Water, water, everywhere…

Posted on October 11th, 2009 in Air and Water Quality by Michele Felder

Living in a sub-tropical climate, surrounded by an ocean, it can be hard to remember that fresh water is a precious resource. And yet, billions of people around the world don’t have access to clean water, and places that used to have plenty of water are now facing serious droughts.  In fact, Hong Kong faced its own water shortages in the 1960s until the HK government signed an agreement with the Guangdong government to ensure a steady supply of water for HK residents.  Hong Kong’s water now comes from two sources: 20-30% from local reservoirs and 70-80% from the Dong Jiang (river). The river travels through Jiangxi and Guangdong provinces before reaching Hong Kong, serving 45 million people along the way every day.

While water is plentiful and available to us now, it is easy to take it for granted: letting it run down drains, leak out of plumbing, or filling it with detergents and chemicals making it expensive or impossible to use again. But just because we have the water we need now, does not mean we can afford to waste it.  With a growing human population (especially across the border), increasing economic development and greater per capita use, there are huge pressures on existing and future fresh water supplies.

According to a 2008 report by the International Water Association, in 2006, HK residents used 206 litres per capita daily, among the highest of the major cities in the world. By comparison, per-capita daily consumption in Singapore was 158 litres, 154 litres in London, 145 litres in Sao Paulo, and 133 litres in Madrid. Tokyo and Taipei were higher than HK at 241 and 352 litres, respectively.  According to the same report, HK residents pay one of the lowest rates in the world for their water. A very likely connection between high use and low price!

In addition to the water itself, pumping it from Guangdong into HK and ultimately to its destination uses a lot of energy.  Think of the amount of electricity (and therefore coal) it takes to move millions of litres of water from a river in China, pump them through filtering and testing equipment, and then deliver them to the seven million residents of HK. In California, for example, water treatment, storage and transportation accounts for 19% of the state’s total electricity usage.  Saving water also saves energy!

According to “Going Green in Hong Kong” by DB resident Catherine Touzard, the major uses of water in our homes are:

  • Baths – 120-300 litres
  • Clothes washers – 60-80 litres
  • Dishwashers – 15-60 litres
  • Showers – 20-60 litres
  • Hand washing dishes – 20-40 litres

So what can each of us do to conserve water (and energy)?

  • Be aware of the water you are using – it is valuable and should never be wasted
  • Don’t let water run while brushing teeth or washing dishes
  • Ensure dishwashers and clothes washers are fully loaded before running
  • Take short showers, not baths, and turn off the water while soaping!
  • Install aerators on sink faucets and low-flow showerheads
  • Use the water from dehumidifiers for watering plants or flushing toilets
  • Install low-flow toilets or put a brick (or filled plastic bottle) in the tank to reduce flushing water
  • Water outdoor plants and gardens in morning or evening when the water can absorb more slowly and effectively
  • Choose new dish and clothes washers based on low water usage
  • Fix leaks on indoor and outdoor faucets

We can use less water, many people in major cities around the world do use much less than we do here in Hong Kong. Saving water also saves energy which has an impact on our air quality. If we don’t change our habits now, we (or our children) will face some very serious challenges in the near future!

Mid-Autumn Beach Clean-up: Thanks & Photos

Posted on October 9th, 2009 in Beach Clean-up, DB as a city, Events by Michele Felder

Thank you very much to all the volunteers who joined us at Tai Pak Beach for last Sunday’s post lantern-festival beach clean-up!

