An online store for designer tote bag. We make green with style, artsy and classic. Our limited totes are unique and concept made. We also provide customised bag services. If you want to advertise your brand or spread your message, we can help you!

Address: Blk 822, Yishun St 81, #04-618, Singapore 760822

Telephone: 9188 1753 / 9238 5843

Email: sales@bdiff.com.sg

Website: www.bdiff.com.sg

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Moderator: Dr Benjamin Sovacool, Research Fellow, Energy Governance Program, Centre on Asia & Globalisation, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy

Speakers:

• Mr David Tan, Deputy Chief Executive, Energy Market Authority
• Mr Tan Tian Chong, Director, Technology Development Division, Building and Construction Authority
• Mr Edwin Khew, Chairman, Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore
• Mr Stefan Mueller, Managing Director, Asia-Pacific, Conergy Renewable Energy Singapore
• Mr Christophe Inglin, Managing Director, Phoenix Solar

Venue: Seminar Room 3-1, Level 3, Manasseh Meyer, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, 469C Bukit Timah Road, Singapore 259772

This roundtable forum discusses whether Singapore is ready for renewable energy amid complex energy challenges, and the role Singapore can play in promoting renewable energy and the required policies. More details and registration at the LKYSPP website.

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• Buy our own oil field
• Buy overseas farms to grow food
• A law to set a minimum temperature in Singapore offices
• Forge closer relations with oil-producing countries

The government’s energy policies on energy conservation, energy efficiency, energy market regulation and energy industry are pursued by the different relevant ministries and agencies. This is understandable as energy issues are often complex and cut across different sectors and industries.

Nevertheless, the government recognises the need to have an integrated approach to dealing with energy and has outlined six strategies in the National Energy Policy Report. One of the strategies is to develop whole-of-government approach to energy policy which is led by the Energy Policy Group (EPG). The EPG consists of representatives from the:

• Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI);
• Ministry of Finance (MOF);
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA);
• Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR);
• Ministry of Transport (MOT);
• Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR);
• Building and Construction Authority (BCA);
• Economic Development Board (EDB);
• Energy Market Authority (EMA);
• Land Transport Authority (LTA); and
• National Environment Agency (NEA)

The EPG has four working groups on Economic Competitiveness, Energy Security, Climate Change and the Environment, and Energy Industry Development, headed by the different agencies shown in the diagram below:

So, do we need a Ministry of Energy? On paper, it seems that there is no need for one as the energy policies are managed and coordinated by the EPG. But on the ground, the administrative difficulties and layers of bureaucratic red tape accumulated across 11 ministries and agencies in the EPG might pose a problem to the effectiveness and timeliness of the energy policies. We think that it might be better to have a Ministry of Energy which is accountable and focused, to ensure energy security and tackle the threat of climate change.

Source: The New Paper; National Energy Policy Report. Image: National Energy Policy Report.

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Speaker: Mr Mike Splinter, President and CEO of Applied Materials

Venue: Conference Hall 1, Administration Building at Singapore Management University, 81 Victoria Street, Singapore 188065

This seminar discusses the opportunities for solar energy in Asia, and the importance of technology, scale, reforms and incentives in lowering costs and improving the adoption of solar energy. More details and registration at the SEI website.

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Speaker: Professor Sanjay Chaturvedi, Professor of Political Science and Coordinator, Centre for the Study of Geopolitics, Department of Political Science, Panjab University, Chandigarh; and Visiting Research Fellow, ISEAS

Venue: ISEAS Seminar Room II

This seminar discusses the implications of climate change, national security considerations and possible cooperation for South and Southeast Asia. For more details and registration, visit the ISEAS website.

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The PC Show over the weekend saw the annual ritual of mass purchase of IT products in Singapore with first-day sales of $3.5 million and $51.7 million in sales over four days. While citizens in other Asian countries gather in masses to protest about rising oil and food prices and worry about their livelihoods, Singaporeans gather in masses to worry about which laptop or plasma TV to buy and protest about having to cover three floors of IT products (the exhibition space was doubled this year to cater for a record 600 exhibitors).

Who cares about the recession and financial crisis? Who cares about increasing oil and food prices? Who cares about our love for electronic stuff that creates e-waste problems? Who cares about the large amount of paper waste generated? It seems that these problems are not our concerns.

