going to the landfill, but recycling can also help slow global warming because less energy goes into producing whatever you just chucked in the bin. Especially when it comes to recycling paper: It takes 70-90% less energy to make recycled paper and stops people from chopping down those trees, which naturally absorb carbon dioxide.

The problem in Bangkok is that there isn’t a formal recycling system—but that doesn’t mean recycling doesn’t happen. Bluntly put, people poorer than you are sifting through your garbage, taking out newspapers, glass, plastic and cardboard and bringing it to recycling plants so they can earn a baht or two. Do them a favor and pre-sort your garbage.

But there is a nascent recycling movement in Bangkok: The Thai Environment and Community Development Association is encouraging shopping malls to launch garbage-sorting systems. And last year, a group of Japanese housewives banded together and set up a collection point for styrofoam containers outside Villa Market near Sukhumvit Soi 33. The boxes are picked up every week and recycled.

Reuse and reduce

Most of us think of cars and other fossil fuel-burning machines as the main offenders in global warming, but there’s another big culprit: garbage. Garbage here is either incinerated or dumped in a landfill. Either way, tons of greenhouse gases are released.

Plus, some of your garbage takes a freakishly long time to break down. According to some estimates, plastic bags can take up to a 1,000 years to biodegrade! Long after you and your grandchildren are dead, plastic bags, straws, disposable nappies and Twinkies will continue to fester in the dump. Are you sure you need a plastic bag with that can of soda from Family Mart?

So start simple—refuse one plastic bag a day. If you’re serious about loving the planet, start bringing your own canvas bag to the grocery store. Avoid items that are heavily packaged. Start re-using things such as plastic boxes and bottles. Even better, buy a water bottle and some Tupperware or a lunchbox.

Think green in the supermarket

The first step in the supermarket is to buy local. Flying in produce from Australia uses way more energy than goods trucked in from the provinces—and they’re more expensive, too. Stick to fresh food rather than frozen because it takes more energy to keep things that cold.

Buy organic when you can. Yeah, it’s more expensive, but organic farming methods are more Earth-friendly and result in soil that can store more carbon dioxide (therefore keeping it out of the atmosphere). In contrast, conventional farming relies on nitrogen-based fertilizers, which pollute water sources and contribute to global warming.

Finally, eat less red meat! Cows are big producers of methane because of all that grass swishing around in their multiple stomachs.

Get politically active

Once there is a government in place, start demanding more renewable sources of energy. If protest isn’t your thing, join an organization that’s good at agitation, like Greenpeace.

Plant a tree

One tree can absorb up to a ton of carbon dioxide in its lifetime. Besides, more trees might make Bangkok look prettier.

Jennifer Chen asks, has Thailand been affected by global warming?