Jangan Pilih Politisi Penjahat Lingkungan Pada Pemilu 2009

Beberapa bulan menjelang Pemilu Legislatif 2009 pada bulan April nanti sebanyak 11.301 calon anggota DPR RI dari 38 partai politik, 1.116 calon anggota Dewan Perwakilan Daerah (DPD), serta ratusan ribu calon anggota DPRD I dan DPRD II bersaing memperebutkan kursi anggota legislatif di masing-masing tingkatan posisi. Belum lagi Pemilihan Presiden yang akan dilaksanakan sekitar bulan Juli 2009, beberapa calon Presiden dan calon Wakil Presiden sudah mulai mendeklarasikan diri.

Berkaitan hajat besar demokrasi yang akan di selenggarakan tahun 2009 ini, calon anggota legislatif (Caleg) DPR, DPRD I, DPRD II, calon anggota DPD dan Calon Presiden/Wakil Presiden tentunya membutuhkan dana yang besar untuk kampanye dan menjalankan program pemenangan lainnya.

Kebutuhan dana yang besar apabila berasal dari sumber dana yang legal tentunya tidak menjadi menjadi masalah. Yang menjadi masalah besar adalah apabila sumber dananya berasal dari sumber yang illegal seperti illegal logging dan merusak lingkungan.


Sudah menjadi rahasia umum, di berbagai daerah praktek illegal logging seringkali melibatkan birokrat, pengusaha dan elit politik lokal/nasional yang menjalankan lansung bisnis kayu illegal, membekingi praktik illegal logging dan merusak lingkungan yang secara kebetulan dalam Pemilu 2009 ini mencalonkan diri sebagai calon anggota legislatif dan calon anggota DPD.

Atas dasar fakta-fakta di atas, Illegal Logging Watch (ILW), seperti ditulis dalam siaran pers yang diterima satudunia.net, mengajak masyarakat Indonesia calon pemilih dalam Pemilihan Umum dan Pemilihan Presiden 2009 untuk menolak/tidak memilih calon anggota DPR RI, DPRD I, DPRD II, DPD, dan calon Presiden/Wakil Presiden RI yang sumber dana pemenangannya (kampanye) berasal dari menjalankan bisnis kayu illegal, membekingi praktik illegal logging dan bisnis lain yang merusak lingkungan.

Atas hal tersebut di atas ILW mengaku akan melakukan beberapa langkah-langkah. Seperti melakukan pemantauan kepada pihak-pihak di atas selama masa kampanye sampai dengan 1 (satu) hari sebelum minggu tenang pelaksanaan Pemilihan Umum. Khusus calon Presiden/Wakil Presiden pemantauan dilaksanakan sampai dengan 1 (satu) hari sebelum minggu tenang pelaksanaan Pemilihan Presiden.

Selain itu, ILW mengajak masyarakat dan media massa untuk bersama-sama memantau sumber dana pihak-pihak tersebut. Dalam siaran persnya, ILW juga mendesak Pusat Pelaporan dan Analisis Transaksi Keuangan (PPATK) untuk memantau aliran dana pihak-pihak di atas, dan mendesak Komisi Pemilihan Umum (KPU) Pusat dan Komisi Pemilihan Umum Daerah (KPUD) di berbagai wilayah untuk mengumumkan anggaran kampanye partai politik atau individu terkait DPD dan Capres/Cawapres secara periodik dan transparan.

The Lightning Flash Before The Flood

Flash floods are the most common natural disaster in the United States, and because of their unpredictability they’re the leading weather-related cause of death for Americans. They usually arrive with little or no warning, but a Tel Aviv University researcher is trying to predict where and when they will occur ― using lightning.
Prof. Colin Price, coordinator of the international “Flash Project” and head of the Geophysics and Planetary Physics Department at Tel Aviv University, is studying the link between lightning and subsequent flash floods. The three-year study includes scientists from five European countries, and its results are expected to be adopted by weather forecasting agencies around the world.

The goal is to develop an early warning system for people in the path of a flood. “Flash floods are different from normal floods, which are often the product of melting snow. Flash floods are short-lived and dump a lot of rain,” says Prof. Price, a climate change specialist. “Using the radiation emitted from lightning flashes, we’ve developed a system that can give adequate warning to the public ― and save lives.”

Eventually, the Flash system may be used to send messages to cell phones, RSS feeds, GPS units and other devices to warn people in the path of a flash flood and avert disaster.

“Nowcasting” for Flood Warnings

Unlike normal floods which arrive slowly and with more warning, flash floods are particularly dangerous because they happen so quickly, developing from thunderstorms that form in a matter of hours. By measuring the radiation emitted by lightning, researchers can pinpoint the most intense thunderstorms, and the resulting rainfall can be located and tracked.

