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My Old City

There’s the three threatment of Ecological ( 3 Ancaman Ekologi )

Fellix Guttari (2000)

Kerusakan Ekologi lingkungan (Environment Ecology)
Berupa kerusakan jaringan yg membangun lingkungan fisik dan aneka habitat didlmnya.
Eco Terorisme yg merupakan refleksi memburuknya hubungan manusia dgn alam , atau etika manusia yg mendewakan hasrat manusia atas alam ( hiper ekploitasi atas sumber daya alam karena hipper konsumsi untuk memproduksi & mengkonsumsi apa saja )

Kerusakan Mental (Mental Ecology )
Kerusakan jaringan abstrak mental yg membangun lingkungan pkisis manusia ..yaitu refleksi memburuknya etika & moralitas serta religiusitas dgn mendewakan hasrat egoisme duniawi . keserakahan , kekuasaan , kenikmatan ..

Kerusakkan ekologi sosial (Social ecology)
Kehancuran atau kemerosotan lingkungan social .,nilai kebersamaan, kepedulian , ..
Hubungan manusia dgn manusia , mentalitas mencari jalan pintas tanpa memperdulikan orang sekitarnya ; hilangnya nilai nilai Altruisme..tanggung jawab social & kemanusiaan…
Atau keadaan dimana para pelaku usaha (korporasi) tidak merasakan atau menyadari “kesalahan moral” dari perbuatan yg dia lakukan . Mereka menganggap bahwa perbuatan yg dia lakukan bukan pelanggaran tapi usaha mengejar keuntungan ..tanpa peduli akan akibatnya bagi masyarakat yg menggunakan produknya atau pembuangan limbah usahanya serta berbagai aspek perilaku tak peduli dlm aktivitas usahanya atau Mashall B.Clinard & Richard Quiney (1967 ) menyebut dgn Moral Insebility.

Kerusakan Ekologis (Amir Piliang )Yang disebabkan ulah manusia tidak dapat dilihat sebagai kerusakan struktur fisik alam dan lingkungan an sich , tetapi menjelaskan struktur kerusakan lebih dalam ( deep structure) dan lebih komplek (complex disaster ).Tidak hanya kerusakan tanah ,sumber air , udara , rumah , jalan , tumbuhan , atau makhluk hidup ,tetapi Kerusakan mental , Kerusakan social dan kerusakan spiritual pada tingkat struktur yg lebih dalam –ecology terror.

Air Pollution

http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/indoe.html Air pollution is perhaps Indonesia's most severe environmental problem. According to an official at the World Bank office in Jakarta, "air pollution imposes costs of at least $400 million on the Indonesian economy every year." It also has very a serious impact on public health. For example, inflammation of the respiratory tract, which is directly linked to air quality, was the sixth leading cause of death in Indonesia (after accidents, diarrhea, cardiovascular disease, tuberculosis, and measles).
Automotive IndustryMotor vehicles are one of the chief sources of air pollution in Indonesia. Between 1995 and 2001, the number of vehicles in Indonesia grew from 12 million to almost 21 million. Many of these vehicles are motorcycles or scooters, which lack the catalytic converters required for cleaner emissions. Moreover, almost no motor vehicles in Indonesia use unleaded gasoline. Instead, the vast majority of these vehicles rely on either leaded gasoline or diesel fuel, leading to unhealthily high concentrations of airborne lead.Despite the phasing out of leaded gasoline, Jakarta's air remains among the dirtiest in the world. The concentration of particulate matter is high, as are the levels of carbon dioxide, hydrocarbon, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide. In July 2003, the Jakarta Post placed much of the blame on the fact that city authorities can only force public vehicles to comply with emissions standards. At that time, public vehicles accounted for only 315,000 of the almost 5 million vehicles in the city.
Illegal LogingForest fires also contribute to Indonesian air pollution. Often these fires result from illegal logging of Indonesia's rain forests. During 1997 and 1998, the fires were especially severe. Nearly 10 million hectares burned, producing a haze that impacted all of Southeast Asia. The World Bank's Indonesia Environment Monitor, 2003 states that the costs of 1997-8 fires exceeded the combined legal liabilities assessed for the Exxon Valdez oil spill and the Bhopal chemical disaster.
Industries as PolluterIndonesia's industrial sector, which contains chemical, petroleum, coal, plastic and rubber products, and food industries, also is a significant polluter. Unfortunately, there is limited quantitative data on their overall impact. The Blue Sky Program was initiated by the Ministry of Environment in 1992 to improve air quality in Indonesia's five largest cities: Jakarta, Bandung, Semarang, Surabya, and Medan. The Blue Sky Program imposed controls on 20 industries. Source: http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/indoe.htmlDeforestation and Floods

