bdenvironment.com

Category: Policy

  • Treasure, not Trash: Creating Green Energy from Non-Recycled Plastics

    Treasure, not Trash: Creating Green Energy from Non-Recycled Plastics

    Bahnishikha Chowdhury: Over the last six decades, global production and consumption of plastic have accelerated so rapidly that almost 8.3 billion metric tons of plastics have been produced globally and each year the number is increasing. Overconsuming of non-biodegradable plastic has led us to a major problem as most of the plastics end up as trash in landfills or oceans. If our lifestyle remains unchanged then there will be more plastics in oceans than fishes in 2050 and the situation of lands will only worsen.

    Plastic is a versatile, lightweight, moisture-resistant, strong material comparing to other available materials on the market. These irresistible qualities have made plastic popular and resulting in increased mass production each year globally. It is evident that nowadays plastic is unavoidable but at the same time, these non-biodegradable and extremely durable plastic are destroying marine and coastal ecosystems even entering our food chain in microplastic form. Instead of throwing plastics in landfills and oceans, one promising alternative is to convert plastic in fuels.

    Plastic is mainly composed of Carbon and Hydrogen, containing similar compounds of conventional fuels such as diesel. It is possible to convert plastics directly into useful forms of energy. Scientists at Columbia University found that if they were able to convert all non-recycled plastics to energy, they could power 5.7 million homes.

    It is possible to convert all the non-recycled plastics directly into a useful form of energy, using a process called Pyrolysis. Pyrolysis is a method of heating at high temperatures in the absence or limited presence of oxygen. It is normally used to generate energy in the form of heat, electricity, or fuels.

    In this process, at first plastic wastes are collected and sorted for recycling and non-recycling. By using the pyrolysis technique, these non-recycled plastics are heated and melt into a liquid state and then vaporized into a gas state. The gases are then further cooled and condensed into a variety of synthetic crude oil, synthetic diesel fuel, kerosene, and more. One company of the USA claims that its system can convert 50 tons of plastic waste into 26,000 gallons of oil—per day. If all the non-recycled plastics in the U.S. were able to be converted this way, they could create enough oil to fuel nine million cars for a whole year resulting in 70% less CO2 and less greenhouse gas emission.

    Plastics also can be converted into gas fuel that can be used to produce electricity or turned into liquid fuels and even chemicals for manufacturing. Japan and South Korea have been using gasification for garbage and industrial waste for a couple of decades. Scientists in the UK, Spain, and Australia have invented a technique to convert plastic into fuels and which can also be used as raw material for plastic production.

    Bangladesh is a home of 170 million people. Waste management has always been a major issue in Bangladesh, resulting in its capital, Dhaka being one of the most polluted cities in the world. Plastic pollution is increasing and polluting our water sources every day. This developing technology might help to manage wastes in our country. This technology considered green and sustainable which produces clean energy.

    Our trash can only become a problem if we do not find a way to manage it. These technologies have proven that our trash is not filthy but valuable resources.

    (The writer is a participant of National Environmental Writing Contest 2020 and can be reached at [email protected])

  • Increase Prices of Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products through Specific Taxation

    Increase Prices of Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products through Specific Taxation

    Increasing the prices of tobacco products through effective taxation discourages the youth to start tobacco use as well as encourages the existing users, particularly those financially vulnerable, to quit. To achieve a tobacco-free Bangladesh, the prices of cigarettes and other tobacco products should be increased through specific taxation, bringing these products beyond the purchasing power of the masses.

    MPs, economists, journalists, and public health experts expressed such views today during a virtual roundtable, jointly organized by PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress) and Anti-Tobacco Media Alliance (ATMA), titled ‘Tobacco Tax and Price Measures for a Tobacco-Free Bangladesh: Reality and the Way Forward. As PROGGA presented its budget proposals for FY 2021-22′ during the event, its estimation says implementation of such proposal would encourage 1.1 million adult smokers to quit, prevent premature deaths of 390,000 existing smokers and 400,000 youths. The proposals regarding supplementary duty, health development surcharge, and VAT on cigarettes would also earn the government an additional BDT 3400 crore in revenues.

