Leave the car at home!

Getting From A to B the ‘Green’ Way
By Editha

It’s normal that people prefer to get around by the fastest and simplest way possible. But, it doesn’t mean they’re travelling green. Everyday, especially in Indonesia, commuters usually travel from home to their destination by car. Private car. In Jakarta alone, there’s 13 million population and some families have more than 1 car. That’s a lot of awful green gases being pumped out of their exhaust fumes. Serious about saving this planet from global warming? Why not ditch your car and try another way of getting from A to B? How about…
Hop on a plane?
Airplanes use to tons of fuel and chucks out a lot of greenhouse gases everytime they fly. Their engines also dumps hot air and when that hot air mixes with the cold air in the atmosphere, it creates white lines that will eventually form clouds which certainly stop heat from escaping the planet and add to global warming.
Green rating: 0/10

Board a train?
Next time you visit the lush countryside or to another town, why not take a train? It is already being used for two hundred years and it’s still the greenest way to travel over long distances, about six times greener than planes. Some trains like the Shinkansen Bullet in Japan can reach 400 km/h and the TGV (Train Grade Vittense) in France, has a maximum velocity of 515 km/h, which holds the record for the fastest train till now, while the Mallard, a steam locomotive, holds the fastest steam record by about 220 km/h. (But don’t take steam trains, they’re quite dirty)
Green rating: 6.5/10

Get on the bus?
Don’t even think about those ordinary buses that burn fossil fuels, even those who use LPG (like some Busway buses). Some new buses can run on hydrogen gas alone. They run on a fuel cell, similar to ordinary batteries, where hydrogen and oxygen combine to produce electricity. The only exhaust is H2O, that is, water. Buses like these are called hybrid buses.
Green rating: 7/10

Ride a bike?
It’s a very green way of moving around and around this planet. They can run for very long distances solely from muscle power and a few drops of oil. They don’t even make any noise or mess. Besides, riding a bike counts as an exercise and exercise in very, very healthy indeed. All you have to do is to own a bike, train how to ride one, and recycle the old tires. Simple as that.
Green rating: 9.5/10

Simply walk?
From the dawn of human race it’s the greenest way of travelling and it won’t harm the earth, except if you trample some plants that is. Anyway, it’s very good for you with all the exercise and all you have to do is to drag your big bottom off the comfort your chair or bed and swing a foot forward. It’s even greener if you forget about any other transport and leg it to school.
Green rating: 10/10

Conclusion:
Get your buttocks off that comfy chair and start walking!!!

Muara Angke Field Trip

As part of Grade 9's field trip they went to Muara Angke in North Jakarta. This is the only remaining mangrove in Jakarta and is hemmed in by continued development. Yet it is home to a surprising variety of wildlife including birds, snakes and monkeys.

A distant bird heading for cover has attracted this lad's attention

Cleaning out the trash. People carelessly throw their rubbish in the river upstream and it gathers down in the mangrove where it is a potential hazard to man and beast.

Cleaning up other people's mess is never nice. A little education can go a long way and while the kids enjoyed jumping round in the mud the serious message was not lost on them. If people were more aware of their surroundings this action would not be necessary

Luckily there were no snakes nearby!

At the end of the day we could go home. For this lizard this is home!

Some bird watching. The best time to catch the birds is early morning, about 6 am. They aren't stupid. Who wants to be flying round in the middle of a hot day?

Off to explore the mouth of the river. On one side is the mangrove forest, on the other is a fishing community. Everyone suffers when people upstream throw their trash in the river.

Seeing the damage we cause to our local environment is only the first step in creating an awareness of what we do. People like Jakarta Green Monster are active in educating schools about our role in the destruction of what's around and days like this provide a steep learning curve for the kids.

How much will they remember?

Bad Behavior: Taking Too Many ‘Make-Ups’

By Editha Supangkat

In this very-naughty-Junior High, before students attend daily tests or quizzes, some people always ask “Is there a make up test?” or “Please give us a make-up test sir/miss. Pleeeeaaaseee….”. When the teacher(s) say(s) no, there’s a riot. In my experience, even after taking make up tests, there’s usually no difference of the marks, before or after. In many cases, the PB or “perbaikan” as we call it can change into “PerBurukan. In my opinion, taking make up test is completely useless.
There are many reasons why ‘make-ups’ are a horrible thing. These reasons include:
• Wasting time by studying twice and attend the make up in break time when we should do other stuff such as eating and making projects.
• The mark for the make up can be worse than the initial test.
• We can rely too heavily on these second-chances while in the real world, the one we will face when we leave school, second-chances are very, very rare.
• If we know that there’s a make up for a certain test, we tend to ‘avoid’ studying for the first test because in our minds, we think “Oo don’t worry, there’s another test, if I get a bad mark I can take the other one to improve it.
With all those reasons, I stay clear of the bad ‘cosmetics’ that can ruin our lives, whether you realize it or not. I hope y’ all steer clear of those baddies…