Indonesia had the world's worst deforestation in 2006Trees have been or are being cut down at increasingly high rates. If this is not stopped many unfavorable side effects could result.Why Trees Matter
Source: The Choice: Doomsday or Arbor Day Jocelyn Stock Andy Rochen - http://www.umich.edu/~gs265/society/deforestation.htmTo understand why deforestation is such a pressing and urgent issue, forests must first be given credit for what they bring to global ecosystems and the quality of life that all species maintain. Tropical Rainforests presently give a place to call home for 50% - 90% of all organisms, 90% of our relatives, the primates, and 50 million creatures that can live no place but the rich rainforests (World Rainforest Movement 16). Not only are other species at risk, but the human race also benefits from what the trees give. From something as minor as the spices that indulge food to life giving medicines, the rainforests amplify and save lives. According to the World Rainforest Movement, 25% of medicines come from the forests (28). This is a number that does not do justice to all the cures that have yet to be discovered or that have been destroyed. The forests give life, not only to other species, but they help to prolong the human race. The forests have global implications not just on life but on the quality of it. Trees improve the quality of the air that species breath by trapping carbon and other particles produced by pollution. Trees determine rainfall and replenish the atmosphere. As more water gets put back in the atmosphere, clouds form and provide another way to block out the sun?s heat. Trees are what cool and regulates the earth?s climate in conjunction with other such valuable services as preventing erosion, landslides, and making the most infertile soil rich with life. Mother earth has given much responsibility to trees.Logging and DeforestationThe small farmer plays a big role, but it is modern industry that too cuts down the trees. The logging industry is fueled by the need for disposable products. 11 million acres a year are cut for commercial and property industries (Entity Mission 1). Peter Heller found that McDonald?s needs 800 square miles of trees to make the amount of paper they need for a year?s supply of packaging, Entity Mission found that British Columbia manufactures 7, 500,000 pairs of chopsticks a day, and the demand for fuel wood is so high that predictions say that there will be a shortage by the year 2000. Logging does too have its repercussions. The logging industry not only tries to accomplish all this but it even indirectly helps the "shifted cultivators" and others to do more damage. The roads that the loggers build to access the forests and generate hydroelectric power create an easy way for many people to try to manipulate the forest resources. The amount of damage that this adds to the forests can not be measured nor can that of the illegal logging. Some importers may even be buying illegally logged wood and not even have known it ("Logging is the Major Cause of Global Deforestation ? New WWF Report" 2).Source: The Choice: Doomsday or Arbor Day Jocelyn Stock Andy Rochen - http://www.umich.edu/~gs265/society/deforestation.htm
at Wednesday, February 27, 2008 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: deforestation, disasters, neoliberalism, pollution
Monday, February 25, 2008
Neoliberalism and Never-Ending Disasters
Never-ending man-made disasters
in the midst of never-ending
Money-Commodities-More Money circuitThe gas leak was the result of deliberate inaction (of a profit-seeking institution)
. . . it was not natural disaster.

