I’M concerned about the environment, and going green is the way forward. But I have a photograph of the water in the public canal, adjacent to the Samui Laguna resort in Lamai, and it’s not the kind of green I’m thinking of (unfortunately, for some reason, I’m not able to transfer the photograph from my Nokia to the computer).

The picture was taken a few weeks ago and the green fluid was so thick that the bed of the canal wasn’t visible, even at the shallowest points. It looked like thick green pea soup and a few days later it was like thick oxtail soup and then it was like thick mushroom soup! The last time I was there, it was almost as black as when I wrote about it in the 17th April 2009 issue of this newspaper.

Before I took this photo, there used to be hundreds of catfish, ranging from 6 to 18 inches long, waiting for tidbits being thrown by people on the bridge. Now, there are none!

Also, I used to see beautiful monitor lizards; they have also disappeared (but a friend of mine said he saw one a few days ago).

For the past few weeks there have been two big blue tubs on the bridge over the water, with a yellowish fluid dripping from them into the canal. Then I saw a yellow tanker with two men spraying a similar-looking liquid into the canal from a big hose pipe. I wasn’t overly concerned, as it was odorless. However, I visited the municipality in Nathon and spoke to a Mr. Phaiboom Petthong, an engineer. He told me that the fluid was EM (effective micro-organisms) and that it was good for the canal water.

I’m not a chemist, so I accepted his word, but when I asked him to explain why the wildlife had disappeared, he tended to agree with me that upstream pollution was probably the cause of the problem.

I explained to him that the canal water under the bridge near the 7-Eleven convenience store (200 meters south of Wat Lamai) was clear. So, in the 800 meters of canal from there to the Samui Laguna resort, somebody was polluting the water, badly! He assured me that his department would look into it.

Later a friend suggested that I should go to see Khun Pae, in the Samui Paradise hotel in Chaweng. I went there this morning and I learned that his full name is Tanongsak Somwong.

He is the owner of the hotel and is as concerned as I am about the environment. The big difference  that I only talk and write about it, whereas he actually does something about it! He has been involved in the development of the nine dams from Chaweng Lake to the water outlet into the sea (next to his hotel).

He assured me that the water going into the sea there was clean. Obviously, it’s also in his own interest to keep his beachfront clean; he doesn’t want his guests going to the hospital with eye infection and the like.

He also spoke to me about EM and biogrease, both environmentally friendly, and the way they are being used to keep the water clean.

Lamai’s problem has been worsened by the fact that we have had only about four rain showers in the past six months. Perhaps one solution is to follow Khun Pae’s example and build three dams in the 800-metert stretch of canal and ensure that all three sections are kept clean.

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In the last issue, on my column on Alan Brewis, I provided the wrong number for Samui Rescue. The correct number is 077-421-444. I regret the error.