22 May (Fri): Prof Peter Ng on “Crossing the Line - Illegal and Unwarranted Aliens in Singapore” on the wild shores of singapore blog
Boom and bloom
on the annotated budak blog
Olive-backed Sunbird: Feeding of chicks
on the Bird Ecology Study Group blog
The climbing noni: Morinda umbellata
on the wild shores of singapore blog
The Jakarta Post 20 May 09;
Airport duty manager Ibnu Hasan said the airport was closed at around 7 a.m. local time because visibility only reached 800 meters.
He added the condition made flying risky because pilot visibility should be at least 1,000 meters. He said scheduled Mandala Air and Lion Air flights had been delayed due to the closure.
"Both flights should have left for Jakarta at 7 a.m., but were delayed and only left 30 minutes later. Flight schedules returned to normal after the haze disappeared," he said.
Haze has blanketed Pekanbaru for the past two days. Pekanbaru BMG weather station head Blucher Doloksaribu said the haze was caused by forest and peatland fires that took place the previous week.
Riau Governor Rusli Zainal urged government agencies to prepare for and respond to forest fires in their respective areas. He also urged people, particularly farmers, not to resort to fires to clear land. - JP
Hasnita Majid, Channel NewsAsia 19 May 09;
SINGAPORE: The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore is conducting a search-and-rescue operation for two missing crew members of a tanker which caught fire off Changi on Monday.
Black smoke was spotted coming from the Honduras-registered tanker Vertex shortly before 11am.
Carrying 2,000 tonnes of used oil, it was anchored in Singapore waters, nine kilometres southeast of Changi.
MPA's emergency response craft was immediately sent to put out the fire on the main deck and in the pump room.
The 17 crew members, made up of 14 Indonesians, two Chinese and one Filipino, tried to escape the fire by jumping into the sea. 15 were rescued, but two are still missing.
Five injured crew members were transferred to a Singapore Police Coast Guard patrol craft for medical assistance and were later sent to the Singapore General Hospital.
The remaining 10 crew members who were not injured were transferred to the Malaysian Police.
MPA said the Vertex is in stable condition and there has been no report of oil pollution from the incident. - CNA/vm
Related article
Tanker catches fire off Pengerang, no major oil spill
MPA refutes report of 735 ships idling in local waters as trade declines
Elizabeth Wilmot, Straits Times 20 May 09;
THE Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has asserted that there are no lay-ups in local port waters, in response to a claim by The New York Times (NYT) that there are 735 ships idling just outside the port.
According to Captain M. Segar, group director (Hub Port) of MPA, there have been no lay-ups in the port, and port dues are structured to actively discourage laying up.
'About 400 to 500 ships use our anchorages daily, contributing to Singapore being the world's busiest port. While these numbers are higher than last year's, they represent an average utilisation of only around 65 per cent of our anchorage capacity,' Capt Segar said in an e-mailed statement to The Straits Times.
He added that more than 95 per cent of those ships stay for fewer than 10 days.
An NYT online article published last Tuesday said that 'one of the largest fleets of ships ever gathered idles here just outside one of the world's busiest ports (Singapore), marooned by the receding tide of global trade'.
It reported that the number of ships congregated amounted to 735, as counted by the AIS Live ship tracking service of Lloyd's Register-Fairplay. It added that 'shipping lines are becoming concerned about near misses and collisions in one of the world's most congested waterways, the straits that separate Malaysia and Singapore from Indonesia'.
Capt Segar assured the international shipping community that MPA was acutely aware of concerns about congestion, and was 'committed to ensuring navigational safety within the Singapore Strait and Singapore port, as well as in its approaches'.
'The number of marine incidents in the anchorages of the Singapore port has remained fairly stable. There were nine reported incidents in our port so far this year, which is the same number reported over the same period in 2008,' he added.
The incidents were not due to port congestion and included four that were caused by ships dragging anchor during unusually high winds. All the incidents were said to be minor and did not result in any injury or pollution.
Capt Segar reported that outside Singapore port waters, MPA's Singapore Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) observed about 150 ships anchored in the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) - which helps regulate marine traffic to prevent collisions - in the Singapore Strait region.
'For ships anchored in the TSS of the Singapore Strait, the Singapore VTS actively reports them to their respective flag administrations - and ship owners also where possible - for appropriate action, as these ships are violating the International Regulations for the Prevention of Collisions at Sea, which prohibits anchoring in the TSS,' he said.
Economists attributed the widespread idling of ships to the steep decline in global trade.
Economist David Cohen of Action Economics said: 'We've experienced one of the sharpest contractions in world trade...over the past six to nine months. If things do pick up, they (the shipping industry) can get back in action.'
CIMB-GK economist Song Seng Wun said: 'Better to be parked here where, in case there is a quick shift in sentiment, boats are out there to load up...very quickly. It makes sense to park them near the busiest port of the world.'
Capt Segar said that MPA would be pressing for action from the authorities beyond Singapore.
But he added: 'For areas beyond our port waters, we urge ship owners and flag states to take serious action against errant ship masters who anchor their ships indiscriminately there, so as to help reduce the navigational risks in these locations.
'We will also be working with Malaysia and Indonesia to address this issue at the International Maritime Organisation.'
Singapore port remains navigationally safe: MPA
Letter to the Editor, Business Times 20 May 09;
I REFER to the story by The New York Times titled 'Ships Tread Water, Waiting for Cargo' (May 13, 2009), which The Business Times ran on May 14, 2009. The article suggests that there are about 735 ships idling in and around Singapore waters as a result of the global slowdown in shipping, and that this may lead to an increase in marine incidents.
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) assures the international shipping community that we are acutely aware of concerns about congestion, and are committed to ensuring navigational safety within the Singapore Strait and Singapore port as well as in its approaches.
We would like to clarify that the Singapore port has sufficient anchorage capacity to meet the needs of the shipping industry, and for ships to navigate safely. About 400 to 500 ships use our anchorages daily, contributing to Singapore being the world's busiest port. While these numbers are higher than last year, they represent an average utilisation of only around 65 per cent of our anchorage capacity.
While at anchor, these ships perform a variety of activities, such as taking stores, lifting bunkers, awaiting cargo, undergoing maintenance and repairs afloat, or waiting to enter shipyards. More than 95 per cent of these ships stay for less than 10 days.
Reports that ships have been laid up in the Singapore port are not accurate. There have been no lay-ups in our port, and our port dues are structured to actively discourage laying-up in our port.
Also, the number of marine incidents in the anchorages of the Singapore port has remained fairly stable. There were nine reported incidents in our port so far this year, which is the same number reported over the same period in 2008. These incidents were not due to port congestion, and included four that were caused by ships dragging anchor during unusually high winds. All the incidents were minor and did not result in any injuries or pollution.
