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PENCINTA ALAM JUNE 2012 GREEN LIVING COLUMN TAKING ACTION FOR BIODIVERSITY (Edited and compiled by Wong Ee Lynn gl.mnselangor@yahoo.com) Excerpt of a message from Janez Potočnik, European Commissioner for the Environment: "Biodiversity – the variety of life on Earth – makes our planet habitable and beautiful. Many of us look to the natural environment for pleasure, inspiration or recreation. We also depend on it for food, energy, raw materials, air and water – the elements that make life as we know it possible and drive our economies. Yet despite its unique value, we often take nature for granted. The pressures on many natural systems are growing, causing them to function less effectively or even taking them to the brink of collapse. Biodiversity loss, as we call it, is an all too common occurrence. ... And we can all do more to help. We all have the power to help safeguard biodiversity and we need everyone to join in. Everyone can make small changes in their daily habits without ...

PENCINTA ALAM JUNE 2012 ECO KIDS COLUMN WATER AND FOOD SECURITY (Compiled and edited by Wong Ee Lynn gl.mnselangor@yahoo.com) On the occasion of World Water Day, 22nd March 2012, the United Nations produced a series of educational posters called "Water For Food", to show the relationship between food production and water use. Water is part of any production process. We need water to grow apples as well as to produce a packet of chips. It takes only 25 litres of water, for instance, to produce 1 potato, but 2,400 litres of water to produce 1 hamburger. A litre of bottled drinking water (often mistakenly referred to as "mineral water") requires 3 litres of water to produce. The food we choose to consume, therefore, has a large impact on how much water the world needs to produce food to feed the planet. Vegetable, grain and fruit-based foods generally need less water to produce than meat-based foods. Have a look at these posters and see if the statistics surprise you. ...