Climate Change

Malaysia, a beautiful tropical country who is also well-endowed with natural resources in areas such as agriculture, forestry and minerals. With a total landmass of 329,847km², we have more than enough ground area for economic development and residential. In line with government's policy to preserve the nature and ecosystem, deforestation is managed at a sustainable rate. Inasmuch as the natural landscape is protected, potable water is easily available. Of all the extensive environment issues claimed by the scientist, we are down to one - atmosphere.

Since 1980, Malaysians have, through many ways, expressed their concerns about the deteriorating air quality. The haze episode in year 1997 was the worst ever experienced by Malaysia. Monitoring system (during the haze) showed that big fires in areas of Sumatra and Kalimantan had contributed to the sudden rise of suspended particulates in air. But can we conclude that we the local residents are innocent victims but not the culprit of this phenomena?

The main source of air pollution comes from industrial and developmnt activities. Different industries emit different pollutants into the air through flaring. This is especially serious in highly industrialized area such as Klang Valley. Secondly, with the increasing numbers of motor vehicle moving on the road, air quality is uncontrollably disturbed. Low cost Malaysia national cars are easily attainable and affordable by most families. On top of that, inefficient public transportation in suburb especially, has indirectly promoted car ownership by individuals. Last but not least, daily routine by each household contributes to the poor air quality unknowingly. CFC from coolant liquid in refrigerator is account for depletion of ozone layers. Open burning is widely practised by rural residents to get rid of household waste the easy way.

The various causes of air pollution has further added on to the Earth's poor air quality loading. Not only it affects the climate within Malaysia but a total climate change on earth. Occurence of acid rain is no stranger to us anymore. Agriculture is heavily affected due to infertility of soil (reducing pH by acid rain). Diminishing vegetation interrupts the food chain mechanism, causing the whole ecosystem to collapse. In time to come, human shall understand the meaning of "What goes around, comes around".

Anyway, Malaysia government is actively looking for workable solutions to mitigate the problem. United Nation conference has recently recognized the negative impact of coal on global warming. Together with the other 140 countries, hopefully we can put more focus on saving the earth whilst striving for economic growth.