Green Man Planet

Green Buildings in Malaysia

2010-06-29T02:46:00.002+08:00

Combat climate change with green technology and solutions

2010-06-29T02:43:00.001+08:00

Greenest Person on the Planet 2008 award recipient, Matthias Gelber

Tree hugger. Eco-preneur. Greenest person on the planet (awarded by 3rd whale, Canada for year 2008). Matthias Gelber is indeed an eco-warrior in every sense of the word. He comes from a village with a population of 500 (no, there are no missing zeroes) in Lippe, Germany. Today, he travels all over the globe preaching and practising eco-activities. Find out about how the use of material such as green cement can help in mitigating climate change and global warming.

How did you get from your kampong (village) in Lippe to the city of Kuala Lumpur?
I think in those days, I always wanted to do something for the environment. As a kid and teenager, we played in the woods. We used to have 3 months of snow in (the) winter. That has changed. Unfortunately, the show comes and goes. That's what I can see, the impact of climate change. On the other hand, I am not a guy who believes in simplistic truths. Every flooding we can't say it is the result of climate change. Yes, climate change is increasing the fluctuation of the climate and some of flooding not necessarily down to climate change. It is down to deforestation, it is down to change in landscape. It is human interference in our natural environment.

I came to Malaysia five and a half yrs ago. After my studies in Germany and the UK, I got heavily involved in working with businesses and became an expert on Environmental Management Systems. Very quickly, I became well-known internationally as a speaker, trainer and expert on the subject. I lived in the UK for 10 years; started and sold a business. I decided it was time for a sunnier climate. I had some friends in Malaysia, (I have) done stuff here, Malaysia My Second Home programme, (my) training always went well in this part of the world. So I decided on Malaysia.

Tell us about green concrete technology.
Malaysia is more like buy from elsewhere, bring it in and make some money with selling. But not many Malaysian companies are looking for strategic green technology. That's at least my experience. We have green technology. We turn waste into concrete and products. But we are actually looking for strategic and technology partners who are keen on joint-venture to acquire parts of our technology.

Which other countries are giving you better response?
We see some interest from China and Singapore.

What is green cement?
Most people don't know that the product process of cement manufacturing is the world's contributor to climate change. No other product manufacturing contributes as much to global warming than cement manufacturing.

Calcium carbonate is CaCO3. When we burn that, we need huge amounts of fuel like coal. So we produce a lot of CO2 (carbon dioxide) by burning that coal and at same time, (we) produce even more CO2 by releasing the carbon dioxide that's in the calcium carbonate. Limestone is being built over millions of years. Some of these mountains are being chopped down because of limestone. That's chemistry. You cannot change that.

People say that they are making it more efficient by increasing the energy efficiency. Yes, that's good. But cement manufacturing itself is fundamentally an unsustainable and non-renewable process.

The idea of green cement is (that) we use waste materials that have similar properties, like when you think about why there are so many buildings in Rome that are still around. Cement as we use it now was only invented the 1700s, I think 1750. But how did the Romans build the Pantheon? It is more than 2,000 years old! They are built from volcanic ash mainly. Even volcanic ash has cement-like properties. In Malaysia, (there's) not that much. So that's why this business is not so easy in Malaysia. But in other countries, (like) Indonesia, China (and) India, there is a huge volume of unutilised volcanic ash available. That, theoretically could be used to build buildings.

Applications of Maleki GmbH's Industrial Flooring System. Material is being pumped into the floor. This way, one can make a large surface area in a short period of time. Another benefit, beside the green feature of the company's products, is its fast curing. The next day after application, the surface can be used again.

How many percent of CO2 does cement manufacturing contribute to the environment?
Six to seven percent. In China, (it is) more than 10 percent. That's substantial. It's more than double of all the planes in the world together. We think about flying as being bad for the environment. Yes, it is. But cement manufacturing is more than double the planes in the world. Flying is about 3 percent, I think.

What other material does your company, Maleki GmbH, produce?
In Malaysia, we are not manufacturing yet. (We) haven't found right partner for that. We are manufacturing in Germany, close to 50 different products. We do industrial flooring, we do materials that protect the durability of concrete, we do materials that make concrete waterproof. All sorts of eco-friendly low carbon footprint water-based material that make buildings last longer, more eco-friendly and better insulated.

What is the carbon footprint for a cement plant?
For example, an average Malaysian cement plant, maybe generates one million tons of cement. (I) can roughly say, (the) equivalent (of CO2) is one million tons of carbon dioxide. Because roughly one ton of cement production, 1,000 kilos, trigger off 1,000 kilos of CO2.

What can the general public do to be greener?
They can do a lot. (The) simplest starting point is to look at electricity bill. It doesn't lie. Slash (that) by 10, 20 percent and you will help the environment. Actually, now we are discussing Malaysia's needs (for) more hydro dams, a nuclear plant. Why? Because we are consuming too much electricity. If we spend that money in energy efficiency, we wouldn't need all those plants, in my opinion.

How would one know if a home or building is really as green as it proclaims to be?
The GBI (Green Building Index) is one indicator but at the end of the day, it boils down to the carbon footprint itself. For example, they calculated the London Olympics. More than 60 percent of the carbon footprint of the London Olympics will be in the building materials that are being used. Because the London Olympics doesn't last very long. So the construction itself is a huge component of the carbon footprint. The concrete that is being used, that is the majority share of it.

Heat and corrosion resistant silicate material being applied on a steel structure for corrosion protection. The product is called Total Protective Coating.

So if you want to purchase a green home, (we need to know) what building material has been used and that is neglected in the GBI so far. But I know people are moving towards that. Dr Tan (Chairman of Malaysian Institute of Architects (PAM) sustainability committee) who has been one of the key players, he told me recently, that they are starting to look at the carbon footprint. That is good news. We need to look at carbon footprint. Otherwise we have buildings (that are) certified platinum but they might've just used very high carbon footprint concrete. They might've used other damaging building materials. And the electricity consumption inside is still high even if they got certification. So we need to look at passive cooling, insulation, shading, (and) orientation of the building. Because once we have tat in place, we don't need to spend too much on very expensive solar cells and we don't need that much electricity to keep that building cool.

The fact and figure (that is) relevant for the industry is; approximately 40 percent of global CO2 emissions are linked to construction industry. Our industry is one of the main players and has one of the biggest opportunities to reduce (carbon footprint). That's been identified in international statistics that have tried to evaluate where we can add economic value and reduce CO2 emissions at the same time. Refurbishment is one of the areas where we could quickly help to reduce CO2 emissions.

Malaysia has one of the world's most amazing natural carbon sink – peat swamp forests. They are amazing, they are incredible. We need to do everything we can to avoid those peat swamps to be destroyed. They are the world's best natural carbon sink. Malaysia is number two in the world after Indonesia.

What other activities contribute to the emission of CO2?
There are two things that partially overlap. Generation of electricity. A lot of electricity is consumed by buildings. Power generation. Where is that power generation consumed? In our buildings, (and) factories. So we have to be careful because it is partially overlapping.

Tell us about your group Eco-warriors Malaysia.
We are just a Facebook group of people with a common interest. We want to do something good for mother earth. That's what brings us together.

When was it set up?
It was set up in November 2008. (It is) not that old yet. I want to inspire some people and hopefully get some tree-planting going. I launched a one million tree-planting campaign. That would be a life journey for me. What else can the Government and the real estate industry do? We need to focus on energy efficiency. One thing (that) we are lacking is that there are different things going on. And I personally think that this whole concept of 1Malaysia, we need that for '1Malaysia Energy Efficiency' where everybody, the Government, industry, regional approach, cities, individuals, NGOs, is basically working together on making it happen. It would be good if we could get something like that going.

The more we consume, the more we waste. We can leave something here by doing the right thing. We can leave a positive legacy of preservation and leaving something behind for future generations.

2010-06-06T03:41:00.003+08:00

Building To Save The Planet

2009-11-27T01:51:00.001+08:00

OFFSET YOUR CARBON

2009-11-17T06:07:00.000+08:00

2009-11-17T06:04:00.000+08:00

Purpose-fitted: Reimann (right) and Gelber showing a waste disposal room with the bins and fixtures to dispose of recyclable materials.

2009-11-12T10:19:00.001+08:00

THE STAR: Project makes it easier for residents to recycle their unwanted stuff

2009-11-12T10:14:00.001+08:00

By PRIYA MENON

HOW many of us realise that the cleaners and maids in our apartments and condominiums are eco-friendly?

They sift through our garbage, select recyclable materials and put them aside to be sold.

Many would argue that the cleaners are doing it for the money but it is the thought that counts.

Realising the potential for recycling projects in their Seri Raja Chulan condominium, two residents, Gregers Reimann and Matthias Gelber from the Eco Warriors Malaysia, put their plan into action.

Reimann first started a small recycling project on his floor with several bins to separate the waste.

Purpose-fitted: Reimann (right) and Gelber showing a waste disposal room with the bins and fixtures to dispose of recyclable materials.

"I told everyone on the 12th floor to use the bin and I'd collect the recyclable materials once or twice a week," he said.

He would then take the materials to Mid Valley Megamall to be recycled. Little did Reimann know, the cleaners went through the garbage each day to separate the recycling items to be sold.

"If I'd known about it earlier, I would have been happy to give the recycling items to them and they could have earned some pocket money," he added.

The two nature lovers recently held a press conference at the condominium to share their success story with others.

In March this year, Gelber suggested they call Alam Flora to collect the waste. However, they were told Alam Flora would only collect the recycling materials once a certain amount had been collected.

Both the men were also advised to contact private recycling companies for better rates.

"We had a meeting with the management company, Henry Butcher Malaysia, and the cleaners and decided to place recycling bins in each waste disposal room on every floor," Gelber said.

He added that the move was to make the task easy for all residents so people would be happy to do it.

The management company bore all costs of placing bins for glass, plastic, metal bottles and cans, recycling containers for batteries and CDs, shelves for paper and cardboard, metal brackets for mounting and printing of recycling labels.

"The total cost is RM675, which is RM7.40 per unit, and it is a one-time expenditure so we do not think it is too much," building executive Lee Yoke Fatt said.

In fact, the management company is so happy with the project that it is implementing it in all the 30 condominiums it manages.

For cleaner Risnarlia Zahid, 25, the money she earns from recycling is welcome relief.

She was one of the first cleaners to initiate the recycling programme before Gelber and Reimann started their project in June.

"I used to go through the garbage and pick out the recyclable materials. I would have to wait for nearly a month before I collected enough to be sold," she said.

She added that she personally contacted the private recycling companies to pick up the materials, having obtained the companies' telephone numbers from her friends who did the same thing.

According to Risnarlia, the recycling materials have doubled since the project started.

For 100kg newspapers, the cleaners can easily get RM20, while for CDs, they can get RM4 per 2kg. They have been earning about RM50 each recently, a considerable sum of money for them.

Risnarlia, however, saves the batteries she collects as Reimann and Gelber have not found a company that takes in used batteries for recycling.

"I just hope other condominiums and individuals will follow suit. All they have to do is make it easy for the residents and they will join in the project," Gelber said.

Recycling Poster

2009-11-10T17:33:00.002+08:00

Eco Film Fest 2009 Sun Oct 25

2009-10-23T01:24:00.001+08:00

ECO FILM FESTIVAL 2009. Sunday Oct 25

Music: 2.30 pm KL Stompers & Soft Touch (Markiza & Peter Brown & Wong Lip Kee)

Films: 3.30 pm (see below)

Eco Film Fest 2009

Eco Film Fest 2009 will be held at Palate Palette, 21 Jalan Mesui, behind Istana Hotel off Jalan Nagasari, Kuala Lumpur every Sunday from 2.30-6 pm for the entire month of October. This is also in conjunction with the Malaysian Environment Week (third week of October).

Talking about all things green, this free film festival will showcase a number of international and local films focusing on environmental issues, as an efforts to draw public awareness to environmental issues in Malaysia.

This year's festival will feature four award-winning international full length films, 'Blue Gold', 'Everything's Cool', 'The Woven Ways', and 'The Waterfront'. EFF 2009 will also showcase two short films entitled 'The Secret Life of Cell Phones' and 'The Secret Life of Paper'. One highlighting the harmful effects cell phones have on the world if not properly disposed of, the other providing a message on how easy and important it is to be a sustainable paper consumer.

On top of that, two of last year's winners for the Best Editing award, 'Wasiat' and Best Film award, 'What Happened To The Green?' will also be screened. Also, complimenting the film screenings will be some fun green programmes for the young and old, including some musical performances by local musicians: Soft Touch and KL Stompers

Sunday 25th October program

2.30 pm KL Stompers

3.00 pm Soft Touch

3.30 pm Film: The Secret Life of Paper (5 min 38 secs)

3.45 pm Film: Blue Gold (90 mins)

For further details on the Eco Film Fest 2009, please visit website

Earth Matters

BRITISH PM WARNS OF "CLIMATE CATASTROPHE"

Gordon Brown tells the Major Economies Forum in London

"Once the damage from unchecked emissions growth is done, no retrospective global agreement, in some future period, can undo that choice"

READ MORE

SAVING THE PLANET WILL COST MORE

Adapting to the effects of climate change such as floods and droughts will cost the world three times more than previously thought, scientists said in August this year. The UN originally predicted it would cost between 25 billion and 105 billion sterling pounds per year over the next 20 years to pay for the damage caused by global warming. But the UN produced its numbers too quickly. A report by the International Institute for Environment and Development and London's Grantham Institute says that the costs would actually run to several hundred billions of pounds every year

ACTION ALERT PLEASE SHARE WIDELY!

Stop Massive World Bank (IFC) Supported Expansion of PNG Industrial Tuna Fish Harvest

By Asples PNG (People of Papua New Guinea), a project of Ecological Internet
October 15, 2009

Over-fishing comes to Madang, Papua New Guinea, as local peoples prepare to resist 10 tuna canneries. Support indigenous South Pacific coastal peoples as they are peacefully protesting right now!

TAKE ACTION HERE NOW:
http://www.ecoearth.info/shared/alerts/send.aspx?id=png_tuna

In the peaceful South Pacific town of Madang, Papua New Guinea (PNG), the local indigenous people are being inundated with foreign industrial "development" projects -- mines, logging and fisheries -- for which they have not been properly consulted, have not given their informed consent, and from which they are unlikely to meaningfully benefit. This includes the PNG government's and World Bank/IFC's plans with China and Japan's governments to facilitate and invest in the construction of ten new tuna fish canneries and a large central warehouse and worker settlement along Madang's beautiful coconut lined north coast. A tranquil village culture -- living simply but well from small-scale fishing -- will be decimated.
A US$300 million (K990m) Pacific Marine Industrial Zone (PMIZ) is planned that will greatly increase industrial harvest of Madang, PNG and the Pacific Islands' rich tuna resources. Canneries and dock and storage facilities are to be constructed to service foreign fishing vessels that would dump their tuna catch. It will bring tens of thousands of unskilled Asians into Papua New Guinea when local unemployment is high. And it most certainly will lead to fishery depletion and collapse. Unless this expansion of an already socially and ecologically failed industrial tuna industry is resisted, overfishing and piracy will destroy PNG and most of the world's remaining tuna and other fisheries.

WATCH THE YOUTUBE VIDEO:
"Surviving the Cannery"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLkUPCci2QA&feature=player_embedded

MORE INFORMATION AND TAKE ACTION NOW:
http://www.ecoearth.info/shared/alerts/send.aspx?id=png_tuna

DISCUSS THIS ALERT:
http://www.ecoearth.info/blog/

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Lemang Music

http://www.lemang.com

downloads, videos, pics, information, contacts

we are also on facebook under Markiza N Peter

HIgh Performance Green Building Materials

2009-10-22T12:26:00.000+08:00

Condo Recycling project

2009-10-19T12:58:00.001+08:00

Eco Warriors Malaysia members, Gregers Reimann and Matthias Gelber, have successfully implemented a condo recycling system in the Seri Raja Chulan Condo (91 units) where they live. This was done in collaboration with the condo management and the cleaners in what can be termed as a win-win-win situation:

The residents are happy to recycle as it has been made easy for them
The condo management is happy, as the condo is now more attractive for tenants
The cleaners are happy because they earn extra pocket money from selling the recyclables

Moreover, the cost of implementing the system was very low, namely only RM 7.40 per apartment unit.

The main purpose of the official "Condo Recycling Launch" on Wednesday 21^st October at 10 am is to tell the public how they can implement similar system at their condo. For example, the condo management is already copying the system for the other condominiums that they manage.

Items that can be recycled are bottles & cans (plastic, metal, glass), beverage cartons, paper (newspaper, magazines, books, black and white paper), cardboard, DVDs/CDs and batteries; the recycling company used by Seri Raja Chulan condo is run by Mr. Low Lian Ting (hp 0123418233, tel 03-8942 1298). About 100-200 kg of material is recycled every month from the 91 apartment units.

For people, who do not live in condominiums, try to contact Alam Flora, as they do recycling in less densely populated areas as part of their social corporate responsibility, which includes printing brochures and flyers about recycling for residents.

