It was time to once again make the most of our multiple entry visa into China before expiry in April, so we headed off on a weekend adventure to the limestone karst area around Guilin.
Louise was voted number one travel agent, so it was up to her to research where to go, and how to get there! She decided on Guilin, as she knew about the magnificent karst landscape and had been hankering to get there for a while. Overnight trains run from Shenzhen to Guilin (train # T38) so we decided to try out China Rails’ sleeper trains. For the outward journey we bought tickets via China Travel Service, who of course charge you an extra HKD$100 for privilege, but as we were booking overnight sleepers we decided to be safe rather than sorry.
After catching separate MTR trains to the border (Merrin could not leave work too early) Louise was tasked with securing tickets for the overnight train back on Sunday evening from Guilin to Guangzhou. She was very proud of being persistent in the face of severe provocation. The ticket office lady trying to book the late train, (T40 leaving at 21:23 that actually goes through to Shenzhen) but Louise had done her homework and knew there was an earlier train, the K38, departing Guilin at 18:28 arriving Guangzhou at 6am, which Louise insisted on booking. From Guangzhou we could catch a fast intercity train to Shenzhen (but not all the way to Hung Hom as trains direct to Hong Kong leave from Guangzhou East railway station and we were at Guangzhou Railway Station). This would then allow Merrin to be at work at a reasonable hour on Monday morning. The moral of this story is that it is easy to book your own tickets in spite of a total lack of Putonghua and the ticket office staff having very little English! But, it is best that you do know in advance the train number and departure time!
There are two types of sleeper carriages on Chinese trains. We had booked the “soft sleepers”, which are four berth cabins shared with whoever. We were lucky that the train was not full so had no other people in our cabin. We have to say that we would hate to know what the hard sleepers are like. These so-called soft sleepers were hard enough! The hard sleepers are 6 berth cabins with no cabin doors. They all open directly to the carriage corridor and they certainly look to have very thin beds! We spoke to an English couple on our way back who had taken the plunge and traveled on the hard sleepers. They said they got absolutely no sleep, as their four other cabin mates were up and down the beds, holding loud conversations, with lights going on and off all night! They were certainly a good advertisement for not taking the hard sleepers as they looked absolutely shattered!!
We arrived in Guilin after a reasonable sleep on Friday 3 Dec. Well, Merrin, who can sleep anywhere of course had a wonderful nights rest. Louise found sleeping on the train rather like camping … every time there was a need to roll over she woke with a stiff back that was hauled into a new position, which was potentially meant to be more comfy, but the reality was, it wasn’t! It was also absolutely freezing in our cabin so even as we sat and ate our railway meal consisting of rice and a variety of pickled and stir-fried dishes, we were totally wrapped in the bedding.
It was a lovely crisp morning in Guilin. The front of the railway station was buzzing with food hawker stalls and travel touts. We were immediately approached by several touts all offering a ride in “their” bus to Yangshuo. We decided to take up an offer of 18 RMB and set off after a few minutes. With the distance of 67km between Guilin and Yangshuo we estimated it would take just over an hour to get there! What we didn’t bank on was that we would do a slow crawl through town with the “conductor” hanging out the door touting for more business. At the first stop (still outside the station) as we waited for about 15 minutes for prospective passengers, we watched a lady making some sort of egg pancake. Merrin decided to get off and buy one … it was delicious – a pancake filled with egg and a pickled cabbage mixture. We limped our way out of the city continuing to stop for more passengers and in one instance, for the driver to buy his lunch to eat while driving. It eventually took us an hour just to get to the outskirts of Guilin and just under two hours to Yangshuo!!!
Along the way we passed between the limestone hills marching off into the distance and along side the road, an ever-ending procession of white tree trunks. Instead of road markers the lower trunks of the trees were all painted white! Once in Yangshuo, we decided that we would walk the 5kms to our accommodation – The Giggling Tree, run by a young Dutch couple and nestled in the Yangshuo countryside. Armed with a computer printout map (not to scale) from The Giggling Tree’s website and a small town map photocopied from an old Lonely Planet guide we set off. In the wrong direction! Yes, the surveyor and the cartographer could not find their way. In our defense, it was a bit silly trying to navigate by two entirely different “not to scale” maps. After getting some guidance from locals (about 5kms out of town in the wrong direction) we turned back and found a cab!
