Committee of Supply Debate 2010: Environmental Policies under the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources

Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, and Dr Amy Khor, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, gave their speeches during the Committee of Supply Debate under the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR) yesterday. The speeches address various environmental policies, including:

• Sustainable Development – Overall Approach to Resource Efficiency and Mitigating Climate Change
• Improving Energy Efficiency
• Singapore’s Vulnerability to Climate Change
• Managing Our Water Resources
• Recycling and Waste Minimisation
• Building Up R&D and Manpower Capabilities in Clean Environment and Water Sectors
• Dengue
• Sustaining Public Cleanliness
• Licensing Elderly Tissue Paper Peddlers
• Noise
• Enhancements to Food Hygiene Regime
• ABC Waters Programme

Here are some key points that they raised: Read more

Avoidance of Responsibility

Environmental problems are a manifestation and a consequence of avoidance of responsibility. It’s a result of us not being responsible to our future generations and the rest of nature (which we are a part of).

We take too much resources from nature; we consume too much; we don’t care about how our actions affect biodiversity; we enjoy short-term gains and ignore long-term losses. All because we don’t think we are responsible. To our children. To nature.

Our green future is not a dream but a responsibility to nature and our children. Be responsible. Now.

I’m sorry, each and every one of us can say, we have no choice but to destroy the planet. It’s really not our fault.

Bullshit.

We may as well acknowledge that our entire culture—from top to bottom, inside out, personally and socially—is founded on, motivated by, and requires a systematic and absolute avoidance of responsibility. This is true both for our actions and our failures to act. What, ultimately, is environmental degradation? Any and all environmental degradation is a manifestation and a consequence of avoidance of responsibility. What is pollution? It is a manifestation and a consequence of avoidance of responsibility. What is overfishing? Deforestation? They are manifestations and consequences of avoidance of responsibility.

And what is our failure to stop each of these things? It’s just as much an avoidance of responsibility.

- Derrick Jensen in Endgame Vol 2: Resistance

Image credit: phre3a via stock.xchng

Green Drinks Singapore – Jan 2010

January 28, 2010
8:15 pm	to	9:30 pm

From Green Drinks Singapore:

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Venue: Naive, 99 East Coast Road

This month, we are gathering all the green groups, societies, businesses and individuals with green values to talk about their plans for 2010, and explore ways we can all work together.

In particular, we are targetting to have ECO (Singapore), SEC, Nature Society (Singapore), Vegetarian Society (Singapore), Social Innovation Park, Food for All, green societies from the various tertiary institutions, various businesses, and individuals already well known in the green sphere. As always, everyone is welcome!

Let us have a meaningful greater conversation about what we can do together! Do spread the word, and we hope to see you there!

Foodwise, Naive has kindly put together a special three-course menu at the price of $18+ for those wishing to dine there.

How to get there: By bus- 10, 12, 14, 32, 40; By car- parking is available at Katong Mall and Katong Village

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(We are selling Al Gore’s new book, Our Choice, at Green Drinks to raise fund for the Haiti Earthquake relief operations. Have 40 copies of the book to sell at $50 each. 100% of profits will go to the Singapore Red Cross who will channel it to the International Federation of Red Cross Red Crescent Societies.)

Singapore Green Landscape

(Singapore Green Landscape 2010 is now available for download here)

The Singapore Green Landscape shows an overview of the various NGOs, groups, websites, government agencies, business associations, institutes and centers related to the environment in Singapore.

This is not a complete list and is subjected to further updates and corrections. To help us show a better picture of the green landscape in Singapore, do let us know if we missed anything or if there are any errors. Thanks!

Hey Earth, Merry Christmas!

This post is contributed by Trina Tan.

Christmas sure gets insane with all the gift shopping and parties to plan and attend. As Christmas is one of the most celebrated holiday in Singapore, it inevitably is also most “consuming”. Parties leave behind excess food, which goes to the trash. Thousands of Christmas cards get sent out and massive amount of wrapping paper gets ripped and thrown away.

I don’t want to sound like Scrooge here so I would still say, go out and have fun! Christmas only comes once a year and it could be the very holiday that you spend the most time showing affection to your family and friends.

To help you make this holiday go on in a very sustainable and green way, here are 7 simple tips that you could follow to plan and celebrate your very own eco-friendly Christmas:

Tip 1: Christmas cards

Sending Christmas cards used to be more popular till the uprising of the internet and cell phone short messaging services (SMS) or multimedia services (MMS). Instead of sending out Christmas cards, you could send out a shout out on Twitter, Facebook, emails, e-cards, SMS or MMS to friends and families that you know are tech savvy enough to receive it and understand your sincerity still.

For the older relatives or people you are trying to make an impression with, you could still send out Christmas cards that use recycled materials. Or buy Christmas cards that have been made by charitable organizations so that you know your cash will be used for a good cause. It is also possible to send a few cards together in the same envelope if you are mailing to the same address. Better still, if you could just use one organic card for a whole family to share, you could do your part in saving the environment. It would mean less postage, less fuel and less trees being used in the process.

