Welcome to the blog Environmental Sustainability!


I have decided to blog up my portfolio entries instead of submitting in word document as I feel that blogging is a more interesting way of presenting and it also allows me to include pictures to spice up the portfolio.


Environmental sustainability do not stop after the module is over! This is continue to be a small space for me to pen down my thoughts and things I encounter with regards to sustainability.


Hope you'll enjoy reading the blog!

Reflection on Tutorial Four- Campus Sustainability

I feel that this is the best tutorial I have ever had for this module. I must say not solely because of Mrs. Segovia, but mainly due to the topic that is discussed during the tutorial. Each and every one of us is asked to do a quiz to check on our individual ecological footprint. This is the first time I am given the chance to understand how my lifestyle has an effect on the environment. My ecological footprint is 4.5. Food and transportation are the two largest contributor. A peer has brought up during the tutorial that the quiz is unfair to us as most of the food we eat are imported, thus resulting in such a high footprint from food. I agree to her saying as true enough, almost all the food I eat are imported, ranging from imported processed food to imported ingredients that are used for cooking. As such, my ecological footprint from food is relatively higher even though I have minimum meat consumption.


On the other hand, I feel that I should seriously look into the way I travel. Transportation is the largest contributor of my carbon footprint and I clearly know why is this the case. I am driven to school by my dad almost everyday. Even when I take public transportation on my way back, the amount of harmful gases produced from my dad’s car everyday is already unacceptable. Together with all the others who are driven to school and work (some even to and fore), the amount of harmful gases that are released into the environment is obvious. On top of the days I travel to school, I usually travel by a car when I go out during the weekends as well. However I do not drive. Therefore the vehicle I am in always has more than one person. Well this is the least I can say. I know it is time for me to change the way and mode of traveling.

Driver

Me!

 However, it is easy said than done. The morning traffic in Singapore is seriously unbearable. Even with the increased in frequency, every trains and buses are fully packed till the peak hours are over. It takes me more than twice the duration of a car when I travel to school via the usual public transportation route. The situation gets worse when I am formally dressed for occasion later in the day. I end up smelling weird and appearing slightly messy upon reaching school via public transportation at the beginning of the day. It can be quite frustrating.

 Crowded MRT

Furthermore, my dad not only fetches me but also my sister and brother. My brother’s school is along the way to NUS and my sister’s workplace is just nearby. As such, I feel that it is more efficient for me to take my dad’s car since he will has to drive pass NUS to reach my sister’s workplace.


I can definitely do my part to reduce my carbon footprint by taking public transport during the weekends. There is no need to rush to get to any important function and I am usually out for leisure purposes. Many people have said that environmental concern is of a less priority than studies and work. I am with them. I will not compromise my time spent on school related stuff but I can definitely give way for leisure and entertainment. 

 On the train!

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Reponses to ANU partner

 
Category Global Hectares:


Food 36%


Mobility 33%


Shelter 3%


Goods/Services 28%


Total 4.5


Number of Planets 2.5






The questions which you will be discussing in the tutorial are as follow:


1. What can you do to reduce your own ecological footprint?


2. What are some of the resource inputs and waste outputs of universities like the ANU and NUS and how do these contribute to their overall footprint?


3. List some innovative strategies that the educational institutions like the ANU and NUS are doing to reduce their overall ecological footprint. Do any of these strategies challenge social or institutional "norms"? (That is, change the way people behave or think?)


4. Devise 2 strategies that ANU or NUS could implement to reduce their footprint, and enhance sustainability. Who is responsible? Individuals changing their behaviour, the university changing the way it conducts business, or both? Why?






For your information, my footprint is 3.2. Most of it is spent on food and transportation. As a large portion of the food we eat in Singapore is imported due to the lack of space to grow our own food, it’s very hard to cut down on the amount of food I’m currently taking. I don’t eat a lot of meat but mostly imported processed food. So yea... Maybe what I can do to reduce my ecological footprint is to work on the transportation aspect. I’m driven around by my dad and boyfriend so this actually contributes a lot more carbon than to take the public transport. So I should really learn the appreciate Singapore’s government in developing and enhancing our transportation system such that it is rather convenient to travel around the state via public transport. By taking public transport, I believe it can seriously cut down on my footprint.


Alright going to question two. A few examples of the resource output and waste input will be the use of electricity, water, and of course largely papers and materials. You can definitely see long queues at the printing area in NUS libraries at any point of time during the school hours. People still prefers to hold on to the hardcopies as it’s more readily available for revision and referencing. In addition, NUS, that is considered a big campus uses a large amount of electricity, for obvious usage such as lights, air-conditioner, and other electrical appliances. As it is summer for Singapore all year long, it can be rather disturbing and uncomfortable to work in the warm and humid weather. Therefore the air-conditioner becomes a must to almost everyone. So I guess air-conditioning contributes the greatest to the overall usage of energy.


