Haze a major concern for SEA Games

LOW LIN FHOONG Today Online 29 Jan 15;

SINGAPORE — Haze will be a major concern for organisers of the 28th SEA Games in Singapore, particularly if conditions reach the same levels as in June 2013, when the Pollutant Standards Index hit a record high of 401 — which is considered hazardous.

To mitigate the risk of haze wreaking havoc on the June 5 to 16 Games schedule, outdoor events such as athletics’ 20km walk and marathon, and the triathlon at Orchard Road and East Coast Park have been scheduled earlier in the Games period to allow for them to be rescheduled and held later if the haze hits.

“We are very concerned because haze is an uncontrollable factor and it will affect the whole mood and sense of celebration,” said Mr Lim Teck Yin, executive committee chairman of the Singapore SEA Games Organising Committee (SINGSOC) yesterday.

“It not only affects the athletes but the spectators who are exposed to the haze. Our benchmark here is to complete 75 per cent of all events if we are hit by haze to declare a successfully conducted Games. We have to work with the SEA Games Federation and technical delegates, and we have done our homework in event scheduling. In that scenario (where 75 per cent is not completed), we are left with no choice but to say the Games must conclude and we will convene in two years’ time.”

But Mr Lim said cloud seeding — a form of weather modification used for the 2008 Beijing Olympics that disperses substances into the air to increase rain — to reduce air pollution will not be used during the SEA Games. The region, particularly Malaysia and Singapore, is affected annually by the haze caused by forest fires in neighbouring Indonesia, and Mr Lim said there is little they can do except to ride out the situation.

He added: “While we have some level of control over contingency planning of competition schedules, we really hope those who have a position to influence this will do the necessary.”

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Participants at consultation session discuss ways to battle dengue

Alice Chia Channel NewsAsia 29 Jan 15;

SINGAPORE: There were a total of 243 dengue cases from Jan 18 to 24 this year, which is an improvement from the peak of 898 cases seen in the first week of July last year.

However, Environment and Water Resources Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, who was speaking at a consultation session organised by the ministry on Thursday (Jan 29), said he felt more can be done, especially at construction sites. Last year, mosquitoes were found breeding in 7.5 per cent of such sites. There were 88 dengue clusters associated with construction sites, with an average of 32 cases per cluster.

Participants at the consultation session suggested improving hygiene standards at the sites. Other topics discussed included the option of releasing mosquitoes infected with a particular bacterium Wolbachia, as a method to control the mosquito population.

This was mooted by the Government last year, and a panel of international and local experts appointed by the National Environment Agency supported the use of this method in Singapore.

They also recommended careful selection of the bacteria strain to use, a concern shared by participants at the session.

Associate Professor Vernon Lee from the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health at the National University of Singapore, said: "The strain has to be suited to the local environment. We want it to be able to compete with the existing mosquito population, so that it can actually then suppress the mosquito population locally."

Punggol South Women's Executive Committee member, Ms Khong Sow Cheng, said: "It is quite technical. I am in a grassroots organisation, so we are wondering how it can be possible to make it simpler to inform the public about all these things, because it is something very new and in the scientific books. We are quite afraid that it may be doing something harmful to the environment."

She also said that it might be good to set up a booth at public or community events and have scientists and experts to explain the new technology.

The Environmental Health Institute, under the National Environment Agency, is looking into setting up a research consortium for further studies into the use of Wolbachia.

An assessment will also be done on the impact of the use of such technology to suppress dengue, and this will be facilitated by independent consultants.

Following the session on Thursday, Dr Balakrishnan said in a post on his Facebook page that there is still much work to be done.

"We agreed on the need for a multi-pronged approach, including vector control, eradication of breeding sites, and protection of vulnerable people, public education and vaccination when the vaccines are proven to be safe.

"We will also have to conduct more trials, share data with the scientists and carefully consider interventions like Wolbachia to reduce the mosquito population."

The ministry will take into account the participants' views in its speech for the Committee of Supply debate, which will take place in March. During the session, the Singapore Parliament will discuss the estimated budgets of the ministries and their plans for the financial year.

About 25 people, including academics, doctors and community leaders, attended the session on Thursday. The consultation was the third in five sessions, to gather feedback from the public on various environmental issues.