The detour did offer a few gems, like the table on the side of the road laid out with false teeth and orthodontic aids, complete with customers having their dental work attended to on the footpath, and outside the doctors surgery 3 patients happily sitting on chairs attached to a drip to their hands or feet (goodness knows what for)! Also passed an ancient shed where a man and woman were making noodles using a hand roller through which they were feeding the “wet” dough then adding the dry dough as they went. The resulting noodles were hanging on bamboo poles in the yard with a fan blowing at them to dry them off.
The Giggling Tree (http://www.gigglingtree.com/) is in the Yangshuo countryside surrounded by the famous karst landscape - everywhere you look. The guesthouse is in converted old traditional farm buildings built of yellow clay bricks. We stayed in an upstairs room overlooking the sunny courtyard costing only 210 Yuan per night (off peak season). Once we had settled in we went out to the courtyard to order lunch and sit and enjoy the afternoon sun. (Both of us were a little tired after our wee walk in the countryside on the other side of town). After our snooze in the sun we set off on foot to explore the village and surrounding area.
We wandered towards the Yulong River. As we neared the river we could her chatter and commotion. It turned out that this was one of the main areas for launching the bamboo rafts, which you can hire to take you down river with bikes on the back, so that you can cycle back up the valley. Naturally the locals were very keen for us to go for a jaunt. We declined and sat with a beer to watch them going about their daily business which seemed to feature a lot of laughter over gambling games etc as there are not too many tourists around because the high season has finished. We then wandered off up the river and watched a man wash his buffalo in the river, and another plowing his field with his buffalo. It is a very simple way of life here and it was really great to be staying in the countryside rather than in the busy touristy town to witness the Chinese lifestyle of old. Like when we stopped for a cold drink at a roadside shop which had the butcher next to it cutting up “things”, across the street was a fish farmer chopping up fish as people ordered them and kids riding and walking home from school.
That night we had cocktails on the terrace overlooking the stunning Yangshuo countryside followed by a lovely dinner in the restaurant. Although the day temperatures were in the early twenties at night it was quite cool so we adjourned to the common room for a very yummy Dutch Apple Pie dessert by the fire and chatted to other travelers.
The next morning we set off early (7am) on hired bikes in order to take in the early morning scenery. Great idea, but boy was it cold out and about at this time of the morning. Our hands were absolutely freezing as we cycled along. The scenery was magnificent, in the early morning misty light though. We cycled along rough tracks between rice paddies, through villages, one of which had a funeral procession complete with firecrackers and on to the Dragon Bridge to cross the river and cycle back the other side. It was a great ride and because we left early there were very few other tourists about.
Back at the Giggling Tree we tucked into some breaky before heading off on the bikes along the river in the other direction. We made it back to civilization aka the main road and cycled along to Moon Hill. This is one of the few limestone hills that you can climb in the area (for a fee of course) and despite all the tourist information saying that climbing to the top was not allowed there was a 69 year old lady pointing you up the side track to the top, hoping that that you will buy a cold drink from her on the way back down. It is an arch shape (hence the name) and the views from top were wonderful. 
From there we cycled along the main road and into Yangshuo town for a late lunch. Cycling along the city streets avoiding other bikes, 3 wheeler taxi bikes, cars and buses was fun, as was experiencing the tourist chaos that is Xi Lu or West St – a cobbled street full of restaurants and shops that is the main tourist part of town.
We cycled back to the Giggling Tree and met up with a British couple, Karen and Paul with whom we planned to go the famous Li River Light Show near Yangshuo town. We all jumped in a taxi and headed off to the show. It is on every night (sometimes twice a night) and was absolutely packed when we got there. The show is set on the Li River and has 600 locals as part of the cast. It is a re-enactment of village life in the area with lights popping up around the vast stage that comprises of the river bank and boats or platforms on the river. The show was choreographed by the guy who produced the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics. It was pretty amazing, especially with the back drop of karst mountains lit up as part of the show.
After the hour long show we headed to town for dinner. Chose a BBQ restaurant where you get to choose your ingredients from a table at the front. Not easy when none of the bamboo skewers of meat are recognizable! We chose a plateful of prawn, meat, tofu and veggie skewers and off they went to the BBQ out back to be cooked with a spicy marinade. The result was not bad although the meat we thought was chicken did not taste or resemble chicken on the plate. Who knows what it was!
