TAR SANDS

Alberta’s tar sands (also known as oil sands) are the world’s third-largest reserves of recoverable crude oil.60 Though it is expensive to extract, this oil fetches a much lower price than other heavy oils due to the difculty in getting the landlocked tar sands to the United States and other potential markets. Thus, tar sands companies are desperate to promote new and expanded pipelines. The need for new pipeline capacity is particularly acute as companies ramp up production at projects that were started several years ago, while still planning new projects, such as Teck Resources’ massive Frontier Mine.

CASE STUDY: OPPOSING THE LINE 3 TAR SANDS PIPELINE

Enbridge’s Line 3 so-called “replacement” project is a proposal for a new pipeline that would cover more than 1,000 miles from Hardisty, Alberta, to Superior, Wisconsin, transporting an average of 760,000 barrels of crude oil from the Alberta tarsands each day, with capacity for 844,000 barrels per day.

Enbridge intends to abandon its existing Line 3 pipeline if it is able to complete its new Line 3, leaving the corroding pipe in the ground and a lasting legacy of contamination. The replacement Line 3 would take a brand new route. This path cuts through pristine wetlands and watersheds in northern Minnesota, passing through the headwaters of the Mississippi River to the shores of Lake Superior, through the heart of Minnesota’s lake country and some of the largest and most productive wild rice beds in the world.

CASE STUDY: EXTREME ENERGY INJUSTICE AND INDIGENOUS RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN ALASKA

Alaska Native rights and Indigenous sovereignty cannot be separated from the problem of extreme oil and gas production in Alaska. Politicians and oil interests have a long history of pushing legislation nullifying Alaska Native land claims, especially those claims that stood in the way of oil and pipeline development.

After being declared a state in 1958, Alaska selected for oil development tracts of land on the North Slope, in an area called Prudhoe Bay. Without consultation and consent of the local Inupiat village, but with approval of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, these lands were transferred to the state.

COAL MINING POLICY REVIEW

The global coal mining sector is under pressure like never before. An increasing number of analysts and industry watchers (including at Goldman Sachs175) are declaring that thermal coal has now entered structural, rather than cyclical, decline. Coal mining companies have to contend with the fact that six countries, states, provinces, or cities have completely phased out coal power since 2014, and an additional 17 haveannounced a coal power phase-out date of 2030 or sooner. Among them are three G7 countries, eight EU countries, and Beijing and Delhi — all committed to becoming coal-free. Also in 2017, South Korea, the world’s fourth largest coal importer, announced a major reduction in its coal power reliance, a move that has dire implications for Indonesian coal producers in particular.

CASE STUDY: HOUSTON: HURT BY THE CAUSES AND SYMPTOMS OF CLIMATE CHANGE

The torrential downpours and violent winds of Hurricane Harvey struck Houston, Texas in August and September 2017. Harvey killed at least 68 people and displaced over one million,leaving approximately 200,000 damaged homes along its 300- mile trail. Damages from the hurricane tallied an estimated $125 billion. The aftermath is still being felt through the region.

Environmental racism exacerbates the pain caused by natural disasters by disproportionately affecting low-income communities of color close to industrial sites. In the wake of Harvey, these communities were exposed to increased levels of toxic chemicals from Houston’s superfund sites, chemical plants, and oil refneries during the storms. Houston is an industrial hub with a busy ship channel, in a state that’s home to 30 percent of the country’s oil refning capacity. According to the Environmental Defense Fund, Hurricane Harvey causeddamaged refneries and chemical facilities to release nearly sixmillion pounds of cancer-causing chemicals into the air.

STOP FUNDING FOSSILS: WHY THE FINANCE SECTOR MUST FOLLOW THE WORLD BANK’S LEAD

            Achieving the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement will require action across all sectors of the economy, and the finance sector is clearly fundamental. In fact, one of the Paris Agreement’s three objectives is “making finance flows consistent with a pathway towards low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development. Recent announcements by some of the world’s largest financial institutions reveal an emerging consensus that all fossil fuel investment and financing risks both climate security and economic value. The finance sector has an important role to play in ending further exploration and the expansion of fossil fuel production.

THE BEGINNING OF THE END

2017 may go down in history as the year when it frst became clear that the fossil fuel era was fnally starting to sputter to an end. The cost of new solar and wind power started to fall below the price of new coal and gas plants in a growing number of regions. The CEO of NextEra Energy, one of the largest electricity producers in the US, now predicts that “early in the next decade” — just a few years from now — power will be cheaper from unsubsidized new wind and solar plants in the US than from existing coal and nuclear plants. It’s still far from game over for the fossil fuel industry, but the game hasdrastically changed.

TASTE—IT’S THE STRUCTURE THAT COUNTS

Why do certain substances taste sweet, sour, bitter, or salty? Of course, it has to do with the taste buds on our tongues. But how do these taste buds work? For example, why does sugar taste sweet to us? The answer to this question remains elusive, but it does seem clear that sweet taste depends on how certain molecules fit the “sweet receptors” in our taste buds.

PROTECTING THE OZONE

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are ideal compounds for refrigerators and air conditioners because they are nontoxic and noncorrosive. However, the chemical inertness of these substances, once thought to be their major virtue, turns out to be their fatal flaw. When these compounds leak into the atmosphere, as they inevitably do, they are so unreactive they persist there for decades. Eventually these CFCs reach altitudes where ultraviolet light causes them to decompose, producing chlorine atoms that promote the destruction of the ozone in the stratosphere (see discussion above). Because of this problem, the world’s industrialized nations have signed an agreement (called the Montreal Protocol) that banned CFCs in 1996 (with a 10-year grace period for developing nations). So we must find substitutes for the CFCs—and fast.

