Homeless, Unemployed and Yet Mocked by Judge

I just came across this article in the Straits Times, “Jailed for living in illegal tent”

“Homeless and unemployed, Noor Mohammad Yassin Ismail pitched a canvas tent at East Coast Park in May, 2007, and lived there for almost a month – without a lease or licence to do so. He was discovered on June 26 of that year, after he was apprehended by park rangers.

In court on Tuesday, Noor was asked to produce his Identity Card or passport but he said that he had lost both items.

It prompted District Judge Mr Shaiffudin Saruwan to retort in jest: ‘I suggest you use a bicycle chain to tie yourself to a tree or you may lose yourself as well.’

Pleading for leniency, Noor, who is tanned and skinny, said that he seldom ate, only doing so if friends gave him food. He added that his mother is paralysed and looked after by a younger sibling, while an elder sister does not care about him. He was fined $800 but could not afford to pay the fine so he was jailed four days instead. He could have been fined up to $2,000.”

This is unequivocally ridiculous. The callousness of the Judge Sharuwan is appalling on many levels. Though Mr. Noor might have been careless or irresponsibility with regards to his Identity Card and passport, I understand why he could not get it replaced. The replacement of the first loss of an IC costs $100, while subsequent misplacements cost $300 to replace, as set by the Immigration Checkpoints Authority.

A homeless, unemployed, penniless man straggling through life, relying on sustenance from occasional food donations from friends. I hardly find his situation deserving of the judge’s indifferent, un-compassionate mock.

Land Reclamation Ruined Sentosa Reef

Photo Credit: Ria Tan

A really saddening photo. I’m sure many Singaporeans don’t even know of this offshore reef off Sentosa. It is surely much more diverse and much more dense than the more publicly known Chek Jawa on Ubin.

Talk on LHC @ NUS

 

 

Speaker: Prof. Bruno Mansoulie (CERN)

Date: Tuesday, 9th December 2008

Venue: NUS Faculty of Science, LT27

Time: 1800 hours

Do come early. The turnout is expected to be enormous

UPDATE:

Sorry, but the talk has been cancelled due to the speaker not being able to come to Singapore on that day

The Gardens’ Talk Series (Dec 08) – Adventures in Collecting & Studying Beautiful Rhododendrons in South-East Asia

Singapore’s First “Clean Coal” Power Plant to be Built

TUAS Power, the third-largest power generator here, plans to build a $2 billion steam and electricity production plant.

It will be the first plant here to run on clean coal and biomass, ensuring the efficient and non-polluting use of coal to power industries on Jurong Island.

Given the nod by the National Environment Agency, construction of the Tembusu Multi-Utilities Complex will start soon, Tuas Power said yesterday.

The company believes if the plant proves successful, it could pave the way for greater use here of clean coal combined with other fuel sources.

Hastening this change: soaring global oil and gas prices.

Tuas Power said the new complex will start operating in 2011, to supply steam, chilled water and electricity, and treat industrial waste for up to 10 petrochemical companies on Jurong Island.

The plant will be powered by 80 per cent low-ash, low-sulphur coal and 20 per cent biomass, which is waste woodchips and palm kernel shells. Coal is the world’s most abundant fuel but is controversial for its high carbon emissions.

Tuas Power plans to keep emission levels down with the latest biomass and clean coal boiler technology from Japan. Biomass is a renewable, zero-emissions energy source.

‘Overall, we are able to produce one unit of energy at a more competitive cost,’ said Tuas Power president and CEO Lim Kong Puay.

It will translate into cost savings of about 10 per cent of a factory’s utilities bill compared to energy generated by a gas-fired plant, he told The Straits Times.

With the plant, clean coal will contribute 15 per cent to Tuas Power’s revenue by 2012. It is now wholly reliant on gas.

‘The approach we are taking is to incorporate very efficient energy processes and renewable biomass to minimise the impact on the environment,’ said Mr Lim.

