Thursday, April 2, 2009

Life eats savings! It worsens when jobs unstable...

As we hear obscure news from overseas, especially from USA, we can't help losing trust of our governments' hopeful promise and policy change. Because our life eats savings owing to rising expenses. Regarding Koreans' middle class lifestyle, I could say that lots of people spend most on hosing, education, driving and insurance. As for housing, they should pay for housing loans for the entire of their lives to sustain this lifestyle. If they want to inherit to the children, more and more money goes into private education sect.

To maintain middle class lifestyle, we might lose unnecessary time and resources on bubble-following lifestyle shown around us. Some say that Lee Myong Bak administration makes current economic crisis worse with bad policy. Spend, spend, spend more budget on construction and development notwithstanding its unbeneficially low B/C expectations.

Gyeongin Canal has shown the typical business style of Lee administration. It has begun excavation though the B/C result is below 1. This B/C ratio figure has changed according to the institutes and time: firstly, 0.92∼1.28(2003, KDI), then 1.76(2006, DHV), and 1.065(2008, KDI). Recently Ministry of Strategy and Finance(MOSF) analysed that Gyeongin Canal will need 30% budget increase when considered cost of living increase(Hangyoreh). In fact, Korean government has always changed words, words, words.

Another true factsheet has been reported by Bank of Korea: construction industry creates less jobs than service industry. But Lee and his colleagues insist construction should effect more jobs for Koreans.

That's why we don't need anymore unbeneficial land development through reclamation, excavation, and construction works.


As NPR reports show that Americans have also continued spending more and more untile very recently. But it seems that they don't really want to reduce the cost of living demanding "middle class lifestyle" It meant that more commercials send signals on the screen, more people are going to feel destined to get a brand new style. Does this mean updated cable TV, cell phones, driving, eating out, housing, shopping, membership... ?
(graph by Alan Cordova/NPR and story by Laura Conaway)




Now we definitely need the ROAD NOT TAKEN to evade this gloomy future again.
More GREEN CHOICE will be the one!





Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Nothing natural on MBnomics!

The president of S.Korea has announced during his election campaign that the economy would flourish if the Korea Grand Canal project launched. To make this idea popular among Koreans, his campaign used "MBnomics"* as one of his slogans.
And finally, the construction of Gyeongin Canal** has started in succession of its waterway excavation. It will be twice wider and deeper when finished.


Environmental Impact Assessment(EIA)?
Who cares?

It would be disasters for the ecosystem and wildlife, communities, as well as the economy itself. At best, it could only contribute to the construction and estate partners. But current economic crisis has come out of estate bubbles all around us, and it won't be disappear without pertinent treatment to restore its stability.

Nothing natural can be seen on MBnomics, even on the web!


If you visit the website of Korean President, you can easily see how Lee M.B. administration and his ruling party, Grand National Party, are obsessed by constructions and corporates[Jaebeul]. All BLOGs of the Office of the President have no contents from "ecosystem based ideas", "conservation of wetlands & the other natural resources", "environment for humans and the wildlife".

To see presidential blogs in Korean, click one of these: naver blog, daum blog and yahoo blog.
See more news related to CANAL stories in English on the media, click here.
If you are interested in Natural Aspects of Han River Estuary, visit here for downloadable report on Han River Estuary.
You could identify more wetlands of international importance in S.Korea, too.


MBnomics*: made from "MB(Lee Myong Bak)" and "economics" to emphasize Lee's economic career from construction CEO.
Gyeongin Canal**: sometimes called as "Kyeongin Canal", "Seoul-Incheon Canal", or "Han River Canal"

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Link for Nature & powerful Social Network

Recently I am trying to distribute "SAVE RIVERS of South Korea" among friends new & old.

Nature Blog Network (NBN) is the one! They run a powerful network using photos to save nature in the worldwide. In many cases, you know, we humans are fascinated by simply overwhelming pictures and/or images. You won't be disappointed. Feel free to enjoy and see SAVE RIVERS in it, too.

simplezi

from Seoul and
Nature Blog Network