Domestic politics

Hmm, I prefer to stray away from this topic. Why? Well for one thing, I think Singapore, especially her governance, is awesome. Secondly, negative comments should be taken to Hong Lim Park lol. Of course, I'm not downright going to oppose certain policies, in fact, I don't need to, because even if you think your SS textbook is pure propaganda, there are facts, and it is a fact Singapore is prosperous and is open to feedback (in legal manners). So don't just act smart and call everything that says our country is good as propaganda, because propaganda means lies.

I'll ATTEMPT to write in proper paragraphing to improve my english, and in the future, my GP. Of course, a blog can be informal so contractions and lolz will be common too. Here goes nothing...

Singapore should push one step ahead of catching litterbugs

Very recently, a series of environmental problems have plagued Singapore's green city reputation. Most obviously, the oil spill and the rapid increase in the number of litterbugs that have even caused the National Environment Agency (NEA) to change some of its policies. Although the oil spill's short-term effects have been widely mitigated by the NEA's quick response to the crisis (unlike British Petroleum lolz), experts here have warned that long-term problems may arise. Similarly, the rising number of litterbugs is also a long-term problem because eco-tourism makes up a large portion of our tourism industry. However, instead of meting out more (Corrective Work Orders)CWOs and changing the location where the offender has to do it, I believe the NEA should go one step ahead and tackle the wider issue. Going green.

Firstly, on small scale. Singapore has been pushing for her general public to reduce, reuse and recycle. However, have the endless campaigning been effective? 90% of our recycled waste are still done by industries and companies but not the general public. What's the problem? To me it is unclear, I mean I'm still pretty young. However, I can tell you that some parent's are not setting very good examples.

Some Parents are skeptical. This means they do not believe in energy-saving bulbs or new technology that pledge efficiency and cost-effectiveness. They brush it off as marketing ploys. Since they are the decision makers in the home, thats one strike for going green.

Some Parents couldn't care less. It's not surprising that some of my friends say things like 'Who cares about Global Warming, we'll die before that.' I still believe that they are just joking and are better than that. What is surprising is my parents. One day we went to Challenger as a family to buy a new router. My father was carrying a bag that was perfectly in good condition and had plenty of space for a router with only some stationary inside. Even if he didn't want to put the router in, my arms were free and I am not handicapped. His usual excuse was that he forgets to tell the cashier he doesn't want a plastic bag. This time I interjected and said we don't need the plastic bag to the employee. Lo and Behold my father said nevermind to the employee so obviously he put it in. His excuse this time: 'I like the plastic bag.' After endless argument, I realized my father was just like my friends but I don't think he was joking. Is is due to the fact that they are older and are therefore less concerned about the next generation?

Another case is when parents, like my mother, brush off attempts at going green as futile. I once had a few metal drink cans in my hand and was looking frantically for a recycle bin when my mother told me it was troublesome. She 'explained' to me that one metal drink can ain't going to do much. Well excuse me for trying then! Hasn't the story of how a man tried to save thousands of starfish on a beach been told endless amount of times? Is it wrong for me to at least try and recycle instead of just saying 'it won't do much anyway'. In this case, my friends are no different and are definitely not joking when I ask them to recycle the plastic bottle instead of throwing them into the bin just like that. They say they don't give a dam and are too lazy to walk to the recycle bin in our canteen, less than 100m away. In this case I take the bottle and recycle it myself.

However, my school has displayed a sense of responsibility with the prefectorial board undertaking a project to recycle all the plastic bottles that students whom are going up to class after recess are carrying. Awesome. I hope other schools are doing similarly green activities.


Secondly, on a large scale. Nearly 25% of Denmark's energy consumption is Wind Energy (2nd Largest in the world). Nearly 80% of France's power is Nuclear energy. I'm not saying Singapore should build a Nuclear Power Plant on Pulau Tekong. We are also generally shielded from any significant source of winds by Malaysian and Indonesian mountains. I applaud Singapore for her efforts into looking at mini generators. I am well aware of her limitations in terms of land space. Solar energy will not be very cost-effective because of Singapore's rainy weather and the high cost of Solar panels. I am suggesting, we don't have to be like other countries!

New technology by a certain company I shall not reveal has come up with a CO2 scrubber that reduces emissions on ships by 70%! It uses a lot of energy but isn't this what we've been looking for? It is so relevant to our global position as an international reknowned port.

The fact of the matter is, Singapore has a long way to go if she wants to contribute to international green efforts and truly live up to her name as a 'green city' and catch up to developed countries like Germany in going green and even developing countries like China (Whom recently overtook the USA in terms of %GDP invested in green technology). So go ahead and catch those litterbugs dirtying the public and our reputation, but remember the bigger picture.