The next day (Sunday) we chilled out at the Giggling Tree for the morning and then as something different ordered one of the 3 wheeled taxi bikes to take us to the bus station to go back to Guilin. It was fun bouncing along in the open cab over the rough dirt road then whizzing along the paved roads into the town. He dropped us off at Xi Lu and we wandered off to find some lunch. Had some very yummy fried pork balls served around a plate of omelet and another fried dish that we thought was veggie but turned out to be pork based as well. Sat on a street corner table and watched the restaurant owner’s wee boy playing with a bubble maker in the street. Actually Louise was watching and photographing while Merrin was joining in the game!
We set off to the bus stop and in a repeat of the in ward journey, it took about an hour to leave town, which was a surprise as when we left the bus station all the seats were already full. But where there is money to be made by carrying more people it will be! We cruised the streets heading out of town picking up more and more people who were given small plastic stools to sit on in the isle, so that by the time we were heading up the highway there was more than a full load on the bus and a very happy bus conductor counting his stash of Yuan! The other amusing part of this bus journey was that while Merrin happily occupied the front seat next to the driver, Louise, sitting a couple of rows back got to watch King Kong on the video screen. Very bizarre , the Chinese guy in the next seat and Louise chuckling away in tandem at the ridiculous antics that had been filmed in NZ but with the white actors speaking Chinese!
We had an hour and half to spare once we got to Guilin so we wandered the streets briefly taking in some of the sights of this city of 1.3 million people. Rather than eat the train food we bought hawker food from outside the station and beers to take on the train with us. Once again we were reacquainted with the hard “soft” sleepers. Actually the sleeper trains are really not that bad and a good way to travel long distances in China. This time we had one other cabin mate get in at a station down the line to sleep on the top bunk. At 5:30am we had the wake up call from the guard to ensure we were ready to leave the train in Guangzhou. Bought our tickets for the next train to Shenzhen (which might actually be the first one of the day at 7am) then had a brief walk around outside the station before boarding for the just over one hour long journey to Shenzhen which gets up to 200 kph. At Shenzhen we walked straight across the border and on to the MTR in Hong Kong, for Merrin to head to work and for Louise to head to Fuel Espresso in IFC for a coffee fix before heading home on the Lantau Ferry.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Exploring China: Guilin/Yangshuo Adventure
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Global Environmental Crisis
Got asked the other day the following question:
What is/are the root cause/s of the Global Environmental Crisis?
How can they be addressed?
Here are my thoughts. I would love to hear yours either here or on facebook via
http://www.facebook.com/notes.php?id=743408854#!/note.php?note_id=418673911003
The root causes of the global environmental crisis stem from the disconnect of people from acknowledging they are part of nature and environmental cycles rather than being separate from or able to control nature.
In the business world there is a growing discussion that measuring a business’s success in terms of profit and shareholder dividends alone is no longer good enough. When assessing the sustainability of the business and the risks it faces, investors can take into account more the impact the operation has on the local communities and the natural resources it is dependent on. Countries continue to use the measure of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to show the health of the country and how well it is progressing. GDP does not take into account what is being produced (money spent on recovering from natural disasters and building more military arsenal adds to GDP just as providing housing and producing food does) or what effect it has on nature (clear felling forests for the timber adds to GDP however no account is taken for the loss of biodiversity or ecosystem services that the forest provides, such as producing oxygen).
It is measures like GDP that have driven the growth in consumerism where more goods are being purchased and hence need to be produced,therefore raising the GDP of an economy. Marketing leads people to believe that more “things” will make them happy and show them to be successful in their communities, however this does not necessarily lead to a healthy and happy community. People need to appreciate those “things” from a perspective of what has been utilised to produce them.
We can address this disconnect by raising awareness of the interconnectedness and reliance we as the human species have on a healthy planet. Educating people in what is involved in producing food and goods so that they choose options that have a lower embedded energy, along with a lower social and environmental cost, will help reconnect people to their place in nature. This will lead to more meaningful measures of success being adopted such as Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) or Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare (ISEW) rather than GDP, thus allowing a further break from the current connection between consuming more “things” as measures of success.
Looking at our planning and design requirements in all aspects of life is another way to address the crisis. By giving more consideration to the production processes of products to enable them to be reused and recycled can reduce our environmental impact. Moving back to producing products that have longer design life expectancy rather than adhering to a replacement system and finally, by designing products so that the output from one process becomes the input in another process while utilising nature to assist the cycles and hence reduce the energy required in the production process, are all solutions to addressing the global environmental crisis.
