The Neo Earth

I love the Earth, but not enough to become a rabbit

[sovietmole]

Creating your own handwriting video

A couple of months back, I was embarking on a project to revamp a video for @shopwithtagg. Our last video was done by 2 freelancers who used a narrator from Fiverr to explain the concept of Tagg. Most people who watched the video couldn’t catch what the narration was about, and in a noisy environment, the narration couldn’t be heard.

I decided that we needed a new video without narration, with handwriting videos being the “in” thing, I searched online for a solution. There are a number of videos explaining how you could create the entire set up, and there are also programs that do it for you. You can check out VideoScribe if you don’t mind the poor quality of the free video. Be mindful that it does not allow you to export into a video file - although there are tricks to get around that.

Long story short, VideoScribe’s quality did not appeal to me, setting up a recording gig didn’t either, so I had to create a handwritten intro clip with the tools I have.

The tools I used are:

Microsoft Office PowerPoint (for Windows)

iMovie (Windows Movie Maker should work as well)

Photoshop (optional)

Just 2, perhaps 3 programs will do the trick! I’m going to provide you with the images and template you need later in this tutorial.

*Somehow, Microsoft removed the export to video function in Office 2016 for Mac - until they put it back, this won’t work for Mac users. Keynote doesn’t work either.

“Writing” the text

Looking at the tools I’ve prepared, it should be obvious by now that Microsoft PowerPoint is gonna be heavily used in this part of the work. Any text that you want will go into PowerPoint.

For the typeface, I chose “Mechanical Pencil” by Leonardo White. It’s 100% free from dafont.com. Get the font here.

Next, type out your text (preferably on a single line) and set its animation to appear. Check that under Effect Options, it Animates text: By the letter.

Now, you’ll have to time how long the text takes to fully appear, either by using the Rehearse Timings tab under Slide Show or, as I’ve noticed recently that 2013 version of PowerPoint comes with a timing slider on the bottom of the Animation Pane.

The Hand

Time to add the Hand (Download the High-Res version)

Point the tip of the marker to the bottom left of the first letter. Now go to Add Animation and choose Custom Path. This function allows you to dictate the path of movement.

Start from where the tip of the marker is, move it up to the top right of the first letter, and back down to center-bottom of the letter, then to the top right of the next letter, back to the center-bottom of that letter - over and over again, until the line ends.

Now, you remember the timing that I’ve asked you to take note of from the animation of the text? Set it as the animation timing for this Custom Path. Reduce the Smooth Start and Smooth End to 0. This is important as it affects the sequence. 

Also set the Animation to start: With previous.

Try playing the slideshow and make sure the timings of both animations are in sync. You might want to perform an additional step of making the hand disappear after it’s done its thing. So just add another animation for the hand to disappear: after previous.

When you’re done, it’s time to export this into a video. Click on File > Export > Create a Video. The resolution of the video depends on the video card that you have. 

Now that you have the raw clip, it’s time to work the magic in iMovie. That will be covered in the next part of my tutorial. In the meantime, if you are adventurous enough to try it on your own, go ahead and do it!

[sovietmole]

Meeting the gap with UberX

Recently, it was announced that the Transport Ministry would be reviewing the likes of UberX. Uber seems to be the only one highlighted and rightly so - although news reports later quoted Grab Car, Uber was the only provider that managed to penetrate a market monopolised by a couple of lazy taxi operators, and with astonishing pace.

I’ve been an Uber user for a long time, and about 2 months ago started driving for Uber casually - like less than 10 trips per month. I’m gonna tell you right from the beginning that I’m not a fan of our taxi system, but I’ll be as objective as possible to let you decide what’s right.

Points raised by the Transport Minister

In fact, there is only one. Yes, UberX and Grab Car drivers do not have to undergo training for the vocational license that Taxi drivers have to take, if this is the only point of contention by taxi drivers, fine, get all Uber including UberExec drivers to take the vocational license. Truth is, the test for a vocational license is far out of touch and there are over 100,000 vocational license holders with just over 40,000 of them on active duty in under 30,000 taxis. If the entire lot of non-active license holders joined UberX, there would be more UberX drivers than taxi drivers.

Levelling the field

Talk about levelling the field, do you know that UberX drivers are not allowed to do a number of things that taxi drivers are allowed to? For example, pick up passengers on the streets without prior booking i.e. by simply flagging. Uber drivers are not allowed to state their desired destination i.e. the “Change Shift” sign. Uber drivers will not know your destination until the ride starts. Uber drivers cannot pick and send passengers to Jurong Island without prior clearance (this is what I was told). The list goes on.