As such, it is important for NUS to look into useful strategies to reduce the overall ecological footprint to help preserve and protect our environment. Some of the more common seen ones are:


1. The use sensor in various parts of NUS, particularly in the toilets and tutorial rooms.


2. Amendments to the water tap in campus to a more efficient and water-saving one.


3. Increase in the number of recycle bins for papers, plastic, and cans across all buildings in campus.


4. The printing mode is set automatically to print on both sides of the paper. However, students can still change it to the alternative of single sided printing. Many students are still printing on single page for reports that have to be submitted.


All of the above are the more commonly seen ones. There may be other innovative strategies which are more complicated(involve more work, research and the use of advanced technologies) and not known to majority of the student population.


NUS has a Office of Environmental Sustainability that organise events to promote the importance of sustainability. We have a meatout Thursday where people are encouraged to cut down or totally do without meat in our diet for that day. I find it interesting as it is a fun and new approach to cut carbon footprint. But the sad thing is many students are not very responsive. The people who carry out the plan are only either the members of the organisation or a handful of interested parties. I will say almost all the students still follow their normal diet. I guess this is a significant problem with promoting environmental issue in NUS. NUS doesn’t put much emphasis on such events. It is very pragmatic. Most resources are directed to areas which will help the university to progress economically, which is also what the Singapore’s government is doing. Basically things and aspects that do not put food into the mouths of Singaporeans are seen as unnecessary and insignificant. So most of the environmental-related events and actions are highly voluntary. Even when NUS carries out the strategies as mentioned earlier, I believe it is also due to other reasons that do not serve the environmental purpose.


There is also this NUS Earth Hour coming up. In support of the WWF Earth Hour global initiative, participating faculties, offices and departments in NUS will switch off all lights, except emergency and street lights on 27 March 2009, Saturday, 8.30pm to 9.30pm. Beyond Earth Hour, the organisers would like to encourage all students and staff to take this opportunity to switch off all lights, air-conditioning, computers and other electrical devices whenever they are not in use.






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Responses from ANU partner

What can you do to reduce your own ecological footprint?



There are many things that can be done to reduce my ecological footprint. I read somewhere that there would need to be 13 earths to sustain the ecological foorprint of a person living in Bondi. Because we only have one earth, I think that individual responsibility is imperative. So what are some things that I can do?



- Eat locally: Coming from Sydney, where the opportunity is scarce, I find that it is possible to eat fresh fruit and veggies that have been locally grown. This saves carbon emissions normally used for the transportation of food.



- Reduce wastage: I try to turn off my appliances at the powerpoint. A lot of energy is wasted on phantom power. They also recently put a shower timer in the bathrooms of B&G, so from now on, I will be taking 3 minute showers. Little things such as printing on both sides of the paper, reading bricks online instead of printing, cycling to and from places.


Wastage can also be reduced through a reconsideration of how we consume material goods. Thousands of litres of water goes into producing unnecessary products. One way to avoid this is to buy things second hand- this is actually fun. You have to be a little bit creative when vintage shopping and that’s the part that actually makes it enjoyable.



When it comes to washing, I always dry my clothing on the line- clothes seem a lot cleaner and crisper if they’ve been on the line. My mum thinks I’m a particularly pedantic dish washer in that I am always turning the tap off when I washing up- I try to use as little water as possible.



- Recycling. There is a great little compost system called the Bokashi Bin system that basically decomposes food waste without the need for worms. It was designed so that people could use them in their apartments apparently. One of my teachers had one and I think they’re great- the nutrient ‘juice’ produced is fantastic for the garden. There’s also a great little paper recycling kit that can be used to create you own fancy papers. When it comes to food containers: I try to re-use them as much as possible: for storage, use at the food co-op etc.


- A couple of years ago I heard Tim Flannery speak and someone asked a question about carbon offsetting. Tim said that because he had to fly around the world quite often, carbon offsetting was one way to tackle this issue. However, Tim mentioned that instead of paying an extra $2 of something whenever he purchased a ticket, he tried to do things at home. Initiatives such as installing energy efficient appliances, starting up his own veggie garden, installing a solar energy system etc.


What are some of the resource inputs and waste outputs of universities like the ANU and NUS and how do these contribute to their overall footprint?


Lots of universities are now starting to recognize the importance of sustainability as a multidisciplinary initiative. For example, universities in South Carolina, USA are trying to integrate sustainable initiatives through teaching, research, community service and facilities management. They have created a network that links all the teaching faculties through conferences and various ongoing programs.



In terms of waste outputs, there has been a huge move to integrate recycling initiatives throughout many universities.



I think that a lot of these initiatives contribute to promoting the idea of sustainability and creating awareness and a need to change. In terms of contributing to an overall footprint, there are many more large-scale initiatives that need to be implemented. (changing sources of energy is one that springs to mind)



List some innovative strategies that the educational institutions like the ANU and NUS are doing to reduce their overall ecological footprint. Do any of these strategies challenge social or institutional “norms”? (That is, Change the way people behave or think?)

