A few universities' commitment to the environment

UC Berkeley's Road to Zero Waste commitment

Some interesting tidbits from UC Davis' Zero Energy village

The two UCs (University of California) I visited, as you can see, are dedicated to helping the environment and implementing a variety of advertising/awareness techniques that allow everyone to understand their drive to reduce their carbon footprint. 

I also got a chance to talk to some professors at UC Davis and U of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Both are involved in research regarding the efficiency of water purification, and UC Davis has a project that aims to seal up cracks in whole houses using a nitrogen compressor, within one hour. The lab has actually sealed two real houses so far and hope to expand the project to do larger buildings in the future. I think this project is unique in the sense that it offers a very practical solution to energy efficiency - airtight homes mean that less energy can be spent on heating up a home because the warm air is retained. 

A picture of the lab: 

Stanford University's Y2E2 buildings is a tall and strong symbol of the university's commitment to sustainability. New buildings being  constructed are using Y2E2 as the standard, according to our tour guide. It uses 50% of the energy to run and only 10% of the potable water required for fixtures, in comparison to a typical building of its size, according to Stanford News. The energy efficient building is another asset to Stanford's environmentally conscious profile. 

To see more on Y2E2 and picture credit: http://news.stanford.edu/news/2008/march5/y2e2-sustain-030508.html


It's assuring to see so many universities commit to the grueling issues of today's world! Tertiary education is the stage where the somewhat insulated secondary school meets the reality of life and I think the fact that colleges are aiming to bridge the gap is powerful. Students are given the opportunities to glimpse into the solutions that we can implement in the future. 

Think green!

Environmental atrophy

Examples of products that waste resources and destroy the planet that I am seeing on a day to day basis here: 


Lawns. Almost all suburban (on a global scale) homes have front and back lawns. These take thousands of gallons of water to maintain, a clear waste of potable water. Even John Green agrees with me! He pictures a world with vegetable gardens instead of yards and imagines the prosperity that would come out of this. 

Krispy Kreme's styrofoam cups! Although you can't tell from the picture, this cup is made of styrofoam. Use paper cups Krispy Kreme! I urge consumers to not drink coffee and/or water if possible at Krispy Kreme - you're supporting sytrofoam cups! 

Climate change alerts

Floods are devastating the Indian state of Uttarkhand. This is a clear example of climate change. Unstable grounds, mass tourism, and torrential rains during the monsoon season are highlighted as the primary reasons for such a natural disaster. 

I keep thinking back on my time as a facilitator at the GIN conference for the Natural Disaster Prevention and Mitigation team when I read news reports claiming that the Indian government did not warn the local people about the possibility of floods. 

While June to September is usually the monsoon season in India, the heavy rain coupled with frequent landslides has culminated in losses of life and disaster. 

Prayers going out to Uttarkhand. 

The ultimate conclusion: We need to fight climate change.

Psi 400

A short post about Singapore's alarming pollution levels today.

The pollution standard index in Singapore has just reached 400, out of a maximum of 500. Over 300 is considered hazardous.

Taking a brief walk down the road is scary.

In California, on days when smog levels are above the EPA's federal healthy maximum, a program called Spare the Air is implemented. Air pollution activities are reduced to reduce the levels of pollution outdoors.

Such a program would be beneficial for Singapore at a time when the reading is above 400!

Hope everyone in Singapore is safe and healthy.

Green on the go - SFO Airport

As I travel around the US visiting colleges that I'll be applying to in the fall, I'll chronicle some of interesting environmental findings I come across - starting off with California. 

1. San Francisco, CA - airport

Ranked #1 by the Siemens Green City Index for its remarkable management of waste, carbon dioxide emissions, air and water quality, transport, land use, and building intelligence, San Francisco is well known for its policies enforcing sustainability. It's airport demonstrates the city's  environmentally focused programs. Terminal 2's bathrooms, Gold LEED certified, proudly inform visitors about the energy they are saving. 