- CNA/xk

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Malaysia: Dengue cases 65pc higher than last year

AZURA ABAS New Straits Times 28 Jan 15;

PUTRAJAYA: A total of 8,502 dengue cases were reported in the country for the first three weeks of this year compared to 5,141 cases for the same period last year, an increase of 65 per cent.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said he was worried this could be an indicator that the dengue situation this year could be far worse than last year.

"We urge everyone from the public to the medical practitioners to be vigilant by taking all the necessary measures to check the matter," he told reporters after a meeting to discuss on dengue today.

Dr Subramaniam also called on all medical practitioners in the private sector to treat all cases as dengue cases until they were proven otherwise.

This must be done, he added, because private clinics or hospitals had failed to detect 99 per cent of dengue cases of patients who came to seek treatment on their first visit.

Dengue cases take turn for the worse
LOH FOONG FONG AND RAHMAH GHAZALI The Star 30 Jan 15;

KUALA LUMPUR: The number of dengue cases at Hospital Kuala Lumpur, the oldest and most-visited hospital in the country, has not only risen but become more severe.

Its internal medicine physician Dr Saiful Safuan Md Sani said there had been an increase of about 20% of dengue patients at the hospital.

Seven dengue patients with encephalitis had also been admitted in the past month, with four of them dying compared to an average of only one or two such cases a year.

“We do not know yet why patients are suffering a more severe dengue infection. They should seek treatment immediately if they suffer from vomiting, persistent abdominal pains, lethargy like being unable to get out of bed, and any bleeding,” he advised.

He said that since late 2013, HKL had between 80 and 100 dengue patients at any one time but in the past month, the number had shot up to 150 patients on some days, with an average increase of about 20%.

Since Monday, HKL has opened up two bigger wards for dengue patients, while the current wards were being used as spill-over cases from the bigger wards, he said.

“We are also adding a few canvas and trolley beds as back-up and should the need arise, we will put patients in general wards,” he added.

Dr Saiful said people must ensure that potential mosquito breeding places in their surroundings were cleaned up.

Health deputy director-general Datuk Dr S. Jeyaindran said the ministry had increased 55% of the capacity for beds in the past week for dengue patients, from 408 to 639.

On Wednesday, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said one factor for the spike in cases and deaths was the shift in the dominant dengue serotype, which occurred last August, from DEN-2 to DEN-1.

From Jan 1 to 24, the Health Ministry reported 8,502 dengue cases nationwide, an increase of 65% or 3,361 cases compared with the same period last year (5,141 cases).

Foreign workers make up one third of HKL dengue patients
The Star 30 Jan 15;

KUALA LUMPUR: Migrant workers seeking treatment at Hospital Kuala Lumpur in recent days made up one-third of the dengue patients at its wards.

Its internal medicine physician Dr Saiful Safuan Md Sani said the workers were mostly Indonesian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Nepalese.

“Whether locals or foreigners, the patients at HKL tend to come from crowded neighbourhoods,” he said.

The Malaysian Employers Fede­ration called on its members to provide proper housing for foreign workers and teach them good hygiene.

Its executive director Datuk Shamsuddin Bardan said foreign workers should not be made to live in makeshift quarters with no proper facilities.

“If their workers are unhygienic, dengue could spread among them, affecting productivity and profits,” he reminded employers

There should also be better waste management at construction sites to prevent the spread of disease, he said.

“There are often piles of rubbish left at these sites which attract flies, while pools of stagnant water make it easy for mosquitoes to breed.

“Employers need to teach their workers about proper hygiene and how to look after their workplace and accomodations,” he added.

On Sunday, Deputy Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya said 3,000 new dengue cases were recorded nationwide in the past week, with 1,000 being in Selangor.

Selangor Mentri Besar Azmin Ali said the administration had been proactive in fighting the disease.

“We initiated the Terjah dan Musnah (Ambush and Destroy) anti-aedes campaign in areas with a high number of dengue cases,” he said after attending an event at the Tengku Ampuan Jemaah Mosque in Bukit Jelutong here.

Azmin said the problem should be addressed collectively by both the state and federal governments.

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Indonesia: Jokowi Folds Emissions Agency BP REDD+ Into Forestry Ministry

Basten Gokkon and Adelia Anjani Putri Jakarta Globe 29 Jan 15;

Jakarta. President Joko Widodo has disbanded Indonesia’s BP REDD+ agency, which was established in 2013 to help the country meet greenhouse gas emission targets from deforestation, and merged it with Ministry of Environment and Forestry.