    During the roundtable, Saber Hossain Chowdhury MP, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Environment, Forestry and Climate Change, said, “Each year before the budget, we raise our demands to increase tobacco taxes. Unfortunately, the national budget never reflects our demands. Our constitution has declared that this republic belongs to its people. The constitution has also bestowed the sacred responsibility of safeguarding public health on the State. So, our Honorable Prime Minister voiced her vision for a tobacco-free Bangladesh considering all such aspects. Those who are putting obstacles in the way need to be identified.” 

    Eminent economist and the convener of the National Anti-Tobacco Platform, Dr. Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad said, “It is quite frustrating for us to find NBR saying the increase in tobacco taxes would harm the poor. The reality is quite the contrary. An increase in tobacco taxes benefits the poor the most.” In addition to supporting the budget proposals, Mr. Kholiquzzaman also called for the reinstatement of export duty on tobacco. Professor Dr. A A M S Arefin Siddique, Chairman of Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) and former Vice-Chancellor of Dhaka University, said, I hope those involved in the formulation of the national budget would incorporate at least some of these demands. He also focused on including lessons on the detrimental effects of tobacco in the national curriculum and other co-curricular activities.

    Additional Director-General of Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) Prof. Dr. Meerjady Sabrina Flora opined that reducing the affordability and use of cigarettes through tax increases allows the people, particularly the poor, to spend more on nutrition and other necessities. She emphasized that adopting a coordinated plan regarding tobacco control would push for increasing taxes, raising awareness and implementing the existing law.

    Dr. Nasir Uddin Ahmed, former Chairman of National Board of Revenue (NBR), said, One of the major impediments in realizing such proposals in the national budget is the government’s investment in British American Tobacco Bangladesh (BATB) as well as the tobacco industry’s influence on NBR. He urged the Finance Minister to increase the prices of tobacco products in the upcoming budget and also to divest the government’s involvement in a tobacco company. Prominent Journalist and Editor-in-Chief of TV Today Mr. Monjurul Ahsan Bulbul said, “Materializing a commitment made by the Honorable PM requires additional effort from those in policymaking level. Unfortunately, we cannot find any such effort in this case. We must be sincere in this regard.”

    Abdul Quayum, Associate Editor of the Daily Prothom Alo, said, “Use of bidi and cigarettes causes diseases and thus increases medical expenses which, in turn, makes the poor even poorer. We need more campaigns to raise awareness regarding such devastating consequences.” Dr. Syed Mahfuzul Haque,

    National Professional Officer, World Health Organization (WHO) said, “We want to raise taxes on tobacco products so that it reduces the affordability of these products among the poor demographic and also discourages the youth to start its use.” He also told that due to the inelastic nature of tobacco demand, it would also increase government revenue.

    The Research Director of Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS), Dr. Mahfuz Kabir said, the users of low-tier cigarettes constitute around 70 percent of total smokers. So, if we can increase the price of this tier through specific taxation and raise it closer to the medium-tier, it would not only reduce use but also increase government revenue manifold.

    Md. Mostafizur Rahman, Lead Policy Advisor for Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK), Bangladesh said, once the prices of tobacco products are increased, the use of these items among the poor decreases. He urged the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) to play a more pro-active role in tobacco taxation.

    The event was hosted by Nadira Kiron, Co-convener, ATMA. The budget proposals were presented by Md. Hasan Shahriar, Project Head, Tobacco Control, PROGGA. Among those present were also Mortuza Haider Liton, Convener, ATMA, ABM Zubair, Executive Director, PROGGA and representatives of anti-tobacco organizations and media outlets.

    To raise tobacco taxes and prices, the following proposals for upcoming budget for FY 2021-22 were presented during the press conference:

    Budget Proposals:

