Doing his bit: Gelber (centre, in cap) and his team after a tree-planting session. The World’s Greenest Man in 2008 lives with very little air conditioning. — Bernama
Not too hot for greenest man
KUALA LUMPUR: It may be hard for most people to imagine but Matthias Gelber – the so-called World’s Greenest Man in 2008 – lives with very little air conditioning and electricity, even in a country as hot as Malaysia.
Gelber, who does not even own a car, said he would often leave the windows open in his condominium in Malaysia to keep cool.
“My condominium here is very healthy. I open my windows to let the air flow through my unit. Of course, the rain can pose a hazard occasionally, but that doesn’t trouble me too much,” he said.
Gelber, 41, who was awarded the title by a mobile solutions company in Canada for his environmental work, was originally from Lippe, Germany, which has a population of only 300.
“I have been ‘green’ since my childhood days growing up on a farm in Germany. We planted our own potatoes, fruits and vegetables,” said the expert on environmental management.
Gelber said the simplest way for Malaysians to change into a “green” lifestyle was to be conscious of what they did daily.
“The system which measures our utility bills each month can be likened to the micro-carbon emission meter. We can create awareness towards one’s electricity consumption both at home and in the office.
“Next, we can cultivate discipline in controlling and influencing the use of ‘less green’ things in daily living,” he said.
He said currently, each Malaysian emitted seven tonnes of carbon dioxide but warned that this could change with more development.
“Growth rate is rising and so is the meter reading on per capita carbon emission in Malaysia. Although Malaysia is still not a fully developed country, the gap is definitely getting smaller now,” he said, adding that deforestation was also becoming a problem.
However, Gelber said Malaysia was lucky as the country had lots of peat swamp land or forests.
“These forests suck up a lot of carbon, up to 10 times more than the normal forests. By investing in efforts to protect these lands with new plants and replanting of trees, the people will positively contribute to the conservation of the environment,” he said. — Bernama
Credits to and source taken from: http://thestar.com.my/
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