Advantage of riding with Uber

There are just so many things I love about riding Uber. First, there are no booking charges. Even if you book an Uber, make the driver wait for 15 mins - you really shouldn’t - there are no booking fees.

Next, there are no admin fees for payment by credit card. Come on, this is 2015. We should be exploring payment with our phones already, and there are charges for payment by credit card?

There are no funny surcharges. Everyone’s complaining about the surge charges. Seriously, if you don’t want to pay the surge, wait for the surge to die out. Uber even built in a function to alert you when the surge has died out. There’s no city surcharge, no midnight surcharge, no airport surcharge. Everything is straightforward. You were also informed in advance of your estimated trip cost. What’s there to complain?

What I’m trying to say

I’m not saying that taxi drivers are the cause of these issues, the operators are really the cause of the problem. The archaic system that they continue to hold on to, simply doesn’t serve the needs of the 21st century. If the Transport Ministry is seeking a review, a holistic reform of the entire system is timely. Don’t just speak to taxi drivers about it, speak to Uber drivers and Uber passengers. Find out why the more earnest and savvy drivers are switching to Uber. It’s time for change.

Photo credit: Mark Warner

[sovietmole]

[The Listserve] A practical guide for saving the planet

I came across this Listserve post just yesterday and I thought I should post it here - since only 52 Singaporeans are subscribed to #Listserve. You should subscribe to it if you haven't. I hope I'm not flouting any copyright rules but hey Asheen, drop me a note if you don't like it.

Here goes:

=======================

Fellow citizens of the blue planet,

I've dedicated my career to the sustainable business movement. At present, I serve as the global head of sustainable innovation for a $3B company, and teach MBA students as an adjunct professor of sustainable entrepreneurship.

How do you make a dent in the most critical issue of our times? Here are the most important actions you can take, ranked by highest impact. I've used a breakdown of US carbon sources to represent global (industrialized-world) environmental impacts.

1.  Electricity: 34% of total emissions The main sources of electricity in the home are air conditioning, followed by refrigeration, heating, clothes drying, and your television. Turn the thermostat down in winter and up in summer, and practice efficiency for the others. Wash in cold water and line dry when you can. If you pay for your electricity, you can request to buy a percentage from renewable sources, sometimes even at no cost to you.

2. Transportation: 27% a) Flying My work flight to Paris last week itself exceeded the carbon emissions of a typical Indian over an entire year (1.5 tons). When I can't avoid flying, I purchase carbon offsets, which fund projects that remove an equivalent amount of carbon from the atmosphere. Offsetting my Boston-Paris roundtrip flight, for example, costs about $18 -- about 2% of the flight cost. I buy offsets from TerraPass, a reputable offset company; google "terrapass carbon footprint calculator".

b) Driving Another major source of emissions is our car travel. I love my Prius and believe in electric/hybrid cars. To allay a common fear, the batteries are not significant factors; they are 100% recyclable at end of life, and in any case, more than 80% of the total impact of an automobile is the fuel source. Consider also living near your work/school so that you commute less.

3. Industry: 20% I'm a firm believer free-market innovation, but many environmental costs are business externalities -- that is, business incurs these costs, but society (taxpayers) pay them. Carbon is the classic externality, making the atmosphere our greatest "tragedy of the commons". Write to your government leaders to urge action, especially climate change legislation (thanks for leading here, France and Australia). A US governor once told me that for every 1 call/email she got, she assumed 15 or 20 constituents shared the same belief.

4. Commercial & Residential: 11% Vote with your dollars by practicing preferential buying behavior for greener products. Do your research on claims and eco-labels (see ecolabelindex.com), but don't be afraid to try to do good and refine your choices later. For example, should you choose organic or local foods? Both turn out to benefit the environment for different (sometimes competing) reasons. Pick your strategy and go for it. As Yogi Berra said, "when you come to a fork in the road, take it."

5. Agriculture: 7% The choice of the food we eat has tremendous impact, especially protein. I'm not a vegetarian, but I've developed a rule for myself: I eat meat once a day, beef once a week, and lamb once a year. I count fish as half of a meat; download the Monterey Bay Aquarium's "Seafood Watch" app and ask questions at seafood restaurants about where the fish comes from. For me, this is the right combination of carbon-frugality with something I'll actually stick to; find a way to reduce your own meat consumption. To learn the basis of my rule, google "ewg meat eaters guide eat smart".

