Being green for more than just one hour
Esther Ng, Today Online 29 Mar 10;
SINGAPORE - It is not every day that shipyard workers dine by candlelight, and travellers at Changi Airport's Terminal 3 check in in a darkened hall.
This year, the 400 Earth Hour participants in Singapore contributed to electricity consumption falling by 23 megawatts on Saturday - a drop that represented a mere 0.021 per cent of average electricity consumption for Saturdays, according to the Energy Market Authority (EMA).
The total reduction was only roughly half that of last year's Earth Hour, when power consumption fell 42 megawatts.
World Wide Fund for Nature's Earth Hour campaign manager Ms Carine Seror said: "There could a number of factors - people could have turned off the lights but not the air-conditioning. We'll be asking EMA to help us interpret the numbers."
But on the bright side, signs are that the Republic's green-consciousness is heading beyond one hour a year.
First-time participants, Marine Parade Town Council - which switched off the lights of its roof top structures and other peripheral lights up till 7am on Sunday - said it hoped with this initiative to make "long-term changes to the way we use electricity and resources".
"Water and electricity currently make up the single largest operating expenses at 36 per cent," explained its public relations manager, Ms Grace Wong.
For the long-term
Indeed, a number of companies have in place a number of long-term energy efficient practices. Multinational company, The Keppel Group, has environmental task forces across its various business units to assess impact of its environmental activities.
At its seven shipyards, office lights are programmed to be off during lunch time and when employees are out of the office. The air-conditioning is set at 24° Celsius in common areas and Newater is used to flush toilets and wash hulls. By switching off non-essential lights at its 32 properties across Asia on Saturday, the company saved the equivalent of 7.7 months of energy consumption of a five-room HDB household.
Beyond Earth Hour - which it observed for the second consecutive year - Changi Airport Group (CAG) dimmed lights at its terminals by 50 per cent during off-peak hours. Solar panels atop the roof of the Budget Terminal generate about 950kWh of energy daily, resulting in energy savings of some $60,000 annually.
Having attained a Green Mark for Terminal 3, an award by the Building and Construction Authority for environmental design and construction, CAG is pursuing Green Mark status for Terminals 1 and 2.
Small businesses next
To mark their second year of participation, Nanyang Technological University students threw a countdown concert. Some 200 people formed a giant "60", the official Earth Hour logo, lighting the formation with their mobiles.
Concorde Hotel threw a poolside party and about 60 hotel guests turned up. McDonald's turned off the lights of its Golden Arches and facades across its 110 outlets islandwide. It also switched off 70 per cent of dining area lights - up from 50 per cent last year.
But since a number of organisations already have substantive energy efficient measures, is the Earth Hour campaign necessary?
WWF's Seror told MediaCorp there is still a lot of work to do to reach out to small businesses.
"Big businesses have taken steps early because they are on the radar," she said. "But also in the long term, it makes good business sense."
Small businesses do not need huge investments to reduce their carbon footprint; Simple steps like turning down air-conditioning and switching off appliances on standby help, said Ms Seror.
Next year, WWF also plans to reach out to heartlanders and senior citizens with publicity materials in other languages.
More businesses, schools, people participate in Earth Hour 2010
Evelyn Choo Channel NewsAsia 28 Mar 10;
SINGAPORE: Earth Hour 2010 was celebrated around the world on Saturday night. And Singapore joined the fight against climate change for the second year running.
This year saw more participants from various groups of society.
At 8.30pm on Saturday, lights went out and the festivities began. Some took a more sombre approach to the occasion. But how ever they spent Earth Hour, one thing stayed the same - the commitment to save mother earth.
Organisers were heartened to see various organisations making their own efforts.
Amy Ho, managing director, World Wide Fund for Nature, Singapore said: "We get the sense that there is greater participation from organisations and community groups. That is because we have been receiving queries earlier than usual. Overall, in Singapore, more people are taking part."
When the lights came back on, clean-ups began. Unlike other major events here, the aftermath of Earth Hour 2010 didn't end on a messy note.
Small as the step may be, Singapore's certainly on its way to making the switch to save the earth.
- CNA/sc