SCHOOL CHEMISTRY LABORATORY SAFETY GUIDE

Recognition of laboratory safety and health problems has crystallized since the passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. This Act requires that certain precautions be observed to protect the safety and health of employees on the job. The employee designation includes all teachers employed by private and public school systems in States that have occupational safety and health plans accepted by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). OSHA rules and regulations are provided to protect the employees and the facilities.

GUM THAT FOAMS

Mad Dawg chewing gum is a practical joker’s dream come true. It is noticeably sour when someone first starts to chew it, but the big surprise comes about ten chews later when brightly colored foam oozes from the person’s mouth. Although the effect is dramatic, the cause is simple acid–base chemistry.

The foam consists of sugar and saliva churned into a bubbling mess by carbon dioxide released from the gum. The carbon dioxide is formed when sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO₃) present in the gum is mixed with citric acid and malic acid (also present in the gum) in the moist environment of the mouth. As NaHCO₃ dissolves in the water of the saliva, it separates into its ions:

NUCLEAR WASTE DISPOSAL

Our society does not have an impressive record for safe disposal of industrial wastes. We have polluted our water and air, and some land areas have become virtually uninhabitable because of the improper burial of chemical wastes. As a result, many people are wary about the radioactive wastes from nuclear reactors. The potential threats of cancer and genetic mutations make these materials especially frightening.

Because of its controversial nature, most of the nuclear waste generated over the past 50 years has been placed in temporary storage. However, in 1982 the U.S. Congress passed the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, which established a timetable for choosing and preparing sites for the deep underground disposal of radioactive materials.

BEST PRACTICES OF PEATLAND MANAGEMENT

BEST PRACTICES OF PEATLAND MANAGEMENT

Indonesia’s peatlands have been utilized since the end of 19th Century. Prior to 1920, Dayak rural communities in South Kalimantan have begun to manage shallow peatlands in the area behind the river bank (back swamp) which they call the lawau and manage it for rain-fed rice fields (Suwardi et al., 2005). The river area is a fertile area because it is influenced by sediment runoff from rivers. Basically Dayak people are very environmentally friendly. In managing the land, they have a rotating farming system that always maintains a balance with the utilization process following a natural cycle (Suwardi et al., 2005). They divide the lands into zones comprising settlement, bushes, harvested paddy field (jurungan), dry paddy field (pahumaan), plantations, sacred zones, and protected zones (kayuan). Sacred zones are customary protected zones that should not be cleared for agricultural land. When the agricultural land has become infertile, they will move to look for similar land in other places. After being left for 1-7 years the former fields will become bush and after 7-12 years the bush will become a forest. They will reopen the former field after 30 years, when it has become a forest again. This is done continuously and sustainably.

PEATLAND RESTORATION AGENCY: A SMART WAY TO OBTAIN A QUICK WIN

The Jokowi Administration have seen that improving forest and land governance may take times. Thus, it needs an acceleration and simultaneous actions to have results in a relatively short period. In terms of fire prevention strategy, the Government of Indonesia then established Peatland Restoration Agency (Badan Restorasi Gambut/BRG) in January 2016, after the big fire incident of 2015. The Agency is tasked to rehabilitate 2 million hectares by 2019, and the current program is to carry out 2.49 million hectares restoration, which include 1.1 million ha to be performed by the Government and partners, while 1.39 million hectares by relevant private companies. This agency focuses on rehabilitating and restoring heavily degraded peatlands in fire-prone areas. Thus, this agency supports the grand strategy for peatland management developed by Directorate of Peatland Degradation Control, Directorate General for Pollutant and Environmental Degradation Control, Ministry of Environment and Forestry.

PEATLAND MANAGEMENT AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (SDGS)

The ultimate goal of the sustainable development goals is to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. Hence, managing peatlands should also comply with the goals. However, managing peatlands to provide livelihoods for local communities as well as to conduct intensive agriculture and forestry may contradict with the protection of the environment. The options are whether peatlands should be drained or to be sustainably managed.

MANAGING PEATLANDS, TO COPE WITH CLIMATE CHANGE: INDONESIA’S EXPERIENCES

Indonesia has over 15 million ha of peatlands, which is over 12% of its forest land spreading across islands of Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Papua. This is the largest tropical peat land in the world, followed by Democratic Republic of Congo, with the peatland area reaches 9 million ha, and the Republic of Congo with the area reaches about 5.5 million ha (Miles et al., 2017).

Peatland can be defined as soil formed from the accumulation of organic matters such as the remnants of plant tissue that lasted for a long time (Kelompok Kerja Pengelolaan Lahan Gambut Nasional, 2006). According to Government Regulation (GR) No. 71 of 2014 that has been amended by GR No. 57 of 2016 on the Protection and Management of Peat Ecosystem, peatland is defined as a naturally occurring organic material of plant residues that decomposes imperfectly and accumulates in swamps. Furthermore, the regulation also defines peat ecosystem as the order of peatland components that forms an integrated system affecting one another and forming a balance, stability, and productivity.

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION FOR MANAGING PEATLAND

As indicated in the previous section, Indonesia does not only work by itself to mitigate problems in relation to peat management and peat fires. We also communicate and collaborate with other countries and international agencies to stop peat degradation and prevent peat fires. In the Southeast Asia Region, as the ASEAN member, Indonesia has ratified the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Hazard Pollution (AATHP) through Law No. 26 of 2014 on AATHP Endorsement, dated 14 October 2014. AATHP aims to prevent and control cross-border smoke pollution as a result of land and/or forest fires particularly in peatlands that must be implemented through intensive national, regional and international efforts based on commitment, a spirit of partnership, and a tradition of solidarity to achieve peace, progress and prosperity among ASEAN countries.

