Bangkok & Climate Change

[Bruce551]

Bangkok pursues low-carbon strategy

* Published: 28/01/2010 at 12:00 AM

* Newspaper section: Business

One million people in Bangkok are expected to feel the catastrophic impacts of climate change by 2050, prompting concerned government agencies to introduce measures to cope, says the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB).

The temperature increase is forecast to be 1.9 degrees Celsius in 2020 compared with today, with a 3% increase in precipitation and a 29-centimetre (That's a 11.42 inches) rise in sea level. Add Bangkok sinking 4" a year)

Flooded areas will expand by 25% or 200 square kilometres, state planning agency officials told a seminar on pursuing a low-carbon society, held yesterday by the National Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Office.

Current patterns of energy consumption pose mitigation challenges, said Thanin Pa-Em, senior adviser in policy and planning at the NESDB. Thailand aspires to take the regional lead in moving toward a low-carbon economy.

According to Mr Thanin, diversification of power production is required for Thailand to avoid reliance on coal and gas and reduce imports of petroleum products for power generation.

Relieving the severe traffic congestion and reducing air pollution in Bangkok are also recommended. (Free bicycles for all)

To achieve these targets, creating urban jobs with better and more affordable transport services for low-income households is critical.

The action plan on global warming mitigation attempts to reduce Bangkok's emissions by 15% or 6.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per year by 2012, he said.

In addition, the 15-year plan for renewable energy development aims to increase the share of renewable energy to 20% by 2012 from 5.8% in 2008, cutting CO2 emissions by 42 million tonnes per annum.

Thailand has voluntarily reduced greenhouse gas emissions through the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). So far, 30 CDM projects from Thailand have been registered with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) with estimated emissions reduction of about 2 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent, according to the Thailand Greenhouse Gas Management Organisation.

At present, Thailand ranks tenth in the world in CDM projects registered with the UNFCCC, lower than Malaysia (fifth), the Philippines (sixth) and Indonesia (ninth). China is first with 715 CDM projects followed by India's 477.

According to Emergent Ventures International (EVI), an Indian consultancy specialising in global warming, the renewable energy market in Asia-Pacific is very attractive because power supply shortages are likely and marginal cost may remain at the high level of 20 cents per kilowatt-hour.

Technological progress will continue to bring down costs. For example, the cost of electricity from solar power has fallen 6-7% annually for the past 15 years while wind-powered electricity cost has fallen 80% over the past two decades, said Jatin Kapoor, who is in charge of EVI operations in Southeast Asia.

Citing McKinsey research, Mr Kapoor said overall savings from reducing energy use will be $900 billion by 2020. Annual investments of US$170 billion from now to 2020 may halve global energy demand.

About the author

columnist

Writer: Nareerat Wiriyapong

Position: Business Reporter

Good news for Thai solar industry

28/1/2010

Plans to build one of the world's largest ever photovoltaic (PV) solar farms near Bangkok (Thailand) has boosted the Thai government's efforts to accelerate the development of a national PV market.

The plant, to be built at Lop Buri by a Japanese-Chinese-Thai consortium, will have a capacity of over 70 MW. Completion is forecast for 2011, subject to approval of an environmental impact assessment and normal construction permits.

The PV growth in Thailand has also received a further push after first-phase approval has been given for a cumulative total of 1 GW of PV facilities.

2 years ago the goal was 50MW solar, must have been reading my journals, he he

This first-phase approval means authorisation to receive the guaranteed feed-in tariff, and is separate from building and construction permits, but is critical to financial viability of many projects.

As if to anticipate the flood of permit applications that will follow, the Thai government has indicated that five separate application processes for building permits needed for PV installations are to be merged under a single umbrella.

All this news is being used as a backdrop to SolarBusiness Bangkok 2010, Thailand's first ever national conference on developing the PV market, to be held on 22 and 23 March in Bangkok.

The 2009 national Renewable Energy Plan for Thailand gives solar energy the highest national potential among all renewable energy sources, and the March conference is a key milestone in the drive to accelerate action in business.

Apart from providing a full overview of technology and cost trends to national players, the agenda includes discussions about government guarantees of feed-in tariffs, financing mechanisms, and performance and testing standards.

The conference is supported by the Thai Ministry of Energy and leading private-sector players in Thailand and abroad.

For additional information:

http://www.solarbangkok2010.com/

:arrow:

[Bruce551]

Climate Action Plan for Thailand,

Problems:

http://www.climate.org/topics/international-action/thailand.htm

Rice accounts for 16% of global nitrogen fertilizer use, 13% of phosphate fertilizer use, and 13% of potassium fertilizer use (chemicalThai Farmer fertilizer requirements per unit of output for rice are on par with those for maize, but are less than those for wheat and substantially more than those for soybeans). In the 2007/2008 season, rice crops in Thailand alone required 262,000 tons of nitrogen fertilizer.

