7
July
2010
I refer to a speech that was made by the Minister of National Development Mister Mah Bow Tan (http://www.mnd.gov.sg/newsroom/Speeches/speeches_2010_M_07012010.htm ). In it, he touched on one of the main challenges that the world face as urbanization spreads its wings to ever farther places- achieving a balance between development and conservation.
Recently I had the privilege to attend the ASEAN Youth Wallacea Expedition held in Jakarta and Ternate from 25 June to 30 June 2010 and this was one of the main topics that were discussed. There are no easy solutions to this problem and leaders need to make sure that they allow for the existence of meaningful dialogue between the various parties that would be affected by any decision to take place. The necessity of ensuring economic progress and social advancement for its citizens will always create a strain on local governments to assign an even greater area for commercial development and often cause permanent and irreversible damages to the natural environment. On this issue, the decision makers need to be open-minded and be willing to listen to all sides of the argument before making the most pragmatic decision.
In recent years, there have been more evidences that conservation and preservation may not run contrary to economic advancement. Eco-tourism and sustainable agriculture proved to be plausible solutions when their negative impacts are managed. All in all, I feel that the issue of achieving a harmony between conservation and development would be lesser of a dilemma if tools from the economics of the environment could be given an even firmer footing in decision-making.
By Si Yuan
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8
June
2010
The June PC show is on the way. People are stretching their head to look at the latest technology and amazing designs of electric products. As one of the best performing industry, it is just a matter of time when e-waste becomes a problem that we can no longer ignore. How do you dispose your old TV or laptop? Oh, maybe you sell it to secondhand store or trade-in your laptop when buying a new one. Here are some data to tell the truth of e-waste from “Facts and Figures on E‐Waste and Recycling”, report from Environmental Protection Agency of US.
In the year 2007 US alone, there are 26.9 million Televisions, 205.5 millions units of computer products and 140.3 million units of cell phone discarded in US. Only 18% (by weight) of these televisions and computer products were recycled and 10% (by weight) for cell phone. 68% of people choose to stockpile the unwanted products, which unveil the fact that there is no convenient disposal approach for households.
Now, I’d like to show you another set of figures that will tell the true energy consumption of electronic devices. About 81% of energy is used to manufacture a desktop computer while only 19% is actually consumed during the lifetime of the product. By encouraging reuse of electronic devices, there could be more jobs created rather than reproducing.
Given those facts, I should attribute the reason to the missing link between households and recycling factories. With the rapid development of electronic industry, the development of auxiliary industry has, so far, lagged behind. It makes sense that the solution only comes after a problem. However, we should search for viable solutions to solve the problem before it starts to cause any inconvenience to our lives.
By Oliver
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31
May
2010
Living in Singapore is enjoyment for peace of mind. However, this is not true in other parts of the world. I am not talking about economic downturn or regional political instability, but the attack of extreme weather. If the story of the latest movie “2012” is faked, at least some part of it has come true in a gentle manner. The amount of tornado took place in United States hit records high in 2008, caused billions of dollars loss. In the nearer part of the world, China is facing drought in the southwest and floods on the middle and east. The impact of extreme irregular climate has amplified over the past few years both for frequency and severity.
Recently, I found an interesting report “An Abrupt Climate Change Scenario and Its Implications for United States National Security”, which is issued by GBN (Global Business Network) in 2003. The report is written to forecast plausible scenarios of extreme climate change and its impact to United States national security. Although not likely, climate change is capable to cause severe problem to global peace by affecting the most basic needs of human beings such as food, clean water and energy. I am surprised by the fact that the report has precisely forecasted the winder weather in North America and long lasting drought in China as 2003. Optimist believes technology advancement is faster than the pace of climate change. However, it’s just a matter of time when extreme climate change proves people’s unthinkable worries to be true.
A case in point would be Australia as illustrated in this news article taken from “The Environmental Show” : http://theenvironmentshow.com/2009/02/extreme-weather-is-climate-change-responsible. Decisions related to the environment should always keep in mind the indirect impact on future generations No matter what have been done and should be done in the future to mitigate the situation, it’s good to be mentally prepared for the worst possible scenario.
