Saturday, October 10, 2009

UED 2009

Assalamualaikum and hi everyone,

Listed are the activities for UED'09. Please note in your dairy and spread the activities with your friends in the campus.

04/10/09 - Pembersihan Sg. Samak - DONE

08/10/09 - Community Awareness Presentation- DONE

12/10/09 - Closing ceremony for RECYCLING CAMPAIGN- UPCOMING

BIODDIVERSITY AND PLANT ANATOMY AND MORPHOLOGY EXHIBITION - UPCOMING

13-14/10/09 - BIOTECHNOLOGY AND PLANT PHYSIOLOGY EXHIBITION- UPCOMING

15/10/09 - ORATE COMPETITION - UPCOMING

ENVIRONMENTAL SEMINAR, FORUM AND POSTER PRESENTATION- UPCOMING

GREEN SOLAR TECHNOLOGY EXHIBITION- UPCOMING

ART CONTEST- UPCOMING

OPENING AND CLOSING CEREMONY - UPCOMING

PLEASE SPREAD THE ACTIVITIES. ALL STUDENTS ARE REQUIRED TO ATTEND.

Thank you

Thursday, October 8, 2009

POSTER BLOG

salam semua...

utk pengetahuan semua student....kat kedai bitara...ade utk print utk poster saiz A1...

jadi anda smua boleh antar print kat situ ek..plz in4m ur frenz..n make sure folo this blog..all new in4mtion i will post here..

(maklumat drp nana)

Thursday, October 1, 2009

MAKLUMAT TERKINI TENTANG POSTER!!

SAIZ POSTER ADALAH A1 K..BUKAN A2..MAKLUMAT TERBARU.....

PLZ IN4M UR FRENZ ABOUT THIS MSG..N PLZ FOLO THIS BLOG..
BCOZ ALL IN4MTION I WILL POST IN THIS BLOG ONLY..

BY adawiah~

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

PERHATIAN SEMUA!

salam smua....sori sbb ade in4mation terbaru...

BLOG

1. setiap group kecil diminta membuat blog sendiri. ini kerana ini merupakan pertandingan antara blog. jadi anda diminta mengedit dan memasukkan sendiri entry2 anda.kriteria utk blog anda mengikut kreativiti anda.

2. tajuk untuk blog, sperti yg diberikan.

3. buat blog...BLOGSPOT ONLY.jgn buat multiply k...


POSTER

1. SAIZ- A2 (4 x A3)

2. SEMUA GROUP KENA BUAT POSTER MASING2 TENTANG BLOG MASING2

3. utk keterangan lanjut pasal poster.plz ym sy (nurul_9787@yahoo.com) nnt sy send file kat anda.

BAJA

semua diminta BAWA POKOK YG DITANAM pd kls ri RABU mggu DEPAN..bertarikh 7 OCT 2009.



plz in4m ur frenz about this msg k..
if u have any question about baja or blog.u can comment to this entry or can ym me.

thanx.

salam smua ~
-adawiah-

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Noise Pollution

What is noise pollution actually?? Noise pollution or environmental noise is displeasing human, animal or machine created sound that disrupts the activity or balance of human or animal life. Noise is an environmental stressor and levels are rising. Noise can be frustrating and harmful to our well being. People feel disturb into their physical privacy, the space for our thoughts and emotions which we have marked out as our own. At higher levels noise can be undesirable because it interferes with hearing and at even higher levels it can damage our hearing. Sound is measured in decibels (dB). Below 80 to 85 dB is generally considered to be safe, but ongoing low-level noise may be stressful for some individuals. The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) industrial noise exposure limit recommedation is 75 dB. The noise threshold for pain is about 120 dB. Do you realise that the simplest activity in our daily life is a noise pollution? For example sounds from vehicle during traffic jam. Some familiar noises and their loudness are listed below:

Source of noise

Sound level in dB

Breathing

10

Rustle of leaves

15

Whisper

20

Speech

60

Alarm clock

70

Traffic

60 to 90

Diesel or Electric Train

80

Truck

90

Food blender

95

Pneumatic drill (at 3 metres)

110

Propeller driven aircraft (at 30 metres)

120

Jet aircraft (at 30 metres)

140

Jet (taking off and flying overhead at 450 m)

108

Rocket launching

180

Do we aware about this? It seem look like simple but. If it continuous happens it will give effect to human health and environment effect. We have to take seriously about this situation. Our government, also take serious about this situation. As in the Malaysia environmental health profile, the following issues had been identified and discussed to be important in Malaysia:

a) Siltation caused by agro-based activities, logging and mining, and infrastructure

development

b) Deteriorating water quality

c) Marine pollution

d) Air pollution problems

e) Noise Pollution

f) Toxic and Hazardous Waste

g) Solid Waste

h) Deforestation and destruction of biodiversity caused by logging and conversion to other