Chemical fertilizers contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, decrease soil fertility, have harmful health effects, and drive many farmers into vicious debt cycles. However, organic production, which generally mitigates these factors, is no panacea in the case of rice production due to considerable methane emissions from flooded rice paddies.

Climate change has and will continue to harm rice yields: a study by Okayama University in Japan found that grain yield declines when the average daily temperature exceeds 84° Fahrenheit (29° Celsius), and grain quality continues to decline linearly as temperatures rise. Rice, an essential crop in Thailand, is vulnerable to climate change but also has complex environmental impacts with no easy solutions.

Methane, like carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide, is a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. Although carbon dioxide emissions still pose a greater problem given its long atmospheric lifetime, global methane levels have climbed to 16% of total greenhouse gas emissions. Even more problematic is methane’s potency: by weight, methane can trap 21 times more heat than carbon dioxide.

In 2005, Thailand's methane emissions equalled 91.6 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent , 51% of which were due to rice cultivation -- a statistic that is drawing international attention to the climate effects of rice paddies

Bangkok’s per capita CO2 emissions, at 7.1 tons per capita, are higher than those of other major cities, such as London and Tokyo (5.9 and 5.7 tons, respectively).

84% of Bangkok’s greenhouse gas emissions are from energy use (buildings) and transportation; 3% are from methane emissions from landfills and wastewater. Since the signing of the Bangkok Declaration, the city has enjoyed various campaigns promoting compact fluorescent bulbs, garbage reduction, the use of cloth bags instead of plastic, and planting trees on the Queen’s birthday.

(There are still no Green Building Codes in Bangkok)

In the United States, $500,000,000 dollars has been spent for advertising against the Energy-CO2-Climate Bill now in the Congress. For every Senator there are 5 lobbyists from fossil fuel interests lobbying against CO2 Regulation.

On the plus side, there are millions of individual Americans fighting for a good Energy bill that regulates CO2.

Thailand is in a similar situation as the U.S., very powerful special interestes dominate the Government and are against the regulation of greenhouse gases.

:!:

[Bruce551]

Governor crafts plan to solve 5 key woes

* Published: 13/03/2010 at 12:00 AM

* Newspaper section: News

Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra has come up with a 200 billion baht infrastructure development plan to try to help tackle the capital's chronic problems.

This file photo shows vehicles struggling through deep water on Rama VI Road after a downpour triggered flash floods in Bangkok. The new plan will improve drainage.

The Bangkok - Getting Ahead scheme, or Krungthep Gao-na in Thai, will cover major infrastructure developments to solve five key problems affecting Bangkok: flooding, greening the city, traffic, refuse and security.

"The approach, for decades, has been to draw up plans and allocate resources to fix problems as they occur, or after they occur," said MR Sukhumbhand.

"We often tackle problems issue by issue with solutions that only provide temporary relief."

The new programme will also tackle the city's chronic problems in a sustainable manner, he said. (Good plan)

Deputy Governor Teerachon Manomaiphibul said the 10-year master development plan would channel 200 billion baht into solving the city's problems.

City Hall will finance the various projects by issuing bonds and through its budget.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration aims to tackle flooding by doubling the capacity of the city's drainage system within four years, he said.

Bangkok currently has 150 pumping stations, more than 1,400 canals and five major drainage tunnels which have a combined capacity of draining 155 cubic metres of water a second, said MR Sukhumbhand.

"It's still not enough. We can expect the flooding in Bangkok to increase in the near future," he said. (climate change)

In Bangkok there are currently about 3.9 square metres of green space available per person, compared to 9.8 sq m in Paris, 21.6 sq m in New York and 33.4 sq m in London.

The Bangkok - Getting Ahead programme will develop five new large-scale public parks, each with at least 10 rai of space, within three years.

The parks will be located in districts which currently lack green spaces, such as Bang Khun Thian, Bang Bon and Bang Khae in western Bangkok.

More then 52,000 new cars arrive on Bangkok's roads every month. (Insanity)

There are around 15 million trips made by people every day, a number that is expected to almost double within the next 10 years.

The governor said projects to solve the city's traffic would focus on two areas: providing better public transport alternatives to taxis and buses; and improving the road network to reduce bottlenecks, particularly at bridges that cross the Chao Phraya River.

"In three years, we must have a public transport feeder network that will ensure more people will leave their cars at home and use the BTS and other mass transit systems instead," he said.