Its diversification into other fuel sources was welcomed by the Energy Market Authority (EMA), which said in a statement yesterday the move would ’serve as a hedge against rising oil prices’.

Currently, about 80 per cent of Singapore’s electricity is generated from natural gas, the cleanest available fossil fuel, and the rest from oil.

However, the EMA stressed the Government is not about to allow the use of coal for power generation ’solely or on a large scale’ any time soon.

This stems from its decision two years ago to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) and build an LNG terminal, to diversify Singapore’s sources of natural gas.

‘We will not allow any entry of coal to adversely affect and jeopardise the viability of the LNG project,’ it said.

Apart from moving into new fuel sources, Tuas Power is the first of the big three power-generating companies (gencos) to offer utilities beyond just electricity. These multi-utilities would include steam or chilled water power.

Tuas Power is expanding beyond its core business of electricity production after being acquired earlier this year by China Huaneng, China’s largest coal-fuelled power producer.

Last week, the Singapore genco won a contract to supply multi-utilities to Finnish company Neste Oil Corp’s $1.2 billion plant which produces renewable diesel.

Mr Lim believes his company has the ‘core skills’ to go into multi-utilities as ‘the production of electricity involves the production of steam as well as very high-grade water for boilers’.

The integrated supply of different utilities to clients is expected to contribute about 30 per cent of Tuas Power’s total revenue by 2012.

 

Green features

# No exposure of coal to the environment: Coal from neighbouring countries is transported in covered barges, unloaded through fully enclosed conveyors and stored in covered silos.

# Biomass clean coal boilers: This technology allows combustion to take place at lower temperatures, keeping emissions to a minimum.

# Total carbon emissions are around 400g per kilowatt of power, which is lower than the 700g per kilowatt emitted by an oil-fired power plant.

# Filters have been installed to ensure particulate matter emitted meets National Environment Agency requirements. Ash generated will be reused in the plant.

# High-energy efficiency: 70 per cent of energy fed into the plant can be turned into useful energy in the form of steam and electricity. This is comparable to the 40 to 50 per cent efficiency of steam or gas-fired power plants. 

Source:

“Tuas Power to build $2b ‘clean’ plant”, The Straits Times, Clarissa Oon (clare@sph.com.sg), 26th Sept 2008

Greener fuel for Jurong Island
 

 

High oil prices are pushing Singapore power suppliers to embrace more efficient energy generation technologies, in order to help industries cut costs.

Tuas Power, for one, is investing $2 billion to build a state-of-the-art complex on Jurong Island featuring three different plants, which will provide cogeneration, desalination and waste water treatment to corporate clients located there.

The Tembusu Multi-Utilities Complex will be the first such facility in Singapore to use biomass and clean coal technology.

The biomass burnt will be comprise mostly waste woodchips and palm kernel shells, which will be sourced both locally and from neighbouring countries.

Tuas Power said this will make energy cheaper by as much as 10 per cent for petrochemical firms on Jurong Island.

Mr Lim Kong Puay, chief executive of Tuas Power, said: “The efficient use of the cogeneration technology coupled with biomass and clean coalallows us to achieve savings, and this saving will be passed on to our industrial consumers.”

The new technology uses 20 per cent biomass and 80 per cent coal to produce steam and electricity.

As a result, system efficiency can reach as high as 70 per cent, 30 per cent more than an oil-powered plant.

Some residual energy will also be produced, half of which will be channelled back into the plant for internal consumption, while the rest will be exported to the national grid.

It is also expected to reduce carbon emissions by roughly20 per cent compared to a coal-fired plant.

Mr Lim said: “By providing centralised multi-utility services, we are able to offer competitive solutions, and this provides an attraction for investors to Jurong Island.”

Construction for the complex will start next year and it is expected to start operations by 2011.

Currently, Tuas Power has a market share of 24 per cent of the power generation market in Singapore.