Overall we need to think more strategically around sustainability issues taking into account in our management of the 5 major types of capital being: human capital, financial capital, natural capital, produced and social capital.
In conclusion, the key to addressing the global environmental crisis is having a longer term perspective that revitalises the role humans play in generating sustainable growth that does not disproportionately disadvantage ecosystems or human cultures.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
ANZAC Day
Memorial Walk of Goodwin Escape Route
In memory of Lt Cmdr R B Goodwin RNZNVR
Lt Commander Ralph Goodwin, of the Royal New Zealand Navy Volunteer Reserve, was a patient in Hong Kong’s Queen Mary Hospital on Christmas Day in 1941 recuperating from a leg wound sustained in action while in defence of Hong Kong, when the surrender of Hong Kong to the Japanese made him a Prisoner of War.
Escape was always on his mind, but he had to wait for nearly two and a half years until July 1944, before he was able to break out from Sham Shui Po Camp where he had been interned. The story of his incredible trek to friendly forces in China, and his four month journey home to New Zealand reads like something out of the Boys Own Paper! His story is well told in his [now out-of-print] book “Hong Kong Escape”.
“ … New Zealander, a lieutenant in the RNZNVR (R. B. Goodwin), had been wounded in the defence of Hong Kong and was unable to attempt escape in the early period when the Japanese hold on the territory was comparatively loose. His escape in July 1944 was a supreme feat of nerve and endurance. Lieutenant Goodwin has himself graphically described his adventure in his book Hongkong Escape. This was one of the few escapes made with virtually no co-operation from fellow prisoners and no prearranged help from outside, indeed, the escaper felt he had more to fear from some fellow prisoners than from the Japanese”. (New Zealand Electronic Text Centre, Victoria University of Wellington)
[Walk Leader Gordon Andreassend 3rd from left - photo of walkers by Grace Cheung]
On ANZAC Day 2010 (Sunday 25 April 2010) a walk by 14 Kiwi and Ozzie “escapees” retraced the approximate route he took during the first four days of his escape. The walk was about 11km and took five hours, started near the Water Treatment Works on Cheung Yuen Road (below Kowloon Reception Reservoir) and finished at Tai Wai, near Shatin. The walk leader was long time Hong Kong Kiwi Gordon Andreassend.
Here is a map of the route we walked that gives great views of Hong Kong harbour and the surrounding high peaks.
You can look at the route on Google Maps for better quality information
View Goodwin Escape Route in Hong Kong in a larger map
The Goodwin Escape – July, 1944.
Lt. Commander Ralph Goodwin was a NZ naval officer, serving on a Motor Torpedo Boat in Hong Kong when he was wounded in December 1941. He was in Queen Mary Hospital on Christmas Day when the British forces surrendered to the Japanese. As a P.O.W. he endured 30 months in captivity, but escape was always in his mind. In May, 1944 he was transferred to Sham Shui Po Camp, and he realized that this camp provided his best opportunity to make an escape. He quickly made his preparations, and on July 16, taking advantage of a moonless, wet night, he made his break. Here are the details of his first 4 nights and days on the run. He had to wait for midnight, when the perimeter lights were switched off.
July 17 – Midnight to Dawn.
Risking death in climbing the electrified perimeter fence, he reached the sea and swam to Castle Peak Road at Lai Chi Kok. He climbed up into the Kowloon foothills and made his way through rugged terrain until he had to take shelter in a clump of trees as dawn approached.
July 17 - Dawn to dusk (Day 1)
He spent a most uncomfortable day on the slope of a hill, wet and exhausted. He ate some of his limited food and remained hidden throughout the day.
July 17 and 18 – Dusk to Dawn.
At sunset he continued inland, through ravines and hills in what he assumed to be the general direction of Shatin. Japanese patrols were searching the hills, and he moved as quickly as possible over ridges and gullies until a break in the clouds enabled him to see an inlet of HK Harbour - probably Gin Drinkers Bay.
He had travelled too far west, as his goal was Tolo Harbour at Shatin. He changed direction and headed on a more easterly course, until the approach of dawn forced him to seek shelter for the day.
July 18 - Dawn to Dusk (Day 2)
Shelter was difficult to find as dawn approached, and he spent the day in a water course listening to the sound of searchers nearby. During the day he decided to abandon his original plan to swim to freedom via Tolo Harbour – and threw away life jackets and other items to lighten his pack. He would walk to China.