Learn more about the condo recycling initiative via the Facebook group, Eco Warriors Malaysia, or at the homepage http://www.ien.dk/recycling/ Or simply follow these simple steps:

Discuss with the cleaners and the building management how best to implement a workable condo recycling system
Make it easy for the residents to recycle, so try to place recycling bins inside existing trash room.
Give the cleaners a monetary incentive to do the recycling, so let them keep the money from selling the recyclables
Label the recycling bins clearly and instruct cleaners to place back the bins so the labels are visible
All bins should have lids, to prevent people from just throwing any trash into bins with no lid
Inform the residents and maids about the recycling system in writing and by placing recycling system diagram in trash room
Keep up awareness about the recycling program among the residents and maids, e.g. posting of recycling reports

MY Awakening (with Facebook)

2009-09-14T22:12:00.002+08:00

by jon on June 15, 2009

Am writing this post rather breathless after a whirlwind 3-day trip to Malaysia and an astounding couple of events in Kuala Lumpur.

June ‘09 is dedicated to supporting the growth of the Awakening community in South East Asia, and this has occasioned a tour of the region. One of the stops was KL where the World’s Greenest Man lives. Matthias Gelber, who won this acolade in a worldwide search, is also an entrepreneur, the founder of Eco Warriors Malaysia and a trained facilitator for the Awakening the Dreamer symposium.

So you’ll guess that Matthias is a make-it-happen kind of guy, and he was delighted to create both a symposium and then a one-day training in Malaysia this past weekend, and what events they proved to be. On Friday evening 180 people gathered in the Grand Millennium Hotel (Matthias had exchanged his time as an eco-trainer for use of this venue!!!!).

What followed was the most spirited symposium I have ever been involved in; the crowd was with us, and vocally so, from the outset as Matthias, Jo Fok (remember Jo as the force of nature organising the whole June trip) and I lead the event.

At least three wonderful possibilities emerged; the first was a grouping of the many people there working in the field of education, the second a collection of committed and active young people and thirdly the a group who wanted to attend the Facilitator Training the next day.

The crowd was eventually dispersed (by the cleaners I think) over an hour after the event had formally concluded and it was clear that this first event had been a huge hit.

The people who attended were almost all already active in some way, but as is so often the case, were galvanized into new levels of activity and collaboration by the ATD message. And, demonstrating a real opportunity for other groups around the world, the crowd had been assembled almost entirely on Facebook (no trees were harmed in the promotion of this event).

And then . . . . . the next day 47 of these people came together to train and form MY Awakening, the first group of facilitators in Malaysia (which is MY for short). Ranging in age from 13 (is Liam the youngest facilitator in the world?) to much older, speaking Malay, Tamil, Hindi, Cantonese, Danish, German, Spanish, Japanese and English (I probably missed a couple too) this group really represents the diversity of Malaysia and the natural joy and exuberance of its people.

24 hours later there is already a Facebook site, a nominated Youth Officer (Liam’s older brother Stephane) and a series of meetings in the diary. I left the post-training celebrations in time to get 4 hours sleep and catch the first flight back to HK where we’ve just run another symposium . . . . . but that’s another story, for another post.

What I’m inspired to understand and pass on for other facilitator communities around the world is how tools like Facebook can be used so effectively, and what is it that Matthias is doing that has such a large and willing group ready to mobilise in support of symposiums, tree-plantings or other events. But for now, bravo Matthias and welcome to MY Awakening.

Be The Change

2009-09-14T22:03:00.001+08:00

Be The Change is set to be held on 27 September 2009 in The Gardens Mall, Kuala Lumpur.

This event aims to raise awareness and to educate the public on the dire state of the environment, and to show what YOU can do to help preserve the environment.
To find out more about the event, and how to secure an invite, click here.
Prior to the event, on 25 and 26 September 2009, there will be a two-day photo exhibition which is open to the public.
The photos that are displayed at the exhibition come from a photo competition starting from 19 August 2009 to 11 September 2009.
Stand the chance to win some amazing prizes by submitting your photograph to us showcasing environmental issues that Malaysia faces these days.
Photographs can be of any topic concerning the environment, be it the haze, the floods, deforestation etc. Surprise us.
A panel of judges will be selecting a Top 10 of all the photographs submitted and the winner will be announced during the Be The Change event on 27 September 2009 in Concourse, the Gardens Mall in Kuala Lumpur.
For entry details on the photo competition, click here.
Click here to view some submitted entries.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Be The Change photo competition

Stand a chance to win part of over RM 12,000 in prizes! Simply submit photographs on environmental issues in Malaysia, taken within the last 5 years and email it to us at promotions@hotpotato.com.my.

Photographs can be of any topic concerning the environment, be it the haze, the floods, the balding forests etc.

A panel of judges will be selecting a Top 10 of all the photographs submitted and the winner will be announced during the Be The Change event on 27 September 2009 at the Concourse, The Gardens Mall in Kuala Lumpur.

The Prizes

Grand Prize:

Olympus PEN E-P-1 Kit

(worth RM 2,999) +

RM 3,000 worth of Origins products and services

1st Runner Up:

Olympus E-520 Kit

(worth RM 2,099) +

RM 2,000 worth of Origins products and services

2nd Runner Up:

Olympus Mju Tough 6010

(worth RM 1,199) +

RM 1,000 worth of Origins products and services

STARTING DATE: 19 August 2009

CLOSING DATE: 11 September 2009

HOW TO ENTER:

This contest is open to all residents in Malaysia.
Entrants may send in as many entries as they wish.
All photographs submitted must have been taken in Malaysia over the last five years (no images taken before August 2004 are eligible).
Entries must be submitted via e-mail to promotions@hotpotato.com.my with a file size up to 2 MB. (We recommend that photos are taken at a resolution of 5 megapixels and above). Please note that entrants may be required to provide a 20" x 30" image on CD (jpeg or tiff format) upon request.
All entries must be submitted with the following information: photographer's name and I/C number, title of the photo, location of the photo taken, date/year of the photo taken and contact number.
Entries submitted will not be returned to the entrants.
All photographs should be clear of watermarks for fair judging purposes.
Entrants whose entries are selected as the Top 10 Finalists are required to be present at the Be The Change event in the Gardens Mall, Kuala Lumpur on 27 September 2009 for the final judging and/or prize presentation.

Please read our T&C carefully before submitting your entries to promotions@hotpotato.com.my

Terms & Conditions

Photographs that have previously won photo competitions, or have been published in a national publication, or have been sold to any party for reproduction are not allowed to enter the contest.
All photographs submitted must be the work of the individual submitting them and entrants must warrant that they own the copyright of it.
Should your photograph feature any person or people, make sure that they are aware of being photographed and permission should be obtained from all involved.
By entering this competition, each entrant grants Hot Potato Publishing Sdn Bhd permission to feature any or all images in any of their publications, their websites and/or in any promotional material connected to this competition.
Photographs are not allowed to be photoshopped.
By submitting your photographs you agree to our terms & conditions.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Photo Competition Entries

Photo taken at Jalan Semarak by Ariff Bin Ahmad Tajuddin

Photo taken in Alma, Penang by Ha Chee Wei

Photo taken in Sabah by Kim Chong Keat

Photo taken at Tajung Sepat by Wong Loke Cheng

Photo by Syaharil Bin Amin of Sabah

Photo taken at Batu Caves by Rene Lim

Photo by Stephanie of KL

Photo by Michelle Yip of PJ

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

What to expect at Be The Change

A two-day photo exhibition on environmental issues in Malaysia on 25 and 26 September 2009.
Exclusive talk by Matthias Gelber who was awarded 'The Greenest Person on the Planet' in 2008 by a Canadian organisation.
Opportunity to make an environmental pledge with invited local celebrities including Mix fm announcer Sham, whom will also be the emcee for the event.
Prize giving ceremony for the best photograph and the runner ups.

Guests will also receive an exclusive Origins goodiebag at the event.

Win EXCLUSIVE invitations to Be The Change!

The exclusive Be The Change event on 27 September 2009 is by invitation only, and here's how YOU can win them!

Simply complete the sentence

"I can preserve the environment by..."

and email your entries to promotions@hotpotato.com.my before 25 September 2009.

Mix fm will also be giving away 100 special invites to Be The Change. For more information, log on to www.mix.fm.

"Be The Change"...

2009-09-01T12:49:00.001+08:00

Matthias invited you to "Be The Change" on 27 September at 15:00.

Event: Be The Change
"do your part on preserving the environment!"
What: Exhibit
Host: HELLO! magazine
Start Time: 27 September at 15:00
End Time: 27 September at 17:00
Where: Concourse, The Gardens Mall

To see more details and RSVP, follow the link below:
http://www.facebook.com/n/?event.php&eid=237796365463&mid=102e38eG23b75429G27910e3G7

Thanks,
The Facebook Team

"EW at Bandar Harapan - Trip 4"... *

2009-08-25T07:51:00.000+08:00

Matthias invited you to "EW at Bandar Harapan - Trip 4" on 06 September at 08:00.

Event: EW at Bandar Harapan - Trip 4
"Nursery time, pathway extension, kidney pool....Dig it?"
What: Group Trip
Host: Eco Warriors Malaysia
Start Time: 06 September at 08:00
End Time: 06 September at 12:00
Where: PJU 1A/31, Ara Damansara

To see more details and RSVP, follow the link below:
http://www.facebook.com/n/?event.php&eid=118501474869&mid=fc6e33G23b75429G26e5021G7

Be The Change - Photo Competition

2009-08-25T07:50:00.001+08:00

Be The Change is set to be held on 27 September 2009 in The Gardens Mall, Kuala Lumpur.

This event aims to raise awareness and to educate the public on the dire state of the environment, and to show what YOU can do to help preserve the environment.

Prior to the event, on 25 and 26 September 2009, there will be a two-day photo exhibition which is open to the public.

The photos that are displayed at the exhibition come from a photo competition starting from 19 August 2009 to 11 September 2009.

Stand the chance to win some amazing prizes by submitting your photograph to us showcasing environmental issues that Malaysia faces these days.

Photographs can be of any topic concerning the environment, be it the haze, the floods, the balding forests etc.

A panel of judges will be selecting a Top 10 of all the photographs submitted and the winner will be announced during the Be The Change event on 27 September 2009 in Concourse, the Gardens Mall in Kuala Lumpur.

The Prizes

Grand Prize:

Olympus PEN E-P-1 Kit

(worth RM 2,999) +

RM 3,000 worth of Origins products and services

1st Runner Up:

Olympus E-520 Kit

(worth RM 2,099) +

RM 2,000 worth of Origins products and services

2nd Runner Up:

Olympus Mju Tough 6010

(worth RM 1,199) +

RM 1,000 worth of Origins products and services

HOW TO ENTER:

STARTING DATE: 19 August 2009

CLOSING DATE: 11 September 2009

1. This contest is open to all residents in Malaysia.
2. Entrants may send in as many entries as they wish.
3. All photographs submitted must have been taken in Malaysia over the last five years (no images taken before August 2004 are eligible).
4. Entries must be submitted via e-mail to promotions@hotpotato.com.my with a file size up to 2 MB. (We recommend that photos are taken at a resolution of 5 megapixels and above). Please note that entrants may be required to provide a 20" x 30" image on CD (jpeg or tiff format) upon request.
5. All entries must be submitted with the following information: photographer's name, title of the photo, location of the photo taken, date/year of the photo taken and contact number.
6. Entries submitted will not be returned to the entrants.
7. All photographs should be clear of watermarks for fair judging purposes.
8. Entrants whose entries are selected as the Top 10 Finalists are required to be present at the Be The Change event in the Gardens Mall, Kuala Lumpur on 27 September 2009 for the final judging and/or prize presentation.

Please read our T&C carefully before submitting your entries to promotions@hotpotato.com.my

Terms & Conditions

1. Photographs that have previously won photo competitions, or have been published in a national publication, or have been sold to any party for reproduction are not allowed to enter the contest.
2. All photographs submitted must be the work of the individual submitting them and entrants must warrant that they own the copyright of it.
3. Should your photograph feature any person or people, make sure that they are aware of being photographed and permission should be obtained from all involved.
4. By entering this competition, each entrant grants Hot Potato Publishing Sdn Bhd permission to feature any or all images in any of their publications, their websites and/or in any promotional material connected to this competition.
5. Photographs are not allowed to be photoshopped.
6. By submitting your photographs you agree to our terms & conditions.

If you have any questions about this photo competition, please leave a comment below.

What to expect at Be The Change

A two-day photo exhibition on environmental issues in Malaysia on 25 and 26 September 2009.
Exclusive talk by Matthias Gelber who was awarded 'The Greenest Person on the Planet' in 2008 by a Canadian organisation.
Opportunity to make an environmental pledge with invited local celebrities including Mix fm announcer Sham, whom will also be the emcee for the event.
Prize giving ceremony for the best photograph and the runner ups.

Guests will also receive an exclusive Origins goodiebag at the event.

Win EXCLUSIVE invitations to Be The Change!

The exclusive Be The Change event on 27 September 2009 is by invitation only, and here's how YOU can win them!

Simply complete the sentence

"I can preserve the environment by..."

and email your entries to promotions@hotpotato.com.my before 18 September 2009.

Mix fm will also be giving away 50 special invites to Be The Change from 7 to 19 September 2009.

For more information, log on to www.mix.fm.

Posted by Be The Change! at 12:06 AM 0 comments

STARBUCKS Live & Inspire Series

2009-08-25T07:47:00.001+08:00

S T A R B U C K S live & inspire series

Coinciding with the upcoming Live & Inspire Weekend in October, this is an initiative that focuses on the examples of ordinary people who have lived the extraordinary. It will highlight their work and accomplishments, personal struggles, strategies they used in striving to be more. These are people who live with a sense of being that inspires change, and directly influencing the evolution of the human spirit. It is about celebrating human potential.

F L O W

8.00pm: Register + Welcome + Intro
8.15pm: Speaker Session + Q & A
8.45pm: Lucky Draw & Networking
9.00pm: Close

S C H E D U L E

August 19th - PETE TEO
Musician & Writer (Malaysian Artist for Unity)
What is 15 Malaysia?

August 26th - MATTHIAS GELBER
World's GreenMan
Eco Action in Daily Life and Business. (Environmental)

September 2nd - MICHAEL REYES
CEO MoneyTree Asia Pacific
Getting Funding for Your Business? (Entrepreneurship)

September 9th - ROSHAN THIRAN
CEO Leaderonomics
(Leadership)

September 16th - DAVID LAI
Celebrity Magician & Mentalist
The `MAGIC' of Living Your Dreams. (Magic & Goals)

September 23rd POESY LIANG
Founder of Helping Angels
The Power of Random Acts of Kindness

September 30th - SIVA CHANDRAN (MalaysiaKini) & VOIZE
"POWER 2 THE PEOPLE"
Malaysiakini (Independent News) & Voize (Independent Music)

** jointly brought to by STARBUCKS, Live & Inspire, MoneyTree, theSun & MobileTV.

Eco Walk The Talk: Q&A with Matthias Gelber

2009-08-19T13:28:00.013+08:00

LINKBACK:
http://www.ecowalkthetalk.com/profile_view.php?Mid=72&Nick=mgelber

EWTT: How did you get the title The Greenest Man on the Planet?

Matthias: Well, a social green media start up company called 3rdwhale.com in Canada started this campaign to look for the "Greenest Person on the Planet." I was invited to participate in April of 2008. More than 600 people from 25 countries took part. I didn't really think much about it, but ended up in the final 50, and then in the last 10. So I submitted a video explaining what I was doing. In the end it was a race between myself in Malaysia and a Canadian lady who had a lot of media support, but I finally won with 51% of the votes.

EWTT: What were the things you did that help you win?

Matthias: Basically a low carbon footprint lifestyle, use of public transport and taxis that run on gas in KL (Kuala Lumpur), minimal airconditioning, low energy consumption each month, and recycling in our condo. Thanks to Gregers Reimann, we've actually put our condo recyling into a system, which can be replicated in other condos.

It's the practical lifestyle things plus the strategic things that I do, like Green Building materials, my green speaking and focus on inspiring other people and my support for tree planting initiatives. I'm a board member of INEM, the International Network of Environmental Management. I also have a green pension system based on my investments in biodiverse and sustainable forestry plantations in Panama.

EWTT: You also started what is probably one of the most inspired groups on Facebook called the Eco Warriors, Malaysia. How did that come about?

Matthias: It was started in November 2008. I gave a talk at Taylor College in Kuala Lumpur(KL) last year around September/October time on how to be an "Eco Warrior." I had attended a course by T.Harv Eker called "The Enlightened Warrior. It's all about "What do we stand for? What is our vision?

When I came back from the course I found out my best friend had died, a fellow shareholder 5 years younger than me, the guy who planted a couple of thousand trees in the Phillipines. It was quite emotional for me. I won the greenest person award. I made a pledge for planting 1 million trees. I pulled it all together to make a space on Facebook for people to come together to support action and not just talk. When I started the group, things started kicking up quite quickly.

A couple of friends and I decided we wanted to plant trees. We were closely linked to PATT as well, so we hooked up to Global Environment Centre (GEC), North Selangor Forest Department and started early December, to plant trees in the degraded peat swamp forests at North Selangor Peat Swamp Forest. So it has become a movement, that has given the people the belief again that we can make a difference, not just by talking about it but by practically doing things. We're also engaging in wider tree planting initiatives such as Mangrove tree planting and urban tree planting at the Kota Damansara forest.