Land Use

i) Rapid growth in water demand

j) More efficient use of energy required

k) Coastal pollution

l) Transboundary air pollution

We can see the noise pollution is in the 5th important issue. In many developed nations the impact of noise is sufficient to impair the hearing of a large fraction of the population over the course of a lifetime. Noise exposure has also been known to induce tinnitus, hypertension, vasoconstriction and other cardiovascular impacts. Beyond these effects, elevated noise levels can create stress, increase workplace accident rates, and stimulate aggression and other anti-social behaviors as effect for human. Effects of noise on wildlife are reduced migration of birds and other animals, loss of food habitats if animals are driven away, animals in city zoos tend to become lethargic and their health deteriorates, and animals tend not to reproduce, which threatens their survival.

It is important for us to take actions to this situation. Noise control is most effective if it can reduce noise at the source. We can prevent noise at its source by enforcing noise regulations and imposing tougher penalties. For example, introduce penalties for faulty car and burglar alarms and establish noise control zones for cars and aircraft. We also should improve the design and construction of engines and other machinery and subsidise building materials with proven sound proofing properties. Plant vegetation such as trees along roads and around factories and other sources of noise. The denser the vegetation the greater the noise reduction. Reduction is approximately 10 dB for every 100 metres of trees. This is due to absorption by the foliage and scattering of the sound.

Reduce vibrations in machinery, pipework and other equipment, with sufficient support and regular maintenance. Use vibration isolators and mounts on machines, pipes, ducts and electrical conduits. Reduce the speed of moving parts. We need to do more research, for example in creating better and cheaper materials for sound insulation and ways of making things run quieter.

http://www.informaction.org/cgi-bin/gPage.pl?menu=menua.txt&main=noise_solutions.txt&s=Noise

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noise_pollution

by zahidah,malyanah,zatil,atikah,nana,dayah

Human Health Concerns

Accidents and injuries can happen, both to the reptile and the reptile handler. Not only can bites happen, but there are diseases that can be transmitted between animals - and that means between reptiles and humans. As a teacher, you need to be aware of what they are and how to protect yourself and your students and how to use the information to reassure other teachers, administrators, and parents who express grave concern about your reptile due to the news reports they hear.

Zoonoses
Zoonoses are diseases or organisms that can be passed between disparate animal groups. Humans can get toxoplasmosis from their cats, rabies from squirrels, Campylobacter and brucellosis from dogs, Lyme disease from deer ticks, Q Fever from snake ticks, Cryptosporidium from birds or your child's day care facility, and Salmonella from just about everything - reptiles, chicken nuggets, alfalfa sprouts, dad's barbecue, and mom's apple pie. If you are a healthy adult (relatively stress-free, with a strong immune system), you are unlikely to get more than a mild flu-like illness from these things if you experience any symptoms at all.

However, fetuses are at risk if their mother is infected with toxoplasmosis or some other organisms and parasites (wildlife rehabilitators, for example, do not work with raccoons or skunks if they are pregnant or trying to get pregnant due to fetal risk). Newborns are at risk from just about everything as their immune systems are not well developed and, when they get diarrhea, they dehydrate much faster as they have less fluid volume to lose. The overall disease process in infants and toddlers may be different, such as salmonellosis causing meningitis. Anyone who is immune-compromised, be it a cancer patient, organ donor or recipient, someone who is just getting over a serious illness, is HIV positive, or has one of the many autoimmune disorders is also at risk for serious illness from these organisms.

To become infected, one needn't even come into direct contact with the infected animal's feces. Indirect contact works just fine, thank you, as these organisms and parasites live for long periods of times outside the body of their host. If you cleaned an infected animal's enclosure, inadvertently splashing water on the counter where a student later momentarily sets down an apple he is eating, he may get sick. If a student who has a small cut on her hand is helping you clean an enclosure, and she get feces-contaminated water on her hands--and the cut--she may get infected even if she washes her hands afterwards with hot, soapy water. A student who holds a snake, one whose enclosure isn't cleaned all that often and so it has no choice but to rub up against its own feces, and that student rubs his eye, or eats a potato chip, or opens a bottle of juice before washing his hands, is at risk. You may even pass it to students by your apparently clean-but-contaminated hands coming into contact with the papers you graded and returned.