 CAL dining: UC Berkeley is changing the way that food is consumed on campus: Fruit and veg is sourced from local sources, they cook free-range eggs, take away containers are made out of recycled materials. There is also an ethical element to this: Workers are paid an award wage and the CAL dining community is promoting the concept of slow food cooking. (I like this concept of trying to cook without the use of ready made stuff in jars)


At the University of Copenhagen, a completely carbon neutral building has been built. It’s now the home of the faculty of science and is used a ‘world’s best practice’ model.


Oxford has taken a different approach to instigating alternate transport methods by reducing the number of car spaces available on campus. To counter this, they have a website that details a variety of alternatives. They are currently liaising with government bodies to implement more bike paths and other initiatives.



Devise 2 strategies that ANU or NUS could implement to reduce their footprint, and enhance sustainability. Who is responsible? Individuals changing their behaviour, the univerisity changing the way it conducts business, or both? Why?


Solar panels! Yesterday, today and tomorrow will all be sunny days. Canberra seems to get a lot of glorious sunshine so why not harness the power of the sun? It’s possible to use the roofs of many buildings to house the panels. I heard about one proposed plan where owners of the massive warehouses in Sydney could form a partnership with energy companies where the ‘lease’ the roof space of their buildings for the installation of solar panels. The warehouses then pay for the energy created by these panels. The proposal highlighted the fact that if all the roofs of the warehouses were used, enough energy would be created to meet the needs of all of the activities within the warehouse.


The university as a whole is responsible for sustainable living. It’s not just up to those who are doing this course, because that is never going to be enough. To do this, the university needs to highlight the importance of sustainable living to individuals. There needs to be greater recognition of the fact that the environment interacts with all human beings. (so, yes, a change of mentality is needed to spark more initiatives)


Another strategy to reduce footprints would be to reduce wastage. Many food outlets on campus use large amounts of plastic containers etc. A simple strategy would be to offer a discount on all food if people bring their own containers – or if universities were really harsh, there could be a blanket ban on all takeaway containers.

Reflection on Tutorial Three- Tragedy of the Commons

This is an interesting tutorial session. It is the first time we care given the opportunity to bring in external views and information provided by the students from The Australian University (ANU). The students from ANU share a same set of questions for tutorial and we can exchange ideas with them. However, there is a lack time in the administrative and students from both sides are not in time for discussion. 

Having said that, my fellow ANU partner is extremely helpful! I told him that I need to write a reflection for the tutorial and he provided me with whatever he could even when the destinated tutorial slot was already over. I am really thankful to have such a cooperative partner as I have heard from members in the class that some of them did not get a response from the ANU students. 

Looking at the things written by my partner, I get the idea that people in Australia take the nature environment highly as their commons. I may be generalizing but this is just a feeling a get from his responses. He takes the sea and parks as commons. 

The sea is a resource that is open for all to use, not only the general public but also to nations. It is a place where much of the food we eat comes from. On top of that, the sea provides people with an outlet for leisure and recreation.

 Sea sports

It is also a place that links countries together. Interesting enough, I have never thought of the sea as a commons. My responses are pretty internal. I use the corridors of HDB flats as an example. This may be something uncommon for the Australia but it is nothing special or significant to the locals. 

Furthermore, my partner is also very proud of the National Parks in Australia, as well as the Australians. In Australia, areas of natural bush land has been set aside as an area for everyone to enjoy. Famous examples include Kosciusko and Kakadu national parks. He mentioned that the cleanliness of the parks depends strongly on the visitors. Most people limit the amount of rubbish and are active in keeping the place clean. They are aware of the impacts of their actions on the environment, thus conscious in preserving the environment at least at a local scale. 

After looking at the responses made by my partner and that of the members in tutorial, I notice a difference between Singaporeans and Australians. Australians have high regards for the environment and are careful in their actions and awareness. They know that every little efforts count to affecting the beautiful place they are living in. On the other hand, Singaporeans lack the positive initiative to play a part in preserving the environment. Even the least like throwing a litter into the rubbish bin(which can be seen every few meters). For instance, there is a bin every three to five meters along the walkway next to Clementi MRT station and yet, litters can be seen. 

Isn’t this ironic that the government is spending so much to locate so many bins all around Singapore and at the same time spending to have cleaners clean up the city.

Reflection on Tutorial Two- Food Sustainability

Food, an essential part of daily lives is a source of energy for everyone. Other than water and air, food is another necessity that is undergoing serious threat as a result of our own disregards and exploitation. A daily minimum of slightly less than a thousand calories energy intake can sustain a human of average size quite comfortably. This is provided if the activities are not mostly intensive and physically demanding. It is appalling to know that some people in a few regions across the world are consuming twice or even three times the amount daily. Currently, the average American consumes almost 4000 calories every day and counting! It was 3770 calories according to the United Nations in 2003. On top of that, an average American requires at least an intake of 2000 calories to survive comfortable. I believe no American in the right state of mind will want to try a 1000 calories intake unless for conscious dieting.

