Blog Response 2

Article

Feb 26, 2007 Getting ready for rising sea levels Measures are in place to deal with the effects of climate change By Arti Mulchand
THE little red dot has no wish to be red-hot or submerged.
The good news is that measures, including those long in place like minimum heights for reclaimed land, are helping to protect Singapore from some of the effects of climate change like rising sea levels.
In 1991, the Public Utilities Board had set the minimum platform levels for new reclamation projects at 125cm above the highest recorded tide, to 'ensure proper drainage of the reclaimed land', said a PUB spokesman.
This means that areas such as Changi East and the Tuas View Extension will be able to cope with even the highest sea level rise of 59cm, as projected by the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) earlier this month.
Other measures have also been put into place to deal with some of the anticipated consequences at five key points of vulnerability.
These range from land loss and flooding, to the impact on Singapore's water resources (see other story), said the National Climate Change Strategy, developed by the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources and the National Environment Agency (NEA).
The strategy paper points out that for Singapore - a tropical island city-state - issues like warming temperatures and rising sea levels are real concerns requiring anticipatory measures.
It was launched last April, along with Singapore's signing of the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement to curb pollution by reducing gas emissions from various sources, including air-conditioners, cars and large coal-fired power plants.
Thus, in anticipation of seawater being able to get into reservoirs here, there are plans for more steel plates in tidal gates.
An ongoing two-year study by the NEA - the first of its kind here - is looking at the possible impact of climate change, including changes in rainfall patterns, sea levels and possible extreme weather conditions, and to identify strategies to help deal with the problems, said the NEA.
The world's vulnerability to potential climate change made headlines in the weeks following the release of the report summary of the IPCC report, which said that signs of global warming are 'unequivocal' and that human activity is the main cause.
The report is a 'screaming siren' compared to just a wake-up call from the last report, released in 2001, Greenpeace's spokesman said.
Among other findings, the report states that global average temperatures could rise between 1.1 and 6.4 deg C, and that sea levels are likely to rise by 18cm to 59cm.
Heatwaves and heavy rains are 'very likely' to become more frequent.
Authorities here are awaiting the full IPCC report, expected to be released in May. It is expected to make regional projections of climate change effects that can feed into Singapore's study.
NEA's spokesman has also said that inter-agency task forces, like those previously formed in response to dengue and the haze, will be formed to deal with 'likely scenarios arising out of climate change'.
Also watching matters closely are environmentalists and agencies like the Climate Change Organisation, Singapore, and the Singapore Institute of International Affairs (SIIA).
Last month, SIIA and oil company Shell Singapore released a special report outlining the key environmental challenges for Singapore and the region, with information culled from an experts' roundtable discussion in September last year, one of which was to build awareness along different avenues and target specific stakeholders.
Another major challenge: translating climate change findings for the layman, so he understands how such issues are directly relevant to his life.
Roundtable participants also pointed to the need for more Asia-centric research on climate change, since most current research is being done in the West.
They also highlighted the need for 'regional political will to effect change in Asia', such as through Asean.

Response

Singapore is setting up measures to deal with the effects of climate change. Finally?

Global warming is one of the major problems the world faced currently, and although this problem had surfaced decades ago, humans have yet to decisively place a foot down upon this matter.

For a small little red dot like Singapore, global warming can have drastic impact on the island. Should the sea level rise drastically, we face the problem of total annihilation as Singapore will easily be submerged beneath the waters with the highest peak only a little above 163m tall. The question now is, will raising the minimum platform levels for new reclamation projects prevent flooding? Will proper drainage system reduce the impact global warming will have on Singapore?

I would say no.

There can never be a foolproof and never fail way to guard ourselves against the powers of nature. I believe that the methods placed forward in the article will not be able to help eradicate the problem of flooding if global warming decides to strike. It is a good sign to see us Singaporeans paying attention to what is happening to our surrounding and environment; it is in fact great that we are carrying out precautions and measures to minimize the impact global warming would have on Singapore. But would this effort be enough? Instead of focusing our resources on heightening the platform levels after land reclamation, wouldn’t a more effective way be to remove the land reclamation projects completely and plant perhaps more trees? Tree roots hold the soil together and if under the attack of floods or waves, trees would definitely fare better against the elements than slabs of concrete would. So why not revive the greener Singapore instead of building great walls of Singapore around our borders?

Another point I want to bring up is the rapid deterioration of the environment. From the article, we see that sea levels are likely to rise from 18 cm to 59cm, that’s an increase by over three times. Also, heat waves and heavy rains would also be more frequent. Now the question is this, do we not know that our earth is in this current plight? And many of us would reply yes if asked that question. Yes, we do know, ad we do understand that if we continue using earth harming products and machineries, we are securing ourselves a one way ticket to complete annihilation of not just the human race, but every single life form on earth. Macdonald’s know that their cows are contributing a significantly to the amount of green house gases in the air. Drivers who drive SUVs know how much harm it can do to the ozone layer and the earth’s atmosphere. They know, but they do not do anything to change it. And that is why through all these years, the same unsolved problem remains.

I know my words would not carry much weight in the world out there, but for those who happen to drop by and read this reflection, I want to show you how much I care about our world, I want to tell you that it is not too late to do something about it. We may merely be individuals in this society but many individuals make the majority. This is our home, it is only right that we play a part and lend those who care a hand in saving the earth.