    • Introduce a tiered specific excise (supplementary duty -SD) with uniform tax burden (SD share of 65% of final retail price) across all cigarette brands
    • In the low-tier, the retail price should be set at 50 for 10 sticks, followed by BDT 32.50 as specific supplementary duty (SD).
    • In the medium-tier, set the retail price at BDT 70 for 10 sticks and BDT 45.50 should be imposed as specific supplementary duty (SD).
    • In the high-tier, the retail price should be set at 110for 10 sticks, followed by BDT 71.50 as specific supplementary duty (SD).
    • In the premium-tier, set the retail price at BDT 140 for 10 sticks and BDT 91 should be imposed as specific supplementary duty (SD).
    • Reduce price tiers from four to two in the medium-term (2021-22 to 2025-26) by reducing the gaps in final prices and tax rates between cigarettes brands
    • For 25 non-filtered bidi sticks, the retail price should be BDT 25, followed by a specific supplementary duty of BDT 11.25. The price for 20 filtered sticks should be BDT 20, which will be followed by a specific supplementary duty of BDT 9. As a result of such measures, in both filtered and non-filtered bidis, the specific supplementary duty will be 45 percent of final retail prices.
    • For SLT products, the price per 10-gram jarda and gul should be BDT 45 and 25 respectively. A specific supplementary duty of BDT 27 should be imposed on per 10-gram jarda. For gul, the specific supplementary duty should be BDT 15. As a result of such measures, in both jarda and gul, the specific supplementary duty will be 60 percent of final retail prices.
    • Retain the existing 15% Value Added Tax (VAT) and 1% Heath Development Surcharge on all tobacco products.

    Implementation of the above-mentioned proposals for tax and price hike of tobacco products will encourage 1.1 million people to quit smoking, prevent premature deaths of 390,000 current adults and 400,000 current youth, and earn BDT 3400 crore as additional revenue from the supplementary duty, health development surcharge and VAT imposed on cigarettes. At the same time, price hikes of bidi, jarda and gul would also discourage the use among the poorest and most vulnerable demographic while contributing to govt. exchequer.

    The existing multi-tiered ad-valorem taxation has rendered cigarettes quite cheap and affordable in Bangladesh. Following a price hike, consumers conveniently switch to cheaper brands instead of quitting. According to the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS), 2017, between 2009 and 2017, there has been a 1.5 million increase in the number of cigarette users. The numbers reveal that the existing tobacco tax structure has not been contributing to make Bangladesh a tobacco-free country by 2040, as envisioned by the Honorable Prime Minister.

    With the ongoing second wave of the COVID 19 pandemic, the health sector and overall economy of the country are going through precarious conditions. If tobacco use goes unchecked during such a period of vulnerability, it would put an additional risk for public health. According to World Health Organization (WHO), smokers are more likely to become severely ill when infected with covid-19. This makes the existing tobacco users, around 40 million in number, extremely vulnerable to severe COVID 19 infection. In Bangladesh, tobacco use claims 126,000 lives prematurely each year.

    In a 2019 study titled “Economic Cost of Tobacco Use in Bangladesh: A Health Cost Approach”, it was revealed that in 2017-18, the economic cost (medical expenses and loss of productivity) of tobacco use stood at BDT 30,560 crore while revenues from tobacco sector in 2017-18 FY was only BDT 22,810 crore. Raising the prices of tobacco products would discourage the youth from starting use and getting addicted while encouraging the existing users belonging to the poor demographic to quit.

    Source: PROGGA Knowledge for Progress

  • Reduction of Carbon Emission: A Light of Hope in a Blind Alley

    Reduction of Carbon Emission: A Light of Hope in a Blind Alley

    Nusrat Jahan Labonnayo: Excess Carbon emission is a poignant reality for us. Much of the apprehension about climate change is directly attributable to increasing global temperature, a by-product of the ever-increasing rate of carbon emission. However, we have taken this era-defining challenge for granted for far too long. Consequently, our sea level is gradually rising and might eventually result in environmental catastrophe. Saltwater intrusion might become a new normal for countries like Bangladesh, causing massive internal displacement and changing our agricultural landscape forever. 16-17 southern districts may be inundated by saltwater by the end of the century. Hence, it is imperative that we control the emission of toxic elements like Carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide etc. to avoid the aforementioned deleterious consequences.

    To understand the ramifications of carbon emission, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist. Evidently, our world is in an appalling situation because of it. However, here I bring about a new perspective for the reader. During lockdown for COVID-19, Environmentalists have observed dramatic healing taking place. Pollution significantly decreased in many countries and Bangladesh was no different.