Salmonella
Salmonella has been in the news a great deal lately, mostly due to the infant deaths traced back to the Salmonella they were infected with by their parents who were themselves not aware that reptiles carried zoonotic diseases. While iguanas have been named in these news reports, the CDC has documented cases where other reptiles, including savannah monitors and corn snakes, were responsible for infections in adult humans serious enough to result in their hospitalization.

But your reptiles couldn't possibly have Salmonella, you say? Dr. Cathy A. Johnson-Delaney, DVM, who writes about zoonoses in her chapter, Reptile Zoonoses and Threats to Public Health (in Reptile Medicine and Surgery, Douglas Mader, (Ed.), W.B. Saunders Co., Philadelphia, PA, 1996), has researched the literature and found the following infection rates in pet trade reptiles:

Turtles 12.1 - 85%
Snakes 16 - 92%
Lizards 36 - 77%

Even if you take an average of these figures, the numbers are unsettling. Of a survey of veterinary necropsies in Canada during 1979-83, she writes, "150 pet reptiles were submitted for necropsy: 51% of the snakes, 48% of the lizards, and 7% of the turtles cultured positive for Salmonella spp., with 31 different serotypes identified." Indeed, it is thought by many researchers that, based on the fact that Salmonella (and some other organisms) are so common in so many different species of reptiles that it may be saprophytic: the organisms live benignly inside the animals, feeding on dead organic matter in their bodies.

Salmonella lives a long time outside a digestive tract. Viable organisms have been found on snake skin shed years after those sheds had been hanging, forgotten in a college lab. The researchers in the same lab cultured Salmonella from an clean, empty, wooden reptile enclosure six months after the last inhabitant left. Johnson-Delaney reports that viable Salmonella organisms have been found after:

89 days in tap water
120 days in pasture soil
280 days in garden soil
28 months in bird feces
30 months in cow manure

Besides Salmonella (of which there are hundreds of different serotypes, some relatively harmless, some extremely virulent), the most commonly occurring reptile-related zoonoses are Aeromonas, Campylobacter, Citrobacter, Coccidia, Clostridium, Corynebacterium, Edwardsiela tarda, E. coli, Enterobacter, Enterobacter, Klebsiella, Leptospira, Mycobacterium, Neisseria, Pasturella, Proteus, Serratia, Staphlococcus, and Strepococcus.

Most of the above cause diarrhea, vomiting, cramps, and other Salmonella-like symptoms in humans. Health authorities have already traced many of these infections in children and adolescents back to their reptiles.

The reptiles may themselves not look or act ill; they may not have diarrhea. You cannot determine whether or not any animal is infected just by looking at it. In fact, testing for these organisms is notoriously ineffective as the organism may not appear in every fecal mass deposited by the reptile. You will need have testing done repeatedly over a period of a couple of months to even begin to feel somewhat confident that your reptile may not carrying the organism being tested for; for some of these organisms, blood testing may detect their presence. Treating asymptomatic reptiles is not recommended as that just creates antibiotic resistant organisms. A new strain of Salmonella has recently hit the United States, found in school and other milk supplies. It has already infected several (and killed a couple) of young children in the United Kingdom. The latest and best antibiotic we now have available is ineffective against it. As fast as we can develop and produce new antibiotics, the bacteria out there are mutating resistance even faster. The only way to reduce or eliminate the risk of any zoonotic infection is to not be casual about cleaning, disinfecting, and handling.

Reality Check


Okay, that was the bad news. The good news is that, if you know that you may be working with infected animals and that you and your students may be infected if you don't think about what you are doing when you clean their enclosures, you will greatly reduce the risk of anyone who is otherwise healthy getting sick (extreme care must always be taken when anyone is in the high-risk category for infection).

Appendix C discusses proper cleaning and disinfecting procedures, including those necessary when working with obviously sick animals and animals in quarantine. The other things you can do, and make sure your student-helpers do, include:

* Wear disposable gloves when cleaning enclosures. Make it easy on everyone: keep a box near your reptile area. If you have several reptile enclosures spread throughout your classroom, keep several boxes out. They can be purchased in boxes of 100s from medical supply stores.

* Dispose of contaminated water by flushing it down a toilet after first lifting the seat; spray the rim and inside of the bowl with your disinfectant when done, after first wiping up any splashes.

* When removing furnishings from an enclosure for any reason, set them down on sheets of newspaper; once you are done with the newspaper, fold it up and put it in the covered garbage container, pushing it down out of the way of casual contact by students who later come to deposit trash in the same container.