By Oliver
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24
May
2010
I refer to this article by UN Environment Program:
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/afp/20100518/tts-species-fish-un-us-972e412.html
To summarise, there are estimates that the ocean’s fishes may run out 40 years later. Although this will likely be dismissed by most people as being over-exaggerating, this is further evidence that men are using Earth’s renewable resources faster than it can be replenished.
We often forget that we have a duty of beneficence to the environment by virtue of the benefits derived from it. The main idea drawn upon is Joseph Desjardin’s idea which adopts the principle of sustainable development. Sustainable development involves protecting and preserving the environment for the long run. Strictly speaking, actions today should not leave the environment in a state worse than before. Sustainable Development, a core concept in current ethical discourse, has as its goal to satisfy the needs of the present generation without diminishing the chances of future generations. With respect to renewable resources, it means that the rate at which we take these resources from the environment should allow time for them to replenish themselves.
Humans are Earthlings and care for the Earth is a developing and an ultimate human virtue.
By Si Yuan
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16
May
2010
Me and my friend, Oliver will be taking over the blog from today onwards. We are new members to the family of the Climate Change Organization and will be sharing some of our experiences as well as thoughts on some environmentally-related issues.
Over the next few weeks, in addition to sharing several environmentally-related news, we will also be showcasing the project that we undertook last December to Hangzhou. As a brief introduction, this project is supported by the National Youth Council with Mr Grant Pereira acting as our advisor. We would be continuing this project this December and expand it to an inter-varsity effort.
I believe the responsibility of men in the area of environmental sustainability comes in five broad areas: namely adaptation, mitigation, research, development and innovation. Years ago, I came across this meaningful quote: “This we know; the earth does not belong to men; men belongs to the earth. Whatever befalls the earth, befalls the sons of earth.” We need to live in harmony with the natural earth; to harness its energies and resources while at the same time make sure it has time to replenish.
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12
May
2010
350 is a very interesting number, 350 ppm (parts per million) is a number that scientists say is the bare minimum (or should I say maximum) amount of CO2 that should be in our atmosphere for it to be “safe”. Right now we are at about 390 ppm so we do have our work cut out for us. 350.org is trying to raise awareness about this very important number and what we can do to get there. I believed it was 24th Oct 2009 that I went down to observe and help out a local “protest” to raise awareness of 350 at the city of Stamford, Connecticut where I stayed for the greater part of 2009. (and a bit of 2010) Had to do it in the rain, so that felt rather wet…
Anyway I personally think that we should not only look at CO2 (carbon dioxide), there are many other greenhouse gases that are even more “powerful” compared to CO2. In scientific terms, they are quantified as CO2 equivalent, or how many units of CO2 would give the same effect as 1 unit of such gas. Methane is 25 and Nitrous Oxide is 258! (Source). In case you were wondering, these 2 gases are not rare. They are by-products of industrial agriculture. Methane pretty much comes from cows, and anerobic decomposition of agriculture waste. Nitrous Oxide can be formed from nitrogen fertilizers, and industrical agriculture tends to overuse fertilizers.
More about 350.org :
Site: http://www.350.org
Video Link
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21
January
2010
CLIENTS and business associates of international ship supplies company HMS Far East will not be getting Christmas cards in the mail from the firm this year.
HMS has decided – for the first time since 1993 when it started operations in Singapore – to send out electronic greeting cards instead.
Managing director Peter Schellenberger said the switch to e-cards was a move towards being more environmentally friendly. ‘Protecting the environment means more than just recycling our used paper or packaging materials,’ he said.
The company, part of a bigger HMS group with eight offices worldwide, used to send out about 1,500 cards each year. With the switch, it sent out e-greeting cards to 500 more people this year, and enjoyed 75 per cent savings on its Christmas greetings budget.
More businesses are realising that going the e-card way is kinder on their pockets, and also helps to save the environment.
The Christmas period used to be the peak period for the postman because of Christmas cards. Nine years ago, Singapore Post delivered about 8.3 million Christmas cards alone in the month of December. Now it handles only about 5.3 million.
The Internet and e-mail have changed everything. And it means plenty of trees saved, based on the estimate that one tree can make 680kg of paper, or the equivalent of 34,000 cards.
While card-printing companies may have suffered a drop in business, the increased demand for e-cards has led to more of others offering designing services.
Those in the industry estimate that there were only 80 such companies seven years ago. Now, that number has grown to more than 250.