Outside Singapore port waters, MPA's Singapore Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) observed that there are about 150 ships anchored in the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) of the Singapore Strait and in the approaches to ports (including the Singapore port) along the Singapore Strait. Observations made about the number of ships in the Singapore port probably included these vessels which are actually outside the Singapore port waters.
For ships anchored in the TSS of the Singapore Strait, the Singapore VTS actively reports them to their respective flag administrations (and shipowners also, where possible) for appropriate action, as these ships are violating the International Regulations for the Prevention of Collisions at Sea (Colregs), which prohibits anchoring in the TSS. Singapore's efforts have helped reduce the number of ships indiscriminately anchoring within the TSS of the Singapore Straits and few ships remain there.
Most of the approximately 150 ships are indiscriminately anchored outside the TSS of the Singapore Strait. The Singapore VTS actively advises these ships against doing so, as such indiscriminate anchoring poses a risk to navigational safety, even though they are outside the TSS. As a result of this increased risk, we have observed an increase in the number of incidents outside Singapore port waters. To date this year, the Singapore VTS has received 16 reports of minor incidents outside the Singapore port. This is an increase from the four reported over the same period last year.
In conclusion, MPA would like to reassure the shipping community that the port of Singapore remains navigationally safe and that MPA will continue its efforts to ensure navigational safety within the Singapore Strait and the Singapore port. For areas beyond our port waters, we urge ship owners and flag States to take serious action against errant shipmasters who anchor their ships indiscriminately there, so as to help reduce the navigational risks in these locations. We will also be working with Malaysia and Indonesia to address this issue at the International Maritime Organization.
Capt M Segar
Group Director (Hub Port)
Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore
MM Lee also wanted greenery to soften cityscape, say gardeners
Ng Tze Yong, The New Paper 19 May 09;
THE humble gardener, with his patience for blooms and eye for all things beautiful, is the last person you might think about roping into the Machiavellian business of political survival.
But Singapore's gardeners were roped in after independence, where they planted, quite literally, the seeds of Singapore's success.
At a recent dialogue to mark the 150th anniversary of the Botanic Gardens, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew cast the spotlight on some of his lesser-known lieutenants - Singapore's pioneer gardeners at the National Parks Board (NParks) and its predecessor, the Parks and Recreation Department.
He explained how the greening of Singapore was a key economic strategy: Lush greenery and well-maintained lawns would show visitors this was a country that worked.
But just how was this political vision realised by horticultural minds? For just how do you plant pretty flowers in the dingy underbellies of flyovers , narrow road dividers and tiny traffic islands?
To realise the Garden City vision, the gardeners would have to, quite literally, tread where no gardener had gone before.
Teams were sent out in the '70s and '80s - to Kenya, Venezuela and Zimbabwe, among others - to source for plants to bring back.
Even MM Lee got into the act, keeping an eye out for roots and shoots as he shuttled around the world meeting world leaders.
The gardeners, true to form, wanted to grow pretty flowers. But MM Lee, the politician, was more pragmatic.
'He told us: 'Flowers are OK. But give me shade first. I want you to cool down Singapore',' said Mr Wong Yew Kwan, 76, who was the commissioner of the Parks and Recreation Department in the 1970s.
MM Lee hated anything concrete, Mr Wong said, and wanted greenery to soften their harshness.
'He would tell people things like: 'Do you know that if you stand under a raintree, it is actually 4 deg cooler?',' said Mr Wong.
Unannounced visits
'Another time, when making an argument for aerated ground slabs, which allows more air and water to reach the roots of trees, MM Lee told someone: 'Put a polythene bag over your head... you will suffocate!'
Every one or two weeks, MM Lee arrived at the Botanical Gardens unannounced, accompanied by a couple of bodyguards, for his evening strolls.
'But after every walk, he would send us little notes, like 'I saw small branches left here and I saw rubbish left there',' said Mr Wong, who added half in jest that after a while, he told his security guard at the gate to alert him whenever MM Lee arrived.
MM Lee's interest, Mr Wong believed, stemmed from his time in England, home to the world-famous Kew Gardens, and the pragmatism of knowing how first impressions last.
'Years before Changi Airport was built, he told us: 'When the first plane comes in to land, I want them to see planted vegetation, not wild vegetation',' said Mr Wong.
At the time, the Tanah Merah area, which planes pass on their landing approach, was covered in lallang and swamps.
'We scrambled around looking for a fast-growing species to plant there,' said Mr Wong. The Acacia and African Tulip trees were selected and thousands of seeds were promptly ordered from abroad.
The construction of the East Coast Parkway also proceeded with staccato precision.
'It was build, plant, build, plant!' said Mr Wong.
Mr Simon Longman, 52, the director of streetscape at NParks today, said: 'We knew we were doing something very different from other countries.'
But it wasn't easy. Much of the planting was done on ground where the topsoil was absent or where the water table had been disrupted due to rapid development.
Along the way, the gardeners learnt valuable - sometimes unexpected - lessons.
'Trees like the pong pong tree have heavy fruits. It drops on your car... people don't like that,' said Dr Tan Wee Kiat, 66, the former NParks chief executive.
Dented cars aside, Singaporeans had high standards for their flora. 'They always asked us, where were the flowers?' said Mr Wong.
'I told them, Singapore has no seasons. We will never have cherry blossoms like Japan, because all our plants are tropical and green the whole year round!'
But the team got around it by planting plants with leaves of different shapes or leaves that flushed with colour when they were young. Sometimes, they even watered plants less often than usual deliberately to stimulate flowering.
'At the end of the day, we had two advantages many countries didn't have - sunlight and rain,' said Mr Wong.
And with these - the only natural resources Singapore had in abundance - the humble gardeners coloured the country green.
Ng Tze Yong, The New Paper 20 May 09;
ONE of the things you often hear about Singapore's tourist attractions is that they're fake.
That's why this stretch of Upper Thomson Road between Yio Chu Kang Road and the Seletar Expressway deserves a closer look.
It is real, it is alive, and it lies at the heart of the Singapore Story. It can be a tourist attraction with a difference.
Bearing silent testimony to the vision of Singapore's founding fathers, these trees will also be their legacy, grander than any monument, for hundreds of years.
Sure, Upper Thomson Road is not Australia's Great Ocean Road.
But smack in the middle of our bustling city on a tiny, pancake island, we have created our own scenic drive.
It's an achievement to be proud of.
The road can work as a tourist attraction in three ways.
Firstly, the pristine jungles of Lower Pierce Reservoir can be opened up for eco-tourism. This will make Upper Thomson Road its gateway, and a breath-taking curtain-raiser.
Will tourists be interested in Singapore's flora and fauna? There's a good chance they will. Dr David Bellamy, a renowned conservationist, once remarked that Bukit Timah Nature Reserve contains more plant species than the whole of North America.
