http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/298766/1/.html
reported that PM Lee HL came back from the APEC summit in Australia
with these wise words: (I hope that) there will be another clear
statement on environmental concerns at the upcoming ASEAN and East
Asia Summits in Singapore.
Well, I'm taking a raincheck on this. PM Lee is probably not the
bleeding heart environmentalist he wants to be, judging by
Singapores track record on such issues.
1) We have more and more cars on our already crowded Singapore
roads, now that cars are getting cheaper by the year (see http://blueheeler.wordpress.com/2007/08/24/i-talk-therefore-i-am/).
2. There are already green hybrid cars for sale in Singapore
thatll reduce CO2 emissions, but these cars in Singapore cost
about 35% more than a normal car of the same capacity (see http://www.mr-endoh.com/?p=151). This shouldnt be
the case (as green cars in overseas countries are only slightly
more expensive than normal ones), unless its because Singapore
govt doesnt subdise green cars enough to encourage its use.
3. European countries encourage the sale of diesel cars for private
use as such cars are deemed greener than petrol-cars (see http://www.mouthshut.com/review/Petrol_Vs._Diesel_car-18000-1.html),
but in sunny Singapore, theres still a whoppingly high diesel-car
tax that encourages private drivers to use pertrol instead. Is it
because govt makes more $$$ on petrol taxes, or is it protecting
some form of petrol-industry that its involved with?
4. Taxis chalk up thousands of km every month, so they should be
targetted for green-measures. In Australia, most cabs use LNG,
which is a gas that burns cleaner than petrol and diesel. But in
Singapore, cabs still use diesel, because LNG gas is not
conveniently available for cabbies to fill up with (see http://www.mr-endoh.com/?p=151). Another example of
lack-of-govt support for LNG gas for heavy-use vehicles?
5. When I lived in Austrlia, my own housing complex of 6 apartments
had its own recyclling bin. Not 1 but 2: 1 for paper, the other
for plasctics/glass/cans. But where I live in Singapore now, in a
cluster of blocks with about 600 families, there are a grand total
of TWO recycling bins. Whats more, these bins are located in the
open, and not conveniently by the lifts or major pathways. I
religiously try to recycle, but these isolated bins sometimes test
my patience to the limit.
I know it is sometimes fashionable to be green, but surely PM Lee
must work harder to ensure that a 1st-world Singapore also
practices 1st-world standards when it comes to
environment-protection. Yes, Singapore is definitely greener than
10 years ago, but you will agree that 2 recycle-bins per 600
families is a bit of a superficial gesture, isnt it?