INDONESIA’S PEATLAND GOVERNANCE

A huge task. In the past, Indonesia experienced unsustainable peatland management leading to the degradation of peatland and peat fires. Thinking over the negative impacts resulted from peat degradation and fires, the government of Indonesia has prioritized the protection and sustainable management of peatlands, including the restoration of heavily degraded peatlands. Presidential Instruction No. 8 of 2015 on the Suspension of New Licenses and the Improvement of Primary Forest and Peatland Governance or commonly referred to as Inpres Moratorium is a monumental decision reflecting the commitment of Indonesian government to reform its peatland and forest management. It has targeted the postponement of formal licenses for companies. The coverage of peatlands and primary forests affected by this policy has been mapped and update every six months. This political will has been supported or followed up by other regulations, including:

PEATLAND MANAGEMENT AND NATIONALLY DETERMINED CONTRIBUTION (NDC)

Peatland is a storage of huge amount of carbon. It is estimated that peat can contain about 6 tonnes per hectare of 1 cm depth. Overall, Indonesian peatlands stores about 46 Giga tons, or about 8-14% of the carbon stored in the world peatlands. It is this carbon content that has become source of problems due to its emission when burnt, and at the same time also become a potential solution if well managed, in the context of climate change mitigation and adaptation. In our First National Determined Contribution submitted to the UNFCCC, 17% or over half of the 29% of the emission reduction target, comes from land based sector, which are mainly forest and peatlands.

EARTH’S CLIMATE HISTORY

Climate is not a static set of weather conditions, constant over eons; rather it varies, sometimes in dramatic ways, over time. The hot climate of the newlyformed Earth gave way to glaciers in a little more than a billion years, an immense time by human reckoning, but not nearly so long by geological standards. Earth’s climate has alternated many times between hot and cold periods of varying magnitudes. Radiation from the Sun, the ocean currents, rainfall, wind, continental drift, the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, volcanic activity, radioactivity in the Earth’s core, the eccentricity of Earth’s orbit around the sun, the tilt of Earth’s axis, and photosynthesis all affect climate. Climate has not one, but, rather, myriad causes. Disentangling these causes is not easy, but it is necessary to understanding why climate changes over time. The current climate is warming. The culprit, carbon dioxide, has been increasing in the atmosphere, driving up temperature, and prompting speculation over Earth’s future climate.

DAMPAK MERKURI TERHADAP MANUSIA DAN LINGKUNGAN

Sebagian besar merkuri yang terdapat di alam ini dihasilkan oleh sisa industri dalam jumlah ± 10.000 ton setiap tahunnya. Penggunaan merkuri sangat luas di mana ± 3.000 jenis kegunaan dalam industri pengolahan bahan-bahan kimia, proses pembuatan obat-obatan yang digunakan oleh manusia serta sebagai bahan dasar pembuatan insektisida untuk pertanian (Christian et al dalam Alfian, 2006).

Gambar 1. Diagram aliran merkuri di biosfer

ANALISIS DAMPAK METANA BAGI KEHIDUPAN

Metana merupakan gas yang terbentuk oleh adanya ikatan kovalen antara empat atom H dengan satu atom C. Metana merupakan suatu alkana. Alkana secara umum mempunyai sifat sukar bereaksi (memiliki afinitas kecil) sehingga biasa disebut sebagai parafin. Sifat lain dari alkana adalah mudah mengalami reaksi pembakaran sempurna dengan oksigen menghasilkan gas karbon dioksida (CO₂) dan uap air (H₂O) dengan reaksi:

CH_{4 (g}) + O_{2 (g)} à  CO_{2 (g)} + H₂O _(g)

Metana merupakan gas yang tidak berwarna, sehingga tidak bisa dilihat dengan mata telanjang. Tetapi metana dapat diidentifikasi melalui indra penciuman karena baunya yang khas. Sebenarnya gas metana berada di sekitar kita. Beberapa di antaranya akan saya sebutkan di sini.

ZAT-ZAT PENCEMAR UDARA

Udara di alam ini tidak pernah ditemukan dalam keadaan bersih, hal ini terjadi karena kegiatan alam (terjadi secara alami), maupun karena ulah atau kegiatan/aktivitas manusia misalnya gas-gas CO, gas SO2 dan H2S yang dihasilkan melalui kegiatan gunung berapi, terjadinya pelapukan tumbuh-tumbuhan dan kebakaran hutan, yang terus-menerus masuk ke dalam atmosfer (udara). Selain gas-gas tersebut ada pula partikulat-partikulat padat dan cair yang dihasilkan oleh ledakan gunung berapi atau gangguan lain yang dibawa hembusan angin masuk ke dalam atmosfer. Di samping gas-gas dan partikulat-partikulat padat dan cair yang dihasilkan secara alami, masih diperoleh juga gas-gas dan partikulat-partikulat lain yang diperoleh dari hasil kegiatan manusia sebagai hasil proses kimiawi ataupun proses biologis.

EPIDEMI GLOBAL: FLU BURUNG

Flu burung merupakan epidemi global yang terkait dengan pola makan daging. Dengan keadaan peternakan modern zaman sekarang yang sangat kacau dan padat, hewan-hewan dipaksa hidup berdesak-desakan tanpa bisa banyak bergerak, kotoran mereka tersebar dimana-mana. Udara yang bercampur dengan amonia yang berasal dari kotoran menghancurkan paru-paru dan merusak sistem kekebalan tubuh mereka. Tidak mengherankan jika tempat-tempat seperti ini merupakan sumber terciptanya penyakit-penyakit mematikan seperti penyakit kuku dan mulut, sapi gila, dan yang paling berbahaya saat ini: flu burung.

BAHAYA MAKAN IKAN YANG TERKONTAMINASI RACUN

Saat ini, daging ikan mengalami kontaminasi parah berbagai bahan kimia beracun yang dihasilkan manusia. Racun-racun ini telah diidentifkasi sebagai penyebab kanker, kemunduran kecerdasan otak, dan kontaminasi bakteri. Akan tetapi Anda tidak sadar bahwa setiap kali Anda makan ikan, Anda juga memasukkan racun-racun tersebut ke dalam tubuh Anda, yang terdiri dari bakteri, logam-logam berat, dan pengontaminasi lainnya.