Secondly, we can promote it together with Singapore's street racing heritage. Singapore's gritty street circuit in the 1960s was located right next to this 'green road'.
Imagine: F1 with a Garden City twist.
Thirdly, this road can lead tourists to the heartland neighbourhoods of Ang Mo Kio and Sembawang, making their visit more multi-facted and authentic.
But it's not just about the tourism.
At a recent dialogue, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew revealed how the greening of Singapore was a way to woo investors in the early days.
Today, as Singapore forges ahead, these trees, now fully-grown, serve another important purpose:
They make Singapore feel like home.
NParks 'tree doctors' focus on trees' health, safety
Ng Tze Yong, The New Paper 20 May 09;
HE'S a 'doctor' who wears hiking boots instead of white coats, and uses drills instead of stethoscopes.
His patients? Singapore's other 'greying' population - the rain trees and yellow flames along Singapore's roads.
Mr Abdul Hamid, 49, an arborist or 'tree doctor' with the National Parks Board (NParks) has a largely overlooked role, one which is growing in importance.
Nine per cent of Singapore's 800,000 roadside trees - that's about 70,000 trees - are now fully mature.
'Many of them were planted in the 1970s during the drive towards a Garden City, and now many are maturing at the same time,' said Mr Simon Longman, 52, director of streetscape at NParks.
There's no fixed criteria for what counts as a 'fully mature' tree.
Such trees, however, are usually those that have reached their optimal girth and height, have started to flower and bear fruit, or have started serving the purpose for which they were planted, such as providing shade along highways.
They are also the ones which need more care.
With their bigger branches, any instance of 'tree failure' (defined as anything from a falling branch to a toppled tree) can cause inconvenience, damage property, injure or kill.
In 2000, 3,300 cases of 'tree failure' occurred.
Since 2004, that rate has fallen to, and remained at, a constant of 1,000 to 1,200 cases a year - testimony to the work of arborists like Mr Hamid.
NParks inspects every tree under its charge at least once every three years.
It counts over one million trees under its charge, on roadsides and in its parks. (Others come under the charge of various agencies, such as HDB and URA.)
Bigger trees, 'high-maintenance' species, and those located in high traffic areas are inspected more often.
On a typical day, Mr Hamid lugs heavy equipment from tree to tree, running through a 'patient list' of about 50 trees.
Every tree has an ID number - comprising a species code, year it was planted and a six-digit serial number - and Mr Hamid follows a schedule listing their locations alongside lamp post numbers.
Some of his oldest - and most beautiful - 'patients' can be found along Connaught Drive and Bukit Timah Road near Balmoral Plaza.
Reading its body language
'A human being can talk to you. Even animals can make sounds. But a tree cannot do any of this, so you have to read its body language,' said Mr Hamid.
The findings of each inspection are recorded in a database, which helps NParks in its dealings with other Government and private agencies.
'In an urban environment, many things compete for space with our trees,' said NParks arborist Taufik Ibrahim, 31.
'So it is important for us to work closely with the different organisations, because when there is development, sometimes, our trees have to be sacrificed.'
As more of Singapore's trees mature, inspection and pruning costs are expected to grow at NParks, said Mr Longman.
At the Centre for Urban Greenery and Ecology, a one-stop training centre for the landscape workforce set up two years ago, NParks officers are kept up to date with the latest in tree care.
To support the arborists, NParks also has rapid responses teams - motorcycle-riding officers armed with chainsaws - which are despatched to the scene of a 'tree failure' within an hour of activation.
Said Mr Hamid: 'What this means is that our trees are getting bigger and Singapore is becoming greener. It means we are nearing our goal of giving our children the chance to grow up in a garden.'
Love of greenery does not come naturally to Singaporeans, but landscaper is hopeful of a change in attitudes
Tan Hui Yee, Straits Times 20 May 09;
THE view from the ground up looked promising two weeks ago when the authorities unveiled $1 billion worth of plans to promote sustainable environmental practices over the next five years.
But leading landscaper Michael Teh worries that the devil is in the details.
The newly announced programmes run the gamut from clean energy to recycling efforts and rooftop gardens.
Mr Teh, the 56-year-old chief executive of Nature Landscapes, says: 'We (tend to) get bogged down by too many initiatives by different agencies. Today it is the sustainable development issue, tomorrow it's the 'Keep our waterways clean' issue, and the next day we have to plant more trees in Singapore.'
The Government, he says, can mitigate the overkill by giving more thought to how to commit the measures to public memory. It could take the form of rituals like the annual Tree Planting Day. 'If we don't keep the impetus going, we just forget about them.'
Mr Teh is founding chairman of the Landscape Industry Association (Singapore). His company, with 250 employees, has greened landmark national projects such as Changi Airport and the Singapore Turf Club.
He knows from intimate experience how well-intentioned green legislation can fall flat on its face when confronted with commercial and individual interests.
In 1993, the landscaping industry expected a surge of business after the Government offered incentives for developers to build planter boxes in apartments. It never happened.
While developers rushed to build them, apartment owners left them empty or illegally converted them to balcony space or living room extensions. The incentives were removed last year.
'It's quite straightforward,' he says. 'Singapore is not a gardening society. Nine out of 10 Singaporeans will tell you, 'I don't have a green thumb.' So if there is no interest, they say, 'Let's convert it into something, let's expand my crammed living room space' - which is true, the average Singapore apartment is getting smaller and smaller.'
It's not so much that Singaporeans do not like greenery, but that they take it for granted.
Singapore's four-decades-old greening movement, spawned by an administration keen to set the island apart from regional cities, has been supported by keynote 1970s projects such as the lusciously landscaped Shangri-La hotel in Orange Grove Road - which sparked the rage for bougainvillea-fringed balconies - and Pandan Valley condominium, whose terraced gardens set new standards for high-rise greenery. Staid-looking faux Chinese or Japanese gardens gave way to more varied styles as tastes matured over the years.
Meanwhile, development regulations require greenery to be planted around new projects, and many trees cannot be cut down without prior approval.
'The National Parks Board does a great job of greening Singapore. The condominium managements get people like us to green up the space...Everything just falls into place. That's why people take it for granted.'
Greenery is still something that is admired from a distance rather than experienced at close range here, he says. While fewer landed homeowners these days resort to concreting over lawns, few bother to touch the gardens they own.
'If you ask the average family who lives on landed property, I would dare say that 80 or 90 per cent don't even mow their own lawns. They will contract some guy who comes down, helps them mow the lawn, does a bit of gardening and so on...It's very sad. In land-scarce Singapore, these people should be excited to own a piece of land which they can do something to.'
