Local News

Survival of Singapore refineries seen under threat

(Source:Business Times)
SINGAPORE’S oil refining/petro-chemicals industry will have to fight for survival in the coming two to five years, warned the chairman of Facts Global Energy.
Click here for the full story.

Collaboration initiative for green building research

Source:Asia One)
The Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Building and Construction Authority (BCA) and the Ministry of National Development (MND) have jointly awarded funding for nine projects in a pilot green building grant call to encourage research and greater adoption of green
building technologies.
Click here for the full story.

First green library for kids taking root here

(Source:The Strait Times)
IN A year, children visiting the National Library in Victoria Street will be able to step into an ‘enchanted forest’ containing a collection of green-themed books, programmes and displays. Four- to 12-year-olds will even be able to curl up with books in their very own tree house there.
Click here for the full story.

Global News

Forum discusses ways to advance green growth

(Source: The Korean Herald)

New ideas, approaches and proposals were presented at a forum on green growth in Seoul on Thursday, as policymakers, scholars and businesspeople from around the world gathered to explore ways to further global action.
Clicke here for the full story.

Panel to find way ahead on West Seti hydro project

(Source:The Himalayan Times)

The Prime Minister’s Office has formed a committee led by Chief Executive Officer of Investment Board Radhesh Panta to move ahead the work on West Seti Hydro project (750 MW). The Parliamentary Committee on
Natural Resources and Means had earlier directed that work on West Seti be moved ahead through Investment Board rather than Ministry of Energy. Citing the month-long halt on the project, the PMO formed the committee.

Click here for the full story.

Asia faces threat to crops if El Nino unleashed again

(Source:Reuters)

A return of the El Nino weather pattern may threaten food output in Asia, the world’s top producer of rice and palm oil, but drier conditions in some areas could also benefit crops such as coffee and cocoa and keep global prices in check.

Click here for the full story.

Did You Know

DIY Gardening: How to create a Vertical Wall Garden

For those who are looking to create beautiful gardens with limited space, a vertical garden could be just what you need. A popular feature among urban gardeners, a vertical wall garden gives you the ability to grow a nice variety of plants and flowers, and beautify your space without sacrificing any square footage.

Click here for the full story.

Are pneumatic garbage systems the future of waste disposal?

A lot of us assume that the use of pneumatics is reserved for the manufacturing and engineering industries. When you think of the Jetson style tube systems of the early 1900s, shooting memos around a complicated system to pass a message within an office, you imagine the technology became obsolete for a reason. A recent upsurge in the use of
pneumatic tube systems for waste disposal however, would indicate otherwise.

Click here for the full story.

Test Your Energy Efficiency Against These 3 Myths

With the push continuing to conserve as much energy as possible,
individuals are coming up with a huge number of tips and tricks that
they are convinced save both electricity and money. However – which are
myths and which are true? Below we’ll take a quick look at a few myths
that you may want to avoid if you are serious about conserving energy.

Click here for the full story.

We would like to first and and foremost mention that the entire session (about three hours or so) was run by the team at The Zeitgeist Movement Singapore Chapter. From food preparation, to presentation to the discussion facilitation- we think they did a great job!

Here are some photos on the event night:

A word from the TZMSG Team:

As the volume of information presented may have been overwhelming and difficult to absorb in a single session, we invite you to learn more by visiting the Singapore Chapter site and the Global Website.

Some suggested resources to consult and actions to take include:

1. Sign-up on the Global Site and the Singapore Chapter. Please also join our Facebook group for updates.
2.  Read the FAQs
   
3. View the Zeitgeist Film Series.In particular, Zeitgeist: Moving Forward (2011) and Zeitgeist: Addendum (2008). Torrents of full and free versions can also be downloaded here. Share these links with friends and family.
4. Watch/Read the Orientation Guide.
5. Listen to and Watch lectures online

The Movement boasts many talented speakers and, since the founding of the Movement, their presentations from events worldwide have been recorded and are available online. You can find several of them on our chapter website.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

We leave you with this music video called ‘Ode to the Brain’ by Symphony of Science.