This data has been used to predict both the path of a storm and where heavy rainfall will appear ― crucial predictions, since the impact of flash floods depends on ground topography, slope and vegetation cover. “Nowcasting,” which predicts what conditions will be in the next few hours, versus “forecasting” a day or two in advance of expected weather conditions, is critical.

Looking at real-time lightning data, Tel Aviv University researchers can see where storms will travel over a period of a few hours, and can warn people in the path of the flood of impending danger. Such a tool will become even more relevant as erratic weather patterns, predicted by climate-change scientists today, become a reality tomorrow.

A Flood of Warnings Delivered in a Flash

The research from the Flash program can be extrapolated for use anywhere in the world, including the flash flood-prone regions of the U.S. For example, the U.S. National Lightning Detection Network could easily apply the results of the Flash research.

“This is a tool for the future,” says Prof. Price. “And it will be even more exciting in the next decade, when we’ll have continuous real-time detection of lightning activity from satellites. That data will be used to predict floods anywhere.” The U.S. will also have geostationary satellites with lightning trackers that will take a picture every 15 minutes from 36,000 kilometers above the earth.

Birds' Movements Reveal Climate Change In Action

The northward and inland movement of North American birds, confirmed by thousands of citizen-observations, has provided new and powerful evidence that climate change is having a serious impact on natural systems, according to a new report by Audubon (BirdLife in the USA). The findings signal the need for dramatic policy changes to combat pervasive ecological disruption.
Analyses of citizen-gathered data from the past 40 years of Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count reveal that 58% of the 305 widespread species that winter on the continent have shifted significantly north since 1968, some by hundreds of kilometres. Movement was detected among species of every type, including more than 70% of highly adaptable forest and feeder birds. Only 38% of grassland species mirrored the trend, reflecting the constraints of their severely-depleted habitat and suggesting that they now face a double threat from the combined stresses of habitat loss and climate adaptation.

Population shifts among individual species are common and can have many causes. However, Audubon scientists say the ongoing trend of movement by some 177 species—closely correlated to long-term winter temperature increases—reveals an undeniable link to the changing climate.

"Birds are showing us how the heavy hand of humanity is tipping the balance of nature and causing ecological disruption in ways we are just beginning to predict and comprehend", said report co-author and Audubon Director of Bird Conservation, Dr Greg Butcher. "Common sense dictates that we act now to curb the causes and impacts of global warming to the extent we can, and shape our policies to better cope with the disruptions we cannot avoid."

Movements across all species averaged approximately 56 kilometres during the period. However, it is the complete picture of widespread movement and the failure of some species to move at all that illustrates the potential for problems.

* Purple Finch Carpodacus purpureus, Pine Siskin Carduelis pinus, and Boreal Chickadee Parus hudsonicus have retreated dramatically north into the Canadian Boreal, their ranges moving an estimated 500, 395, and 340 kilometres respectively over 40 years.

* Red-breasted Merganser Mergus serrator, Ring-necked Duck Aythya collaris, and American Black Duck Anas rubripes, normally found in southern-tier states, have all taken advantage of warmer winter waters and have shifted their ranges north by an estimated 393, 272, and 226 kilometres.

* Only 10 of 26 grassland species moved north significantly, while nine moved south. Species such as Eastern Meadowlark Sturnella magna, Vesper Sparrow Pooecetes gramineus, and Burrowing Owl Athene cunicularia were likely unable to move despite more moderate northern temperatures because essential grassland habitat areas have disappeared, having been converted to intensive human uses such as row crops, pastures, and hayfields. In combination, global warming and ongoing overuse of grasslands by humans will doom grassland birds to continued population declines.

"Birds provide some of the best evidence for species's responses to climate change, through their population size, distribution and timing of breeding and migration", said Dr Stuart Butchart, BirdLife's Global Research and Indicators Coordinator. "There is now plenty of evidence that bird species are shifting their ranges northwards and to higher altitudes, and that their timing of breeding and migration is shifting forwards in response to climate change."

New Oil Deposits Can Be Identified Through Satellite Images

A new map of the Earth’s gravitational force based on satellite measurements makes it much less resource intensive to find new oil deposits. The map will be particularly useful as the ice melts in the oil-rich Arctic regions. Ole Baltazar, senior scientist at the National Space Institute, Technical University of Denmark (DTU Space), headed the development of the map.The US company Fugro, one of the world’s leading oil exploration companies, is one of the companies that have already made use of the gravitational map. The company has now initiated a research partnership with DTU Space.

“Ole Baltazar’s gravitational map is the most precise and has the widest coverage to date,” says Li Xiong, Vice President and Head Geophysicist with Fugro. “On account of its high resolution and accuracy, the map is particularly useful in coastal areas, where the majority of the oil is located.”

