Wong Kia Ming KEW080025

Sarawak govt says coal is ‘renewable’ energy
By STEPHEN THEN
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MIRI: The Borneo Resources Institute has strongly critised the move by the Sarawak government to classify the exploitation and mining of 1.156 billion tonnes of coal reserves as part of its “renewable energy” projects.
The institute, a Sarawak-based environmental watchdog group with global links, wants the ministries involved in environmental management at state and national levels to explain to the Malaysian public how the mining of coal could be categorised as “renewable.”
Institute executive director Mark Bujang said the state government had already included the mining of coal as part of the multibillion-ringgit projects to be carried out under the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) initiatives.
“We object to the move to categorise such an environmentally-hostile project as a renewable energy project because it is very misleading. Coal is a mineral that is exhaustible. It cannot be regenerated.
“The mining of coal is one of the most environmentally-damaging and polluting projects on Earth. The burning of coal in power-generating plants produces huge volume of green-house gas and has caused tremendous climatic changes all over the world.
“The extractions of coal from the ground and from underground mines have caused irrepairable environmental damages. These woes have been seen all over the world, especially in coal-producing countries.
“How is it possible then for Sarawak to classify coal-mining and the use of coal for power-generation as one of the projects approved under the renewable energy corridor?” he told The Star on Wednesday.
On Monday, Sarawak secured a US$11bil (RM38.5bil) investment from China to carry out three hydro-dam construction projects and other energy-intensive projects in the SCORE region spanning a 340km belt between Mukah district in central Sarawak and Similajau district in Bintulu Division in northern Sarawak.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Tun Razak and Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud witnessed the inking of the deal between 1Malaysia Development Bhd and China State Grid Corporation in Kuala Lumpur.
Taib, upon his return to Sarawak, elaborated that the China consortium will handle the building of three hydro-electric dams and also look into the possibility of mining 400 million tonnes of coal deposits in Merit Pila in Kapit Division in central Sarawak.
This move to mine the 400 million tonnes of coal in Kapit is just the tip of the iceberg, claimed Bujang.
“Sarawak has more than a billion tonnes of coal and already, there are numerous mining projects being carried out, especially in the Mukah-Balingain region, which is part of the SCORE territory.
“In fact, a coal plant in Mukah has already been constructed and it is almost about to be completed. This (RM903mil) plant will use the coal as raw materials to produce electricity.
“This development is very worrying indeed because we (the institute) have never heard of any Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study being done or any Social Impact Assessment (SIA) survey being carried out for that project, yet that Mukah coal plant is about to be completed,” he said.

Comment:

Before giving comments on this article, we need to know about two things - coals and renewable energy. Coal is a readily combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock. It has many usages, such as gasification, ethanol production and so on, and it is undeniably important to us. Meanwhile, Renewable energy is energy generated from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable (naturally replenished). As mentioned in this article, coal is categorized as a renewable energy in Sarawak. I strongly disagree with this because coal is initially a layer of plant matter accumulate at the bottom of a body of water. It takes a number of processes and thousands of years to become the brownish-black rock we know nowadays. Hence, it is obvious that categorizing coal as a renewable is very ridiculous. Besides that, coal mining can cause the release of carbon dioxide and methane, both of which are greenhouse gases causing climate change and global warming, waste products including uranium, thorium, and other radioactive and heavy metal contaminants and many other effect that can mess our environment.

It is mentioned also in this article that the state government of Sarawak is going to mine 400 million tones of coal deposits in Merit Pila in Kapit Division in central Sarawak. I strongly disagree with this because mining coal in this area will definitely cause ecological imbalance to its surrounding. If we search for its location via either map or internet, we will find out that it is strategically located beside a river and in the middle of our lovely tropical jungle! Once the operation of coal mining begins, the water in the river will be contaminated by heavy metal, animals will lose their habitant, the food chain in the forest is broken and finally, the ecological in that area will be messed up! Furthermore, there are many mining projects are being carried out in Sarawak.

It is also claimed that no survey is being carried out despite the other coal plant, located in Mukah, is almost completed. This is unacceptable because coal mining is very environment-unfriendly. Before carrying out this kind of project, a detailed of study, including its side effect to the surrounding area, must be done to ensure its surrounding is not exploited and it is worth to do so.

Finally, I hope the state government of Sarawak will reconsider to remove coal as one of the ‘renewable energy’ project as it is very obvious that even a Standard 5 pupil knows that coal is not renewable. Also, carrying out a coal mining project can cause havoc to our environment. So, I hope that government will think twice before making the decision.


Steve Sobs' 2005 Stanford Commencement address

Steve Jobs is one of the most famous people in this world. I believe no one does not know who he is, as he is an American businessman, and the co-founder and chief executive officer of Apple Inc.

The following video is the Stanford University Commencement addressed by Steve Jods in year 2005:

YouTube Video Link

In this Commencement, Steve Jobs talked about three stories, and each of it inspiring me deeply.

First of all, Steve Jobs is a mature people when compared with other people of his age. He made one of his biggest decision - dropping out from college when he was 17-year-old, and he chose to be more independent of his parent after he felt that the courses he was taking is actually wasting his parents’ money. He decided to be poor and to learn what he really liked after dropped out. This is not an easy decision for a normal people, especially students, who are still enjoying their school life and wasting their parents’ money, to make.

Next, Steve Jobs is a talented people. After fired by his own company, he established two companies, NeXT and Pixar. Not everyone can do this like Steve Jobs, because like what he says - What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating- many people cannot go through this after the thing they have been inventing many years is suddenly gone. Using this loss as the beginning of his new life, Steve Jobs continues to do the thing he likes and finally, he is hired back to Apple Company.

From this speech, I have learned many things that are very useful in my life. Steve Jobs is indeed a talented people in this world. With a strong will and several failures in his life, he makes miracle.

Why everyone pick Steve Jobs' speech

Steve Jobs is a true visionary. Enough said.