Bangkok currently accounts for about one-quarter of the total waste produced in Thailand, or about 9,000 tonnes of refuse a day. 270,000 tonnes per month

MR Sukhumbhand said the city currently disposes of about 90% of the waste by burying it, mostly in Chachoengsao and Nakhon Pathom. But soon there would not be enough remaining space to bury the rubbish.

Burning the rubbish is the only sustainable solution for waste disposal. It is hygienic and minimises pollution, he said.

Modern technology allows for incinerators to be installed close to residential areas without fear of pollution. The new plants can also generate electricity as a byproduct of burning the waste, said the governor.

"No one dared to propose this solution for Bangkok in the past." (Your friend EGAT will not like the BMA doing something sensible like generate electricity from garbage)

"I am doing it because if we don't take action now to find a proper solution, in the next several years we can expect to see unhygienic garbage mountains starting to pile up," he said.

MR Sukhumbhand said he plans to have a pilot project, capable of incinerating 300 to 500 tonnes of waste a day, up and running within the next three years.

To solve the long-term problem of managing Bangkok's waste, 30 billion baht was needed to buy six incinerators, each with a capacity to burn 1,500 tonnes of refuse a day.

Within the next three years the number of security cameras throughout the city would be doubled to 20,000, an additional 50,000 street lights would come on line and 300,000 civilians would be recruited into a scheme to help improve Bangkok's security.

San Francisco Trash,

What is the most reliable economic indicator that sits on your curb?

A. Your trash. According to Robert Reed, spokesman for Norcal Waste Systems Inc., the parent company of both Golden Gate and Sunset, trash is a key indicator of economic health. Reed says the volume of garbage always goes up when times are flush, and bottoms out when times are tough.

Last December, San Franciscans tossed out 65,123 tons of trash (per month). This December, we disposed of a cautious 62,114 tons. In fact, we disposed of more garbage in November, 63,518 tons, than in December.

That fact is more disconcerting than it appears, because trash volume can and often does increase by up to 2,000 tons in December, due to all the garbage the holidays generate. For the landfill, our reduced trash is great news. Economically, it is not a good portend.

[vbroker]

So lemme see if I understand this......

The first article no one gives a f*ck about posted 29 January 2010 led to the second article posted 9 March 2010 which in turn, led to, thus far, the third and last article no one gives a sh*t about 13 March 2010.

Of course, none of said content is original; the poster doesn't have or is incapable of any ideas of his own to "contribute" here.

"Lolitas" must not be so satisfying nowadays, huh?

Tsk tsk tsk. Look what happens when you blast through middle age, move to Thailand and free time becomes a disposable, or should I say, wasted commodity. The brain atrophies.......

[DANNO]

So lemme see if I understand this......

The first article no one gives a f*ck about posted 29 January 2010 led to the second article posted 9 March 2010 which in turn, led to, thus far, the third and last article no one gives a sh*t about 13 March 2010.

Of course, none of said content is original; the poster doesn't have or is incapable of any ideas of his own to "contribute" here.

"Lolitas" must not be so satisfying nowadays, huh?

Tsk tsk tsk. Look what happens when you blast through middle age, move to Thailand and free time becomes a disposable, or should I say, wasted commodity. The brain atrophies.......

Nice, really Nice ! and apparently unecessary

VB --->regarding those last couple of bits

Are you simply mussing in the mirror?

oris this just a natural jerk relex you are cursed with...

maybe a random thought that you could not keep to yourself

I can assure you that your post is not a contribution...While Bruce's drew no discussion, it did have infomation

(whether you agree with it or not is still not known...)

what is known is that you have a knowledge of the calender functions

and a firm grip on how to be a bore.

[Bruce551]

Asian Pollution Rides the Monsoon

By John D. Cox | Thu Mar 25, 2010 09:41 AM ET

Like a great smokestack, Asia's summer monsoon is blowing high into the atmosphere a climate-altering cocktail of industrial pollutants generated by the burgeoning economies of China, India and Indonesia, scientists report.

For years now, sensors at ground-based monitoring stations have been detecting low-level pollution clouds riding the westerly winds from Asia to North America, but this is the first research that shows how the monsoon winds carry industrial chemicals into the stratosphere.

Monsoon Pollutants such as black carbon, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are lofted 20 to 25 miles into the atmosphere by a vigorous natural circulation that is part of the annual monsoon pattern.

"The monsoon is one of the most powerful atmospheric circulation systems on the planet, and it happens to form right over a heavily polluted region," said William Randel, a scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, CO, and lead author of the study published today in the online journal ScienceExpress. "As a result, the monsoon provides a pathway for transporting pollutants up to the stratosphere."