On 22nd April 2012, a special documentary was screened simultaneously in over 160 countries all over the world. Called One Day on Earth, the project started back on 10.10.10 where 19 000 film makers documented the 24 hours period, making a visual record of something they saw where they were living. 3000 hours of footage was collected, including audio in over 70 different languages. Over the next one and a half years, these materials were processed and the result? A 104 minute long feature film showcasing everything from music, work, life, love, environment and so much more from all parts of the world. And in essence really, it showed the interconnectedness of the human spirit.

In Singapore, the screening was held at the NTUC Centre in One Marina Boulevard. A special thanks to JD from Young NTUC who gave us the space to have the screening. Young NTUC is the official youth wing of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) here in Singapore. Young NTUC also founded 350 Singapore, the Singapore Chapter of the global 350.org movement. 350.org was one of the supporting organisations for the One Day on Earth project. Once again, thank you to JD for the space, who even dropped by for the screening even though he was busy with the annual Run 350 event, especially the last 24 hours before the screening.

At least 90 people turned up that Earth Day afternoon to join in the global premiere. Member of the audience were treated to a performance by Randolf Arriola. He is active and widely regarded in entertainment, production, education and art circles by listeners and his musical peers both locally and abroad and gained a new distinction most recently in October 2010 where he is now considered among the finest solo live looping artists in the world when he performed as one of four headliners among a total of 75 artists from around the world who gathered in North California USA to play Y2K10 International Live Looping Festival held over a week with shows throughout Santa Cruz, San Francisco and San Jose.

Randol Arriola, opening act, One Day on Earth Global Screening: Singapore

And next, for nearly 2 hours, the audience got to watch this very inspiring film.

Here are some of the audience feedback-

On the movie:

“It shows very well that life is so expansive.. the show connects everyone that watches it. Everyone has their own experience and when one part of the show clicks with you, it makes a difference to the person watching it.” -Jonathan Ang

“The fact there were so many things happening at the same time, and many different cultures as well, when it all comes together at one time, it was intense..” – Harish Mohanadas

“I enjoyed the ODOE of 10102010 very much and feel that this could be screened in all primary schools to know our world and the joy we can share and love.” -Boon Mooi Kean

On the event:

“Thank you for organizing this event! We enjoyed the movie and everything that you organized very much!” -Volkmar Ahrens

“Yeah, it was really good. All 6 friends of mine enjoyed it. Thank you very much!” -Bekhruv Khazratov

“Thank You to U & your team for making a pleasant sunday for all. The venue location is centralized, with spacious auditorium plus complimentry sandwiches & cold beverages for all.” -Jan Lee

Final Words

Besides JD, Randolf Arriola, the many members of the public who came to watch the film with us, we would also like to thank Swee and the 7 KICKstart BREWiches team for the sandwiches that day- it was a Sunday, a day they do not usually open but they still took the order anyway, and Michael Foong, one of the film makers who contributed to the project and came down for the event. And a special thanks of course, to our event photographer, Lin Qing Xiang, who came down to capture the moments despite his busy work schedule. Please click here and you will be directed to the One Day on Earth Global Screening: Singapore, selected pictures album.

If you are interested to pre-order the One Day on Earth DVD, you can do so here.

Moving away from previous movie screenings, this time we were able to feature a very local documentary maker, Jean Loo, and her touching films.

Seeing is believing. You can catch her short films here: http://www.childrenofmekong.org/

In conjunction with World Water Day on 22nd March, the theme of the evening was “Asia’s Water Woes”.

At 7pm, we had a short warm-up activity in which members of the audience were given the chance to guess how much water is needed to produce various types of food. The data came from UN’s World Water Day campaign site: http://www.unwater.org/worldwaterday/

At first, all the participants underestimated the amount of water needed to produce food, and were surprised by the answer. By the time it got to “beef steak”, someone was guessing a “million litres” (actual answer: 7000L). Nevertheless, it was a very lively activity and members of the audience pointed out that the actual figure did depend on the way the food was grown. The feedback we got was that this activity was thought-provoking and persuasive.