    Long story short, the lockdown from mid March to mid April essentially forced industries to shut down resulting in zero to negligible carbon emission. So far this year, the lockdown leading to global economic shutdown has reduced carbon emission by more than 8%. Furthermore, by evaluating the data from the air quality index during the period of lockdown, Dhaka’s air quality has improved 30% or higher.

    Hence, we can confidently claim that the industrial and power sectors are mostly responsible for carbon emission and the population plays a trivial role in air pollution. However, we understand the impossibility of shutting down essential industries or total mitigation of carbon emission. The motivation for this article, therefore, is to introduce some systematic plans to minimize carbon emission.

    Some media sources presented the improvement of our climate during lockdown as a silver lining. However, these temporary solutions are at best, weak swords that won’t absolutely eradicate the problem. Rather, a sustainable structural transformation is required in order to steer clear from this impending disaster. We’ve to reduce carbon footprints by any means & acknowledge this as an urgent priority. Furthermore, government intervention in various sectors of business is required to ensure environmental protection.

    Environmental policies should be introduced & implemented regarding carbon emission reduction and our government should make sure that those policies are compatible with our country’s environmental and economic development.

    In addition, it might be worthwhile to go over concrete actions like carbon tax and carbon trading. Here carbon tax means a charge being imposed on the carbon content of fuels & carbon trading is an alternative system where the state sets the total emission volume for each polluting industry and grants these pollution rights to industries through an auction scheme. The Government may also offer incentives or rewards to business entities who performed well in maintaining these rules and used more eco-friendly tactics to reduce negative externalities.

    While we might go ahead & enjoy the benefits of large-scale economic growth and structural change, we should also note that under no conditions should we allow our ecosystem to get deteriorated any more than it already has. Therefore, timely implementation & prompt execution of green policies must be ensured and public-private collaborations should be integrated into those policies. If everything goes accordingly, hopefully by the end of this century, our future generation won’t have to become the poster-children for UNHCR’s fundraising campaign & we’ll have cleaner air to breathe.

    (The writer is a participant of National Environmental Writing Contest 2020. She can be reached at [email protected])

    Featured Image Courtesy: Nicolas Herrbach

  • Tobacconomics Cigarette Tax Scorecard Released

    Tobacconomics Cigarette Tax Scorecard Released

    Tobacconomics, a US-based research initiative, released the first edition of the International Cigarette Tax Scorecard, assessing the performance of cigarette tax policies in over 170 countries including Bangladesh. Tobacconomics is based at the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Institute for Health Research and Policy and it conducts economic research to inform and shape fiscal policies for health globally.

    Bangladesh got an overall score of 2.38 out of 5 possible points, which is slightly higher than the global average (2.07), but there is ample room to improve when compared to the top performing countries (4.63). The top performing countries are Australia and New Zealand, which reflects their high, uniform specific cigarette excise taxes with regular increases that have significantly reduced the affordability of cigarettes.

    The Tobacconomics Scorecard assesses countries’ cigarette tax policies based on international best practice using data from the World Health Organization from 2014-2018. Nearly half the countries scored less than two out of the five-point maximum. There has been little improvement between 2014 and 2018: the global average score rose only slightly from 1.85 in 2014 to 2.07 in 2018. The Cigarette Tax Scorecard has been created by the University of Illinois Chicago’s (UIC) Institute for Health Research and Policy.

    Bangladesh had significantly improved its score on cigarette taxation policy from 0.87 in 2014 to 2.38 in 2018 but improvements are needed in the tax structure and prices of cigarettes.

    “The Scorecard shows considerable untapped potential for cigarette tax increases to raise revenue for a COVID-19 recovery and importantly, prevent premature deaths and promote a healthy and productive workforce,” says Tobacconomics director and lead author of the scorecard, Frank J. Chaloupka.

    “The complex tiered cigarette tax structure in Bangladesh has significantly contributed to a reduced score for Bangladesh in this scorecard. Bangladesh must reduce the number of tiers for the purpose of cigarette taxation, introduce specific excise taxes and significantly increase its existing excise taxes on all tobacco products to save lives and raise much needed revenue” according to Dr. Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad, Eminent economist and the convener of National Anti-Tobacco Platform.

