US rolls out gasoline sulfur rule to cut automobile emissions

Starting from 2017 in the U.S., a rule to further limit sulfur in gasoline will be implemented in phases and is expected to be fully enforced in 2025 - a move described by the country's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as "a win for public health".

Sulfur or not, you don't want to be tailing a vehicle that smokes like this! Pic captured at Jln Penampang.

Ruling to phase in starting in 2017

The rolling out of a rule in the U.S., that would further limit sulfur in gasoline, is expected to cut automobile emissions, provide welcome relief to people with breathing problems and would be the equivalent of removing an estimated 33 million cars from its roads.

U.S. oil refineries will be required to purchase new equipment to remove sulfur, which builds up in vehicle emission-control devices, causing more pollution. 

Conservationists and automakers such as Ford Motor praised the move, while a trade group that represents the oil and gas industry blasted it as an unnecessary step that will hurt consumers.

The EPA said the requirement, when fully implemented in 2025, will cost consumers less than a cent per gallon more at the pump while preventing 2,000 premature deaths a year and lowering health-care costs by as much as $19 billion. It will increase the average price of a car by about $75.

Differences in opinion

Meanwhile, the American Petroleum Institute countered that complying with the rule will increase gas prices by up to nine cents a gallon. API Downstream Group Director Argued that the rule will not only become a threat to consumers, jobs and economy, but it will provide negligible, if any, environmental benefits.

Expressing support for the rule, American Lung Association estimated that the rule will prevent 19,000 asthma attacks and 300,000 missed days of work and school by 2030.

Source: The Washington Post

TheGreenMechanics: Aye, Sir! Let's do it.

Sembulan River Park - A beautification initiative by Kota Kinabalu city

The once neglected river that flows through Sembulan in Kota Kinabalu has now been beautified as part of the City Hall's effort to clean up the area and provide recreational facilities to the city dwellers.

This is the first of a 2-phase project earmarked for Sembulan.


The opening of the River Park was officiated by Datuk Musa Hj Aman, Chief Minister of Sabah on the 24th June 2012.

View towards Sembulan

River side, facing Kg Sembulan

There is a stage suitable for performances. The park is equipped with CCTVs.

View towards Karamunsing, from the stage

Beverly Hotel is facing the river

Other than recreational activities, there are plenty of birds to watch. Just watch out for their droppings

"Bon voyage"

The sensible thing to do next is to restructure the village to rid it of the transient population and give deserving citizens proper basic facilities. It can then become tourist attraction, or at least piece of mind to the folks jogging at this park.

Green awareness levels drop in Beijing

During a week stay in Shanghai recently, China Daily came in handy for daily reading as the tabloid is in English. The following caught my attention:

• After the Olympic Games in 2008, residents' awareness of environmental issues started to decline.

The paper reported that, a new survey shows that the level of environmental awareness among Beijing residents has fallen for the third consecutive year.

Local residents' environmental awareness measured in percentage:

• 2012 - 71.6%
• 2011 - 72.2%
• 2010 - 74.2%
• 2009 - 75.9%
• 2008 - Beijing Olympic Games

I'm quite sure that the government would have carried out aggressive promotion of the environment issues - air quality, water, energy saving - but the study tells us that, in order to keep the momentum going, this has to be done consistently and continuously. The way of communicating this to the public must be dynamic and not static, and one that is appealing and attention-grabbing.

We should take note of Beijing's experience.

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Green awareness levels on the decline
China Daily. April 20, 2013

Despite the frequent environmental protection debates and scandals, especially over water and air quality, environmental awareness of Beijing residents - not only general knowledge of environment issues but participation in them - failed to grow last year, according to a survey by the education center under the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau released on Thursday.

Local residents' environmental awareness in 2012 was 71.6 points out of a possible 100,compared to 72.2 points in 2011, 74.2 points in 2010 and 75.9 points in 2009. Conducted in December 2012, the survey covered about 2,000 residents 16 and 60 years old who have lived in the city for at least two years.