On May 28, 2006, at about 10:00 p.m. hydrogen sulfide gas (H2S) leaked from a gas exploration rig in Sidoarjo, operated by PT Lapindo Brantas. The gas leak sprayed 10 meters high from cracks in the ground. The gas was followed by hot mud spewing as far as the residence area nearby.
The cause of the gas leakThe crack in the gas well was not caused by the May 27 earthquake. The statement was one of the results of East Java Police investigation (expert witnesses from the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency). (Source ANTV, June 8, 2006)The leak was a result of deliberate inaction of PT Lapindo Brantas. This was the greatest disaster in East Java this year. (quote from East Java Walhi’s executive director, Ridho Saiful Ashadi, published on Surabaya Pagi, June 7, 2006).The gas leak was caused by a technical error while drilling the well. The drill was stalled when mechanics tried to pull it off. The gas couldn’t flow through the supposed fire pit channel, instead it flowed up through the swamp (Syahdun, a mechanic of PT. Tiga Musim Jaya Mas, the drilling contractor, quoted as saying by Kompas, June 8, 2006).The leak was not a natural disaster but rather because of a bad luck factor. Allegedly, when the well was drilled, the hole had not yet covered by concrete. (Dr. Adi Susilo, Head of Geoscience Lab, Universitas Brawijaya Malang, on Kompas, June 8, 2006).
source: http://www.eng.walhi.or.id/kampanye/cemar/industri/060718_lbmud-gasleak_pp/
Environmental Recklessness Blamed for Jakarta Floods
JAKARTA, Indonesia, February 12, 2007 (ENS) - About 60 percent of the Indonesian capital Jakarta is flooded following days of torrential rains, which caused several rivers to overflow. Authorities say 50 people have died and 512,170 have been made homeless in the worst floods to hit Jakarta and surrounding areas in five years. Environment Minister Rachmat Witoelar said the main reason for the flooding of Jakarta was the elimination of water catchment areas following the construction of large numbers of buildings. "There are too many malls in the capital city," the minister said of the shopping centers that have sprung up across Jakarta. There are too many malls in the capital city," the minister said of the shopping centers that have sprung up across Jakarta. The minister told the Antara news agency that many developers have not paid enough attention to the ecological impact of their projects and have contructed buildings "recklessly" in water catchment areas.

Is The World Warming Up?

What is causing the warming ?

The United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( the IPCC)conclude that human activity is very likely responsible ,by increasing the concentrations of greenhouses gases & the greenhouse effect .Over 25 scientific societies, including the national academies of science of the G8 nations,endorsed the conclusions.Some scientists ,how ever ,still disagree,arguing that the human contribution is minimal .

What is the greenhouse effect ?

The effect ,explains Robert Charlson , a professor at the University of Washington ,”has been on the scientific books for ever a century, it has been tested very thoroughly.” Certain gases cause the atmosphere to trap heat energy at the earth’s surface .Without the greenhouse effect,the earth’s average global temperature would be -18^o C, rather than the present comfortable 14,6 degrees.The concern is with the enhaced greenhouse effect that humans cause- that it will heat the planet too much.

What are greenhouse gases ?

The main greenhouse gases (GHGs) are carbon dioxide (CO² ), methane, nitrous oxide ,CCFCs ,and water vapour.Except CFCs , which have commercial purpose , the gases are found in nature .Burning fossil fuel, trees and agricultural waste adds to the CO² ,methane and nitrous oxide ,as do landfills, oil refineries and coal mines .And we affect water vapour indirectly.As the earth warms because other GHGs increase ,evaporation ramps up ,creating more water vapour.

How much have greenhouse gases increased?

“CO² has increased 35 per cent since the beginning of the industrial era,” says Gavin Schmidt, a climatologist with NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York.” Methane has more than doubled.Nitrous oxide has gone up 17 per cent .” Scientists are concerned about CO² because it is the abundant of the gases that we directly affect .While we have stabillised our CFCs and methane emissions , we have not the same with CO² so far.The carbon dioxide in the atmosphere continues to rise by about 0,4 per cent a year- because the fossil fuels that produce it fill 85 % of energy requirements.

Will CO² dissipate by itself ?

“No,” says NASA’s Schmidt..”It stays around for centuries, “ worldwide,we produce some 23,5 gigatonnes of CO² annually .(gigatonne is a trillion kilograms ) Fortunately ,only haft stays in the atmosphere and natural systems absorb the rest.

