im glad April's sailings have come to an end! But now alot of aftermath needs to be attended to. But it's really ok.
`
and i got a little surprise today. i actually won Elva's 1087 album from The Sunday Times contest. And luckily my mum recognised the 'warner music' logo, and so took the initiative to open the letter, and collected the cd while i was sailing! If not i could have missed out on the collection deadline..
`
and i received cousin's gifts she brought back from taiwan! thanks alot!
`
and i also went to check out 2 other new SHE singles from their upcoming PLAY album.. both quite nice..
`
right, i guess that's all for now..
人生是黑白的.
11:04 PM <3
>>>
It's Earth Day.
But honestly speaking, I don't see much significance. As in, what are we commemorating? Look, the prevalence of global warming caused by mankind and their nonchalance all these while, despite consistent stern warnings by environmentalists and scientists, doesn't convince me that humans will take a major step forward to contribute to 'greenify' the Earth.
Furthermore, what's the significance of just one day right?
What the countries of the world are lacking, is really, education. And of course, the support of their government.
I'm rather relieved that Singapore is finally following the footsteps of many other countries, to raise awareness in the usage of plastic bags. After all, the Singaporean per capita usage of plastic bags is one of the highest in the world. So, the one-day-per-month 'bring your own bag' campaign has actually come quite late. But, at least some effort has been put in. But if we really want to compare to the 100% charging of plastic bags elsewhere in the world, what Singapore is doing now, is merely peanuts, and we are really miles away from seeing results.
What i hope to see, is a faster pace in pushing for greater awareness. Currently, there's only ONE day in a month when people are encouraged to bring their own bags. And the fact that, plastic bags are still issued FREE on that day, doesn't really seem to be helpful. Furthermore, not all merchandises are part of this move. So, i really hope that not too long after, we'll be able to see progress like one-day-per-week, then gradually moving on to a habitual daily 'innate' nature of people to bring their own bags. Perhaps very soon, each plastic bag issued should really be tagged with an additional cost price. This, from an economics view, is the "social cost" that has to be incorporated to account for the 'undesirables' to the environment.
Actually, i'd also want to comment on how inflexible some government buildings are, with regards to the setting of thermostat temperatures for air-con systems. There has been TOO MANY occasions when im in a very cold room, with everyone inside donning jackets and sweaters. I find this scene particularly silly. Since everyone IS shivering cold, why can't they just adjust the thermostat? It is a fact that each degree celsius rise in thermostat temperatures can yield great savings in electricity bills, so why don't they want to cut down such expenses? And environmentally speaking, it is a greener move!
Someone had wrote in to ST forum about this issue before, and he had noticed that during parliamentary sittings, the members of the House were all in jackets and suits, to protect themselves from the cold. WHy? It's because the temperatures have been set to a level that isn't proven to be comforting. Many offices and buildings have put their temperatures at 15 to 20 degrees celsius, which are unnecessarily cold. Studies have shown that 24 to 25 deg C should be the optimum ideal temperature. Raise that few deg C and save our environment!
ANd there's this practice that buildings use--a centralised air-con system. So the entire building's air-con is switched on throughout (correct me if im wrong), even in unused rooms. I knew about it a few months ago, in my squadron building. I was asked to book a room for a lecture. I went on to open the room, and found that all the lights were switched off, BUT the air-con was left to run. I tried to find the air-con switch, but there wasn't any. That's because the centralised system controls ALL the rooms. I thought this was really a massive waste of electricity. Does having a centralised system make it more economical? I can't be sure, but judging that if individual rooms can have their air-cons switched off when not in use, wouldn't that help to save both electricity and money?
Well, i guess enough said for today. There's actually more to comment on, especially with what i've been seeing around my workplace (the navy). Those people there lack the education--the awareness. And most of them just can't be bothered.
If civil servants themselves do not set the right example, I wouldn't have the faith that our country can eventually move in the right direction in protecting the environmrent.
Happy Earth Day.
人生是黑白的.
8:59 PM <3
>>>