EWTT: How important are peat swamp forests?

Matthias: Peat swamp forests are such a massive carbon sink. During the 1997 haze where rainforests of Indonesia burned heavily, more than 2 billion tons of carbon dioxide was released. Can we afford not to look after this? There are some whacky ideas of artificial carbon storage. Some of these may be OK, but what are we doing to protect the most potent carbon storage system that Nature has created for us in countries like Indonesia and Malaysia. In future, I want to raise the visibility of this issue, in the context of climate change. We need to unlock some of the carbon money to preserve forests and in particular, peat swamp forests. It seems as well that Palm Oil companies are increasingly keen on them and that worries me.

EWTT: Tell us about your formal training in Environmental Management and how you came to Asia.

Matthias: I lived 10 years in the UK. I did my Masters in Environmental Science and Legislation. I had this thing inside me that I wanted to earn something by doing good. After my intermediary degree, I shifted my course from environmental science with a lab and research focus to environmental management. I was excited about environmental management systems. In those days UK was leading with British standards that was helping industries in improving their environmental performance.

Then the Global community came along with ISO 14001. I focused on that for my masters. I got involved in a EU funded research project and 1 ½ -2 years later I suddenly found myself a guru in the field. My passion for speaking kind of helped and suddenly I was asked to go all over the world, to inspire people because I had a different message. Everybody kept saying to clients, "you have to implement the standard, you have to get this or that paper" - very much how to get the certificate. But I was asking, "How can you add value to your business? How can you get your people involved? How can you really improve your environmental performance? How can you avoid this from becoming a painful paper process?"

So I started the consultancy and training business with an associate, Mark O'Reilly and we became "the" brand in environmental management systems. Less than 2 years later, a big company bought our business. After I fulfilled my term with that company, I decided it was time to go to a sunnier climate as I had been to Asia a lot. I had connections with Malaysia and friends there.

EWTT: So how did you get involved with Maleki GmbH?

Matthias: Roughly about the same time, Hossein Maleki, one of my friends from college days, approached me. He emerged as number 1 in the world to develop those kinds of constructions products with minimal carbon footprint. He asked me if I could help him and I got excited about it because it's in line with my green vision and mission.

He wanted me to help him start this business, so I worked with him to figure out how best to do it. Initially, the idea was to work with another company, but I found some investors and we got going about 3 years ago.

EWTT: What is Maleki GmbH's business and how do your products save on carbon emissions?

Matthias: Our business is basically about replacing Portland cement which is the world's largest manufacturing process contributor to climate change.

Portland cement is a double whammy. We take limestone, which is calcium carbonate and crush it into pieces. Then we put it into a cement kiln. We burn the limestone at 1500-1600 deg C. We need loads of coal or other fuel to burn the limestone at such high heat, so we have all the emissions from the energy input. And then from 1 ton of limestone we only get 600kg of cement powder. Where has the other 400kg gone? We don't see any physical waste. There are no trucks coming in and out to dispose of waste. These 400kg are extra CO2 emissions.

We take a carbon sink so to say, burn it to release the CO2 to get an industrial product that could be developed from alternatives. More carbon dioxide emissions come from the manufacture of Portland Cement than all of the planes in the world together. This is about 6-7% of global carbon emissions, which is huge.

The replacement of Portland cement is Blast Furnace Slag and Fly Ash which are industrial waste and by product of coal powered power plants and steel making, and it is nothing new. It's also called the clinker factor. There's even a Kyoto Protocol Mechanism to reduce the clinker factor. People usually go for 20-30%, because otherwise they get problems with the strength of the material. All of our dry mortar products- water proofing, grouts, adhesive mortar to fix the tiles on the walls, industrial floor system, plaster render for house walls, and insulation plaster have less than 5 % Portland cement. And we have aggregates like sand in it. We have in all of them over 40% recycled industrial waste and if we use recycled aggregate/sand, then we can even push the recycled content above 90%.

EWTT: How does your pricing compare with conventional construction materials?

Matthias: It depends on the product category and our volume of manufacturing, for example, for our industrial flooring, we target epoxy cement replacement. Because our industrial flooring is extremely high performance, we can compete with cement and epoxy. We focus on epoxy because it is more problematic from a health point of view and expensive. It has hazardous waste if the material is left over, you need protective equipment, its carbon footprint is high as it's a refined oil derivative, so the pricing of that is at a totally different level because of the performance of the product and there our flooring is very competitive.

We can as well develop a very low cost cement floor replacement material, it all depends on what markets we move in first. We can play around with our technology platform. Our technology is on a new binder system, in which we can make many different applications- high end applications, low cost applications, so we are very versatile. We already have 28 products. The challenge for us is the commercialisation of the products. These products work, they have been tested, they have certificates, people are interested in them but it's a slow moving industry.

EWTT: What kind of policies from government or attitudes within an industry like yours will help you take your business to the next level?

Matthias: What would give us more opportunity is if people reward innovation in Green Building Certification Systems. Green Building Certification Systems don't necessarily reward something radically new, they go with what people think is currently available. Particularly, the carbon footprint of the building itself gets very limited points in the certification process because they are more focused on the ongoing energy consumption rather than the building material itself. So someone who goes with a low carbon footprint on the building envelope itself doesn't get a lot of recognition for it from the scoring mechanism.

However Singapore as a marketplace from what I have seen so far is the most advanced and progressive in the region to promote green buildings. I was recently a speaker at the Green Build Asia Conference and from the governments that gave a talk there, Singapore was by far the most impressive in terms of its policies, cash incentives put on the table and the fact that already a certification scheme for the products. All of our cement type products that have replaced cement would comply immediately with the requirement of 30% recycled content. Hardly anyone here can comply with it because people haven't done that in the past, they are trying to come up with new products. We don't have to develop new products as we have them already.

EWTT: What would your definition of a green building be?

Matthias: I think the starting point is to realize that 40% of the world's CO2 emissions are linked to the construction industry. I used to be involved in a UNEP programme committee that looked at climate change and construction. To my disappointment they were mainly looking at energy consumption of buildings and operations which account for about 15% of the world CO2 emissions.

Commercial buildings are responsible for about 5% of CO2 emissions and domestic buildings about 10% mainly in terms of energy use. You shouldn't totally neglect other areas like land use change and deforestation in the context of construction plus Portland cement which accounts for 6-7% of the worlds CO2 emissions. There is more than only the ongoing energy consumption of commercial buildings.

It would be good to focus efforts on what could give big results but there's obviously a strong, powerful, established industry there that in the past wasn't even ready to let people get their hands on blast furnace slag. In Germany you didn't get blast furnace slag because the cement companies have a deal with the steel companies that everything was exclusively being sold to the cement companies. So we couldn't even research this, whether we could use it to replace Portland cement. But the industry is waking up because they feel more and more pressure. EU in particular has put pressure on cement players, through the EU Emissions Trading Scheme.

I don't have a definition in mind but a green building is something that provides shelter to humans in a form of sustaining and enhancing their quality of life with minimum environmental impact in construction and its operation. That can be achieved through many shapes and forms. We are in the business of cement replacement but may be even greener is construct the house with bamboo. Or use the traditional method of cooling- people used to build their houses on stilts to allow air circulation, but we've moved away from living with nature and separated ourselves. We are using the airconditioning system and artificial airflows as a way of regulating the climate in buildings so you get "Sick Building Syndromes" and other problems. The world will continue to use cement but let's try to reduce our environmental impact.

EWTT: What have the main challenges been so far in your business?

Matthias: I never imagined that it would cost me so much money, time and so much hair! (laughing) So it's been a long journey. We're not yet on the other side of the journey but we're going to get there.

Our products are very powerful. We have disruptive technology. We were a bit too greenhorned thinking that we would have all sorts of people wanting to buy our products. People are excited about our products. People predict a big future for our business. But we underestimated the timescale, work involved and the challenges for turning the products and the technology into something that earns you money.

The construction industry is very conservative and slow moving. The engineer doesn't want to use a new material because he wants to play safe with a material which has been used for 10 years already.

Also, our initial strategy of "let's work with the established players of the industry" has been a difficult one, because with the disruptive technology that we have, existing players in the field want to control you and not necessarily push your products too much. How will they tell their customers that they have something new, and totally different that's better, technically superior, greener, and better value for money than what they've been using the last 10 years? So we need to evaluate working with partners who are not necessarily established players.

EWTT: So what keeps you motivated despite all the challenges as a green entrepreneur?

Matthias: Though our green business journey has been challenging, if I wouldn't have been convinced we're going to get there, this business would not exist. If I wouldn't have felt the big drive that we can make a massive contribution to reducing CO2 emissons this business would not exist.

What keeps me going is my passion for the environment. I grew up in a little village in Germany. I'm a real kampong (village in Malay) boy. People use the word kampong for a lot of different things. When some people say they go back to their kampong, they mean back to Ipoh (a big town in Malaysia) which to me is a big city!

There were loads of woods around, we had a garden, animals and a field where we grew potatoes. So I grew up in an area where I got my hands dirty. I got involved in tree chopping but it was a very sustainable model owned and run by the village community.

I built up a strong connection with nature in school in my local youth group and got involved with green things. In Germany we were educated to be green. Germany had this post war generation and the message in school to us was, how can we make a positive difference?

EWTT: Do you think people have romantic notions about green entrepreurship. What do you think takes to succeed in any kind of green business?

Matthias: Yes, only a few people deliver it to the end. It's about going on, even if say, you have no money in your bank account, people tell you you're stupid, people might not believe at all in your vision. You might even get resistance from family members and friends and that you are on the wrong path.

You must be open to critically reflect, but you must have a clear vision of where you are going and that there is an alignment with your inner passion.

You have also got to ensure there is a market there. The green market is becoming stronger and stronger. On the other hand, let's be realistic. Statistics may tell you when you ask people, "Are you going to buy green even though it's a bit more expensive?" 70-80% may say yes. But when you actually have to put the money down, only 10% will do it.

So rationally speaking, you can't do green business completely without the rules of the market. It's not just the passion that will swing it. You need to have a solid financing mechanism. You need to set up a proper business. You need to do the ABC of entrepreneurship. And if that's not your area of interest, get the right people to do the ABC for you, and make sure they're not going to cheat you. You need to treat this kind of business like any other business.

EWTT: How active are you with your speaking engagements?

Matthias: When I was in the environmental management arena, I started to get several invitations to speak. The feedback was good and before I realised it, I was on the speaking circuit. I didn't have a strategy for it, it was more like an evolution. I became a well known speaker. After I sold my business, I have toned down my speaking, as I wanted to focus on Maleki GmbH. Now, I am mostly into non-profit speaking, but in future, I hope to do some high end training and presenting in the context of consulting. I'll see where it takes me.

EWTT: What are the traits required for a good Eco- Leader?

Matthias: I'm still grappling at what is a good leader. I'm learning as I go along! Yes, I have inspired people, and ignited some movement but it's good that I let other people take over, for the ongoing operationalisation of those efforts.

What's important is that it's not about me, it's our combined effort, empowering people so they can step up and get credit for the work that they are doing. Some of our Eco Warriors are featured in the Malaysian papers. They deserve that.

Step back when you need to. Don't lose the big vision. Acknowledge mistakes that you make as well. Nobody is perfect, I don't know it all. Leaders have their egos, so we need to check that. At the same time, we need to be driven by our vision.

EWTT: What is the level of awareness or engagement in environmental issues in Asia?

Matthias: There are a lot of things going on, but mainly as pockets of small, private initiatives. South East Asia has a lot of energy to do green good, but some of that energy has been sucked out due to industrial deforestation. My experience is that Asians are keen to do something but have lost the belief that their efforts will make a difference. Once you can restore that belief, they are actually quite keen and committed. I think there is a lot of connection with Mother Earth in Asia, due to people's spiritual beliefs. Native communities in particular, are very tuned in to what Nature has to offer to them.

EWTT: What are your dreams for the planet?

Matthias: My operational dream is for cement replacement technologies to replace carbon emissions by 1%. I hope that I as an individual can make a difference to preserving peat swamp forests. I want to inspire a lot of people to pick up their own inspiration for capturing environmental sustainable development as their journey, as their daily bread, as their inspiration for life, as a legacy that gives them a good reason for making a contribution on this planet.

If you're still asking the question, "Why am I here?" then find the reason why you are here and why you're here beyond your physical presence on this planet.

I think the mission of the "Awaken The Dreamer" symposium, is very beautiful and powerful - to bring forth an environmentally sustainable, socially just and spiritually fulfilling human presence on Planet Earth.

If I can make a contribution to making that dream a reality on this precious planet, that would be my biggest desire.

Last updated: August 18th, 2009

(08.08.08) "EW Trip to Bandar Harapan 08/08 @ 0800 hrs"...

2009-08-03T19:30:00.001+08:00

Matthias invited you to "EW Trip to Bandar Harapan 08/08 @ 0800 hrs" on 08 August at 08:00.

Event: EW Trip to Bandar Harapan 08/08 @ 0800 hrs
"Hands for City of Hope (Bandar Harapan)"
What: Group Trip
Host: Eco Warriors Malaysia
Start Time: 08 August at 08:00
End Time: 08 August at 12:00
Where: PJU 1A/31, Ara Damansara

To see more details and RSVP, follow the link below:
http://www.facebook.com/n/?event.php&eid=127319057496&mid=e0c577G23b75429G243b677G7

‘WHAT DESIGN MEANS TO US IN TIMES OF ECONOMIC CRISIS & GLOBAL WARMING’

2009-08-03T11:46:00.001+08:00

'WHAT DESIGN MEANS TO US IN TIMES OF ECONOMIC
CRISIS & GLOBAL WARMING' is a mini conference series
for like minded people, agents of change, and designers
to gather and celebrate points of view that impacts
communities, society, industry and the world.

Date: Saturday, 8th of August 2009
Time: 9.00 am to 1.00 pm

Venue: Conference Room, National Art Gallery
Fee: RM30 for students; RM100 for professionals
Open to all students and professionals.

Matthias Gelber Matthias Gelber is a global environmental speaker and entrepreneur.
He is a board member of the International Network of
Environmental Management, a non-profit organisation working
with businesses internationally to inspire them to make their
operations more environmentally friendly. Matthias has given
environmental talks in 38 countries all over the world and has
successfully started and sold an environmental consulting and
training company during the time when he lived in the UK.

MY Awakening (with Facebook)

2009-08-03T11:27:00.001+08:00

June 15, 2009

By justthejon

Am writing this post rather breathless after a whirlwind 3-day trip to Malaysia and an astounding couple of events in Kuala Lumpur.

June '09 is dedicated to supporting the growth of the Awakening community in South East Asia, and this has occasioned a tour of the region. One of the stops was KL where the World's Greenest Man lives. Matthias Gelber, who won this acolade in a worldwide search, is also an entrepreneur, the founder of Eco Warriors Malaysia and a trained facilitator for the Awakening the Dreamer symposium.

So you'll guess that Matthias is a make-it-happen kind of guy, and he was delighted to create both a symposium and then a one-day training in Malaysia this past weekend, and what events they proved to be. On Friday evening 180 people gathered in the Grand Millennium Hotel (Matthias had exchanged his time as an eco-trainer for use of this venue!!!!). What followed was the most spirited symposium I have ever been involved in; the crowd was with us, and vocally so, from the outset as Matthias, Jo Fok (remember Jo as the force of nature organising the whole June trip) and I lead the event. At least three wonderful possibilities emerged; the first was a grouping of the many people there working in the field of education, the second a collection of committed and active young people and thirdly the a group who wanted to attend the Facilitator Training the next day. The crowd was eventually dispersed (by the cleaners I think) over an hour after the event had formally concluded and it was clear that this first event had been a huge hit. The people who attended were almost all already active in some way, but as is so often the case, were galvanized into new levels of activity and collaboration by the ATD message. And, demonstrating a real opportunity for other groups around the world, the crowd had been assembled almost entirely on Facebook (no trees were harmed in the promotion of this event).

I left the post-training celebrations in time to get 4 hours sleep and catch the first flight back to HK where we've just run another symposium . . . . . but that's another story, for another post.

What I'm inspired to understand and pass on for other facilitator communities around the world is how tools like Facebook can be used so effectively, and what is it that Matthias is doing that has such a large and willing group ready to mobilise in support of symposiums, tree-plantings or other events. But for now, bravo Matthias and welcome to MY Awakening.

Article sourced from Our Planet Needs Us Blog:

http://justthejon.wordpress.com/2009/06/15/my-awakening-with-facebook/

Pre-event Public Talk by Mr. Matthias

2009-08-03T11:21:00.001+08:00

From S.O.S. Earth Blog
(Thursday, June 11, 2009)

Hello! Hello! The exact word that is used to greet the whole APR 1 and AAV 2 that woke them up from day-dreaming. It's him, The Greenest Person on the Planet, Mr. Matthias Gelber, who came to our college to give a public talk on "Environment Issues".

This talk is a great opportunity for the APR 1 and AAV2 students to get a basic knowledge about the environment before they kick off their honourable journey to organise an environmental conservation event with the name "SOS Earth" on the 11th and 12th August 2009 at Tunku Abdul Rahman College, Kuala Lumpur Main Campus, College Hall.