In the same way, not enough Singaporeans venture out into the nation's many parks. When he asks people to visit Bishan Park, where his company's Aramsa Spa is located, they say, 'Hey, where is Bishan Park?'' he bemoans. 'And these are people who live in the vicinity.'
'The average Singaporean is actually a couch potato - he'd rather stay at home and in an air-conditioned environment than come out to the park and enjoy nature .'
For now, Singapore's Garden City status is 'artificially' sustained by government legislation and commercial interests. Developers turn to plantings because they are required by law to provide a green buffer around their projects, and also because some use luscious gardens to attract investor interest.
'If you pull that away, what will happen? It will die a natural death.'
'If the next guy who comes in says 'What a bloody waste of money, forget about it, I don't want to legislate you must plant a tree for every development,' what will happen? The developers will probably think, 'OK, I will do the minimum that I need to do.' Commercial greed will definitely step in.'
Unlike in Britain and Australia, where sizeable gardening communities allow huge commercial nurseries to flourish, retail demand makes up no more than 20 per cent of the $1.18 billion landscaping industry here, he estimates.
Budding landscapers have to go abroad for tertiary studies because local universities do not offer degrees in landscape and horticulture management.
The green movement here, he stresses, will fail without government intervention.
'A lot of these schemes need to dangle carrots before people for them to work. A green roof, for example, is really an additional expense. It's not a place where people go. If it's high up in the sky, who else can see it except for those in a taller building? So it's an additional expense (to developers) without any immediate returns.'
Done in the right measure, green legislation can spawn entire industries. He cites the example of Germany, where it is mandatory in many cities for new flat- roofed buildings to have vegetation on their roofs. Germany has widely followed green roof standards and technology.
Singapore could head the same way, he suggests.
The Government last month announced that it will co-fund up to half the cost of setting up green roof projects in downtown Singapore and offered developers bonus saleable space if they set up rooftop outdoor refreshment areas that included landscaping.
As more developers plunge into green roofs, Singapore's landscapers could be motivated to research and develop new green roof technology. This is particularly important as German green roof standards - developed from temperate climates - may not be suitable for tropical Singapore.
He fantasises: 'Singapore is so built up...if only we could green our roofs and turn them into vegetable plots, we'd probably be able to feed half of Singapore.'
In the short run, he is resigned to the fact that greenery will suffer in the face of the current financial downturn. Building owners, town councils and condominium managements will eye landscaping budgets as easy ways to trim maintenance costs, he predicts. Already, companies are cutting back on items like plant rentals, which cost as little as $1 a month.
He says matter-of-factly: 'Green has always been seen as something that is not essential. It's a 'nice to have' but not a 'need to have' when the crunch comes.
'But if you don't weed, or cut the grass often enough, or don't put enough fertiliser, the landscape will deteriorate.'
But he is hopeful attitudes can change, if there is enough done to engage the next generation.
School gardening clubs, community gardens and outdoor trips all help to put the younger generation in contact with flora. It is to be hoped they will learn to take ownership of the environment.
Upcoming projects like the Gardens at Marina Bay could also help change attitudes. One of its two glass houses is expected to showcase plants and trees from temperate regions - an eye-opener for those who do not have the chance to travel to see them in their natural habitat.
In his own small way, Mr Teh tries to pique public interest in greenery's potential. The two eateries at Bishan Park's Aramsa Spa - of which he is a majority shareholder - feature a green roof and bars and dining areas set in a lush garden.
'Mine is a touch garden,' he declares. 'In fact, the aunties who do taiji here in the morning help themselves to my plants. They dig them up. I just smile. I tell my gardeners to leave them alone as they take the small ones.'
The way he sees it, respect for the environment comes about only when someone is able to see, touch and feel his natural surroundings.
In built-up Singapore, it just doesn't happen often enough.
'If you ask the average gardener why he likes gardening, it's not messing your hands that's the fun part. It's really the wonderment that you're helping to make something grow, whether it's from a seed or a cutting. Then you nurture it some more, to its full bloom...At the end of the day, it's about your ability to create something.'
tanhy@sph.com.sg
Industry veteran
MR MICHAEL TEH, 56, is the chief executive of 28-year-old landscaping company Nature Landscapes, which has greened landmarks such as Changi Airport and Singapore Turf Club.
He is the founding chairman of the Landscape Industry Association (Singapore), which represents about 90 landscaping companies in Singapore. He graduated from the National University of Singapore in 1979 with a degree in building and estate management.
He is married to former TV actress Jazreel Low, 42. She runs a chain of six spas under the Asmara group, which he co-owns. The couple have a six-year-old daughter, Michelia.
Greenpac advises firms on the most efficient way to pack products
Gabriel Chen, Straits Times 20 May 09;
BEING ahead of the curve can be crucial and can give a start-up a sizeable competitive advantage. Just ask Ms Susan Chong.
The former marketing executive gambled that 'green technology' would eventually gain a following despite a widely held view at that time that environmentally friendly applications to business were expensive and impractical.
'I could see that green was coming along the way,' says Ms Chong, who founded Greenpac about seven years ago.
Her firm helps companies evaluate the most efficient way to pack their products.
'When we first started, nobody talked about being green, but somehow you knew that being green was the way to go,' she says.
The 39-year-old entrepreneur, who calls herself a 'green person', recalls that seven years ago, a lot of companies, even those hailing from the high-tech medical and electronic sectors, did not focus on packaging.
They sought to get their products out fast and proceeded to dump them into a box, but this proved costly when the products they delivered ended up being mishandled - sullying their reputations in the process.
Greenpac's business model is simple: It looks at how to pack more products in a shipment - 're-engineering' as Ms Chong calls it - to help save on logistic costs.
For example, it could involve changing the material used to ship the equipment so that the customer can send more pieces in each box.
It could also involve changing the combination of wood used in the crates to make the package lighter and so bring down transportation costs.
Greenpac offers advice but does not produce its own packaging materials. Rather, it works with suppliers to customise environmentally friendly packaging materials according to the specific needs of each customer.
Naturally, the raw materials that Ms Chong uses, like wood and paper, are environmentally friendly.
'We don't sell boxes, we sell solutions,' says Ms Chong, a point she makes repeatedly during an hour-long interview at her warehouse in Pandan Crescent.
Her suppliers come from Europe and United States, while her 90 customers are mostly multinationals.
Ms Chong, a permanent resident who came here from Kedah, Malaysia, about 16 years ago, started her firm with a $30,000 government grant.
She soon found that one of her biggest challenges was to convince potential customers that being environmentally friendly did not necessarily mean additional costs.
'In typical business context, nobody would pay extra cents for being green. Environmentally friendly products typically will be more expensive,' she says.
Her strategy is to show customers that there will be cost savings, building up trust in the process.