As expected, there was an abundance of glow-sticks, plastic and glass bottles, aluminum cans, melted candles, lighters and various scraps of paper and plastic items that had been discarded or simply left on the beach after the mid-autumn festivities. But, thanks to the help of over 100 volunteers (an amazing 86 of whom were kids!), the beach was spotless in just under an hour and a half!
Unfortunately, a lot of the litter at community events in Discovery Bay does not get separated, causing perfectly recyclable items to go straight to landfill, or worse, blown into storm drains and/or the ocean due to their buoyant and light-weight nature.  We’re glad to report that all the recyclable waste that we collected was separated and disposed of in the proper recycling bins provided by Winson, who reassure us that the waste will be transported to recycling centers.
We were also able to collect data regarding the types and quantities of rubbish, which will be sent to the Green Council who are compiling the Hong Kong beaches report for the 2009 International Coastal Cleanup.  The consolidated results will be sent to the Ocean Conservancy in the US to be part of their 2009 global report.  Based on the findings of this year’s cleanup, DB Green will be presenting an action plan to Discovery Bay City Management on how to make improvements for next year’s festivities at the beach.
We’d like to take this opportunity to thank all the wonderful sponsors of the event for their support and fabulous prizes for the kid’s raffle.  A big thanks to Discovery Bay Marina Club, Dymocks, Hemingways, Kinoa-shop.com, Little Miss Green the Party Queen and Uncle Russ for their generosity.
For all who came, we hope you had a great time, and walked away with a smile and a sense of accomplishment.  Thank you for doing your part, not only for Tai Pak Beach, Discovery Bay, Lantau Island, Hong Kong, but for the global environment!  For those who weren’t able to come this time — see you next year!
We hope to see you again at the next beach cleanup.
Sincerely,
Salina – The Way To Go

Kate and Michele – DB Green

Mid-Autumn Festival Beach Clean-up -Sunday, Oct. 4th, 9am

Posted on September 30th, 2009 in Beach Clean-up, DB as a city, Events by Michele Felder

Every year, after a wonderful night of fun and celebration, beaches in Hong Kong are covered with litter after the Mid- Autumn Festival celebrations. Large numbers of lanterns, candles and wax globs, glow-sticks, lighters, beverage bottles and food wrappers are left half buried in the sand. Not only is this rubbish ugly, but as the tide rises, a lot of it ends up in the ocean.

DB’s very own Tai Pak Beach is one of those covered with litter after the festival. At last year’s clean-up, thousands of discarded glow- sticks, bottles and numerous other items were left on the beach.

This year, come and see for yourself and do your part to help keep our beach clean, prevent marine pollution and protect the ocean. Join TheWayToGo and DB Green for this year’s annual ‘Post-Lantern Festival’ beach cleanup!

Date:  Sunday, October 4, 2009
Time: 09:00 – 13:00
Meeting place: Tai Pak Beach (under the trees, on the Water Margin side)
What to bring*: sunblock, a hat, a water bottle, lots of energy and enthusiasm!

All kids will receive a free beach cleanup crew T-shirt for helping out, and everyone is welcome to enjoy a celebratory post-clean-up barbeque at Hemingways!

See you there!

*Gloves and rubbish bags will be provided. Drinking water will be provided for free refills.

Recycling Report – Jan to August 2009

Posted on September 30th, 2009 in DB as a city, Recycling by Michele Felder

As you know, a full recycling program is carried out in every village throughout DB.  What you may not know is that all of the materials collected are weighed and recorded, providing a view of the recycling trends in the community for the first eight months of 2009.  From January through August, a total of 88,667 Kg of paper, 7,348 Kg of plastic, and 4,211 Kg of aluminium, have been collected for recycling.

At a village level: La Serene is in the lead with the highest recycling rate for paper (59 kg per unit); Peninsula Village (Jovial, Haven, Verdant, Cherish, Blossom, Twilight, Crestmont, Caperidge, Coastline) is in the lead for plastic (2 kg per unit); and Seabee Lane is leading for aluminium (1.22 kg per unit).  These rates are for the total material collected for the year, not on a monthly basis.

While the overall trend for paper recycling has been increasing modestly across the 8 months of this year, the plastic and aluminium recycling rates are fairly flat and not particularly high on a per unit basis.  Encourage your family and neighbours to recycle – let’s get those quantities up –2kg of plastic per month per family should be very easy to achieve!

For more details, check out the summary report and information on which villages are included is here DB recycling stats 2009

You can also download the original reports from the Dbay web site here then click on ‘search’ and type ‘Recycle Record’. 

International Coastal Cleanup 09 Thank you!

Posted on September 21st, 2009 in Beach Clean-up by Tracey

A big thank you to all the volunteers who came to Nim Shue Wan beach and helped out at Sunday’s ‘International Coastal Cleanup’ beach cleanup.