If you are wondering if the talk was boring, wonder again. You also might think that his English will be flourished with German accent, as his a German, then you are wrong. He speaks simple English that is easy to be understood without accent and this is very much because he has been here, Malaysia, for some time now.

Mr. Matthias was giving an enthusiastic talk to educate students on the importance of protecting the environment.

During the talk, Mr. Matthias told his childhood story by presenting few pictures where he refers himself as a "Kampung Boy" that caught us with a smile. He highlighted the difference of the winter between the time of his childhood and the current. All this changes is due to the environmental problem.

By showing some pictures of flora and fauna, it triggered us that if we do not start to take action to protect the earth, the following generation will not be able to witness flora and fauna again. In the talk, he shared his own experience on some actions that he carried out to try, or start, saving the earth such. He cooperates with the management team and cleaner in his condominium to separate waste to make sure recycling process can be done easier. Not only his experiences that he shared, he too tells us what others had done to save the earth.

Before ending his talk, he questioned "Are you doing all you can?". That sentence pretty much sums up what he thinks the people here has contributed. He too said that everything starts with a belief. With the belief, you will have your own stand, and you will work hard in order to achieve these believes. This applies to the act of saving earth. AS LONG AS YOU BELIEVE, THEN YOU CAN DO IT!!

Our kind advisors, Miss Lim Siz Siz and Miss Serene Yong, also part of the audiences in the talk presented a small gift as a token of appreciation to Mr. Matthias.

After the mind triggering talk, we know and understand the situation that we are facing now deep down in our heart. No longer in the planning stage, it's action time! Our event tag line: F.L.O.R.A (Future Lies On Responsive Action) shows how much the future depends on our actions. So, come join us in this meaningful event on August!!!

Links to this post

The Awakening the Dreamer Changing the Dream Symposium

2009-08-03T11:19:00.001+08:00

"It's not just a planet…its home."
This is the first slide show. We can feel the tidiness in our chest. It's the time to wake up everybody!!!

After an impressive talk in our college by Mr. Matthias, we were eager to look deeper into environmental issue. (Actually, a few of us are only interested in the TreeHugger t-shirt from Mr. Matthias >.<, but of course, majority of us are there solely for the talk ^_^). For whatever reason, here we are! We attended the 'The Awakening the Dreamer Changing the Dream Symposium" at Millennium Hotel, 7.00pm, on the 12th of June 2009.
The purpose of this symposium is to bring forth an environmentally sustainable, spiritually fulfilling and socially just human presence on this planet as the guiding principle of our times.

There were 3 speakers for this talk on that day and the most familiar one would be The Greenest Person on the Planet, Mr. Matthias Gelber (centre). The other two equally awesome speakers are the Awakening the Dreamer Outreach Director from The Pachamama Alliance, Mr. Jon Symes (From left) and a lady, full of passion for the environment, Ms Jo Fok from Hong Kong.

This symposium was really awesome!! Waoh!! Most of the time they were showing the videos that has great impact on us. Before they begin videos, they threw us 4 questions to explore about:

1. Where we are? – An examination of the state of environmental, social and personal well-being
2. How did we get here? - Tracing the root causes that lead to our current imbalance.
3. What's possible for the future? – Discovering new ways of relating with each other, with the Earth and looking at the emerging Movement for change.
4. Where do we go from here? – Considering the stand we want to be in the world and our personal and collective impact.

The way they used to conduct this symposium is quite special. Every now and then, they will question us in order to let the audiences to think about the Earth's destruction and what we can do about it.

After watching the video, we will form into groups, discuss about the environment and later share our opinion with those attended. Mr. Jon asked, "Who give you hope?"

There was a student from Journalism course Year 1 answered, "My children, but not here yet" Everyone was amused and gave her a round of applause. Can u imagine that? She is so young but she cares for her next generation, how about you??!!

The most impactful video of the day was the results of the research on our lovely earth. We never knew that 90% of the large fishes had disappeared from ocean. I never knew that 75% of the world's forests were eliminated. I never knew that lung and breast cancer doubled up the rates in the past 30 years. I never knew that in one day the US spent 52 million for plastic, same goes for Malaysia, Japan, Korea and etc.

Dumbfounded with that? I don't know about you but we did. We didn't think of anything during the symposium but we felt it. Felt the feeling of helpless of our Mother Nature.

Heard of "Just Do It"? Slogan for Nike shoes. But do you guys know the creator of this slogan now works for forest?? Just do it everybody…

For more information, log on to www.globalmindshift.org OR www.oneearth.org OR www.awakeningthedreamer.org

p.s: 'Inconvenient Truth' is a movie that recommended by Mr. Matthias, the story line of this movie was close to us, let's check it out…^_^

'I am of the opinion that my life belong to the whole community, and as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can'

~ George Bernard Shaw ~

Eco Warriors Goes to Jungle!

2009-07-20T15:42:00.001+08:00

Jungle Walk and Talk in Jungle Lodge

Host:	Eco Warriors Malaysia
Type:	Trips - Daytrip

Date:	Saturday, July 25, 2009
Time:	7:00am - 2:00pm
Location:	The Jungle Lodge Alang Sedayu
Street:	12th Mile, Jalan Gombak,
City/Town:	Selangor, Malaysia

Email:

nalee9@gmail.com

Description

Experience the Rainforest Adventure Train at the Jungle Lodge Alang Sedayu in Ulu Gombak, Selangor. Just 30 minutes out of Kuala Lumpur, nature's great attractions are waiting to be discovered. Experience, adventure and enjoy the rhythm of the rainforest.

Step into the lush 130 million years primeval rainforest older than the Amazon with its great biodiversity of flora, fauna and birdlife and experience the wonders of a jungle retreat. Give yourself an experience to discover nature and adventure challenges.

For more information: www.junglelodgemalaysia.com

Program:
7.00am Meeting in A&W in PJ State
7.30am Car pool to Jungle Lodge
8.30am Arrive in Jungle Lodge, briefing and breakfast.
9.00am Talk on Tree planting, tree protection, haze and peat forests by Matthias Gelber
9.30am Guided jungle leisure walk and swimming in waterfall.
1.00pm Back in Jungle Lodge, leisure time and lunch
2.00pm Leave the Jungle Lodge back to KL

Additional Information:
Cost for Jungle Lodge breakfast is RM5.00 and for lunch RM8.00 (buffet style)

We will collect the RM13 food money at the meeting point on Saturday morning.

Things To Bring:
- Wear appropriate cloths and shoes for jungle walking.
- Swimming attire those who are keen to jump in to waterfall and/or the pool. There is also open shower facility
- Spare clothes
- Sun block, mosquito repellent, water bottle with your favourite drink, cap/hat and money for the food

How to Get There
► Map : http://www.junglelodgemalaysia.com/img/jungle_map.pdf

Those who require car pooling and those who volunteer to drive, please contact Nalin or Petri before Thursday (23rd July 2009) at nalee9@gmail.com or petrim@gmail.com
We need volunteer drivers!

Carpooling to the Jungle Lodge:
• Meet-up : 7am at A&W, Petaling Jaya (next to Taman Jaya LRT Station)
• Travel time : 45 mins - 1 hour's drive.

North Selangor peat swamp forest reserve Tree Planting 5

2009-07-14T13:56:00.002+08:00

The rehabilitation of the degraded areas at the North Selangor Peat Swamp Forest (NSPSF) reserve continues with this fifth tree planting day.
• Organisers : Global Environment Centre (GEC) & Selangor State Forestry Department
• Partners : Eco Warriors Malaysia & PATT (Plant-A-Tree-Today.org)

┏ ━ ─ ━ ─ ━ ─ ━ ─ ━ ━ ━ ─ ━ ─ ━ ─ ━ ─ ━ ─ ┓
┃ • DATE : Saturday, Jul 25
┃ • TIME : 8 am - 12:30 pm
┃ • LOCATION : North Selangor Peat Swamp Forest
┗ ━ ─ ━ ─ ━ ─ ━ ─ ━ ━ ━ ─ ━ ─ ━ ─ ━ ─ ━ ─ ┛

What to Bring
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
1. STURDY, closed-toed shoes (eg. rubber boots or sneakers)
2. Hat and sunscreen.
3. Your own drinking water.
4. Long pants that you don't mind getting dirty.
5. A bucket, gardening tools and gloves, if you have them.

★ For safety reasons, anyone wearing improper footwear will not be allowed into the planting zones. ★

Carpooling to the Planting Site
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
• Meetup : 7am at A&W, Petaling Jaya (next to Taman Jaya LRT Station)
• Travel time : 45 mins - 1 hour's drive to planting site

How to Get There
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
► Map : http://amadeo.blog.com/repository/1836371/4049936.jpg

1. Get onto the North-South PLUS Highway and follow the signs to Ipoh.
2. Exit the highway at BUKIT TAGAR (EXIT 119).
3. After the toll, drive to the end of the road where you'll reach a T-junction. (Look out for a sign board to BESTARY JAYA.)
4. Turn left at this T-junction.
5. Drive for about 5mins to reach the PLANTING SITE. It's on the right side of the road.

Signs will be put up after the toll to guide participants to the site. Please look out for them.

★ Please don't rely on GPS for directions to the planting site. The directions are incorrect. ★

Asia and Southeast Asia Welcomes Awakening The Dreamer

2009-07-14T13:51:00.001+08:00

Hong Kong, Shanghai, Manila, Kuala Lumpur and Japan were buzzing with Awakening the Dreamer activity in June, with a host of Symposiums, facilitator trainings, and special events, opening up a wealth of opportunities. An amazing volunteer team of facilitators organized these visits by Pachamama Alliance staff, to bring the message of environmental sustainability, social justice and spiritual fulfillment to thousands of new people. Included in the schedule were symposiums at the Asia Consciousness Festival in Hong Kong and two major universities. As a result, there are now more than 100 new Awakening the Dreamer facilitators in Japan, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Mainland China.

Among the many highlights:
•    A 180-person Symposium and then a 47-person facilitator training were held in Malaysia. These events opened up future possibilities with people working in the field of education, and with committed and active young people. The person who organized all this was Matthias Gelber, who won the accolade of the "World's Greenest Man," in a worldwide search. He is the founder of Eco Warriors Malaysia, and a trained facilitator for the Awakening The Dreamer Symposium. And, demonstrating a real opportunity for other groups around the world, the crowd had been assembled almost entirely on Facebook. Participants ranged in age from 13 to much older, speaking Malay, Tamil, Hindi, Cantonese, Danish, German, Spanish, Japanese and English.
•    A Symposium was delivered to 40 students at Fudan University in Shanghai, a top 5 university that is one of the oldest and most prestigious in China. Feedback was enthusiastic and possibilities now exist for finishing the mandarin translation, making a Chinese youth version, spreading it within Fudan, in other universities and for the students to take it to high school students.
•    A "deepening" training was done in Hong Kong, to delve more in-depth into the rich material of the Symposium. A Symposium was held at the Asia Consciousness Festival, drawing an overflow crowd.
•    In Japan, a man named Hide Enomoto had been trained as a facilitator two years ago in the United Kingdom. One year ago he returned to Japan and got to work. He was the only person in Japan who had taken a Symposium, and in that year, he organized and led 8 Symposiums, and enrolled a team referred to as The Pachamama Angels. They translated into Japanese the Symposium manual, all printed materials and the video script, created Japanese subtitles, and dubbed Hide's voice over the narrator. They then enrolled 30 very accomplished people in a facilitator training which was filled to capacity. In the first two weeks after the training, they had put on at least 5 Symposiums, and planned 4 more, including one in Vietnam.

Wilding Collection

2009-07-01T15:40:00.001+08:00

Host:	Eco Warriors Malaysia
Type:	Trips - Day Trip
Network:	Global

Date:	11 July 2009
Time:	05:00 - 08:00
Location:	Sg. Panjang. Selangor

Email:

luchenpin@gmail.com

Description

Wildings are "wild" seedlings that grow from seeds dropped in the forest.

Wilding collection is the beginning point of a tree planting event.

We collect them, grow them in a nursery until they are mature enough to be transplanted into a degraded peat swamp.

Without this exercise, we will eventually run out of tree to plant.

The detail of the program :

Date : 11/Jul/2009
Site : Sg. Panjang.
No of volunteers required : 60

Program:
5:15 am - Assemble at A&W, State PJ.
5.30 am - Leave to Sg. Panjang
7.30 am - Collections of Wildings commence
10.30am - Stop collecting / Loading to the lorry
11am - Leave for nursery

For those who are interested to camp a night in the forest on 10/Jul/2009 together with rangers from forestry department, it can be arranged.

Please refer to the location map for the direction.

Little deeds that add up (Star article by Tan Cheng Li)

2009-06-02T15:50:00.009+08:00

New uses: Going by the adage 'reduce, reuse and recycle', Lu Chen Pin makes it a point to extend the lifespan of things.

This Friday is World Environment Day, a time to recognise individuals who try to leave a lighter imprint on the planet.

LENGTHEN the lifespan of things – that is the maxim which Lu Chen Pin lives by, a personal rule that sees him finding new worth for discarded stuff. Take, for instance, the empty metal cans of the black herbal jelly guilingao. Lu wraps them with nice-looking paper, cuts a slit in the plastic cover, and he has a coin box for you.

Those plastic envelopes that magazines and advertising booklets are mailed in nowadays? Lu files documents in them, so he need not buy paper folders. In his office in Petaling Jaya, boxes that once stored mooncakes, furniture fixtures and what-not all have found new uses as storage containers.

"The lifespan of things are short if you throw them away. If you reuse them, you can create a longer life for them. That's my aim,"says Lu, 37, who runs his own software development business Origine IT.

A self-confessed hoarder, Lu says his home is filled with things – some picked up from five-foot ways – which he intends to breathe new life to. "There are many products which we cannot change or prevent, so it is best to find new applications for them. I learnt this from my father. TV sets in the old days come with doors. So when ours stopped working, he removed the (cathode ray) tube and used it as a cupboard."

There is much to be gained from the older generations, he adds. "They're the real environmentalists and we should learn from them. They know how to maximise the use of things."

Coming from a humble background, Lu was taught to be thrifty from young. Gestures such as turning off the tap when brushing his teeth, no lavish shopping and not using the car air-conditioner in the mornings are daily habits. It was after he joined the environmental group Eco Warriors late last year that he became more of an eco-vigilante.

Now every second Sunday of the month is a "no driving day" for him, a pledge made after Earth Hour on March 28. When he goes jogging at the park, he picks up rubbish along the trail. He laments that at Gasing Hill, the trash consists mostly of trail markers left by Hash House Harriers. If you're one of those litterbugs who dump trash out your car window, just hope that Lu is not driving behind you. "I take photos of such people (and their car plate number) with my handphone and post the photos on Facebook," says Lu.

He also goes by the adage "first reduce, then reuse and recycle." To uphold that stand, he has given up drinking iced coffee at Starbucks – simply because it is served in disposable plastic cups and cover.

On a trip to Cambodia, he distributed pens and unused diaries to village children. "They don't care if it's an old diary. They just need something to write on," he says.

Together with members of Eco Warriors, he has planted trees to reforest the Raja Musa peat swamp forest in Selangor. "We hope to plant enough trees so that nature can reclaim the bare site. The trees will also form the boundary of the reserve."

Lu believes tree planting events are great ways to draw people into conservation efforts. "It gives them the feeling of doing something good. When people touch the ground and experience planting trees, that will change their behaviour and trigger the passion to do something for the environment."

Lu knows that only too well – that was exactly how his green crusade started. Now, he is encouraging more people to go green in a unique way. "I will tell five friends to do an environmental act and ask them to each get five friends to do the same act, such as plant trees or stop using plastic bags. This goes on and on and we will get more people involved."

He has convinced some friends to adopt a more environment-friendly lifestyle but remains cautiously optimistic. "I don't know how far I can go but what I've learnt is that a small step can make a big difference, at least to some people and some places."

Now that's another maxim to keep in mind.

Lighting Up (Star Article on June 2, 2009)

2009-06-02T15:37:00.004+08:00

Environment-conscious: Gregers Reimann set up a recycling station outside his apartment and invited his neighbours to use the bins.

EACH time Gregers Reimann returns to Denmark, tucked inside his suitcase amongst gifts for family and friends back home is a small bag of used batteries. Never mind that the batteries are classified as hazardous waste which, if one goes by the books, should not leave Malaysia. Reimann, worried that the chemicals-laden batteries would be wantonly dumped, chose to take them home.

"I couldn't bring myself to throw them away since there is no proper disposal for batteries in Malaysia. So I stored them and brought them back to Copenhagen where they would be properly disposed of," says the energy-efficiency consultant. Now even friends and colleagues pass him their old batteries.

"Smuggling" batteries is just one of Reimann's green tendencies; he also cycles to work, uses electricity sparingly, carts around his own shopping bag, shops minimally and kick-started recycling at his condominium.

"In Denmark, recycling is ingrained in us but when I moved here over four years ago, I found it strange that there is little recycling," says Reimann, 34. And so he put up recycling boxes in the common corridor of his floor and invited his neighbours to use them.

That small step has since grown into a bigger recycling scheme after Reimann and another resident convinced the apartment management to provide recycling bins on all 24 floors of the highrise in Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur.

"I was not aware until recently that the cleaners already sort through our rubbish for recyclables. By putting proper recycling bins in the rubbish rooms, it will be easier for them," says Reimann, who intends to share this approach to recycling with other apartment dwellers.

