Letter from Tang Shangjun Straits Times Forum 15 Nov 07
I HAVE been reading with great interest recent articles and letters in the local press talking about the importance of protecting our planet. It is with this in mind that I offer four doable suggestions that can be implemented for the better of our planet.
1. Charge for plastic bags
It is an absolute embarrassment that we need a foreign Swedish company in Ikea to teach us how to save plastic bags. Ikea has for some time now levied a charge for each plastic bag it gives out. Each weekend, we see its store still packed with shoppers. This effectively dispels the myth that charging for bags would turn customers away.
Supermarkets like NTUC FairPrice, Cold Storage, Sheng Siong, Carrefour and Giant, among others, should follow suit. Charge 50 cents a bag. Make us pay and donate all proceeds to charity. If all of them do it together, there would not be a fear of customers leaving one supermarket chain for another. I also urge the Government to look into this issue and to encourage supermarkets to do so.
2. Allow diesel-powered cars
At first blush, the word 'diesel' brings to mind black fumes and soot from pickups and buses. But with modern technology, this is no longer the case. New Euro IV compliant engines are as clean as petrol engines. Better still, diesel cars are much more fuel-efficient than their petrol counterparts.
3. Tax petrol-only cars more, hybrids less
Hybrid vehicle technology has progressed much. Models like the Honda Hybrid, Toyota Prius and Lexus RX400h are gaining popularity. However, the take-up rate is still low on these highly fuel-efficient cars because of their high production cost, and hence high price.
It is suggested that the Government reduce the tax on hybrid cars further still to make them competitive with the everyday makes like the Corollas and the Sunnys. Then raise the tax on petrol-only cars so as to encourage manufacturers to produce more hybrids.
4. Change all lightbulbs
And lastly, let us all change our tungsten lightbulbs to Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs (CFL). Manufacturers like Philips and Panasonic already have a range of such CFLs sold in our local stores. Such bulbs use one-fifth of the energy of a typical tungsten bulb and last for a few thousand hours.
If the previous three suggestions are not doable, I am sure this fourth one is for all Singaporeans.
It is my hope that these are just small steps that we as Singaporeans can to continue to develop a conservationist mindset so as to make efforts to protect our earth for generations to come.