Satellite measurements result in high precision

Ole Baltazar’s map shows variations in gravitational force across the surface of the Earth and knowledge about these small variations is a valuable tool in oil exploration. Subterranean oil deposits are encapsulated in relatively light materials such as limestone and clay and because these materials are light, they have less gravitational force than the surrounding materials.

Ole Baltazar’s map is based on satellite measurements and has a hitherto unseen level of detail and accuracy. With this map in your hands, it is, therefore, easier to find new deposits of oil underground.

Climate change is revealing new sea regions

The gravitational map from DTU Space is unique on account of its resolution of only 2 km and the fact that it covers both land and sea regions. Oil companies use the map in the first phases of oil exploration. Previously, interesting areas were typically selected using protracted, expensive measurements from planes or ships. The interesting areas appear clearly on the map and the companies can, therefore, plan their exploration much more efficiently.

“The map will also be worth its weight in gold when the ice in the Arctic seriously begins to melt, revealing large sea regions where it is suspected that there are large deposits of oil underground. With our map, the companies can more quickly start to drill for oil in the right places without first having to go through a resource-intensive exploration process,” explains Ole Baltazar.

Based on height measurements instead of direct gravitation measurements

The success of the gravitational map is due in large part to the fact that it is not based on direct gravitation measurements but on observations of the height of the sea, which reflects the gravitation.

“Height measurements have the advantage that it is possible to determine the gravitational field very locally and thus make a gravitational map with a resolution of a few km. For comparison, the resolution of satellite measurements of gravitational force is typically around 200 km. Satellite gravitation measurements are used, for example, to explore conditions in the deeper strata of the Earth, but are not well suited to our purposes,” Ole Baltazar explains.

NASA Survey Confirms Climate Warming Impact On Polar Ice Sheets

In the most comprehensive survey ever undertaken of the massive ice sheets covering both Greenland and Antarctica, NASA scientists confirm climate warming is changing how much water remains locked in Earth's largest storehouse of ice and snow.Other recent studies have shown increasing losses of ice in parts of these ice sheets. This new survey is the first to inventory the losses of ice and the addition of new snow on both continents in a consistent way throughout an entire decade.

The survey shows that there was a net loss of ice from the combined polar ice sheets between 1992 and 2002 and a corresponding rise in sea level. The survey documents for the first time extensive thinning of the West Antarctic ice shelves and an increase in snowfall in the interior of Greenland, as well as thinning at the edges. All are signs of a warming climate predicted by computer models.

The survey, published in the Journal of Glaciology, combines new satellite mapping of the height of the ice sheets from two European Space Agency satellites. It also used previous NASA airborne mapping of the edges of the Greenland ice sheets to determine how fast the thickness is changing.


In Greenland, the survey saw large ice losses along the southeastern coast and a large increase in ice thickness at higher elevations in the interior due to relatively high rates of snowfall. This study suggests there was a slight gain in the total mass of frozen water in the ice sheet over the decade studied, contrary to previous assessments.

This situation may have changed in just the past few years, according to lead author Jay Zwally of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. Last month NASA scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., reported a speed up of ice flow into the sea from several Greenland glaciers. That study included observations through 2005; Zwally's survey concluded with 2002 data.

When the scientists added up the overall gains and loses of ice from the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, there was a net loss of ice to the sea. The amount of water added to the oceans (20 billion tons) is equivalent to the total amount of freshwater used in homes, businesses and farming in New York, New Jersey and Virginia each year.

"The study indicates that the contribution of the ice sheets to recent sea-level rise during the decade studied was much smaller than expected, just two percent of the recent increase of nearly three millimeters a year," says Zwally. "Continuing research using NASA satellites and other data will narrow the uncertainties in this important issue."

NASA is continuing to monitor the polar ice sheets with the Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat), launched in January 2003. ICESat uses a laser beam to measure the elevation of ice sheets with unprecedented accuracy three times a year. The first comprehensive ice sheet survey conducted by ICESat is expected early next year, said Zwally, who is the mission's project scientist.

Major ice-shelf loss

The ice shelves in Canada's High Arctic have lost a colossal area this year, scientists report.
The floating tongues of ice attached to Ellesmere Island, which have lasted for thousands of years, have seen almost a quarter of their cover break away.
One of them, the 50 sq km (20 sq miles) Markham shelf, has completely broken off to become floating sea-ice.
Researchers say warm air temperatures and reduced sea-ice conditions in the region have assisted the break-up.
"These substantial calving events underscore the rapidity of changes taking place in the Arctic," said Trent University's Dr Derek Mueller.
"These changes are irreversible under the present climate."