Oceans, our largest repository of carbon dioxide ,take in more than a quarter of our CO² emissions every year .The already hold about 50 times what is in the atmosphere and ten times what is in the land biosphere .But just how much more they can safely store is not clear .Ken Caldeira , a climate scientist with the Carnegie Institution of Washington , in Stanford , California ,says that in the oceans ,CO² becomes carbonic acid ,corrosive to the calcium carbonate skeletons of marine organisms .

Forests and plants soak up less than a quarter of CO² emissions.Through photosynthesis ,plans separate CO² into oxygen ,which they emit, and carbon ,which becomes part of their cells.David Ellsworth , a professor at the University of Western Sydney in Australia, is investigating how trees and plants will react to increased CO² by growing eucalyptus tress in chambers with evevated CO² levels.

What else besides greenhouse gases influences climate ?

Reguler shifts in the orbit of the earth and the tilt of the earth’s axis change how sunlight is distributed around the globe ,and may explain why the Ice Ages came and went .These shifts take place slowly over hundreds of thousands of years.

The total energy coming from the sun varies slightly .When the sun’s intensity is high, sunspots increase in number and the sun is brighter .But variations in the sun’s intensity haven’t produced the recent rise in temperature , say researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research in Germany .in 2004 , they noted that while the earth’s temperature has risen dramatically in the last 30 years, solar brightness has not.

Tiny particles pumped into the atmosphere by erupting volcanoes and industrial pollution reflect some of the sun’s energy back to space , making things cooler.In 1991 .Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines blew so much dust the stratosphere that the temperature dropped by half a degree Celcius for two years.

Water vapour and clouds play a role ,but their impact is hard to predict .Water evaporating from warmer oceans creates clouds that can both trap heat and reflect it into space “low clouds tend to cool the planet .”Professor Charlson says “High clouds warm it .”

Feedback loops reinforce whatever is going on and are notoriously difficult to calculate .For example ,as the earth warms up,glaciers and sea ice melts.Then the surface of the earth becomes less reflective and warmer.This in turn melts more ice, causing more warming .

What’s convincing scientists that CO² is responsible for the recent warming ?

Many researchers have concluded that natural forces alone don’t explain the temperature increases over the last 30 or 40 years.Bruce Bauer .who studies ancient weather systems at the World Data Center for Paleoclimatology in Boulder, Colorado ,says,”When you try to do the math .the only way you can calculate the effects of artificial CO².”

The theory of heat- trapping gases projects that as CO² emissions go up,temperatures will rise in the lower atmosphere and at the surface of the earth .Thomas Karl , director of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Climate Data Center , says “The evidence continues to support a substarntial human impact on global temperatures increases.”

Richard Lindzen ,the Alfred P.Sloan Professor of Meteorology at Massachusetts Institute of Technology ,is uncovinced .”The effect (of human produced greenhouse gases ) is very small compared to normal changes that the climate is always undergoing.” He says .Lindzen attributes temperature increases over the past 100 years to”natural variability.” Can we predict this?.” So far ,no ,” he maintains .Will we be able to predict it in the future ?”Not much evidence of it.”

Stefan Rahmstorf, a professor of ocean physics at Potsdam Institurte for Climate Impact Research in Germany ,disagrees .In a February 2007 article in Science ,Rahmstorf points out that IPCC temperature projections are in line with current data .In 1990 the IPCC predicted that by 2006 ,tempetures would go up between 0.15 and 0.37 degrees.The actual increase was in this range – 0.33 degrees

HOW MUCH COULD TEMPERATURES RISE IN THE FUTURE ?

According to the IPCC, by 2100 , the average temperature might rise by as much as 5,8 ⁰C .But its report also states that we could hold temperature increases to a more bearable two degrees above pre-industrial levels.Getting that result means halving our current CO² emissions by 2050 , achievable if we lower them by slightly over one per cent of current levels every year until then

My Mother (no 2 from left)

My Mother
(in the middle)

Malang Tempoe Doloe