Haze woes

Singapore appears to be blanketed in haze today. It hangs low over the air like a malignant mist and it's smell permeates everything, even worming its way into my house (til I closed all the windows and turned on the aircon, anyway). The National Environment Agency website confirm my suspicions- the air quality here is at 'unhealthy levels' and the PSI reading actually went up to 130 at 10 am this morning. It's 1997 all over again.

Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, spoke out on the need for ASEAN to set up a haze fund, citing the fact that Indonesia lacks needed resources, and the costliness of the kind of tools that would be needed to put out large-scale forest fires. Beyond dealing with the fires as they occur, something really needs to be done about their (human) root causes as well (granted, some of the fires probably start by themselves, but I'm guessing not all- or even most).

I really hope that the governments of this region won't just forget all about the haze situation, and the out of control forest fires in Indonesia that cause it, as soon as the air quality clears up; else we can look forward to reliving this year after year for the forseeable future. Though given their track record to date, perhaps I should just invest in a filter mask.

Technorati Tags: haze, Indonesia, forest fires, air quality, pollution, ASEAN

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Rest in Peace, Steve Irwin

Steve Irwin was perhaps the best-known conservationist and wildlife expert in the world. His death is tragic and oddly unexpected- even though he put his life on the line time and time again for the sake of educating and entertaining people, his larger-than-life nature made him seem invulnerable. That he was killed by a stingray, an animal that is apparently mostly harmless, just goes to show the unpredictable nature of his line of work and of wild animals in general.

Still, one would think that Steve would be satisfied with his legacy- the Australian Zoo run by him and his wife, his television shows that have been (and will be for many more years) watched by countless people who hopefully were as educated by the shows as they were entertained and his passionate conservation efforts. Plus, he died doing what he loved best; filming a new nature documentary.

So goodbye, Steve Irwin- Wildlife Warrior. You'll be sorely missed.

Technorati Tags: Steve Irwin, tribute

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Byebye, Mr Banana?

The succulent, yellow fruits pictured above will be familiar to you as bananas, AKA the world's most popular fruit. To be very specific, they are 'Cavendish' bananas- the variety of banana most commonly sold in the West (it's not too uncommon here in the East, either :P). Unfortunately, that may not be the case in a few years time- the 'Cavendish' is being ravaged by disease and production may drop to the point where it's impossible to satisfy global demand.

The varieties of banana commonly eaten by man are, sadly, quite susceptible to disease. The reason for this is a fact that I myself wasn't aware of til a few days ago: the domestic banana plant is a clone! Genetic engineering is hardly a new science- farmers, through their selective breeding, have been doing it since time immemorial. Our domestic plants and animals have all been changed significantly from their wild counterparts through human efforts. Likewise, the domestic banana has been selected for a trait that makes it's fruit edible to us- namely, a distinct lack of seeds.

I've always wondered why bananas have no seeds and how the heck the tree reproduces. Well, I've found my answer. New banana plants are commonly grown by planting young offshoots of an existing banana plant. The new plant, then, will be a genetic clone of the plant it was propogated from. It is this practice that has allowed the spread of identical-tasting banana plants from Southeast Asia to Africa and the Americas- ensuring that everyone gets to eat the same great-tasting and nutritious fruit.

On the flipside, this also means that there's precious little genetic variation amongst the domestic varieties of banana- hence their remarkable lack of resistance to disease. What affects one banana plant can and will affect all other banana plants of the same variety. History has proved this fact- a 'banana apocalypse' has already happened once. The 'Gros Michel' variety of banana was once the favoured variety sold in the Western world until it was hit by a fungus called Panama disease in the early part of the 20th century. By mid-century, the production had been crippled. After it was clear that there was no way to save the 'Gros Michel', the 'Cavendish'- resistant to Panama Disease- entered the picture as it's replacement.

Unfortunately for us, the wild fungi weren't as genetically-static as the bananas they attacked. In 1992, a new strain of Panama Disease (called Race 4) that could affect 'Cavendish' varieties was discovered. It has since wiped out many plantations in Southeast Asia. It seems certain now that 'Cavendish' will suffer the same fate as 'Gros Michel' before it. All isn't lost, however. This fascinating Popular Science article details efforts by two groups of people to create a new, resistant form of banana: farmers who are trying to create a replacement plant similar enough to 'Cavendish' that consumers won't notice (or rather, mind) the difference and bioengineers who are manipulating the plant's genes to create a hardier, disease-resistant form of 'Cavendish.' Both groups have their work cut out for them; particularly the farmers, as new banana hybrids are hard to grow.