The shocking aftermath of Typhoon Koppu at Nim Shue Wan was shin-deep polystyrene fragments that were so small, it looked as if it had snowed on the beach! That, combined with lots of rope, fishing nets, plastic bottles, bags and wrapping, and surprising numbers of toothbrushes, lighters and sandals made for a tough morning of raking, scooping and bagging.

What seemed like a daunting task was made possible by the help of many hands. What was accomplished was fantastic to say the very least. A total of 151 rubbish bags were filled with rubbish, removed from the beach and taken to landfill by the Marine Department. That’s about 760kgs of rubbish we helped to remove from the ocean!

Check out the before-after shots for proof of the difference that was made…

We wish to extend a big thank you to Gary and Hemingways for their wonderful hotdogs, Hoi Yu for water refills, and the Marina Club for all the ice and cold drinks.

We’d also like to send out a special pat on the back to all the little ones who worked (and played) so hard on the beach as part of the ‘Eco- kids Beach Clean Up Crew’.

We hope you all had a good time!

Rubbish in the ocean is one of the most widespread pollution problems we face, affecting all living creatures. Countless birds, dolphins, seals, and fish eat things they shouldn’t and many of them die. It can make the ocean more vulnerable to impacts from climate change, coastal development, and overfishing. It impacts local economies, seafood industries, and recreation, and reduces our access to beaches.

We appreciate everyone’s hard work and dedication to keep rubbish off the beach and out of the ocean.

We look forward to seeing you all again on Sunday, October 4 at DB’s
Tai Pak beach for our annual post-lantern festival beach cleanup.
There will be a prize-giving ceremony as we draw the Eco-kids Beach Clean Up Crew raffle. Hope to see you there!

All the best!
Salina & Tracey

NSW ICC 09
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International Coastal Cleanup – Sept 20th

Posted on September 2nd, 2009 in Beach Clean-up by Tracey

forumposter1It is that time of year again when we get to make an even bigger impact with our local beach cleanup. By joining in and documenting all the rubbish that we collect from the beaches we can combine our data with 100,000s of other people all around the world to capture a snapshot of the health of our oceans and beaches.

The International Coastal Cleanup is organised by the Ocean Conservancy (www.oceanconservancy.org) and each year they produce a booklet with the global report from all the data they receive (to read more about this please follow this link http://www.oceanconservancy.org/site/PageServer?pagename=icc_report).

Please come and participate in this fun and worthwhile day. DB Green is organising the cleanup of two of our neighbouring beaches that are in need of some TLC.

Meeting Point - Nim Shue Wan beach (on the road to the Marina Club – look out for the DB Green sign on the fence) on SUNDAY 20th SEPTEMBER from 9-1pm.

What to bring – lots of family and friends! A refillable waterbottle (we have loads of water kindly donated by Hoi Yu), lots of sunscreen and sun protection and sturdy shoes that may get wet.

What we will give you – gloves, bags for collecting rubbish and importantly a data collection record sheet to note down ALL the rubbish you collect. We also have some rakes and tongs to use and on hand we have first aid facilities, a basic toilet and handwashing.

To celebrate afterwards, the wonderful team at Hemingway’s will be feeding us with a great BBQ on the beach.

We are looking forward to having as many people join us to make this another fantastic community day!

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Petition for pink dolphin marine parks- sign before 12th September

Posted on August 21st, 2009 in Air and Water Quality, Beach Clean-up by Kate Wade

Hi everyone- please check out this information from WWF about the new Macau bridge and sign the petition to get some designated marine parks to be made in Hong Kong. Hong Kong’s ocean is a shocking state with many species on the verge of collapse yet Hong Kong’s government is not protecting the oceans here. Even designated marine parks (though not allowed to be fished in by you and me) are still allowed commercial fishers in- bizarre! Anyhow the more ocean we can get changed to marine park the better so show that some of us in Hong Kong do care and sign it now and send everyone you know the link!
Kate

TED tv- We don’t want to believe what we know!