July 18 and 19 - Dusk to Dawn.
As darkness fell, he made for higher ground and continued towards the east as the rain fell heavily. He sighted two buildings and moved away from them through a swampy area until he found a well-used track that led to a rough area something like a worksite. He continued on in a direction he assumed would lead to Shatin, and daylight found him on a ridge with very little cover. He quickly looked for a hiding place, and settled on a shallow excavation where he could lie for the day.
July 19 - Dawn to Dusk (Day 3)
Increasing daylight showed that his hiding place was not well-concealed, but did command a good view – so he decided to remain there. His vantage point was perfect in that he could see the length of the Shing Mun River from the Shing Mun Dam to the road and railway near Shatin. He was able to plan his route down the Shing Mun Valley. Intending to move slightly to get a better view, he was startled by a rifle shot being fired at a bird by a Japanese soldier he had not seen, standing just above his hiding place. He hid deeper in his shallow pit and reflected on the prophecy of a fortune-teller who had told him that his life would be saved by a bird. His gratitude to that winged saviour, was matched only by his gratefulness that the soldier’s shot had missed its mark, a fate that he, as a larger and closer target would not have enjoyed.
July 19 and 20 – Dusk to Dawn.
At nightfall he set off briskly down the slope towards the Shing Mun River, heading toward a track he had seen on the opposite side. He waded over the river and headed downstream. He made good progress, and eventually arrived at a clump of bamboo at the lower reaches of the river. There were houses nearby and as daylight was fast approaching, he pushed as far as possible into the bamboo, to find a rather uncomfortable resting place for the day. A woman cutting bamboo could have ended his flight right there.
July 20 – Dawn to Dusk (Day 4)
He was delighted to see as the light improved that he was very close to Tai Po Road – the route he had decided to take for his escape over the Chinese border. The walk by night to safety took another 7 days.
“There would be a definite route to follow after the heart-breaking cross-country struggle, in which I had maintained little sense of direction, and throughout which, even in the daytime, I had little idea of my exact location.”
Goodwin’s words taken from his book “Hongkong Escape”, which was used as the basis for retracing his escape route, sums up the situation most precisely. This book, now about 50 years out of print is a most enthralling read, and gives full details of his 4 month journey from Hong Kong to New Zealand.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Throwim Way Leg
This book review of Tim Flannery’s “Throwim Way Leg” was written for The Sustainable Future Institute (http://www.sustainablefuture.info/) which is an independent think tank specialising in research and policy analysis that is based in Wellington, New Zealand.
What an intriguing and enlightening adventure that Tim Flannery takes you on in “Throwim Way Leg”. While Tim’s personal experiences covered in the book are during the 1980’s and 1990’s New Guinea, the pace of change he saw during that period is similar to what other countries have experienced over much longer periods, if not centuries.
The finding of new species almost daily makes great reading, however it is particularly poignant to note that the local helpers just want to eat these new wonders, even if it has taken days or months to find just one specimen. During his travels, Flannery is introduced to new concepts of viewing the relationships between people and the planet. The different groups of people that Tim lived with while working in both the Papua and Irian Jaya parts of New Guinea could well be teaching the people of the “developed” world how the “modern” world could live.
From reading one gets a sense of how little we actually still know of our fellow planet’s inhabitants, whether they be flora or fauna. The grandeur of the Papuan landscape with towering cliffs, glacial capped mountain (at the equator) and raging rivers that disappear down what Tim describes as possibly the largest “plug hole on earth” are all part of a wonderfully wet and forest clad landscape. This landscape is slowly being removed through “modern progress” such as forestry and mining. Tim encounters very different approaches to the way locals are involved and treated by the large corporations.
The Tree Kangaroos are a strong part of the story, as they were the focus of the 15 trips Tim made primarily to research them. Tim’s discoveries are amazing. No wonder these tree dwelling Kangaroos are on the verge of extinction, some being so friendly that they would walk up to people! A very easy meal they then become.
Those fortunate to experience the forests and highlands of New Guinea obviously obtain new perspectives on the sustainability of our planet, as fellow writer-scientist and thinker Jared Diamond also explored the this region of the world. So enjoy another perspective on the great writing talent that Tim is. While having only read The Weather Makers before Throwim Way Leg I am now off to explore more of Tim’s writings!
My thanks to Robert Gibson in Hong Kong for bringing this wonderful book to my attention.