The airport restrooms feature automatic faucets, toilets and Dyson airblade dryers! 

                     

399 > 350 ppm Carbon Dioxide

Just a few weeks after Earth Month, you might expect positive results from all the environmental efforts being done worldwide.

The opposite, however, has been reported from scientists of the Scripps Institution of Oceonography, from Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii. 

We are currently at 399 parts per million of carbon dioxide worldwide. 

400 ppm of carbon dioxide is an unprecedented measure of carbon dioxide and is a key indicator of the needed involvement of politicians as well as common citizens to help the situation. Carbon dioxide levels are rising exponentially and contributing significantly to global warming, as the gas amplifies the greenhouse gas effect. 

Fossil fuels can be identified as the top contributor to rising carbon dioxide levels and the group 350.org has been active for the past several years to influence policy makers to start acting on the issue. 350 parts per million of carbon dioxide is the appropriate healthy level for the world. 

Read more about 350.org on my blog here, or visit their website. Get involved; the near future calls for it. The governments of the world and society at large can't hold off such an issue much longer. 

Here's a graphic from the New York Times that puts everything into shocking perspective: 

In the wake of global carbon dioxide levels reaching 400 ppm, Global Issues Network at SAS is holding a 350.org movie event called Do The Math. Check to see if there are any viewings in your area: http://act.350.org/event/do_the_math_film/search/.

350 ppm - Do The Math! Let's do our part to help the environment. 

To learn more about rising carbon dioxide levels, visit http://rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/06/with-carbon-dioxide-approaching-a-new-high-scientists-sound-the-alarm/ and http://350.org/

The Sensory Trail

We tend to take the simplest things for granted; walking down stairs, enjoying the sight of trees blowing in the wind and the ease of ordering food at a counter are all actions we are familiar with on a daily basis. But for some people, these basic lifestyle needs are inaccessible, because of their lack of sight. 

On Saturday, April 20th, our school organized a "Sensory Trail" on the picturesque island of Pulua Ubin. The island, once used as a granite quarry, allows visitors to glimpse into life in Singapore and its rustic Kampongs as it was in the mid 20th century. Worn down shops and gravelly paths lead into a tropical rainforest that brings a refreshing break to the towering concrete jungle of the main island. 

Inaugural plaque, April 2000 

Since 1996, with dedicated biology teachers like Mr. Early, Ms. Toma, and Ms. Began - who tirelessly worked to create the Sensory Trail that exists today - SAS has partnered with National Parks and the Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped to bring the joy of nature to those who can't see it on their own. I lead a middle aged lady with 10% vision, who on first sight wouldn't even be considered visually handicapped. Initially, I assumed that she could see and was unsure about how much help I should provide, because it was not apparent that she was visually impaired. As she started groping the walls to walk on the even surface of the platform leading to the ferry, I realized that she did need my help after all. Her arm holding onto mine, we walked onto the ferry and through the verdant overgrowth of Ubin. She explained the numerous difficulties that she experiences on a regular basis, such as problems discerning the edge of a step, or working on the computer at her office (she's still an administrator for a company!), and profusely thanked me for helping her experience Singapore's nature as she had in her youth.
Walking with the visually handicapped on the Sensory Trail allowed me to take the nature in more slowly and through all of my senses, not just sight. We smelled the leaves, felt the bumps that covered the fruits in great detail, tasted the "toothache" plant's leaves, which made my mouth feel like it was back at the dentist getting braces again, and described the ripe, bright colored, half-eaten, seeded papayas that hung from the trees, ready to fall at the slightest breeze. 

It was an eye-opening experience - a sense of nature that still exists, tucked away from the shiny metal buildings of Singapore's city, coupled with the satisfaction of helping those who didn't have access to this kind of nature, made my Saturday before Earth Day complete. 

Her final goodbye is still with me: "There are so many good people in the world. Thank you."

Happy Earth Day!