Food consumed by an American family

This is indeed frightening isn’t it? I have to add on that most Americans do not work in sectors which require much of their physical contribution. Such jobs like construction and delivering are undertaken by foreigners (such as the case in Singapore). Even for semi- developed Singapore and developed Japan, people in this countries do not consume as much as what is being consumed in the West. So what exactly is the problem?

On a whole, the importance of sustainability is more successfully promoted in the west, especially in the North America continent. People binge on food and do not take into account of the consequences of their excessive eating behavior. Not only is excessive eating putting a strain on our Earth’s resources, this eating habit is damaging to the body and more resources will be required for medical treatments in the future as mentioned in reflection on lecture five. The Americans are fans of fast food. You can see fast food outlets everywhere in the cities. It is even more convenient and price saving to dine at fast food restaurants than those which provide specialty cooked food or cuisines. Perhaps it is unfair to make accusation that the Americans have no regards for the environment as seen from the way they eat. Some of them have spoken about the limited choice of their diet. To them, it is cheaper to dine at fast food restaurants. Given their hectic working lifestyles, it is often undesirable and inefficient to travel distances just to have healthy food. Furthermore, most people grow up in an environment with large servings of food and processed food so it is hard to kick the usual eating habit and go for the greener choice. Even more, the United States is a highly developed country and as such, minimum land is set aside of agriculture. This gives reason to why fruits and vegetables are expensive, thus processed packed food and fast food are more favorable.

As compared to he Whites in Australia, the people in Australia consume much lesser than the Americans. The average energy intake by the Australians is just slightly higher than that of the more developed countries in Asia. This is mainly due to the high awareness for environmental sustainability and concern for the environment in the Australians.

Urban farming in Australia

Later on in the reflection on tutorial three, you will see how the seriousness of how the Australians take upon the well-being of nature and environment. They make conscious effort in the consumption of resources, which also includes the amount of resources that are needed to produce food. Although not all Australians are as environmental friendly by controlling the amount of food intake, there are not many serious case of food exploitation from excessively eating and food binging as seen from the lower rates of food related diseases like heart attack and obesity.

Therefore, going back to the importance of promoting positive environmental awareness is what most states should do for a more sustainable environment. Be it for food, nature and other aspects of sustainability, adequate awareness and concern is the key to sustainability on the human side.

Reflection on Lecture Eleven- Environmental sustainability

I remember during the first lecture of the course, Professor Higgitt introduces to us on the concept of environmental sustainability. However, he focuses more on the learning aspects; emphasizing to us that the main aim of this course is to learn and gain things that will benefit us. The things we learn can be knowledge, greater awareness, time management, team work, presentation skill, and etc. The focus back then was not solely about trying hard to instill all of sustainability into us. I am glad to have Professor Higgitt and Professor Neo with us for this module as it is indeed an enriching learning processing more than the other modules I have taken or is taking. I find the teaching approach by the two friendly and caring professors more effective. Information is readily available for us but the true meaning and idea behind are disclosed gradually according to how much we are willing to learn. Information is just a surface tool to help enhanced our knowledge. Ultimately, it is up to the individuals on how much they are willing to take in and apply what they have learned in their daily lives.

It is interesting to finally unveil the topic of environmental sustainability in the last lecture. I feel that all in all, environmental sustainability is all about human beings. It all relies on humans and it is about the behavior, action, attitude, and compassion of the humans. What should be done, how much to do, and by what means to get things done. The above mentioned depends on people. As we go deeper, we will eventually understand that the term “environmental sustainability” is also a work and result of people. If people have not started to develop, there might be no need for environmental sustainability. Perhaps just sustainability is required. It is because of the ambition to develop and advance that result in the need for environmental sustainability. Throughout the module, I constantly relate people and people’s actions to the consequences on environment. I strongly believe that the negative outcome of a thing is not a result of a single entity but the interplay of various contributors over a period of time. For instance, the natural occurrence of greenhouse effect as mentioned in lecture eight will not do much harm to the environment. It is part of the nature process and nature will take charge and control over this natural emission of gases. 

 Natural occurrence of Greenhouse Effect

When there is an intrusion of human intervention, things go out of control and the initially natural process is made to become a main source of problem to the environment. Nature can no longer adjust itself to adapt to the overly polluted environment and is slowing regurgitating. 

From this module, I feel that I have not learned to do anything big or influential. Instead, I get an idea that it is more important for individuals to each play a small part in saving our earth. Many have argued that today’s society does not allow people to spare time and effort for the environment. Therefore, by doing small, people do not have an excuse as it will not create much distortion to our everyday lives. It can on the other hand bring more benefits even before we take notice of it. For example, start to travel by foot more according to individual level of comfortness and people will soon realize they are getting healthier than they used to. For myself, I have started to make conscious to write smaller to reduce paper consumption, frequent use of public transport, print 6 slides per page instead of 4 slides, eat lesser especially cut down on meat consumption and junk food, and many many more!!!

