Adrian Lim, Straits Times 22 Jun 08;
I used to be your typical Western energy glutton. I'd drive my car four blocks to pick up bread.
If the temperature in my flat went above 23 deg C, I'd switch on the air-conditioner.
I avoided public transport like the plague, and nursed my decade-old Honda through a string of oil and exhaust problems.
But things here in Singapore are different. My primary mode of transport is a 12-speed mountain bike, the first I've owned in about 15 years.
My flat's lone air-con doesn't rumble to life until the mercury hits 28 deg C. And I've developed a tolerance to being sandwiched into an MRT train.
I wish I could say the changes were prompted by a new-found concern for the environment, a realisation that my profligate power consumption was in its own small way killing the planet.
But really, the reversal was driven by the bottom line. With stratospheric car taxes, unsubsidised petrol and relatively pricey electricity, being an energy hog in Singapore is really expensive.
These sky-high costs seem to be more of a testament to orderliness and pragmatism than conservation, but the end result is the same: Gobbling up natural resources here comes with a serious hit to the pocketbook.
It's not the same in North America where, despite rising oil prices, luxuries like cars remain within the grasp of most.
While the vehicle ownership system here smacks of elitism, Singapore is one of the few rich countries that have managed to keep their citizens away from cars and on public transport.
Only about one in 10 people here owns a vehicle; in the United States, the number is closer to eight in 10.
The country's bus and train grid is light years ahead of those in most North American cities I've been to. Trips are cheap, trains are run with military precision and the Government is quick to fine operators whose foul-ups make people late.
And despite the icy gales blowing through some shopping malls, there seems to be a relatively restrained approach to air-conditioning. (Well, at least around my HDB block in Toa Payoh where many balconies are air-con free.)
The last seven months in Singapore have taught me that going green really isn't all that painful.
While the mid-afternoon heat can be punishing, my 15-minute bike trip to work is actually kind of enjoyable. And given some time to adapt, a Canadian body can become accustomed to living in 28deg C heat - as long as there is a powerful fan nearby.
I've also come to see that the innovative social experiment that is Singapore could offer some lessons to other nations.
It's true, the country's tiny size and political system give birth to things that would be near-impossible in the sprawling, car-loving democracies of the West.
Imagine the uproar in America if people were faced with the prospect of dropping the equivalent price of a college education on a Honda Civic.
However, the US and Canada could learn a lot from Singapore's pay-through-the-nose system. While unpopular, higher car taxes and electricity prices would make people think twice about the resources they devour.
Pumping money into rusting subway systems and beleaguered bus networks would also convince more people to leave their cars at home.
These are ideas that have been around for decades, but haven't gained much traction. But with climate change rearing its ugly head, it's probably time to embrace them abroad.
Andrew Raven is a Canadian-born copy editor with The Straits Times. He has been in Singapore for seven months.