Tubuh ikan menyerap racun-racun yang ada pada habitatnya. Semakin tinggi posisi seekor ikan dalam rantai makanan, maka semakin beracun ikan tersebut jadinya. Ikan-ikan yang besar (seperti tuna dan salmon) memakan ikan-ikan kecil dan mereka menyerap juga racun-racun yang ada dalam tubuh mangsanya. Racun yang banyak ditemukan pada ikan adalah PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), yang mana menyebabkan kerusakan hati, kelainan jaringan syaraf, dan gangguan janin; dioksin, biasanya terkait dengan kanker; radioaktif, misalnya strontium 90; dan masih banyak logam-logam berbahaya seperti mercury, cadmium, chromium, lead, dan arsenic, yang mana dapat menyebabkan gangguan-gangguan mulai dari kerusakan ginjal sampai dengan gangguan perkembangan mental. Dan kabar buruknya, sekali dikonsumsi racun-racun ini dapat mengendap sampai beberapa dekade.

ASIDIFIKASI SAMUDERA

 Pemanasan global atau biasa disebut global warming merupakan suatu fenomena yang terjadi sejak ditemukannya mesin uap oleh James Watt sehingga menyulut sebuah revolusi besar di Inggris, yaitu Revolusi Industri. Secara singkat pemanasan global dapat diartikan sebagai fenomena meningkatnya suhu rata-rata permukaan bumi akibat gas rumah kaca yang terus terakumulasi di atmosfer.

Kontributor terbesar pemanasan global saat ini adalah karbon dioksida(CO₂), metana (CH₄) yang dihasilkan agrikultur dan peternakan (terutama dari sistem pencernaan hewan-hewan ternak), Nitrogen Oksida (NO) dari pupuk, dan gas-gas yang digunakan untuk kulkas dan pendingin ruangan (CFC). Rusaknya hutan-hutan yang seharusnya berfungsi sebagai penyimpan CO₂ juga makin memperparah keadaan ini karena pohon-pohon yang mati akan melepaskan CO₂ yang tersimpan di dalam jaringannya ke atmosfer.

DAMPAK INDUSTRI PETERNAKAN BAGI PERUBAHAN IKLIM

Tahukah anda?

Pola makan daging dapat merusak keseimbangan planet kita. Berikut adalah fakta-fakta yang berhubungan dengan kerusakan alam yang ditimbulkan oleh pola makan daging.

Pemborosan Sumber Daya Alam.

Di A.S. (Amerika Serikat), hewan ternak menghabiskan 70% (persen) dari hasil jagung, gandum, dan padi-padian yang ada. Peternakan sapi di seluruh dunia telah menghabiskan makanan yang cukup untuk dikonsumsi oleh 8,7 miliar orang—lebih dari polulasi seluruh umat manusia di Bumi. Kelaparan dunia tidak seharusnya terjadi apabila kita semua bervegetarian.

PERANAN BAHAN ORGANIK TERHADAP KESUBURAN KIMIA TANAH

Pengaruh bahan organik terhadap kesuburan kimia tanah antara lain terhadap kapasitas pertukaran kation, kapasitas pertukaran anion, pH tanah, daya sangga tanah dan terhadap keharaan tanah. Penambahan bahan organik akan meningkatkan muatan negatif sehingga akan meningkatkan kapasitas tukar kation (KTK).

Bahan organik memberikan konstribusi yang nyata terhadap KTK tanah. Sekitar 20-70 % kapasitas tukar tanah pada umumnya bersumber pada koloid humus (contoh: Molisol), sehingga terdapat korelasi antara bahan organik dengan KTK tanah (Stevenson, 1982). Kapasitas tukar kation (KTK) menunjukkan kemampuan tanah untuk menahan kation-kation dan mempertukarkan kation-kation tersebut termasuk kation hara tanaman. Kapasitas tukar kation penting untuk kesuburan tanah.

POLLUTION AIR

The atmosphere is an important resource for the survival of all species on the planet, as a source of fresh air for breathing and as a protective layer against direct solar radiation. The Earth’s atmosphere is composed of 78.084 percent nitrogen, 20.948 percent oxygen, 0.934 percent argon, 0.031 percent carbon dioxide, and 0.003 percent trace gases such as water vapor and air pollutants. The analysis of air bubbles trapped in ice cores provides evidence that the contents of so-called greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone, sulfate, and carbonaceous aerosols, have significantly increased over the past 200 years. This historic change of the atmospheric composition is not fully understood, but it has roots in natural processes and human activity. As a result, both roles of the atmosphere are affected. First, the increase of greenhouse gases contributes to the increase in the amount of solar radiative energy trapped at the Earth’s boundaries, which directly affects the planetary climate. Second, the composition of atmospheric air, particularly the air pollutants, strongly affects the human and environmental health.

ECONOMICS IMPACT FROM CLIMATE CHANGE

The Economic Impacts of climate change are the net costs or benefts from such climatic change on the global economy relative to a prior world with constant climate. Economic impacts are usually measured relative to a pre-industrial average climate (1750–1850). Climate change will directly and indirectly affect people’s lives, the physical environment, as well as the economic growth of developing and developed countries. The economically most signifcant physical changes brought on by climate change are shifted temperature, rainfall, and radiation patterns, because these factors serve as inputs to production and affect human well-being directly or indirectly through socioeconomic and ecological systems. The largest effects are likely to occur through impacts on the global water balance, the food production system, human health, land, and ecosystems. In addition to gradual changes in the geographic distribution of temperature and rainfall, extreme and catastrophic events occurring with greater frequency are expected to cause much damage. Economic impacts of climate change are also predicted to differ greatly between developing and developed countries.