She draws attention to what she calls an oriented strand board - basically, a special material from Europe that is environmentally friendly.
'This is wood,' she says, picking it up. 'This will cost more, but this material is lighter. So when you ship by air, you save on the freight. When we talk about cost savings, we talk about bottom-line cost savings.'
Her firm's services help customers achieve savings of between 10 per cent and 50 per cent on transport costs. And while much of the demand is driven by a desire to pay less, the emerging awareness of environmental issues has helped her to win new customers.
'Today, every company wants to be seen as green. You're talking about corporate social responsibility,' she says.
Greenpac's sales have at least doubled each year since 2002 while the workforce has grown from three to 20, including designers and mechanical and structural engineers who customise packages for clients.
Ms Chong started operating from a small office at International Business Park in Jurong but has since moved and now rents two warehouses - in Pandan Crescent and Tuas.
She declines to reveal sales and profit numbers.
'My philosophy is you want to make money but through a good cause,' says Ms Chong, a former marketeer for companies in the pharmaceutical and hotel industries.
Before setting up Greenpac, she had worked at pharmaceutical giant Pfizer before helping in her husband Raymond's packaging business.
'His business is manufacturing wooden crates and pallets,' she says.
The mother of four tries to be environmentally conscious at home and recycles waste materials and cuts down on unnecessary energy usage but she knows there is still a lot of scope for improvement.
'I'm not driving a green car, but moving forward...that'll be an option,' she says.
'Anything I can do to save the Earth, I'll try. My children understand global warming, what it means to reduce carbon footprint. You tell them and you nurture them.'
The economic downturn is a concern, but the slowdown in demand at her firm has been offset by more new projects secured.
For instance, some of her new customers come from the more 'recession- proof' defence and food and beverage industries, she says.
'When we started, people thought packaging was a sunset industry. They asked me why I would go to an industry with no potential. I said it's not a sunset industry.
'Initially, we're a small company, but one day we'll be big. If we stay focused and do what we're good at, eventually we'll grow. And that's what we've been striving for so far.'
WWF 19 May 09;
What may become the world's largest marine protected area came a step closer today following the announcement by Australia’s environment minister Peter Garrett that the Coral Sea would become a Conservation Zone.
The area, which is found east of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef Marine park and amounts to almost a million square kilometers, is home to significant seabirds and migratory marine species, and has remained relatively undisturbed by direct human impact.
“The Coral sea is one of the world’s healthiest marine wilderness areas, where it is still possible to see healthy populations of sharks, turtles, whales, fish and coral” said Lydia Gibson, WWF’s Marine Policy Manager in the region.
“WWF has been working hard to make sure this region receives the recognition it deserves.”
Under the conservation zone designation, current tourism and fishing activities can continue, but new commercial activity will be rigorously assessed while the government evaluates the region for its conservation value.
WWF worked with government and stakeholders to develop a set of criteria which Mr. Garrett says will be included in the final plan for the conservation of the Coral Sea.
“The pressures on our oceans are increasing and we need to take steps to protect our fragile marine environments,” Mr Garrett.
These criteria include the establishment of the protected area by 2011, ruling out oil and gas exploration and the creation of high-conservation zones within the Marine Protected Area.
This news comes shortly after the commitment last week by the six leaders of the Coral Triangle countries – Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Solomon Islands and Timor Leste – to protect the region by implementing a 10-year regional plan of action with time-bound steps to address growing threats to the region’s threatened species and other marine and coastal living resources.
“As climate change begins to effect ecosystems around the world, including the Coral Sea, marine protected areas provide a buffer zone, allowing species to adapt to the changes. WWF would like to see a chain of interconnected marine protected areas across the world, giving marine species the greatest chance of survival” said Ms. Gibson.
The existing Coral Sea national nature reserves – Coringa-Herald and Lihou Reef reserves, and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, are not included in the conservation zone.
Coral Sea Conservation Zone announced by Australia
Shane McLeod, ABC News 19 May 09;
PETER CAVE: The Federal Government has moved to protect nearly one million square kilometres of ocean off Australia's north-east coast while it considers whether to set up a new marine park or several of them in the region.
The Environment Minister Peter Garrett announced the move this morning, establishing the Coral Sea Conservation Zone in Australian territorial waters east of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.
The Minister says there'll be no impact on those who already use the vast areas of ocean, and that existing fishing and cruising rights remain in place.
Environment reporter Shane McLeod has the story.
SHANE MCLEOD: The Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett is just back from Indonesia, where at the World Oceans Conference he's been hearing about fears for the future of the world's tropical seas.
Back home, he's announced some of the steps Australia will take in protecting those waters.
Standing before a tank filled with circling sharks at Sydney Aquarium, he's released details of the eastern Australia marine bioregional profile.
It's a key document in a long-running process the Government has been following to assess protection measures in place for all of the waters that surround the Australian territory.
And as it continues that assessment, the Minister has decided that the waters of the Coral Sea need immediate attention.
He's announced the establishment of the Coral Sea Conservation Zone.
PETER GARRETT: This will enable a period of thorough assessment of the values of this marine environment and we will welcome very much the involvement from all stakeholders and the Government in inputting into that assessment process.
SHANE MCLEOD: The conservation zone will cover nearly one million square kilometres, stretching from the east of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park out to Australia's territorial boundaries with Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu.
Those who are already allowed to do things in the waters - like fishing, scientific research or cruise shipping - will be allowed to maintain their rights.
Peter Garrett says the goal is to stop any expansion of activity while the assessment of the region is underway.
PETER GARRETT: I'm confident that existing users will recognise that they have every opportunity to continue with the activities that they've been undertaking up to this point in time, so long as it's done in accordance with appropriate legislation.
I think on the part of the scientific community, there will be I think a recognition that we can see how important it is that we fully understand the range of values that an area like the Coral Sea has.
I'm very confident that the way in which we've made this decision enables us to properly and prudently assess the values of this area, whilst at the same time enabling those who have had activities in that area up to this point in time to continue them.
SHANE MCLEOD: The Minister's been lobbied by environmental groups to take drastic steps to protect the waters of the Coral Sea. Some are arguing for all extractive industries, including fishing, to be banned in the region.
The Minister says the establishment of the conservation zone is an interim step while various proposals are considered.
The US-based Pew Environmental Group is one of the groups that's been arguing for increased protection.
Its spokeswoman Elise Hawthorne says today's announcement by the Minister is a welcome step.
ELISE HAWTHORNE: We think it's a wonderful announcement today. We're very happy that the Minister made this announcement.
And we're just really supportive of anything that protects the Coral Sea. It's such an amazing, spectacular marine jewel that's part of Australia, and it's got an extremely important heritage value as well.
So we welcome today's announcement.
SHANE MCLEOD: The Minister has also won initial approval from recreational fishers in Queensland.