The warm-up activity was followed by the screening of the Children Of Mekong short films.

After showing her film, Jean shared about her personal experience in making it.

Following that, Lien Aid, shared some information on their organisation and their work in bringing clean water to rural communities in Asia.

To bring back the story to Singapore, we had Eugene from Waterways Watch Society to share about the situation in Singapore’s waterways. Most of us realised that we had been taking our clean rivers and reservoirs for granted, and it was actually the work of a fleet of cleaners that was helping to keep our waterways clean. In their river patrol work, WWS witnessed how bad the litter situation really is before the cleaners arrive.

Litter situation below a bridge in Singapore

The conclusion of the presentation got one of the members of the audience so angry that she jumped up and questioned WWS whether they had been aggressive enough. She demanded a concerted effort by volunteers and film-makers like Jean to expose the litter-bugs and littering problem in Singapore.

Another audience member however pointed out that some people doing Corrective Work Order (CWO) punishment for littering, were actually (perversely) quite proud to do so.

More ideas were thrown up along the way, but in the end, many felt that the discussion should have been better facilitated and controlled. Also, perhaps there were too many different issues being raised, and people could not grasp what was the key message they were supposed to take home.

In future, the facilitation session would need to be better crafted to utilise the content and feelings evoked by the film and presentations to provoke thoughts and action.

Donations collected amounted to $40, of which $15.60 was reimbursed to Nor Lastrina Hamid for food purchased, leading to a balance of $24.40, which was held by Tan Yi Han.

TetraPak is the world’s largest producer of beverage cartons! Look at the base/ side of your milk carton or drink carton and chances are you will see the TetraPak logo.

However, do you know that after finishing the drink, the empty carton can be turned into other useful things?

At the paper mill, we witnessed what happens after we throw TetraPak into recycling bins!
(FYI, if there isn’t a specific recycling bin for TetraPak, just throw into the plastic one. It will be sorted out later at the Materials Recovery Facility).

The graph below shows how it happens:

So basically, TetraPak is made up of paper, plastic (PE) and aluminium (Al).

Trucks bring collected empty beverage cartons, including non-TetraPak ones, from across Malaysia and Singapore to this paper mill, where the paper is turned into wonderful notebooks and boxes, while the PE-Al layer is turned into roofing.

Visit the official TetraPak “Life of a Package” campaign site for more interesting graphics & info!

Unfortunately, a few problems were also identified:

1) The amount collected is a small fraction of the millions of beverage cartons used in the region every day.
2) This process is strictly speaking “downcycling”, not “recycling”, as the waste materials are not used to make new beverage cartons. In other words, every new beverage carton still requires trees to be chopped, oil to be extracted, and aluminium to be mined.

Jian Hao even questioned the 3Rs philosophy, “Sinking deeper into it, for a general public, many green campaigns and efforts have placed emphasis on recycling. However, they have not stress on the reduce and the reuse elements.

In our current age where demand/ consumerism is increasing, it is apparent that it could be inevitable to expect a reduction in consumption. Post-war generations are frugal, however, not for the younger generations who are experiencing periods of economic boom.

Therefore, my biggest question is whether there is a need to re-think about the 3Rs?

It could be time to replace the 3Rs in order to achieve the environment targets. Our current starting point in the recycling campaign can no longer begins with Reduce or Reuse.”

What do you think we can do to sustain our natural resources for present and future generations?

April is a special month for us. There is an exciting event happening on the 22nd (read more here), as well as the 28th, which you can find out more below!

Together with the Singapore Chapter of The Zeitgeist Movement,  ECO Singapore is proud to present a series of multimedia presentations, talks and discussions, where we hope to explore what the ecosystem has to teach us about what we are, where we’ve come from and to where we may ultimately be headed.