The decision, which was issued via Presidential Decree No. 16/2015 issued on Jan. 23, will see the Reducing Emissions From Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) Management Body, as well as the National Council on Climate Change, folded into the ministry.

Both agencies are peak government bodies whose role is crucial to halting Indonesia’s rapid deforestation rates and mitigating climate change.

“The task and function of reducing greenhouse emissions conducted by BP REDD+ as stated in Presidential Decree No. 62/2003 now will be integrated as the ministry’s task and function,” Article 59 of the decree said.

There was no elaboration on the technical arrangements, but the decree said that the authority would be given to minister Siti Nurbaya.

BP REDD+ was founded in 2013 by then-President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as part of Indonesia’s $1 billion REDD deal with Norway.

In 2009, Indonesia pledged to cut deforestation rates — which are estimated to be some of the fastest in the world — by up to 41 percent by 2020. A year later Indonesia signed a letter of intent with Norway, which outlined Indonesia’s commitment to cut greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and degradation of peatland, in exchange for payments of up to $1 billion from Norway.

BP REDD took over from the REDD+ Task Force, which was established in 2010, and has since worked on Indonesia’s REDD+ planning, including projects such as the One Map initiative — a centralized forestry map, which is aimed resolving conflicting land claims that have hampered emissions reductions targets.

The decision to disband the agency has met a mixed response from some within Indonesia, but Norway’s ambassador to Indonesia Stig Traavik took a cautious tone when contacted on Thursday.

He said it was natural for a new government to want to “manage things their own way” and Norway was open to some changes.

When asked whether he thought Joko was serious about Indonesia’s environmental pledge, he replied the two countries had a long partnership on climate issues and he was confident things would progress.

“We have heard about the decision but not in detail. The main thing now is how to reach the goal together,” Traavik said.

Abetnego Tarigan, executive director at the Indonesian Forum for the Environment, said for certain issues the merger could be positive.

“The previous president formed BP REDD+ with the help of the Norwegian embassy as a debottlenecking attempt in the efforts of solving environmental issues in Indonesia,” he said.

“However, the problems have been that the ministries were not working well because they couldn’t work hand in hand.”

Abetnego said what was important was whether efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions were effective.

“If merging BP REDD+ was an attempt to kill it all … I think that would be a colossal mistake,” he said.

“With the merger, the assumption is that there wouldn’t be any difficulties in solving environmental issues, as the ministry is a big institution and also has regional units in many areas.”

William Sabandar, former deputy of operations at BP REDD+, was less affirmative about the decision.

“This is how I see it as a former deputy of BP REDD+. What’s certain is that the presidential decree violates the agreement between the Indonesian government with the Norwegian government which is stated in the Letter of Intent in 2010.”

He said it was sad to see that the merger had not been considered thoroughly in terms of its local, national and international effects.

“The international dimension would be how they would consider Indonesia’s important role in the global climate change movement.

“The national dimension is how serious we are in boosting the country’s forest and land management across the archipelago.

“The local dimension is the BP REDD+’s role in involving the society and boosting welfare.”

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Most of Hawaii's coral recover from mass bleaching

AUDREY McAVOY Associated Press Yahoo News 29 Jan 15;

HONOLULU (AP) — Coral rely on algae for food and their survival.

So when the stress of warmer-than-average ocean temperatures prompted many of Hawaii's corals to expel algae last year — a phenomenon called bleaching because coral lose their color when they do this — many were worried they might die.

Now the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources says most of the bleached corals have recovered. It plans to announce the result of its coral surveys on Thursday.

Even so, scientists say the experience weakened the coral, making them more likely to get sick. It's also going to be harder for them to withstand warm temperatures in the future.

The incident is a blow to the state's fragile reefs, which are already under pressure from runoff from development, overfishing and recreational use of the ocean.

Coral reefs are a critical part of the ecosystem, and their health is vital to the ocean environment. Coral cover just one-tenth of the ocean floor but are home to 25 percent of known marine species. Some fish eat coral, others hide from predators in them. Some species use coral as nursery grounds. Some types of shark will frequent coral reefs.

Mark Eakin, the coordinator the Coral Reef Watch program at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said coral bleaching demonstrates that "climate change isn't something of the distant future."