All in all, other than the additional information and knowledge on the environment and global issues, I learn to appreciate the precious place I am living in and learn to be less self centered. Perhaps, the word “learning” is not strong enough to reflect how I feel. A better phrase will be “self-realization”. I learn to prevent myself with coming up with smart excuses (like how Singapore’s government did). The principle of sustainable development by Singapore which is to achieve growth without sacrificing nature and the quality of the environment, thus ensuring their preservation for use by future generations has not been successful. There are still evidence of “nature” under threat in Singapore and not legally protected. Nature valorised according to its use and economic value. It seems to me that many people still have not understood the true need for environmental sustainability. Perhaps NUS should seriously consider making it compulsory for all students to fulfill at least one environmental module.

Reflection on Lecture Ten- Environmental awareness

Environmental awareness, the most important aspect of environmental sustainability. I have never identified anything which is the most important in sustainability so far in all the previous reflections. Promoting awareness and education are the most useful and essential in order to obtain a more sustainable approach to preserve our environment. From the beginning of this module, we have defined sustainability as the capacity to endure. In ecology terms, it is how biological systems remain diverse and productive over time. On the other hand for us humans, it is the potential for long-term maintenance of wellbeing, which in turn depends on the wellbeing of the natural world and the responsible use of natural resources. There is just so much the ecology can do to preserve the environment. As such, it is really up to the human beings to decide how and what they want to do. The actions will reflect whether we are considering, or are intending to consider for the environment. Afterall, what we do is going to affect the place we are living in, and ultimately ourselves.

In order for people to start out in their role of sustaining the environment, we must first understand the meaning and reason behind this action. We have to understand what exactly the place we are living in is and what is it going through. Is the environment getting better or is it deteriorating?  If people do not have an idea of the environment, how do we do what to do and how to go about doing it? Hence, environmental awareness is a need. We cannot begin with sustainability without first having awareness. Perhaps, this is what the world is lacking. The few people who are aware and have a good understanding of the current status of the environment focus largely on coming up with big projects to fight the problems with only their own efforts. These people might think that it takes indefinite amount of effort and time to educate and create awareness. This is a wrong conception. The act of sustainability by only a few groups of people will require even more monetary, physical, and mental efforts in the long run. It is draining and ineffective. On the other hand, when every individual is aware of their role in sustainability, everybody just needs to contribute a little and this will in fact bring significant results. The world has billions of people. The results of each and everyone contributing to sustainability should be obvious. But why are countries not education its people?

As mentioned in reflection six and seven, the world is too engross in development. Many countries adopt the pragmatic approach in managing its region. Anything that do not bring about immediate or almost immediate economic rewards are deem as unnecessary or something unimportant. Even when the leaders are aware of the benefits of those intangible aspects in the long run, most of them are still more concern of securing their political status. Other than the leaders, I can say that most people are mainly attracted to instant rewards and benefits.

It is only till recent years when hazards and destruction are obvious and frequent that people begin to grow concerns over environmental issues. Even so, many still do not know how to go about doing it. With political pressure, authorities of countries are somewhat “forced” to take on the responsibility in creating awareness regarding the environment; what is it and what are the problems it is facing. Singapore (which has always been rather supportive of pragmatism) is coming up with measure to notify its people about the importance of preservation. Symbolic institutions are given incentives to educate about geography. Shopping places are encouraged to be more energy efficient such as increasing the temperature of air-conditioners and using energy-savings electrical appliances. All the efforts to reduce carbon footprint first according to institutions and groups, and hopefully from here, it will encourage and promote the idea of sustainability to each and everyone in the region. Singapore is just one of the examples. Other high energy consumption countries are also stepping up to protect the environment. The major institutions in Australia are even doing better than that of Singapore in terms of promoting sustainability. The responses from there are more overwhelming as well. The government has invested more funds to encourage its people to participate in sustainability. Furthermore, students in University of California Santa Barbara are required to take modules relating to the environment.

It is very gratified to know that at least more people has begun to take actions, be it small or big to save our environment.

Update: I just went to search on facebook is happy to see a few environmental facebook groups like

"Support, Protect and Love Planet Earth. Join and Invite to show your support!"

and

"Save the Planet".

This goes to show an increasing awareness for the Earth and the environment. Hope to see more people joining such groups!

Reflection on Lecture Nine- Sustainable Cities

I will like to start off with a quote from Ms Goodall. According to her, “it’s our population growth that underlines just about every single one of the problems that we’ve inflicted on the planet.” I feel that it takes courage to make such a judgmental statement. Is it the majority of the growing population that is 
contributing the most to the environmental problems which we are facing today, or is just a minority of people from the rich cities? 

