wildsingapore news

Best of our wild blogs: 11 Jul 09

hello@wildsingapore.com (ria) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 09:30:00 +0000

"The Wonders of Singapore's Mangroves Insect Fauna" from wild shores of singapore Nem check on Sentosa from wild shores of singapore and the big picture and also from Singapore Nature Spiderhunters and African tulip from Bird Ecology Study Group Quails in captivity from Bird Ecology Study Group

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Saving birds from careless anglers

hello@wildsingapore.com (ria) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 09:24:00 +0000

Straits Times 11 Jul 09; As global concern about climate change and environmental degradation grows, more groups have sprung up to spread the word on the importance of nature and conservation. Victoria Vaughan talks to some of the groups. BIRDS are getting entangled in fishing lines, and an online group of bird enthusiasts hopes to save other avians from this fate. This year, at least two herons, a mynah and a hornbill have fallen victim to abandoned lines, the Bird Ecology Study Group said. It is publicising these incidents on its blog, which was set up four years ago and is approaching...

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When crabs perform their victory dance

hello@wildsingapore.com (ria) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 09:22:00 +0000

Grace Chua, Straits Times 11 Jul 09; WHEN they score a goal, football players whoop, turn somersaults or rip off their shirts and run around the field. In the wild, animals have their own versions of the victory dance. For instance, when male face-banded crabs win a fight against other crabs, they scrape one claw against the other to make low-pitched rasping sounds. By doing this, they're actually trying to show off their size and prowess to warn off potential challengers, a National University of Singapore (NUS) undergraduate found. Face-banded crabs or Perisesarma eumolpe, named for the...

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Trekker group spreads its love for nature

hello@wildsingapore.com (ria) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 09:22:00 +0000

Straits Times 11 Jul 09; A NIGHT trek on Pulau Ubin two years ago nearly saw the end of nature lover Ben Lee. If not for a fellow hiker's yell of 'snake!', he would have trodden on a rare 1.8m-long banded krait - a snake 16 times more poisonous than a cobra. To expose more people to such rare sightings and encourage them to appreciate nature, Mr Lee, 48, set up Nature Trekker Singapore in 2000. The non-profit group organises nature walks, through which it educates its 2,968 members on the flora and fauna they see, and on the right behaviour in parks and nature reserves. For example,...

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Cycling towards a more liveable, greener Singapore

hello@wildsingapore.com (ria) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 09:20:00 +0000

Straits Times Forum 11 Jul 09; THE problem with current efforts to promote a 'green' culture is that they are often weak, isolated 'educational' attempts which pay mere lip service to environmental conservation. More targeted incentives are needed to influence people's behaviour in more substantial ways. But saving Planet Earth should not be done in a vacuum: Environment-friendly behaviour need not be economically inefficient. One pertinent example lies in transport and urban planning. Is public transport really the panacea to all our woes? Two service quality indicators in public...

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Ten environmentally active persons receive EcoFriend Awards

hello@wildsingapore.com (ria) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 09:18:00 +0000

Jessica Yeo, Channel NewsAsia 10 Jul 09; SINGAPORE: Ten environmentally active individuals have received this year's EcoFriend Awards. They were selected from over 280 nominations. The awards - now in their third year - aim to recognise individuals who have contributed to environmental sustainability, and to encourage more to expand their efforts in promoting eco-friendliness. The National Environment Agency said this year's awards also saw a significant rise in the number of youth nominees since the awards began. Eighty-two youths were nominated this year, up from 46 in 2007. - CNA/yb...

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El Nino is back

hello@wildsingapore.com (ria) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 09:16:00 +0000

Straits Times 11 Jul 09; THE monsoon season has arrived in India, bringing rain and floods, but experts there are already warning of water shortages ahead. Farmers in Australia and Asia are being told to brace themselves for dry spells and parched fields, a prospect that is making commodity traders jittery. In Singapore, the National Environment Agency (NEA) says to expect drier, hotter days. El Nino is back. The United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has confirmed the arrival of the dreaded weather phenomenon associated with warming Pacific Ocean...

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Winning ways from trash to cash

hello@wildsingapore.com (ria) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 09:14:00 +0000

Ong Dai Lin, Today Online 11 Jul 09; FOR some 260,000 children in 154 primary schools all over Singapore, recycling is not only about saving the environment but also about raising money to help needy students. In July last year, CapitaLand teamed up with the schools on a year-long project to donate $2 to each school's welfare fund for every kilogramme of recyclable waste collected. The cash amount that each school can receive is capped at $10,000. Until December last year, the students collected a total of 321,000 kgs of recyclable waste. The top three schools which collected the most...

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Race to put electric cars on Singapore's roads

hello@wildsingapore.com (ria) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 09:13:00 +0000

A vision of the future? Esther Ng, Today Online 11 Jul 09; IT MAY take till 2011 before mainstream manufacturers roll out their first vehicles, but the race to put electric cars on Singapore's roads is already heating up. Having increased his fleet from one to five, The Green Car Company managing director Clarence Tan, 25, told Today he is moving onto to the next stage of test-bedding, months ahead of Nissan and Renault's plans to take part in the Energy Market Authority's $20-million test-bedding trial. The fund was launched in May. And last week, Mitsubishi was the latest manufacturer to...