The Zeitgeist Movement (TZM) is a global sustainability advocacy group. It is currently working in over 1000 Regional Chapters across 70 countries to spread awareness about the roots of our current social problems and express logical, rational and practical solutions to update and evolve our current social system for the benefit of all the world’s people.

Day, Date: Saturday, 28th April

Time: 5.15pm to 9pm

Place: *SCAPE, Level 4 – No Limits Lab, 2 Orchard Link

Programme:

5.15pm Registration. Dinner and drinks *complimentary

6.15pm Welcome

6.30pm 1 What are we?

6.45pm 2 Where are we now?

7:00pm 3 What is possible?

7.15pm Break

7.30pm 4 Viewing ‘Project Earth’ from “Zeitgeist: Moving Forward” (2011)

7.45pm 5 Panel discussion/Q&A

8.30pm 6 What can we do?

8.45pm Thanks and Closing

*RSVP by 26th April, Wednesday for complimentary Indian vegetarian dinner, catered by Annalakshmi. Also,vote for your favourite t-shirt design and bag one on the night. This is a 100% free night.

*This event is open to the public. Feel free to invite your colleagues and networks. All we ask is that you RSVP for catering purposes.*

Once again,

You can officially RSVP here https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dHFqb2RtZWg3a3NfVGo2c1l6QUNrVmc6MQ

You can “Share” the event on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/events/426549447360264/

And you can also head down to The Zeitgeist Movement Singapore Chapter website here http://tzmsg.org/

If you feel the need to learn a thing or two about the movement, we suggest you check out some of the lectures they put up in their Education section.

As a lead up to 28th April, we recommend you watch ZEITGEIST: MOVING FORWARD

2011 trailer.

(Be sure to check out our event on 28th April as well. Find out more here)

As most of you would have known by now, as an Eco Partner for the RUN 350 event on Sunday 22nd April organised by the Young NTUC (who also founded the 350 Singapore chapter), for the past months, in support of the 350.org movement, ECO Singapore and Young NTUC has been bringing you free documentary screenings like Six Degrees Could Change the World (Jan), Food Inc (Feb) and Children of Mekong (March) to expose you to the various environmental issues the world is facing.

For April, we are bringing to you yet another special documentary called One Day On Earth, in which happens so nicely that 350.org movement is one of the supporting organisations.

The project started back in 2010 and over 3000 hours worth of footage was collected. Now in 2012, there is going to be a Worldwide Screening for it. It touches on issues of Poverty, Environment, Education, Gender Equality, Human Rights, Migration and Refugees, Health, Humanitarian Aid and Child Welfare.

We explore a greater diversity of perspectives than ever seen before on screen. We follow characters and events that evolve throughout the day, interspersed with expansive global montages that explore the progression of life from birth, to death, to birth again. In the end, despite unprecedented challenges and tragedies throughout the world, we are reminded that every day we are alive there is hope and a choice to see a better future together.

So, if you are interested, on Sunday 22nd April afternoon (which also happens to be Earth Day in case you don’t know), do come down for the free screening of this amazing film.

Day, Date: Sunday, 22 April 2012

Time: 15:30 until 18:30

Venue: NTUC Centre, One, Marina Boulevard

Programme

3.30pm Registration

4.00pm World Music

4.15pm Welcome message

4.30pm Producers Presentation

4.45pm Screening of One Day on Earth 2010

6.30pm End of programme

*This event is open to the public. Feel free to invite your family and friends for a chill out Earth Day afternoon. All we ask is that you RSVP for seating purposes.*

You can officially RSVP here https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dDhVNnN1NDE2Vm52X0lFWWtXaUdndXc6MQ

You can “Share” the event on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/events/331199453602480/

And if you want, you can join the One Day on Earth Singapore Group here https://www.facebook.com/groups/onedayonearthsg/

Here is the Global Screening Trailer to tempt you!

One Day on Earth – Global Screening Trailer from One Day on Earth on Vimeo.

Get your friends to come down for an afternoon of audio-visual entertainment that will awaken your mind!