    “According to the World Health Organization (WHO), lungs hooked on tobacco are at greater risk of COVID-19. In Bangladesh, 37.8 million adults use tobacco and 41 million people fall victim to second-hand smoke in their own homes. This huge chunk of population, victims of direct or indirect tobacco use, are currently at grave risk of severe coronavirus infection. Low prices of tobacco products are the main reason behind this. Increased taxes on tobacco products will reduce their consumption and generate much needed revenue to bear coronavirus related medical expenses and implementation of govt. stimulus packages.” said Dr. Mahfuz Kabir Research Director of Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS). About 126, 000 people die every year in Bangladesh from tobacco use and the economic burden from tobacco use amounted to BDT 30,500 crores in 2017-18 which is 1.4% of Bangladesh’s total GDP.

    In addition, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has created a major dent in Bangladesh’s GDP growth. Reforming tobacco taxes provides a quick and easy way for Bangladesh to raise much needed revenue for economic recovery. Tobacco taxes are the single most effective way to minimize the negative health and economic impacts of tobacco consumption. The best way to do this is through a uniform specific excise tax that comprises at least 75% of the retail price and is automatically updated to stay ahead of inflation and income growth.

  • What is the Bangladesh Clean Air Act?

    What is the Bangladesh Clean Air Act?

    Tahjeeb Hossain Chowdhury: The Bangladesh Clean Air Act has been introduced and there are quite a few radical changes here of note. The well-documented issue of air pollution has come up again and again in the conscience of Bangladeshi Citizens and lawmakers. In recent years, Dhaka alongside New Delhi has been in the rankings as the top uninhabitable cities in the world. A major part of that can be chalked up to how much air pollutants have skyrocketed. The government has been taking isolated steps in order to reduce pollution. But this time it seems like the wheels have turned and the government has decided to concentrate their efforts into making air pollution reduced.

    The Department of Environment along with The Bangladesh Environmental Lawyer’s Association have teamed up to draft the new Bangladesh Clean Air Act. This is in part done to help the preservation of air and reduction of Air Pollution across the regions of Bangladesh. This new set of regulations is a long time coming. It includes Jail time and Fines for violations of the clean air act regulations. With a varied set of rules, the act is said to have good provisions for encouraging preservation and threatening pollution activities 

     The Act has some notable highlights including:

    • The Department of Environment will put together a National Air Quality Management Plan.
    • The government can put out a declaration that an area is “critical” if the air quality deteriorates to an intolerable level, to deal with the restoration of the Air Quality
    • Will initiate a 29-member advisory council with delegates representing different ministries and departments to monitor and recommend implementation of the National Air Quality Management Plan.
    • A maximum jail time of 10 years or fine according to the severity or both as the punishments for violation of the law.
    • In the case of faults and discrepancies by any government agency, the head of the said organization will be considered the guilty party for the violation. Further punishment measures will be dealt to the agency head.

    The brick kilns, generators, and other sources of pollution have been recorded. It all comes down to the unchecked industrial work that goes into urbanization. But the Clean Air Act should bring order to the chaos and help in saving our citizens. Only time will tell if the execution is in line with the regulations.

    (The writer is a marketing graduate, content writer, and data science enthusiast from Dhaka, reach him at [email protected])

  • Karatoa River Occupied by Land grabbers

    Karatoa River Occupied by Land grabbers

    Preparing fake documents by land grabbers to occupy a part of the Karatoa River and constructing establishments.

    Powerful people of those are have occupied large areas of land on both sides of the river in the two districts. Their aims of those people build multi-story buildings there. The environment department identified grasped river land where some people including Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) even included Thangamara Mohila Shabuj Shango and Diabetic Hospital in Bogra.

    WDB Bogra district Sub-Assistant Engineer AKM Najmul Hassain said that already has been occupied for farming and other purposes by encroachers about 57 kilometers of the 86.75 kilometers channel from Khalisha to Khanpur.

    The river lost Khalisha in Gaibandha to Khanpur channel in Bogra which is considering as the main channel of the river before about 23 years ago, said WDB officials.

    To run the water flow of the river, WDB in Khalisha area constructed a three-vent control device in 1989. Farmers on both riverbanks started the cultivation of Boro (One kind of crop) and other kinds of seasonal crops from Khalisha to Khanpur from the beginning of the winter period. And policy needs to implement here.