Source:

“Greener fuel for Jurong Island”, Today Online, 26th Sept 2008

Singapore: Student Protest Earns Temporary Reprieve for Banyan

(Photo Credit: Mr. Hepe on flickr. Tree in photo not the particular one below-mentioned)

by Sheralyn Tay for Mediacorp News, Singapore

sheralyn@mediacorp.com.sg

THE old banyan tree has sheltered hundreds of students under its green
canopy for years.

So when student Dani Guy, 15, learned it was to be felled yesterday to
make way for a new building at the Tanglin Trust School, she was
“extremely” upset. Today understands that staff found out only on
Wednesday that the tree was to be cut down the following day. The students
were not informed.

Dani, a student for 12 years at the school, said: “The school has been on
the site (at Portsdown Road) for 30 years, and the tree had been there
long before then … it could be 100 years old. It’s been very significant
in the school’s history and there are a lot of memories associated with
it.”

She spoke yesterday to headmaster and CEO Steven Andrews before class
started, showing him old yearbook photos “to make sure he could appreciate
the history the tree has”.

By mid-morning, news of the tree’s fate had spread. “Some of us went down
to the tree (now surrounded by a fence due to upgrading works) … we just
stood and sat in front of the tree throughout morning break,” said Dani.
Their silent protest has brought only a brief reprieve: Plans have been
postponed just a week.

“One of the people from management said it was inevitable,” said Dani.

In a statement yesterday evening, the school said necessary expansion
meant “tough decisions” had to be made and all alternatives had been
examined. “The school is actively seeking expert advice on how to save
part of the tree with a view to relocating it on the campus,” it read.

The school, which has promised “compensatory planting”, is also
considering ways for students, staff and parents to “mark the rite of
passage” of the tree, recognised as “a symbol of Tanglin’s history”.

It is not enough to satisfy Dani: “I don’t think you can plant anything
that can make up for this tree. It was what they told us today to make up
for it; I think it was in response to our actions. But it does not excuse
the fact they did not tell us about the news beforehand.”

Here’s another article on the same issue:

Tanglin Trust school says tree needs to be cut for new building. Students protest: Tree part of our history. It may look like just an ordinary old tree to some.

by Veena Bharwani for the Electric New Paper on 5th July 2008

IT may look like just an ordinary old tree to some.

But to Tanglin Trust School student Danielle Guy, 15, the three-storey tall Ficus microcarpa (banyan) tree with its buttress roots, is a part of the school’s history.

So when she heard that it is being cut down, she along with more than 30 others and several staff members of the international school, stood in front of the tree yesterday at lunch time to stage a silent protest.

The tree, which has a 30m wide trunk, has been at the school’s Portsdown Road premises for more than 20 years.

It is located behind the school campus.

The school management told The New Paper that they had decided to fell the tree because the area around it is being used to extend part of the school building to accommodate more students.

Currently, the school has 2,250 students and is looking to increase its enrolment to 3,000 by 2012.

The management consulted NParks before deciding to fell the tree. It will be cut down in due course.

However, Danielle and the others felt that cutting down the tree is like chopping away part of the school’s history.

She said: ‘I’ve been in this school for 12 years, ever since I was 3 years old and the tree has been there.

‘When I was 7, I used to swing by the tree’s long vines and have even collected insects around it for science experiments.’

‘The tree is the school,’ she added.

Upon hearing from a staff member on Wednesday that the tree will be cut down, Danielle decided to gather evidence to try and save it.

‘I only heard about it at 6pm on Wednesday. I looked through 15 old school magazines to gather information on how important the tree is to the school.

‘I found a school prospectus that had the tree’s picture on its cover and as the background of its every page.’

Her father Graeme Guy, 55, a biochemist, added: ‘I asked her if she was prepared to do this alone and she said ‘yes’, as she felt very strongly about it.’

Armed with evidence and arguments, Danielle met the headmaster yesterday morning to present her case.