One Day on Earth the music video – by Cut Chemist

One Day on Earth the music video – by Cut Chemist from One Day on Earth on Vimeo.

And a sneak peak to what the ‘World Music’ session will be like that day.

Randolf Arriola CCCD Live at Esplanade 28 Oct 2011 (Official excerpt)
Randolf Arriola is one of Singapore’s finest and most innovative guitarists in the past 20 years, and a leading exponent of live looping as a musical technique.

]]> http://www.eco-singapore.org/community-outreach/one-day-on-earth-screening-singapore/feed/ 1 http://www.eco-singapore.org/general/exclusive-interview-haze-hell-over-asia/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=exclusive-interview-haze-hell-over-asia http://www.eco-singapore.org/general/exclusive-interview-haze-hell-over-asia/#comments Thu, 29 Mar 2012 16:12:02 +0000 Yi Han http://www.eco-singapore.org/?p=598 Most of us would remember the haze of 97. Fires raged uncontrollably across an area the size of 4 million football pitches in Indonesia. A noxious yellow smoke cloud smothered a vast region of SE Asia, even reaching as far as northern Australia.

An upcoming documentary, Haze Hell Over Asia, by HISTORY, will piece together the story of this disaster and the stories of the politicians, scientists and ordinary people whose lives it changed forever.

Dr Faizal Parish and Mr Fitrian Ardiansyah were two of the experts who helped to battle the haze and are continuing the fight against forest fires in Indonesia.

ECO Singapore caught up with them to give you an exclusive insight into the continuing battle to fight the haze crisis.

Full transcript of interview with Dr Faizal Parish
Full transcript of interview with Mr Fitrian Ardiansyah

If you’re interested to find out more about the issue, check out this website:
http://www.peat-portal.net/

During the past week more than 100 fires blazed across Tripa. This forest, which is one of the last refuges for the endangered Sumatra orangutans, is at great risk. If the accountable oil palm corporation is not stopped, these great apes could disappear completely by the end of 2012. They need our help urgently.
Sign the petition to stop the disaster!

What is remarkable is that the ZEB is being used regularly and was retrofitted from an existing building rather than designed from scratch. It therefore serves as a model for city planners around the world.

Converted from a former workshop, the ZEB currently houses offices, classrooms and a resource centre. There are also many technologies being tested at the ZEB.

Electricity is generated by the solar panels on the roof and facade of the building, while other technologies allow it to reduce its energy consumption. The net result is that since it was completed in October 2009, the cumulative energy production is larger than the cumulative energy consumption.

Energy production and consumption at the ZEB

This translates to energy savings of about $100,000 a year (depending on prevailing electricity cost), of which about half is due to energy generated from the solar panels, and the remainder is due to reduction in energy consumption.

The cost of retrofitting the building was not cheap, however. The solar energy system alone cost $2 million. Given that it has a typical lifetime of at least 20 years, the energy savings it provides will only pay back half of its cost. However, as the price of solar panels drops with increasing scale of production, while the cost of fossil fuels rises, there will eventually be a point in the future when solar energy becomes cost-effective.

Solar panels on rooftop of ZEB

Nevertheless, from the visit, it became clear that the cheaper way to go green is not to use the energy in the first place. From the picture above, you can see the red chimneys that help to provide natural ventilation for the multi-purpose hall, thereby dispensing with energy guzzling air-conditioning.

Natural ventilation system

At the same time, we also realised that air-conditioned rooms have a terrible side-effect. While we were at the visitor centre, there was an screen which showed the carbon dioxide concentration in the various rooms. Although we were quite well spaced out, the carbon dioxide concentration had risen to 576 parts per million (ppm), as compared to normal level of about 390ppm! That’s a 50% increase! Although one of our fellow participants, who is a building consultant, said that it is within the “healthy” range, it makes me wonder how that will affect our productivity at work.

Monitoring the vital stats of the building, including carbon dioxide concentration

If you want to find out more, visit their website: www.bca.gov.sg/zeb!