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PELUANG PRODUK PENGGANTI DAGING DAN SUSU

Sebuah perusahaan makanan setidaknya mempunyai tiga insentif untuk menanggapi risiko dan peluang pada industri makanan secara umum. Insentif pertama adalah perusahaan makanan telah rugi akibat bencana iklim, jadi kepentingan perusahaan itu sendiri bisa dilindungi dengan memperlambat perubahan iklim. Di daerah-daerah yang terlanda, bencana iklim bisa diperkirakan tidak hanya mengurangi pasar industri makanan, tetapi juga merusak prasarana dan kemampuannya untuk beroperasi. Sebagai contoh, semua resiko ini terjadi di wilayah New Orleans pada tahun 2005 karena badai Katrina, ketika perusahaan Whole Foods Market melaporkan kerugian sebesar US$16,5 juta pada tahun itu karena toko-tokonya rusak dan tutup di wilayah New Orleans, tidak ada penjualan, dan harus memperbaiki toko-toko yang rusak itu. Risiko seperti ini akan diperburuk oleh bencana iklim ekstrem di kemudian hari, yang kejadiannya dan kekuatannya diperkirakan akan meningkat di seluruh dunia.

MITIGASI PERUBAHAN IKLIM

Ancaman utama dari perubahan iklim adalah pertumbuhan populasi manusia, yang diperkirakan sekitar 35 persen antara tahun 2006 hingga 2050. Dalam periode yang sama, FAO memproyeksikan bahwa jumlah peternakan di seluruh dunia akan meningkat dua kali lipat, sehingga emisi GRK terkait peternakan juga akan meningkat kurang lebih dua kali lipat (atau meningkat sedikit lebih kecil bila semua rekomendasi FAO diterapkan sepenuhnya), sementara secara luas diharapkan bahwa GRK dari industri-industri lain akan turun. Hal ini akan menyebabkan jumlah emisi terkait peternakan bahkan lebih tidak dapat diterima dibandingkan tingkat saat ini yang sudah membahayakan. Hal ini juga berarti bahwa strategi yang efektif harus melibatkan penggantian produk peternakan dengan alternatif yang lebih baik, alih-alih hanya mengganti satu produk daging dengan produk daging lainnya yang dianggap lebih rendah jejak karbonnya.

WAYS TO MINIMIZE WASTE

The best way to avoid the environmental problems of solid waste disposal is to desist from generating wastes in the frst instance. Pollution prevention programs aimed at this objective have become widespread. Recycling and reuse of materials are ways to avoid waste generation. At the residential level recycling programs for newspapers, glass, and metal containers have been implemented. However, some municipal programs have been criticized for increasing environmental emissions of air pollutants from the fuel combustion.

The ultimate land disposal methods used for municipal solid wastes are land flling, land farming, and deep well injection. Land flling of solid wastes involves the controlled disposal of solid wastes on or in the upper layer of the Earth’s mantle, which has been excavated to a depth of about 13 ft. (4 m.). When solid wastes are placed in sanitary landflls, biological, chemical, and physical processes occur. Biological decay of organic materials occurs by either aerobic or anaerobic processes, resulting in the evolution of gases or liquids. The chemical oxidation of waste materials occurs, dissolving and leaching of organic and inorganic materials by water and leachate moving through the fll also occur.

KOTA ASAP CELUKAN BAWANG

Merupakan suatu keniscayaan bahwa kebutuhanakan listrik di Indonesia khususnya di Bali semakin hari semakin berkembang dan menjadi bagian tak terpisahkan dalam kehidupan masyarakat sehari-hari, yang seiring dengan pesatnya pembangunan di bidang teknologi, industri dan informasi. Namun pada kenyataannya di lapangan, penyediaan akan energi listrik yang dilakukanoleh PT. PLN (Persero), selaku lembaga resmi yang ditunjuk oleh pemerintah untuk mengelola masalah kelistrikan di Indonesia, sampai saat ini masih belum dapat memenuhi kebutuhan masyarakat akan energi listrik secara maksimal.

TYPES OF WASTE

Litter is waste material dumped in public places such as streets, parks, picnic areas, bus stops, and near shops.The accumulation of waste threatens the health of people in residential areas. Waste decays, encourages household pests, and turns urban areas into unsightly, dirty, and unhealthy places to live in. The following measures can be used to control land pollution. Antilitter campaigns can educate people against littering, organic waste can be dumped in places far from residential areas, and inorganic materials such as metals, glass, paper, and plastic can be reclaimed and recycled.

ALTERNATIVE ENERGY, SOLAR

Solar energy refers to forms of energy emitted by the sun, including light, radio waves, and x-rays. Accounting for 99.8 percent of the mass in our solar system, the sun is a self-sustaining nuclear fusion reaction by which hydrogen is converted to helium. Every second, the sun converts over 4 million metric tons of matter into solar energy. This matter is converted and released from the sun in the form of radiation waves that travel through the void of space and eventually reach earth. The radiant energy that eventually reaches the earth’s surface is estimated around 1,000 watts per sq. m. The sun is similar to a fusion reactor that emits 3,800 million, million, million, million watts of energy each second, which is 20,000 times the energy requirement of the world.

TEKNIK MENANAM DENGAN VERTIKULTUR

Sesuai dengan asal katanya dari bahasa Inggris, yaitu vertical dan culture, maka vertikultur adalah sistem budidaya pertanian yang dilakukan secara vertikal atau bertingkat, baik indoor maupun outdoor. Sistem budidaya pertanian secara vertikal atau bertingkat ini merupakan konsep penghijauan yang cocok untuk daerah perkotaan dan lahan terbatas. Misalnya, lahan 1 meter mungkin hanya bisa untuk menanam 5 batang tanaman, dengan sistem vertikal bisa untuk 20 batang tanaman. Vertikultur tidak hanya sekadar kebun vertikal, namun ide ini akan merangsang seseorang untuk menciptakan khasanah biodiversitas di pekarangan yang sempit sekalipun. Struktur vertikal, memudahkan pengguna membuat dan memeliharanya. Pertanian vertikultur tidak hanya sebagai sumber pangan tetapi juga menciptakan suasana alami yang menyenagkan.