Posted on August 21st, 2009 in From You-Articles/Tidbits/Gems by Kate Wade

From one of our members check out the link to this talk- makes you want to shake everyone by the shoulders and say “WAKE UP!- can’t you see what we are doing???” Also I believe you can buy Home at HMV- well worth seeing- the photography is amazing! K

“Dear All.
A friend send me the link to this talk :
http://www.ted.com/talks/yann_arthus_bertrand_captures_fragile_earth_in_wide_angle.html

There is also his movie called home that came out on 5th of June. I do not know how to download it yet. It’s for free. The only copy I got was the youtube version but really bad.

Regards,
Merry”

Low Carbon Living- Computers- WWF newsletter 8 aug 09

Posted on August 8th, 2009 in From You-Articles/Tidbits/Gems by Kate Wade

Smart tips for Low Carbon Living: computers
http://www.wwf.org.hk/images/emailer/200908_1/3.jpgcomp
Reducing our impact on the environment doesn’t mean that you have to change your daily habits entirely. What we need is just a few tips and some adjustments.

For example, when you use your computer, please consider the following:

1. Do not use screen saver as it does not help save energy.
2. Set the system to standby/ sleep mode if it is idle for 30 minutes or more.
3. Turn the brightness of your screen lower as the brightest setting can double the power use of the dimmest setting.
4. Plug all your electronics onto one power strip and turn the strip off when you finish using your computer.
Click here for more tips for Low Carbon Living.

Say No To Tuna- from WWF newsletter 8th Aug 09

Posted on August 8th, 2009 in Food, From You-Articles/Tidbits/Gems by Kate Wade

Hi folks- I love tuna but I am not sure I can eat it now considering the following info. I have sent an email to my friends at Zaks who have 2 tuna dishes I love to see if they know whether the source of their tuna is sustainable. Until then for me it is off the menu. Likewise as sushi at any restaurants. k

      Seafood Choice Initiative

Bluefin Tuna in Crisis
Tuna

In Hong Kong, bluefin tuna is better known as a luxurious sushi delicacy than a fish actually on the verge of extinction, due to uncontrolled and indiscriminate exploitation of this migratory mariner including its juveniles. Driven by the fast-growing pursuit of fine-dining globally, all three species of this oceanic giant: southern bluefin tuna (global Southern Ocean), Pacific bluefin tuna (Indo-Pacific Ocean), northern bluefin tuna (Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea) have been largely fished out to satisfy our insatiable taste buds. The rarer they are, the more expensive they become and the closer they are to commercial extinction – which will mean fish will be hard to find for commercial consumption.

There is no alternative to bluefin tuna, as is the case for any other species which is unique on earth. Besides eating it, let’s learn more about this species, one of the fastest swimmers.
tuna © Brian J. Skerry / National Geographic Stock / WWF
Biology
It takes about 8 to 14 years for northern and southern bluefin tuna to mature and about 3 to 5 years for Pacific tuna. These fishes reproduce and feed in big groups, which makes them particular vulnerable to fishing pressure.

Problems of overfishing
© Michel GUNTHER /WWF-Canon
Of the three bluefin tuna species, northern and southern are currently listed as “Critically Endangered” on the IUCN Red List, while the Pacific population is considered overfished as suggested by circumstantial evidences and limited information on stock status. Overall, populations have declined dramatically in the last few decades. Since the 1970s, populations of the northern bluefin tuna have declined by almost 90% while southern bluefin tuna have declined by about 85%.

There is currently no quota system and no way of controlling Pacific bluefin tuna fishing in international waters. A large number of immature Pacific bluefin tuna are caught by small, local fisheries in Japan, pushing this population close to the endangered category.

It’s now or never to save bluefin tuna

Bluefin tuna will soon disappear unless urgent action is taken. Members of the public in Hong Kong care, as shown by a survey commissioned by WWF in 2005 where 97% of Cantonese speakers said that they would stop consuming a species if they found out it was endangered. Living in a city that loves seafood, we should be aware of the environmental cost of our incessant and irresponsible pursuit of fine but rare food.

What you can do

As a Hotel/Restaurant, you can…
As a corporate consumer, you can…
As an individual consumer, you can…

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