"Anything else you're interested in is not going to happen if you can't breathe the air and drink the water. Don't sit this one out. Do something. You are by accident of fate alive at an absolutely critical moment in the history of our planet." -Carl Sagan (often attributed)

Please feel free to ask and challenge.

Cheers, Asheen Phansey Boston, MA USA [email protected]

[sovietmole]

Hello Tumblr

Hi Tumblr folks! So I’ve decided to move over to Tumblr from Wordpress and will be loading all my previous blog entries here in just a bit.

Reason being that I’m quite sick of maintaining Wordpress, and I’m totally bought into how easy it is to write on Tumblr - why haven’t I discovered this before?

My blog, The Neo Earth, is all about effectively using resources available to us. I hate waste - so that is my key focus in writing.

See you around soon!

[sovietmole]

Heartening to see China’s CCTV promoting sustainability in a culture where food wastage is prevalent.

[sovietmole]

When the drought hits Singapore

The recent dry spell has certainly taken a toll on the island. I’ve never seen as much of a destruction to trees, shrubs, and turfs of grass as this “drought” even when the worst of floods hit Singapore in our recent history. The dry spell certainly highlighted our strengths, but most importantly our weakness as a nation. Singaporeans are not only ill-prepared but wasteful.

We have already seen the level of preparedness demonstrated by general Singaporeans when the worst haze in our history struck the island last year. The government was well prepared with stocks of emergency supplies - albeit a better distribution plan, but people were not only unprepared, they were also irresponsible. While calling the government a liar for providing inaccurate data – which I thought the officials could have provided a better retort for, people were actually going about their daily activities unprotected. On my way home on the night when the haze crossed 400 PSI for the first time, I actually saw a long queue of vehicles outside the McDonald’s at King Albert Park with people waiting to buy the Hello Kitty plush toy. Over the next few days while people continued to call for the government to publish “more accurate data”, I continue to see people jogging and strolling in the parks, along the roads.

This dry spell made me realize that Singaporeans do not even know what hit them even when the worst hits. Singaporeans and some of its neighbors are also terribly wasteful. Despite the years of educating Singaporeans to conserve water, the messaging has had little effect on our people. Even when the worst effects if the dry weather became so obvious that it was hard to ignore, usage levels were hardly restrained. Reports of measures taken by some “civic conscious” companies further illustrate the problem.

The national water agency, PUB had for some time been promoting water saving tips, and during this period of dry weather, the need for water conservation became more apparent. Yet, hardly any individual heed the call for action. In fact, I thought the recommended actions were hardly effective. PUB has been actively promoting the five-minute shower for a while now, which I thought itself is already wasteful enough. I do take 5 minute showers, sometimes slightly longer. But the difference is, the tap hardly ran for a minute during the shower – you don’t have to let the water run while soaping and shampooing! People ask how I do it, and if it’s even effective a shower for me to be clean – well, I do have a complexion that even girls are in awe of, and no, I do not have a special regimen for my face.

And for goodness sake PUB, to hell with the theory of how much a cup saves you when you brush your teeth; the key here is to turn off the tap while you get busy with your hands! I’ve never had a cup, and I don’t use more than a cup or two of water – a mouthful to rinse at the beginning, and two after I brush my teeth.

Do not even get me on the washing regimen at the car wash, I still do not get the two pails of water that gets splashed on to the car after the soap has been rinsed off with the jet. These are activities that could have potentially worsened the effects of the dry spell if it prolonged for any longer. The PUB should start educating the public to take a stronger stance at proper use of water because this is effectively our next national pipe – the conservation channel.

[sovietmole]

The transformation of NYC

Now, it's time the Land Transport Authority pay some close attention to what was done in this global hub, and perhaps implement some of the best practices in our island city. Before all you motorists should not reject this motion, stop and think about the benefits it could bring. More pedestrian and cyclist paths means more order on the roads. Errant pedestrians and cyclists would have no excuse to break any law on the roads. It's a win-win for everybody.

So check out the video on NYC's transformation:

NYC Streets Metamorphosis from Streetfilms on Vimeo.

[sovietmole]

For Singapore, the Future could be Today

For many countries, adoption of electric vehicles has a range of problems (sic). Cost, range, and grid availability ranks amongst the top concern for potential buyers of electric cars. These problems however, could be the least of a Singaporean buyer's concern if the government could take steps in the right direction.