They've recently expressed concerns that fishing could be banned in the region.
And while they have yet to see the full details of today's announcement, they say they're happy the Minister has decided to maintain the status quo.
Peter Garrett believes it's the appropriate balance.
PETER GARRETT: It recognises that those who have existing activities underway in the Coral Sea area can continue them, whilst we get a deeper and a better understanding of the values of this incredible marine resource.
So I think that we have done absolutely the right thing in recognition of how important this region is. In doing that we're acknowledging that there are existing uses and that those existing uses can continue.
PETER CAVE: The Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett ending Shane McLeod's report.
Narelle Towie, Perth Now 19 May 09;
AN underwater wonderland spanning 1.3 million square km from Kalbarri to Kangaroo Island in South Australia may soon be better protected under government re-zoning plans.
A map detailing coastal areas that may be re-classified as marine parks has been released by the federal government.
Currently less than 1 per cent of WA’s coastline, which is home to an abundance of unique species endemic to the state, is protected by law.
At a meeting in Perth yesterday, environment and fisheries officials meet with conservation groups and industry to deliberate over re-zoning plans.
The new map could see a network of marine parks – afforded full environmental protection – spring up along the WA coast.
WWF’s senior policy for officer oceans and coasts Paul Gamblin said 650,000 sq/km of south-west coastline has been mapped by the government for better protection.
“The areas that they have nominated are broad areas of interest that range from deep water features such as the Perth canyon, which is deep water trench where blue whales track, to shallow waters such as coral reefs and sea-grass meadows,” Mr Gamblin said.
“We think that this is of international importance and the government have a once in lifetime opportunity to get it right,” he said.
At the start of this month an international team of scientists from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) warned that WA’s marine species face extinction if they were not better protected.
Studies on features in the region will be used to determine those areas which should be classed as marine parks and those where mining and other potentially harmful activities will be allowed.
The process stands to affect a range of industry including fisherman.
Piers Verstegen of the Conservation Council of WA for the Save our Marine Life alliance said that a far greater level of unique marine life lives in the area being considered than at the Great Barrier Reef.
“It is recognised world-wide and here in Australia that valuable fish stocks are in decline. If our unique marine life and industries are to be sustainable they need a network of large marine sanctuaries to allow species to recover and avoid extinction,” Mr Verstegen said.
Australia boasts the third largest area of ocean in the world under its care and as a signatory to the UN’s Convention on the Law of the Sea has a global responsibility to manage its marine resources for both economic benefit and conservation.
WWF 19 May 09;
Selangor - Malaysian wildlife is under grave threat of poaching and smuggling. While people who poach wild animals don’t live in the city, people who consume them (those who eat exotic meat and take traditional medicines made from endangered species) do. To tackle this, the Malaysian Conservation Alliance for Tigers (MYCAT) continues the campaign by approaching consumers and potential consumers, this time in the neighbourhood pasar malam (night market).
A MYCAT booth, looking like a regular pasar malam stall, was set up but the contents were far from ordinary. The stall had authentic tiger parts including a tiger pelt and bones, deer trophies, snares and traditional medicines derived from endangered species, and graphic posters to illustrate the cruel and illegal nature of poaching and smuggling.
On 13th of May 2009, the team began with the pasar malam in Taman Petaling, followed by Kota Damansara two days later and culminated with the largest pasar malam in Petaling Jaya, in SS2, on 18th of May 2009.
The trained team of MYCAT volunteers from Taylor’s University College, interacted with members of the public to raise concern for tigers and other endangered Malaysian animals.
While this approach has been conducted in rural areas in Malaysia, this was the first outreach of its kind in an urban city hub.
John Platt, Scientific American 19 May 09;
No one knows how many Philippine forest turtles (Siebenrockiella leytensis) are left in the wild, but however many there are, the number is rapidly shrinking thanks to illegal trade, says Pierre Fidenci, President of Endangered Species International in San Francisco.
Once believed to be extinct, the forest turtle was rediscovered in 2001 when scientists found several turtles for sale in a local market. Since then, a single population has been located on the island of Palawan, but it is already dwindlng. "In some creeks where the Philippine forest turtle used be abundant, it is now very difficult to find it, if not impossible," Fidenci says.
Why the decline? The turtle is so rare, and so striking, it has become highly desirable in the pet trade, says Fidenci. Over the last four years, ESI staff have found more than 170 turtles for sale at pet markets in Manila. ESI found that the turtles were kept hidden in the back of stores and brought to potential buyers only when it was felt that there were no risks involved. "There is no doubt that more than 500 turtles are sold every year," Fidenci says. The species is legally protected in the Philippines, but enforcement is rare.
The species' rediscovery in the wild was, Fidenci says, "the trigger for its sharp decline. Demand amongst pet traders for this enigmatic and rare turtle was immediately rampant." ESI investigations have found the turtles selling for between $50 and $75 in the Philippines, but after export to Japan, Europe and the United States, prices skyrocketed as high as $2,500 each, says Fidenci.
The group has pressed local authorities to target illegal traders in Palawan, but nothing much has happened. So far, it’s “business as usual and no actions have been undertaken to really stop the trade because there is a lack of leadership to move forward," says Fidenci.
So how can the turtle be saved? Fidenci is calling for the creation of a special unit to monitor illegal trade and creation of alternative livelihoods for the people who are catching turtles in the wild. One approach he advocates is to transform “traders into conservationists and reward them for their protection achievement." Since the turtles' habitat is just 150 km by 50 km, Fidenci says this wouldn't require much in the way of resources, and "we can achieve our goal in saving this turtle from becoming extinct."
The Jakarta Post 19 May 09;
While a handful of oil palm plantations are raking in a fortune from their activities, many villagers are reeling at the loss of the source of much of their livelihoods.
The expanding plantations have also seen wildlife driven from their habitat, put on the verge of extinction or forced to compete with villagers for food.
“I miss the animals we used to have back in my hometown,” Guntur, from Telawan district in Kotawaringin regency, Central Kalimantan, says after a recent trip to Jakarta’s Ragunan Zoo.
He adds the animals in his village disappeared when the oil palm plantations came around.
“There used to be orangutans everywhere. But now you’d be lucky to spot one orangutan a year, ever since the palm oil companies came to our village,” he says.
Guntur came to Jakarta – sponsored by three friends – to report on palm oil companies he says have snatched up hundreds of hectares of land owned by the villagers.
“The first oil palm company came to the village in 2002, and the next company a year after,” he says.
“Since then, the damage to the forests has gotten worse.”
He adds hundreds of hectares of forest around his village have been turned into oil palm plantations, with nothing remaining from the original forests.
The wildlife exodus has also been drastic, with just a handful of monkeys still frolicking in the treetops, and the occasional rare glimpse of a sunbear, Guntur says.