"The environmental protection issue has been heatedly debated in recent years, but people's awareness has decreased since 2009," said Liu Jingqi, the survey's project director.

"One of the reasons for the peak of people's awareness in 2009 and decrease afterwards was Beijing's hosting the Olympic Games in 2008, when government promotion greatly spurred people's consciousness," Liu said.

Though people are attaching more importance to air and water quality among all environmental issues recently, poor execution and action have contributed to decreasing environmental-protection awareness.

"Many in the public practice energy conservation by saving water or electricity consumption, but the performance is not as good when it comes to disposable tableware, over packed products and other issues," said Liu.

In addition, despite the fact that PM2.5, or particulate matter with a diameter smaller than 2.5micrometers, has been hotly debated in recent years, the number of people knowing this term is relatively small among Beijing's 20 million residents.

Only 24.2% of those interviewed said they had heard of the term PM2.5, and half of those who had heard of it did not know the term is related to air pollution, according to the survey results.

Malaysia established Green Court to handle environmental cases

Read the title and one thing comes to mind:  Our very own polluted rivers in the Palm Oil heavily planted east of Sabah.

If you've been following the coverage on Daily Express the last couple of month or so, you will remember that palm oil factories are the biggest culprits in polluting the river. Is it a crime to, say, pollute the river? Or is it an offence to cut down the Trig Hill in Tawau to dig out stones to develop the area? I don't know. But we have the environmental enforcement agencies and we have the relevant acts.

I feel that we have enough enactment and we have enough officers to do the job. If that is the case, the more critical innovation in Environmental Law enforcement is not more money and personnel but a committed court!

Thailand and Indonesia have such courts so why can't we. The establishment of Green Court will show our commitment towards protecting the environment and wildlife. According to the Chief Justice, the courts would address cases, such as:

• wildlife crime
• pollution
• illegal logging and fishing, and 
• land clearing

So, there. We are well covered. It is up to us to implement the necessary.


Let the green stays green. Let the tree grows!

Virgin jungle in Pulau Tiga, Sabah. Shot with Nikkor 10-24mm at | 10mm | f/5 | 1/200sec | ISO-320 |


Read the Article: Malaysia Established Green Court Since September 3
Bernama, Nov 9, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR: The Green Court dedicated to hear cases related to the environment has been established since September 3, said Chief Justice Tun Ariffin Zakaria.

"The judiciary is actively training judges and magistrates in handling cases related to the environment in order to prepare them in terms of proceedings and meting out penalties. Judges and magistrates who handle environmental cases will also handle other cases but their specialty is cases involving the environment," he told reporters after launching "2012 National Seminar on Green Court" here today.

Ariffin said Thailand and Indonesia established such court earlier but it was still not too late for Malaysia to protect the environment. Enforcement of the Environmental Quality Act (Amendment) 2012 next year means that no one, including multinational companies, would escape the law. Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Douglas Uggah Embas had said the Act gazetted on Aug 16 and effective on Jan 2 would address environmental issues.

Opening the seminar, Ariffin said that the Act has given the director-general of the Department of Environment additional power.

"This amendment paves the way for more effective enforcement. For example, a new section, 34AA is inserted, giving power to the director-general of the Department of Environment to arrest or issue stop work order to persons carrying out activities which may cause environmental damage."

He said under the Act, any non-compliance to the stop work order would be punished with a fine up to RM500,000 or with imprisonment up to five years or both.

"The power to arrest which was within the purview of police, will be extended to officer of the Department of Environment, who will have the power to arrest without warrant any person believed to commit or attempt to commit any offence under the Act.

"Most interestingly, investigation and enforcement which was usually hindered due to lack of information have been improved by the new section 49B where the informer, whose information or service or assistance lead to detection of any offence under the Act, will be rewarded and his identity will be protected and privileged under the new section 50A."

Ariffin also said that 76 Sessions Courts and Magistrates Courts have been established throughout the country. - Bernama