When Forest Concepts started out seven years ago, the main bulk of its business was in doing Web development work such as designing software and creating websites for companies.
Three years ago, it expanded its business to include designing e-cards, after many customers started asking for them.
The service quickly became a profit-churner. Said its marketing manager John Chong: ‘Companies are beginning to see e-cards as an opportunity for them to keep in touch with their clients all year round, not just for the festive season but also for birthday greetings and thank-you notes.’
Online portal www.ecards.sg, owned by Communique IDEAS, was started with a mission to go green, and it designs only e-cards.
Manager Dennis Teo said companies are expected by society to be environmentally conscious. ‘More and more big companies that are socially responsible in a more eco-friendly way will definitely go the green way of cutting down on their carbon footprint,’ he said.
Communique, with hundreds of major corporations as clients, has also seen its business grow by about 20 per cent each year.
Mr Simon Woon, sales manager of online solutions company Above1, said more organisations will go green and paperless as it is good for the budget as well as image.
The design and printing of corporate Christmas cards usually cost more than $1,000, compared with $500 to $1,000 for an e-card, which could be static or flash-animated and sent to as many people as the company wishes.
While it is boom time for e-card designers, it is a different story for another industry.
Ms Terrenz Luu, of local printing firm AN-V Printing, said: ‘This year, we have zero card orders.’
The last few years have been a downward spiral, she added.
Ms Mary Huang, of Axxa Design & Print, said her festive card business has plunged by 90 per cent, from hundreds of orders a few years back to barely 10 this year.
Even so, the carbon footprint of Christmas cards sent by Singaporeans last year, calculated based on figures from a British study, was estimated to be 228 tonnes of carbon dioxide, or the equivalent of the emissions from 14,500 households turning on a 100-watt light bulb for an hour.
The study by Best Foot Forward, a carbon-accounting firm, estimated that a mailed Christmas card has a carbon footprint of 43g of carbon dioxide, compared with an e-card’s emission of 4g.
It is even greener to send an SMS greeting. A study by British telco Vodafone estimated that an SMS produces about 0.000003g of carbon. This means the emission from an e-card is equivalent to sending 1.3 million SMSes.
Mr Dan Lai, director of the Climate Change Organisation based here, agreed that switching to e-cards is better than recycling paper cards, as recycling also generates carbon. ‘It is a vicious circle,’ he said. ‘To really recycle plastic and paper is quite taxing in terms of energy usage.’
Most multinational companies and government bodies have been using e-cards for some years now.
But there are still a fair few that feel e-cards lack a personal touch.
The Singapore Indoor Stadium, for instance, printed 3,000 Christmas cards locally this year. Its spokesman Camie Chua said: ‘E-cards are often placed under spam folders and have the tendency to go unread. Sending out hard copies also gives us the opportunity to update our records of our clients and suppliers.’
To overcome the ‘impersonality’ of e-cards, some firms have them hand-drawn.
HMS’ Mr Schellenberger engaged an illustrator to draw a picture of himself and his team for the company’s e-card. It had some recipients trying to figure out who was who in the drawing, he said.
But while more firms are going paperless, individuals appear to have kept to the tradition of sending real cards.
A local gift shop chain, which declined to be named, said its business has been constant, with about 20,000 cards sold every December since 2005.
Prints International, a popular stationery shop, said it sold more than 10,000 cards last year, and is expecting better sales this year.
Its general manager Jeff Lam said that even in a recession, people send Christmas cards due to their long tradition and affordability. ‘Consumers still prefer the human touch and warm feeling of buying, sending and receiving the real thing.’
Ms Adeline Sim, a senior executive from Duke-National University of Singapore Graduate Medical School, is one sender who loves paper cards. ‘They are more personal as I can keep them and I like to display them,’ she said.
‘It’s my hobby and I think I’ll be using paper cards forever. If I can’t buy them any more, I’ll just make them.’
To be eco-friendly, she usually makes her own greeting cards from recycled materials to send to her friends and family. ‘Recycled cards are very creative and they are very personalised. You can’t find the same design elsewhere.’
This article was first published in The Straits Times.