    The environment department has been taken an initiative to restore the flow of the river from Khalisha of Gobindaganj upazila in Gaibandha to Khanpur of Sherpur Upazila in Bogra district. WDB sources said that the department prepares to make gabbers’ list to expel them and restore the river channel.

    M Inamul Haque mentioned in his book ‘Water Resources Management in Bangladesh’ that from the Rennell’s Map of 1779 it comes into sights that the Karatoa began from the foothills of the Himalayas in Darjeeling of West Bengal (India) and joined the Atrai River in the plains. According to the DoE Bogra officials, the river is dangerously polluted by chemical, household and industrial waste presently.

  • The Teesta River desiccated

    The Teesta River desiccated

    Ashik Rahman: Already majority part of The Teesta River has dried up due to extreme fall in water levels in the summer season. It’s fall due to a barrage in India, upstream of the Teesta Irrigation Project at Dalia, Lalmonirhat. Experts think that barrage is the main hinder the natural flow of the river.

    Officials of Bangladesh Water Development Board (WDB) said cute to creating several sandy shoals on the Teesta River had been fall which effect hampers on agriculture, environment, communication, and livelihoods. At least 5,000 people at shoal villages in Sundarganj Upazila, Rangpur is a sufferer and a long area is desiccated in Rangpur.

    Chandipur Union Parishad of the Upazila Golam Mostafa Ahmed chairman said to media that at least a thousand people become unemployed. And they will be employed for a season for a lack of fertility due to vast tracts of land along the riverbank remains unplanted.

  • Indiscriminate Sand Lifting in Mymensingh

    Indiscriminate Sand Lifting in Mymensingh

    Johirul Haque: A number of important installations including the Mymensingh Town Protection Embankment, Bangladesh-China Friendship Bridge and Muktijuddha Memorial are threatened due to indiscriminate lifting of sand and earth from Brahmaputra riverbed in the district.

    According to sources, the government’s Mineral Resources Bureau in Dhaka authorized some traders to lift the sand and earth from nine-point of the river in Mymensingh Sadar Upazila. These are Begunbari, Goonti, Khagdahar, Jailkhana Ghat, Kachari Ferry Ghat, Kalibari Farris Ghat, Bridge Ghat, Boira Ghat, and Bhabokhali Ghat.

    But the lessees belonging to different political parties including the ruling Awami League are lifting sand and earth indiscriminately, violating the terms and conditions of lease agreements, sources said. Such lifting of soil and sand continues throughout the dry season every year and such an indiscriminate act is harmful to the environment, said sources.

    After taking a lease, sand traders choose the spots on their own to minimize cost and do not care to abide by terms and conditions, said Azizul Islam, a sand trader at Kachari Ferry Ghat.

    Lease holders are using the dyke the day and night to carry sand and earth to different Upazlias of the district which is threatening the environment and creating massive erosion in the rainy season, said Abul Hasnat Shyamol, another sand trader.

    After the visit at Kachari Ferry Ghat, this correspondent found that sand was being lifted indiscriminately from the riverbed between Mymensingh Collectorate Building and the Circuit house, very close to the town protection embankment. The earth cutting continues from morning till evening every day.

    Three dredgers are being used at the said place through Water Development Board had no permission in this regard, sources said.

    After lifting sand from the riverbed, a group of people carries it to different areas of the district by trucks, power tillers or tractors over the dike. The town protection embankment has developed rift at different points due to massive sand lifting.

    The town protection embankment is under threat due to such indiscriminate activities of the sand lifters, said engineer Nurul Amin Kalam, secretary of Mymensingh Nagorik Andolon.

    The authorities concerned are yet to take any steps to stop such activities, added the leader.

    On contact, Chief Engineer of local Water and Development Board [WDB] Khoshi Mohan Sarker said, if sand collection continues like present rate, installations located between the Railway Bridge and Bangladesh China Friendship Bridge would-be affected. This could change the course of mighty Brahmaputra River in the near future, the engineer apprehended. He also said that planned sand lifting as per the terms and conditions and suggestions of WDB could be beneficial for the river and its environment. We will investigate the incident, added the official.

    The writer is a journalist. He can be reached at E-mail: [email protected]