* Regularly clean and disinfect water bowls, rocks, branches, etc. Bowls can be cleaned and disinfected with the same soap and disinfectants you use for the enclosure, rinsing them off thoroughly before use. Rocks can be boiled for 20 minutes, or washed in hot, soapy water, then sprayed thoroughly with disinfectant, then rinsed thoroughly before use. Small branches can be baked in a 250ยบ F oven, or soaked in disinfectant for 24 hours, then rinsed thoroughly, soaked in fresh water for 24 hours, then rinsed and allowed to dry thoroughly, preferably in the sun.

* If working with aquatic or semi-aquatic enclosures, prevent accidental splashes into the eyes, nose and mouth by wearing safety goggles and face-mask protection.

* Antibacterial soaps and cleaners inhibit the replication of existing bacteria - they do not kill them. To kill bacteria on a surface you must disinfect it.

Note: Not all antibacterial soaps may be doing the job you think they are. There should be an EPA number on the label of these products; you can call the EPA to check to see if in fact it is effective. As of 1996, triclosan, found in Dial® and some other antibacterial hand and dish soaps, was one of the few effective antibacterials used in soaps when used properly (meaning it must be left on the surface for at least ten minutes - read the fine print on the container). Note that some people who think they are allergic to their reptiles are in fact allergic to something in the antibacterial soap they are using. So, if one brand gives you a rash, try another.

* An easy and inexpensive way to make antimicrobial hand-wipes to keep around the classroom: pour a pint of rubbing alcohol into a container of baby-wipes. After hands are washed, they can be wiped with the antimicrobial wipes.

* Think carefully before deciding to keep reptiles in any child-care facility where toddlers and pre-schoolers are cared for. Check your state school and facility licensing codes to make sure that animals are not expressly prohibited from being kept in schools and other facilities caring for young children.

* Reptiles kept in classrooms should not be handled unless appropriate handwashing and clean-up facilities are available and made accessible to children and staff and they are used whenever any contact with the reptiles or their enclosures occurs. If you cannot assure the necessary facilities for cage cleaning and disinfecting, or for you and your students to be able to quickly wash with hot, soapy water after contact with the reptiles, then reptiles should not be housed in the classroom.

* Disinfectant lotions, pump sprays or similar products should be carried whenever reptiles are going to be handled in the field, in the classroom, at swap meets or other locations where handwashing facilities may be absent. Note that some of these disinfectant or antibacterial products may not be effective against the Salmonella commonly found in reptiles.


Bites And Scratches

When you do get bitten or scratched by a reptile:

* Flush well with warm water. Soap it to remove any debris. If the bite is deep, it should be power flushed (several 30-60 cc syringes full of sterile saline (sodium chloride) should be pumped into deep or jagged bites to flush out bits of skin, muscle and bacteria). Keep in mind that if a bite is bad enough to require power-flushing, it is bad enough to be seen by a doctor to be evaluated for stitches and antibiotics. Another reason for seeing a doctor is that, since some reptiles may leave teeth behind in the wound, such bites should be probed to find and remove them before healing starts.

* Swab the wound with Betadine(r) (povidone-iodine). Hibiclens(r) (chlorhexidine gluconate, available at supermarkets or pharmacies), Nolvasan(r) (chlorhexidine diacetate, the veterinary form of Hibiclens, available at feed stores and through mail-order animal supply houses), Bactine(r), or other antiseptic products are available if you are allergic to iodine products. Top the wound with an antibiotic ointment or cream.

* After the first 24-48 hours, try to leave the wound unbandaged as much as possible every day, wearing instead just a light film of antibiotic ointment over it. Cover it when you are preparing human food, doing human dishes, handling reptiles, feeding reptiles, and when cleaning reptile enclosures. If the bite or scratch is on your hand, wear a disposable glove over the bandage when working with the reptiles.

* If the scratch or bite is deep, soak it several times a day, for 20-30 minutes, in water, as hot as you can tolerate, to which Betadine, Hibiclens, or Nolvasan has been added. If the bitten or scratched body part is not easily soakable, apply hot compresses soaked in the water/antiseptic solution instead.

* At night, clean the wound with warm water, then apply an antibacterial ointment before covering with a bandage. This process promotes rapid healing as both the anaerobic and aerobic bacteria are dealt with.

* Bag Balm(r), an antibiotic ointment sold in supermarkets, pharmacies, and feed stores, promotes rapid healing from the outside in. This reduces the risk of wound contamination from other bacterial and fungal sources during the healing process. When used on very deep wounds, the healing tissues under the healed up skin may continue to be tender, even painful, for a while as those tissues heal. The one problem with forcing such rapid healing is that if there is any infection festering deep inside, recovery will be delayed, even if you are on systemic antibiotics, and you may require minor surgery to have the site opened up and cleaned out.

