Recycling and reuse

Recycling involves the collection of used and discarded materials processing these materials and making them into new products. It reduces the amount of waste that is thrown into the community dustbins thereby making the environment cleaner and the air more fresh to breathe.

Surveys carried out by Government and non-government agencies in the country have all recognized the importance of recycling wastes. However, the methodology for safe recycling of waste has not been standardized. Studies have revealed that 7 %-15% of the waste is recycled. If recycling is done in a proper manner, it will solve the problems of waste or garbage. At the community level, a large number of NGOs (Non Governmental Organizations) and private sector enterprises have taken an initiative in segregation and recycling of waste (EXNORA International in Chennai recycles a large part of the waste that is collected). It is being used for composting, making pellets to be used in gasifiers, etc. Plastics are sold to the factories that reuse them.

The steps involved in the process prior to recycling include
a) Collection of waste from doorsteps, commercial places, etc.
b) Collection of waste from community dumps.
c) Collection/picking up of waste from final disposal sites.

Some items that can be recycled or reused
Paper
Plastic
Glass and ceramics
Miscellaneous

Most of the garbage generated in the household can be recycled and reused. Organic kitchen waste such as leftover foodstuff, vegetable peels, and spoilt or dried fruits and vegetables can be recycled by putting them in the compost pits that have been dug in the garden. Old newspapers, magazines and bottles can be sold to the kabadiwala the man who buys these items from homes.

In your own homes you can contribute to waste reduction and the recycling and reuse of certain items. To cover your books you can use old calendars; old greeting cards can also be reused. Paper can also be made at home through a very simple process and you can paint on them.

Fill in the table above with the articles shown below:

Old copies,Old books,Paper bags,Newspapers,Old greeting cards,Cardboard box

Containers.Bottles,Bags,Sheets,Bottles ,Plates.Cup,Bowls Old cans,Utensils,Clothes,furniture

The schematic diagram below depicts recycling of wastes

Source: CPCB Report on Management of Municipal Solid Waste

Waste recycling has some significant advantages. It
leads to less utilization of raw materials.
reduces environmental impacts arising from waste treatment and disposal.
makes the surroundings cleaner and healthier.
saves on landfill space.
saves money.
reduces the amount of energy required to manufacture new products.

In fact recycling can prevent the creation of waste at the source.

Questions:

1.     What is the definition of recycling?

2.     How does recycling make the environment cleaner and the air fresher to breathe?

3.     What can be used for composting?

4.     What happens to plastic?

5.     What are the steps involved in recycling? Name 2.

6.     What is organic kitchen waste?

7.     How can it be recycles?

8.     Who buys the old newspapers in Malaysia?

9.     How can you contribute to waste reduction in the home?

10.  Name 2 significant advantages of recycling.

11.  How can you, do your part in recycling at

A: the school

B.  home

C. the work-place

Vocablulary

1.discarded   2. NGOs  3.composting 4 pellets 5. Gasifiers 6  prior to  7. Commercial places 8 landfills

9 rag pickers 10. Junk dealers

LOO MEE KEUN 30.7.2012

Movie Review: Hungry for The Hunger Games

Friday, March 23, 2012

Movie Review: Hungry for The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games

Updated: Check out the latest movie news on Catching Fire, The Hunger Games sequel.

And may the odds be ever in your favor! We have seen a lot of books that were turned to movies. John, being an avid reader and book collector, knows most of them and he can surely say that there are misses and hits. Lucky for this year we had a full serving of The Hunger Games and it's surely a certified hit.

Let's digest what made this movie a great one and worthy of our attention:

The Adaptation From Book

It is always hard to adapt a book into a movie, most especially if it has a legion of die hard followers who wanted to hear every line of dialogue incorporated into the movie. This is not possible, of course. But with The Hunger Games it has made ways to be faithful to the book despite a few alteration. It would have been very dragging should Katniss's monologue on the book were translated as is in the movie, but by doing how it was done exactly in the movie: it was amazing artistically and very effective at that.

A viewer would certainly be bored, even if he is an avid fan if each and every thought that the main character had will be blurted out in the screen. Instead it was done in a sport commentary kind of way that Stanley Tucci, playing the your-friend-your-enemy host Caesar, effectively conveyed. All in all, even the most avid fan would agree that the book was best adapted as we see it in the movie. I dare say there could be no better way to do it.