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Budget Terminal on solar grid from August

hello@wildsingapore.com (ria) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 09:12:00 +0000

Electricity generated from panels will meet part of terminal's lighting needs Karamjit Kaur, Straits Times 11 Jul 09; CHANGI Airport will plug into solar power to meet some of the Budget Terminal's electricity needs starting from next month. The local arm of Germany-based Phoenix Solar beat 18 contenders to bag the $1.6 million contract to build photovoltaic (PV) panels on the terminal's rooftop. They will capture sunlight during the day, which will be converted into usable electricity. When completed in the middle of next year, the project will cover an area of about 2,500 sq m - the size...

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Experts see investment potential in green energy

hello@wildsingapore.com (ria) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 09:10:00 +0000

Joanna Seow, Straits Times 11 Jul 09; THE shift towards green and clean energy sources will provide plenty of opportunities for investors, according to market observers. Mr Francois Nguyen, director and senior policy adviser for electricity markets at the International Energy Agency (IEA), said concerns over climate change and energy security combined with technological advances are creating 'very significant potential for investment in renewables'. He told the Nomura Asia Equity Forum this week that the financial crisis has caused some difficulty in financing renewable energy projects,...

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Special Report: Ways to treat Singapore's waste

hello@wildsingapore.com (ria) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 09:08:00 +0000

The Jakarta Post 11 Jul 09; In the process of day-to-day living, people produce waste. In ancient times, waste could have been animal bones, while today it could be plastic bags or any inorganic materials that take hundreds of years to decompose. Waste has been a major problem for many countries around the globe, including Singapore. Singapore's waste has been increasing rapidly due to the massive development in the country over the last few decades. According to the country's National Environment Agency, in 1970, a total of 460,000 tons of waste was disposed of, while in 2008, the number...

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Tangerang, Jakarta to learn from Singapore waste techniques

hello@wildsingapore.com (ria) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 09:07:00 +0000

Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post 10 Jul 09; The Tangerang administration is likely to collaborate in a garbage management system at the Ciangir waste processing plan with the Jakarta administration after the former administration conducts a comparative study in Singapore. "Seeing is believing. We have to obtain enough information about garbage processing systems with zero waste that Singapore have been applying," Tangerang regent Ismet Iskandar said Thursday. Therefore, the administration has sent a team to Singapore to conduct a comparative study of several waste processing plants in...

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Special Report: Singapore has high hopes in the Changi reclamation plant

hello@wildsingapore.com (ria) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 09:06:00 +0000

The Jakarta Post 11 Jul 09; The sixth century philosopher, Lao-Tzu said, "There is nothing softer and weaker than water, and yet there is nothing better for attacking hard and strong things. For this reason, there is no substitute of it." Leonardo da Vinci said that water was the driving force of nature. These two people lived in different times, in places thousands of kilometers apart, but had similar thoughts about water, as an important natural resources on earth. Singapore, which has limited sources of water, is trying to make the most of them. Not only it collects every drop of water...

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Special Report: SE Asian countries share water worries

hello@wildsingapore.com (ria) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 09:04:00 +0000

The Jakarta Post 11 Jul 09; Singapore hosted the Singapore International Water Week (SIWW) for the second time, June 28 to July 2. With the theme "Sustainable Cities -Infrastructure and Technologies for Water", the event invited various groups interested in achieving water sustainability, including municipal leaders and businesspeople. The event comprised of an expo, leaders' summit, conventions and business forums. To promote the event in Indonesia, the event committee invited The Jakarta Post's Triwik Kurniasari. This is what she learned. Many problems persist in providing potable water...

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Riau Residents Suffering Haze-Related Illnesses

hello@wildsingapore.com (ria) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 09:02:00 +0000

The Jakarta Globe 10 Jul 09; Dumai, Riau. Thousands of Dumai residents are suffering from acute respiratory problems as a result of the thick haze that has blanketed the city for the last two months, a senior health official said on Friday. Marjoko Santoso, the head of the Dumai health service’s environmental health and disease control unit, said the number of people suffering from respiratory problems had sharply increased due to the haze. “From June to the first week of July, the local health service reported 2,663 Dumai residents suffering from acute respiratory problems,” he told...

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Let the good things flow

hello@wildsingapore.com (ria) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 09:00:00 +0000

Errol Oh feels that plantation industry should focus on raising ‘green’ palm oil production, not sales. Errol Oh, The Star 11 Jul 09; DOES business always have to be a tug of war between lucre and the greater good? We know the answer to that. It’s ridiculous to suggest that profits and altruism are mutually exclusive. We have seen time and time again that companies can be caring and competitive at the same time. And there’s stark logic in the argument for sustainable business practices – if businesses continue gobbling up natural resources and harming the environment, there will eventually...