If the bite is deep enough to be a potential problem (rather than a nice neat row of tooth punctures, or minor laceration because you jerked your hand/arm/leg away), then you should seek medical attention. There is a difference of opinion as to whether animal bites should be stitched or not. Stitched animal bites seem to run a higher risk of infection. (Note: If it does need stitches, they must be done within 4-6 hours of the incident.) Part of the problem may be the medical community's lack of knowledge as to what type of organisms typically inhabit the biter's mouth, or perhaps because the wound wasn't flushed out well enough, leaving debris and a tooth or two in there to start festering along with any bacterial organisms ground in during the act of biting itself. If you have any doubt about whether you should seek medical attention, go get medical attention. It is better to err on the side of caution than to risk a potentially serious and long-lasting infection.

When you do see your physician, tell him or her that reptiles carry gram negative bacteria in their mouths. This may affect the type of oral antibiotic they prescribe for you if they are going to prescribe any - and be prepared: these antibiotics are expensive, even in their generic form. Take the full course of antibiotics prescribed, even if there is no sign of infection and your wound seems to be healing well. Failure to complete the course of antibiotics means that the bacteria in your system who managed to survive the amount you did take will become resistant to that antibiotic. Antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains have become an increasing health problem in the U.S. and elsewhere, so be smart and finish the whole thing - it may help you in the future. (Does the term "flesh-eating bacteria" ring a bell? This is one of the more extreme examples of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains we have fostered.)

If you work with animals, especially untamed ones, or wild or exotic ones, it makes sense to keep your tetanus boosters up to date. Here, too, are two schools of thought: those physicians who feel that the titers in your blood remain viable enough to fend off infection for 7-10 years, and those who feel that you need to get your boosters every 5 years. Discuss this with your doctor, preferably before you are bleeding all over one of his or her exam rooms.

Avoiding Bites


Bites don't "just happen." Something triggers them. Reptiles, like other animals, will generally let you know that they are going to bite. They may not give you a lot of warning, but if you are alert and sensitive to their body posture, movements and behavioral cycles, you will be able to read them as easily as you do a book.

Green iguanas, who have to be the reptile most responsible for humans seeking medical attention for bites, are extremely communicative. Their head cocked to one side, the eyelids lowered slightly, mouth just barely agape, hatcheted body (lateral compression) balanced on slightly crouched legs, tail raised, twitching slightly from side to side like a cat's...they do everything but wave a sign that says "It's showtime!" During breeding season, humans may unwittingly trigger attacks through the colors they wear, nodding or bobbing their heads, messing with an iguana's diurnal schedule, not providing suitable outlets for aggression and lust (who knew that caring for a male iguana was often an "R" rated endeavor!). Watch carefully, be observant of subtle changes in their color, behavior, and posture, be careful to not present any triggers, and be prepared. Do all this and you will greatly reduce your risk of being bitten. That's not to say that you won't be bitten - you may react too slowly, or you may just get stupid and let yourself get distracted for a second (which is why I am still typing with nine fingers a year after getting a bite that I knew was coming but acted stupidly and so got exactly what I knew was coming) - but at least you won't become a close personal friend of the entire emergency room, radiology department, and pharmacy staff at your local hospital!

When you keep animals and interact with them, you will, at some point, get bitten. The chances of being bitten increase significantly when the animals with whom you are interacting are not domesticated animals, defined as species who have been bred for docility and reduction of inherited traits that would lead to owner injury (biting, scratching). Aside from some farm animals, the only other animals who truly qualify for these abnormal (from the standpoint of undomesticated animals) traits are dogs, house cats, some parrots and small song birds, white rats and mice, house rabbits, and corn snakes. All other animals, whether you are talking about iguanas, sugar gliders, hedgehogs, ferrets or other pets du jour who are not derived from domesticated stock, always remain, at a level just beneath the thin veneer of tameness, wild animals equipped with the reflexes and responses of wild animals. In the vast majority of cases, when a human gets bitten by a tame or wild animal, the reason why the bite happened can generally be traced to something the human did, or didn't, do. Animals are rarely malicious or capricious. They are reacting to perceived threats or other stimuli. It's not their fault if we don't speak their "language."