Cost

While most motorists in the world would baulk at the prices of EVs, they would probably accept the price of an EV after looking at how much it costs to drive a gasoline powered vehicle in Singapore. The Nissan Leaf costs S$85,000, the Mitsubishi i-MiEV costs S$88,000 and the Renault Fluence ZE costs S$90,000. In comparison, the gasoline driven Fluence costs S$140,999 today. Of course, these prices (of the EVs) exclude the COE (Certificate of Entitlement) and ARF (Additional Registration Fee) which would probably tripled the price in today's context. All these are made possible with TIDES - Transport Technology and Innovation Scheme, a government initiative which provides grants to waive the COE and ARF for qualifying vehicles for a period of 6 years.

Although this may sound great and signals that the government is ready to adopt electric vehicles, it isn't. Only companies with an R&D department, are allowed to select from the very limited range of vehicles. In contrast, the US EPA has made its federal tax credit of US$7,500 pretty accessible to all strata of the society, for all types of EVs. Of course, one may argue that we are looking at different forms of comparison here, but consider the fact that in the US, the Leaf costs less than US$30,000 before the credit and barely even US$22,000 after - US$7,500 is quite a bit of money.

This also proves that the government has the ability to control the prices of EVs and make it affordable to the masses. Measures could be introduced to control the number EVs sold such as the tagging of each sale to an available COE as well as its 10 year lifespan.

Range

Critics who are concerned with the range of EVs will have little concern with it around the tiny island. The longest expressway in Singapore spans 41km from the East to West of the island. Even the most traveled vehicle on our roads - the Taxis - are having trouble achieving 250km per day, most could not even reach 200km. Given that most people use their vehicles to travel from their homes to offices, with a couple of additional stops in between, most EVs in today's market would be sufficient to meet that need.

Grid

Unlike many other cities in the world, Singapore has an effective grid that is available throughout the island. Technically speaking, it is possible to set up a charging station anywhere around the island. To top it off, Singapore's grid supplies electricity at 230 volts, a voltage required by major automakers for fast-charging. This further lessens the anxiety critics have with range - a short stop anywhere around the island is sufficient to fill the juice up to 80% of its capacity - that's at least 80km each way.

The one problem

With all the above being said, the Electric Vehicle still has a major problem operating in this country - batteries. Batteries function optimally at room temperatures, which is impossible to maintain. Cold weather reduces capacity, but the hot weather in Singapore reduces the service life of the battery. This results in higher maintenance costs as the batteries run out of their service life much quicker. While technology is advancing quickly to eliminate these flaws in the characteristics of batteries, scientists are also researching on new battery technologies which would make EVs even more appealing.

While we hope advanced technologies such as ultracapacitors would one day make driving EVs as convenient as driving gasoline vehicles, it is every government's prerogative to make EVs a viable replacement to gasoline driven vehicles.

[sovietmole]

What #EarthHour Means to a Pragmatic Man

As I sit atop my attic writing in darkness, there's a group out there dancing to power the lights and music they are dancing to. Welcome to the hour of darkness, welcome to Earth Hour.

To the pragmatic environmentalist like me, and my dear friend Joe, who's out in India for a noble cause, Earth Hour is but a mere marketing scam. But it also serves as a reminder that we are suffering from more than the excessive use of energy, we are also suffering from the excessive use of lighting.

During this hour tonight, across the world, we will probably end up discharging more carbon into the atmosphere despite the reduction in electricity use from the grid. Power stations across the world that are powered by crude oil, will continue to churn the energy we require based on forecasted estimates. Yet, WWF's Dance to Power Earth Hour has generators - albeit biodiesel ones, as backups to the likely underpowered event.

Despite being really wasteful, I hope that people attending Earth Hour, as well as the guest Minister could take home more than just the experience of darkness. Real action is needed. Even as the world screams Earth Hour, I'm overlooking a well lit street, a well lit park, and a well lit school. The latter two, severely under utilized - it's a damn Saturday!

You may think that I'm overreacting over some lights, but do you know that besides the excessive use of energy, light pollution has more than a part to play in climate change? Scientists have confirmed that the night does more than giving us a breather from the heat, it actually helps to neutralize the dust and carbon in the air. I'll share the article again when I find it. But for now, I shall remain in the attic with every single power source - other than my iPad - turned off to commemorate this moment in history. This shall be my pledge for Earth Hour, my pledge for Mother Earth.