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British company barcodes trees to protect forests

hello@wildsingapore.com (ria) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 08:58:00 +0000

Peter Griffiths, Reuters 10 Jul 09; LONDON (Reuters) - Deep in the world's tropical rainforests, workers are hammering thousands of barcodes into hardwood trees to help in the fight against illegal logging, corruption and global warming. The plastic tags, like those on supermarket groceries, have been nailed to a million trees across Africa, southeast Asia and South America to help countries keep track of timber reserves. Helveta, the British company behind the technology, says the barcodes will help firms comply with tough laws on importing sustainable timber into the United States and...

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Whale and dolphins washed up on Senegal coast: WWF

hello@wildsingapore.com (ria) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 08:54:00 +0000

Yahoo News 10 Jul 09; DAKAR (AFP) – A four tonne sperm whale and eight dolphins have been washed up on Senegal beaches over the past month, the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) said Friday. The mammals were washed up a year after the mystery over 100 whales that were beached north of the Senegal capital Dakar. Forty-eight were rescued and put back to sea. The dead sperm whale washed up on the beach at Ngasobil, in the Mbour region on Wednesday, WWF official Mamadou Diallo told AFP. It was probably killed in a collision with a boat, he added. The eight dolphins washed up on a beach at...

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Fast-growing kelp invades San Francisco Bay

hello@wildsingapore.com (ria) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 08:50:00 +0000

Jason Dearen, Associated Press Yahoo News 11 Jul 09; SAN FRANCISCO – A fast-growing kelp from the Far East has spread along the California coast from Los Angeles to San Francisco Bay, worrying marine scientists and outpacing eradication efforts. In May, scientists for the first time found the invasive seaweed called Undaria pinnatifida clinging to docks at a yacht harbor in San Francisco Bay, fouling boat hulls and pier pilings. "I was walking in San Francisco Marina, and that's when I saw the kelp attached to a boat," said Chela Zabin, a biologist at the Smithsonian Environmental Research...

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Eastern Aral Sea has shrunk by 80% since 2006: ESA

hello@wildsingapore.com (ria) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 08:48:00 +0000

Yahoo News 11 Jul 09; PARIS (AFP) – The eastern lobe of the disaster-struck Aral Sea seems to have shrunk by four-fifths in just three years, the European Space Agency (ESA) said on Friday. It released an overlay of photographs taken by one of its Earth observation satellites, Envisat, on July 1 2006 and July 6 2009. Once the world's fourth-largest inland body of water but now a byword for ecological calamity, the Aral Sea has been retreating over the last half-century after rivers that fed it were diverted for Soviet cotton irrigation projects. Around two decades ago, it split into the...

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Rival designs race to harness ocean energy

hello@wildsingapore.com (ria) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 08:46:00 +0000

Colin Barras, New Scientist 10 Jul 09; A bout of gawky prototypes have taken to the water for the first time in recent weeks, signalling a new assault on a decades-old problem: how to generate power from the oceans. While most wind turbines look much the same, the contest to tap that power is more like wacky races than Formula 1. A suite of varied designs are under development in an attempt to work out the most efficient way to generate juice in the harsh chemical and physical environment of the waves and tides. Dedicated research into renewable energy at sea truly began during the oil...

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Mumbai considers 'cloud seeding' to make it rain

hello@wildsingapore.com (ria) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 08:42:00 +0000

Yahoo News 10 Jul 09; MUMBAI (AFP) – The civic authorities in India's financial capital Mumbai are considering cloud seeding amid growing water shortages caused by a lack of consistent monsoon rain, according to media report. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said it had consulted the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) and a company that conducted a cloud seeding experiment in 1992 for the best time to carry out the process. The poor monsoon has seen water levels drop markedly at the six lakes that supply Mumbai with 3.3 billion litres (872 million US gallons) of water every...

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Indian monsoon among risks from rapid climate change

hello@wildsingapore.com (ria) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 08:40:00 +0000

David Fogarty, Reuters 10 Jul 09; SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Rising seas, a rapid weakening of the Indian monsoon and spiraling costs of adapting to a warmer, drier world are just some of the looming risks from rapid climate change, a report for the Australian government says. The report, "Climate change 2009, faster change and more serious risks," examines the rapid progress of climate change science in recent years and the growing threats that face billions of people around the planet. Rising temperatures, drought and long-term drying out of farmlands in Australia, Africa, the United States,...

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Small island nations demand more emissions cuts

hello@wildsingapore.com (ria) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 08:38:00 +0000

Anupreeta Das, Reuters 10 Jul 09; UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - This week's pledges by G8 leaders to cap increases in the world's temperature are insufficient, a group of small island countries that face potential catastrophe from climate change said on Friday. The Alliance of Small Island States, a United Nations-based group of 42 island nations, called on the world's richest countries and major economies to take more concrete and ambitious steps to fight global warming. The G8 countries and another 17-country group, the Major Economies Forum, agreed in L'Aquila, Italy, that global average...

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