The Cast of Actors and Their Acting

The cast of actors, having been involved in some adaptations before, are familiar and more likely relatable. After seeing how sincere Jennifer Lawrence's acting was I can't imagine should the role have landed to other actors that were considered for the role. Josh Hutcherson's Peeta Mellark is as supposed as he should be, portraying a very strong guy that still emanates a complexity of vulnerability and weakness. Elizabeth Banks's Effie Trinket was also a bonus.

We don't get the usual cheesy combination of actors who can't barely act the way I wanted them to, but these actor being fans of the book themselves surely put there passion on every acting they did in order to give as a unique and very convincing portrayal of each characters. Except one, Woody Harrelson's Haymitch could have been better, I believe.

The Special and Physical Effects, and Production

Who would have not felt the dread of seeing District 12's dilapidated condition as opposed to the majestic living of the Capitol? There, we can already see the contrast of living between two opposing locations. One would surely sympathize on the conditions of the district people: how they suffer, how they have barely something to eat and how those devil may care Capitol people seem not to notice all these.

We see the big difference even in the color palette. The Capitol enjoys the colorful and extravagant collection of fizz and dills on their garments and make up showing how they can spend dearly on ornaments that they could live without, while the extreme districts, slurp the crumbs on the mud and have barely nothing to protect them from the harsh weather. It's as if I could almost say that this is not a movie, but a "documentary on poverty."

The movie has an effective way of rendering physical effects, but I can say that they could still improve on the special one. I mean I was expecting the girl on fire to be truly on fire. And after seeing the fiery attire the District 12 champions wore during the parade I was like, "Is that it?" On the other hand, the futuristic architecture was certainly CGI and I commend the movie for that convincing and creative feel on it,.

The Creatures and the Mythology

In the book, we see creatures and other beings that only reside on this story. They are unique and have the right of their own to express their existence. But in the movie we barely even know of their backgrounds and the mythology behind their existence. We have a very fast glimpses of mockingjays and tracker jackers and they were not really given a hundred percent justice.

And the genetically modified wolves? What happened to them? In the book they were even given the spirit and characters of the victims that died during the game. Why did they have to be showcased like some automaton and brutish creatures without showing the hatred and the feeling of revenge of the victims that should have been there.

Only a few areas of the book has not been given much emphasis and this is one of them.

The Relationship and The Love Affairs

Everyone in the cinema was crying over the fate that Rue has to go through. One annoying viewer even has the guts to wail and let the whole viewers know she is really affected. This is a manifest that the relationship between Katniss and Rue, played by Amandla Stenberg, was really at its best portrayal. And this goes back to the cast's good acting. I can clearly state that there is a chemistry between the two characters: one remembering her younger sister with the other and another needing a mature guidance showing how vulnerable she is during the entire competition.

But who would forget Katniss's and Peeta's love affair? We may have not heard Katniss say each and every thought to feel that she really is confused about the matter, but we still have the feel of it by how the two star crossed lover interacted all the time. It was awkward at the moment since Katniss is undecided by then, but when the time they have to show they are intimate they did there best, and how lovely and convincing it was on screen. And the best part of all this is the remorse that Gale Hawthorne (played by Liam Hemsworth) has to feel seeing his most loved girl being caressed by another man.

The Overall Impact of the Movie

I say, after having lost fate on books turned to movies, I have disappointed my self again on this negative expectation, because simply this one is very good. From the technicalities of movie making up to the visual area of it I can say the the movie has made a very good job. It may not have been very perfect, but who cares there is no perfect movie out there (and if there is it's not many, I guess). What matters most is for the two hours and 20 minutes that I spent watching the movie is a an equivalent amount of time that I feel I have been transported to a world which is very different from what we have now. It was a convincing movie that I felt I was almost trapped into that distant dystopia.

I praise the director and the cast and all the people behind this movie, because they have given us something good, something worthwhile. All these were achieved, because of their passion and dedication in satisfying this not-so-die-hard fan among many others.

Rating: 4.5 / 5, Still have more room for improvement.