Consider the idea of sufficiency before buying electronic products. Sufficiency is about what is needed, just enough and not too much. Do you need to surround your life with all these electronic stuff? If the old one is working, why do you need to buy a new one? Also consider what happens to the discarded electronic stuff. Does it go to the landfill? Is it given to a secondhand dealer for reuse? Is it sent for proper recycling? Or does it end up in developing countries? Next time when you visit an IT exhibition, think again before buying.

Quotes from The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare:

All that glitters is not gold;
Often have you heard that told:

So may the outward shows be least themselves:
The world is still deceived with ornament.

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• The clean development mechanism (CDM) under the Kyoto Protocol, for example, provides the much needed financial lifeblood to take IRRs of wind farm projects over the “hurdle rate.” There has been some criticism about the use and abuse of CDM by some camps, such as a front page article by The Guardian, but I thought China Environmental Law’s response was spot on. China is by far the world’s biggest market for CDM projects, accounting for a whopping 73% of transactions in 2007. Hong Kong joins the CDM fray as well.
• Sycamore Ventures and the China Association of Resources Comprehensive Utilization (CARCU), which operates under the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, are to launch a US$ 1 billion dollar Greenstar fund to invest largely in China’s environmental sector.
• The World Bank will provide additional $440 million in loans for three energy efficiency projects. This will constitute one-third of the bank’s loan portfolio in 2008 to China. The three projects consist of energy efficiency financing, desulfurization in Shandong and infrastructure in medium-sized cities in Liaoning.

All this is not to say that China is reliant on external sources of funding. In fact, according to a Reuters report, Gao Guangsheng of the National Development and Reform Commission expects China to fund 90% of its renewable energy development by domestic sources of funding. Separately, Don Ye, founding partner of Tsing Capital’s China Environment Fund, for seven years, and still, China’s only fund 100% dedicated to clean tech investments told The Green Leap Forward, “There’s a trend to self sufficiency both in terms of talent as well as investments. By the end of this year, we expect to see quite a few RMB-denominated investment funds come to the market.”

Provincial and municipal governments are also investing big in renewable energy. The northeastern municipality of Tianjin has committed to invest RMB 200 million a year into mergers and pre-IPO deals in solar, wind and energy storage businesses. The southwestern province of Sichuan is pushing solar development in a big way, as evidenced by last weekend’s Western China PV Conference held in the province’s biggest city, Chengdu (成都). The governments of Chengdu and adjacent Shuang Liu (双流) county, together constituting the aviation hub of China, have now have established the Chengdu (Shuang Liu) Photovoltaic Industrial Park with the goal of becoming China’s “solar PV valley.” I’ll write more about the Western PV Conference in my next post.

There will be occasional bottlenecks to capital availability. Last month, the central government raised bank reserve ratios yet again to reduce liquidity in the market so as to combat inflation. The series of bank reserve ratio increases has resulted in a tightening in the availability of bank loans for renewable energy projects (although these have tend to affect foreign project developers, which are typically last in line, more than the major state-owned enterprise developers, which get priority access to capital) . But such a phenomenon does not detract from the favorable patchwork of investment policies enacted by the central, provincial and municipal governments for clean energy. If I were a betting man, my money would be on the red (the color of RMB 100 notes) to continue chasing the green (energy).

(This article is contributed by our guest writer, Julian Wong, and was first published in The Green Leap Forward.)

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Speaker: Dr Cho-Oon Khong, Chief Political Analyst, Shell International, Netherlands

Venue: ISEAS Seminar Room II

This seminar covers the scenarios developed by Shell to help it think about the future of energy. The scenarios discuss energy efficiency, clean energy technologies and the concerns about climate change, and highlight the need for policy, technology and commitment from governments, industry and society. More details and registration at the ISEAS website.

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Speaker: Mr. N.C. Vasuki, CEO, Delaware Solid Waste Authority, USA

Venue: SEI Training Room, Environment Building, #06-00, Singapore 228231

This seminar discusses the impact of economic and population growth on infrastructure development in large cities, with a focus on the risks, challenges and costs faced in waste management. Register at the SEI website.

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The National Environment Agency (NEA) has worked with the JTC Corporation to implement recycling programmes for JTC industrial estates. NEA has also published the Guidebook on Waste Minimisation for Industries to help companies reduce their waste and practise recycling through a waste minimisation plan, tips and case studies. The guidebook is available for download at the NEA website.

(This article was first published in SG Recycle.)