The scientists traced the land-based pollution plume by measuring the concentration of hydrogen cyanide, a chemical formed by burning of trees and vegetation, a byproduct of the clearing of Asian agricultural land during summer. Other circulation patterns originating in the Tropics contain only small amounts of the chemical.

While scientists know that the pollutants spend several years wafting around the globe in the stratosphere, Randel said more research will be needed to fully understand the atmospheric effects of the monsoon-borne pollutants. For example, sulfur aerosols impact the ozone layer that blocks harmful ultraviolet radiation from reaching the ground. Aerosol pollutants also interact with other greenhouse gases, such as water vapor, that influence the amount of solar heat reaching Earth.

This burning of farm land is a crime against all life on earth. The air in Chiang Mai so dirty that the my laptop keyboard gets black spots from fan cooling air coming up though the keys.

The burning of farm land in Thailand is an example massive SYSTEMIC FAILURE of government to deal with environmental issues.

[Bruce551]

Suffering the power price planners

Households paying for over-investment in capital-intensive projects

* Published: 3/04/2010 at 12:00 AM

* Newspaper section: News

Budgeting for your monthly household electricity bill requires keeping an eye on how much you use your electrical appliances.

But the fact remains that electricity bills are never solely determined by you as an individual consumer.

Electricity charges have for years been influenced and manipulated by Power Development Plans (PDPs) which are determined by a small group of policy-makers including the National Energy Policy Council (NEPC) chaired by the prime minister.

The PDP for this year was "quietly approved" on March 12 to the surprise of critics. The 4.2-trillion-baht plan outlines public and private investment in the generation and transmission of power from now until 2030.

Opponents of the plan, including a senate committee on good governance and corruption, say it was developed at the expense of household consumers who are forced to bear the brunt of over investment in capital-intensive projects. Their repeated calls for the draft PDP to be changed went unheeded.

"The NEPC could have adjusted the plan but it chose not to do so," said Suphakit Nuntavorakarn, a member of the senate committee.

"This means electricity charges imposed on household consumers will be higher than what they should be."

(me) Also, you pay higher prices for everything because of higher electric rates. The Power Development Plan benefits the "few" elite in the Ministry of Energy, EGAT and PTT. It's a very big sink hole of corruption, geting their kick-backs from building Power Plants that Thailand doesn't need. And, there's billions of kWhs wasted in buildings and these guys are the ones "obstructing" progress on energy efficiency.

The opponents say the forecast power demand is unrealistically high with residential and rural consumers forced to foot the bill for the excessive investment as a result.

"This is part of a chronic disease in Thailand's power planning," said Chuenchom Greacen, an energy analyst.

Electricity charge rates planned for the year are based on a profit-generation model that benefits state enterprises - the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat), the Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA) and PTT Plc - as well as private power producers, she said.

"The more money is injected into investment, the more profit for these agencies and companies," she said. "But this means the burden on end-use costs are imposed upon consumers."

The plan also uses fuel tariffs to manage additional expenditures caused by fluctuating fuel prices. These additional costs are transferred to consumers as additional charges, she said.

In the first year, about 70% of total energy will be produced from natural gas - a market dominated by PTT Plc and its affiliates. The proportion is much higher in other countries.

Mr Suphakit said the plan also subsidises private producers by guaranteeing rates of return.

Consumers are deprived from the opportunity to use energy-saving electrical appliances to cut costs, he said.

This is because the NEPC dismissed a proposal suggested by the senate panel to increase the proportion of demand-side management, which involves developing energy-saving appliances and technologies.

Instead, the plan sets power savings initiatives at just 0.3% of baseline consumption.

The savings rate should be increased by at least 29 times to help users minimise their consumption over the next 20 years, he said.

Critics are concerned the policy makers outright rejection of the panel's proposal may mask a conflict of interest.

Viraphol Jirapraditkul, director-general of the Energy Policy and Planning Office (Eppo), who play a key role on the NEPC, confirmed with the senate panel on March 11 that the PDP would be put on hold.

But it was approved the following day.

The PDP's development was handled by several sub-committees under the NEPC, comprising top bureaucrats who hold executive positions in state enterprises, such as Egat, MEA and PTT.

The three organisations hold significant stakes in dozens of power generating firms, while the law allows their executives to hold senior positions in the companies.

"They are in charge of setting national energy policies and work for these companies and get extra pay at the same time," said Ittiboon Onwongsa of the Foundation for Consumers.

The senate panel's earlier study found that extra pay comes in the forms of meeting allowances and substantial annual bonuses. The extra pay for PTT's chairman in 2008 was 2.9 million baht.

Mr Viraphol admitted the plan's forecasts may have overestimated demand. But he asked for three more years to carry out further analysis on the matter.

