From Core77:

(click on it for a blow up)

Yes, it’s election fever in Singapore, and if you’re like me, you’ve probably been semi obsessively glued to the #sgelections twitter feed. So far, it’s been extremely exciting, but I got even more excited when I came across The Workers Party Manifesto’s Sustainable Development Portion (on pg 55).

Honestly, when I was told about it (thanks mel!), I didn’t really think it’d amount to much. I was expecting some “masak masak” stuff, but as it turns out, this is the real deal: Almost every facet of sustainability is mentioned here, from Biodiversity, Recycling, Renewable Energy, CSR, Food Supply, Green Vehicles to even Noise Pollution.

It’s effectively a wish list for the green minded Singaporean!

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OK. Enough chatter from me, here’s a cut and paste from the manifesto, enjoy.

(I hope The Workers Party doesn’t mind, and don’t mind the formatting errors)

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SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Preamble

The scarcity of land and resources in Singapore makes sustainability a top priority.While economic development is important, it should not overshadow the importanceof environmental sustainability. A sustainable environment is essential to economic growth. Singapore’s economic development has taken a toll on our natural resources andcreated pollutants in our environment in the process. We are rapidly losing our natural heritage as a result of urbanization and rapid development.While we are mindful of the scarcity of land in Singapore for housing and economicdevelopment, we must balance the needs of urban development and preservingnature.Ecological awareness to protect and preserve our biodiversity is low in Singapore.Recycling is not yet a way of life in Singapore. Increasing recycling rates is key in extending the lifespan of our landfills.

Noise pollution is often a problem in Singapore. We should be mindful to ensure a‘civic and gracious’ social environment.Climate change is a reality, and extreme changes in the weather can be expected infuture. We should be ready to react to sudden changes in the environment.Most of Singapore’s food today is imported. There is little certainty that food suppliescan be sustained through prolonged periods of emergency.

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Our Beliefs

1. We should encourage research and implementation of the use of sustainable energy and related products.

2. Commercial users should be incentivised to conserve energy and water.

3. Corporations should be encouraged to exercise corporate social responsibilityto protect the environment.

4. A rich ecosystem is necessary for a quality environment, and it is theresponsibility of the government and our people to protect our natural heritage.

5. The government must educate and encourage greater awareness of indigenous flora and fauna, as well as marine life.

6. Natural habitats like the marshland habitats, mangrove swamps and coral reefs,marine animals and wild birds must be protected for our future generations.

7. A clean and healthy environment is also essential to ensure the physical wellbeing of our people. We need to do more to motivate every individual to takeup environmental ownership and to care for the environment as a way of life.

8. The culture of recycling should be imbued from young.

9. There should be a more holistic approach to deal with noise pollution.

10. We have to explore ways to increase our self-suffciency in food supplies.

11. We need to be prepared for extreme weather changes. Contingency plans shouldbe drawn up according to various possible scenarios.

12. We require sustainable energy to ensure water sustainability for the country viatechnologies like NEWater. Energy costs should also be reined in; otherwisewater costs will increase in tandem.

13. Budget should be provided for research into solar power usage for water reclamation plants. A possible investment in offshore water catchments andprocessing plants should be studied.

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Our Proposals

1. Natural habitats with ecological and educational value should be gazetted aspermanent natural reserves.

2. We need to strive for more regional cooperation to contain environmental hazards such as forest fires or chemical leaks so as not to affect air quality.

3. Plans for projects likely to adversely affect the natural environment shouldbe accompanied by Environment Impact Assessments (EIA) and mitigation plans before they are approved. This is especially important in the case of thefeasibility study on nuclear power use in Singapore. Radiation monitoringcapabilities should also be strengthened in view of this.

4. More programmes should be implemented to encourage local farming. Weshould explore vertical farming or high-rise farming technology to offset theproblem of limited land for food production. We should also further diversifyour food sources to enhance our food security.

5. As an equatorial country, we should explore alternative ways such as fuel celland solar energy to mitigate the worldwide shortage of natural gases and fossilfuel. This has potential to create maintenance and engineering jobs and reduceexpenditure on raw energy resources. We could also export our knowledge andproducts based on fuel cell and solar technology.

6. Green vehicle adoption should be encouraged via price incentives and improvedrefuelling infrastructure support.

7. We can provide tax relief and incentives for companies to encourage innovativeways to recycle waste and increase energy conservation.

8. “Social noise pollution” such as karaoke sessions at home, dog barks andchildren playing at common areas disturbs the comfort of others. We shouldcultivate civic awareness to prevent such noise pollution in a high-densityliving environment.

9. A comprehensive approach including a legal framework and a centralisedagency to regulate noise pollution should be set up.