She said: ‘I told him that as one of the older students in the school, it was my responsibility to try and prevent it from happening as it was a big part of the school’s history.

‘As part of the school curriculum, we learn about environmental conservation and we feel that the management is sending mixed signals to us by deciding to cut down the tree.’

Danielle, however, didn’t succeed in her appeal. The headmaster told her that the tree has to go.

She said: ‘I came out of the office crying and I told my classmates about it. They said why not stand in front of the tree to show our support for it.’

Within two hours, the entire school was buzzing with the news of the tree’s fate.

Some students had even made a poster to rally support for the tree to stay, she said.

Danielle’s classmate, who declined to be named, said: ‘We wanted to express our feelings about the decision to cut the tree down.’

In a staff briefing yesterday, the CEO of Tanglin Trust School, Mr Steven Andrews, explained that the decision to remove the tree was not something that was taken lightly and was only considered after all possible alternatives had been examined.

In an e-mail response to The New Paper yesterday, a school spokesman explained that demand for places at the school has grown significantly over the past few years, with waiting lists for places across the board.

The latest expansion – a new five-storey building – is designed to enable all students who are currently studying in the schools’ junior level (7 to 11 years) to enter the senior school and continue their studies up through to the Sixth Form (16 to 18 years).

And in consultation with NParks, the management decided to remove the tree to make way for the expansion.

However, the spokesman added that the school is ‘actively seeking expert advice on how to save part of the tree with a view to relocating it on the campus’.

My Input:

A very sad story, with likely no happy ending. It is heart-warming that the students do care for their culture, heritage, history of their school, and for their memories. It seems there’s reason for hope in some of Singapore’s youths.

Brother Announces First Island-Wide Recycling Campaign In Conjunction with World Environment Day

 

Consumers can soon return used Brother Ink Cartridges via SingPost for recycling

Brother International Singapore, today reiterated its commitment to going green with the introduction of a new programme to facilitate the return and recycling of used Brother ink cartridges island-wide. In conjunction with World Environment, this first-of-its-kind initiative allows Brother’s customers to conveniently return their used ink cartridges via SingPost mailboxes, over a business reply service.

Developed with customers’ ease-of-use in mind, they can simply collect customised envelopes from selected Brother authorised resellers across the island, as well as Brother Customer Service Centre, from 23 June 2008 onwards. The envelopes are Reply Paid, and can also be mailed to the customers upon request to the Customer Service department or on Brother’s website (www.brother.com.sg/recycling).

The packages can then be dropped off at any SingPost mailbox island-wide. Not only will this provide environmentally conscious customers with greater convenience in returning their used ink cartridges, Brother hopes that the move will encourage other customers to adopt the same habit as well.

In line with the theme of conservation, Brother encourages customers to consolidate a maximum of four ink cartridges per package before mailing them back.

“The recycling of ink cartridges via SingPost mail service is the first-of-its-kind initiative amongst printer manufacturers in Singapore and we are very excited to be the pioneers. We are always looking for ways to encourage our customers to do their bit for the environment and given the convenience this programme offers, we hope to encourage more customers to jump on the recycling bandwagon,” said Takeo Shimazu, Managing Director, Brother International Singapore. 

Said Howard Shaw, Executive Director, Singapore Environment Council, “This recycling initiative by Brother is a perfect example of good product stewardship and demonstrates how manufacturers can take on an active role in making environmental protection an integral part of the product life cycle, from the design stage right to disposal. I applaud Brother’s efforts and encourage more companies to follow suit.”

This new programme follows the launch of the Brother Green Project last month, which aims to provide customers with an easy and convenient way of disposing used Brother consumables in a socially and environmentally responsible way.