While the loss of the 'Cavendish' will certainly be a loss for banana-growing economies and fruit-lovers everywhere in the developed world, there is an even more pressing issue at hand. Bananas are a staple food in many parts of Africa and even though it is not the 'Cavendish' but other varieties that are commonly grown in many African countries, they too are under threat from the same diseases. The loss of the fruit would be no laughing matter for the millions of people who rely on it as a primary source of nutrition. Finding a solution to the banana's woes is thus a matter of utmost importance.

Technorati Tags: bananas, disease, threat, science, biology

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Presenting the world's cutest cephalopod (and friends)!

That incongruously cute animal is a 'piglet squid,' a member of the genus Helicocranchia. The photo was submitted by Alan Kinnear for the BP Kongsberg Underwater Image Competition 2006, hosted by SERPENT- the Scientific & Environmental ROV Partnership using Existing Industrial Technology.

Now check out these guys!


This photo, of two Chimaera monstrosa and a Cidaris urchin, was submitted by a Kerry Howell of the University of Plymouth. Pretty neat. Check out the other contest entries to see some very unusual specimens of marine life. The microscopic/specimen images category features some breath-takingly gorgeous imagery.

Technorati Tags: piglet squid, SERPENT, marine life, photography

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Electric cars- not quite dead

A few weeks ago, my sister showed me a cool trailer for a documentary called "Who Killed the Electric Car?"- an examination of the life and death of General Motor's pioneering electric car, the EV1. Released in 1996, the car was fast, efficient and a big hit with the select group of people who drove the car. Sadly, the EV1 line of cars was discontinued in 2002 and commercial development of electric cars in America seems to have died with it.

However, electric vehicle enthusiasts are a passionate lot and it looks like the fate of the electric car isn't quite sealed yet.

Behold the Eliica:

Developed in Japan by Professor Hiroshi Shimizu and his team at Keio university, this 8-wheeled beast of a machine can accelerate from 0 to 100km/h in under 4 seconds- faster than a Porsche 911 Turbo- and has a top speed of 370km/h. UK motoring magazine Auto Express reports that the car is both speedy and fun to drive- it's lack of a transmission means that it can accelerate smoothly with no jerks between gears. The prototype car has been in development for quite a few years and was recently officially unveiled at Togu Palace with the Crown Prince and Princess in attendance. The team intends to produce at least 200 units of the car once they receive corporate sponsorship.

As cool as the Eliica is, it's mostly intended as a demonstration of power- proof that electric cars aren't the slow, cumbersome vehicles that they're popularly perceived to be. Back in the USA, however, some enterprising companies are planning to bring electric cars to the commercial market- in a big way.

One of those companies is Wrightspeed, with their Wrightspeed X1- the fastest electric car in the world and one of the world's fastest cars, period.

This speed demon beat both a Ferrari 360 Spider and a Porsche Carrera GT in a quarter-mile drag race (which you can watch here!), going from 0-60mph (or 96.6 km/h) in approximately 3 seconds. Entrepreneur Ian Wright is the man behind the X1 and he's got a plan to turn the current prototype into a production car for the high-end speedster market.

Interestingly enough, Ian Wright's background is in information technology (he's engineered routers and switches for companies like Cisco in the past)- according to this Business 2.0 article, he's part of a new wave of Silicon Valley upstarts (see also: Tesla Motors, who have bold plans and the venture capital to back them up) who intend to do what existing automobile makers have been failing at for years- bring an electric car to the mass market. They believe their technological expertise will enable them to design the highly-complex electronics and battery systems that will drive the electric cars of the future.

Speaking of batteries, they are commonly cited as the biggest problem with electric cars (as well as the main reason for them never taking off) as they're still too expensive and don't deliver the desired level of performance. However, a few start-ups down in Silicon Valley are working on just this problem and claim that big advances are on their way that will drive prices down significantly while improving performance to acceptable levels. With oil prices soaring sky-high and unlikely to ever come back down significantly, the time may finally be right for the electric car!

Technorati Tags: electric car, Eliica, Wrightspeed X1, cars, automobiles, technology, environment

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Rocketboom interviews Bruce Sterling about spimes!