Blog Response 1

Article

March 1, 2007 Why kids need sex education? Girl, 9, pregnant Case of Primary 3 pupil cited by counsellor at youth forum amid concerns about teen pregnancy By Yap Su-Yin
THE Primary 3 pupil was just nine years old, but she was already six months pregnant with a 14-year-old schoolmate's child.
The memory of the distraught parents and child sitting in her NuLife Care and Counselling Services office in Little India three years ago still sticks in counsellor Sheena Jebal's mind.
The girl could well be the youngest pregnancy case in Singapore, judging by a Straits Times check with local hospitals, youth social workers, teen shelters and pregnancy helplines.
But though her case is extremely rare, it highlights ongoing concerns about youth pregnancy.
Figures on the ground indicate that thousands of teens are experimenting sexually, say youth social workers and counsellors.
Last year, Ms Jebal's centre alone came across at least 30 cases of teens having sex. The youngest male was about 12 and the youngest female about 13.
A Straits Times check with restructured hospitals here revealed that between 2000 and this year, the youngest female to give birth at KK Women's and Children's Hospital was 12 years old. The youngest at Singapore General Hospital was 14. The National University Hospital declined comment.
As required by law, they were reported to the police as cases of underage sex.
Ministry of Health figures for 2001 to 2005 show an average of around 1,500 teen abortions every year. In 2005, the exact figure was 1,279 and in 2004, the number was 1,341.
Nearly all the teens who aborted their babies in 2005 were between 15 and 19 years old and unmarried. Slightly more than half were Chinese and a third were Malay.
The figures go to the heart of a controversy over the issue of how early children should be exposed to sex education in schools.
Ms Jebal cited the example of the pregnant nine-year-old during a youth forum to counter the complaints of one participant, who felt her sister in Primary 4 was too young to start learning about sex.
Called 'Yes/No' Youth In Relationships, it was organised by Republic Polytechnic's Indian Cultural Group and Narpani Pearavai Youth Executive Committee last Saturday.
Ms Jebal said the nine-year-old had begun to experiment with sex with a schoolmate at home when her parents, both professionals, were at work.
Recounting the tense one-hour discussion she had with the family to The Straits Times, Ms Jebal said: 'Her parents taught her how to use a sanitary napkin, but didn't educate her about menstruation or sex.
'They felt she was too young to know at her age. There is no such thing as being too young to know,' said Ms Jebal.
Ms Tan Bee Joo of the Singapore Children's Society cited several areas of concern, including lack of adult supervision over the use of the Internet, where teens can easily access pornographic sites and 'meet' strangers online.
'It creates opportunities for children to chat with strangers, go on blind dates, sell their bodies for money to satisfy material wants,' she warned.
Also, many parents are not giving their children the right sexual knowledge or instilling proper moral values in them at a young age, she said.
Ms Tan, who is head of the society's Students Service Hub in Bukit Merah, said: 'We have many students asking many sexuality-related questions, which many adults would never have thought children at this age know.
'Children need to be taught to take responsibility for their own actions, but this should be accompanied by providing them with the right information.'
yapsuyin@sph.com.sg
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY JUDITH TAN
NEVER TOO YOUNG TO KNOW
'Her parents taught her how to use a sanitary napkin but didn't educate her about menstruation or sex. They felt she was too young to know at her age. There is no such thing as being too young to know.'
COUNSELLOR SHEENA JEBAL, on the nine-year-old girl who became pregnant after experimenting with sex with a schoolmate at home

Response

Pregnancy at nine? Many of us would have thought that something like this would never happen, that something like this was impossible. But now how can anyone ignore the cold hard facts?

For many of us I believe, this news was shocking. As a secondary school student and a teen in Singapore, I felt that it correctly portrayed the kind of situation or problems the society in Singapore would fall prey to in the near future. Teenage pregnancy had always been one of the social problems societies faced, and for Singapore, although the situation is not as serious as it is compared to that in the US, is still significant enough to turn too many a head. Statistics showed that in 2005, 1279 cases of teen abortions were made, and this figure does not include those individuals who actually conceived and gave birth to their child. These figures are a warning to us, telling us, cautioning us that it is high time we do something about this situation, and fast.

Now the crucial question here is how early our children should be educated about sex. Is nine years old too young? If the primary three pupil who was pregnant had been educated about sex, would things have changed? Every one of us have our different view points but for me, I feel that yes, things would have been different. If the primary three student was fore warned of the dire consequences of practicing unsafe sex, fear might be a strong deterrence for her. There is no such thing as being too young to learn about it. The only way we can stop this plague from invading into the stems and roots of our society is to be open about it. Coming from a boys’ school, I do not deny that we, a collective pronoun for the general RI guys, do talk and joke openly about sex. Sex should never be a taboo. It should never be classified as one of the “unspeakable”. Bringing in the perspective of a teenager, which is what I am, although we are open about the three letters, we are fully aware of the consequences and the impact it would have on ours lives and the lives of those around us if we were to practice it. Talking about something and doing it are two totally different things. Openness in the society, I feel that it would be the best way to counter the onslaught of corruption by the tabooed three lettered word, sex. Parents, teachers, and even peers should all play a part in preventing and eradicating underage sex.

On another point, I feel that the sexual education in Singapore still has room for improvement. In a sense, the sexual education here is not deep enough; it is not strong enough in terms of its foundations. I believe that many of us would choose curiosity or peer pressure over the current system of education. Thus, the crucial point here is for the Singapore officers to choose and develop a best method to eliminate as best as it can, teenage sex in Singapore. This is the challenge. Responsibility do not lie solely in the hands of the primary three girl, it lies in the hands of all of us.