Water solution

Name:        CHAN, Sin Fong

Subject:     Water Solution

Visit Time: 28/09/2006 3:48 AM

Remark:

So what, we do live on the driest continent on earth! If we have a problem, then we have to fix it.

When Maxine McKew interviewed Malcolm Turnbull on 26/9/2006 about water initiative, Maxine McKew's question about "there's too little being done on the supply" seemed too difficult for Malcolm Turnbull to comprehend.

If the population of Australia grows from 18 million to 20 million, a mere 10%, then the water supply must grow by 10% as well in order to satisfy normal consumption and irrigation. This has not happened, and with conservative thinking approach, will never happen. Damming more rivers, or building more reservoirs are like taking cookies from a jar of limited capacity and limited number of "cookies".

Many countries are blessed with large and long river systems, and just so happen the rain falls on well-positioned catchment areas. There is a saying, "if Mohamed does not go to the mountain, then brings the mountain to Mohamed" (no offence to all the Mohamed's, and this is not a racist remark). If the rain does not fall on the so-called catchment areas in Australia due to whatever the reasons - global warming, El Nino, etc., then we should consider creating man-made mountains and catchments where rain is abundant.

Building mountains is not a fantasy - if we can build freeways, we can build rivers. The soil from any excavated land and including that from open-cut mines can be piled up to form the mountains. What are the costs? The costs are probably peanuts when we compare that with loss of crops and export income due to draught and bush fires, and in time to come, loss of human lives. With the man-made river system, we can even solve the flood problem experienced in many parts of Australia.

The new river system will be linked to the existing natural rivers. Obviously, there is also a lot of spin-off from a mountain-and-river system - a new environment for aquatic creatures and wildlife, new food chains, increase in tourism and real estate development, just to name a few.

I'm not a futurist. I only consider myself as a spherical thinker.

Global atmospheric and ocean warming

Name:        CHAN, Sin Fong

Subject:     Global Atmospheric and Ocean Warming

Visit Time: 26/09/2006 5:25 PM

Remark:

Scientists, and even kids know about the Ice Age (Walt Disney's cartoon), but no one can be sure of what caused the freezing of our Earth. One thing is certain though, that the ice melted, and the Earth flourished again.

The reason the ice melted could neither be attributed to the burning of fossil fuels by industries, nor the forest fires; and therefore, the global warming could never have been caused by human during the Ice Age (there were no humans then, anyway). It is plausible, as pointed out by Stephen Mooney's letter posted to the 7.30 Reports 22/9/2006, that the increase in the emission of the Sun over time resulted in the warming of the atmosphere.

As time passes, the speed of rotation of any planet or revolution around the Sun will slow down. In recent years, all the solar planets lined up. The gravitational interactions with the other planets could also affect the Earth being slowed down, and even fractionally, the exposure of solar effect on the Earth could also increase.

The Aged, 28/12/2006, reported on the that "an earthquake that unleashed deadly tidal waves on Asia was so powerful it made the Earth wobble on its axis and permanently altered the regional map, US geophysicists said today". Many Tsunamis, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes can cause distortion of the earth axis. As a result, the weather pattern can also be distorted - the flood-prone areas may now experience draught and vice versa.

Between 100 and 200 kilometres below the Earth's surface, the temperature of the rock is near the melting point. Isn't it possible that the rise in ocean temperature is really caused by the slow boiling of the vast volume of ocean water rather than the greenhouse effect? Shouldn't we spend more funds to investigate whether the activities at the ocean beds of the Earth are the culprits rather than conveniently blame it on "El Niño" effect?

Human's ingenuity is boundless - before non-renewable fuel sources run out, human will have switched to or invented a replacement. If fossil fuel is cost effective, but its discharge, namely, carbon dioxide "may" cause harm to the planet, then research should be funded to transform or convert carbon dioxide to something productive. Who knows, one day in the future, scientists may combine carbon dioxide, sodium chloride (salt) and radioactive wastes into stable and non-polluting compounds.

Speak English and respect the Laws

Name:        CHAN, Sin Fong

Subject:     Speak English and Respect the Laws

Visit Time: 19/09/2006 10:54 AM

Remark:

The Bible talks about the Tower of Babel; without a uniform language, Australia is divided and people misunderstood. By not understanding basic English, one can't understand our basic Laws in Australia.

English has been in used and spoken by majority of Australians in Parliament, commerce, society at large, and at home. It should be adopted as the primary language. This does not imply that anyone is barred from using or learning other languages when needs arise.

I doubt anyone in Australia can clearly define what Australian values are; how can any visitor, immigrant, or for that matter any Australian, understand or accept Australian values?

While some people here and abroad may have good intention to promote national harmony or unity in songs with phrases like "we are one, we are many", or "one people, one nation", we should courage the residents of Australia to be "one nation, one citizen". I can't change my genetics, my childhood upbringing and believes, etc., but I can adopt new ways of living and so-called culture, when I took up the Australian citizenship.

Today's world is one of great suspicion and intolerance. Verbal conflicts turn into physical violence, and wars. This is the time for Australia to be united, and to do so, all Australians should be patriotic to Australia and should have national pride. The "knocking" mentality should be discarded, and we should be proud of this great nation we live in. As to the Australian flag, this is a representation of Australia. We can't bring Australia overseas but we can hang a flag to show Australia's presence.

I'm an Australian, born in Malaysia of Chinese descent!

What's next soldiers?

Name:        CHAN, Sin Fong

Subject:     What's next soldiers?

Visit Time: 19/09/2006 3:03 AM

Remark:

It is unacceptable and intolerable to let off steam by posting those childish, insensitive and demeaning images over the Internet.

I firmly believe that personnel working in high security environment should not possess electronic device including new generation mobile phones capable of taking digital images, unless authorise to use or carry one.