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  Straits Times Forum 1 Mar 07
How to keep cool and still save the planet
Letter from Dr Lee Siew Peng Middlesex, UK

Straits Times Forum 20 Feb 07
Let's do our part to protect planet Earth
Letter from William Loh Peng Cheong

Straits Times 14 Feb 07
Saving the planet, one degree at a time
Letter from William Loh Peng Cheong

Straits Times 8 Feb 07
Fighting global warming - need to change the way we use air-conditioning
Letter from Chew Pei Wah (Ms)

Much has been said about global warming - the effect, the warnings and the potential downfalls it brings.

But I have yet to see a blueprint of what should be done to reduce the effects of global warming.

Simply put, if global warming is continuing at this rate, with absolutely nothing done to prevent or reduce it, it will become impossible to live on Earth. Therein lies another possible horrible scenario.

Since space on Earth becomes such a constraint for humans to live in, there will be fighting and war to see who would survive last.

A lot of steps have to be taken to make the world more environment-friendly. One of the simplest ways is to recycle, recycle and recycle. But how many people are actually practising it?

Take, for example, the use of air-conditioning. I don't deny the fact that Singapore is a tropical humid country, thus the use of air-conditioners is indispensable.

However, I find that in most places like malls and offices, the air-conditioning is turned on so high that it is almost freezing. How many times have we heard complaints that it is so cold in certain places that they can't work or study?

Air-conditioners should be used moderately to keep the places cool, not freezing cold.

Another way to fight global warming is to ban the use of plastic bags. Some department stores and supermarkets have already started to promote the use of recycled bags but it is still not publicised effectively. More can be done to curb the use of plastic bags, like imposing a charge on them.

The media and the relevant authorities should be pro-actively educating the public on this serious issue.

We all have a part to play in conserving Earth.

For a start, think twice before switching on the air-conditioner. On my part, I have stopped using the air-conditioner and started using fans to keep me cool at night. My electricity bills have gone down by 50 per cent.

If there is really a need to switch on the air-conditioner, keep the temperature higher to keep the air cool, not freezing cold.

Straits Times 14 Feb 07
Saving the planet, one degree at a time
Letter from William Loh Peng Cheong

ACCORDING to the Economist Intelligence Unit, Singapore was ranked 15th in the world in electricity consumption in 2004, but jumped to 11th in the Economist Pocket World In Figures 2007.

I wonder how many of us complain that the temperature in offices, in public buildings and on public transport is too cold for comfort. Many have to take a jacket or sweater to the office just to keep warm, not to mention how many catch colds there.

Generally speaking, the ideal temperature for most people is around 25 deg C. But look at the temperature in some shopping malls. For example, Marina Square on Jan 11 measured 21 deg C on a rainy day. It seems air-con systems cannot regulate the temperature in a building to a specified setting automatically with reference to the temperature outside.

Perhaps this challenge to implement intelligent temperature control systems in buildings should be included in the Infocomm Development Authority's vision of Singapore as an Intelligent Nation 2015.

According to the Energy Market Authority of Singapore and the United States Department of Energy, in a 24-hour period, about 3 per cent of the electric bill is saved for every 1 deg C the thermostat is raised. For example, if you normally keep the thermostat at 22 deg C and raise it by 3 degrees to 25 deg C, you save about 9 per cent on your electric bill.

The problem is this important information is not communicated effectively to people here. Perhaps we need a national energy saving campaign to bring home this message.

As a frequent traveller, I always take a digital thermal hygrometer, which measures temperature and humidity, in my luggage. I usually adjust the air-con in my hotel room to 26 deg C (my comfort zone). I have yet to collect a rebate from these hotels for lowering their electric bill.

If every household, every building, and every vehicle owner and transport operator in Singapore raised its ambient air-con temperature by 3 deg C from 22 deg C, we are effectively talking about a saving of at least 9 per cent on the country's electric bill.

This would be done without incurring extra cost of buying energy-efficient equipment.

I do not know how much carbon dioxide (greenhouse gas) emissions would be reduced by doing this but one thing is for sure:

If every human being on earth followed these steps to conserve energy, we would alleviate the adverse effects of global warming we are experiencing now.


Straits Times Forum 20 Feb 07
Let's do our part to protect planet Earth
Letter from William Loh Peng Cheong

I refer to the letter, 'Saving the planet, one degree at a time' (ST Forum, Feb 14).

The report from IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel On Climate Change) released on Feb 2 showed that the scientific community has finally agreed that human-induced climate change is an unequivocal reality.

Recently, I had the opportunity to watch a documentary video, 'An Inconvenient Truth', presented by Al Gore. It is really an eye-opening and compelling view of the future of our planet.

It is a wake -up call that cuts through myths and misconceptions to deliver the message that global warming is a real and present danger. Scientists all over the world have an independent obligation to respect and present the truth as they see it.

We need to separate the truth from fiction. When the warnings are accurate and based on sound scientific evidence, then we have to find a way to make sure the warnings are heard and responded to. We have the moral responsibility to do that.

Making mistakes in our dealings with Nature has bigger consequences now. Looking at the freak weather reports all over the world, Mother Nature has already sounded its warnings.

Do we need to have a catastrophic Extinction Level Event to hit Earth before we do something serious about it? Maybe by then, when we really want to do something about it, it is already too late - the event is irreversible.

Each and everyone of us is the cause of global warming but each of us can make changes in the way in which we live our lives and we can make choices to change that with the things we buy, the electricity we use and the cars we drive. We can reduce our carbon emissions to zero.

The solution is in our hands, we just need to have the determination to make them happen. This is what is at stake: Our ability to live on planet Earth, to have a future as a civilisation.

I would like to appeal to everyone, especially to those in power who have the ability to make the right decisions which would have a great impact on the positive outcome on our climate crisis, to make a concerted effort to protect our environment.

Otherwise, if we are unkind to Mother Nature, it will hit back at us with great vengeance. Heed this message: 'One small step from each of us, a giant step forward for planet Earth.'


Straits Times Forum 1 Mar 07
How to keep cool and still save the planet
Letter from Dr Lee Siew Peng Middlesex, UK

I REFER to the letter by Mr William Loh Peng Cheong, 'Saving the planet, one degree at a time' (ST, Feb 14).

Here in the United Kingdom we do the reverse. We lower our thermostats to save on energy 'one degree at a time'. Instead of pretending that we are in the sunny Caribbean, as some families do, we are urged to put on an extra jumper instead of whacking our thermostats up to 25 deg C.

When in Singapore we tend to stay at the YMCA and we appreciate that the air-conditioning is turned off when we leave the room. We set the temperature at 25 deg and find this very comfortable indeed.

So we cannot understand why buses, offices, restaurants and shopping malls have thermostats set so low that users have to wear a jumper to keep warm.

Instead of the Caribbean, Singaporean families pretend that they are in the bleakest European winter by turning their air-conditioning units to an extremely low temperature.

It's time we are reminded that the purpose of air-conditioning in Singapore is not to simulate winter conditions, but to reduce the humidity (i.e., making it drier and therefore easier for sweat to evaporate, thus reducing that stickiness).

How else can one keep cool in Singapore? I think the best way is to 'think cool'. Try it and see.

Or how about giving up one's seat on the MRT to someone who needs it more? Smile and make eye contact when one says 'Please' and 'Thank you'? Make eye contact when you say 'sorry' to someone you have bumped into at a busy shopping mall?

When our 'inner being' is cool, we feel cool too. Oh, would the young people also learn to talk like young men and women and not shout? Noise raises one's blood pressure and, in turn, makes us feel, literally, hot under the collar.
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