New Memorandum

A new memorandum has been approved and disseminated to the faculty, staff, students and residents of AIT.  The environment committee are taking a bolder step to forewarn everybody in the campus on the use of non-biodegradable materials.  This calls for a little sacrifice on our part.  In return we are not only doing a big favor for ourselves but for the example we set for others.

Effective from January 1 2008, AIT will ban the use of non-biodegradable plastic bags and styrofoam food and drink containers by vendors on the AIT campus.
 
We do not expect to see plastic bags disappear completely since we do not have control over the plastic bags given by retailers outside AIT. However, I strongly encourage members the AIT community to try and avoid bringing into the campus non-biodegradable plastic bags and Styrofoam.

Banning the use of plastic bags and styrofoam food boxes on campus is not only symbolic, but it is also a significant step towards reducing AIT’s generation of solid waste. Doing so means that we are serious about implementing our new environmental policy, and adopting a leading role in environmental good governance. Since June, members of the AIT community have been urged to say no to plastic bags, and a significant proportion of the community is doing so already.

The measure will primarily affect shops and food vendors, and will therefore need to be implemented in close collaboration with them. The Infrastructure Office and the AIT Environment Task Force will assist the vendors during the two-week transitionary period. This will involve publicizing the measure, making alternatives more easily available and known to vendors, and advising on pricing and packaging.

In the medium to long term, other measures will be implemented that will contribute towards compliance with the environment policy.

With appreciation for your cooperation.

Stuck on You

I and the other carolers attended a simple gathering last night with a Filipino couple and their expat friends.  They invited us for a caroling and supper in their lovely house located in the outskirts of Bangkok. It was a little surprising to find a house akin to that of a library with only two persons living inside. 

We were a rowdy group last night, displaying a sense of comfy with the host who has been our patron for many years now. Only then our attention got divided when we watched Al Gore's "The Inconvenient Truth" in their new Sony TV. There's not much of the movie, since we've watched it many times,  but with the awesome reception displayed on the Sony Flat Screen. Our eyes were stuck at the sight of the Sony Flat Panel. 

Everything went well during the night. The crowd was ecstatic and the host was very generous enough to give each of us a loaf of Christmas pudding.