Thus, the more you learn and the more observant and thoughtful you are, the more you will reduce the risk of being bitten. When you do get bitten, keep in mind that the animal isn't necessarily being malicious, or nasty, or biting because it enjoys biting (something that is important to communicate to your students). It chomped on you for a reason. It is up to you to figure out why the bite happened so that it doesn't happen again. It is also up to you to deal with the animal appropriately after the bite. Hitting the reptile, throwing it against the wall--any physical act of retribution or punishment--is meaningless to the animal and constitutes animal cruelty, no matter how much better such an act may temporarily make you feel. If the reptile is a highly socialized animal, just knowing that you are mad (through your tone of voice and deprivation of normal physical or proximity contact for a short time, such as several hours) is generally enough to get the point across. This may not stop raging hormones and reflexive responses from taking its toll again in the future, but getting deeply mad and resentful at such an animal is like getting mad at an earthquake or a flood. Like a force of nature, you do what you can to prevent damage, mitigate its effects once you see that you may not escape unscathed, but once it happens, you regroup and get on with your life.


Source: http://www.anapsid.org/humheal.html

by zahidah,malyanah,zatil,atikah,nana,dayah

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EDUCATION AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

p/s : please click the picture to view

By Syud,fiedah,sikin,zakiah,yan,ashikin


SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Sustainable development has been defined as balancing the fulfillment of human needs with the protection of the natural environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but in the indefinite future. The term was used by the Brundtland Commission which coined what has become the most often-quoted definition of sustainable development as development that "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

The field of sustainable development can be conceptually divided into four general dimensions: social, economic, environmental and institutional. The first three dimensions address key principles of sustainability, while the final dimension addresses key institutional policy and capacity issues.

Scheme of sustainable development: at the confluence of three preoccupations

THE PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

"Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs… As such it requires the promotion of values that encourage consumption standards that are within the bounds of the ecologically possible and to which all could reasonably aspire."
(Our Common Future, WCED, 1987)

In the late 1980's the concept "sustainable development" was introduced into the environmental debate as an expression of the interdependence between the three systems identified as basic to development: the economic system, the social system, and the biophysical system.

This interdependence is illustrated by figure1. The economy exists entirely within society, because all parts of the human economy require interaction among people. Society in turn, exists entirely within the biophysical system. Although human activity is re-shaping the environment at an ever-increasing rate, society and its economic systems can never exist independent of the biophysical environment.

The most common way of illustrating sustainable development is the "three spheres/pillars" diagram (figure 2). True sustainable development is then development that meets the "triple bottom line" where all three systems interact on an equal basis. This model can be useful in showing where the interrelationships exist; for example, the interrelated activities that lie within the biophysical and socio-economic domains.

Figure 1: The interdependence model

Figure 2: The spheres of sustainable development


To achieve a harmonious relationship between these "spheres" of development certain principles have to be followed within each sphere. A set of universal principles has been identified through international consensus. To this principles specific to the development priorities of South Africa and those of the Southern African Development Community have been added.


EDUCATION DIRECTLY AFFECTS SUSTAINABILITY PLANS IN THE THREE AREAS:

A) Implementation

- An educated citizenry is vital to implementing informed and sustainable development.

- In fact, a national sustainability plan can be enhanced or limited by the level of education attained by the nation's citizens.

- Nations with high illiteracy rates and unskilled workforces have fewer development options.

- For the most part, these nations are forced to buy energy and manufactured goods on the international market with hard currency.

- To acquire hard currency, these countries need international trade; usually this leads to exploitation of natural resources or conversion of lands from self-sufficient family-based farming to cash-crop agriculture.

- An educated workforce is key to moving beyond an extractive and agricultural economy.

B) Decision making

- Good community-based decisions - which will affect social, economic, and environmental well-being - also depend on educated citizens.

- Development options, especially "greener" development options, expand as education increases.

- For example, a community with an abundance of skilled labor and technically trained people can persuade a corporation to locate a new information-technology and software-development facility nearby.

- Citizens can also act to protect their communities by analyzing reports and data that address community issues and helping shape a community response.

- For example, citizens who were concerned about water pollution reported in a nearby watershed started monitoring the water quality of local streams.

- Based on their data and information found on the World Wide Web, they fought against the development of a new golf-course, which would have used large amounts of fertilizer and herbicide in maintenance of the grounds.

C) Quality of life

- Education is also central to improving quality of life.

- Education raises the economic status of families; it improves life conditions, lowers infant mortality, and improves the educational attainment of the next generation, thereby raising the next generation's chances for economic and social well-being.

- Improved education holds both individual and national implications.