The publisher details of the book can be found at http://textpublishing.com.au/books-and-authors/book/throwim-way-leg/
Saturday, March 13, 2010
The Top 50 Sustainability Books
Discovered this interesting book that I am yet to read, certainly would like to read the books it reviews.
As described on Amazon:
This title draws together in one volume some of the best thinking to date on the pressing social and environmental challenges we face as a society.
It includes profiles of the Top 50 Sustainability Books, as voted for by the University of Cambridge Programme for Industry's alumni network of over 2,000 senior leaders from around the world. In addition, many of the authors share their most recent reflections on the state of the world and the ongoing attempts by business, government and civil society to create a more sustainable future.
Many of these authors have become household names in the environmental, social and economic justice movements - from Rachel Carson, Ralph Nader and E.F. Schumacher to Vandana Shiva, Muhammad Yunus and Al Gore. Others, such as Aldo Leopold, Thomas Berry and Manfred Max-Neef, are relatively undiscovered gems, whose work should be much more widely known. The profiled books tackle our most vexing global challenges, including globalisation ("Globalization and Its Discontents", "No Logo"), climate change ("Heat", "The Economics of Climate Change") and poverty ("The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid", "Development as Freedom").
Some of these featured thought-leaders are highly critical of the status quo (e.g. David Korten, Eric Schlosser and Joel Bakan), while others suggest evolutionary ways forward (e.g. Amory Lovins, Hunter Lovins, Paul Hawken and Jonathon Porritt). Some place their faith in technological solutions (e.g. Janine Benyus, Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker), while others are upbeat about the potential of business to be a force for good (e.g. John Elkington, Ricardo Semler, William McDonough and Michael Braungart).
By featuring these and other seminal thinkers, "The Top 50 Sustainability Books" distils a remarkable collective intelligence - one that provides devastating evidence of the problems we face as a global society, yet also inspiring examples of innovative solutions; it explores our deepest fears and our highest hopes for the future.
It is a must-read for anyone who wants to tap into the wisdom of our age.
Contents
Introduction
Polly Courtice, Director, Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership
THE TOP 50 SUSTAINABILITY BOOKS
1 A Sand County Almanac Aldo Leopold (1949)
2 Silent Spring Rachel Carson (1962)
3 Unsafe At Any Speed Ralph Nader (1965)
4 The Population Bomb Paul L. Ehrlich (1968)
5 Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth R. Buckminster Fuller (1969)
6 The Limits to Growth Donella H. Meadows, Dennis L. Meadows, Jørgen Randers and William W. Behrens III (1972)
7 Small Is Beautiful E.F. Schumacher (1973)
8 Gaia James Lovelock (1979)
9 The Turning Point Fritjof Capra (1982)
10 Our Common Future (‘The Brundtland Report’) World Commission onEnvironment and Development (1987)
11 The Dream of the Earth Thomas Berry (1988)
12 A Fate Worse Than Debt Susan George (1988)
13 Staying Alive
14 Blueprint for a Green Economy David Pearce, Anil
15 For the Common Good Herman Daly and John B. Cobb Jr (1989)
16 Human Scale Development Manfred Max-Neef (1989)
17 Changing Course Stephan Schmidheiny and Business Council for Sustainable Development (BCSD) (1992)
18 The Ecology of Commerce Paul Hawken (1993)
19 Maverick Ricardo Semler (1993)
20 When Corporations Rule the World David C. Korten (1995)
21 Biomimicry Janine M. Benyus (1997)
22 Cannibals with Forks John Elkington (1997)
23 The Hungry Spirit Charles Handy (1997)
24 Banker to the Poor Muhammad Yunus (1998)
25 The Crisis of Global Capitalism George Soros (1998)
26 Factor Four Ernst von Weizsäcker, Amory B. Lovins and L. Hunter Lovins (1998)
27 False Dawn John Gray (1998)
28 Development as Freedom Amartya Sen (1999)
29 No Logo Naomi Klein (1999)
30 Natural Capitalism Paul Hawken, Amory B. Lovins and L. Hunter Lovins (1999)
31 Business as Unusual Anita Roddick (2000)
32 The Mystery of Capital Hernando de Soto (2000)
33 The Civil Corporation Simon Zadek (2001)
34 Fast Food Nation Eric Schlosser (2001)
35 The Skeptical Environmentalist Bjørn Lomborg (2001)
36 Cradle to Cradle William McDonough and Michael Braungart (2002)
37 Globalization and its Discontents Joseph E. Stiglitz (2002)
38 The Corporation Joel Bakan (2004)
39 Presence Peter Senge, C. Otto Scharmer, Joseph Jaworski and Betty Sue Flowers (2004)
40 The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid C.K. Prahalad (2004)
41 The River Runs Black Elizabeth C. Economy (2004)