TOURISM AND GLOBAL WARMING

The relationship between tourism and global warming is a paradoxical one: global warming has become a threat to tourism, yet tourism remains a major cause of global warming. Tis vicious circle is well known to all stakeholders of the tourism industry, but implementing meaningful change has proven difficult because of three types of resistance: politico economic resistance (from policymakers in regions and countries that rely heavily on tourism as a source of income), commercial resistance (from the tourism industry itself), and sociocultural resistance (from tourists who are not ready to change their behavior).

GREEN CHEMISTRY

There are many ways in which chemistry has helped to reduce CO₂ emissions and helped adaptation to a changing climate. Iron fertilization experiments aim to reduce the concentration of atmospheric CO2 by promoting the growth of phytoplankton in oligotrophic regions of the ocean, where primary production is supposedly limited by the iron supply, such as in the Southern Ocean. Some paleontology researchers have shown a link between large quantities of iron in the air and the onset of ice ages. On frst discovering of this, according to J.H. Martin and S.E. Fitzwater, the lead oceanographer in the project commented on the strong link between iron and planetary temperature saying, “Give me a half a tanker of iron and I’ll give you the next ice age.

GLOBAL WARMING

Global warming is a term that is used to refer to an increase in Earth’s average surface temperature. It is due mostly to the release of greenhouse gases (GHGs) into the atmosphere by human-fuelled activities such as increased fossil fuel consumption leading to the release of carbon dioxide (CO₂), the increasing use of automobiles, the use of nitrogen base fertilizers,and rearing and breeding large methane-belching cattle. Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, water vapor, halocarbons (chlorofluorocarbons and hydrofluorocarbons), methane, and ozone have the capability of absorbing infrared radiation

from the Earth’s surface, thereby altering the heat balance of the Earth.

BIAYA TERSEMBUNYI DARI EKSPLOITASI BURUH KELAPA SAWIT

Minyak sawit adalah minyak nabati yang dapat dikonsumsi, memiliki lemak jenuh tinggi yang berasal dari buah pohon kelapa sawit Afrika. Minyak sawit dan turunannya dipergunakan dalam berbagai macam produk yang dijual di Amerika Serikat dan di seluruh dunia seperti kue, biskuit, cokelat, sereal dan kue untuk sarapan, tepung kue siap saji, donat, keripik kentang, mie instan, manisan dan makanan beku, susu formula, margarin, deterjen, sabun, dan produk perawatan pribadi lainnya. Minyak sawit ditemukan di hampir setengah dari semua produk-produk dalam kemasan yang dijual di toko kelontong.

GREEN HOUSE EFFECT

            The greenhouse effect likewise amplifes the effect of the Sun’s radiation. Greenhouse gases—carbondioxide (CO₂), methane, and water vapor are examples—trap sunlight in the atmosphere. Without any greenhouse gases, sunlight would pass through the atmosphere and strike Earth, which would absorb a portion of the sunlight. (Land absorbs less sunlight than water.) The rest would rebound from Earth as infrared radiation, passing out of the atmosphere and into space. Greenhouse gases do not, however, permit infrared radiation to pass into space, but rather absorb it as heat, in turn heating the atmosphere. Of the greenhouse gases, methane breaks down in the atmosphere after a few decades. CO₂, however, may linger centuries in the atmosphere.

IMPACT OF GLOBAL WARMING

Impacts from the phenomenon known as global warming include environmental, social, and economic effects. Environmental impacts include sea-level rise, melting of the polar ice caps, and an average increase in temperature. These impacts are documented in the reports of the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC), which commissions reports by scientists worldwide on the issue of climate change. The IPCC Report of 2007 is the first one that reflects scientific consensus that global warming is underway, and that it is primarily human induced. For example, human activities, such as fossil fuel burning, land-use changes, agricultural activity, and the production and use of halocarbons are among the factors causing climate change. The economic report by Nicholas Stern in 2007 highlights that climate change has potentially disastrous consequences for humanity.

KORBAN MINYAK SAWIT YANG BERMASALAH

Pengerusakan hutan hujan, perampasan tanah rakyat dan masyarakat adat, juga emisi Gas Rumah Kaca (GRK) besarbesaran akibat pengeringan dan pembakaran lahan gambut demi diproduksinya Conflict Palm Oil (Minyak Sawit yang Bermasalah), terus menjadi sorotan utama dunia internasional dalam beberapa tahun belakangan ini. Namun, kondisi kerja dan kehidupan buruh perkebunan kelapa sawit hampir tidak pernah dikaji atau pun didiskusikan secara mendalam.

Karena buruh tinggal di daerah yang terisolir secara geografis dengan mobilitas sosial maupun ekonomi yang sangat terbatas, kisah mereka terkubur di dalam perkebunan kelapa sawit yang terletak di wilayah terpencil di mana mereka hidup dan bekerja. Akan tetapi, belakangan ini semakin banyak laporan dari masyarakat sipil, peneliti independen dan wartawan investigasi yang menguak tabir persoalan yang dihadapi buruh kelapa sawit. Laporan-laporan tersebut menyoroti pola pelanggaran hak-hak buruh yang berat di perkebunan kelapa sawit di berbagai belahan dunia.

PENGEMBANGAN PESTISIDA ALAMI (2)

Pestisida alami adalah pestisida yang bahan dasarnya berasal dari tumbuhan (Botanical Pesticide), merupakan kearifan lokal masyarakat Indonesia, karena sejak jaman dahulu kala nenek moyang kita sudah memanfaatkannya untuk mengendalikan organisme pengganggu tanaman.

