In a previous blog, we’ve talked about some of the benefits of organic food and what it can do for your health and your enjoyment of the food you ingest. However, many people are already aware that adult food is definitely not the same as baby food and is there really a benefit to feeding your baby with organic food? Might it be starting them a little too young? Perhaps not surprisingly, the answer is a resounding yes! There is no reason why the baby should be considered too young for organic food and, in fact, there are many health benefits to feeding your baby with organic food specifically tailored to his nutritional needs.

The justification for this decision is pretty simple too. Babies are not just little versions of adults – their physical and mental development is only just beginning and therefore they have completely different nutritional needs. Their immune system is also still relatively undeveloped and feeding them adult food, particularly food laced with chemicals and residues from the normal manufacturing processes, can be very harmful to their health and their development. Read the rest of this entry »

Now, this article is not meant to dissuade you from going out to national park and other areas of natural beauty. But you do need to remember that there are still unwanted parasites and other pests in nature that can cause you problems, especially if you’re a city dweller and have thus not built up a strong immunity to some of the pests and disease causing creatures out there.

Of course, we are well aware of mosquitos and the diseases they can cause thanks to effective public health awareness campaigns conducted by the Malaysian government. We think of carrying a can of Baygon or some other mosquito killer when talking about eradicating mosquitos but that is impractical when you’re going out for a walk in nature and, besides, it’s not very good for the environment anyway! We’ve seen several prescriptions for herbal and totally natural mosquito repellants and one of them can be found at this site, along with a very healthy discussion on other methods the site’s readers have used to repel mosquitos. Read the rest of this entry »

Living in the Tropics as we do, we definitely don’t think about deserts because we don’t see them and therefore, we tend to think they aren’t a problem. However, desertification has been identified as a major problem and attracts international attention. In this blog entry, we talk a bit more about desertification because it actually has implications for all of us.

We think of geologic features such as mountains and deserts as static and that’s understandable. Many of the geologic features change only slowly over time, certainly over periods longer than the human lifespan. We have said many times in these blogs however, than human action can and will affect the environment in complex ways that can drastically accelerate the process of climate and geologic change.
Read the rest of this entry »

We’ve always been talking about ways in which we can hopefully reverse the damage done to our environment before it is too late. No matter what we try, however, environmental disasters have been a part of our lives for as long as we can remember and will almost certainly remain so even far in the distant future. While we can’t save everyone in the world, we can at least provide some relief for those less fortunate people who get caught up in a disaster.

Many of us Malaysians remember the tsunami that hit Indonesia and cost billions of dollars of damage and took many innocent lives. We were generous then in providing whatever relief and aid we could to our neighbours but, of course, that hasn’t been the only environmental disaster since. In fact, we can still do a lot more to help the less fortunate around the world and fortunately there are reputable funds and aid organizations catering to providing relief in times of crisis. Read the rest of this entry »

Living in the Klang Valley, we find that Japanese restaurants are proliferating across the region and are being enjoyed by Malaysians of all backgrounds and races. Of course, we’re also noticing a marked trend towards health and wellness, especially healthy eating, and since Japanese food generally contains lower amounts of fat compared to many other cooking styles, this may be a reason for its popularity particularly amongst health-conscious women. And no Japanese meal is complete without a portion of sushi or sashimi which involves the serving of raw fish.

Obviously, a global rise in the popularity of Japanese food can lead to some environmental issues. Specifically, the prominence of raw, fresh fish in Japanese cuisine implies that large amounts of fish are required to service the customers. This can lead to a decline in fish stocks globally if the fish are not harvested in a sustainable fashion. Nowhere is this more prominent as in the case of the bluefin tuna, an integral item in many Japanese restaurant menus. Hon maguro, and the toro varieties are particularly prized in higher-priced Japanese restaurants and the popularity of these menu items has led to estimates of a 90% reduction in the bluefin tuna population worldwide. Read the rest of this entry »

We all know that Putrajaya has been the administrative capital of the country for many years now although just how many of us have actually been there and taken a look around the city? I know there are many Malaysians who complain it is too far away from most other places but the differences between Putrajaya and the nation’s business capital, Kuala Lumpur, are stark and warrant a visit.

One thing most visitors (including myself when I visited Putrajaya) are struck by is the amount of green in Putrajaya. This is not a city of congestion and concrete like Kuala Lumpur is, although the much lower population of Putrajaya is certainly a contributing factor. The roads are wide and, as far as the eye can see, the buildings in Putrajaya are nestled up against swathes of greenery. The city clearly appears designed to highlight modern development in Malaysia while not forgetting harmony with the environment. Read the rest of this entry »

As readers already know, we’re constantly looking around for new and better ways to do things in our daily lives in our quest to become more energy efficient and friendly to the environment. One of the things we’ve only just recently discovered is high tech lighting. Sure, you might ask, what’s wrong with the traditional light bulb since it’s a technology has worked for over a century and it doesn’t consume that much electricity anyway? That’s a valid question. However, don’t forget that even small differences add up if enough people do it, and we think this is one of those ideas that is going to be a winner in the long run.

Anyone who’s ever done any electronics in school or as a hobby knows about light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Taking away all the jargon, they’re little electronic devices that give out light when some electric current is passed through. What makes them different from light bulbs is that LEDs don’t give out heat when they light up, so you can simply pick up an LED while it’s on without burning your hand. This also allows LEDs to last much longer than traditional light bulbs which, as you probably know, “blow up” every so often. Read the rest of this entry »

You know that we’ve always been talking about getting educated about the environment, and these blogs are a way for us to do that. We realise that many people are not going to be reading the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports or searching for scientific evidence for the issues on the environment. It’s all pretty heady stuff and a lot of it is going to be very boring for anyone who isn’t a policy wonk or who doesn’t have significant scientific training. These blogs are much lighter reading of course, but we’re not the only ones writing about the environment in an accessible and friendly way.

We’re hoping that people don’t find environmental issues too far fetched or too boring. Fortunately, there is a whole range of media out there that’s much more accessible and some of them are actually quite fun to watch or read. Here’s a selection of things that we’ve watched and enjoyed and we hope that you find them interesting and informative too: Read the rest of this entry »