Best of our wild blogs: 20 Nov 18

[Short Film] Our Seas, Our Legacy: Episode 1 - Between the Tides
Psychedelic Nature

34th Singapore Bird Race with “Wings of Johor”
Singapore Bird Group

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NDP 2019 funpack to be more environmentally friendly: Ng Eng Hen

Channel NewsAsia 19 Nov 18;

SINGAPORE: Next year's National Day Parade (NDP) funpack will be more environmentally friendly, said Minister for Defence Ng Eng Hen on Monday (Nov 19).

This was a written reply in response to Nee Soon GRC MP Louis Ng's question on what measures are being taken to reduce single-use plastics at NDP 2019, and whether the Ministry will consider providing only reusable items with minimal packaging in the NDP 2019 funpack.

The general direction for funpack items in 2019 are for them to be reusable "when available and cost-effective", said Dr Ng.

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Climate change represents major challenges, but also opportunities: Teo Chee Hean

Singapore will continue to improve its carbon efficiency through a range of measures, which includes further encouraging the use of public transport and building the next generation of super low-energy green buildings, said DPM Teo.
Chang Ai-Lien Straits Times 19 Nov 18;

SINGAPORE - Climate change brings about not just great challenges but also opportunities, said Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean on Monday (Nov 19).

"Climate change is one of the greatest global challenges of our time," he said, noting that it requires a global solution, where governments, the private sector, civil society and private citizens work in unison.

But he stressed that climate change is not only about challenges and constraints; it also provides strong incentives for entrepreneurship, research and development, and creative problem-solving.

Singapore, in particular, is well-positioned to become a green growth hub and take advantage of new green growth opportunities, he said.

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Express train service on Cross Island Line off the table: Khaw Boon Wan

JANICE LIM Today Online 20 Nov 18;

SINGAPORE — An express MRT train service that would get commuters more quickly from one end of the future Cross Island Line (CRL) to the other will not materialise after all.

This is after the authorities projected that just less than 5 per cent of the rail line's users would see time savings of at least 15 minutes.

In a written reply to a parliamentary question by Mr Ong Teng Koon, Member of Parliament for Marsiling-Yew Tee Group Representation Constituency, Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan also said on Monday (Nov 19) that the benefits of significant time savings do not outweigh the cost.

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Indonesia: Watch Rare Footage of the World’s Most Endangered Rhino

Joseph Hincks, Time Yahoo News 19 Nov 18;

Conservationists have released footage and photographs of the world’s rarest rhino, which counts fewer than 70 members among its population and is confined to a single national park in Indonesia.

While camera-trap images of the Javan rhino have occasionally surfaced, a WWF spokesperson says the photographs released Monday are only the third manually captured set ever published. They offer a rare glimpse of the critically endangered mammal wallowing in near-dusk light.

“Very few people have seen a Javan rhino in the wild,” says photographer Robin Moore, who snapped the images with a team from Global Wildlife Conservation and WWF-Indonesia last October. “Even some of the people who have been working on their conservation for decades have never seen one,” he says.

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Climate change: Report raises new optimism over industry

Roger Harrabin BBC 19 Nov 18;

A new report on the potential of heavy industry to combat climate change offers a rare slice of optimism.

Sectors like steel, chemicals, cement, aviation and aluminium face a huge challenge in cutting carbon emissions.

But a group including representatives from business concludes it is both practical and affordable to get their emissions down to virtually zero by the middle of the next century.

The report's been described as wishful thinking by some environmentalists.

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