Another way of saying season’s greetings is by a phone call! This way it is more personal and it is very effective in bridging the relationship. Definitely a pleasant surprise for the receiver on the other end and puts both you and the person in a cheerful mood! Read more

Singapore Creates First Official LOHAS Region in Asia

LOHAS Asia is pleased to announce that it is formally linking up with the Kranji Countryside Association to designate the entire Kranji Countryside a “LOHAS Region”, to promote healthy & sustainable living practices in Asia.

LOHAS stands for “Lifestyles Of Health And Sustainability”, a consumer-lead movement originated in the USA in the late 1990’s. LOHAS Asia has been formed to provide a platform for businesses and consumers alike in Asia who wish to promote LOHAS as the way forward for living in Asia today.

Adam Horler, President of LOHAS Asia, remarking on this announcement said:

“LOHAS promotes consciously for the individual and corporate customer. We can buy products and services that pay no regard to the environment or we can seek out products and companies that consider their environmental impact in all they do to bring products to market.

Individual consumers are the most powerful economic force in the world, far more powerful than corporations or even governments. If we choose to support Earth-friendly companies, we can save the planet, far faster than passively waiting for legislation to force companies to change. For instance, if we choose to buy organic and locally-produced foods for health reasons, we are also supporting sustainable agriculture and buying produce that has not had to be transported miles to get to our plates.

The Kranji Countryside Association does great work in Singapore already promoting local, healthy and environmentally-sensitive production of food for the local market. We hope that by naming the area a LOHAS Region we will be able to attract even more awareness and support to this jewel that exists in Singapore.

We shall be establishing our Asian HQ in Kranji, and hope to create a LOHAS Centre to showcase the region’s products and a better way of living for all Singaporeans, giving them the chance to become Lohasian consumers and save the planet, one purchase at a time.”

Mrs Ivy Singh-Lim, President of the Kranji Countryside Association, commented:

“The Kranji Countryside Association is ecstatic with this link-up with LOHAS as it is the most appropriate platform to further strengthen our vision. We are encouraging people to be aware of nature in the quest for human progress. There is an urgent need to be aware that the impact of the carelessness of our behavior can destroy our very existence on this earth.

As such all of us farmers are 100% behind LOHAS Asia and look forward to the great changes we can make together.”

World Toilet Summit and Expo 2009

World experts to deliberate on issues of sanitation and toilets

World Toilet Summit returns to Singapore since inauguration in 2001

World experts on sanitation and toilets will converge in Singapore in December to deliberate on almost every aspect of this once-taboo subject.

High on their agenda will be the urgent issue of bringing sanitation to 2.5 billion people who live without having toilets, a market worth an estimated US$1 trillion.

The occasion will be the three-day World Toilet Summit and Expo 2009 (WTSE 2009) to be held from December 2-4 at Suntec Singapore. It will be opened by Mr Lim Swee Say, Minister (Prime Minister’s Office).

The ninth in the series, the event is organised by the locally-based World Toilet Organization (WTO) founded by Singaporean Jack Sim in 2001, and MP Asia, in partnership with Asian Development Bank (ADB). It has the strong local support of the Economic Development Board (EDB), PUB – The National Water Agency, the Restroom Association (Singapore), Singapore Institute of Architects, Singapore Institute of Planners and Singapore Exhibition and Convention Bureau. Read more

Two Plastic Bags and a Fishball Stick

This article is contributed by Trina Tan.

Ever had the experience of buying a piece of bread or bun from a small bakery store and had to throw away the plastic bag immediately after eating it? In Singapore, buying and eating takeaway snack food is very popular. Over the past few years, we have observed the boom of small stalls that populate the basement level of each shopping mall. Examples of these food and their stalls would include bread from Breadtalk, a stick of fishball or curry puff from Old Chang Kee, bubble tea from Sweet talk, doughnuts from Dunkin Donuts, etc.

Often, these great tasting food items are already wrapped with a piece of plastic sheet over it, but usually cashiers would still place these into a second plastic bag. Hearing this, you would think – is it necessary to have everything wrapped in plastic? Surely there are some food types that can be placed into paper bags? Three fishballs on a stick is not worth that many plastic bags. Read more

William Cho’s Photography Showcase

William Cho is a freelance graphic designer/photographer, check out his photography showcase at Flickr. Excellent photos taken in Singapore, and also include photos taken in Taiwan, Bali and Saigon.

Here’s a preview of some Singapore photos:

Chek Jawa, Singapore

Pulau Ubin, where time stood still

Marina Barrage Singapore

Nothing in Sight

Reaching for the Sky

Photos credit: William Cho

Project Mending Sky: YOU

Project Mending Sky is a 3-year project undertaken by Drama Box to promote environmental awareness in the community.

Last year, the series kicked start with Project Mending Sky: ME, with the focus on the individual, on what “ME” can do to change my thinking, my actions and my life, and how the small efforts of “ME” can go a long way in preserving the environment.

In the second instalment this year, Project Mending Sky will continue from where it left off last year. The focus, however, will shift to how “I” can get “YOU” (my friends and family) to be more environmentally conscious so that our combined efforts will have a greater, positive effect in saving the earth.

If the impact of the individual’s efforts is questionable, the actions of “YOU” and “ME” are sure to amount to something bigger.

Please visit www.dramabox.org for a detailed programme schedule, which includes free forum theatre and puppetry performances, and a GREEN Mini Carnival!

Source: Drama Box

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