Warning: Warming Alert!
I bet, if i will to ask a layperson along the streets of Singapore about the climate change crisis, i will probably get some blank stares. "Err what? The haze problem issit?" Worse still, i have heard some people associating global warming with the ozone layer. These are two separate issues, for goodness' sake.
But the greatest sin of all, was a government worker in the environmental line to ask me about the link of climate change to mosquitoes. I almost fainted and was screaming silently inside my heart, "The warmer temperatures will induce the breeding of the mosquitoes, resulting in a higher likelihood of dieseases like malaria and dengue fever, idiot!"
No doubt, environmental awareness has often been a perennial neglect among many in Singapore. However, there is now one global environmental crisis that is facing humanity - the threat of climate change, that no government nor corporation nor individual should neglect. Many parts of the world, especially the European countries have already taken note and drawn up policies actions to tackle this impending environmental crisis. David King, the chief scientific advisor to the British goverment once proclaimed that “Climate change is the most severe problem that we are facing today—more serious even than the threat of terrorism.” However, it seems that most parts of Asia, Singapore included, has yet to fully wake up from their slumber of ignorance.
To be fair, the Singapore government has started to take notice of this climate issue and some actions have been taken. For instance, Singapore has finally signed, ratified and ascended the Kyoto Protocol this year. The Singapore Green Plan 2012 has also set targets to reduce the national carbon emissions levels. The National Committee on Climate Change (NCCC) aims to increase climate change awareness and hopes to incorporate active partication from all sectors of the society. But there are still way lots of room for improvement. The carbon-hedonistic lifestyles that many Singaporeans are leading certainly do not spell of knowledge of the global warming (and warning).
It is also rather disappointing that "An Inconvenient Truth" has quietly slipped into the local cinemas. I had earlier expected tremendous promotional coverage on this environmental film which features former US Vice President Al Gore, but not many seem aware of this film if not for my own efforts to advertise it. Maybe the movie distributors find the film a bit too steeped in the US/Gore politics or that the documentary style of the film (more like an Al Gore's talkshow) would not appeal to the general population, but there are plenty of well-illustrated graphics and statistics which i thought it is a good way to scare the daylights out of the audience by highlighting this inconvenient truth (global warming) and hopefully galvanise them into action. People who would watch this film are probably the converts, while the message should be spreaded far and wide to the sceptics and non-converts too. But now, judging from the lack of advertising and promotional efforts, the planet might warm up faster than the movie-goers warm up to this film.
But the greatest sin of all, was a government worker in the environmental line to ask me about the link of climate change to mosquitoes. I almost fainted and was screaming silently inside my heart, "The warmer temperatures will induce the breeding of the mosquitoes, resulting in a higher likelihood of dieseases like malaria and dengue fever, idiot!"
No doubt, environmental awareness has often been a perennial neglect among many in Singapore. However, there is now one global environmental crisis that is facing humanity - the threat of climate change, that no government nor corporation nor individual should neglect. Many parts of the world, especially the European countries have already taken note and drawn up policies actions to tackle this impending environmental crisis. David King, the chief scientific advisor to the British goverment once proclaimed that “Climate change is the most severe problem that we are facing today—more serious even than the threat of terrorism.” However, it seems that most parts of Asia, Singapore included, has yet to fully wake up from their slumber of ignorance.
To be fair, the Singapore government has started to take notice of this climate issue and some actions have been taken. For instance, Singapore has finally signed, ratified and ascended the Kyoto Protocol this year. The Singapore Green Plan 2012 has also set targets to reduce the national carbon emissions levels. The National Committee on Climate Change (NCCC) aims to increase climate change awareness and hopes to incorporate active partication from all sectors of the society. But there are still way lots of room for improvement. The carbon-hedonistic lifestyles that many Singaporeans are leading certainly do not spell of knowledge of the global warming (and warning).
It is also rather disappointing that "An Inconvenient Truth" has quietly slipped into the local cinemas. I had earlier expected tremendous promotional coverage on this environmental film which features former US Vice President Al Gore, but not many seem aware of this film if not for my own efforts to advertise it. Maybe the movie distributors find the film a bit too steeped in the US/Gore politics or that the documentary style of the film (more like an Al Gore's talkshow) would not appeal to the general population, but there are plenty of well-illustrated graphics and statistics which i thought it is a good way to scare the daylights out of the audience by highlighting this inconvenient truth (global warming) and hopefully galvanise them into action. People who would watch this film are probably the converts, while the message should be spreaded far and wide to the sceptics and non-converts too. But now, judging from the lack of advertising and promotional efforts, the planet might warm up faster than the movie-goers warm up to this film.
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