According to the figures that are flashed during the current lecture as well as in the previous lectures, China has the largest population in the world, follow by India.  Right now, India is now faced with a higher population growth rate than the world’s most populous country. On top of that, Mumbai city, the capital of the India state tops the list of cities with the highest population density. Other than that, the other populous countries include the United States (U.S.), Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan, and Japan, of which only three out of the ten most populous countries are developed countries. Surprisingly, the many populous developing countries are not those that are contributing the most to the ever worsening pollution and environmental problems across the world. The U.S. is said to be the biggest culprit of emitting harmful gases into the atmosphere, particularly carbon dioxide. Even though China is fast catching up to become the large contributor to the problem of global warming, it is unfair to make such an accusation as it has a higher population density than the U.S. and many of the developed countries.  This would mean that each person in China still contribute much lesser than one in the U.S. even if the amount of carbon dioxide omitted by China is the same as that of the US. Actually we can say that the U.S. produces more greenhouse gas emissions per person than any other country.

Another example will be the sub Saharan Africa region. Africa has a large population of a billion of people. It is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. Most of the people in Africa still live with less than $2.50 per day. The economic activities in the region are largely agricultural based with minimum development and industrialization. As a result, the total ecological carbon footprint of Africa is rather low and the entire region contributes insignificantly to the harmful gases as compared to the rest of the world, even with such a big population. Therefore I will like to raise the question is population really the main cause and concern to the many environmental problems that are existing today?  This is also what I’ve mentioned in the reflection for lecture two.

Looking at the major global cities in the world which include Tokyo New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Paris, these are all cities from the developed world. These are the richest per capital cities accompanied by a high degree of globalization, industrialization, political involvement, and consumerization. It is nevertheless places with high pollution too.

 Air pollution in city

The term consumerization may be an unfamiliar term in this module, but it is never one for many people in the developed places, including Singapore. Consumerization is the process in which products and services are embraced by society in general. This is very common in the people of the modern developed world. You can see from the ever-changing fashion trends and items. Technological devices are always being updated, improved, made faster and smaller to meet the changing taste and preferences of different groups of consumer. From here, it is quite obvious that much production has to take place to meet such an alternating and sophisticated demand.

 New devices

 Harmful gases from production

According to research, industry and transportation are the two main areas of development that are contributing to the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. 

There are approximately 600 million cars, passenger vans, SUVs and light trucks in the world today. Of those about 240 million are found in the United States. Looking at the large number of cars and commuting movement, high degree of production activities (be it within the developed regions or outsourced to other developing places) to meet the demand for goods and services in the developed world, as well as other aspects like constructing fine quality housings and facilities in the developed regions, it is quite obvious that these places are the main contributor to the harmful gases. The developed regions also include cities in the developing countries such as Bangkok and shanghai.

Hence, it is essential to look into the urban landscapes of the developed regions and examine what can be done to minimize the negative impacts from its activities. Sustainability is not about the denial of comfort and pleasure. Rather it is a challenge to think deeply about achieving a high quality of life over the long term. The important thing is to use the lands and resources efficiently such that its benefits and usefulness are maximized. It is not about exploiting the resources to cater to the impractical and overrated demand of a small group of people. Sustainability is also about striking a balance between the efficient usage of our Earth’s resources and achieving a high quality of life in the long run.

Reflection on Lecture Eight- Carbon Management

This week’s lecture has introduced more theoretical concepts of physical geography as compared to the previous lectures. This is required in order to have a more define understanding of the carbon cycle which is so closely and directly linked to the carbon management in any region. Why is there a need for carbon management? There is rising concern on the increasing amount of carbon emission in recent times. Not only is the value increasing rather rapidly, it is expected to increase in the next twenty years. This growing rate of carbon emission is posing threats to the environment we are living in. As mentioned in the previous lecture, climate change and global warming is damaging the Earth and universities are taking role in encouraging the public to start to protect the environment. One of the main causes to these problems is the large emission of greenhouse gases, with carbon dioxide top on the list. 

There is the greenhouse effect, follow by global warming. The natural greenhouse effect is caused by certain gases and clouds absorbing and re-emitting the infrared radiating from Earth's surface.

 Greenhouse Effect

Water vapour is the most important contributor to the greenhouse effect but human emissions of carbon dioxide are driving this climate change. Carbon dioxide constitutes a large portion of the total emission of greenhouse gases. It is still responsible for two-thirds of the additional warming caused by all the greenhouse gases emitted as a result of human activity. As such, it is quite obvious that people should be very careful in the amount of carbon dioxide they are emitting into the atmosphere due to their human activities such as economic production, commuting and the clearing of large area of green landscape. 