Kaneohe Bay on Oahu's east side suffered the most serious bleaching in the state, which is home to 15 percent of all coral under U.S. jurisdiction. Seventy-five percent of the dominant coral species there lost some color or turned completely white.

Subsequent studies after waters cooled showed 12 percent of the bay's bleached coral died, said Anne Rosinski, a marine resource specialist with the state Division of Aquatic Resources.

The remainder regained some color and have been recovering. The coral were weakened to begin with after being covered by runoff from flooding. Then after the bleaching, a boat propeller destroyed some of the coral, she said.

Most bleached corals off Maui and Kauai have also recovered.

The state is trying to do what it can to eliminate other stresses on the coral so they'll be in better shape to survive warmer temperatures, Rosinski said.

"I just worry how much the corals can take," she said.

There's even bleaker news expected from an isolated atoll about 1,000 miles northwest of Honolulu.

Lisianski Island, which is part of a national marine preserve, suffered months of warmer-than-normal waters over the summer. Researchers visiting in the fall observed some bleaching, but the area is so remote scientists haven't been able to return to check on them since even though temperatures were high there for weeks afterward.

"We're expecting when they go back there's going to be a lot of dead coral," Eakin said.

Eakin recalled diving on a reef in Thailand after most of the coral there died after a 2010 mass bleaching event. He said the fish were hanging out in the water not knowing what to do.

"Severe bleaching events are like a blight that goes through and kills all the trees in the forest," he said.

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World's cities experiencing more heatwaves, study shows

Number of extremely hot days a year has increased in hundreds of cities since the 1970s years, with frequencies peaking in the last five years
John Vidal The Guardian 30 Jan 15;

World cities are experiencing more heatwaves and fewer cold spells, according to a study of extreme temperatures in hundreds of urban areas over the past 40 years. It found that many cities are seeing fewer extremely windy days than in the 1970s and have more extremely hot individual days and nights.

The climate researchers from US and Indian universities identified 620 of the world’s urban areas with a population over 250,000 and then chose 217 which were situated close to an international weather station with rainfall, wind and temperature records stretching back to 1973.

They found that four of the five years with the most heatwaves had occurred since 2009. They were experienced mostly in Africa, East Asia, Europe and North America.

“The number of extremely hot days increased significantly at most sites [over the 40 years]. However, a few urban areas in East Asia showed significant declining trends. Only 2% of the urban areas experienced significant declines in the frequency of extreme hot days,” said the authors.

“Extremely windy days declined substantially during the last 40 years with significant declines in about 60% in the urban areas,” said the authors, who defined heatwaves as periods of at least six days where the daily maximum temperature was hotter than 99% of days since 1973.

The results, published in Environmental Research Letters, also showed a significant decline in six-day or longer cold spells. Around 17% of urban areas were found to have experienced a significant increase in daily rainfall and 10% experienced a significant increase in annual maximum precipitation.

“Our results show significant increases in heat waves and the number of hot days and warm nights, and at the same time declines in cold waves and extreme windy days in many urban areas over the last 40 years. We also find that the number of changes in precipitation extremes was modest, which is somewhat surprising as our previous work showed a predominance of increases in precipitation extremes in major US urban areas,” said lead research author Vimal Mishra from the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar.

“Urban areas make up a relatively small part of the global land area; but they are the centre of wealth, so damage to urban infrastructure could result in potentially large economic losses,” he said.

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Best of our wild blogs: 29 Jan 15

Love MacRitchie Walks in 2015
from Toddycats!

Coastal works at Changi and Pulau Ubin
from wild shores of singapore

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Study to suss out air pollutants here

Feng Zengkun The Straits Times AsiaOne 29 Jan 15;

Singapore is planning to start a comprehensive study of its key air pollutants so it can understand how to better manage them.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) has asked for proposals for a 14-month project to develop an emissions inventory of several air pollutants, including sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide and particulate matter.

The study will look at all land-based sources including motor vehicles, power stations, refineries, waste incinerators and gas stations, aircraft emissions, transboundary sources and even natural sources such as sea spray.

The pollution in 2013 will be used as the base year, and this will be calculated using information such as the vehicle population, typical distances travelled, fuel type used and a review of historical air quality data.

NEA said in tender documents that the new inventory must be detailed and flexible enough that it can be used to model how emissions would change if factors such as air pollution control equipment, fuel type, aircraft flight paths and the motor vehicle fleet composition are changed.