“When we used to go hunting back in the day, we could get at least one kancil [Java mouse-deer], but now that’s down to only one a year.”
The animals have consequently been driven to foraging and living off the villagers’ crops, which are also eaten by insects and birds whose habitat has been razed for the oil palms.
“Our harvests have frequently failed since 2002, due to locusts. In 2008, the whole village lost its crops to birds,” Guntur says.
A report by Save Our Borneo, an environmental protection foundation, claims oil palm plantations are wiping out forests that have long been a source of income for natives, rich in wildlife, medicinal plants, rattan and clean air.
The forests are also home to insects and other creatures that attack the villagers’ crops when their natural habitat is destroyed.
The report also says Telawan district has seen a slew of problems in land acquisition by oil palm companies.
Between 2004 and 2006, three such companies made massive expansions in the area, with each now occupying 19,000 hectares, the report says.
However, Edi Suhardi, head of CSR at oil palm heavyweight Agro Harapan Lestari Group, says the group is a member of the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).
“Our companies are very responsible and always comply with the rules set by the RSPO,” he says.
He adds the RSPO lays out principles that must be followed, including a restriction on the types of land that can be farmed, which rules out protected forests.
“There are seven basic principles in the RSPO and we have to follow the strict indicators. One of them is high conservation value of the plantation. Those who damage forests are usually companies that are not RSPO members.”
The RSPO keeps tabs on its members through complaints registered on its website. RSPO members must also disclose data such as the size and location of their plantations.
“We do not clear-cut prime forests, only land that has been previously used or exploited, for logging, for instance,” Edi says.
“Mostly we clear-cut unproductive land or areas left by villagers who farm nomadically. Our company also has programs to preserve land for orangutans. We see palm oil as part of development, but we try to make it a sustainable development,” he added.
Guntur, however, says oil palm companies have not helped improve the villagers’ welfare.
Each villager working for the plantations earns Rp 36,000 a day (US$3), he claims.
“That’s less than Rp 1 million a month. We used to make Rp 2.5 million to Rp 3 million before the companies came.”
Orangutans remain the most vulnerable because they do not only lose their habitat, but are killed when they try to feed off the oil palm fruits, now that their food has gone.
The Center for Orangutan Protection warned last April that at least 3,000 orangutans in the Central Kalimantan regency of Katingan faced imminent death due to the clear-cutting of their habitat for oil palm plantations. The permit to clear-cut was issued by the regent. (iwp)
Garance Burke, Associated Press Yahoo News 19 May 09;
FRESNO, Calif. – The decline of honeybee colonies has slowed slightly since last fall, but a mysterious combination of ailments is still decimating the insect's population, federal researchers say.
U.S. Department of Agriculture researchers found that honeybee colonies declined by 29 percent between September 2008 and early April. That's an improvement over the last two years, when researchers found that 32 percent and 36 percent of all beekeepers surveyed lost hives.
Domestic honeybee stocks have been waning since 2004 because of a puzzling illness scientists called colony collapse disorder, which causes adult bees to inexplicably forsake their broods. Bees now appear also to be suffering from other ailments.
Honeybees help pollinate many fruits and vegetables, including blueberries, tomatoes, apples and almonds.
The disorder has killed off the weakest colonies in recent years, and now pesticide drift and old foes such as the parasitic varroa mite are more likely threatening those that survived, said Jerry Hayes, a former president of the Apiary Inspectors of America, whose members helped carry out the survey.
"Whether it's CCD or pesticides, fungicides or chemicals affecting how the queens respond, I don't know that beekeepers care," said Hayes, chief of the apiary sector of the Florida Department of Agriculture. "The ones who I talk to are just beside themselves. If you are a small business person how many years of 30 percent losses can you take?"
Regardless of the cause, bees are still dying at rates that could put some keepers out of business, said Jeff Pettis, the USDA's top bee scientist.
The survey released Tuesday included 787 beekeepers who account for 20 percent of the country's approximately 2.3 million commercially managed bee hives. The data — collected through a spring telephone survey in which researchers polled keepers about how many of their hives survived the fall and winter, when queens go dormant — is being prepared for submission to a journal.
Timothy Gardner, PlanetArk 19 May 09;
NEW YORK - Canada's oil sands emit more carbon dioxide than average crude so developers need a clearer picture of where greenhouse gas regulations are headed to find the best way to tap the giant resource, experts said.
"The future regulation of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States and Canada will influence the pace of development," of the oil sands, said James Burkhard, an analyst at the energy consultants Cambridge Energy Research Associates, Inc.
"Clarity on carbon regulation in both Canada and the United States would help regulators and investors to make decisions."
The US House of Representatives has begun debating a climate bill that could regulate emissions of greenhouse gases from economy-wide sources. The United States is the largest consumer of oil exports from Canada, which is developing its own federal policy.
Green groups, church leaders and some scientists have slammed the oil sands, the largest deposit of crude outside Saudi Arabia, for polluting water and air.
Greenhouse gas emissions of the oil sands have come into focus especially because developers must blast the gooey crude with large amounts of energy-intensive steam to separate the oil from sand. They burn large amounts of natural gas, emitting volumes of carbon dioxide in the process.
A CERA report on the oil sands released on Monday found that the resource emits about 5 percent to 15 percent more carbon dioxide, over the "well-to-wheels" lifetime analysis of the fuel, than average crude oil.
Burkhard said drilling conventional oil also can emit large amounts of carbon dioxide as traditional oil fields age. Young oil fields generally are easy to pump as gas within the field pushes out the fuel. But after years of drilling a conventional oil field, companies must pump more water or steam into it to keep output high. This can quickly boost the amount of carbon dioxide the drilling process emits.
Oil sands developers are getting more efficient in producing the tarry crude. Burkhard said they use far less steam than they did just eight years ago. They are also learning how to use solvents to ease the flow of crude to the well head.
It is also more expensive to melt crude from the oil sands, and developers need a crude price of at least $50 a barrel to make a profit.
"We are still going up the learning curve in improving efficiency of oil sands," because production of the resource is comparatively young compared to traditional oil drilling, said Burkhard.
Producers would still be forced to deal with emissions under climate regulation and could either buy permits to pollute or invest in clean energy projects, also known as offsets, under any cap and trade plan.
(Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by David Gregorio)
Stephen Cunningham, BBC Green Room 19 May 09;
Smart meters will play a central role in delivering an energy infrastructure fit for the 21st Century, says Stephen Cunningham. In this week's Green Room, he argues why he believes the technology will help deliver the necessary carbon saving needed to prevent dangerous climate change.
If time waits for no man, climate change is even more ruthless.