10. Noise meters should be installed around potential noise pollution ‘hot-spots’,including MRT/LRT rails and roads to ensure noise levels remain within thelegal limits.

11. A dispute resolution mechanism should be set up at the Community DevelopmentCouncil level for greater accessibility.

12. A Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA) should be performed to understandthe risk posed to Singapore by climate change. Adaptation policies should becommunicated to citizens. As part of this, a task force needs to perform scenarioplanning for adverse and extreme weather changes. Contingency plans shouldbe drawn up in response to these scenarios.

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Oh yes, we’ve posted about environmental issues in politics previously, do check that out if you’re interested:

• More green discussions in Parliament, please. No Seriously.
• Will a Green Party Work in Singapore?

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Majulah Singapura and vote wisely folks!

From guardian.co.uk:

Global emissions can be allocated to human activities in various ways. One of the most granular anylyses is from the World Resources Institute (WRI), which breaks down total global emissions from 2005 into the following headline sectors:

1. Energy
   1. Electricity & heat (24.9%)
   2. Industry (14.7%)
   3. Transportation(14.3%)
   4. Other fuel combustion (8.6%)
   5. Fugitive emissions (4%)
2. Agriculture (13.8%)
3. Land use change (12.2%)
4. Industrial Processes (4.3)
5. Waste (3.2%)

These sectors are then assigned to various end uses, giving the following results:

In words:

1. Road transport (10.5%)
2. Air transport (1.7%)
3. Other transport (2.5%)
4. Fuel and power for residential buildings (10.2%)
5. Fuel and power for commercial buildings (6.3%)
6. Unallocated fuel combustion (3.8%)
7. Iron and steel production (4%)
8. Aluminium and non-ferrous metals production (1.2%)
9. Machinery production (1%)
10. Pulp, paper and printing (1.1%)
11. Food and tobacco industries (1.0%)
12. Chemicals production (4.1%)
13. Cement production (5.0%)
14. Other industry (7.0%)
15. Transmission and distribution losses (2.2%)
16. Coal mining (1.3%)
17. Oil and gas production (6.4%)
18. Deforestation (11.3%)
19. Reforestation (-0.4%)
20. Harvest and land management (1.3%)
21. Agricultural energy use (1.4%)
22. Agricultural soils (5.2%)
23. Livestock and manure (5.4%)
24. Rice cultivation (1.5%)
25. Other cultivation (1.7%)
26. Landfill of waste (1.7%)
27. Wastewater and other waste (1.5%)

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It should be stressed that there is a fair degree to uncertainty about the precise contribution of some activities, especially those which include biological processes such as land use change and agriculture. Indeed, the total contribution from deforestation is much lower in the data above than it was in the equivalent figures from 2000, due to a change in underlying methodology – as described in the WRI’s accompanying paper (pdf).

The other point to note is that emissions levels are permanently changing. Total global emissions are significantly higher now than they were in 2005, and the ratios between sectors will have have changed. But global datasets take a long time to compile, hence there is usually a multi-year-lag before reliable figures are published.

Even if you are anti “processed food in a package”, I think you’d still appreciate the premise of this, that “We have to think of the whole eating experience—not just the physical product, but what’s actually happening when the consumer eats the product”.

I personally think that this has a lot of other potential palatable applications, but you be the judge.

From WSJ:

PLANO, Texas—Later this month, at a pilot manufacturing plant here, PepsiCo Inc. plans to start churning out batches of a secret new ingredient to make its Lay’s potato chips healthier.

The ingredient is a new “designer salt” whose crystals are shaped and sized in a way that reduces the amount of sodium consumers ingest when they munch. PepsiCo hopes the powdery salt, which it is still studying and testing with consumers, will cut sodium levels 25% in its Lay’s Classic potato chips. The new salt could help reduce sodium levels even further in seasoned Lay’s chips like Sour Cream & Onion, PepsiCo said, and it could be used in other products like Cheetos and Quaker bars.

At an investor conference Monday in New York, the company said it is committed to cutting its products’ average sodium per serving by 25% by 2015 and saturated fat and added sugar by 15% and 25%, respectively, this decade.

The designer salt is one of the latest and most intricate efforts yet by a food company to vault ahead of concerns among government officials about the possible health effects of the widespread use of sodium in processed foods.

Eating too much salt can contribute to high blood pressure, increasing the risk of heart disease. Most Americans consume about twice their recommended limit daily, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Pressure is growing on U.S. food companies to act, because most of the salt Americans consume is in processed foods. In January, New York City, as well as other cities and health organizations, called for restaurants and makers of packaged foods to cut salt 25% within the next five years.