Chin San Sooi Biodata
 Tel. 03-79806746
 e-mail: sschin@pd.jaring.my
B.A. (Hons) University of Malaya
 British Council Scholarship 1969-70 to study speech and drama at Central School of Speech and Drama, London.
 Been teaching since 1964.
 Award: 16th Pride of Workmanship Awards
15th Feb 2003 by the Rotary Club of Ipoh in recognition of outstanding performance in the teaching profession having served with dedication, commitment and pride in the chosen vocation.
 Designed the Power of the Voice course and has been conducting it since 1985.
 Designed Speech and Drama course for 6 year old kindergarten children for Edventure Sdn Bhd Companies and Corporate bodies which benefited from the above course: TV3, MetroVision, Bloomberg Malaysia, Teachers Training College, Kuala Lumpur, Price Water House, BMG Malaysia, Cosway Direct Marketing Co., Malaysian Pineapple Board, Johore, Sabah Tourist Department, Methodist Girls School Malacca, Jerneh Insurance, Kuala Lumpur, College of Foreign Economic Relations HCM City ,Vietnam, Sunway College Kuala Lumpur, Lifelinks Singapore, Seimans Kuala Lumpur, Applied Information Management Services (AIMS) Sdn Bhd, numerous Toast Masters clubs , individuals, professionals students in Malaysia and Singapore and from China, Japan and Indonesia. Conducted a course on Public Speaking to AON (Risk Insurance) Wrote and directed the following plays: Lady White (A re-telling of the Madam White Snake Legend), Morning In Night (musical), Yap Ah Loy the Play, Reunion (musical) published in1994, Kuala Lumpur Sentral (musical). Also directed many Shakespearean plays and local Broadway Musicals among others. Invited by Ø East West Center, Hawaii to direct Emily of Emerald Hill by Stella Kon in 1986 Ø Chinese Theatre Workshop, New York to direct Zhang Boils the Ocean in 1996. Founder Member of Ø Five Arts Centre 1984 Ø Chinese Opera Club, Kuala Lumpur 1992.

ipod

Together-gether

Sunday March 4, 2012

All about tact and diplomacy

By ALYCIA LIM

A CAREER in diplomacy may not guarantee material wealth, but it can guarantee a rich life.
Human Development and Peace Foundation president Ambassador Datuk Dr G.K. Ananda Kumaraseri said being a diplomat is an occupation that is always alive.
“Even when you sleep, the other half of the world is making mischief,” he said in his talk titled An Ambassador’s Insight Into Diplomacy and Foreign Affairs on Tuesday.
Ananda said that diplomats do not have a set routine in their work, and they are frequently met with different challenges.

Tunku Dara presenting the books to Prof Dr Izaham in conjunction with ESU Malaysia’s ninth AGM.

“There will always be all sorts of challenges, but these are opportunities to develop your skills.”
He said that in order to be a diplomat, one has to be able to think clearly and be objective, but more importantly they must have a genuine interest in meeting people.
“You must also have good communication skills. For that, the English language is essential as your tongue is your tool to diplomacy,” he said.

Ananda says that a diplomat must have a keen interest in meeting people.

Asked by a member of the audience what the level of English proficiency is for diplomats in Malaysia on a scale of one to 10, Ananda said, “Below five.”
He said that while there are some who are excellent in their language, those standards should be applied all across the board.
He added, “This may be a very old profession, but it is a noble profession. However, there are many things that diplomats contribute which are intangible and because of that, there is little investment in this area.”
Ananda gave his talk after a book presentation ceremony by the English Speaking Union (ESU) Malaysia to Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) in conjunction with ESU’s ninth Annual General Meeting.
ESU Malaysia chairman Tunku Dara Tunku Tan Sri Naquiah Tuanku Ja’afar said that ESU had selected UiTM as recipients of the books because of the high standard of reading at the institution. “After visiting UiTM, we felt that they have a good library, and they really encourage reading at the institution.
The university also has a good section for international books, so we hope they will make full use
of these books,” she said.
UiTM Education Faculty dean Assoc Prof Dr Izaham Shah Ismail said, “We are very thankful that ESU has chosen to give the books to us, as many of our students are from rural areas and do not have much access to good literary titles like these.”
He added that the institution strives to produce future teachers who not only educate, but mould and drive the future generation in areas beyond academics.
“Our faculty is grateful the ESU has graciously bestowed the first instalment of their yearly Gift of Knowledge to us,” he said.