By Syud,fiedah,sikin,zakiah,yan,ashikin

save our enviroment!!!

by : fieza, aishah, suhailah, jannah and anna

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

The Tide Turns

By Carolyne Ardron


Part 1

"It's time to fight back!" whistled the Pink Dolphin to the sea creatures floating above the sea bed, far away from human ears. "If they continue to pollute our island we will all die out forever!"

Calls of agreement echoed through the water as the Pink Dolphin continued. "They have already killed the Crustaceans and poisoned the plankton we eat. We must find a way to stop them from destroying us!"

"Let's fight them, bite them, and eat them alive!" shouted the Tiger Shark, catching a seal in her great big jaws.
"Stop that now!" ordered the Pink Dolphin. "We must work together, not attack each other!"
The Tiger Shark's sharp teeth fell open in surprise and the seal dived out to safety.

"Let's sink their ships…!" suggested the big Blue Whale.
"…and turn them into soup!" added the Finless Bull Shark.

Part 2


"Stop! Listen!" whistled the Pink Dolphin, raising his pink beak high. "We must plan our attack with the skills and intelligence we alone possess. We can see more and hear more than any human. We have the power to locate their every move."

"You mean 'echolocation'?" asked a dolphin calf.

"That's right, " replied the Pink Dolphin. "We can all learn the high-pitched call dolphins use to find fish and detect danger. If our call bounces back we know exactly what's at sea and where it is. That's how we can fight back!"

For weeks the Pink Dolphin trained the sea creatures to make the high-pitched call. Soon they could identify each other from far away, and could track the fishing boats as soon as they left the port.

"First we must show them we are not afraid of their nets and knives!" whistled the Pink Dolphin. "We must stop them from catching our fish!"

"But that's impossible!" cried the sardines. "Their boats are so big and their nets are so strong!"

"Nothing is impossible for us!" said the Swordfish. "Here's our plan…"

Part 3

Early the next morning the fishermen cast their nets into the sea. As the Swordfish cut through the main ropes with their long, sharp swords, the sardines swam into the nets in their thousands. Amazed by the size of their catch, the fishermen quickly pulled up their nets, but with a sudden SNAP! the ropes broke, rocking and rolling the boats over and over into the deep, dark sea.

"Hurray! We've done it!" cried the Swordfish to the sardines. "Let's go and see how the others are doing!"

Over by the shore, things were not quite going to plan at the sewage factory. Locating the main pipe that pumped its waste into the sea, the Blue Whales dived down. The youngest blue whale, excited by the mission, swam straight into the pipe.

"Didn't you listen to my instructions?" whistled the Pink Dolphin, now purple in the face. "Get out of there now, before the toxic waste kills you!"

But the young blue whale could not move a fin.

Part 4


"Get hold of his tail!" ordered the Pink Dolphin to his team of Octopus. With their thousands of tentacles the Octopus took hold of the tail and pulled and pulled until the Blue Whale, now black and oily, came out of the pipe with a POP!

Bigger than the biggest dinosaurs, the Blue Whales threw their bodies onto the top of the pipe, crushing and pushing it deep into the sea bed, closing it up forever.

"Hey!" cried one of the factory workers as the waste flooded back into the factory. "What's going on?! Quick! Let's get out of ….!"

As the Blue Whales and the Octopus swam back out to sea, the Hammerheads and Tiger Sharks, fish kings of junk food, prepared for action.

"You mean we have to locate all their rubbish, dump it on their beaches, and don't get to eat any?!" they asked, amazed.

"That's right!" whistled the Pink Dolphin. "Who knows what damage their rubbish is doing to your stomachs?"

Part 5

The Hammerhead Sharks set off first, their long heads shovelling the rubbish together, theTiger Sharks gathering the old tin cans, plastic bags, ice-cream papers and empty bottles into their big wide jaws as they followed behind.

"Arrggghhhh!" cried the bathers on the beach, "SHAARRRKKKKSSSSSS!"

Gradually, the pile of rubbish grew higher and higher, making a wall between the beach and the sea.

One final attack. Like acrobats, the seals jumped onto the jetskis and raced out to sea before turning the skis to face the beach.

"Stop!" whistled the Pink Dolphin. "We can't hear a thing down here! We can't even hear ourselves speak!" and swam straight into an oil barrel. "OUCH!"

The seals dived into the sea and watched the skis race into the wall of rubbish. BBAAANNNNGGGGGGGG! The rubbish exploded high into the sky.

From that day on the sea creatures lived in harmony with the sea and not another sound was heard from the humans.