Indonesia merupakan Negara yang memiliki kekayaan keanekaragaman hayati (Mega Biodiversity) kedua terbesar di dunia setelah Brazil, memiliki ribuan tanaman yang mengandung sifat pestisida yang dapat digunakan sebagai bahan dasar untuk pembuatan pestisida alami. Oleh karena itu, potensi Indonesia untuk mengembangkan pestisida alami yang dapat mensuplai kebutuhan dunia sangatlah besar, sehingga kegiatan-kegiatan penelitian untuk pengembangan pestisida alami sangatlah penting.

PENGEMBANGAN PESTISIDA ALAMI

Pada umumnya, pestisida alami diartikan sebagai suatu pestisida yang bahan dasarnya berasal dari tumbuhan. Menurut FAO (1988) dan US EPA (2002), pestisida nabati dimasukkan ke dalam kelompok pestisida biokimia karena mengandung biotoksin. Pestisida biokimia adalah bahan yang terjadi secara alami dapat mengendalikan hama dengan mekanisme non toksik.

Secara evolusi, tumbuhan telah mengembangkan bahan kimia sebagai alat pertahanan alami terhadap pengganggunya. Tumbuhan mengandung banyak bahan kimia yang merupakan metabolit sekunder dan digunakan oleh tumbuhan sebagai alat pertahanan dari serangan organisme pengganggu. Tumbuhan sebenarnya kaya akan bahan bioaktif, walaupun hanya sekitar 10.000 jenis produksi metabolit sekunder yang telah teridentifikasi, tetapi sesungguhnya jumlah bahan kimia pada tumbuhan dapat melampaui 400.000. Grainge et al., 1984 dalam Sastrosiswojo (2002), melaporkan ada 1800 jenis tanaman yang mengandung pestisida nabati yang dapat digunakan untuk pengendalian hama.

PENCEMARAN AIR DI CHINA

China telah tercemar polusi air. Menurut SEPA, China mengalami kasuspolusi air setiap dua atau tiga hari. Pabrik-pabrik membuang limbah cair tanpadiolah terlebih dahulu ke sungai maupun danau. Pada tahun 2006 saja terdapat 30miliar ton limbah cair dibuang ke sungai Yangtze. Hal ini menjadikan sungaiYangtze tercemar sangat parah dan tidak layak untuk konsumsi.

Polusi air dapat disebabkan oleh beberapa jenis pencemar sebagai berikut:

   a)      Pembuangan limbah industri, sisa insektisida, dan pembuangan sampah domestik, misalnya, sisa detergen mencemari air. Buangan industri seperti Pb, Hg, Zn, dan CO, dapat terakumulasi dan bersifat racun.

   b)      Sampah organik yang dibusukkan oleh bakteri menyebabkan O₂ di airberkurang sehingga mengganggu aktivitas kehidupan organisme air.

   c)      Fosfat hasil pembusukan bersama h03 dan pupuk pertanianterakumulasi dan menyebabkan eutrofikasi, yaitu penimbunan mineral yangmenyebabkan pertumbuhan yang cepat pada alga (blooming alga). Akibatnya,tanaman di dalam air tidak dapat berfotosintesis karena sinar matahari terhalang.

DEBU KUNING (YELLOW DUST) DI CHINA

            Polusi ini mempunyai banyak variasi penamaan seperti badai pasir, chog China, kabut asap, badai debu, dan lain sebagainya. Banyaknya variasi penamaan ini tidak terlepas dari tidak seragamnya penamaan polusi ini oleh sumber-sumber yang ada, namun demikian, semuanya merujuk pada polusi yang sama.

LIMBAH PLASTIK JADI BAHAN ASPAL

Presiden Joko Widodo padasaat pertemuan G-20 telah menyampaikan komitmen Indonesia untuk mengurangi sampah plastik laut sebesar 70 % hingga tahun 2025. Sejalan dengan hal tersebut Kementerian Pekerjaan Umum dan Perumahan Rakyat (PUPR) melalui Badan Penelitian danPengembangan (Balitbang) saat ini tengah mengembangkan pemanfaatan limbah plastik sebagai campuran aspal.

Para peneliti di Balitbang Kementerian PUPR telah cukup lama melakukan penelitian pemanfaatan limbah plastik sebagai campuran aspal. Pada akhir Juli lalu, telah dilaksanakan uji coba menggelar aspal plastik sepanjang 700 meter yang bertempat di Universitas Udayana, Bali. Kepala Balitbang Kementerian PUPR, Danis Hidayat Sumadilaga mengatakan pemanfaatan limbah plastik sebagai aspal tersebutmerupakan salah satu solusi bagi permasalahan sampah plastik. “Setiap 1 kilometer jalan dengan lebar 7 meter, membutuhkan campuran limbah plastik sebanyak 2,5 hingga 5 ton. Jadi bisa dibayangkan apabila hasil penelitian ini dapat dimanfaatkan di Indonesia yang memiliki jalan ribuan kilometer,” tutur Danis yang ditemui di lokasi pengujian.

JEMBATAN PANCASILA PEMBANGKIT LISTRIK TENAGA ARUS LAUT

SEJAK kepemimpinan Presiden Joko Widodo, pembangunan di kawasan Timur Indonesia menjadi prioritas. Dengan tujuan agar pembangunan nasional dapat merata serta dapat memaksimalkan potensi daerah yang sampai saat ini belum tergali dengan maksimal.

Nusa Tenggara Timur, sebagai salah satu provinsi di wilayah timur Indonesia, mempunyai potensi yang luar biasa besar antara lain, komoditas unggulan seperti peternakan, perkebunan, perikanan dan industri, keindahan alam dan kekayaan diantaranya Pulau Komodo, Danau Kelimutu, Larantuka dan Lamalera, serta Pulau Alor dan Pulau Rote. 

