Malaysia 37th ranking in the world..good but can be better

Dear Malaysians, 

Go rush to your nearest newsstand for a latest copy of Newsweek magazine. 

If you are too lazy or a cheapskate, below is a summary from BERNAMA on some good news about our beloved country. The details can also be found here: 

http://www.newsweek.com/2010/08/15/interactive-infographic-of-the-worlds-best-countries.html

The categories to rank the countries are very much elements defining sustainable development. 

Although being placed 37 out of 100 countries on the list can be considered fairly ok, I am not all that surprised especially when we look at the countries below us. We still need to emulate from the best to perform better particularly in two important areas namely political environment and healthcare. For example, look at how South Korea's position that outranked some european superpowers. That to me is a big surprise !

I hope Newsweek will publish this table again next year and in the mean time let us all focus our SD effort to make Malaysia's position in the top 15.

Source: BERNAMA 

August 23, 2010 17:16 PM

Malaysia Ranks 37th On Newsweek's Best Country List

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 23 (Bernama) -- Malaysia is ranked as 37th in the world on Newsweek magazine's "The World's Best Countries" list, which ranks top globe nations by economy, politics, education, health and quality of life.

Among neighbours, Singapore is ranked at 20th, Thailand (58th), Philippines (63rd) and Indonesia (73rd).

In the rating, which involves 100 countries, Finland is ranked as number one, followed by Switzerland and Sweden.

In Newsweek's first-ever Best Countries special issue, they set out to answer a question that is at once simple and incredibly complex - if you were born today, which country would provide you the very best opportunity to live a healthy, safe, reasonably prosperous, and upwardly mobile life?

For this special survey, Newsweek chose five categories of national well-being -- education, health, quality of life, economic competitiveness, and political environment -- and compiled metrics within these categories across 100 nations.

The magazine also listed Malaysia as the eighth best in education category among the upper middle-income countries.

Top three of the category are Kazakhstan, Poland and Cuba.

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People Power: Capturing The Body's Energy For Work On and Off Earth

Can we harvest the unused energy that a human body essentially wastes (mainly it eventually radiates away as heat)?
The human body is on average of 15% fats, capable of producing 11,000 watt hours
When the average Joe eats his daily bread, he takes 3,300 watt hours. The charge rate is about 7kW. Broken into usable terms, waiting to be harvested are :

Activities energy (watts)
walking with heels 67w
sleeping 81w
soldier standing at ease 128w
walking person 163w
briskly walking person 407w
from a long distance runner 1048w
sprinter 1630w

Some of the most promising mechanisms for passively converting human body functions into electricity are:

1. Piezoelectric devices: Piezoelectric substances, like some ceramics, also generate electrical energy from mechanical strain but without the need for voltage to be applied. This well-understood material is the core of "heel strike" devices that generate electricity from walking. "Generating 1-2 watts per shoe is not out of the question. A major issue that remains is the durability of these devices," Dr. Robert J. Nowak, program manager for energy harvesting at Darpa, wrote to SPACE.com. Great for soldiers, bad for astronauts: "giant steps are what you take, walking on the moon."

2. Urine-based fuel cell: Yes, you can turn pee into power and not just by turning a turbine after a few beers. First subject urea to enzymatic hydrolysis to make carbon dioxide and ammonia, and then oxidize the ammonia to nitrogen and water. But the center notes that "one problem with the system is the need for alkaline conditions that may require transport of sodium hydroxide, a hazardous compound. Also, to achieve power generation in the range of 0.5 - 1W, a system to concentrate the breakdown products of urea, such as reverse osmosis, will be necessary." But for astronauts and soldiers on the run, "one attractive feature of this fuel cell concept is the production of water as a by-product of the system."

3. Thermoelectric materials: These materials convert body heat into electricity by using combinations of materials (metals or today, new ceramics) that are poor thermal conductors and good electrical conductors. When two of them at different temperatures come into contact, electrons migrate, charging a battery or creating usable current through something called the Seebeck Effect. The trouble is that you need great temperature differences to get significant energy, and "on Earth most places are pretty close to body temperature," notes Dr. Henry Brandhurst, director of the center. And what about in the cold depths of space? For the inner solar system at least, photovoltaic panels seem like a better bet, he says

4. Electromagnetic generator: Large muscular groups (especially legs) can generate electricity by simple motions against gravity and small direct current permanent magnet motors. But the center cautions, "there is little or no efforts within the scientific community to design efficient small generators of the type needed for harvesting of human energy."

Source : from space.com

Ridha Razak

What has Ramadhan got to do with Sustainable Development?

Muslims all around the world will celebrate the holy month of Ramadhan by fasting all throughout the day for about 30 days. There are many benefits of fasting besides the natural detox process from abstaining the usual eating and drinking routine. Here is a good site to explain some of the benefits. http://islam.about.com/od/ramadan/a/ram_benefits.htm

So what has Ramadhan got to do with Sustainable Development? I try to break it down from the 3 Ps dimensions i.e. People, Planet and Profit/Prosperity. 

In Malaysia, Ramadhan is the month that citizens of all religions and faiths truly celebrate by strengthening the community spirit. This can be typically observed at eating outlets during the breaking of fast. I even know some of my non muslim friends who will fast together with their fellow muslims to truly enjoy the delicacies when the dusk breaks. The less unfortunate groups such as the orphans and senior citizens are often invited by corporate organisations and wealthy individuals at such functions. The example given demonstrates that the annual Ramadhan month will provide the opportunity for the People from all walks of life to be closer together in a joyous occasion.

Also in Ramadhan, we hope to take care of the Planet by effectively reducing the waste from not consuming any food and water during the day. Indirectly, we will be able to consume less energy that is used in cooking and boiling water.

The last "P" that I want to explain is the Profit / Prosperity dimension. We will see many people take the opportunity to earn extra pocket money from selling food for breakfast to making cookies for the Hari Raya Celebration (this is the end of Ramadhan). But in this case, the meaning of prosperity should be in a deeper context for all those who truly appreciates the meaning of Ramadhan. When Ramadhan is embraced with sincerity, humility and generosity, God will hopefully reward us with more blessings and prosperity. Maximising of this P in Malay term is what I call earning more Pahala. We might not see the rewards immediately but we also need to do our "savings" for the afterlife :)

SD Malaysia would like to take the opportunity to wish all Malaysians a good Ramadhan !