The inventory will also be used to "prioritise air pollutants of concern and to develop targeted approaches to control the pollutants", the NEA added.

The study will look abroad to pollution in Malaysia and Indonesia that may affect the Republic.

These sources include industrial areas and road traffic in Johor, Malaysia, shipyards in Batam and haze from these nearby countries.

To make sure the inventory passes muster, the contractor must review the systems used in several developed places including Britain, Germany, Japan, Hong Kong and California in the United States.

The deadline for the proposals is Feb 17. Experts lauded the attention to detail in the proposals.

"It's very good that the inventory will include hourly emissions and differentiate the emissions by day of the week and month of the year," said Dr Erik Velasco, a research scientist at the Singapore- MIT Alliance for Research and Technology's Centre for Environmental Sensing and Modeling.

He said emissions inventories always lag by one or two years due to data needs, so 2013 would be a proper base year for the study.

But since Singapore had its worst haze then, "it would be a biased year... if transboundary emissions are included".

The NEA specified that the contractor must quantify based on available data the pollution arising from transboundary smoke haze for that year.

Dr Velasco, who gave a course on air quality management, including emissions inventories, to the authorities last year, added that Singapore should look to places such as Los Angeles, Paris, Toronto, Mexico City and Tokyo in developing its inventory.

"Those are cities with good and long experience developing emissions inventories.

Singapore is a city-state, so inventories at different scales, such as the country or state scale, may not fit its needs," he said.

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Expect haze this year - and earlier too: Experts

Amelia Tan The Straits Times AsiaOne 29 Jan 15;

SINGAPORE - The haze may be upon Singapore yet again - and earlier than usual.

The Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) has been slowly inching upwards over the past couple of days.

Readings since Sunday show that it has been hovering in the 60s and 70s range.

As of 9pm last night, the 24-hour PSI stood at 62 to 67 - within the moderate range - while the three-hour reading was 58.
This rise is coupled with an impending dry phase of the north-east monsoon - with total rainfall for this month and the next expected to fall below average.

While the National Environment Agency had said this year's dry spell was not likely to be as bad as last year's drought, experts told The Straits Times last week the haze could come earlier this year.

This will happen if the dry weather in Malaysia triggers wildfires, with winds carrying the smoke over to the Republic.

After a wet November and December which led to flash floods here, the total rainfall this month could be up to 60 per cent below the long-term average of 242.4mm for January.

From Jan 1 to 21, the total average rainfall recorded at rainfall stations islandwide was 83.7mm.

Singapore is affected by severe smoke haze periodically as a result of forest fires in neighbouring countries.

This is due to the practice of open burning to clear land for agricultural uses. The situation is worsened during dry seasons or if there are changes in wind direction and low rainfall.

According to the ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre, a few hot spots were observed in Peninsular Malaysia and Kalimantan as of yesterday.

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PM Lee after Laneway Festival mess: 'Do the right thing'

Channel NewsAsia 28 Jan 15;

SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Wednesday (Jan 28) called on Singaporeans to help the country progress from a "cleaned city to a truly clean city", after highlighting the state of Gardens by the Bay following the 2015 Laneway Festival last Saturday.

Mr Lee put up a picture on his Facebook page illustrating rubbish strewn on the ground following the music festival at the Meadow at Gardens by the Bay. He contrasted this with the actions of Myanmar sports fans, who were seen picking up litter at National Stadium after their football team's clash with the Lions.

"It takes continuous effort to keep Singapore clean. We need to progress from being a cleaned city to a truly clean city," Mr Lee wrote.

"All of us can play a part – picking up our own litter, educating our children and grandchildren, and reminding others to do the right thing. Visit the Public Hygiene Council's page to find out how you can help."

- CNA/kk

PM Lee calls for clean, not cleaned, city
Rachel Au-yong My Paper AsiaOne 29 Jan 15;

SINGAPORE - Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday called on Singaporeans to pick up their own litter, so that Singapore can progress from being a "cleaned city to a truly clean city".

He singled out litterbugs who attended a music festival on Saturday and left the venue strewn with plastic bags and other rubbish.

In a Facebook post, Mr Lee put up a photograph of the Meadow at Gardens by the Bay, which was covered with litter after some 13,000 people attended the 2015 Laneway Music Festival over the weekend.

