New free city bus service a relief to KL residents - Nation | The Star Online

New free city bus service a relief to KL residents - Nation | The Star Online: "KUALA LUMPUR: The Government's initiative to provide a free city bus service in Kuala Lumpur to public transport users has been welcomed by the city dwellers.

The new GO-KL City Bus service will not only reduce traffic congestions within the city centre but also reduce the cost of transport for the working community in the vicnity.

The Go-KL City Bus service, which starts as early as 6am until 11pm, is a huge relief to the working community and tourists who are heading towards prime city locations.

The service has two lines - Purple and Green currently operating in the city centre."

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Your letters: One way to solve traffic problems | The Jakarta Post

Your letters: One way to solve traffic problems | The Jakarta Post: "In addition, all car and motorbike drivers who buy the new expensive gasoline would be given free public transportation vouchers. This would soften the blow a little by giving people a real reward for their money.
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The palm oil plantations of Malaysia | Al Jazeera Blogs

The palm oil plantations of Malaysia | Al Jazeera Blogs: "The biggest concern is the environment - plantations simply do not support the same variety of wildlife as the rainforest they so often replace.

Consider the area surrounding Sabah’s longest river, the Kinabatangan, on Malaysian Borneo. In the past 30 years, 87 per cent of the forest has been converted to plantation leaving the native orang utan, proboscis monkeys and pygmy elephants struggling to survive in isolated patches of fragmented forest. Orangutans, which normally live high in the canopy, are frequently forced to the forest floor and researchers have even discovered nests on palm oil trees.

Then there are the chemicals and fertilisers that many plantations use to stimulate growth and keep bugs at bay.

And the conflicts with indigenous people who have lived for generations in the jungles that are now being converted to plantations. Often they claim customary rights to the land."

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Scientists Race to Save World's Rice Bowl From Climate Change

Swells rise into a rice field in Dhal Char, Bangladesh, making it hard to cultivate. Climate change may make such events more frequent and severe.

Photograph by Peter Essick, National Geographic

Scientists Race to Save World's Rice Bowl From Climate Change: "Climate change is predicted to cause more intense and frequent floods and droughts in Southeast Asia, threatening the world's rice bowl and millions of people who live there unless preventive actions are taken soon, scientists warn."

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Oil spill disrupts water supply

Oil spill disrupts water supply: "MIRI: A massive oil spill forced a major water treatment plant near here to shut down yesterday, interrupting the supply of 125 million litres of water daily to a population of 300,000 people in the city."

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First make buses free, get rid of cars, then build rail

Huge transit project hits rough patch | Free Malaysia Today: "Officials insist the project must move forward.
“If we do not have the MRT, I can tell you by the year 2020 this city will be choked,” Idris Jala, who heads an office spearheading Najib’s economic growth plans, was quoted as saying by the official Bernama news agency.
But Rajiv Rishyakaran of public transport advocacy group Transit said questions surround the project, adding that the affair highlights an emerging spirit of civic action in Malaysia.
“(Before), people just accepted what the government was doing. Now the demands for greater transparency and accountability are much higher,” he said.
“We are still on square one when it comes to transparency. There is a lot of mess because it’s a very rushed project. It wasn’t planned properly,” he added."

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People wake up. The floods are caused by cars.

AFP: Thai floods force Honda to shut Malaysia plant: "KUALA LUMPUR — Japanese auto giant Honda halted production at its Malaysian plant Tuesday due to disruption to its supply chain caused by devastating floods in neighbouring Thailand.
Honda Malaysia said in a statement that the flooding had caused Honda Automobile Thailand and other major suppliers to close, leading to a parts shortage."

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