Singapore’s greenhouse gas emissions top 50m tonnes: Report

NEO CHAI CHIN Today Online 8 Jan 19;

SINGAPORE — Singapore generated more than 50 million tonnes of greenhouse gases in 2014, the bulk of it from the burning of fossil fuels to generate energy for industries, buildings, households and transportation.

The figure, which is the latest available, was published online last week in a biennial report that the Government submitted to the United Nations on Dec 27.

The 50.9 million tonnes of greenhouse gases generated in 2014 is an increase of 4.8 per cent from about 48.6 million tonnes generated in 2012.

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Shell fined S$400,000 for Pulau Bukom fire that injured 6 workers

Channel NewsAsia 8 Jan 19;

SINGAPORE: Oil giant Shell has been fined S$400,000 for a fire which broke out at a petroleum refinery on Pulau Bukom in 2015, said the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on Tuesday (Jan 8).

The fire left six workers injured, including two with critical injuries after they suffered 50 per cent and 70 per cent burns.

On Aug 21, 2015, two groups of workers were simultaneously conducting maintenance and project works on a crude distillation unit at the refinery, said the ministry.

The first group was carrying out hot works on a scaffold. This included the use of a blow-cutting torch from an oxy-acetylene cylinder to cut and dismantle existing pipes.

The other group was carrying out cold works along a hydrocarbon solvent line on the ground. This involved removing a joint connection to a valve as well as connecting a hose to the valve to drain out residual flammable hydrocarbons inside the pipeline into a nearby pit.

"When one of the workers opened the valve to start the draining process, flammable vapours from the draining of hydrocarbons came into contact with the sparks from the hot works," said MOM.

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Indonesia: Toba Lake hills prone to landslides due to alleged illegal logging - Walhi

Apriadi Gunawan The Jakarta Post 8 Jan 19;

Debris from the landslides feared to have been caused by illegal logging practices have for several times covered Siduadua Bridge on the Trans Sumatra highway in Sibaganding subdistrict, Simalungun regency, North Sumatra.

For almost three weeks since Dec. 18 last year, when the first landslide hit, the traffic on the bridge that connects Pematang Siantar and the renowned tourist resort Lake Toba was disturbed by the debris, forcing thousands of travelers to seek for alternative routes by crossing the lake.

Only since Sunday that the traffic has returned to normal again after a joint team cleared the debris that amounted to over 100 tons in weight.

Executive director of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment’s (Walhi) North Sumatra branch, Dana Prima Tarigan, said that landslide remained a major threat to the forest area around Lake Toba hills due to rampant illegal logging practices.

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What Singapore can do to prepare for the next flood

Floods cannot be completely eliminated, but can be managed, say Cecilia Tortajada and Asit K Biswas.
Cecilia Tortajada and Asit K Biswas Channel NewsAsia 8 Jan 19;

SINGAPORE: The year-end monsoon season typically sets off alarm bells to watch for flooding, particularly in Singapore, once beset by images of an Orchard Road ponding incident.

Although such incidents evince snarls and flare up tempers, in other cities, people have developed creative responses to floods.

In Thailand, we have witnessed how the recent tropical storm Pabuk resulted in heavy floods and left more than 30,000 people in evacuation shelters. This is an example of the severe impact of a single, very unusual weather event for which resilience is much needed.

DEALING WITH CLIMATE CHANGE

The reality is that climate change will bring to bear unpredictable and unprecedented weather patterns.

So it is fortuitous that the United National Climate Change Conference organised in Poland in early December 2018 united once again most countries on what should be a coordinated and effective response on adaptation, mitigation and preparedness for coping with climate change.

Climate change has a global reach and is impacting societies all over the world. Extreme climatological events such as floods, droughts and hurricanes are affecting more cities.

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With farms atop malls, Singapore gets serious about food security

Rina Chandran Reuters 8 Jan 19;

SINGAPORE (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Visitors to Singapore’s Orchard Road, the city’s main shopping belt, will find fancy malls, trendy department stores, abundant food courts - and a small farm.

Comcrop’s 600-square-metre (6,450-square-foot) farm on the roof of one of the malls uses vertical racks and hydroponics to grow leafy greens and herbs such as basil and peppermint that it sells to nearby bars, restaurants and stores.