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Venue: L’Organic, Blk 18, Unit A Dempsey Road

L’Organic is organising an outdoor market that offers organic food and products for children.

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Speaker: Dr Magali Bonnier, Head, Industrial Programme Development for Energy and Chemicals, Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences

Venue: Seminar Room II, ISEAS

This seminar discusses the role of scientists in developing alternative energy sources, and the research work of ICES in finding solutions to energy problems through its expertise in catalysis and chemical engineering. More details and registration at the ISEAS website.

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SingPost provides a service to residents who do not wish to receive unaddressed mail via an opt-out arrangement. However, unaddressed mail may or may not include items considered junk mail by recipients. Residents who wish to use this opt-out arrangement can call our hotline 6845-6210 or e-mail us at singpost@singpost.com.

Unaddressed mail in the letterbox can include junk mail received through the letterbox opening (if the anti-junk mail catch is not in place) or advertisement mail delivered by SingPost as part of their service to companies (you receive it whether you want it or not).

To prevent receiving unaddressed mail, you can use the anti-junk mail catch on your letterbox that shuts the opening. Or you can use the opt-out service as described above. However, SingPost noted that “unaddressed mail may or may not include items considered junk mail by recipients“. If you opt-out, some unaddressed mail or those without stamps may end up not being sent to you even though they are legitimate and are not junk mail (some letters are addressed “To the Resident” without any address or stamp). So, it’s not really easy to decide to opt-out. To save the trouble, most people will just choose not to opt-out.

On the same note, we wish that we could opt out from receiving junk mail received at our doorsteps. Because of the anti-junk mail catch, mail distributors have resorted to giving out junk mail door-to-door. These junk mail often end up on the corridor and become litter. We have anti-spam laws regulating emails but why are there no anti-spam laws for junk mail?

Maybe we can have a system where households paste an anti-junk mail sticker on their door to indicate that junk mail is not welcomed. Mail distributors are not allowed to give junk mail to those houses with the stickers or there will be penalties. But who is going to enforce? HDB, Town Council, NEA or the police?

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GO GREEN ONE BOX AT A TIME!

Starting from this World Environment Day (5 June), we are offering the Ecobox - an eco starter kit to help you make the first move and start using eco friendly products. In the Ecobox, you will find common and simple products that help you reduce energy, water, waste and chemicals. Go green and save costs at the same time! And don’t stop with these products, we hope that the Ecobox will inspire you to find and use more green products.

Do you want your friends and colleagues to go green too? Why not give them green gifts for a change? Instead of giving the usual stuff, you can also give the Ecobox as personal or corporate green gifts. Spread the green message through the Ecobox!

HOW TO BUY

The Ecobox costs S$30 (inclusive of a box and 8 products, plus delivery) and is available for sale only in Singapore. To order, fill in this form and click Submit. We will contact you within 3 working days. Payment is by cash on delivery and we deliver only on Fridays. We deliver only once a week so that we can minimise our fuel usage and carbon emissions, and keep costs down. For bulk purchase and enquiries, please use our Contact form.

ECOBOX

The Ecobox includes a box with eight products to help you reduce energy, water, waste and chemicals.

The box (L35 x W25 x H26 cm) is from IKEA and is made from corrugated board, which is 100% recyclable. Corrugated board has one of the highest recycling rates and old corrugated board is usually recycled into new ones.

The box is folded into shape from a one-piece corrugated board without the use of adhesives and staples. In addition, we did not paste any stickers or labels on the box. Therefore, if the box is recycled, there will be less contamination in the recycling process.

The box is suitable for storing A4 paper and other small to medium-sized items. You can also use the box as a recycling bin for used paper.

LESS ENERGY

1.  Compact Fluorescent Light Bulb (8W)

2.  Compact Fluorescent Light Bulb (11W)

The cool daylight and screw-in type compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) are from Philips. Replace your incandescent bulbs with the energy saving CFLs and save up to 80% of energy. CFLs also last up to 6 times longer than incandescent bulbs. You should also choose the lowest wattage light bulb needed for your specific lighting purpose. By using less energy and with less frequent changing of bulbs, you save money!

You can also save energy by using energy efficient products with the Energy Label. These products include air-conditioners and refrigerators.

LESS WATER

3.  Water Aerator

The water aerator is from Sani-Ware and can be easily installed to your sink tap. The aerator restricts the water flow from your tap and saves water.