Yet people in the UK, along with much of Europe, have been waiting for years for the intentions of government and its increasingly ambitious carbon reduction targets to be reinforced with decisive implementation plans.
Last week, that wait came to an end - at least in the field of energy management.
Industry has finally been given the backing it needs to unlock the potential of "smart metering".
And it has been a long wait. The idea was first mooted back in 1994 as a relatively "easy win" in addressing climate change, and it later featured in Gordon Brown's 2006 Budget speech.
The fact that the UK government's full support for a national roll-out of smart meters to all UK homes and businesses has been a long time in coming should not detract from the enormity of this decision.
The announcement by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (Decc) represents an important turning point in UK energy policy.
It heralds the advent of the "smart grid" - a potentially more profound step than North Sea gasification, according to many commentators.
The energy industry now has both the directive and core information it needs to prepare for the work that will make the UK a worldwide pioneer in smart energy management.
Industry and government must work hand-in-hand to seize the momentum and develop both the standards and delivery network required to meet the ambitious target of fitting 49 million meters in 27 million homes in little more than a decade.
21st Century solution
"Smart" electricity and gas meters provide utilities with a secure, two-way flow of data that allows them to manage demand, protect the distribution network and ultimately optimise energy generation.
Consumers benefit from being able to manage and reduce their energy bills, and, crucially, their household's carbon footprint.
Put simply, what you can measure, you can manage.
On the whole, the measurement of energy in the UK relies on a system introduced in the 19th Century, whereby the meter calculates a customer's aggregated energy use each quarter, or in many cases across an entire year.
Smart meters, however, provide highly accurate usage and cost information directly to portable in-home display units, providing consumers with up-to-the-minute information about their energy consumption and how much it is costing them.
By clearly communicating the cost of every day actions, such as boiling the kettle, consumers are empowered to act.
The impact of the UK government's decision should not be underestimated.
To achieve the EU's noble vision of a 20% increase in energy efficiency, a 20% increase in renewables and a 20% reduction of CO2 emissions - all within 12 years - will be a massive undertaking.
Smart metering is one of several essential ingredients in the realisation of this vision.
In itself, it is by no means a panacea, but none of the "20:20:20" goals are remotely achievable without a functional smart grid underpinned by its prerequisite: a smart meter infrastructure.
Last month, the European Parliament recognised this with a definitive mandate for the roll-out of smart meters in all EU Member States by 2022, achieving 80% coverage by 2020.
The UK now has the opportunity to lead the pack.
No-one can be sure of the precise energy savings that a nationwide smart meter deployment will bring the UK because the transformation is unprecedented.
However, we can be absolutely confident that the savings achieved will be substantial.
Research published last year in Finland found that in-house displays brought average energy savings of 10.3%.
Another 2008 paper, from the EU Commission, estimates 7% energy savings for households and 10% for businesses. More conservative estimates point to between 3% and 4% - a valuable prize nonetheless.
But the advantages are by no means limited to the empowerment of the homeowner in the fight to reduce carbon or the end of estimated billing.
As energy prices spike, the search for energy security intensifies and fears of "brown outs" grow, smart meters will play a crucial role in the move towards renewables.
The current European grid was built mainly after World War II and was designed for stability.
Times have changed - not least with the exponential proliferation of energy-hungry consumer devices and the advent of the electric vehicle.
Utilities companies agree that the grid itself must shift with the times and move into the digital era.
Smart metering provides utilities with the information and flexibility required to manage intermittent electricity supply from renewable and micro-generation sources, allowing them to balance this with more traditional, consistent supply.
If the UK is to truly embrace alternative energy, smart meters will be an essential part of the process.
Although the task ahead for the UK is huge, the goal is absolutely fundamental for our society and its long-term value is of historic proportions.
Real encouragement can be taken from a growing pool of ground-breaking European smart energy projects, which are delivering tangible benefits in the here and now.
These include the 30 million smart meters recently deployed across Italy, and EDF's trials in France which could lead to the deployment of 35 million meters.
The UK is now set to become even smarter.
Stephen Cunningham is UK & Ireland chief executive for Landis+Gyr, the world's largest smart meter system manufacturer
The Green Room is a series of opinion articles on environmental topics running weekly on the BBC News website
Pete Harrison, PlanetArk 19 May 09;
BRUSSELS - Flash floods, wildfires and heatwaves brought on by climate change could test Europe's ability to insure against and respond to natural disasters, a new report warns.
Flooding of the Nile Delta and further desertification of north Africa could also unleash a wave of migrants from Europe's southern neighbours, said delegates at the launch of the European Union-backed ADAM report.
The European Union last year agreed to curb greenhouse gas emissions by roughly a fifth by 2020 and is now preparing for talks in December on a global deal.
The 27-country EU hopes to prevent global temperatures rising beyond 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial temperatures, but is also having to prepare for the repercussions of missing the target.
"Even if we aim for 2 degrees, the uncertainty in the climate system means significant risks of rises of 3 degrees or above," said the ADAM project's coordinator, Mike Hulme.
The report warned that flood risk in many eastern European states has exceeded 1 percent of gross domestic product.
"In some events, national authorities have had severe fiscal problems in financing the recovery process," it said.
Even wealthier nations can struggle to cope with the huge cost, the report added, citing 2002 floods in Austria that led to a fiscal crisis that ultimately triggered new elections and a change in the balance of power.
The report warns of a 15 percent risk that Europe's disaster compensation scheme -- the EU Solidarity Fund -- could become overwhelmed with claims above its annual resources of 1 billion euros (US$1.35 billion).
To counter that danger, the scheme could be altered to become a source of reinsurance or capital for national disaster insurance schemes, it recommended.
SOLIDARITY FUND
"What this report shows is that we had better get prepared by taking the political decisions, such as making sure the solidarity fund can provide help in the dimensions needed," said ADAM project manager Henry Neufeldt.
Around 44 percent of calls on the solidarity fund are for floods and 27 percent for wildfires, he added. The fund has not previously covered drought damage.
Neufeldt said climate change would raise the risks of wildfires in the Mediterranean region -- especially in southeastern countries such as Albania and Croatia -- but good forest management could keep risks in check.
Other issues highlighted by the report include rising wages and return on capital in cities such as Madrid at the heart of drought-risk zones, and soaring power consumption in southern Europe for air-conditioning.
Speaking at the launch of the report, Jean-Pascal van Ypersele, vice chairman of the United Nations climate panel, warned that failure to act could ultimately lead to sea level rises of several metres, displacing millions from low-lying islands and deltas.
"The Nile delta is the closest to Europe, and that's an area where 10 million people -- equal to the population of Belgium -- are living, cultivating and working at less than a metre above sea level," Ypersele said.
"The pressure from sea level rise on this population will most likely induce a combination of relocation within the country, and migration out of it," he added.
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