Picture: Reuters

Oh the waves roll low
And the waves roll high
And so it goes
Under a bright blue endless sky
Waves try to measure
The days that we treasure
Wave hello
And wave goodbye

Right now I'm doing Conservation Biology. I've been going on and on about the loss of biodiversity and climate change and sustainable development and the like. My stand is, of course, that each species has its inherent value, regardless of what it can contribute to man. I hate human chavunism. In this world, economic arguments are the strongest, especially when it comes to influencing policy-making. So we conservationists put a price tag on the ecosystem, calculating how much they contribute in terms of food, nutrient recycling, biological control, pollination, tourism etc. $33 trillion a year is the estimated value. The GNP of all the world's nations is only $18 trillion in 1997. We need the world's biodiversity more than we need a booming, boomz economy.

If you understand the rate of biodiversity loss, you'll know we are doomed. It's just a matter of time. Sam says future technology like nuclear power and more efficient land use may delay doomsday arrival. I feel the human population is wayyy too large, straining the earth wayy too much. There are only 20 000 bonobos and 40 000 gorillas on earth. Yet "the human population will hit SEVEN BILLION by the time you take your tripos".

Seven billion... tripos... I don't know which is scarier.

Today at Sains, I was feeling quite satisfied with my harvest of chicken wings and chocolate and tropicana. And lugging those orange plastic bags, I realised I was the only one carrying plastic bags in the group. The rest either put stuff into their backpacks or brought their own recyclable cloth bag. From now on, I'll bring my backpack when I go to Sains.