Green Indonesia

Al Gore predicts that if we do not reverse our non-sustaining lifestyles within ten years, then our race is doomed.

Humanity is sitting on a ticking time bomb. If the vast majority of the world’s scientists are right, we have just ten years to avert a major catastrophe that could send our entire planet into a tail-spin of epic destruction involving extreme weather, floods, droughts, epidemics and killer heat waves beyond anything we have ever experienced.

This week in Indonesia has seen more outpourings of mud, in Porong, a kilometre away from Sidoarjo in East Java, site of the original earth burst. This may not have been caused by more human error, as I suggested in Jakartass. Another emerging theory is that the weight of the mud in the retaining ponds is forcing land to rise and split elsewhere. Think waterbeds or air-filled pillows. Whatever, this is an environmental disaster with villains.

However, Green Indonesia is not intended to be a doom and gloom site.

As Dr. Glen Barry writes, “Enough of wallowing in despair that the Earth is dying as kooky fundamentalists wage war. The environmental sustainability movement deserves and needs a dose of healthy skeptical optimism. Until the last human pair gasps their final breathe there is hope of our species’ continued existence and evolutionary advancement, however slim.”

Here in Indonesia, as elsewhere, we can all do our bit according to our capacity, potential, inclination and whatever our station in life. The following are inspiring Indonesian environmental heroes:

Sujana - Bandung
Sujana is the road cleaner in my area. He says that he does not find any big problems with his job. He just feels sad if there are people who are not aware of the importance of keeping the environment clean.

Prigi Arisandi - Gresik, Surabaya
His basic interest in saving is the Surabaya River. He is definitely making a big difference for the river. He and some of his friends made a non-government organization that is called ECOTON which means Ecological Observation And Wetlands Conservation.

Roni Hartanto Gunawan - Bandung
He and his many school fellows planted more than ten thousand small trees in a critical area located near the school.

Suryo Wardhoyo Prawiroatmodjo - East Java, Bali, South Sulawesi and Irian Jaya (Papua).
Suryo’s commitment to environmental education won him a Rolex Award for Enterprise in 1990. This brought international recognition after several years during which Suryo had experienced the loneliness of his calling and he was able to finish the Centre for Environmental Education on the slopes of the sacred Penanggungan volcano, in east Java.

Nominations for other Green Indonesian Heroes would be welcome - here.