Mr Suphakit said the PDP's drafting already lacks transparency.

While the plan can be adjusted in the future, Eppo has refused to identify which criteria may be modified.

"The PDP requires huge investment using taxpayer money," said Mr Suphakit. "So why are these taxpayers still forced to pay for excessive electricity bills which will likely increase?"

Contact Buyer Beware:

[email protected]

:!:

[Bruce551]

EGAT’s nuclear power plans – a credit train wreck on the horizon

Bangkok Post Op-Ed

8 November, 2009

Dr. Christopher Greacen

http://www.palangthai.org/docs/EGATnucleartrainwreck8Nov09.doc

On 5 December 2008 South Africa’s national electricity utility, Eskom terminated the process of selecting a bidder for the construction of a planned nuclear plant because the project was “too financially risky for the utility.†The decision is one that the Thai government and EGAT should consider closely as Thailand ponders nuclear power.

Compared to Thailand’s EGAT, South Africa’s Eskom was well positioned to take on the project. Eskom already operates a nuclear power plant with two reactors near Cape Town, quite similar in size and design to the ones envisaged by EGAT. The country has an experienced workforce of nuclear engineers, it has a nuclear-fuel production plant near Pretoria and also mines its own uranium. Thailand has none of these.

Eskom’s decision not to proceed with new nuclear power plants was due, in particular, to the high risk that nuclear new build would lead to substantial erosion of its credit rating. Poor credit makes investment capital expensive, and this makes all aspects of running the utility more costly and more risky.

Credit concerns regarding new nuclear plants are endemic.

In January 2006, Standard & Poor’s analysis of nuclear power development found “nuclear generation generally to have the highest overall business risk compared with other types of generation.†And it has only gotten worse. In June 2009, Moody's Investors Service, a leading independent credit rating firm, issued a report that it is “considering taking a more negative view for those issuers seeking to build new nuclear power plants. Rationale is premised on a material increase in business and operating risk.†The report notes that “historical rating actions have been unfavorable for issuers seeking to build new nuclear generation. Of 48 issuers that Moody evaluated during the last nuclear building cycle two received rating upgrades, six went unchanged, and 40 had downgrades. Moreover, the average downgraded issuer fell four notches.â€

This should be the concern of all Thai citizens and businesses operating in Thailand because EGAT is wholly owned by the Thai government. Hence, an EGAT nuclear financial fiasco is a Thailand economic fiasco shouldered by all ratepayers and taxpayers.

Demand dementia and crazy cost calculations

EGAT’s nuclear power plant plans are predicated on assumptions of soaring demand for electricity. But mismatches between official demand projections and reality have reached such high levels that an independent senate committee on anti-corruption is now investigating the load forecasting process, and is suggesting much lower figures that are in-line with the reality that nuclear power plants are not at all necessary to keep the lights on in the country for at least the next 15 years.

The infamously wrong Thai electricity load forecast assumes that Thai demand for electricity will be growing at an average of over 2000 MW per year through the year 2021, and growing exponentially. But in the past 15 years load growth has averaged only 770 MW per year. For the past 10 years, it has averaged only 715 MW per year.

And the past five years averaged only 544 MW of new load per year. The numbers speak for themselves: load growth is slowing.

Notably, load growth is slowing despite the lack of a comprehensive energy savings efforts by government and utilities. With a little bit of effort, a whole lot more energy waste could be avoided at little or zero cost.

At the same time, EGAT’s cost estimates for nuclear power are leagues away from actual costs paid for new nuclear plants and from current estimates by the world’s leading investor services.

In EGAT’s dream world, 2000 MW of nuclear generation would cost a “mere†103 billion baht (US$1546 per kW) to build and would produce electricity at 2.08 baht per kWh.

In 2008, Moody’s Investor Services (a leading US-based credit rating agency that rates EGAT investment bonds), put the cost of nuclear generation at $7000 per kW for overnight new builds (ignoring financing costs).

This means 467 billion baht for 2000 MW, 4.5 fold higher than EGAT’s figures.

In the same year, Fitch Ratings put likely high-end estimates at $9,000 per kW. Because capital costs dominate nuclear power costs, electricity generated from new nuclear reactors is also likely to be at least 4-fold higher than EGAT’s estimates, and thus higher than the price of any renewable energy source now selling to the grid except for solar electricity. EGAT’s low-ball figures are the result of at least two factors.

First, costs of large infrastructure like nuclear power plants have escalated considerably in the past several years, and EGAT is using data that is over four years old.

Second, the nuclear industry has terrible record of promising low costs but actually delivering extreme cost overruns; EGAT may well have been mislead by international nuclear construction firms willing to make heroic assumptions in their eager efforts to win new contracts.