Dalam rangka memaksimalkan potensi besar yang dimiliki Provinsi NTT tersebut sehingga dapat meningkatkan kesejahteraan masyarakat, dibutuhkan investasi yang cukup besar. Hal tersebut karena investasi di Provinsi NTT mengandung unsur pionir (perintis atau pemula) yang memerlukan fasilitasi dalam bentuk insentif fiskal, kepastian iklim usaha yang baik serta dukungan ketersediaan infrastruktur yang memadai. Salah satu infrastruktur yang diupayakan untuk dapat dibangun adalah Jembatan Pancasila yang menghubungkan antara pulau Flores dengan pulau Adonara.

PENGOLAHAN POLUTAN UDARA DENGAN TEKNIK ELECTROSTATIC PRECIPITATOR

ElectroStatic Precipitator (ESP) adalah salah satu alternatif penangkap debu dengan effisiensi tinggi (diatas 90%) dan rentang partikel yang didapat cukup besar. Dengan menggunakan electrostatic precipitator (ESP) ini, jumlah limbah debu yang keluar dari cerobong diharapkan hanya sekitar 0,16% (dimana efektifitas penangkapan debu mencapai 99,84%).

Salah satu komponen terpenting dalam proses produksi di Pabrik Gula dan PLTU adalah boiler yang berfungsi sebagai tempat untuk memanaskan air, sehingga menghasilkan uap yang nantinya akan digunakan untuk proses selanjutnya. Pada PLTU, uap ini digunakan untuk memutar turbin uap sebagai penggerak generator. Untuk melakukan kerja, boiler membutuhkan adanya panas yang digunakan untuk memanaskan air. Panas ini disuplai oleh bagian yang disebut dengan ruang bakar atau furnace, dimana pada ruang bakar ini dilengkapi dengan alat pembakaran atau burner. Hasil pembakaran di ruang bakar tersebut akan mengandung banyak debu, mengingat bahan bakar yang digunakan adalah batubara, kemudian debu tersebut akan terbawa bersama gas buang menuju cerobong. Sebelum gas buang tersebut keluar melalui cerobong, maka gas buang tersebut akan melewati kisi-kisi suatu electrostatic precipitator (ESP).

PENGEMBANGAN KELAPA SAWIT INDONESIA TERKENDALA MASALAH ISU LINGKUNGAN

Meningkatnya produksi kelapa sawit dunia, terutama di Malaysia dan Indonesia telah mengundang perhatian sejumlah LSM besar, termasuk Greenpeace, WWF, dan Friends of the Earth. Pada mulanya tentangan utama terhadap kelapa sawit adalah soal penggundulan hutan, sementara keprihatinan belakangan ini menyangkut dampak perluasan kebun kelapa sawit pada menyusutnya keragaman hayati (termasuk habitat orang utan) dan emisi CO₂. Klaim utama kampanye lingkungan yang menentang industri kelapa sawit adalah bahwa penggundulan hutan, terutama konversi lahan hutan menjadi kebun kelapa sawit, merupakan penyebab utama emisi CO₂.

CANTRANG TIDAK RAMAH LINGKUNGAN

PERMASALAHAN LIMBAH RADIOAKTIF

Limbah radioaktif adalah sebuah persoalan bagi berbagai negara yang memiliki pembangkitan listrik nuklir atau industri atau senjata nuklir yang signifikan. Di AS, limbah seperti itu di atur di bawah Neclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) dan depertemen energi/Departemen of Energi (DOE). Problem khusus dihadirkan oleh limbah campuran yang mengandung limbah kimia dan limbah radioaktif.

Salah satu contoh baru baru ini tentang sebuah fasilitas yang disulitkan oleh radioaktif dan limbah campuran di AS adalah Rocky Flat di dekat Denver, Colorado, yang digunakan untuk memproduksi sanjata nuklir semenjak tahun 1950 an, kompleks ini memperkerjakan 6.000 pekerja meliputi 384 are di tengah-tengah 6.650 are daerah penyangga/buffer zone, dan mendiami 134 bangunan dengan luas area kira-kira 90.000 m².

PEMUSNAHAN LIMBAH ALAT DAN BAHAN PRAKTIKUM DI LABORATORIUM

Alat dan bahan praktikum yang sudah aus atau habis pakai merupakan suatu limbah laboratorium yang sudah tidak berguna lagi sehingga harus dimusnahkan. Pemusnahan tersebut harus mempertimbangkan beberapa hal diantaranya: (1) biaya pembuangan, (2) potensi bahaya terhadap orang-orang di luar laboratorium dan (3) potensi dampaknya terhadap lingkungan. Tugas pemusnahan alat dan bahan praktikum menjadi tanggung jawab dari pengelola laboratorium, karena pengelola laboratoriumlah yang paling mengetahui sifat dan informasi dari limbah tersebut. Keputusan dalam memusnahkan limbah laboratorium harus sejalan dengan kerangka kerja lembaga dan sesuai dengan peraturan yang berlaku (Moran & Masciangioli, 2010).

LANGKAH-LANGKAH PENGOLAHAN LIMBAH OLI

Limbah oli berdasarkan PP 85 tahun 1999 termasuk dalam kategori limbah B3. Limbah. Limbah oli mengandung senyawasenyawa kimia baik organic dan anorganik yang sangat berbahaya. Kandungan senyawa dan logam berat dalam limbah oli (oli bekas) sebagai berikut:

Tabel 1. Kontaminan yang ada pada limbah oli (oli bekas)

Logam (anorganik)	Hidrokarbon terklorinasi	Senyawa organik lainnya
Aluminium	Diklorofluorometana	Benzena
Antimon	Triklorofluorometana	Toluena
Arsenik	1,1,1-trikloroetana	Xylena
Barium	Trikloroetilena	Benzaantrasena
Kadmium	Total klorine	Benzopirena
Krom	Poliklorin biphenil	Naftalena
Kobalt
Tembaga
Plumbum
Magnesium
Mangan
Merkuri
Nikel
Pospor
Silikon
Sulfur
Zeng