He contrasted this behaviour with that of Myanmar's football fans, who were seen picking up litter at the National Stadium even after their team lost to Singapore during the AFF Suzuki Cup in November.

"It takes continuous effort to keep Singapore clean. We need to progress from being a cleaned city to a truly clean city," wrote Mr Lee.

"All of us can play a part - picking up our own litter, educating our children and grandchildren, and reminding others to do the right thing. Visit the Public Hygiene Council's page to find out how you can help."

Since April, penalties for littering have become twice as harsh.

Offenders face a maximum fine of $2,000 for the first conviction, $4,000 for the second conviction and $10,000 for the third and subsequent convictions.

S’pore likely to become garbage city without foreign workers: ESM Goh
Today Online 29 Jan 15;

SINGAPORE — The Republic may end up as a “garbage city”, said Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong today (Jan 29) following reports of how a part of the Gardens by the Bay was covered with rubbish following a music festival.

His remarks came a day after Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong posted on his Facebook page a picture that showed rubbish strewn on the ground following the 2015 Laneway Festival at The Meadow at Gardens by the Bay. About 13,000 people attended the event last Saturday.

Mr Lee contrasted the situation with the actions of Myanmar sports fans, who were seen picking up litter at the National Stadium after their football team played the Lions last November.

In a Facebook post, Mr Goh wrote: “Our reputation as one of the world’s cleanest cities is going down the rubbish chute. It looks like a case of ‘monkeys see, monkeys do’.”

He noted that Tokyo has no rubbish even though the Japanese capital has no garbage bins in public places.

“The Japanese take their snack wrappers, empty bottles and ponchos home to dispose. That is why Tokyo is a fine city without ‘fine’ signs. That is why it is a clean city with no foreign workers.”

Mr Goh added: “Without foreign workers, Singapore is likely to become a ‘garbage city’. Cleanliness is a character thing. It shows who you really are.”

In his Facebook post on Wednesday, Mr Lee said: “It takes continuous effort to keep Singapore clean. We need to progress from being a cleaned city to a truly clean city.”

Dish the dirt, you'll likely end up soiled
John Lui The Straits Times AsiaOne 3 Feb 15;

Online trolls expose their own sense of inferiority when they launch virulent attacks Last week, rubbish left at a music festival caused us to wake up to the threat posed to the nation by rich white people.

It began with Facebook posts, by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, directed at behaviour we've lived with forever.

They mentioned littering at a music festival, and how we as a people have a way to go before we learn to show care and respect for public areas. It sparked an online ruckus.

These are reminders we have seen in the past, about the piles of garbage left behind whenever big groups gather, whether it is in Chinatown during Chinese New Year, or in Geylang Serai during Hari Raya Puasa, or in foodcourts and cinemas, or at the National Stadium after a game.

This time, however, the posts and news reports triggered a torrent of online conversations. The litterbugs in question were not your run-of-the-mill local specimens.

The alternative-music jamboree the Laneway Festival was the event in question, so the Internet's hatred targeting system locked on to the young people who left garbage on the grass.

More specifically, the young, white, beer-swilling people with money, paying $140 and more to see edgy haircuts playing synthesisers.

Laneway's 13,000 ticket-holders embody everything a certain sector of society here loves to hate - foreign, boozed-up and moneyed, taking over a public park with their weird artsy music.

And now, these privileged few have the audacity to pollute our hallowed ground with their rubbish - it was a magic combination of traits that made writers on Facebook and in the alternative media lose their collective minds.

According to people at the event, only about half the crowd were white, but that did not matter. In the alternative media, Laneway was the gathering place of the devil's own Caucasian hipster invasion force.

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Bengal cat giveaway on Facebook "unethical": SPCA

Diane Leow Channel NewsAsia 28 Jan 15;

SINGAPORE: Claws have come out after a home breeder posted on Facebook that he would give a Bengal kitten away to one "lucky" person – if they “like” his Facebook page and leave a comment as to why they deserve the cat.

The post, which went up early on Wednesday morning (Jan 28) on Designer Bengal Singapore, stated: "We are pleased to be giving away for FREE a gorgeous Bengal kitten to one lucky winner on 9th May 2015, whom will be randomly picked in this contest." The word "contest" was later edited out, and replaced with the words "no fee adoption".