If you put this all together it is easy to see a train-wreck ahead: nuclear power plants that cost much more than competitive alternatives, built to service expectations of massive demand increases that fail to materialize. The result is debt, financial deterioration, and credit downgrades with the damage absorbed by the Thai government and Thai people.

Thailand will be much wiser to pursue a balanced portfolio of smaller, safer clean energy investments.

Serious, systematic energy efficiency throughout all sectors, all competent energy practitioners know, is the least-cost option and the essential base for wise energy planning.

Energy efficiency measures have dual advantages of being inexpensive (new nuclear is typically 10-fold more costly than typically observed energy efficiency costs) and quick (dozens of times faster than nuclear).

Fortunately EGAT’s Demand Side Management (DSM) office is moving ahead with plans for a new energy efficient lighting program. But it just barely scratches the surface.

Comprehensive energy efficiency should be coupled with efficient, clean generation (cogeneration, tri-generation, renewable energy) built at a scale that allows for rapid deployment and lowers risk through short lead times and competitive costs.

There is no sense raising the tired argument that nuclear power is necessary for climate protection. It is common sense that the climate crisis will be better addressed by investing in cheaper, faster options instead of throwing money at costlier and slower solutions like new nuclear power.

Some of the policy machinery is already in place: ambitious government targets for energy efficiency and renewable energy, and successful programs like EGAT’s Demand Side Management (DSM) office, and the Small Power Producer (SPP) and the Very Small Power Producer (VSPP) programs for motivating efficient and rapid industry investments in decentralized clean energy.

What is needed is for EGAT to realign its vision away from nuclear power – a risky, slow, expensive, chunky and clunky technology that has been moribund for at least 20 years – and towards the intelligent, decentralized, highly efficient and therefore very competitive energy future that is emerging worldwide.

Thailand is not like the United States which can print endless money. Billions of baht spent needlessly for a not needed Nukes is a recipe that will inflict harm to the economy of Thailand and to the wellbeing of Thai citizens.

[PiAnt]

Well, I don't know about you, but ****.

It's hot.

[Bruce551]

Andaman Sea coral reefs hit by bleaching

Experts say worst in Thai waters in 20 years

* Published: 8/05/2010 at 12:00 AM

* Newspaper section: News

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/36984/andaman-sea-coral-reefs-hit-by-bleaching

Marine scientists have been closely watching massive coral bleaching in the Andaman Sea, believed to be the worst case in Thai waters for 20 years.

A coral reef, shown here yesterday at Koh Aeo in Phuket, has been turning white as a result of coral bleaching, the Phuket Marine Biological Centre says.

Coral reefs in the Andaman Sea off Phangnga, Krabi and Phuket, including popular diving sites such as the Similan, Phi Phi and Surin islands, have been damaged by the phenomenon.

The bleaching is likely to extend as far as Satun province, and could get worse if sea temperatures continue to rise, said Niphon Phongsuwan, a marine biologist at the Phuket Marine Biological Centre (PMBC).

"The coral bleaching began happening last month. Five percent of the coral reefs affected by the phenomenon have already died. More coral will be damaged if the sea temperature remains high," said Mr Niphon.

"We are waiting for the rain, which can help cool down the sea temperature," he said.

The PMBC has been working closely with dive operators, who help monitor the coral bleaching situation. The phenomenon is also occurring in the Gulf of Thailand, such as in Rayong province, Mr Niphon said.

Scientists believe the main cause of coral bleaching is the warming of the oceans, which forces zooxantaellae, an algae which co-exists with the coral and gives it colour, to detach from the corals' shell.

Strong sunlight can also kill the coral.

The bleached coral reefs will take a long time to recover, according to Mr Niphon.

Coral reefs in shallow waters at depths up to 10m will take three to four years to recover. Coral in deeper seas will take more time to recuperate.

Somkiat Khokiattiwong, head of the PMBC's oceanography and environment unit, said high temperatures in the Andaman Sea and the central part of the Bay of Bengal were the likely cause of the massive coral bleaching.

The temperature in the Andaman Sea stood at 31-32C for a long period this year, making the sea warmer than the previous two years.

He believes the warmer-than-usual sea temperature is a consequence of the late onset of the monsoon over the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea.

Monsoons usually arrive around mid-April. But this year, the rainfall came a little bit later than usual.

Burma and Malaysia could also face the coral bleaching problem in their waters, Mr Somkiat said.

The Andaman Sea is one of the country's most popular diving sites with around 80 sq km of coral reefs. It attracts millions of visitors and divers each year. Coral reefs in the Andaman Sea previously suffered severe bleaching in 1991 and 2003.