Scientists reported in July that substantial slabs of ice had calved from Ward Hunt Ice Shelf, the largest of the Ellesmere shelves.
Similar changes have been seen in the other four shelves.
As well as the complete breakaway of the Markham, the Serson shelf lost two sections totalling an estimated 122 sq km (47 sq miles), and the break-up of the Ward Hunt has continued.
Cold remnants
The shelves themselves are merely remnants of a much larger feature that was once bounded to Ellesmere Island and covered almost 10,000 sq km (3,500 sq miles).
Over the past 100 years, this expanse of ice has retreated by 90%, and at the start of this summer season covered just under 1,000 sq km (400 sq miles).
Much of the area was lost during a warm period in the 1930s and 1940s.
Temperatures in the Arctic are now even higher than they were then, and a period of renewed ice shelf break-up has ensued since 2002.
Unlike much of the floating sea-ice which comes and goes, the shelves contain ice that is up to 4,500 years old.
A rapid sea-ice retreat is being experienced across the Arctic again this year, affecting both the ice attached to the coast and floating in the open ocean.
The floating sea-ice, which would normally keep the shelves hemmed in, has shrunk to just under five million sq km, the second lowest extent recorded since the era of satellite measurement began about 30 years ago.
"Reduced sea-ice conditions and unusually high air temperatures have facilitated the ice shelf losses this summer," said Dr Luke Copland from the University of Ottawa.
"And extensive new cracks across remaining parts of the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf mean that it will continue to disintegrate in the coming years."
Loss of ice in the Arctic, and in particular the extensive sea-ice, has global implications.
The "white parasol" at the top of the planet reflects energy from the Sun straight back out into space, helping to cool the Earth.
Further loss of Arctic ice will see radiation absorbed by darker seawater and snow-free land, potentially warming the Earth's climate at an even faster rate than current observational data indicates.

Creating a Greenhouse With Little Space

A good greenhouse need not be always big and spacious. Although those requirements are ideal for big plant growers and commercial greenhouses, those who only have a small area for a greenhouse can also have their own by building a mini version of a greenhouse.

Gardeners who are much into planting and growing crops but have a limited garden space have an option to build a mini greenhouse. This mini greenhouse can actually be placed anywhere such as on balconies, patios, backyards, and decks as the typical size is just around 6 square feet. Though small, it also provides the same benefits that the regular greenhouses do.

Mini greenhouses are also ideal for those are just beginners in the greenhouse technology. Before venturing into building a big one, it is best to learn how greenhouse works and know the different things needed to have an ideal growing condition for the plants. And this learning process for beginners can be done by starting with mini greenhouses.

A mini greenhouse can be used to start plant growth before the cold season in a particular area. Once the weather gets better and warmer, these healthy plants and crops planted inside the greenhouse can now be transplanted outside into the garden. This will allow for early harvesting of crops. A huge selection of seeds can also be planted in the greenhouse which makes planting a lot more fun for hobbyists and gardeners.

There are a good variety of herbs and lettuce that can be grown healthily and successfully in mini-greenhouses even for the whole year. Other delectable vegetables such as Swiss chard, spinach, and kale can also be planted and grown inside the mini-greenhouse. These would make for a great bowl of salad with freshly-picked greens even during the cold season. That would be wonderful for you and your guests.

Mini greenhouses are also useful with tender perennial plants. The greenhouse can protect them from ice, snow and frost during the winter season. They can be placed in plant containers and stay healthy inside the mini structure until spring begins. Once the weather becomes friendly enough, these plants can then be again transplanted into the garden outside for a much healthier environment.

The decorative plants commonly found inside the house can be given a healthy change by placing them inside the mini greenhouse and placing them outside during the summer months. This mini structure can offer tropical plants a humid climate. Miniature greenhouses, just like the regular ones, maximize the amount of sunlight and make the most out of the heat absorbed. It also provides the needed protection of plants from rain, wind, destructive insects and other pests in the garden such as rabbits.

Since mini gardens or greenhouses can be as light as possible because of their small structure, they may be easily blown by wind or knocked over by pets and kids. Thus, it is recommended that these small gardens be placed or mounted in to a wall or garage than be a free standing structure. It is best to place them in a location where there is enough sunlight but be safe from other outside factors as well. There are also do-it-yourself greenhouse kits available in the market that include complete instructions and step-by-step guide for a beginner to build a mini greenhouse in not time. These kits can also be inexpensive and can commonly accommodate up to three shelves.

So should one really choose to have a full-sized greenhouse or just go with a miniature one? Even if a big space is available for a full-sized greenhouse, having a small one may be more practical. If the main purpose of having a greenhouse is to grow only a few plants, germinate seeds, or provide protection during the colder season, having a mini greenhouse is just fine. Also, the cost to maintain small greenhouses are significantly lower than the full-sized ones because of the several factors that need to be maintained.

Thus, it is recommended that gardeners have a greenhouse, even a mini one. This structure can prove to be a good investment and yield better results than just doing the traditional gardening. And if one really finds happiness in caring for plants and harvesting a few crops, greenhouse-gardening can definitely offer lifetime enjoyment.