With a background in energy engineering and experience in energy-efficient buildings, Reimann has a few tricks to keep his monthly electricity bill low – it's only about RM40. He changed all the incandescent light bulbs in his rented furnished dwelling to energy-saving compact fluorescent ones. When the air-conditioner had to be replaced, he requested that his landlord install one that uses inverter technology but in turn was asked to pay the price difference of RM300. "That's fine as I benefit from lower electricity bills," says Reimann,

He never leaves electrical equipment on standby mode as this still uses electricity. He calculates that all the electricals in his home – TV, DVD player, Astro decoder, Jaring wireless, wireless phone and router, and music system – when left on standby mode, still collectively consume 50 watts of electricity at any one time. This "phantom power" adds up to 438 kilowatt hour a year and will cost him about RM130 in electricity bill and worse, 298kg of carbon dioxide.

To turn off all the power points, he uses remote control switches. These are convenient, especially for power points located in hard to reach places, such as behind the TV cabinet.

Reimann points out that energy is heavily subsidised in Malaysia. "Some 40% of your electricity bill is already paid for by the Government. When you make energy cheap, people don't care about it and that leads to wastage."

He reckons that his field of energy efficiency puts him in good stead to change things for the better. His company IEN Consultants was involved in the Zero Energy Office building.

"Working in Malaysia is particularly interesting. It's virgin territory (for energy efficiency)," says Reimann.

His company's flexible working hours allows him to work from home and even to clock in later, so he is not caught in traffic jams, and this saves energy. He uses his company-provided car only for long commutes, preferring to cycle some 10km to his office in Bangsar almost every day.

"I get to exercise and reduce my carbon footprint at the same time. When I was working in Copenhagen, I cycled 30km to and from work. Cycling here is fairly safe because Malaysian drivers are used to looking out for motorbikes. In Los Angeles (where he used to work), there are no cyclists or motorbikes so they don't look out for us. It is more dangerous to cycle there."

At the office, Reimann has designed the lighting such that the electricity bill for the 200sqm space is a mere RM26 a month. That bill excludes air-conditioning, which is covered by the building owner. "When we moved in, we deliberately designed the office for daylighting. So we need to turn on the lights only around 5pm or 6pm."

Measures used to light the office naturally include reflective blinds and a sloping white ceiling to reflect light inwards. The work stations are placed near windows to tap natural light, whereas book shelves and corridors are located at the centre of the office since lower lighting is needed. All 13 staff work on laptops which are five times more energy-efficient than desktop computers. Also, the water dispenser and other electricals are turned off at night.

After learning about the huge carbon footprints resulting from meat production, Reimann now reaches more for the salads rather than the beef during meals. He admits to one weakness, though: travelling. To make amends, he neutralises the carbon emissions from his flights by purchasing offsets from Atmosfair, a German company that invests in renewable energy and energy-efficiency projects.

"These contribute to real carbon dioxide reductions and help develop the Third World at the same time." Last May, when he returned to Copenhagen, he paid €179 to balance out the 7,760kg of carbon dioxide equivalent spewed from the flight.

He has never owned a car but if he does buy one, it will be an electric car which is clean and emits no fumes. And, of course, he harbours dreams of building his own energy-efficient home.

He owes his green leanings to his upbringing. "It's a responsibility towards human beings and future generations that we don't destroy Earth but preserve it and keep it liveable." – By Tan Cheng Li

"Peat Swamp Forest Trekking"...

2009-06-02T14:47:00.004+08:00

For Eco Warriors seeking a sense of outdoor adventure, don't miss out the trekking event below.

Event: Peat Swamp Forest Trekking
"In conjunction with World Environment Day 06/06/09"
What: Sporting Event
Host: Eco Warriors Malaysia
Start Time: 06 June at 07:00
End Time: 06 June at 12:00
Where: Sg. Panjang, North Selangor

To see more details and RSVP, follow the link below:
http://www.facebook.com/n/?event.php&eid=90460807260&mid=8ebcffG23b75429G1ce63acG7

"Tree Planting Event @ Kota Damansara Community Forest Park...

2009-05-27T18:44:00.003+08:00

Matthias invited you to "Tree Planting Event @ Kota Damansara Community Forest Park" on 30 May at 07:30.

Event: Tree Planting Event @ Kota Damansara Community Forest Park
What: Club/Group Meeting
Host: Eco Warriors Malaysia
Start Time: 30 May at 07:30
End Time: 30 May at 16:00
Where: Kota Damansara Community Forest Park

To see more details and RSVP, follow the link below:
http://www.facebook.com/n/?event.php&eid=81649147355&mid=863cecG23b75429G1c39b88G7

Thanks,
The Facebook Team

Green Cement to the Fore (NST article on May 22, 2009)

2009-05-24T01:44:00.001+08:00

Awakening The Dream Summit

2009-05-20T15:51:00.004+08:00

Host: Eco Warriors Malaysia
Type: Meetings - Convention
Network: Global
Date: 12 June 2009
Time: 18:00 - 22:00
Location: central KL

This event is the 'Awakening the Dream' summit with the guest facilitator Jon Sykes all the way from the US who will be delivering the event jointly with Matthias Gelber, the founder of Eco Warriors Malaysia.

Jo Fok from Global Shift based in Hong Kong will support the event. Global Shift has organized the SE Asia tour of Jon Sykes.

This global initiative was started by the Pachamama Alliance - an alliance born out of a relationship developed between a group of people from the modern world and the leaders of remote indigenous groups in the Amazon region of Ecuador.

While doing their work of trying to preserve the Earth's tropical rainforests, the need to create a new global vision of equity and sustainability for all was obvious - hence, the 'Awakening the Dream' Initiative.

The Initiative starts with the recognition that the 'old dream' (our current assumptions, mechanisms, ways, worldview etc) is dysfunctional - the world seems to be spinning faster towards disaster through climate change, war, disease, famine, financial meltdown. The cost of our inhumanity to each other rises daily, and our current way of living fails to deliver lasting happiness.

It also recognises that the future need not be an extension of the present.

At the heart of the initiative is the 'Changing the Dream' Symposium (which has gone round to world - coming now to Malaysia). Through leading edge information, multimedia presentations, and small group interactions, the symposium challenges us to explore 4 questions - Where are we (in terms of the state of our environmental, social and personal well-being); How did we get here; What is possible for the future; Where do we go from here.

As they say, 'Who we can be, and what we can do at this point in history has never been so significant or so much fun'.

With this event on the 12th of June and the train the facilitor on the Saturday the 13th of June we want to awaken a new environmental awareness in Malaysia. You can be part of it. Participation is free of charge. Please invite your friends in Malaysia to participate and please only sign up if you are committed to attend.

For more information see: http://awakeningthedreamer.org/ or email me.

Ride of Silence - Kuala Lumpur

2009-05-14T21:18:00.002+08:00

Host:	Critical (M)ass
Type:	Causes - Rally
Network:	Global

Date:	20 May 2009
Time:	19:00 - 22:00
Location:	will start from Central Market - map as you can see in the photo section.

Phone:	0126520350
Email:	massakritikal@gmail.com

In remembrance of bicyclists who are killed or hit on the street.

Welcome to all of you, especially those outside of Dallas, Texas where the first ride was held in 2003. All of YOU represent a new chapter for The Ride Of Silence™. YOU are the next step because you have felt so compelled to bring this ride to YOUR community. We applaud you and give you all the respect you deserve.

But let us not forget why we are doing what we are doing. Namely, to remember those killed by motorists, to show the public-at-large that we as cyclists are not going to stop riding, and to point out that we wish only to SHARE the roads with motorists.

Most of you have had tragic accidents or seen/know of them to our cycling brethren. That is great source of inspiration and to give the ride a more local and immediate reason to take place. Other than the deaths that have occurred at the hands of motorists, there are also the injured, those who did not lose their life. They are to be celebrated, too, and held up as reasons why this ride should take place.

THE RIDE OF SILENCE is not only nation-wide, but world-wide.

For that, We are extremely grateful. As a member of one of the few sports where you can be killed as soon as you start, while still learning, this is progress to making the sport safer. The Ride of Silence logo will be a silhouetted cyclist on one bended knee next to his bike. It is to look like any of us, but to represent us all.

THE COURSE:
Distance should be between 8-12 miles. Long enough for cyclists, short enough for non-cyclists. Obviously, if your course is mountainous, or there are some nasty hills on it, keep it short. You will find success if you pick a spot already common to cyclists, such as a park they use for cooling down or their easy ride. We will list the course and contact person next to each location below.

ENDORSERS:
It should also be pointed out since there is no cost and no sponsors, the endorsers are baring NO responsibility (financial or otherwise) for the ride. By endorsing it, they are simply stating they believe in what is trying to be said through the hundreds of cyclists riding slowly (no faster than 12 mph) in silence (public assembly) and in the below goals:

1. Mourning those cyclists killed or injured
2. Cycling is not going to be chased or intimidated off the streets we legally share
3. Cyclists want only to share the road with motorists
4. Making motorists aware of the life long legal, as well as life changing, problems that can ensue from killing a cyclist
5. Endorsers can be companies, clubs, groups, driving associations, police, leaders in the community, and/or individuals listed on out going e-mails.

What is trying to be shown by hundreds of cyclists riding slowly (no faster than 12 mph) in silence (namely, public assembly). Endorsers can be companies, clubs, groups, driving associations, police, leaders in the community, and/or individuals listed on out going e-mails.

BUILDING THE RIDE:
This ride will be open to anyone that has access to a bike and a helmet. Amateur, professional, biker, runner, triathlete, duathlete, skater, road bikes and mountain bikes are welcomed and encouraged. Contact bikers, runners, triathlon/multisport clubs through e-mails, web sites, and message boards. One perspective of the ride We heard was “critical mass.” Just by having numbers show up, a media event takes place. Be sure to let the newspapers, newsletters, and news stations what’s going on, telling them it’s nation-wide! (Don’t wait until the morning of the ride to contact them. They schedule their reporters about a week or two in advance.) We also suggest the names of the local people who have been killed or injured be made public in e-mails to make the ride personal and local. We want to memorialize those that should be. This is where egos really must be held in check. We are inviting the weekend warrior, the casual rider, and “Fred and Wilma” as well as national champs to take part in this slow ride of silence for the chance to show respect for those killed and injured. We want to build the back- and the middle-of-the-pack. Cyclists are already aware of the dangers of riding on the road. We want those not aware to come out. Everyone is invited. Everyone.
Ride of Silence - Kuala Lumpur

Host: Critical (M)ass
Type: Causes - Rally
Network: Global
Date: 20 May 2009
Time: 19:00 - 22:00
Location: will start from Central Market - map as you can see in the photo section.
Phone: 0126520350
Email: massakritikal@gmail.com

BIKE SAFETY; RIDE CONTROL:
Everyone is invited to ride, so long as they have a helmet. If they do not, ask that they not participate. Since it is a no talking ride, hand signals will be used. In controlling the ride and pace, you want to think “Funeral Procession.” That is, in fact, what we are recreating. Assign a group (6-8 of the hard core elite) at the front of the pack as “blockers.” Tell them to ride next to each other and control the pace. IF someone breaks loose, showing disrespect for the ride, let them go. We suggest you contact the local police to at least find out how much permit would cost.

ARM BANDS:
Arm bands are strongly encouraged. Black for everyone (solidarity in mourning lost cyclists). Red for those who have been injured by motorists. Ask people (teams) to bring their own, but you might bring some extra.

LAST POINTS:
This ride is free. There is no registration, no sponsors, no prizes, no fees, and no talking (hand signals will used). This ride is a safe, responsible, professional, and mature response to the carnage on the roads we ride on. This ride is NOT an excuse for cyclists to act otherwise. This ride is NOT intended, advertised, or promoted as a race of any kind. Those who do not feel they can comply with the tenets of the ride, are asked NOT to attend.

If there are questions, PLEASE contact someone. You are not alone. Presently, We are concerned with as many people as possible hear about this, and second, as many as possible come out to it. Seeing black arm bans on those who know of someone killed/harassed and red arm bans for those who have actually BEEN injured or harassed is breath taking, as they ride...in silence...as slow as a funeral procession, to remember, and to say "we're not going away."

We thank you all, from the depths of the human experience. We in awe of you. All of you.

Let’s Ride Together!

Eco Absolutism

2009-05-12T18:55:00.002+08:00

Latest article on Matthias appears in Klue Magazine for the May 2009 issue.

LITTLE THINGS THAT ADD UP

2009-05-09T13:44:00.000+08:00

Green Tips: Practise the '3R's in Your House.

2009-04-20T18:18:00.003+08:00

EcoWarriors photo awards + Pachamama Changing the Dream summit preview

2009-04-10T12:24:00.000+08:00

Date: Saturday, April 11, 2009
Time: 4:45pm - 7:00pm
Location: 42B, Jalan 19/3, PJ 46300, PJ
Street: Jalan 19/3
Phone: 013-3410228
Email: greenecowarrior@gmail.com

Description
We have two agendas - first half hour we will review the tree planting video, award the winning pictures and review the lessons learned from the event on the 21st of March and then look forward how to improve our smaller event on the 18th this month. If you only have a short time, come to the awards and leave after 5.30pm when we should be finished with them before we start 2nd part of the program.

Secondly I want to give you a preview and run most of the change the dreamer symposium of the Pachamama Alliance.
We will break at 7pm for dinner and I will suggest to continue after that as the material of the summit is amazing, but we can adjust this according to the feeling of the group.

See below the link to Pachamama and the overall vision I have for running it in Malaysia large scale with your support.

Full meeting address:

My office address is 42B, Jalan 19/3, PJ 46300, PJ.

Landmark - Rothman Roundabout, Nanking Vegetarian Restaurant, PC World (sign board)

Driving direction - from Federal Highway, from KL, right after the PJ Gate, keep left go up the flyover, stop at traffic light, turn right towards Universiti Hospital, go straight all the way until arrive at Rothman Roundabout, turn into 3 o'clock, go straight, turn left, and turn right immediately into a small road, then look for the sign board 'PC world'.

Public transport :
Bus - RapidKL T628, RapidKL U85, Metro 12

Taxi - tell the taxi driver to go to 'Nanking Court Vegetarian' near Rothman Roundabout

Please note the room can only take 40 people - first come first serve......

Matthias

Latest Videos 2: A Few Words from Matthias Gelber

2009-04-06T22:44:00.008+08:00

KNOW YOUR OWN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT by Matthias Gelber

It has been a great day with loads of involvement of volunteers who are keen to get their hands dirty and put trees in the ground for future generations, for a better environment, particularly looking at a peat forest here which is a precious environment where a load of CO2 is stored.... we are trying to keep that preserved and let the trees grow back.
You are watching the slideshow now, you are seeing a glimpse of what we have done, get involved, get moving, if you are living in Malaysia get involved in the next tree planting, join our eco warrior group in Facebook, and if you are overseas try look at what other regional tree planting activities there are, and try link up, mobilise other people, do your bit to preserve the environment.
Look at your own lifestyle what are your own environmental impact.... I started sometime ago with an analysis of my household waste, how can you actually reduce your consumption of materials in the first place, secondly how can you recycle what you cannot avoid to generate, and how can you spread that to other people, like in my condo, that was not my idea, but the idea of my friend who used to live there before.... we have a little recycling station that inspires neighbours as well to contribute and chip in.
We need a revolution, we need a revolution of loads of people joining in, joining hands, to create better environment, better lifestyles, more eco efficient communities, more eco efficient business and global economic movements, so everybody needs to get involved because we can all make small economic contribution but that will grow very very big, massive into a global movement if we all join hands together, so thanks for watching this and please get involved. See you soon.

MATTHIAS

Latest Videos 1: Tree Planting

2009-04-06T22:44:00.005+08:00

Latest Videos 3: Eco Warriors Photo Competition

2009-04-06T22:43:00.003+08:00

Photo Competition - Info for all registered participants for Tree Planting 3

2009-03-26T14:24:00.001+08:00

Hi All - please forward this message to the people that you know have taken pictures on the 21st - we did not announce this in advance as we felt the focus should be on the tree planting rather than on taking pictures.
But we have seen already a lot of great pictures of the event - let them now all come together for this competition !!! Thanks Steward for being our judge and for putting subsequently the video together....Stuart did the wonderful videos of the first two events, but he could not be with us as he had overseas business on the 21st....

Thanks, Matthias

Eco Warriors Malaysia Photo Competition

The third tree planting day happened 21st March 2009 and as part of this
important eco-event EcoWarriors Malaysia is holding a photo competition open to all
attendees.

Photo submissions will be judged in the following four categories:

EcoPeople – Candid shots of EcoWarriors in action
EcoLife – Nature photos of life in the swamp forest ecosystem
EcoStyle – Photos highlighting the best outfit worn by attendees
EcoLaugh – Funniest photo of the day

Full size jpeg or RAW photos should be submitted to

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://public.me.com%2Fhighlanderimages

and should be uploaded in a folder along with a text file or word file detailing your name, e-mail address, camera model, competition category and a short photo annotation describing the photo. Each entrant can enter two photos per category.

Prizes for the 4 categories will be announced on the EcoWarriors Malaysia Facebook Group and the winning shots highlighted in a photo slideshow video.