Also see,

Tomorrow the journal Science publishes a remarkable Lead Letter supporting the accuracy of climate science. The must-read statement, “Climate Change and the Integrity of Science,†is signed by 255 of the world’s leading scientists.

http://climateprogress.org/2010/05/06/national-academy-of-sciences-letter-defending-climate-science-integrity/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+climateprogress%2FlCrX+%28Climate+Progress%29

(i) The planet is warming due to increased concentrations of heat-trapping gases in our atmosphere. A snowy winter in Washington does not alter this fact.

(ii) Most of the increase in the concentration of these gases over the last century is due to human activities, especially the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation.

(iii) Natural causes always play a role in changing Earth’s climate, but are now being overwhelmed by human-induced changes.

(iv) Warming the planet will cause many other climatic patterns to change at speeds unprecedented in modern times, including increasing rates of sea-level rise and alterations in the hydrologic cycle. Rising concentrations of carbon dioxide are making the oceans more acidic.

(v) The combination of these complex climate changes threatens coastal communities and cities, our food and water supplies, marine and freshwater ecosystems, forests, high mountain environments, and far more.

[eagle]

Well, I don't know about you, but sh*t.

It's hot.

yea I'd like to see what an airconditioner would do to that situation ......

[digitalcat]

i actually like Bruce's articles and try to read them whenever they are here. I don't have anything to say about them because they simply inform me.

So Bruce, please keep posting and V-hooker well go kill yourself. You may save some oxygen for those who need it more.

[DANNO]

i actually like Bruce's articles and try to read them whenever they are here. I don't have anything to say about them because they simply inform me.

So Bruce, please keep posting and V-hooker well go kill yourself. You may save some oxygen for those who need it more.

+1

(although Vlad, is a little overboard with the V-booger solution, i would suggest .....Committing to an In-patient service of 3-6 months)

[Stramash]

see, you all slag v broker...

but everything needs balance

you need that bible belt stylee fundamentalism to balance out the normal Trotskyite utopian **** you find on here.

Plus, he IS entertainment value...

[DANNO]

see, you all slag v broker...

but everything needs balance

you need that bible belt stylee fundamentalism to balance out the normal Trotskyite utopian sh*t you find on here.

Plus, he IS entertainment value...

Invite him to Glasgow for a six-month internship....

I bet he'll strighten everyone right out...!

how about an nice rowdy pub for relaxing...

the boys will have a real go with his ideas :idea:

and you'll be intertained too! :wink:

[Stramash]

see, you all slag v broker...

but everything needs balance

you need that bible belt stylee fundamentalism to balance out the normal Trotskyite utopian sh*t you find on here.

Plus, he IS entertainment value...

Invite him to Glasgow for a six-month internship....

I bet he'll strighten everyone right out...!

how about an nice rowdy pub for relaxing...

the boys will have a real go with his ideas :idea:

and you'll be intertained too! :wink:

mate, he'd be chewed up and spat out within 5 minutes of arriving...

and that's just the women

:twisted:

[DANNO]

see, you all slag v broker...

but everything needs balance

you need that bible belt stylee fundamentalism to balance out the normal Trotskyite utopian sh*t you find on here.

Plus, he IS entertainment value...

Invite him to Glasgow for a six-month internship....

I bet he'll strighten everyone right out...!

how about an nice rowdy pub for relaxing...

the boys will have a real go with his ideas :idea:

and you'll be intertained too! :wink:

mate, he'd be chewed up and spat out within 5 minutes of arriving...

and that's just the women

:twisted:

Iain...MMuuuuaaahhh!!!! :twisted: exactly!

you are usually much quicker!

then take him home... nurse him to health with that damnable socialized medicine ya got over there and take his council at the foot of the bed!

[Stramash]

see, you all slag v broker...

but everything needs balance

you need that bible belt stylee fundamentalism to balance out the normal Trotskyite utopian sh*t you find on here.

Plus, he IS entertainment value...

Invite him to Glasgow for a six-month internship....

I bet he'll strighten everyone right out...!

how about an nice rowdy pub for relaxing...

the boys will have a real go with his ideas :idea:

and you'll be intertained too! :wink:

mate, he'd be chewed up and spat out within 5 minutes of arriving...

and that's just the women

:twisted:

Iain...MMuuuuaaahhh!!!! :twisted: exactly!

you are usually much quicker!

then take him home... nurse him to health with that damnable socialized medicine ya got over there and take his council at the foot of the bed!

It may be socialised medicine but there's a waiting list for arsehole transplants...

Sorry VB

:twisted:

[DANNO]

see, you all slag v broker...

but everything needs balance

you need that bible belt stylee fundamentalism to balance out the normal Trotskyite utopian sh*t you find on here.