The post has since been taken down, following an outcry from people who felt that giving a kitten as a prize was inappropriate. Comments from netizens include: “Are you kidding me? This as a prize? Why don’t you put up a wife as a prize for people to win?” “How is it okay to give away a kitten as a Facebook contest prize?! OH MY GOD. Is this even legal?”

Professional pet photographer Nicholas Lee from Furry Photos said it is in "bad taste" to use pets as a contest prize. "Animal welfare advocates have been trying to educate the public that pets are a serious long-term commitment and using them as a commodity undermines that," he said.

The man behind the Facebook page, Mr Alfred Khan, said he removed the post due to negativity raised from their "intention of generosity".

OFFER "OUTRIGHT IRRESPONSIBLE": CAT WELFARE SOCIETY

Ms Joanne Ng, Chief Executive Officer of the Cat Welfare Society, told Channel NewsAsia she was aware of the situation and got in touch with the Society of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), as well as the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA).

“More importantly, are they a legitimate breeder or have any license at all to sell this cat? These are the first few questions we would like to address,” Ms Ng said.

She added that many problems currently stem from irresponsible pet owners, who allow their pets to roam freely, refuse to sterilise them, or breed them at home.

“When they reach the point when it’s too much to handle, they will start abandoning the pets,” Ms Ng added. “These are very real issues we face every day.”

Ms Ng reiterated that business practices like this are “not beneficial to society”, as animal welfare societies continue to pour in resources in order to take care of abandoned animals. “This is outright irresponsible,” she said.

SPCA told Channel NewsAsia it "vehemently opposes" the giving of any live animal - regardless of animal type, breed, age or temperament - as a present or gift, in any contest or competition no matter the circumstance.

"It is categorically unethical to give away a kitten as a prize. It is disingenuous of Designer Bengal Singapore to now change 'tack' and claim the Bengal kitten is up for adoption," said Ms Corinne Fong, Executive Director, SPCA Singapore.

"To randomly pick a person without receiving any due affirmation of this person’s experience with kittens, is tantamount to consigning the animal to an unknown fate," she added.

POST "NOT MEANT TO BE A COMPETITION": HOME BREEDER

Mr Khan, who said he has been running a Bengal cat breeding service out of his home for three years, said the post was not meant to be a competition or promotion for his business. “People assume this is cheap publicity. Indirectly, of course it looks like that. It’s not a promotion; I am doing it out of sincerity. If you want a cat, I can make your dream come true,” he said.

“Having a Bengal cat can be very therapeutic. I was thinking maybe this cat could help a cancer patient, or a sick person – something beneficial,” Mr Khan added.

He also said he was prepared for some negativity stemming from the post, but did not expect the backlash. “When I saw that – and how people took screenshots of my picture – I had to delete the post and apologise.”

Mr Khan said that as a cat lover, he had planned to screen the applicant before handing over the Bengal kitten by meeting the person's family, understanding his or her character traits, and seeing if they are able to afford to keep the kitten. The cat would be sterilised as well, he said.

“We will also give them guidance on how to take care of the cat, what (issues) you can foresee in the future, and what kind of food is suitable,” he said. Mr Khan added that follow ups are essential.

“This is going to be a constant relationship, because I am giving them this kitten for free. This is not for them to resell it. This is for them to keep and to love. It has to be from the heart,” he said.

A check on Facebook showed that there were no specific guidelines on product giveaways, unless it involves regulated goods such as firearms, alcohol or tobacco.

- CNA/dl

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Cleantech SMEs get S$2.5m boost from JTC, SPRING Singapore

Channel NewsAsia 28 Jan 15;

SINGAPORE: Six local clean technology (cleantech) SMEs will receive a total of S$2.5 million in funding from JTC Corporation and SPRING Singapore to test-bed their new sustainable technologies and solutions.

The selected companies will also have a head-start to carry out test-bedding projects at JTC's developments and facilities.

In a media released issued on Wednesday (Jan 28), JTC and SPRING said that six projects were selected out of 14 proposals submitted as part of the first JTC-SPRING Joint Grant Call for Test-bedding of Sustainable Solutions.

The selected projects include a decentralised wastewater recycling system that treats grey, brown and black water for non-potable uses, and thin, flexible organic solar films on building facades under tropical climate conditions, among others.