Sodium intake recommendations may also be lowered substantially in new U.S. dietary guidelines this year. And First Lady Michelle Obama is pressing food companies to cut fat, salt and sugar in their products.

The new salt represents PepsiCo’s latest step to cut back on unhealthy ingredients in big sellers like soda and potato chips. The company has also switched from frying its potato chips in transfats to using sunflower oil, and it has boosted spending to $414 million in 2009 from $282 million in 2006 for product development. To lead the research effort, it has hired health experts and scientists, including Mehmood Khan, a former Mayo Clinic endocrinologist, and Derek Yach, a former World Health Organization chronic diseases chief.

By 2015, PepsiCo aims to cut sodium in its salty snacks 25%. “What we want to do with our “fun for you” products is to make them the healthiest “fun for you” products,” Chairman Indra Nooyi said. “We want our potato chips to be fried in the healthiest oils with the lowest salt.”

Cutting salt out of foods is difficult because it adds body to foods as well as enhancing flavor. In addition, little is understood about how salt is perceived on the tongue.

PepsiCo said it has had to dig deeper than other food makers that have reduced sodium by gradually removing salt, using salt substitutes or grinding salt into small particles that contact the tongue in more places.

That’s because salt is one of only three ingredients in Lay’s Classic potato chips (the others: potatoes and oil). Reducing the amount or using substitutes would alter the chips’ flavor, said Greg Yep, a global research and development vice president.

So PepsiCo had to come up with a way to deliver the same saltiness while reducing sodium. Prodded by a U.K. government salt-reduction campaign, it first slashed sodium 25% in its seasoned Walkers crisps in 2006, replacing some of the salt with other seasonings and using smaller salt particles.

But those methods couldn’t be used on plain Lay’s chips, which couldn’t mask the changes with seasonings. The smaller particles gave a hit of saltiness that was intense but too fleeting.

Instead, working with scientists at about a dozen academic institutions and companies in Europe and the U.S., PepsiCo studied different shapes of salt crystals to try to find one that would dissolve more efficiently on the tongue. Normally, only about 20% of the salt on a chip actually dissolves on the tongue before the chip is chewed and swallowed, and the remaining 80% is swallowed without contributing to the taste, said Dr. Khan, who oversees PepsiCo’s long-term research.

PepsiCo wanted a salt that would replicate the traditional “salt curve,” delivering an initial spike of saltiness, then a body of flavor and lingering sensation, said Dr. Yep, who joined the company in June 2009 from Swiss flavor company Givaudan SA.

“We have to think of the whole eating experience—not just the physical product, but what’s actually happening when the consumer eats the product,” Dr. Yep explained.

The result was a slightly powdery ingredient that tastes like regular salt. Small groups of U.S. and U.K. consumers couldn’t tell the difference when comparing the two salts on chips last summer, PepsiCo said. PepsiCo declined to give details while the new salt is in development.

PepsiCo is gearing up pilot manufacturing at its Frito-Lay headquarters so that it can conduct wider consumer testing and fine tune the technology.

It could take two more years before the new salt is introduced, Dr. Yep said. In the meantime, PepsiCo is reducing the salt in new versions of seasoned Lay’s such as Sour Cream & Onion this year by an average of 25% by switching to natural ingredients and rebalancing other flavors so that less sodium is needed.

Look what showed up on our wall:

(Yes I know it’s not a very nice photo, but I don’t have an iphone with Instagram)

More details about the Eco Music Challenge HERE.

From Timpryde.com:

DON-8r (pronounced “donator“) is a small,  fund-raising robot that travels through public spaces relying upon coin donations from passers-by to keep it moving. Each donation not only helps to power DON-8r but also goes directly towards supporting a chosen charity.

Inspired by the increasingly negative attitude that many people have towards on-the-street charity workers, DON-8r raises money through encouraging playful and empathetic support from strangers and passers-by.

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…and it seems to work! Check out the video.

This one is massive!

Hundreds of millions of people use the internet everyday, and it isn’t ecologically free. No prizes for guessing which single webpage uses the largest percentage of energy.

That’s right. It’s Facebook!

(click on the picture for the full image, and don’t forget to like us)

Chinatown is undergoing a cultural zeitgeist of sorts, and we’re very happy to be identified with that!

Also available online here (pg 8 & 9).

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On a related note, I think the photo of our founding partner, James Low, is pretty damn awesome.

Well done buddy.

The Internet’s Carbon Footprint.

Not so good!

From Mashable:

We seem to be on the topic of lighting lately.

Good Information for anyone who’s considering switching to energy efficient lighting.

From GOOD:

Click on the picture for a blown up version.