Other than the global measures as mentioned during the lecture, I feel that is more effective if everyone is to play a part in reducing their own carbon footprint. If everyone can reduce their footprints even just by a small extent, it can in fact reduce the total world carbon footprint by a large extent. Instead of investing and putting in so much effort and money into implementing large scale measure to cut carbon emission across the world, isn’t it much easier for everyone to cut meat consumption to one portion every two days, and to take the public transport instead of to drive more frequently? After all, many of the global measures that are carried out are for pragmatic reasons. There are limitations to what the environmentalists can do. In order for preservation measures to be successfully implemented, these people need financial and community support from the government and people. There has been debate going on which argues that the government and public play a part in dealing with environmental issues mainly for pragmatism and due to political pressures. As such, the results of the preservation measures will not turn out to be very effective and efficient. However, it is a different story when everyone is truly concern about the environment and wants to do something to protect the preserve the Earth.

Therefore, it is better to educate the public on the environmental problems the world is facing to make people understand their roles. Nations should also put more emphasis onto environment issues and create more awareness in the public to how beautiful the Earth they are living in is. Only when people are more familiar and have a closer interaction with the wonderful nature and environment then they will begin to appreciate the place they are living in. It’s futile to just impose tax on for instance petrol consumption and the purchasing of vehicles when people do not understand the intention and meaning behind the measure. Instead, people who can effort to pay may in turn exploit the resources and environment by using it inefficiently and being wasteful as they feel that the resources belong to them once they have paid for it.

Reflection on Lecture Seven- Greening Universities

Many universities around the world have put attention to various environmental issues. The most prominent one will be to go green and play a part in protecting our environment, as well as passing this message around to other communities. It is a very encouraging act. Young people from the universities will most probably become the top leaders or elites of a particular society. Even if most of them do not turn out to be leaders, these people are going to the ones to contribute significantly to the economy. The values and views of these young people are important as their perceptions will eventually shape the future society and environment. As such, it is wise to first begin an act in the universities and instill certain values and knowledge into the undergraduates. It will then be easier to encourage environmental preservation and awareness to the rest of the population. As learned from the lecture, universities are the nursery of tomorrow’s leader and educate most of the people who develop and manage society’s institutions. Therefore, the sector bears profound responsibilities to increase the awareness, knowledge, technologies and tools to create a sustainable and better future.

Economic growth and development are often the main concerns of people. Education and policies always revolve around the aim to achieve promising economic prospect and goals of economic development. Using Singapore as an example, the education system is yearned towards equipping students with a very well defined syllabus to support the technological and economic development of Singapore. Everyone has to start off with a compulsory six years primary education, comprising an initial four-year foundation stage and a two-year orientation stage from primary five to six. The core curriculum consists of English, the Mother Tongue and Mathematics. Science is included from primary three onwards. The curriculum also comprises of other supplementary subjects like Music, Art and Craft, and Physical Education. The core subjects are those that will come useful to equip people with the basic requirements to develop the manufacturing based economy. You do not see subjects retaining to education on environment all the way up to the pre-university education, not unless there is seriously abundance amount of time to spare. School will sometimes organize field trips outside the curriculum to green landscapes to expose students to the nature, but this is only optional during school vacation and when circumstances allow. Is it only when people enter the universities that they have the opportunities and freedom to take modules relating to environmental issues, as well as to expand their concern and interest on the environment by doing research and coming up with events and organization. Therefore, the universities are where many environmental self sufficient group, and conservation and preservation actions are initiated. 

Even when environmental activities and awareness are more active in the universities, many still keep an indifferent attitude towards protecting our Earth. I have seen plenty of people who have either ignored emails to gain support for environmental events, or are just simply not interested in playing a part to help make our environment a more sustainable one. The National University of Singapore (NUS) actually has many events to create awareness to preserve and love the environment more. A few examples are the Green Day, Tree-Planting Day, NUS Green Carnival, and some green movements by the NUS Second Life. However, how many students are interested and have participated in these events? The environment is just not yet one of the priorities of many people.

Reflection on Lecture Eight- Carbon Management

This week’s lecture has introduced more theoretical concepts of physical geography as compared to the previous lectures. This is required in order to have a more define understanding of the carbon cycle which is so closely and directly linked to the carbon management in any region. Why is there a need for carbon management? There is rising concern on the increasing amount of carbon emission in recent times. Not only is the value increasing rather rapidly, it is expected to increase in the next twenty years. This growing rate of carbon emission is posing threats to the environment we are living in. As mentioned in the previous lecture, climate change and global warming is damaging the Earth and universities are taking role in encouraging the public to start to protect the environment. One of the main causes to these problems is the large emission of greenhouse gases, with carbon dioxide top on the list.

There is the greenhouse effect, and then there is global warming. The greenhouse effect is caused by certain gases and clouds absorbing and re-emitting the infrared radiating from Earth's surface. Water vapour is the most important contributor to the greenhouse effect but human emissions of carbon dioxide are driving this climate change. Carbon dioxide constitutes a large portion of the total emission of greenhouse gases. It is still responsible for two-thirds of the additional warming caused by all the greenhouse gases emitted as a result of human activity. As such, it is quite obvious that people should be very careful in the amount of carbon dioxide they are emitting into the atmosphere due to their human activities such as economic production, commuting and the clearing of large area of green landscape. 