[sovietmole]

Fertilizer for Free

As I woke up drowsily from a lack of sleep this morning, and I took my usual piss in the bathroom, an idea suddenly struck me. You see, I was reading an article on Peak phosphorous update. The article mentioned of how the world supply of phosphate has peaked and supply is dropping. It also mentioned how most of these phosphate went into our waterways to pollute it with algae growth which eventually ends up in the oceans (affecting our marine life).

Phosphorous is a key element to plant growth. However, it also causes algae growth and soil erosion. Phosphor assists plants to convert nitrogen and other chemicals, together with sunlight into food. Without Phosphate, the plant's growth will be stunted.

So where are we supposed to find all these phosphate to feed the plants to provide us with the oxygen that we need and jump start the food cycle? The answer lies with in your urine.  98% of Nitrogen, 68% of Phosphor, and 85% of potassium can be recovered from urine. Am I hearing the plants say Yum!? Yet, we are not gonna go around pissing into the bushes or start conserving our urine in bottles to pour them into the soil after that. Everyone will start going - YUCK!

Here is where the ingenious idea will come in! Link the urinals from the men's bathroom all the way to where the plants are! And because there's no sunlight between the walls, pipes and the underground, algae will not grow! On top of it, dual purposes are served when you flush the urinals - clean urinals and watered plants! Say goodbye to stinking waterless urinals that simply do not work!

[sovietmole]

If only clean streets were a pill away

While visiting MoMA on my last trip to New York City, I chanced upon an artwork that intrigued my thoughts on creating a series of posters focusing on environmental issues.

Since I returned from my trip, I've been pondering through my thoughts on how I could put that art work to use. And that was how the "If only" series was born. Let's hope it doesn't end here, and here is a draft of my work:

I appreciate all fair comments to help me improve on this poster!

[sovietmole]

Bringing consumerism to a new level

I remember a couple of years ago when I was volunteering at an ad-hoc call center of the local chapter of a certain international organization involved in the disaster relief efforts in Myanmar. People were calling in then to enquire about ways they could donate money and if it's possible to bring it down to our headquarters. Surprisingly, few knew how to get there - but that's not important. So over and over again I repeated directions to the building, and some still couldn't get it. So, I took out the laptop, wrote an email to LTA and requested for a signboard to point to the building, which I was surprised isn't in place yet, given the history of the building. How hard can it be, given that there are signboards to seemingly everything. Well I found out, pretty hard, this is the reply that was given:

Dear Mr Leong Thank you for your request. We note the purpose of the signs.  However, we are concerned about the safety of road users.  Advertisements such as signs displayed along public streets  distract road users and pose safety hazards to them.  In addition, they clutter the streetscape.  In this respect, we are unable to display the signs along Penang Lane. Please feel free to contact me for clarifications.  Thank you. Lame-O-Guy Road Infrastructure Management Road Operations & Community Partnership Land Transport Authority

I'm kidding about the name - but the rest of the message, has been copied in its entirety. I replied to the message, but never received any reply. So it surprised me that sometime ago, MediaCorp launched a moving billboard - literally. Touted as a new Out-of-Home (OOH) platform, the "On-The-Move Billboard", features three large display panels: 7.3m x 3m on two sides and 2.1m x 3m on the rear.

So a signboard that points people in the right direction is a distraction and a moving billboard isn't? Why do we even need a moving billboard in the first place? We have public buses screaming advertisements all over them like those at the bus stops, train stations, buildings, screens all over weren't enough already. Yet, MediaCorp thought that, oh well, we should put a truck to add some colors to Singapore's congested road, and add more pollutants in the air with a Mitsubishi Fuso Pre-Euro 4 (correct me if I'm wrong) truck.

It's time we stop such waste! Our roads are for transportation, not advertisements!

[sovietmole]

Environment versus Economy

How much of the economy should we sacrifice for the sake of our environment has been a much debated issue for decades now. Governments from all over the world, gather year after year during climate change conferences to discuss the issue of how much of their economy should be sacrificed for a sustainable environment. Yet, not once have they realistically thought about how much of the environment have we been sacrificing for the economy?

You may laugh at the thought, but do you know, that the climate change you experience today is a result of the doings of the past generation? Climate studies focus on a classical period of 30 years, which could mean that what we are experiencing today, is likely a result of a build-up of "sins" of the past 30 years. Yes, go ahead and blame your parents or the you 30 years ago, but bear this in mind, your children and yourself of the future will be casting the same blame on you if you do not take any action now.