You can also save water by using water efficient products with the Water Efficiency Label. These products include taps, showerheads, toilet cisterns and washing machines.

4.  Glass Mug

The glass mug (height 9 cm; volume 170 ml) is from IKEA. Use the glass mug to store water for rinsing when brushing your teeth and don’t keep your tap running. You can save up to 44.5 litres of water by using a mug of water when brushing.

Check out more water saving tips at the Public Utilities Board (PUB) website.

LESS WASTE

5.  Microfibre Cloth

The microfibre cloth (30 x 30 cm) is from Mr Clean. It is super absorbent and effective for cleaning dirt and grease from surfaces easily and without scratching. This reduces the need for water and chemical cleaners. You can also reduce the need to use disposable paper towels for cleaning since the microfibre cloth can be washed and reused many times.

6.  Recycled Paper Notebook

The A5 notebook is from MUJI and has a recycled content of 70%. Buying recycled products help to close the recycling loop. The complete recycling loop involves waste material collection, sorting, processing and manufacturing into a final recycled product that is sold. If there is no demand for recycled products, it might not make economic sense to collect the waste material and it will end up in the incineration plants or landfill.

Using recycled material also tend to consume less energy and water resources as compared to using virgin material in the product’s life cycle.

LESS CHEMICALS

7.  Dishwashing Detergent Refill

The dishwashing detergent liquid refill pack (600 ml) is from UIC and is awarded the GreenLabel by the Singapore Environment Council. Products with the GreenLabel are eco friendly and less harmful to the environment during its production and usage. You can find products with the GreenLabel logo at retail stores or from this list of products.

The dishwashing detergent meets the following GreenLabel criteria: (a) Biodegradability of the detergent must be at least 90%; (b) The detergent must not contain any carcinogenic, allergenic or teratogenic substances or substances that are considered hazardous to the environment; and (c) Certain substances in the detergents are to be excluded or limited.

A refill pack also uses less packaging and is cheaper compared to a normal detergent container. However, the normal container is usually recycled whereas the refill pack is disposed of.

8.  Organic Sunflower Seeds

The packet of organic sunflower seeds (250g) is from Nature’s Glory. Choose natural and organic food products that do not use chemical fertilisers and pesticides during its production. It is good for your health and prevents less chemicals from entering the environment.

You can check out this article on “A guide to organic shopping” for more details on organic products and local shops that sell them.

HOW TO BUY

The Ecobox costs S$30 (inclusive of a box and 8 products, plus delivery) and is available for sale only in Singapore. To order, fill in this form and click Submit. We will contact you within 3 working days. Payment is by cash on delivery and we deliver only on Fridays. We deliver only once a week so that we can minimise our fuel usage and carbon emissions, and keep costs down. For bulk purchase and enquiries, please use our Contact form.

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One, the “think out of the box” mentality. If we put our mind to it, we can think of innovative ways to generate energy from different sources (not just depend on power plants) and use it for local specific purposes.

Two, the “first to try” spirit. If we don’t try, we would not know whether it works, especially for something that has not been done before. Either we take the risk, put in some money and do it first. Or we can be “kiasi” and wait for others to try it out and see how it goes. If it is successful, it is usually too late for us to follow suit and lead since others already have accumulated enough experience and know-how to do it better.

__________

Power Generating Floor Tested at JR Tokyo Train Station

The East Japan Railway Company (JR East) conducted a demonstration experiment from January 19 to March 7, 2008, at Yaesu North Gate, Tokyo Station, on a new power-generating floor. Installed at the ticket gate area, it generates electricity from the vibrations created by passengers walking through the ticket gates.

The power-generating floor is embedded with piezoelectric elements, which are 35 millimeters in diameter, and disc-shaped components used for loudspeakers. It uses 600 of these elements per square meter. While the loudspeaker creates sound by converting electric signals to vibrations, the floor adopts the reverse mechanism that produces electricity by harnessing the vibrational power generated from passengers’ steps. It is being developed by JR East with the aim of making stations more environmentally friendly and energy efficient.

Following the first experiment in autumn 2006, this test was aimed at verifying the improvement in power generation efficiency and durability. It was also targeted at verifying power-generating capacity, now more than ten times per unit of installation area compared to the performance in 2006. JR East expects to generate enough electricity to light a 100-watt bulb for about 80 minutes per day. It intends to use the power for station facilities such as automatic ticket gates or electric displays in the near future.