The six companies are: Omega Solar, Ecosoftt, HVS Engineering, vTrium Energy, Transkinect and Sun Electric.

Four out of the six projects will also be test-bedded in CleanTech Park, bringing the total number of technologies being test-bedded at the park to 20. Mr Leow Thiam Seng, director of JTC's Aerospace, Marine & CleanTech Cluster, said: “The test-bedding projects not only allow JTC to try out new innovative solutions, but also enable SMEs to implement their technologies in a real-world environment and help them build a track record to go to market."

Mr Ho Chi Bao, director of the manufacturing and engineering division at SPRING Singapore, said that he hopes that more local SMEs will explore business opportunities in the cleantech industry.

“SPRING sees the JTC-SPRING Joint Grant Call as a promising platform to help them test-bed innovative solutions. These companies will get to validate their technologies in a commercial site with real-world conditions. This partnership would form a strong project reference for the companies and act as a stepping stone as they grow their customer base and expand overseas,” he said.

- CNA/ac

Remanufacturing, cleantech offer opportunities for Singapore firms: Iswaran
Channel NewsAsia 28 jan 15;

SINGAPORE: The Government will continue to invest in research and development (R&D) capabilities and infrastructure to support high value-added industries and ensure that Singapore remains a competitive and attractive base for companies, Second Minister for Trade and Industry S Iswaran said on Wednesday (Jan 28).

Speaking at the opening of the Advanced Remanufacturing and Technology Centre (ARTC) and the JTC CleanTech Two @ CleanTech Park - the first eco-business park in Singapore - Mr Iswaran identified remanufacturing and clean technology as sectors that present promising business opportunities for Singapore companies.

He said that in a climate of rising resource costs and concerns over environmental sustainability, the use of remanufactured components is fast gaining international traction.

"The remanufacturing industry in the United States, which is currently valued at US$50 billion (S$67.6 billion) and supports 180,000 jobs, is growing fast at 15 per cent per annum," Mr Iswaran said. "Remanufacturing is also gaining prominence in Asian countries such as China, with the Chinese remanufacturing market growing from US$0.4 billion in 2010 to a projected US$8 billion in 2015.

"In view of this outlook, the Singapore Economic Development of Singapore (EDB) has identified remanufacturing as a key sector in its Future of Manufacturing initiative, which aims to make Singapore a regional hub for advanced manufacturing processes."

Remanufacturing focuses on ways to extend the usable life of products by restoring or improving on their original engineering specifications. In a climate of rising resource costs and concerns over environmental sustainability, the use of remanufactured components is fast gaining international traction.

As for clean technology (cleantech), which focuses on products and services that enable greater energy efficiency and mitigate the impact on the environment, Mr Iswaran said the global market size is expected to more than double from US$2.3 trillion in 2012 to about US$5 trillion in 2025.

Mr Iswaran said CleanTech Two and ARTC will deepen the Government's efforts to strengthen Singapore's capabilities in cleantech and remanufacturing.

CleanTech Two will offer 22,000 square metres of specially-designed laboratory and office space to support the R&D efforts of key cleantech companies.

Six of these have received JTC's and SPRING Singapore's Joint Grant Call to test-bed their technologies.

Mr Heah Soon Poh, assistant chief executive officer of JTC Corporation, said: "Another opportunity for CleanTech Park and how we are going to do it is the ability for us to use it as a living lab, as a test-bed for companies.

"I refer to the grant call that we have done together with SPRING and we have got six companies to come in to use our buildings, to use our park, to use this area for them to be able to do test-bedding."

ARTC - a collaboration between A*STAR, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and over 29 local and global industry partners, such as Rolls-Royce and Singapore Aero Engine Services (SAESL) - will be the anchor tenant of CleanTech Two.

ARTC will also create a platform for local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to co-develop remanufacturing technologies alongside industry leaders.

According to Mr Iswaran, there are 12 SMEs among ARTC's partners. These include a firm called AmpTec, which is in the process of developing a dry ice blasting machine.

"This innovation will provide an alternative way to clean aircraft engine components without using polluting industrial chemicals and heavy scrubbing. This will cause less damage to the surface of the components and maintain the quality and performance of the engine," Mr Iswaran said.

ARTC will also work with NTU to develop a strong talent pipeline to support the shift towards eco-friendly production processes and techniques. To date, the centre has completed over 50 industry projects.

- CNA/ac/ms

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