In the movie 2012, we saw a world, indifferent towards everything else but preserving the future of mankind - must we wait for such a day before we reconsider our actions? In the movie, our chaotic world calmed after 2 months of violent weather, and all refugees were returned to land where they find a new world awaiting them. Will we be able to do the same if we turn our world upside down?

Our government is constantly going  on about how much it did for our environment, but quizzed further about the exact positive impact it has created, how much it has spent to positively combat climate change, it remains mum, and points to the economic sustainability we have to maintain. What is the use of having so much money in reserves, if we are never going to spend it? Are the figures in the bank better to look at or a better environment we can live comfortably in, more important?

Our obsession with instantaneous wealth has led us to ignore the fact that failing to be green, eventually erodes our wealth. The extra load brought about by the myopic decisions to keep policies less stringent and leave environmental initiatives to the private sector will only amass greater costs in the future. Our hunger to maintain easy economic growth through fancy buildings, cars, and even people i.e. population surge, will only hamper the healthy growth of our people. What makes us economically comfortable does not necessarily make us environmentally so and we eventually have to spend more to maintain that lifestyle.

Recently at an environmental awards ceremony, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, Vivian Balakrishnan mentioned that young people are more aware about the environment, and are more active proclaiming their causes for the Earth. Yet, in a study done before the General Election, statistics show that the environment ranks among the least important concern of young voting Singaporeans. The same opinion echoes through the audience at a recent forum I attended where grassroots leaders vote for the top concern they want the mayor to address.

Perhaps, there really is an increase of awareness for the environment, but the focus has always been too small to begin with, there just isn't any impact. Obviously, the pace of our move towards  a greener lifestyle has not been able to match that of nature. Because combating climate change requires more than just plain gimmicky marketing and awards, we are doomed for good if we choose to be obstinate about dollars and cents over common sense.

[sovietmole]

What's with plastic and credit?

I was at an IT fair recently when I signed up for my first credit card - sometimes I think to myself, how are credit cards related to such fairs? Although I've been using credit and debit cards for many years, that day was the first time I've signed up for a credit card on my own. I was amazed at how easy it is to obtain a credit card despite having started on my job for only 2 weeks.

Each time I walked past a banks' booth, its credit card officers will come up to me and shove a copy of the banks' brochure in my hands. One of the banks in particular had 7 credit cards in its brochures, each with different features for my pick. I could have applied for every single card it offered that day without paying a single cent.

I then asked the credit card officer what is the purpose of having that many cards, to which he replied, they serve different purposes and target groups. If that's so, why am I eligible for every card out there? In fact, less with the design and privileges of the different cards, I can't spot any other difference with them. In that case, why can't they simply combine the privileges of all these cards into one? They all belong to the same bank anyway.

In the end, I applied for 3 cards from that particular bank. One gave me the discounts of lifestyle facilities, while the second, the convenience of taking public transport, and the last because the credit card officer said, take a MasterCard (the other 2 were Visas). Initially excited over the benefits, I was only stricken with guilt when the packages arrived just yesterday. Not only did the packages come with thick stacks of brochures, there was also an additional card for a ready credit line which I did not remember signing up for.

According to statistics obtained by Sierra Club, the annual production of cards totaled over 6 billion worldwide. Enough to form over 50 stacks the height of Mount Everest, or even reach the Moon! Made of Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), these cards last forever in landfills around the world. Yet, no one seems to take notice of the damage credit cards are doing to our economy and our environment. Perhaps its monetary benefits to GDP figures outweigh that of economic stability, or perhaps its convenience outweigh that of its environmental damage, but one thing for sure, its use is here to stay.

While Sierra Club noted the indifference in attitude of issuers such Visa, MasterCard, JP Morgan-Chase, there is still a lot a consumer can do. First and foremost, stop applying for credit cards which you do not need. One less card in a market where each consumer holds an average of 3.5 cards makes a difference. You may also want to look out for cards with annual fee waiver for at least 5 years (the lifespan of a typical card), unless you are very sure that the waiver will be carried forward every year. Although not exactly measures that will prevent more plastics from being released into the pool of growing economies, these actions will at least help to minimize our carbon footprint and hopefully mitigate a climate crisis.

With the incoming wave of Near-Field Communication (NFC) technologies promising more convenience for credit payment with mobile phones and stickers, are we also seeing the end of these rectangular plastic cards? Then again, mobile phones also pose the problem of electronic trash as each model gets refreshed every 6 months to a year. The only solution then, is to limit our appetite of wants over needs.