The latest Rocketboom's got a short but very informative interview with Bruce Sterling about spimes. He starts by explaining how it might be useful to take a shoe and embed an RFID tag with a record of what it's made of- instead of throwing it away when you're done with it, you could sell it as raw materials. Then he handles the privacy issues inherent in such an idea- basically, he agrees that spimes do have a great deal of "abuse potential" but he also argues that spimes' potential for good outweighs the bad. Good stuff. Check it out.

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Better batteries for a better world

Worldchanging is one of the coolest blogs on the Internet. In the words of their about page, the site is built around the premise that "the tools, models and ideas for building a better future lie all around us." Since October 2003, the good folk who run the blog have been posting links and analyses of such tools, models and ideas. The blog is thought-provoking, insightful and very informative. In a world where we're bombarded by news of death and disaster practically every day, it's good to take a step back and think about how we could try and improve the future.

A recent post on Worldchanging talks about batteries. They might not seem like the most exciting, world-changing sort of technology, but advances in battery technology will help to make electric cars (and other forms of electric transportation) a more viable alternative to gasoline-fueled cars and drastically improve the amount of lifetime of mobile devices (Worldchanging has highlighted the roles of handphones in particular as important environmental, developmental and political tools).

The post focuses on 5 new battery technologies, which range from improvements in lithium-based battery technology that will make them more stable, cheaper and more spacious than existing lithium-based batteries, to a new ultracapacitor that promises drastically improved storage capacity- something that will greatly benefit manufacturers of hybrid and fuel-cell cars which rely on ultracapacitor technology.

If you want to see more of how bleeding-edge technologies can be used to improve the world, head on down to Worldchanging. You won't be disappointed.

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Remote-Controlled Shark Spies

According to a New Scientist article, a DARPA-funded research team has developed an implant that allows for a shark's brain signals to be "manipulated remotely." In other words, they're mind-controlling sharks. The Pentagon wants to use them as stealth spies. OK... we're moving squarely into James Bond/Austin Powers territory now. Weird.

The same New Scientist article goes on to give an example of another research team that used a similar technique to guide rats through piles of rubble. The New York Police Department is considering recruiting those rats to their Disaster Response Team to detect bombs or trapped people. That's really cool. Cooler than shark spies, at any rate.

Oh and it looks like all this research that's going into manipulating animal brain signals may actually help create prostheses to restore movement to nerve-damaged, paralyzed limbs. Nice. The New Scientist article's got tons more details, so check it out if this is your kinda thing.

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Michael Crichton says Global Warming doesn't exist!

I haven't been keeping up with the recent works of popular thriller author Michael Crichton, but when I saw his new book, State of Fear, mentioned on this entry of Hideo Kojima(creator of the Metal Gear series of games)'s blog, I knew I had to find out more about it. I gathered from aforementioned blog entry that Mr Crichton's taken it upon himself to *ahem* debunk the Global Warming theory. Mr Kojima, who I respect greatly as a games designer, appears to have bought Crichton's view- hook, line and sinker.

Personally, I find the whole anti-Global Warming faction to be dubious, especially given that several of the scientists and "scientific" organisations in said faction are sponsored by- you guessed it!- the oil industry. Whoop-dee-doo! No surprise then that most anti-Global Warming sentiment comes from the USA!

Anyway, after reading Mr. Kojima's blog entry I delved deep into the web and found a rather good site that takes a long, hard look at the book in question and finds it, unsurprisingly to me, to be of questionable scientific merit. The site in question is RealClimate and here is the article which analyses the book. The site itself is run by working climate scientists and, to my layman's eye, appears to give a well-balanced, scientific view on matters regarding climate change. So here's the score as I see it:
Climate Scientists- 1. Michael Crichton- 0.

So even if the man is wrong, why am I so hard on Mr Crichton? I mean, he just wrote a novel right? Who's gonna take him seriously?
Two things: First off, if Global Warming, like Mr Crichton claims, isn't real, then that's just swell- we're in no trouble at all. But if it IS real- and there's a heckuva lot of evidence to suggest that it is- then it's amazingly irresponsible to dismiss the theory offhand and just pretend like we- and by we I mean the collective global community, or EVERYONE- don't need to do anything at all to stop this situation from getting any worse. I think this is a clear case where erring on the side of caution is not a bad thing at all. That Mr Crichton doesn't see things this way is just bizarre, to say the least.

