Ways we can help the Earth

THE Consumers’ Association of Penang said in its letter “Plant trees, stop deforestation” (The Star, Sept 6; online at bit.ly/star_plant) that environmental laws and policies must be tightened to protect this land.

But there are some easy environmentally friendly activities that we can all do right away, such as reducing the use of plastic bags, growing our own herbs and vegetables, and rainwater harvesting. And let us walk the talk here and also do the 3Rs – reduce, reuse and recycle.

But going low carbon to mitigate the climate crisis goes beyond these basic issues. Malaysians can strive to do more by paying attention to transport, and this includes becoming one-car homes. With the improvement and integration of our public transport system, this is a practical step we can take. And complying with the government’s directive to set air conditioners at 24°C can reduce electricity use.

While it may be difficult to do away with air conditioning in commercial buildings, it should be possible to design houses that provide a comfortable environment with just fans for circulation. The recent promotions of energy-efficient buildings have advocated the use of “green walls” to insulate the exterior of buildings to reduce electricity used for cooling. This can be used for housing as well as commercial buildings.

CHIGU LINA MOHD

Kajang, Selangor