[sovietmole]

National "NO JUNK MAIL" Database

If you hate junk mail just like me, say "aye!". Well, I believe no one likes having their mailbox - whether the online or a physical one - to be spammed with junk. Not only does it obstruct the view of the more important messages, the physical copies of such unwanted messages is also physically taxing on our environment. To make matters worst, advertisers are lured by the accessibility and affordability of these methods. Printing of the hard copy spam mails only gets cheaper when the quantity increases.

Besides the environmental damages resulting from the depletion of our forests, junk mail can also be a nuisance to our living environment. A recent post Facebook by opposition MP Pritam Singh, clearly shows the extent of the problem. In the post, he asked residents for their cooperation in keeping the estates clean - an issue which was also brought up by the Prime Minister- and posted photos of areas where he found trash lying around. Not surprisingly, the letter box area was filled with a sea of flyers. While the Housing Board has tried to alleviate the problem by installing locks to the flaps - only the postman has the key - and creating a boundary for the trash, Singpost's Admail did nothing to help. In fact, it made things simpler for advertisers by offering to send the junk mail for them, betraying the right of access given to the postman.

So instead of making things simpler for the advertisers, we should use every possible mean to discourage the printing of flyers. To start off, the Ministry of Information Communication and the Arts should implement a National "no junk mail" database. This, will alert advertisers of people who do not wish to receive advertisements in their mail, eliminating the redundancies of sending to people who would eventually dump the flyers. Registrants  will also be issued a sticker to be affixed on the mailbox to alert advertisers that they do not wish to receive any flyers.

As a "fine" city, it is without a doubt that such a policy will come with a fine for offenders. Offenders who flout the restrictions for more than 5 units a month will be liable for charges and fines. The goal is to eventually eliminate the use of printed flyers, saving our trees and keeping our neighborhoods clean. And just like the water conservation tax levied on excessive use of water, we could implement a "tree-conservation" tax. The amount to be varied in an incremental way, will help to reduce excessive printing, especially for promotional activities.

The proposals mentioned may not be easy to implement - no new policy is ever easy. Yet, it is an important step towards a cleaner and better environment for everyone.

[sovietmole]

Another day, another "Environment Day"

These days, the world seems to be circling around everything that's "Green". Pro-Environmentalism is "cool", be it with Hollywood actors or world politicians. Just take a look at Germany - the world's largest political party advocating environmental causes, the Green Party recently scored its most remarkable win in a state election over the democrats who have been holding on to power for almost 60 years.

This it seems is not enough for environmentalists around the world. It seems that environmentalists around the world have tried hard to designate at least a day every month as an "environment day". Just to name a few: there's Earth Day (April 22), Earth Hour (last Saturday of March), World Environment Day (June 5), etc. Not that such commemorative days aren't good, but surely environmentalists understand the meaning of "economies of scale"? By pushing for relatively similar messages through such campaigns seems like a waste of resources that could have been better spent. In fact, I did a search on the difference between Earth Day and World Environment Day (WED), found out that the main difference between both campaigns is simply the initiator. While WED is backed by the United Nations and has been around since 1972, the Earth Day kicked off in 1969 from the United States. Other than that, both campaigns share relatively the same objectives.

As an environmentalist myself, I am totally against replicating similar movements. Not only is it a waste of resources, it dilutes the message as the impact of each message starts to dwindle. However, this isn't what made me so pissed today. Lately, I developed a habit of collecting environmental related articles from newspapers for my scrap book, and while I was looking through the pages of a certain tabloid, an advertisement caught my eye. The advertisement by French hypermarket chain, Carrefour, was promoting "Go Green with Carrefour" on World Environment Day 2011. The event supported by local environmental big wigs, the National Environment Agency and Singapore Environmental Council promoted the use of reusable bags, rechargeable batteries and LED table lamps.

As perfect as the advertisement tries to be, it was a major disappointment in my opinion. Besides the promotion for the rechargeable batteries and LED table lamps, Carrefour also advertised the sale of 2 other products: Russet Potatoes from the USA, Danone Mineral Water. Ironically for the promotion that aims to bring environmental awareness to our shoppers, Carrefour didn't seem to realize that promoting bottled drinks ain't helping the environment at all. Furthermore, I wonder how environmentally conscious one can be if he/she chooses to eat potatoes that traveled half way around the world. Not only does this look bad on Carrefour, it also undermined the support given by the NEA and SEC.

