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  Today Online 8 Nov 05
MM: Bird flu can cost S'pore dearly
Chow Penn Nee

The Straits Times, 8 Nov 05
Do your bit for the environment, MM urges
By Aaron Low

Start worrying now--world leaders have to work at it and so do Singaporeans, he says.

The man who takes the long view when thinking about Singapore's future, is once again training his sights on an important long-term issue: the environment.

Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew's message to Singaporeans during Clean and Green Week, which began Saturday: Look at the big picture and understand how the world's environment will change in half a century. Singaporeans must do their bit -- now -- to conserve the environment.

Speaking during a tree-planting ceremony in Queenstown on Sunday evening, he said that earlier that afternoon, he was in Orchard Road viewing a photo exhibition by French photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand.

The exhibition, which he found "very instructive, quite terrifying", is a collection of 120 photographs highlighting the ecological destruction wrought by the over-exploitation of natural resources.

Mr Lee, the force behind Singapore's Garden City concept and decade-long drive to clean up the rivers here, was struck by the disproportionately high consumption of resources over the years and reeled off a list of figures to show this.

From 1959 to today, the human population has doubled to 6.5 billion, but production of goods and services has gone up seven times, while the amount of fish caught and meat produced has gone up five times.

Energy and oil consumed multiplied seven times and carbon emissions went up four times in the same period, resulting in a rising number of natural disasters around the world.

"If we go on at this rate, I believe mankind is in jeopardy .. before 100 years, 50 years, there will be many problems, " he said.

One problem was the "consume and throw away" society. The Americans, for example, consume 10 times more per person compared to Europeans or others. India and China now has a combined population of 12 times the size of the United States. When both countries start to consume as much as Americans in 50 years' time, the problems will be intensified.

"We have to start worrying. Every year, it gets a little worse. The leaders of the world have got to do something." urged Mr Lee.

Singapore must do its bit as well -- by having sustainable growth: "Whatever we consume, do not increase the pressure on land and the environment".

He also called on Singaporeans to be conscious of the environment and not pollute the water supply. Throwing rubbish into drains, for example, will pollute reservoirs such as the one in Marina, expected to be operational by 2009.

"Why must we do that? Don't do that; we are going drink that water", he told residents at Tanjong Pagar GRC.

Plans to open up Bedok Reservoir for recreation can be replicated in Marina, but it "requires a population that is trained not to pollute its own environment".

Nature Society president Geh Min was delighted that Mr Lee spoke about environmental issues.

"I always thought he was a man of vision and action. Hopefully, he can do this on an international level because when he talks, people listen and things move." she said.

Earth's future: Terrifying prospect
The photographs collectively tell a story of a dying plant, with dwindling ofrests, dried-up lakes and arid farmlands.

Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew was captivated by them, so much so that he called the photo exhibition by Mr Yann Arthus-Bertrand "quite terrifying".

The Earth from Above exhibition with the pictures displayed on giant boards along the walkways of Orchard Road showcases 120 photos taken from the French photographer's collection.

One of the photos Mr Lee recalled seeing was that of boats stranded in the middle of a lake that was bone dry. "They pump the water out to grow cotton. Now the lake is dry, fishermen have no livelihood. Environment devastated, gone," said Mr Lee of the photo he saw.

He urged Singaporeans to view the photos to understand the danger the earth is facing at the hands of its inhabitants.

"Just walk by and you will know why we have to keep Singapore as it is; why we keep it clean and green, why we recycle everything and do not create more waste." he told residents in Queenstown on Sunday.

The open-air exhibition, costing about $330,000, is one of the highlights of this year's Clean and Green Week celebrations. Organised by the Singapore Environmental Council, with help from the French Embassy, it will run until Jan 17.

Today Online 8 Nov 05
MM: Bird flu can cost S'pore dearly
Chow Penn Nee

EXPRESSING his concern for the bird flu spread, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew (picture) has warned Singaporeans not to take it lightly.

Singapore, he said, will pay a high economic price if the outbreak worsens in the region, or worse, enters Singapore. . Stressing that the current global situation is "not just scaremongering in the newspapers or on television", Mr Lee said that "once (the bird flu) mutates and you catch it like you catch colds", many millions will die. And for those who live, the economy will stop, he said, and Singapore and Hong Kong will be worst hit in this region.

"You remember Sars? The airport was empty. Who dares to travel? ? The loss of goods and services exported will be $2.5 trillion ? not billion ? and the worst hit in this region will be Hong Kong and Singapore. Singapore more than Hong Kong because we export more goods and services and we import more goods and services," he said. The loss for East Asia, he cautioned, could "easily" come up to $300 billion for six months.

"So let's not take this lightly," he said, warning Singaporeans to avoid travel to affected areas this school holiday. Mr Lee, who was speaking at a Clean and Green Week event at Forfar Heights on Sunday, also told Singaporeans to be more environmentally aware.

"Every time you are thinking of throwing away a dirty bottle, plastic bags or whatever, please don't throw it into the drain, or on to the road," he said. "It will land up in the marina. That marina is going to be one of our biggest reservoirs and the catchment is the whole city area."

Pointing to the recent hurricanes in America and floods in Europe, he added: "As we have, we changed our environment. How could we build 40 storeys up? Now, we can. We can even build 80 storeys up ? so, we can solve these problems. But one problem we cannot solve is that unless we learn to recycle, we are going to deplete the way the Earth is sustained."
links
Photos tell the story of a fragile planet by Radha Basu The Straits Times 4 Nov 05
Related articles on Singapore: general environmental issues
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