Source credit: Japan for Sustainability.

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However, we feel that the provocative campaign advertisement of the boy doll dripping oil and blood, and cut by a chainsaw does not serve its intended purpose as stated by MediaCorp:

“We’re trying to deliver a message that’s cut through. We think that if it’s a very pretty ad on saving the environment, touchy-feely, it might not achieve the same results. And that’s why we’ve resorted to something a bit more thought-provoking, and hopefully it’ll register the impact of what we’re doing to the environment.”

After watching the video advertisement, the first thing that came to mind was, “Is this a campaign on prevention of child abuse?” The terrible acts performed on the boy doll were supposed to represent the bad things we are doing to the environment. But that representation was not clear and one was only focused on the doll “being tortured”.

We also think that viewers will first be shocked and be put off by the advertisement. After watching it again, they might feel numb and a sense of helplessness. We think that more people nowadays are aware about environmental issues but are not taking action because they are not being inspired. After watching endless shows and reports on environmental issues, it is depressing and one just loses the motivation to take action and “fight on”.

What we need from the media leader is not a ”I have a nightmare” campaign but a “I have a dream” campaign that inspires people to take action. This inspiring and positive mentality is described in the article on The Death of Environmentalism:

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I have a dream speech” is famous because it put forward an inspiring, positive vision that carried a critique of the current moment within it. Imagine how history would have turned out had King given an “I have a nightmare” speech instead.

In the absence of a bold vision and a reconsideration of the problem, environmental leaders are effectively giving the “I have a nightmare” speech, not just in our press interviews but also in the way that we make our proposals. The world’s most effective leaders are not issue-identified but rather vision and value-identified. These leaders distinguish themselves by inspiring hope against fear, love against injustice, and power against powerlessness.

A positive, transformative vision doesn’t just inspire, it also creates the cognitive space for assumptions to be challenged and new ideas to surface. And it helps everyone to get out of their “issue” boxes.

The provocative and shocking advertisement campaign is an unfortunate distraction that may result in some viewers feeling disgusted and helpless. Fortunately, the new Saving Gaia documentary series is focused on solutions. Don’t be put off by the advertisement but focus instead on the series and be inspired.

Image source: Saving Gaia.

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The Hot Topic: How To Tackle Global Warming And Still Keep The Lights On by Gabrielle Walker and Sir David King, discusses the problems and solutions of climate change in a clear and straightforward way. The authors explain the science of global warming and describe the possible changes that could take place due to climate change. Despite the serious problem of climate change, the authors believe that this “is neither a time for pessimism nor for denial. It is a time for constructive, determined action.” What we need are a combination of technological and political solutions.

Technological solutions are about using energy more efficiently, reducing carbon emissions from transport and switching to cleaner sources of energy generation. But technological solutions are not enough, what we need too is the political willpower. Political solutions require the involvement of industrialised nations and rapidly developing nations, working together and moving beyond the Kyoto Protocol.

The book ends with how we can change the world through the choices we make to influence companies and politicians to embrace sustainability. As the authors say, “We are all part of the problem, and each of us will need to be part of the solution.”

Borrow it from your local library or buy it from our AsiaIsGreen Bookstore.

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As of Dec 2007, there are 353 condominiums and private apartments with recycling programmes. Recently, the ministry has also announced that it will make it mandatory to have recycling facilities in condominiums and private apartments. This mean that soon all the residential premises (HDB estates, landed properties, condominiums and private apartments) in Singapore will have some form of recycling programme and all residents have the opportunity to recycle.

(This article was first published in SG Recycle.)

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The National Environment Agency (NEA) has implemented the National Recycling Programme (NRP) since 2001, where recycling bags or bins are given to residents living in HDB housing estates and landed properties. These recycling bags and bins are provided by appointed recycling contractors and the recyclables are collected fortnightly under the NRP.

You can make use of the recycling programme to recycle items such as paper, plastic and glass bottles, metal cans and old clothing, instead of throwing them away.

In addition, there are recycling bins placed at housing estates (one set of recycling bins placed for every five blocks), and also public recycling bins placed at train stations and high traffic locations. Check out the locations of the nearest recycling bins at the NEA website.

With all these recycling programmes and facilities in place, it’s easy to recycle and there’s no more excuses not to.

Images source: NRP brochure.

(This article was first published in SG Recycle.)

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