By Lester Kok
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4
January
2010
Copenhagen Summit
Copenhagen, Denmark
December 18, 2009
Good morning. It’s an honor to for me to join this distinguished group of leaders from nations around the world. We come together here in Copenhagen because climate change poses a grave and growing danger to our people. You would not be here unless you – like me – were convinced that this danger is real. This is not fiction, this is science. Unchecked, climate change will pose unacceptable risks to our security, our economies, and our planet. That much we know.
So the question before us is no longer the nature of the challenge – the question is our capacity to meet it. For while the reality of climate change is not in doubt, our ability to take collective action hangs in the balance.
I believe that we can act boldly, and decisively, in the face of this common threat. And that is why I have come here today.
As the world’s largest economy and the world’s second largest emitter, America bears our share of responsibility in addressing climate change, and we intend to meet that responsibility. That is why we have renewed our leadership within international climate negotiations, and worked with other nations to phase out fossil fuel subsidies. And that is why we have taken bold action at home – by making historic investments in renewable energy; by putting our people to work increasing efficiency in our homes and buildings; and by pursuing comprehensive legislation to transform to a clean energy economy.
These actions are ambitious, and we are taking them not simply to meet our global responsibilities. We are convinced that changing the way that we produce and use energy is essential to America’s economic future – that it will create millions of new jobs, power new industry, keep us competitive, and spark new innovation. And we are convinced that changing the way we use energy is essential to America’s national security, because it will reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and help us deal with some of the dangers posed by climate change.
So America is going to continue on this course of action no matter what happens in Copenhagen. But we will all be stronger and safer and more secure if we act together. That is why it is in our mutual interest to achieve a global accord in which we agree to take certain steps, and to hold each other accountable for our commitments.
After months of talk, and two weeks of negotiations, I believe that the pieces of that accord are now clear.
First, all major economies must put forward decisive national actions that will reduce their emissions, and begin to turn the corner on climate change. I’m pleased that many of us have already done so, and I’m confident that America will fulfill the commitments that we have made: cutting our emissions in the range of 17 percent by 2020, and by more than 80 percent by 2050 in line with final legislation.
Second, we must have a mechanism to review whether we are keeping our commitments, and to exchange this information in a transparent manner. These measures need not be intrusive, or infringe upon sovereignty. They must, however, ensure that an accord is credible, and that we are living up to our obligations. For without such accountability, any agreement would be empty words on a page.
Third, we must have financing that helps developing countries adapt, particularly the least-developed and most vulnerable to climate change. America will be a part of fast-start funding that will ramp up to $10 billion in 2012. And, yesterday, Secretary Clinton made it clear that we will engage in a global effort to mobilize $100 billion in financing by 2020, if – and only if – it is part of the broader accord that I have just described.
Mitigation. Transparency. And financing. It is a clear formula – one that embraces the principle of common but differentiated responses and respective capabilities. And it adds up to a significant accord – one that takes us farther than we have ever gone before as an international community.
The question is whether we will move forward together, or split apart. This is not a perfect agreement, and no country would get everything that it wants. There are those developing countries that want aid with no strings attached, and who think that the most advanced nations should pay a higher price. And there are those advanced nations who think that developing countries cannot absorb this assistance, or that the world’s fastest-growing emitters should bear a greater share of the burden.
We know the fault lines because we’ve been imprisoned by them for years. But here is the bottom line: we can embrace this accord, take a substantial step forward, and continue to refine it and build upon its foundation. We can do that, and everyone who is in this room will be a part of an historic endeavor – one that makes life better for our children and grandchildren.
Or we can again choose delay, falling back into the same divisions that have stood in the way of action for years. And we will be back having the same stale arguments month after month, year after year – all while the danger of climate change grows until it is irreversible.
There is no time to waste. America has made our choice. We have charted our course, we have made our commitments, and we will do what we say. Now, I believe that it’s time for the nations and people of the world to come together behind a common purpose.
We must choose action over inaction; the future over the past – with courage and faith, let us meet our responsibility to our people, and to the future of our planet. Thank you.
http://www.copenhagenclimatecouncil.com/get-informed/news/cop15-remarks-of-president-barack-obama.html
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28
November
2009
When I posted pictures of our newly purchased car on Facebook, an ex-classmate asked, “Why an OPC?” OPC refers to Off Peak Car. The allowable hours to drive an OPC are weekdays 7pm to 7am, after 3pm on Saturdays and eve of public holidays and the whole day on Sundays and public holidays.