Closing Date : 1/Apr/2009

EARTH HOUR

2009-03-26T06:45:00.003+08:00

Earth Hour 2009 aims to reach more than one billion people in 1000 cities around the world, inviting communities, business and governments to switch off at 8:30 pm–9.30pm on Saturday, March 28, 2009

It is an annual international event created by the WWF (World Wide Fund)

Held on the last Saturday of March, the international annual event asks households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights and electrical appliances for one hour to raise awareness towards the need to take action on climate change.

Last year Earth Hour was a major success with the participation of 35 countries on all seven continents, with another 400 supporting cities.

Iconic landmarks around the world that turned off their non-essential lighting included the Empire State Building (New York City), Sears Tower (Chicago), Golden Gate Bridge (San Francisco);

Bank of America Plaza (Atlanta), Sydney Opera House (Sydney, Australia), Wat Arun Buddhist Temple (Bangkok, Thailand), the Colosseum (Rome, Italy).

An online survey Zogby International showed there was a four percentage point increase in awareness of environmental issues such as climate change, directly after the event.

Visit www.earthhour.org

Green Drinks KL

2009-03-26T06:44:00.000+08:00

Event: Green Drinks KL, March 09
"Because you want to engage in conversation about the environment, and steer it towards a positive outcome for the world."

What: LAN Party
Host: Green Drinks Kuala Lumpur
Start Time: Tuesday, March 31 at 8:00pm
End Time: Wednesday, April 1 at 1:00am
Where: Palate Palette

To see more details and RSVP, follow the link below:
http://www.facebook.com/n/?event.php&eid=59524448722&mid=33da26G23b75429G163fec4G7

Eco Warriors Social and Educational vist to FRIM

2009-03-26T06:43:00.000+08:00

Matthias invited you to "Eco Warriors Social and Educational vist to FRIM" on Sunday, March 29 at 8:30am.

Event: Eco Warriors Social and Educational vist to FRIM
"Lets have fun"
What: Group Trip
Host: Eco Warriors Malaysia
Start Time: Sunday, March 29 at 8:30am
End Time: Sunday, March 29 at 11:30am
Where: Forest Research Institute of Malaysia

To see more details and RSVP, follow the link below:
http://www.facebook.com/n/?event.php&eid=74353646344&mid=2c7e79G23b75429G15c8952G7

WORLD FORESTRY DAY 2009

2009-03-26T05:55:00.001+08:00

Saturday, March 21, 2009
World Forestry Day 2009

It was a day filled with hopes and great spirit, all with one objective....to plant more trees and make earth a better place for everyone and all living things.

On the unveiled signboard, we have on the photo our youngest tree planter, Alya Husna Ahmad Zuraidi, who is seven years old. She has sacrificed her weekends and preferred to join her sisters....Siti Hani and Siti Hajar and parents, planting trees and a great job she did!

This is her third time planting trees at the Hutan Simpan Raja Musa in Batang Berjuntai. Hutan Simpan Raja Musa is a peat forest (hutan paya gambut) which stores large amounts of carbon.

If destroyed and dries up, large amounts of atmospheric carbon dioxide will escape into our air, thus the rise in air temperature leading to global warming. We need oxygen, not more carbon dioxide.

Alya Husna, the youngest tree planter so happy with Matthias Gelber, the greenest person on the planet.

COMMENTS 1:
Alya Husna understands the importance of trees....do you?

Posted by hani_n_mak at 3:57 AM
Labels: Tree Planting, World Forestry Day
1 comments:

COMMENTS 2:

fawghah said...

Nice one Husna! Keep up the good job!! ;)
March 23, 2009 8:11 AM

PLANT A TREE ON WORLD FOREST DAY

2009-03-18T00:26:00.001+08:00

Help plant 10,000 trees on World Forest Day (March 21, 09)

2009-03-08T14:13:00.007+08:00

NORTH SELANGOR PEAT SWAMP FOREST RESERVE TREE PLANTING.
THE BIG TARGET - 10000 TREES TO BE PLANTED ON WORLD FOREST DAY!

Host: Eco Warriors Malaysia
Date: Saturday, March 21, 2009
Time: 8:30am - 12:30pm
Location: North Selangor Peat Forest
Email: greenecowarrior@gmail.com

Come join the fun and help plant 10,000 trees on World Forest Day on World Forest Day.
it will be wonderful if you can make it. Invite your friends as well. We had a lot of fun last the two times, besides the satisfaction of doing something practical to protect the environment and making new friends.

Last time we had about 120 Eco Warriors - this time our target is 300 Eco Warriors + 200 volunteers from other groups - please support us - sent this event invite to your Malaysian friends by clicking on the link on the right hand "invite people to come" ! Thanks, Matthias

In conjunction with the World Forestry Day 2009, a community tree planting activity will be organized on 21st of March 2009 in the North Selangor Peat Swamp Forest (NSPSF) by Global Environment Centre (GEC) in collaboration with Selangor State Forestry Department, Eco Warriors Malaysia and PATT (Plant-A-Tree-Today.org).

World Forestry Day has been celebrated around the world for 30 years to remind communities of the importance of forests and the many benefits which we gain from them. Up to 500 volunteers are expected to participate in the planting of 10,000 seedlings of an indigenous peat swamp forest species. The Raja Musa Peat Forest Rehabilitation Programme is an initiative to rapidly create forest cover in the degraded reserve and bring back its biodiversity. It will be implemented in collaboration with the communities.

The Selangor State Forestry Department and Global Environment Centre are in partnership to rehabilitate the degraded areas through various activities such as water management and replanting of indigenous peat forest species. Eco Warriors Malaysia and PATT focus on the mobilization of volunteers that support the planting.

Site description :
The planting site is on an area approximately on 670 ha of degraded forest in the North Selangor Peat Swamp Forest (NSPSF) which covers an area approximately 70,000 ha and is one of the remaining largest contiguous areas of peat swamp forest in the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. NSPSF is currently under threat of constant degradation from fires caused by irresponsible human activities.

Bring along protection against the sun (maybe sun cream).....some strong shoes...(we have limited number of boots available), some water and your good mood! It would be helpful as well if you can bring some empty cardboard boxes/ buckets or mandarin orange boxes with you, that will make it easier to carry the samplings....

Getting there should be fine as long as you manage to get into North South PLUS highway towards Ipoh, and exit at Bukit Tagar (exit 119), and follow the direction to Batang Berjuntai and Kuala Selangor. We will put some signage to lead you to the site. Please do not take any other roads or do not rely on GPS - we had two cars last time that did not find the location

If you need directions, you can call: Lu 013-3410228 Stephanie 012 -211 8121 For volunteers who wish to car pool, the designated meeting point is at A&W restaurant in Petaling Jaya (in front of Taman Jaya LRT Station) and should assemble there by 7.15am and the entourage will leave by 7.30am sharp. Travel time to the planting event site is approximately 45 minutes to an hour.

Please bring some refillable water bottle along to reduce the amount of waste that we create.

Vamadesign - Eco Poster Campaign

2009-03-03T18:18:00.002+08:00

(ECO-CHALLENGE POSTER created by www.vamadesign.com)

Message from the art director:

Mr Matthias Gelber,
We visit your blog (greenmanplanet.blogspot.com) and we are very happy
cause a man like you give his best to save the environment. We, as a team,
care a lot about our planet and we support your try!
It could be kind and nice of you to mention that the design of the Eco
Poster Campaign made by our design studio. This is only a sample of our try
for the environmental problem solution. Be green!!!

www.vamadesign.com
vamadesign.blogspot.com
info@vamadesign.com

Thank You,

Vasilis Magoulas
Art Director

BFM 89.9 Interview

2009-03-02T06:11:00.000+08:00

Matthias Gelber was recently interviewed by BFM 89.9 (The Business Station) in Kuala Lumpur. Here are the podcasts of the interview. Enjoy:

The Greenest Person on the Planet Award.

(Duration: 9m 41s Filesize: 4.44 Mb)

Why Live in Malaysia and are Malaysians an environmentally conscious bunch?

(Duration: 14m 9s Filesize: 6.48 Mb)

What can we do to cut down on our carbon footprint?

(Duration: 11m 44s Filesize: 5.37 Mb)

BFM’s Positioning

BFM is a 24 hour radio station focused on business news and topics. Think of CNBC or The Edge but on radio. Core programmes include latest business news and stock market reports from Malaysia and other financial centres as well as interviews with business personalities, financial analysts, entrepreneurs, technologists and marketers. BFM also offers business education programmes spanning areas like marketing, finance, technology and business productivity to raise the business proficiency of the Malaysian public.

BFM targets business executives, finance professionals and the investing public. There is no specific age target as the business audience spans all adult age groups. It is their interest in business that defines the listenership, not their age.

Do your bit for the environment and plant some trees with us on the 7th of February!

2009-01-31T23:19:00.001+08:00

We see a lot of global environmental changes with protection of the environment and care for Mother Nature becoming increasingly important for us in order to ensure that future generations can live sustainably.

We Eco Warriors are a team of volunteers which care and are concerned about our Mother Nature which has been in places suffering from the impact of humans. Eco Warriors are there to help to save our Mother Nature by planting lots of trees and make the world a GREENER place.

Global Environment Center (GEC) in collaboration with Selangor State Forestry Department, Eco Warriors Malaysia and PATT (http://www.plant-a-tree-today.org/) organize an event on 7th February 2009 in North Selangor Peat Swamp Forest (NSPSF) from 8.30am till 12.30pm.

The event is an initiative to rapidly create forest cover in the degraded peat lands to return the area into its original status as a forest.

The planting area approximately on 670hs of degraded forest in the North Selangor Peat Swamp Forest. We are targeting 5000 trees for this event. You can watch 2 different videos from the last event here: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=46141334623&oid=22362662357&ref=nf http://gallery.me.com/highlanderimages#100286 Eco Warriors Malaysia and PATT are focusing on mobilization of volunteers to support the planting.

We would like to invite all the generous VOLUNTEERS to participate in our coming events A DATE WITH NATURE. We are expecting almost 150 volunteers in every age group of people to join us and make the event to happen.

How to reach the planting site? From the North-South Plus Highway take the exit for Bukit Tagar inter-change (EXIT 119) and after the toll proceed in the direction of Batang Berjuntai and Kuala Selangor.

The planting site is on the right side of the road which is a few km before the town of Batang Berjuntai.

Signage’s will be put to guide participants to the site. Details of how to get there can as well be found on the following internet site: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&saddr=A%26W+petaling+jaya&daddr=3.488063,101.528091+to:Global+Environment+Centre+project+site+%403.413354,101.383896&hl=en&geocode=FZBbLwAdu_4OBiHKwP1Km4AdLQ%3B%3BFWoVNAAd2P4KBg&mra=dpe&mrcr=0&mrsp=1&sz=11&via=1&sll=3.355776,101.56517&sspn=0.482568,0.617981&ie=UTF8&ll=3.292711,101.593323&spn=0.482599,0.617981&z=11

For those volunteers who wish to car pool or who need transport, the designated meeting point is at A&W restaurant Petaling Jaya (in front of Taman Jaya LRT Station) and we will assemble there by 7.15am and the entourage will leave by 7.30am sharp.

Travel time to the planting event site is approximately 45 minutes or an hour. Let's all gather and make this event to be a memorable one.

Let's care for the Mother Nature and let us join together to work with our hands to plant trees and make new friends.

Please register via sending an email to Matthias and Lu at : Greenecowarriors@gmail.com and cplu@origineit.com Please provide the following information:

1. Name :
2. Contact details:
3. Are you bringing any guests along?
4. Do you need transportation?
5.Can you provide transportation?

You can sign up on our facebook site as well: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=47949596212&ref=nf

Please help us get more volunteers by forwarding this email to your friends. Hope to see you on the 7th of February, Matthias GelberGreenest Person on the Planet 2008http://greenmanplanet.blogspot.com/

Matthias is Topmen in Clive Magazine Novermber 2008 issue

2009-01-21T01:55:00.003+08:00

HERE IS THE STORY:

Matthias Gelber is officially the Greenest Person on the planet this year following an intense global online voting competition on 3rdwhale.com. Gelber walks and talks green - travelling by public transport when it makes sense and speaking around the world on ways to green the earth.
On whether it's possible to live a sustainiable lifestyle without compromise: "Planting a few trees will not oslve the problem of energy waste in the house. How can we live interesting, attractive, sexy modern lifestyles in a much more eco-efficient way? That's the real challenge."
Matthias believes that everybody has the choice of deciding how green they want to be: "Nobody is being forced to drive a small fuel efficient Kancil or hybrid care in Malaysia." but that doesn't mean that you should sit back and watch the world become a giant landfill. "We can live here and think that everything is fine but in twenty or thirty years, our lives will change significantly.
In Malaysia, some people have concerns about floods especially in areas where deforestation has taken away the place for the water to go. Construction and paving everything up has prevented the water from finding natural ways to be stored in the ground."
Green construction materials and concrete is part of the plan with the conception of his eco-friendly company Maleki GmbH.

Measure your carbon footprint on www.click4carbon.com
Turn your lice carbon neutral at www.plantatree.org
Matthias outlines a five-point action plan for you to go green at www.cliveworld.com

A DATE WITH NATURE

2008-12-11T18:03:00.002+08:00

EVENT: A DATE WITH NATURE
Date: Saturday, December 13, 2008
Time: 9.00am – 12.00pm
Venue: North Selangor Peat Swamp Forest Reserve

PROGRAMME
9.00 am: Welcome remarks by Director of Selangor State Forestry Department

9.10 am: Short briefing by Global Environment Centre and Matthias Gelber

9.30 am: Planting event begins

12.00 pm: Lunch

A peat rehabilitation event on 13th December 2008 in North Selangor Peat Swamp Forest (NSPSF) is organized by Global Environment Centre (GEC) in collaboration with Selangor State Forestry Department and PATT.

More than 70 volunteers are expected to participate in the planting of 3000 seedlings of an indigenous peat swamp forest species called Mahang (Macaranga sp.) which is fast growing. This will provide shade for native trees that will be planted in the 2nd phase.

This event is an initiative by GEC and its partners to rapidly create forest cover in the degraded peatlands to return the area into its original status as a forest.

The Selangor State Forestry Department and Global Environment Centre are in partnership to rehabilitate the degraded areas through various activities such as water management and replanting appropriate trees.

Site description

The planting site is on an area approximately on 670 ha of degraded forest in the North Selangor Peat Swamp Forest (NSPSF) which covers an area approximately 70,000 ha and is one of the remaining largest contiguous areas of peat swamp forest in Peninsular Malaysia. NSPSF is currently under threat of constant degradation from fires caused by irresponsible human activities.

Event location map:

http://www.gecnet.info/aeimages/Image/Planting-site-at-NSPSF-th.gif [ Click to open in new window ]

How to go to the planting site?

From the North-South Plus Highway take the exit for Bukit Tagar inter-change and after the toll proceed in the direction of Batang Berjuntai and Kuala Selangor. The planting site is on the right side of the road which is a few km before the town of Batang Berjuntai. Signages will be put to guide participants to the site. Please look out for them.

Guidance for volunteers

For volunteers who wish to car pool, the designated meeting point is at A&W restaurant in Petaling Jaya (in front of Taman Jaya LRT Station) and should assemble there by 7.45am and the entourage will leave by 8.00am sharp. Travel time to the planting event site is approximately 45 minutes or an hour.

For those who wish to carpool or required transport assistance, please contact Pn. Suzana Mohkeri (telephone office: 03-79572007 or hp: 012-3050164 or email: suzana@genet.po.my) latest by 12th December 2008. There are limited places for transportation and participants’ request will be considered on first come first served basis.

What to wear?

It is advisable to wear long pants, long sleeve shirts and hat. Also, bring along insect repellent for those who have sensitive skins.

THE GREEN MAN (The Sun Article)

2008-12-02T16:26:00.006+08:00

Matthias Gelber stands tall as the Greenest Person on the Planet for his contribution to save the environment

By S.Indra Sathiabalan

THE very first Greenest Person on the Planet 2008 contest was won by Matthias Gelber, a German entrepreneur who has been living in Malaysia for some years now.

Gelber...doing Malaysia proud.
He beat 600 participants from around the world in this contest launched on Earth Day (April 22) this year by 3rdwhale, a Canadian-based green organisation that aims to raise awareness about sustainability through interaction and new-age social movement.

During a press conference to announce his win in the inaugural event, Gelber said: "I think I am the only person from Malaysia who submitted his details. I hope I did Malaysia proud."

Votes came in from around the world to the www.3rdwhale.com website and Gelber garnered 51% of the total 1,791 votes.

To enter, Gelber made a 10-minute video where he detailed his everyday life in Kuala Lumpur – using the monorail, walking to his destination and using the fan instead of the air-con.

"I used to have a cleaning lady who asked why I used the fan instead of the air-con. I told her I’m doing my bit to save the environment.

"We sometimes don’t make the connection between electricity and pollution. Electricity comes from a power plant. Whether it is a coal power plant, a gas power plant or a fuel-powered plant, there will be emissions generated such as sulphur dioxide."

Solar power and wind- powered power stations are not yet well-established here and they are also costly.

Gelber believes that he won (the contest) not only because of the simple day-to-day things he does but also because of his social effort to save the environment. He replants trees and is also part of a business that is manufacturing more environmentally friendly building materials.