I'm not sure whether I'm the only one who found these inappropriate, but I certainly do hope that Carrefour will review it's policy on such marketing efforts. As for the organizations which play a supportive role of such events, the time has probably come for more stringent checks on whether partners have tried to unfairly profit from each campaign, and possibly lead them towards the right direction. It is one to lend a good name in support of a good cause, but to allow a good "non-profit" name to be tarnished by profiteering intentions is simply not worth it.

[sovietmole]

How essential is facade lighting?

Japan's energy crisis gave us a number of lessons. It showed us how dependent we can be on energy, and especially so on the much hated nuclear energy. Environmentalists all over the world scream in chorus of the anti-nuke chants as Fukushima Daiichi laid in ruins. But more importantly, the destruction upon the city showed us how much energy we waste on beautifying our cityscapes. The colorful lights that run all over the signboards and buildings, the huge LED panels with music blaring in the background, the spotlights cast upon the magnificent towers  to make them seem even more impressive.

Some time ago, I had the opportunity to meet the permanent secretary of the National Climate Change Secretariat, an agency under the Prime Ministers' Office. While most participants of the dialog session were interested in how NCCS could help them to help the community, I was more interested in the policies  that would shape the future of our Green economy in the country. I wanted to know the stance that Singapore has on fighting climate change.

I fully agree that we should not let fighting change affect our competitiveness, in fact, I believe we should make it our competitive advantage. What bothers me more about the Kyoto Protocol and COP15 are the complicated formulas that nations have come up with to mitigate their unwillingness to adopt green policies. The figures circling around the "business-as-usual" operations only put the common folk into more confusion.

Big time international policies aside, I also wanted to find out what other motion has the government put forth to clear the puff around us. So at the end of the dialog session when the permanent secretary, Mr. Tan came over to my group and asked if we had any more questions, I jumped to the gun and asked, "Sir, I used to live in Buffalo where the responsibility of being sustainable didn't just lie in the hands of the people, but also that of the city council. Besides the policies and campaigns to be environmentally friendly, the city breathes sustainability. You don't get the light pollution we have here, and even street lights turn off in an alternate fashion, traffic lights go into the flashing amber mode, on roads where traffic is not as heavy. Will Singapore consider doing something similar?". He thought for a moment and replied that it is not possible for Singapore as a city to take similar measures, our buildings have to be lit, our streets have to be lit, and our traffic lights have to be lit. These lightings provide the night scene that we have, as well as safety and security of our streets. To that, I couldn't fully agree.

Yes it is important that we create a landscape that we can be proud of, but at what cost? Is it so important that as we brighten our streets for the Formula 1 race downtown, we have to further brighten the buildings in the vicinity for them to look good? Are the street and traffic lights being sufficiently utilized? The park behind my house used to operate on a schedule that shuts it off at 12 midnight and comes back on at 5.30am for about an hour or so. Few years after the park was built, the lights were changed to dimmer ones and started operating through the night. I believe the rationale for this move is to allow the park to be used through the night, but seriously, no one does. The dimmer lights were not bright enough to provide the security one will need while walking through the park past 12 midnight, and they are better off taking on the streets in front of my house (the row of houses separates the park and the street). So is this really essential? Aren't we saving to waste?

Similarly, Mr. Tan mentioned that it is impossible to turn off any traffic light in Singapore. I am sure most Singaporean drivers, especially those who have accustomed to 4-way stops can attest that this is not true. The only exit from my estate on to the main road is a perfect example. The main road outside the estate is one of the most used roads linking 2 towns, and during peak hours, traffic congestion on the main road is a norm. However, off peak traffic couldn't be more different. Even during the day, stretches of the road can be empty for 10-15 seconds, yet cars are kept waiting for 2 minutes for the lights to change, and I've seen on numerous occasions when drivers simply ignore the lights and move out.  Keep in mind that this is the only exit in a fairly large and growing estate with an average of 2-3 cars per household, yet the presence of traffic signals is of no importance at certain times of the day, what about the many under utilized junctions around the island?

Our government is known to introduce campaigns and policies to get the people working on an initiative, but it is high time that the government itself walk the talk. Plainly dismissing suggestions based on numbers from their statistical sheets will do no good. "Listen" has become the new buzzword in parliament, and let's hope it brings about the necessary changes to make Singapore a better place.