Other than the global measures as mentioned during the lecture, I feel that is more effective if everyone is to play a part in reducing their own carbon footprint. If everyone can reduce their footprints even just by a small extent, it can in fact reduce the total world carbon footprint by a large extent. Instead of investing and putting in so much effort and money into implementing large scale measure to cut carbon emission across the world, isn’t it much easier for everyone to cut meat consumption to one portion every two days, and to take the public transport instead of to drive more frequently? After all, many of the global measures that are carried out are for pragmatic reasons. There are limitations to what the environmentalists can do. In order for preservation measures to be successfully implemented, these people need financial and community support from the government and people. There has been debate going on which argues that the government and public play a part in dealing with environmental issues mainly for pragmatism and due to political pressures. As such, the results of the preservation measures will not turn out to be very effective and efficient. However, it is a different story when everyone is truly concern about the environment and wants to do something to protect the preserve the Earth.

Therefore, it is better to educate the public on the environmental problems the world is facing to make people understand their roles. Nations should also put more emphasis onto environment issues and create more awareness in the public to how beautiful the Earth they are living in is. Only when people are more familiar and have a closer interaction with the wonderful nature and environment then they will begin to appreciate the place they are living in. It’s futile to just impose tax on for instance petrol consumption and the purchasing of vehicles when people do not understand the intention and meaning behind the measure. Instead, people who can effort to pay may in turn exploit the resources and environment by using it inefficiently and being wasteful as they feel that the resources belong to them once they have paid for it.

Reflection on Lecture Six- Environmental Resources

Our environment is the basis of everything. It is the basis of life, activity, and development. First of all, the environment is the space where each and every one of us lives in. No one can survive without the environment. Then again, an environment without resources will mean nothing. No organism can live without the resources which the environment provides with; water, food, air, and minerals. All in all, the environment and everything retaining to it are so important to us. We basically obtain everything from the environment and thus, should treat it with much care and concern. Yet, many of us are not doing so until the precious environment sends out signs and signals that it is stressed out and it is time that we look at how much harm we have brought onto it. 

Resources are classified into two types, mainly the renewable and the non-renewable resources. Few examples for each category are water, air, trees for the former, and fuel, arable land, and most minerals for the latter. Renewable resources are those that cannot be depleted because its base can generate flows indefinitely. On the other hand, non-renewable resources will clearly be depleted at some point in time, regardless how slow or little we use them. As long as we do not stop using them, the non-renewable resources will run out one day. With this understanding of our environment’s resources, it is crucial that we use it carefully to our needs. The key word is “carefully”. Is it not that we should not use the resources but use it with much care and consideration. The resources, especially the non-renewable ones should be used to produce and provide the maximum benefits and contributions, and to the extent that most people can benefit from the usage. Even when it comes to using the renewable resources, there should also not be intentional wastage and exploitation. Why is exploitation and wastage necessary anyway? It is out of a plain selfish thinking that one owns the resources and should use it to the fullest such that others will be deprived of it? This is a scary thinking but true enough, many people across the world holds this thinking. Blessed people in countries with access to rich resources exploit the advantage and assume that they are the rightful owner of the resources that are found within the borders. While people in regions that lack resources are supposed live with their misfortunes. This kind of belief is not acceptable and desirable at all!

In the real life, everyone is fighting for resources. People who have access to it yearn for more while people who lack resources struggle to survive. This is a very true illustration for the usage of fuel. Fossil fuel is said to be the most useful non-renewable resource. Unless someone can come up with using another mineral to generate energy more efficiently and effectively, fossil fuel will remain as the most essential and valuable limited resource to everyone. So why does fossil fuel, especially oil, stays as a strong demand amongst the world nearly seven billion people, and underpins the economy in every aspect? It is the most obtainable resource which can produce the most amount of energy as compared to how other resources like wind and gas do. About ten calories of fossil fuel can produce one calorie of food we eat. On the other hand, wind and water power use up to ten times more energy to produce the same amount of food as fossil fuel does.

 Watermill

Hence, it is more convenient and less time consuming to use fossil fuel for energy required for almost all forms of activities. Everything in the economy needs oil to operate. Transport, industry, and food all require oil in order to function. Therefore, it is no surprise that every country want to have abundance access to oil as this will mean profits and progress. This has then resulted in the rapid depletion of fossil fuel. With a greater world population and eagerness to develop, the consumption of fossil fuel since the last century is enormous, so much that our environment cannot continue to support at the current rate. Even the so called renewable resources are facing threats from the way we are using it. Sea water is highly polluted with human intervention. Trees are being cut down at a frightening rate that is above the replacement rate. It takes twenty years for a tree to mature. Yet people are chopping down trees much faster than planting can replace the hectares of trees lost. Are we not the scary and selfish creatures which pay no regards to the environment at all?