He said his love for the environment has a lot to do with the fact that he was brought up in a small German village called Lippe situated between Frankfurt and Cologne.

He was surrounded by green trees and snow-capped mountains and that instilled his love for nature from young.

Gelber said that when he first came to Malaysia, he found that he’s accumulated a lot of plastic water bottles. He then opted to buy glass bottles and continuously refilled them from the water dispenser. He also has a lot of waste paper which he sends regularly for recycling.

He laments the fact that recycling centres are not easily available. In the condo where he lives, Gelber and other tenants started their own recycling centre where they separate paper, plastic and other disposables which they then take to the collection centre in Mid Valley.

"It is not easy but we can all make an effort. The average Malaysian has an average of five tons of CO2 emissions each year.

"Mine is higher because I sometimes fly for business reasons, but I acknowledge that.I have already planted a couple of hundred trees to counter that." Gelber is an active participant in the Plant-a-Tree-Today.org, a tree planting charity founded in Thailand by Andrew Steel.

Gelber also has a green pension scheme in place – he bought land in Panama where trees are replanted (after they have been harvested for wood).

He will see returns after 15 to 20 years when the trees are mature enough to be chopped down for its wood and the proceeds will be divided between his pension fund and the group that manages the land for him. Then replanting is done once again and the cycle continues. He believes that a similar plan could be implemented here in Malaysia.

"The first business I started was an environmental business and consultancy in the UK. It worked very well and grew as a company. Then a big business bought us over.

"People ask me how I make a living doing environmentally-friendly things. But if you look around you, corporations are increasingly doing just that."

He added that you can have a good business with environmental products and services.

It fact, it can help distinguish you from other businesses. Simple things like using recycled paper to make business cards can go a long way in helping the environment.
Gelber said that recycling alone is not enough as recycling itself consumes energy. He suggests we either walk or take public transportation when possible and also reduce the amount of electricity we use.

With his win, he hopes more Malaysians will take part in the Greenest Person on the Planet contest next year.

For more on Gelber and 3rdwhale go to www.3rdwhale.com and http://greenmanplanet.blogspot.com

What Warriors Know

2008-11-23T16:21:00.001+08:00

This is an inspirational video about living passionately and living from your heart, whatever you choose to do in life.

Let's Plant Trees !

2008-11-21T01:47:00.005+08:00

EVENT: North Selangor peat swamp forest reserve Tree Planting
"Action Time for Eco Warriors - let's plant trees !"
WHAT: Club/Group Meeting
HOST: Eco Warriors Malaysia
TIME: Saturday, December 13 at 12:00pm
WHERE: North Selangor Peat Swamp Forest (NSPSF)

The North Selangor Peat Swamp Forest (NSPSF) located in northern Selangor and covers an area of about 70,000 ha is one of the largest contiguous areas of peat swamp forest in Peninsular Malaysia. NSPSF is currently under threat from annual fires caused by illegal smallholders. The fires are the result of deliberate action of draining the water out from the peat and use of fire to clear the forest.

The Forest Department, Global Environment Centre and PATT are working in partnership to rehabilitate the degraded areas by raising the water table and replanting the trees. The estimated degraded area is approximately 670 hectares.

GUIDANCE FOR VOLUNTEERS
Begin your journey from KL or PJ latest by 7.45 am as the travel time will take approximately 45min to an hour. For those who need transport or willing to carpool please inform us early. As soon as we reach the entry point, everyone will be taken into the forest reserve via shuttle transport provided by the Forestry Department. We will provide as well a map for those travelling there directly, but please only do this with a car that is shared by minimum 3 people to keep our carbon footprint for the travel low.
Clothing: Long pants & long sleeve if possible. Please bring own insect repellent
We will provide tents nearby the planting area for resting.

PROGRAMME
9.00 am – welcome remarks from the Director of Selangor Forestry Department
9.10 am – short briefing by Global Environment Centre and Matthias Gelber
9.30 am – planting of 1000 Mahang seedlings (Macaranga sp.)
12.00 noon – lunch (pack lunch will be provided)

Note : water will be provided as well but please try to bring your own supply.

SAFETY PRECAUTIONS
Forestry rangers will inspect the area thoroughly to ensure safety of volunteers prior to event

STOP GLOBAL WARMING (NST article)

2008-11-12T20:05:00.005+08:00

GLOBAL WARMING is real and is happening right now! If we do not do something to diminish the effects, it could seriously impact the future of our planet and diminish the well being of our children.
To start with, do you understand what is the definition of global warming?
According to scientific data, global warming is the increase of average measured temperature of the ocean and the earth which contributes to the green house effects like warmer temperatures we are feeling now, and the melting of ice-caps and rising sea levels.
The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) have observed the increase in global temperatures since the mid-20th century has caused the melting of glaciers in the northern hemisphere and added to the rising sea levels, confirmed by 30 scientific societies.
Eco-entrepreneur Matthias Gelber, currently based in Malysia said global warming is the increasing rise of temperature triggered by the increasing C02 concentration and related emissions in the atmosphere.
“What is affecting us is the visible temperature changes in the world, some parts are more visible to others, differing from region to region,
“For example in Germany the winters are substantially warmer, leading to virtually no snow in some areas. With melting ice caps, sea levels threaten to rise to dangerous levels. Therefore low lying islands like Mauritius which is only 1.5 metres above sea level could be flooded.
In Malaysia, people have felt the occurrence of weather fluctuation which leads to flooding.
“The environment is a sensitive and complex ecosystem with many influencing factors, and is feeling the strain due to pollution, deforestation and construction.
Gelber said the average Malaysian is responsible for six tons of carbon emissions each year, due to fuel and electricity consumption.
“As consumers we are responsible for burning fuel and the use of electricity which creates CO2 and leads to global warming.
As global warming is caused by human beings we can take steps to prevent it. If you are a parent, leader or decision maker, you can set an example by changing your thinking and daily habits, which may take some effort in the beginning.
“One of the things you can do is to be aware of your own carbon footprint and see where we can reduce, or compensate by sponsoring tree planting and other environmental projects,
“For example the number of cars on the road have significantly increased our carbon footprint in the atmosphere. Alternatively you can use cars that are fuel efficient or use bio-fuel.”
There are more tips on how to adopt a green lifestyle to save our planet, including buying products that save energy and are more
Environmentally friendly.
You can even start from your home by being energy efficient; switching off electronical appliances which are not in use, or replace old and faulty ones.
We must believe we can do our part to prevent global warming and start by creating more awareness.
“To conclude, every little contribution counts. Too many people think they cannot make a difference, but when everybody do their part, we will make a huge difference,” added Gelber. For more information visit http://greenmanplanet.blogspot.com.

STEPS TO OVERCOME GLOBAL WARMING

1) Educate yourself about Global Warming then you will find
it much easier to talk to others about it.

2) Recycle! A quarter of the population do not recycle at all. Recycling helps to reduce the use of landfills.

3) Use compact fluorescent bulbs. Not only does fluorescent bulbs help you save money, but it is better for our environment as well.

4) Choose energy-efficient appliances when you buy new ones.

5) Buy a fuel efficient car. This will help you save money on gas
And you will be saving the environment as well.

ECO WARRIORS GROUP

2008-11-12T19:38:00.004+08:00

Matthias Gelber has recently set up an Eco Warrior Facebook group, and within 24 hours he got 150 members signing up. Here's the link => Eco Warriors

Here is Matthias's mission statement for the group:

This group has the goal to link people that want to deliver fast and comprehensive positive environmental change in Malaysia. Initially the focus will be on tree planting in order to combat climate change and to look after the needs of the environment and future generations.

We are not interested in financial gains or politics. We just want to make positive environmental change happen and act like peaceful eco warriors that are ready to take action!

We can make a difference. The more we are, the bigger the difference will be.

The focus of the environmental activities will be Malaysia, but those fellow Eco Warriors outside of Malaysia, feel free to join this group to give us moral support!

I choose the name ECO WARRIORS based on 2 recent sources of inspiration:

1) I recently gave a talk at a Taylor College Environmental Event where the main theme was based around us becoming Eco Warriors and doing good for the Environment

2) I recently attended Harv Eker/Success Resources Englightened Warrior training. We learned a lot about being strong from our inside, providing leadership, giving our love, connecting to mother earth and looking after her.

All of this inspired me to choose this name. My focus is for us together to make a change. I know a lot of people in Malaysia and beyond are keen to contribute. I am here to serve! I am here to inspire in the interest of Mother Earth. Lets do it together like strong warriors!

Greenest Man kick starts his tree planting challenge with Plant a tree today foundation

2008-10-17T16:35:00.004+08:00

Bangkok, 17th October 2008 – PATT (Plant A Tree Today) Foundation, a UK charity and Thai foundation recently received a boost to its tree planting efforts. A loyal PATT supporter Matthias Gelber was recently voted greenest person on the planet. A Canadian based environment group named 3rd whale ran a competition to find the greenest person on the planet. Matthias Gelber, a self proclaimed Tree hugger was PATT’s contestant. After a hard fought campaign Matthias won! To mark his receiving the award, Gelber intends to plant more trees. In fact he has set himself the challenge to have one million trees pledged worldwide by Earth Day on April 22 next year. To kick start this Matthias donated money to plant 1,000 trees in the Plant-A-Tree-Today reforestation project in Thailand.

Matthias, a German, who now resides in Malaysia is known for his inspiring environmental talks. He has presented such talks worldwide. His also works in the green building industry and has many innovative green alternatives to current building material in development and production.

About the PATT Foundation:

PATT was formed in 2005 with a mission to react to problems caused by the massive and increasing levels of deforestation worldwide, raise awareness and educate children about environmental issues and the role forests play in our daily lives, take action against climate change, and to PLANT MORE TREES. PATT is a UK registered charity and Thai foundation with an operational office in Bangkok, Thailand.

For further information, please contact:

Dan Rollinson

PATT Foundation

Ph: 66 (0) 2 259 6255

Dan.rollinson@plant-a-tree-today.org

www.plant-a-tree-today.org

Plant A Tree Today

2008-10-04T15:02:00.002+08:00

To mark his receiving the award, Gelber intends to, well, plant more trees. He has pledged to buy another 1,000 trees in the Plant-A-Tree-Today scheme to kick-start a project to have one million trees planted worldwide by Earth Day on April 22, 2009.

Ever eager to support green initiatives, he bought 4ha of a sustainable forestry project in Panama three years ago. In this green investment scheme, Forest Finance, trees are planted and harvested sustainably. Profits from the project €“ Gelber expects a return of over 10% when the trees are harvested in 15 years’ time €“ will be a form of “green pension” for him.

He estimates that all the tree-planting schemes that he supports capture some 200 tonnes of carbon annually €“ way above the estimated 15 to 20 tonnes that he personally emits from his day-to-day living and travels.

For more info visit www.plant-a-tree-today.org

Tips on Sustaining a Green Lifestyle

2008-10-02T14:07:00.004+08:00

I read about Matthias Gelber's work on how he was voted as the greenest person on the planet. (The Star Tue 30Sept)
Glad to know that there is some one who did as I am doing everyday: I collect rain water for toilet use, limit my usage of washing machine, if I do use the washer, I made sure that used water is use for washing drain/ bathroom floor or flushing toilet. our water bill is RM5 a month.

when I go shopping, I bring my own bags(BYOB). Tesco is my favourite because they encourage used shopping bags and Green points are added to those who bring their own bags. I did that at Jusco shopping centre, too. the cashiers are very friendly and praised me for reducing waste. Once, I was scolded for bringing used shopping bags at another hypermart, because there are cases of people using these plastic bags to steal goods: get away without paying. However, I was not dishearten, but choose not to buy at that place.

At home, I saparate the waste: paper (white / coloured/ cardboard), plastic bottles/ containers, tin can & aluminium can sell them at the recycling centre.
we do not have air conditioner at home. and our electricity bill stays below RM50 amonth.

I do plant a little garden in my backyard, with the kitchen waste as compost fertilizer, the bananas yielded fruits for many generations since I first planted them on 2002. we also have pandan leaves, curry leave, heliconias, sunflowers, cactus, iron trees and many others. I recycle my kitchen washing water to water the plants and they are growing healthily.

Now I am trying to do enzymes using kitchen waste. Hope that it works.

the only BIG carbon footprint I left is I drive to work everyday, public transport is not convenient at all here. I wish to get transfered to a nearer workplace but it's not easy.
Posted by Ng Wee Gwek at 7:57 PM

Star Article: Friends of Earth

2008-09-30T14:24:00.000+08:00

By TAN CHENG LI
startwo@thestar.com.my

WHAT will it take for one to qualify as the Greenest Person on the Planet? Well, for starters, he has to do the normal things that tree-huggers do, such as trim down waste, buy minimally and wisely, recycle, carry a reusable shopping bag, save energy and use public transport to get around.
Matthias Gelber does all the above plus a whole lot more: he does not own a car, hardly turns on the air-conditioner in his apartment despite living smack in the centre of Kuala Lumpur, started a company that produces building materials which are not harsh on the environment, spreads the green message by giving talks to students and staff of companies, and he plants lots of trees.
All those green habits have earned Gelber, 41, the title of the Greenest Man on the Planet.
The German environmental entrepreneur who has been residing in Malaysia for four years, received 51% of the 1,791 votes cast worldwide through the Internet in the award initiated by Canadian organisation 3rdwhale to encourage a green lifestyle. “Winning the award is a great honour,” says Gelber. “No doubt it is a milestone, but it is only the beginning. Winning this competition gives me further commitment and encouragement to inspire others to look after the future of our planet, and the future of our children.”
More than 600 people from over 40 countries participated in the award. The contestants were shortlisted to 50 for the public to vote, and then to five finalists.
Simon Fraser University professor Boyd Cohen, the founder of 3rdwhale, says of the award: “The idea is to make stars out of people who go the extra length to live environmentally responsible lifestyles when they have lots of choices that aren’t so environmentally responsible. We consider this the American Idol for green people.”
For Gelber, the recognition comes with a pod of beluga whales adopted in his name through US nature group Defenders of Wildlife.
Also, a Thai charity nominated by Gelber, Plant-A-Tree-Today, will be the beneficiary of a donation based on sales of T-shirts and other items from 3rdwhale.

For more information login to:
www.thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2008/9/30/lifeliving/2132305&sec=lifeliving

NST Article: A Pioneer In Our Midst

2008-09-27T14:30:00.002+08:00

By Abby Lu

THE Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme has attracted not only retirees seeking a place in the sun but successful environmentalists as well.
German entrepreneur Matthias Gelber, registered as a Malaysian
representative (based on country of residence), has been voted the
Greenest Person on the Planet from over 600 competitors the world over.
The MM2H programme participant said he hopes he did Malaysia proud, and that the win will encourage more Malaysians to join him on his crusade.
The Greenest Person on the Planet competition was described by Canadian professor Boyd Cohen as the "American Idol for green people". He runs the 3rdwhale.com website, which organised the event.
An environmentalist, Gelber has spoken on issues such as climate
change, green technology and jobs as well as building materials in over 38 countries. The accolade aside, Gelber has also won a pod of beluga whales to be adopted in his name through United States-based Defenders of the Wildlife.
Apart from that, Plant-A-Tree-Today (PATT) - a charity nominated by Gelber - will also become the beneficiary of a donation from 3rdwhale.com.
"Winning this competition is encouraging me to inspire others to look
after the future of the planet and our children," he said at a press
conference mid-week.
"After the results were announced, I started on my tree-planting pledge by putting 1,000 trees (to be planted by PATT) on my credit card," he said, urging Malaysians to plant an additional 100,000 trees, particularly in the cities.
Gelber, an MM2Her for the past five years, regards his second home as "one of the most beautiful places in the world, with good infrastructure".
Apart from advocating green values - he doesn't own a car, consumes prudently, recycles and employs energy-efficient strategies - he's also the initiator and board member of Maleki GmbH, a German-based startup specialising in the research and production of green, high performance building materials.
Gelber has been invited to speak at local institutions of higher
education such as Taylor's University College, Nottingham University and Universiti Teknologi Mara.
He is a board member of the International Network of Environmental Management, which works with businesses internationally to inspire them to make their operations more eco-friendly.

Green Party at Matthias Apartment in KL

2008-09-27T14:07:00.006+08:00

Like a true champ Matthias did all the right things and all things right to be worthy of his title The Greenest Man on the Planet 2008 award.
Firstly he battled hard to win the competition, secondly he enrolled his friends for their support, and third, and most importantly, he did not forget to CELEBRATE HIS SUCCESS to let the message sink in.
Two days after clinching the title Gelber invited about a dozen friends both locals and expats to his 9th floor apartment in Kuala Lumpur to celebrate his success in true German style with beer, finger food and "intellectual conversations."
Guests also got a surprise door gift in the form of a green T-shirt with the title The Greenest Person on the Planet emblazoned across. Too bad it did not come with his trademark "balding" mugshot.
The lights were dimmed to conserve energy and create a cozy and romantic setting, proving that being green can be effective without being boring.
Guests had a warm fellowship as they sat around the dining table engaging in lively talk with a beer in hand.
Before the day is over Matthias gave a thank you speech and gathered everyone near the sofa to share their "green ideas" on how to save the environment.
Indeed someone commented this fruitful gathering should be held on a regular basis as it is through such efforts of passionate individuals, that brings hope to change the world.