Plus, he IS entertainment value...

Invite him to Glasgow for a six-month internship....

I bet he'll strighten everyone right out...!

how about an nice rowdy pub for relaxing...

the boys will have a real go with his ideas :idea:

and you'll be intertained too! :wink:

mate, he'd be chewed up and spat out within 5 minutes of arriving...

and that's just the women

:twisted:

Iain...MMuuuuaaahhh!!!! :twisted: exactly!

you are usually much quicker!

then take him home... nurse him to health with that damnable socialized medicine ya got over there and take his council at the foot of the bed!

It may be socialised medicine but there's a waiting list for arsehole transplants...

Sorry VB

:twisted:

My God Iain ...don't you see he could be a donor!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Stramash]

see, you all slag v broker...

but everything needs balance

you need that bible belt stylee fundamentalism to balance out the normal Trotskyite utopian sh*t you find on here.

Plus, he IS entertainment value...

Invite him to Glasgow for a six-month internship....

I bet he'll strighten everyone right out...!

how about an nice rowdy pub for relaxing...

the boys will have a real go with his ideas :idea:

and you'll be intertained too! :wink:

mate, he'd be chewed up and spat out within 5 minutes of arriving...

and that's just the women

:twisted:

Iain...MMuuuuaaahhh!!!! :twisted: exactly!

you are usually much quicker!

then take him home... nurse him to health with that damnable socialized medicine ya got over there and take his council at the foot of the bed!

It may be socialised medicine but there's a waiting list for arsehole transplants...

Sorry VB

:twisted:

My God Iain ...don't you see he could be a donor!!!!!!!!!!!!

donor, recipient and case study...

:twisted:

[Exploring]

Snow in Wisconsin yesterday ! and so Windy around NY and NJ today, but it is chilly though, what 's else? BTW Stanten Island Ferry crashed this morning due to bad vision though.Thanks, I don't have a heart attack!

[Bruce551]

Increased large downpours of both rain and snow—with a steady shift from snow to rain—resulting in an increased frequency of large floods on every continent.

This last phenomenon—long understood by scientists to be one of the most confidently predictable consequences of global warming—hit home for many of my neighbors last week when Nashville, the city where I (Al Gore) live, suffered what the Army Corps of Engineers described as “a 1,000 year rain event†that caused horrendous flooding, mostly in neighborhoods that had no flood insurance—because homeowners there had been assured that they lived well outside the historic flood plain.

The tragic loss of many lives was accompanied by the ruination of thousands of homes and property damages that Mayor Karl Dean estimated at one and a half billion dollars.

[Bruce551]

Important new research led by NOAA scientists, “Irreversible climate change because of carbon dioxide emissions,â€

SE ASIA DROUGHTS

The NOAA press release is here. An excellent video interview of the lead author is here.

Best estimate of expected irreversible dry-season precipitation changes, as a function of the peak carbon dioxide concentration during the 21st century. The quasi-equilibrium CO2 concentrations shown correspond to 40% remaining in the long term as discussed in the text.

The yellow box indicates the range of precipitation change observed during typical major regional droughts such as the â€dust bowl†in North America [except, of course, this Dust Bowl lasts 1000 years, not 10 to 20, which is what some people might call a desert (see Australia faces the "permanent dry" -- as do we)

…the climate change that is taking place because of increases in carbon dioxide concentration is largely irreversible for 1,000 years after emissions stop…. Among illustrative irreversible impacts that should be expected if atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations increase from current levels near 385 parts per million by volume (ppmv) to a peak of 450-600 ppmv over the coming century are irreversible dry-season rainfall reductions in several regions comparable to those of the â€dust bowl†era and inexorable sea level rise.

I guess this is what President Obama meant when he warned today of “irreversible catastrophe†from climate change.

http://climateprogress.org/2009/01/26/noaa-climate-change-irreversible-1000-years-drought-dust-bowls/

[vbroker]

mate, he'd be chewed up and spat out within 5 minutes of arriving...

and that's just the women

:twisted:

Women that spit and chew I don't mind. Bangkok farang on the other hand.....

I guess this is what President Obama meant when he warned today of “irreversible catastrophe†from climate change.

You'd better worry about the "irreversible catastrophe" YOU will suffer next time you and mamasan are negotiating your future wife's bar fine. I don't mean to your dwindling finances either, Dipshit; as you hand over what's left to cover the sin sot. I'm talking about the coming full scale military offensive you just might be in the the middle of, Capt. Kangaroo.

Global warming? I'd be more concerned about Bangkok burning....but I don't expect much common sense from the clown patrol......

[beej]

When is hurricane season in the States? Will that Oil Slick still be around?