Secondly, Mr Crichton isn't just putting this pseudo-science (like all the science in all his books, actually!) in his book for kicks, he actually seems to think that he, a layman, is qualified to TELL OTHER PEOPLE what to believe with regards to climate change and the Global Warming theory. And people will believe him because there are LOADS of people out there who will believe a man like Mr Crichton because he can use big words and he's somewhat of a celebrity. So since the release of the book in late 2004, he's been going around giving speeches, including one in front of the United States Senate (whatever happened to getting ACTUAL SCIENTISTS to give speeches to government officials about stuff like this?) Using your celebrity status to put forth a view as dangerous as his (the danger is that other people will actually start believing it) is amazingly irresponsible.

But all's not lost! Despite the fact that kooks like Mr Crichton persist in denying the existence and impact of Global Warming, the US government has shifted their official stance on Global Warming from one that downplays it's significance to one that acknowledges that it IS indeed a problem that needs to be fixed. Though the USA still won't ratify the Kyoto Protocol (partly due to political reasons *cough*India*cough*China*cough*), they signed another agreement in 2005, the Asia-Pacific Partnership for Clean Development and Climate, in which 6 countries (China, India, USA, Australia, Japan and South Korea) agreed to collaborate on the development of technology to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This is a 'softer' treaty than the Kyoto Protocol in that it does not require any of the countries to limit their emissions by a set amount, but it's certainly a step in the right direction.

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Nice weather we're having!

It's been raining every single day since I got back to Singapore on Sunday morning. The sky out my window's been a dreary grey colour every day. In fact, here's what they look like right now:


Today's Straits Times shed some light as to why this is happening- seems there's a cold wave hitting many parts of Asia and the constant rain we've been experiencing over here is just part of that. Other countries like India, China and Japan have been hit far worse so a little extra rain over here doesn't look like such a bad thing in comparison. Wow... the weather's just getting weirder and weirder every single year.

PS: Eid Mubarik to any Muslims who read this! :-)

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Today I read the newspaper!

This is an exciting and unusual development. I usually just scan the frontpage but I don't usually read the whole paper- see, I get most of my world news on the net. But this does make me a bit (or very) backwards when it comes to local news. But I'm trying to catch up now- especially cos following the latest news and trends is highly important for 2 modules I'm taking at university this semester- Theories of Communications and New Media and Principles of Marketing.

So anyway, there's a story on the front page about how the government's starting a new Customer Centric Initiative (CCI) to improve service in Singapore, starting with the retail sector. Well I kind of expected something like this after what my Marketing tutor told me on Monday (I blogged about it a couple posts down). Of course, it's a jolly good idea. Who doesn't want better service?

Over in the home section there's a big 2-page spotlight on some big companies participating in the CCI. There's also a couple of interesting anecdotes about good customer service here by Mr Lim Swee Say, deputy secretary-general of the labour movement here (Wow I didn't know there was one! Wonder what they do?).

There's a big section on haze today. It's quite sad how poor farmers in Sumatra have no choice but to clear land by slash-and-burn methods. The Indonesian government really should help them out by providing some kind of alternative. It's a real shame that we had to see a repeat of what happened in 1997. Thankfully Singapore wasn't affected this time becos of wind directions and yadda yadda... but we might not be so lucky next time.

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Anemone Armies Do Battle In Tide-Pools!

Whoa. This article about how sea anemone armies conduct terrotorial battles in tide-pools is extremely cool. Here's an excerpt:

"When the tide is out, the polyps are contracted and quiet. As the tide covers the colonies, "scouts" move out into the border to look for empty space to occupy. Larger, well-armed "warriors" inflate their stinging arms and swing them around. Towards the center of the colony, poorly armed "reproductive" anemones stay out of the fray and conduct the clone's business of breeding.

When anemones from opposing colonies come in contact, they usually fight. But after about 20 or 30 minutes of battle the clones settle down to a truce until the next high tide.

It's not just polyps along the border between two clones that clash. Polyps three or four rows away from the front will reach over their comrades to engage in fights, Grosberg said."

WHOA! Large-scale anemone battles with scouts and warriors! ANEMONE WARRIORS! Wow, even the meekest-looking creatures in the animal kingdom can be pretty bad-ass. If I didn't know better, I'd think the article was describing a battle in a really avant-garde new Real-Time Strategy game.

(via Boing Boing)

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