Matthias's Winning Speech

2008-09-25T14:19:00.000+08:00

"The competition is less about me winning, but more about us all working together. We can make a difference," said Matthias Gelber during his winning speech.
"I turned my passion into my job and my message to young people is that they can do the same. There is plenty of opportunity in the emerging low carbon economy."
He predicted companies with green products and services will be the winners!
Gelber's green lifestyle which include saving energy, using public transportation, recycling, and reducing wastage.

"A green lifestyle is not out of reach as most people imagine."

There are many practical steps you can take to enrich your life and save the environment such as walking instead of driving for short distances, using fan instead of air con for cooling, or even better, use natural ventilation, cleansing tap water instead of buying plastic bottles with water, reducing over consumption, avoid using plastic bags, taking public transportation and recycling our materials….."
Going around town in his popular green Treehugger T-shirt, Gelber is also an environmentalist who has traveled the world and spoke in 38 countries on related issues such as climate change, green technology, green jobs, green building materials, ISO 14001, Corporate Social Responsibility, etc…

Breaking News: Matthias Won

2008-09-25T14:12:00.002+08:00

KUALA LUMPUR, Thurs. (Sept 25) – Matthias Gelber, a German entrepreneur living in Malaysia has been voted the Greenest Person on the Planet today.
Currently living in Kuala Lumpur, as part of Malaysia, my second home programme, Gelber was ahead of 600 other participants from around the world to emerge the champion in the annual competition held in Canada.
The contest was launched on Earth Day (April 22). For more information about the competition, visit www.3rdwhale.com
After six months of intense speculation, where participants raced neck-to neck, the competition finally reached its finale yesterday, where the results tipped to Matthias' favour.
The results was announced by the organiser 3rdwhale from Canada through a special public event at a green festival. The competition also received wide publicity in North America and other parts of the world.
Coming in second was a Canadian lady Emily Jubenvill, and third was David Nuttle from the USA.
The other international competitors were from more than 25 countries, with the five finalists representing Malaysia, Canada, USA, China, and Columbia. The contestant biographies are available from www.3rdwhale.com.
The organiser said the purpose of the competition was to build awareness and encourage people to live a green lifetstyle.
For emerging champion Gelber, he not only won the recognition, but a pot of beluga whales to be adopted in his name through the US based Defenders of Wildlife.
Furthermore a nominated Charity of Matthias Gelber, which is PATT (Plant-atree-today.org) will be the beneficiary of a donation based on the sales of eco T-shirts and other items from 3rdwhale.
During a press conference held at Swiss Garden hotel on Thursday, the jubilant Gelber said it has been an exhilarating five-month journey which has enriched his life experience.
"Now with this success, it open doors for me to spread the message even further" he said during his speech, where he proudly showed off his winning T-shirt with the words Greenest Person on the Planet during the conference.
Currently, Gelber already has many trees planted in his name in Thailand and Panama that capture more C02 daily, than he emits in his day-today living, and travels. Gelber hopes more trees will be planted in Malaysia in the future.
His company Maleki GmbH, which produces environmentally friendly products such as green cement applications, hopes to break new grounds in the construction industry, paving the way forward for more such green initiatives in a global campaign to save the planet.

PRESS RELEASE

2008-09-25T06:48:00.001+08:00

"Greenest Person on the Planet Competition" press conference
Date: Thursday, September 25, 2008
Time: 11am

Place: Green Treats Eco Café, Lobby Level, Swiss Garden Hotel Kuala Lumpur. (For map, login to http://www.swissgarden.com/hotels/sghkl/sghkl_locationMap.php)

KUALA LUMPUR, Thurs – Matthias Gelber, a German entreprenuer living in Malaysia has been voted the Greenest Person on the Planet today.

Currently living in Kuala Lumpur, as part of Malaysia, my second home campaign, he was ahead of 600 other participants from around the world to emerge the champion in the annual competition held in Canada.

The contest was launched on Earth Day (April 22). After six months of intense speculation, where the competitors raced neck-to neck, the competition finally reached its finale yesterday, where the results went to Matthias' favour.

The results was announced by the organiser 3rdwhale from Canada yesterday through a special public event at a green festival. The competition also received wide publicity in North America and other parts of the world.

Coming in second was a Canadian lady Emily Jubenvill, and third was David Nuttle from the USA.

The other international competitors were from more than 25 countries, with the five finalists representing Malaysia, Canada, USA, China, and Columbia. The contestant biographies are available from www.3rdwhale.com.

The organiser said the purpose of the competition was to build awareness and encourage people to live a green lifetstyle.

SFU professor Boyd Cohen who run the 3rdwhale website commented: "The idea is to make environmental stars out of people who are reducing their own environmental impact and reducing the impact of others – we consider this the American Idle for Green people"

For emerging champion Gelber, he not only won the recognition, but a pot of beluga whales to be adopted in his name through the US based Defenders of Wildlife.

Furthermore a nominated Charity of Matthias Gelber, which is PATT (Plant-atree-today.org) will be the beneficiary of a donation based on the sales of eco T-shirts and other items from 3rdwhale.

During a press conference held at Swiss Garden hotel on Thursday, the jubilant Gelber said it has been an exhilarating five-month journey where he has learnt many things.

"I first heard about the Greenest Person on the Planet competition when one of my green contacts sent me a link asking me to submit information about my green lifestyle to the 3rdwhale web site based on a questionnaire they had put together, not knowing I will eventually clinch the title,

"Now with this success, it open doors for me to spread the message even further" he said during his speech, where he proudly showed off his winning T-shirt with the words Greenest Person on the Planet during the conference,

"No doubt it is a milestone, but it is only the beginning. Winning this competition gives me further commitment and encouragement to inspire other people to look after the future of our planet, and the future of our children,

"It is clear that we have a problem. Current impacts of climate change is largely human made beside the natural fluctuations. This was confirmed by the UN,

"In my village in Germany when I was a kid, I always had snow for 3 to 4 months. Now, my brother's son and daughter only have a few days each winter if they are lucky,

"The competition is less about me winning, but more about us all working together. We can make a difference. Other initiatives in Malaysia, such as the Canon goes Green initiative of the YTL environmental week are reminding us and raising awareness that we can all make a difference!,

"I am particularly excited about the chance to speak at local Colleges and Universities in Malaysia. For October I will be giving talks in Taylors College, Nottingham University and at UiTM in Melaka – all events that are driven by students who want to show that being green is fashionable and relevant in modern society and we can make a big difference in tackling environmental problems when we work together,

Gelber said his passion is in environmental protection.

"I turned my passion into my job and my message to young people is that they can do the same. There is plenty of opportunity in the emerging low carbon economy." He predicted companies with green products and services will be the winners!

Gelber's green lifestyle which include saving energy, using public transportation, recycling, and reducing wastage was documented on a special You Tube video he made several months ago (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKCUifIspW8) in Kuala Lumpur, as part of the growing awareness campaign to get people to do their part to save the planet, than be sorry.

"A green lifestyle is not out of reach as most people imagine. There are many practical steps you can take to enrich your life and save the environment such as walking instead of driving for short distances, using fan instead of air con for cooling, or even better, use natural ventilation, cleansing tap water instead of buying plastic bottles with water, reducing over consumption, avoid using plastic bags, taking public transportation and recycling our materials….."

Going around town in his popular green Treehugger T-shirt, Gelber is also an environmentalist who has traveled the world and spoke in 38 countries on related issues such as climate change, green technology, green jobs, green building materials, ISO 14001, Corporate Social Responsibility, etc…

Currently, Gelber already has many trees planted in his name in Thailand and Panama that capture more C02 daily, than he emits in his day-today living, and travels. Gelber hopes more trees will be planted in Malaysia in the future.

His company Maleki GmbH, which produces environmentally friendly products such as green cement applications, hopes to break new grounds in the construction industry, paving the way forward for more such green initiatives in a global campaign to save the planet.

"We are close to signing a deal for a green flooring solution for industry with the global market leader for high end industrial floors, which will massively reduce CO2 emissions,

"Another product is our green render for house walls which has a low carbon footprint and good insulation. We expect this new environmentally friendly material will save Germany about 20000 tons of CO2 next year, since our first year launching it."

Gelber who has been living in Malaysia for the past five years said he chose to live here because it is one of the most beautiful places in the world, with good infrastructure and good feedback from participants of his previous talks in Malaysia and neighboring countries.

"I represented Malaysia because the competition chooses participants based on their country of residence.

"I hope I did my country of residence (Malaysia) proud and I hope to help many other Malaysians who do champion the green lifestyle to join us," he said.

Gelber added his future projects include plant-a-tree campaign where he hopes to get commitment for 1 million trees to be planted.

"I want this commitment by Earth day next year and I would like to encourage Malaysians to plant an additional 100,000 trees in the country, particularly in cities.

Emphasising his point, Gelber said: "I woke up 2 weeks ago in the morning to the sound of a chain saw, and one of the huge tree which could be seen from my window, and featured in my green video has been chopped down,"

"Today after my win has been announced, I have started my special tree planting pledge by getting out my credit card and paying for 1000 trees to be planted by PATT," he said.

Gelber has also been a member of various environmental organisations such as INEM (International Network of Environmental Management) or ENSEARCH (where he used to be a board member of the Asia Pacifica Roundtable of Cleaner Production, linked to the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP)

To find out more information on INEM or ENSEARCH, checkout their websites on www.inem.org or http://www.ensearch.org

BACKGROUND

1. What is the Greenest Person of the Planet Competition ?

The Greenest Person on the Planet competition was launched on Earth day this year by 3rdwhale.com, a new web based social platform for green lifestyle issues.

More than 600 people from over 40 countries participated. The organisers call it the American Idol for green people. The intention of 3rdwhale is to promote green lifestyle in a modern world through the people that have adopted green principles in their lives.

The contestants for the award were reduced to 50 people who were featured on the web site with voting from visitors to the site. Subsequently the 5 contestants with the highest number of votes were selected. Matthias Gelber, a German national residing in Malaysia under the Malaysia My 2nd Home Program was part of the 5 finalists and is now featured as one of the 2 people that have won the competition.

The results will be announced at an public environmental event in Vancouver Canada at 5am Malaysian time on Thursday, September 25. This press conference will announce the results for a Malaysian audience and elaborate on practical environmental actions that the award winner would like to initiate in Malaysia.

For more information about the competition, please visit www.3rdwhale.com

2. Who is Matthias Gelber

Matthias Gelber is a global environmental speaker and entrepreneur. He is a board member of the International Network of Environmental Management, a non-profit organisation working with businesses internationally to inspire them to make their operations more environmentally friendly. For more info visit www.inem.org

His passion is in protecting the environment using some of his personal practices including reduction of consumption, living without a car, recycling, using energy efficiency strategies and other practical environmental actions.

Matthias is the initiator and board member of Maleki GmbH, a German based startup company, specialising in Low Carbon footprint high performance Green Building materials.

The company works on green cement replacements taking considerations of the fact that the manufacturing of cement is responsible for about 5 to 7 % of the worlds CO2 emissions which are the main contributors to climate change. The Maleki GmbH has ambition to reduce the worlds CO2 generation in millions of tons with its low Carbon footprint materials.

Matthias has given environmental talks in 38 countries all over the world and has successfully started and sold an environmental consulting and training company during the time when he lived in the UK.

3. Who are the organisations invited for the event:

Plant-A-Tree-Today. Org is a tree planting charity which was founded in Thailand by a father of two young daughters namely Andrew Steel who was concerned what future will we leave for our children in a world where we rapidly destroy the environment around us.

Through photosynthesis trees absorb carbon dioxide (a key Greenhouse Gas and principle contributor to global warming) from the atmosphere while releasing oxygen back out. It is the mission of PATT to plant many trees in Asia as a means to capture CO2 emissions and to contribute to social development.

PATT was nominated by Matthias Gelber as the charity that will benefit if Matthias wins the Greenest Person of the Planet award.

Matthias has been actively supporting PATT for the past two years and will be involved in the local activities of PATT in Malaysia. PATT is championed in Malaysia by Lilian Lim from the XL Results foundation. Lilian will be present at the press conference to share her view about the significance of the award and practical experiences of tree planting in Malaysia.

For more info, see http://www.plant-a-tree-today.org/

Maleki GmbH is a German company that specialises in the development of environmentally friendly building materials with low carbon footprint. Matthias is a board member and shareholder of the Maleki GmbH. Another Malaysia shareholder of the Maleki GmbH is Steven Soh Tek Toh, the original founder of KL Mutual.

4. About the Venue

The Swiss Garden Hotel has recently impressed Matthias with various green measures undertaken to reduce its overall environmental impact to encourage customers to have a more eco friendly stay at the hotel, with less wastage generated and less energy consumed.

A green committee of 30 employees is continuously working on improving awareness and green activities at the hotel.

The Green Treats Eco Café has recently opened provide organic and environmentally preferable healthy food options.

Matthias chooses the hotel as the perfect location for The Greenest Person on the Planet press conference, due to its green theme.

And the winner is....

2008-09-24T01:01:00.001+08:00

So who is the Greenest Person on the Planet 2008?
Matthias Gelber, a German entrepreneur living in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia was officially crowned The Greenest Person on the Planet 2008 on Thursday, Sept 25.
He beat 600 competitors from around the world to emerge the victor winning 51% of about 1700 votes which was cast on the 3rdwhale website during competition which started in April.
Stay tuned for more information on www.3rdwhale.com
The winner has been finally announced! It is Matthias the treehugger from Malaysia.
He has won us over with his charming German accent and his witty green ways.

Name: Matthias Gelber
Aka: treehugger
Location: Kuala Lumpar, Malaysia
Votes: 51.78%
Charity of Choice: Plant-a-tree-today.org
Why Him: Matthias gives free environmental talks here and in the local community. He plants trees and bamboos as a hobby. His works in the green building industry.
Crazy Green Story: He just got a 7cm injury from being pierced by a bamboo. No joke.

What is the Greenest Person on the Planet Competition?

2008-09-24T01:00:00.001+08:00

The Greenest Person on the Planet competition was launched on Earth day this year by 3rdwhale.com, a new web based social platform for green lifestyle issues. More than 600 people from over 40 countries participated. The organisers call it the American Idol for green people. The intention of 3rdwhale is to promote green lifestyle in a modern world through the people that have adopted green principles in their lives. The contestants for the award were reduced to 50 people who were featured on the web site with voting from visitors to the site. Subsequently the 5 contestants with the highest number of votes were selected. Matthias Gelber, a German national residing in Malaysia under the Malaysia My 2nd Home Program was part of the 5 finalists and is now featured as one of the 2 people that have won the competition. The results will be announced at an public environmental event in Vancouver Canada at 5am Malaysian time on Thursday, September 25. This press conference will announce the results for a Malaysian audience and elaborate on practical environmental actions that the award winner would like to initiate in Malaysia. For more information about the competition, please visit www.3rdwhale.com

Who Is Matthias Gelber?

2008-09-24T00:59:00.000+08:00

Matthias Gelber is a global environmental speaker and entrepreneur. He is a board member of the International Network of Environmental Management, a non-profit organisation working with businesses internationally to inspire them to make their operations more environmentally friendly. For more info visit www.inem.orgHis passion is in protecting the environment using some of his personal practices including reduction of consumption, living without a car, recycling, using energy efficiency strategies and other practical environmental actions. Matthias is the initiator and board member of Maleki GmbH, a German based startup company, specialising in Low Carbon footprint high performance Green Building materials. The company works on green cement replacements taking considerations of the fact that the manufacturing of cement is responsible for about 5 to 7 % of the worlds CO2 emissions which are the main contributors to climate change. The Maleki GmbH has ambition to reduce the worlds CO2 generation in millions of tons with its low Carbon footprint materials. Matthias has given environmental talks in 38 countries all over the world and has successfully started and sold an environmental consulting and training company during the time when he lived in the UK.

Green Organisations supported by Matthias

2008-09-24T00:43:00.001+08:00

Plant-A-Tree-Today.Org is a tree planting charity which was founded in Thailand by a father of two young daughters namely Andrew Steel who was concerned what future will we leave for our children in a world where we rapidly destroy the environment around us. Through photosynthesis trees absorb carbon dioxide (a key Greenhouse Gas and principle contributor to global warming) from the atmosphere while releasing oxygen back out. It is the mission of PATT to plant many trees in Asia as a means to capture CO2 emissions and to contribute to social development. PATT was nominated by Matthias Gelber as the charity that will benefit if Matthias wins the Greenest Person of the Planet award. Matthias has been actively supporting PATT for the past two years and will be involved in the local activities of PATT in Malaysia. PATT is championed in Malaysia by Lilian Lim from the XL Results foundation. Lilian will be present at the press conference to share her view about the significance of the award and practical experiences of tree planting in Malaysia. For more info, see http://www.plant-a-tree-today.org/Maleki GmbH is a German company that specialises in the development of environmentally friendly building materials with low carbon footprint. Matthias is a board member and shareholder of the Maleki GmbH. Another Malaysia shareholder of the Maleki GmbH is Steven Soh Tek Toh, the original founder of KL Mutual.

Green Man Article in NST

2008-08-07T07:03:00.001+08:00