Then I just rattled on how economical an OPC will be. I talked about how we bdo not need to drive to office since I travel overseas quite a bit. I informed that season parking is expensive at both my wife’s workplace and mine. I explained on the amount of petrol, road tax and ERP charges that we could save. The car could possibly last longer due to lower frequency of usage and thus discourage regular changing of vehicle that can incur more loans. This is of course disregarding the human natures of materialism and superficiality (changing car every 3 to 5 years).
Surprisingly, I did not even attempt to elaborate that OPC Scheme can help drivers to be more environmentally friendly. Usage comes with lower fuel consumption (though the fuel efficiency of my car is not that fantastic) due to lower driving frequency. Consequently, there is lower carbon emission per vehicle. Collectively, the country can benefit from cleaner air and better traffic, especially with the launch of a new scheme in January 2010. The allowable hours will be extended to full day on Saturdays and eve of public holidays with the exchange of slightly higher road tax. I feel that this will encourage more drivers in Singapore to opt for this scheme. For my wife and me, we only need a car that can bring us to marketing, shopping, leisure activities, church and our parents’ places on weekends. We can still use it after work if necessary. Even if we need to drive during the hours outside the allowable period, we just need to apply an e-day license online and pay $20. Of course, every family has their own unique lifestyle. We feel that this will be suitable for us. I think there is no need to reveal what car am I driving now but I will sure inform all when I get my hybrid car one day.
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22
October
2009
Australia, as what many people perceived, is one of the countries, which spend immense effort in conserving the environment. For a country with such beautiful nature, that mentality to save the environment for further damage seems to be relevant in terms of biodiversity, pollution, energy consumption, greenhouse gases, global warming, climate change etc. The country had experienced extreme weather because of climate change and global warming. Unexpected floods and droughts had affected farming activities for many years. Here are the green signs that I picked up during my trip to Sydney and Melbourne.
During the week of 11th to 17th of October, Australia was commemorating enviroweek (http://www.enviroweek.org/). The tag line was “It’s easy being green. Have you decided what you will do?” Australians were encouraged to decide to take certain actions to save the environment like using public transport instead of drive to work and to raise funds for environmental cause.
Like many countries, their hotels came with advices to guests in preserving the resources like shampoo and toilet paper. They also advised the guests to re-use their towels and toiletries a few times before requesting for brand new ones. Hotel Ibis in Melbourne adopted the “half a teaspoon” concept. This essentially highlights the availability of the world’s freshwater supply. If the total amount of water on Earth is 1 Litre, then there is only half a teaspoon of freshwater for us. What they did was that every bathroom in the hotel had a timer installed onto the wall. The time for you to bathe was set at 4 minutes. Ideally, it meant to ration our usage of water through our bathroom activities. This is in conjunction with Australia’s aiming towards “Target 155”, which is a water conservation program for households.
In terms of transportation, the cities of Melbourne and Sydney were filled with low carbon emission buses like our Euro IV ones in Singapore. I was also thrilled to have the chance to drive a Toyota Prius – Hybrid from Melbourne Airport to Port Campbell (passing through The Twelve Apostles and Loch Arc Gorge) and then back to Phillip Island. The distance covered was more than 800KM and that only costs me 65AUD on petrol. 800KM may be equivalent to the distance that I will drive in Singapore for one month. This particular car model is common on the roads as well. In addition, there are actually designated cycling paths on the already narrow road and confusing traffic system to promote alternative transportation means.
There were advertisements like posters, TV and radio ads, promoting the usage of solar panel for household heating system and purchase of hybrid cars like Toyota Prius and Honda Civic. There was a “Build Green Expo” from 16th to 18th of October. The exhibition displayed household green technologies like solar powered rooftop, energy saving light bulb and water tank for sprinkling system. Solar power technology was used during Sydney Olympic as one of the electricity generators. All these were relevant as 65% of New South Wales are currently experiencing drought while the bush or forest fire in Victoria state remains top priority for water usage.
Organic products are widely available in markets and stores. Some supermarkets and shopping malls like Target promote the concept of “bring your own bag”. If you need to get a bag from Target, they will sell you compostable bags at 10 cents each. These bags, when thrown away, can be made into compost and disposed back into nature without any harm.
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