The farm’s small size belies its big ambition: to help improve the city’s food security.

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Lower Peirce Reservoir fishing grounds reopened after 140 motoro stingrays removed

Choo Yun Ting Straits Times 7 Jan 19;

SINGAPORE - Fishing grounds at Lower Peirce Reservoir have been reopened after around 140 motoro stingrays were removed.

In a Facebook post on Monday (Jan 7), national water agency PUB said that the non-native stingrays were removed from the reservoir waters with the assistance of the National University of Singapore and the National Parks Board.

The fishing grounds, which reopened on Monday, were closed after motoro rays were sighted at Lower Peirce Reservoir on Dec 20 last year.

However, the fishing grounds at Upper Seletar Reservoir will remain closed until further notice, PUB said.

In December, the agency said that 75 motoro stingrays had been removed from the reservoirs and waterways since 2015.

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Malaysia: Sabah Wildlife Dept still unable to identify source in viral photo of abused turtle

stephanie lee The Star 7 Jan 19;

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah wildlife authorities are still not able to find the source behind a viral photo, believed taken on a boat, which showed a turtle being abused.

Sabah Wildlife Department director Augustine Tuuga said all personnel in the department are involved in finding out the source of the photo, and to investigate whether the incident happened in Sabah.

So far, we have yet to get any information as to who took the photo, where it was taken, and who the perpetrators are,” he said.

The photo, which shows a person sitting on a turtle with another stepping on it, had made its rounds on social media like Facebook and on messaging app WhatsApp.

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Indonesia: Ministry prepares for forest fires following moderate el Nino forecast

Antara 7 Jan 19;

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Environment and Forestry Ministry has taken early precautionary measures against land and forest fires, with the climatology agency forecasting moderate El Nino during the period from January to February.

"Moderate El Nino will be experienced in Indonesia from early January to February 2019 that will necessitate the adoption of early anticipatory measures," the ministry`s Director General of Climate Change Ruandha Agung noted in a statement here on Monday.

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Best of our wild blogs: 7 Jan 19

Interesting Ubin Butterflies
Butterflies of Singapore

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Sharing economy hype vs reality in Singapore

KENNETH CHENG Today Online 6 Jan 19;

Each week, TODAY’s long-running Big Read series delves into trends and issues that matter. This week, we examine the impact of big money on the sharing economy, and its effects on consumers. This is a shortened version of the full feature, which can be found here.

SINGAPORE — The sharing economy held much promise when it burst onto the scene in the not-too-distant past, opening up an avenue for people to earn an income by sharing their underused resources with others.

Consumers, too, embraced it in a big way, hoovering up goods and services in nearly every area imaginable, from point-to-point transport to co-working spaces.

But more than a decade after it began its meteoric rise globally, the collaborative movement has come under siege.

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Singapore supplies additional treated water to Malaysia at Johor's request

Channel NewsAsia 6 Jan 19;

SINGAPORE: Singapore's water agency PUB said on Sunday (Jan 6) that it supplied additional treated water to Malaysia this week after pollution disrupted production at Johor's water plants.

"Production at Johor's water plants was disrupted recently by pollution to the river catchment. PUB's Johor River Waterworks was not affected by the incident," said PUB in a statement.

"At Johor’s request, PUB helped to tide Johor residents over the water supply disruption by turning on PUB’s Pasir Gudang offtake and supplying an additional 6 million of gallons per day (mgd) of treated water between 2 and 4 January 2019.

"This was on top of the 16 mgd that we usually supply Johor," it added.

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Philippines: Death toll from storm, landslides climbs to 126

AFP Yahoo News 6 Jan 19;

Manila (AFP) - The death toll from a storm that devastated the Philippines shortly after Christmas rose to 126, authorities said Sunday, adding landslides caused by torrential rain were the top cause.

The storm hit central and eastern Philippine islands on December 29 and caused massive flooding and landslides. More than 100 people died in the mountainous Bicol region southeast of Manila, regional disaster officials said.

While the Bicol region is often hit by deadly typhoons, many people failed to take necessary precautions because the storm was not strong enough to be rated as a typhoon under the government's storm alert system, according to civil defence officials.

Officials also said that many residents were reluctant to leave their homes during the Christmas holidays.

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