Short stories: Environmental stories for children

by Arvin Dang

The Paper Trail

Once upon a time there was a piece of paper. It could do all sorts of cool things. Like bend, flex, fold, lie flat, stand up, even make paper airplanes. The kids loved playing with it! They would draw on it, cut it out, make shapes, make airplanes on it. But one day the paper found itself old, and wrinkled. Too used up for the kids to keep playing with it. And it was sad. Before it knew what was going on, it found itself stuck at the bottom of the trash can. It got sent out to the big dumpster where the trash men came and picked it up. The little piece of paper was thrown into the truck with all the other papers who were old, wrinkled, and quite grumpy. The journey was bumpy and windy, too long for such a tired piece of paper. It went from light to dark, from wind to rain. It was grabbed at and squished, and finally thrown onto a conveyer with the rest of the paper. It quickly got sorted and pushed, and moved around. The poor little piece of paper could do very little in its weak condition. Soon it saw a massive crusher and realized O NO! This is the end! There was so much I wanted to do! I wanted to be a pamphlet for Hawaii, or a legal binding document. But alas this is the end. And before it new it, it was crushed back into a thin piece of paper. Hm, it thought, that's not so bad. Then it saw the slicer! And the crusher O NO! the paper tried to run, it tried to fight with the other papers, but it had one corner caught. It started to tear as it was trying to pull away. It barely broke off, just a fragment got stuck. I can make it! But it was too late. The crusher and ripper sucked in the rest of the papers. And the paper closed its eyes. Slowly it blinked. And realized it was perfectly quiet. Even a bit sunny. Looking around the paper realized it was sitting next to a batch of fresh paper. It looked down at itself. Completely clean, smooth with a fresh coat of bleach! Then bending over to examine the rest of itself, to see what was going on it noticed a fine watermark on its back. What is this? It asked. A recycled logo!
by : fieza, aishah, suhailah, jannah and anna

-save our world!!!

10 Ways You Can Improve Earth’s Health

1. Change light bulbs

2. Drive differently, or drive a different vehicle

3. Control your temperature

4. Tame the refrigerator monster

5. Twist some knobs

6. Plant smartly

7. Invest in green energy

8. Go organic

9. Buy recycled

10. Be a minimalist

Easy ways to save electricity.

Turn TV's, DVD players, games consoles off at the plug when not in use. Some appliances use up to 90% of their power when on standby, so switch them off at the plug to save electricity and money. Line dry clothes to save energy from your tumble drier. Tumble driers are the second biggest energy user in the home after the fridge. If the weather is poor, you can always use a clotheshorse to dry your clothes.

Use energy efficient lighting around the home. Although energy efficient lighting seems expensive at present, energy efficient light bulbs can last up to 10 times longer, and use only 25% of energy used by standard lighting. In the long run, the bulbs will pay for themselves.

Easy ways to save water.

By turning taps off when shaving and when brushing your teeth, you can save at least 6 litres of water per minute. If your taps leak, you could be wasting up to 5,500 litres of water per year, so always replaced your taps faulty washers.

Storing water in the fridge will stop you running the tap for long periods to get cold water.

Switch to watering the garden with a watering can. You can water your plants directly at the base so that the water goes straight to their roots, not on the leaves. Remember to water your plants in the evening to reduce evaporation.

Easy ways to save heat.

Turning your boiler thermostat down by 1 degree, you can save up to 10% on your heating bill each year. With an average heating bill, this could be as much as £90 per year!

Use energy saving window blinds to help trap warm air inside the home in cold weather, and direct sunlight out during hot weather. These types of blinds are around the same price as standard blinds, and can help you save money on your heating bills. Why would anyone want to waste money on blinds that increase your heating bill?

Stop your boiler from overworking by switching radiators off in unused rooms, or rooms that are used less often than others.

by : fieza, aishah, suhailah, jannah and anna


HYDROLOGIC CYCLE

- The hydrologic cycle also known as the water cycle, describes the continuous movement of water on, above and below the surface of the Earth.

- Since the water is truly a “cycle,” there is no beginning or end. Water can change states among liquid, vapor and ice at various places in the water cycle.

- Most of the earth’s water is stored in the oceans, but solar energy continually evaporate this water, and winds distribute water vapor around the globe

- Water that condenses over land surfaces, in the form of rain, snow, or fog, supports all terrestrial (land-based) ecosystem

- Living organism emit the moisture they have consumed through respiration and perspiration.

- Eventually this moisture reenters the atmosphere or enters lakes and streams, from which it ultimately returns to the ocean again

- As it moves through living things and through the atmosphere, water is responsible for metabolic processes within cells, for maintaining the flows of key nutrients through ecosystems, and for global-scale distribution of heat and energy.