42 Capitalism as if the World Matters Jonathon Porritt (2005)
43 Capitalism at the Crossroads Stuart L. Hart (2005)
44 Collapse Jared Diamond (2005)
45 The End of Poverty Jeffrey D. Sachs (2005)
46 The Chaos Point Ervin Laszlo (2006)
47 Heat George Monbiot (2006)
48 An Inconvenient Truth Al Gore (2006)
49 When the Rivers Run Dry Fred Pearce (2006)
50 The Economics of Climate Change Nicholas Stern (2007)
Conclusion
Mike Peirce, Deputy Director, Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership
About the author
About CPSL
Friday, February 19, 2010
Walking the Dog (How it could be)
I love animals and I love helping people out when they are going away on holidays by giving their pets a great time. Louise and I have helped many friends of ours by offering house sitting and pet minding services. Yes we look after dogs and cats (and plants). It is while taking dogs for walks around Hong Kong that I really got frustrated at the type of walk that most dogs get.
For those of you not from Hong Kong picture this. The dog spends most of its day in an apartment, which if the dog is lucky has a balcony to get out on. The exercise for the dog will probably consist of being lead down the road by the domestic helper until the dog goes to the toilet and then home again. This may happen 3 or more times per day though very rarely do the dogs get the chance to go for a run. I thought this was sad until…
One day when walking a friend’s dog up the trail to The Peak we passed a couple pushing a pram/pushchair/buggy. Once in front, I turned to look at the child which turned out to be an overweight dog! Yes this dog did not even have to walk during its exercise outings. Then I noticed its paws, well actually I could not see them, as it had shoes on!!! So even when little precious was let out of the pram it was not even going to get the joy of feeling the earth below its paws. At that point I realised that a real dog days out (like running along a path, jumping in some water or rolling in the mud) was so foreign to many dogs in Hong Kong. When I think of what our farms dogs got up to then I can now appreciate why so many dogs here in Hong Kong are so snappy – they are very frustrated.
I love seeing dogs exploring and playing along with getting dirty. For the few minutes it takes to clean the dog down once you get back from a walk it makes for a very happy dog (the wash is another way to have fun and play with the dog).
If you want to see what some of the dogs get up to when we go to the beach then check out Lulu, a 1 year old Labrador we looked after for 4 months while her owners we back in Japan (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xo3cfjpI1Sc)
So if you know of anyone looking for someone to take a dog for a walk, a run or even a swim then get let them know their dogs will have superb day out with Louise and I.
Grow well
Dr Merrin
P.S. There is a whole different story to be told about cats though in short if you need someone to entertain your cat then lets meet!
Monday, February 15, 2010
Tiger Year Wish List
I discovered this great little item in the newsletter from
Hong Kong Social Entrepreneurship Forum (HKSEF) http://www.hksef.org/
It certainly applies to all businesses not just those in Hong Kong!
what HK business can do
Tiger Year Wish List
• Profit making is a legitimate goal for all business enterprises; maximizing profit is not.
• Fulfilling Corporate Social Responsibility is not an option; it is a must.
• Every business should have a social mission; otherwise it does not deserve to exist.
• Every business should have a policy of buying from social enterprises -- as long as their products and services are competitive in quality and price.
• Every business should ‘adopt’ a social enterprise and do whatever it takes to enhance its social impact.
• Every business should start a business unit addressing a major social issue.
• Every business should make its employees proud of its contribution in making the world a better place to live.
Grow well
Dr Merrin
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
How to increase your brand exposure in Hong Kong & China
If you - already have a brand presence in - are now wanting to expand your organisation into Hong Kong, Macau and then - advertise in Connectionz Connectionz is the leading business chamber publication in Hong Kong promoting trade between The next publication of Connectionz is coming out in March 2010 to coincide with the Closer Economic Partnership Agreement signing between Hong Kong and Contact me today (mpearse@coordinate4u.co.nz definitely before mid-Feb 2010) to find out about this great opportunity for your company to expand it presence in the ever expanding Merrin A Kiwi based in 
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