As part of the initiative, collection points have been set up at Brother’s Customer Service Centre at #01-01 Gateway East for consumers to dispose of their used ink, toners and drum cartridges which will then be recycled. Collection points have also been created at selected authorised resellers’ outlets including Brother’s Concept Store at #04-K1 Funan, DigitalLife Mall, as well as at Skylet at #04-54/55/56 Sim Lim Square. In addition, Brother International Singapore also runs a programme for its corporate customers where used toners and drums for recycling are collected regularly from corporate customers’ offices.

To further encourage the recycling of consumables, Brother will also be running marketing programmes where consumers can stand the chance to win prizes. Details of these programmes will be posted on Brother’s website (www.brother.com.sg/recycling ) on 23 June 2008.

Source:

Hardware Zone Latest Annoucements

 

Green Media Outreach: An Analysis

 

That explains why the Channel NewsAsia logo at the bottom left of your TV screen takes on a green hue.

Logos on the other TV channels, as well as the mastheads for TODAY, 8 Days and i-weekly, have also adopted the same colour change. Channel NewsAsia presenters, too, are donning green. 

All these as MediaCorp launched its second ‘Saving Gaia’ initiative on Thursday. 

Various programmes and activities have been planned, with environment awareness in mind. These include the Gaia Life Challenge to be held at Bugis Junction from 21-24 June. Details are available at www.savinggaia.sg. 

While online, you can pledge your commitment to the environment. 

On air, advertisements will take on a strong public service message highlighting issues such as global warming, pollution and the depletion of natural resources. 

Arts Central will feature environment-related programmes. 

And, the “Saving Gaia” documentary returns for a second season on Channel NewsAsia. 

At the same time, MediaCorp’s radio stations will feature special segments and music carrying the green theme. 

The green issue will also take centrestage in MediaCorp publications like Style: Living, 8 Days and i-weekly. 

 

Source:

MediaCorp goes green in support of World Environment Day, Latest News, Channel News Asia Online, 5th June 2008

My Comments:

Its an extremely good start. Media social and environmental responsibility is probably the best conduit for public awareness as opposed to more group level talks, tours, speeches etc. But both must work in concert, if any meaningful impact were to occur. Media is always constrained by the lack of air time, other agendas, goals etc. Hence, more personal, group level educating is necessary to push understanding, maturity of ideas, informed opinion to a further level. This is obviously an oversimplification of issues, but it is a mere example of the different roles, not necessarily mutually exclusive ones at that, that the two general forms of outreach can take.

On a second note, media outreach has another kind of sociological effect. For one thing, environmentalism, or at least “Greenism”, wouldn’t be as compelling or appealing if there isn’t some kind of societal pressure to adopt these lifestyle and mindset changes. For example, a certain hotel (the exact details elude me) performed a certain experiment within its own establishment. At first, they had messages on water conservation put up in the toilets of all their rooms. The reasons, they gave, for water wastage were on how harmful its impact was on the local environment. There weren’t any statistics; it was a simple straightforward statement.

Expectedly, there was hardly any change to water consumption. So, they chose to try out a different approach. Instead of simply stating the negative impacts of water wastage, they put up a statistic that 70% of the other guests on average were also doing so. 

This time, they got results.

My point, as you might have surmised, is that sometimes, people simply do things because others are doing so too, like some sort of conformity in mindsets. Like an equilibrating social standard, which encompasses moral issues, social responsibilities etc.

Now applying this back to Mediacorp’s initiatives. It could be perceived by the general public that such changes in programming, could be due to a change in societal perspectives, from the majority of the “others”. And viola, a runaway effect of a gradually greening zeitgeist is born. It will be slow, but it will eventually happen. It could also be due to a similar form of influence or pressure from other the Green Zeitgeist in other countries, where such issues have grown to become a significant consideration in lifestyle, politics, industry, consumerism etc, that Mediacorp may have chosen to ride to boost viewership or improve its reputation. The results are arguable. And I suppose only Mediacorp will have the results on viewership.

Of course, things aren’t nearly so simple. So let’s continue with our Green ways, or start on it (for new Green Peeps), and watch the whole “Green Zeitgeist ” unfold.