Toxic bacteria found on small pieces of plastic trash from Singapore beaches

NEO CHAI CHIN Today Online 11 Feb 19;

SINGAPORE — The small pieces of plastic trash on Singapore's shores are a hotbed for bacteria, some of which are toxic to humans, a study has found.

Researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) discovered more than 400 types of bacteria on 275 pieces of microplastics collected from the beaches of Changi, Sembawang and Lazarus Island between April and July last year.

The bacteria include those associated with coral bleaching (Photobacterium rosenbergii) and those that cause wound infection (Vibrio) or gastroenteritis in humans (Arcobacter).

WHAT ARE MICROPLASTICS?

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Plummeting insect numbers 'threaten collapse of nature'

Exclusive: Insects could vanish within a century at current rate of decline, says global review
Damian Carrington The Guardian 10 Feb 19;

The world’s insects are hurtling down the path to extinction, threatening a “catastrophic collapse of nature’s ecosystems”, according to the first global scientific review.

More than 40% of insect species are declining and a third are endangered, the analysis found. The rate of extinction is eight times faster than that of mammals, birds and reptiles. The total mass of insects is falling by a precipitous 2.5% a year, according to the best data available, suggesting they could vanish within a century.

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Environment in multiple crises - report

Roger Harrabin BBC 12 Feb 19;

Politicians and policymakers have failed to grasp the gravity of the environmental crisis facing the Earth, a report claims.

The think-tank IPPR says human impacts have reached a critical stage and threaten to destabilise society and the global economy.

Scientists warn of a potentially deadly combination of factors.

These include climate change, mass loss of species, topsoil erosion, forest felling and acidifying oceans.

The report from the centre-left Institute for Public Policy Research says these factors are "driving a complex, dynamic process of environmental destabilisation that has reached critical levels.

"This destabilisation is occurring at speeds unprecedented in human history and, in some cases, over billions of years."

So what is needed?

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Best of our wild blogs: 11 Feb 19

16 Mar (Sat): Celebrating Singapore Shores at Berlayar Creek
Celebrating Singapore Shores!

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Building a green Singapore

Derek Wong Straits Times 11 Feb 19;

In the concrete jungle of the Central Business District, a red flower-like structure stands out against the skyline.

Called a wind scoop, it perches atop the 40-storey CapitaGreen and its "petals" draw in cooler, cleaner air that is funnelled through the building's air-conditioning system, helping to save energy on cooling.

It is among the energy-saving features introduced in buildings in recent years, with the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) aiming for 80 per cent of buildings in Singapore to be green by 2030.

Cooling systems are a big drain on power, taking up 40 per cent to 50 per cent of a building's energy consumption. Together with other energy-saving features, such as a double-skin facade to reduce heat gain, the wind scoop helps CapitaGreen generate monthly savings of about 580,000kwh - equivalent to the energy needed to power about 1,500 four-room Housing Board flats in a month.

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Running with reusable cups to reduce waste

NEO RONG WEI Today Online 10 Feb 19;

SINGAPORE — Last year, more than 2,000 runners gave up their right to claim a finisher tee or medal at the end of the Eco Run.

This year, participants who signed up as “Zero Waste runners” in the annual event will be asked to go one step further for the environment: They will have to use reusable cups.

Income, the insurance company that organises the Eco Run, recognises that it will be a challenge for the runners.

“They will need to stop to fill up the cup, then run again. It is difficult to make the sacrifice (to their run times),” Ms Stella Tan, 45, Income’s head of brand activation and events, said.

The running event used up to 45,000 plastic cups for its hydration stations last year.

For the upcoming race in April, organisers aim to halve this number, which they said would result in a reduction of about 60kg of plastic waste.

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Drink from the tap: Students on a mission to cut bottled-water consumption

KENNETH CHENG Today Online 10 Feb 19;

SINGAPORE — For nearly a decade, Ms Erny Kartolo’s mother bought bottled water in bulk for her family, so that they would be hydrated when they ventured out of their home.

Every month, she would stock up on a box holding 40 bottles of water from suppliers such as Dasani.

“Her reason is that if she doesn’t purchase these, my family wouldn’t bring out water,” said Ms Kartolo, 22, a final-year communication studies undergraduate at the Nanyang Technological University’s (NTU) Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information.

That routine has since changed and her mother has jettisoned the practice, thanks to the Drink Wise, Drink Tap campaign.

The movement — the brainchild of Ms Kartolo and three schoolmates from the same NTU course — aims to nudge Singaporeans to drink tap water instead of bottled water, so as to reduce plastic waste in the long haul.

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Best of our wild blogs: 10 Feb 19

Butterfly of the Month - February 2019
Butterflies of Singapore

Recce Trip to Lentor Avenue (08 Feb 2019)
Beetles@SG BLOG

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Malaysia vessel Polaris, Greece-registered ship collide in Singapore waters: MPA

Channel NewsAsia 9 Feb 19;

SINGAPORE: Malaysian buoy-laying vessel Polaris and a Greece-registered ship collided in Singapore waters on Saturday (Feb 9), the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said.

Polaris and bulk carrier Piraeus collided at 2.28pm on Saturday within Singapore port limits off Tuas, MPA said in a statement.

The Greek vessel was on its way from Singapore to its next port of call at Tanjung Pelepas in Malaysia when the collision took place.

"MPA is deeply concerned that the presence of unauthorised vessels in Singapore port limits can cause confusion for the international shipping community and threaten navigational safety in our waters," it said.

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Smoky smell in Singapore's east caused by Johor landfill fire, says NEA

Channel NewsAsia 9 Feb 19;

SINGAPORE: A smoky smell that has lingered in the air around the eastern part of Singapore was caused by a fire at a Johor landfill, Singapore’s environment authority said on Saturday (Feb 9).

The fire at a landfill at Bandar Tenggara, southeastern Johor, has been burning since Tuesday, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said.

“Malaysian authorities have been working around the clock to stop the burning,” an NEA spokesperson said in response to queries from Channel NewsAsia.

Residents in the eastern part of Singapore have reported a smoky smell in the air since early Friday morning, with some speculating on social media whether it was caused by haze blowing in from other countries.

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Malaysia: Local pangolin smuggling syndicate busted

Junaidi Ladjana, Recqueal Raimi New Straits Times 9 Feb 19;

TUARAN: Sabah police and wildlife enforcement team have uncovered a local pangolin smuggling syndicate which has been operating for seven years in Kota Kinabalu and Tuaran districts.

The syndicate was also involved in the processing of meats and skins of the fully protected animal.

Two days ago, police and enforcement team from the Sabah Wildlife Department raided a factory at Jalan Sepanggar, Kota Kiabalu, and a warehouse in Kampung Bontoi, Jalan Tamparuli, here, and seized live pangolins, frozen pangolins, pangolin scales and meat worth RM8.4 million.

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Malaysia: Green turtle found dead at Pohon Batu beach; cause of death unknown

Bernama New Straits Times 9 Feb 19;

LABUAN: A green sea turtle was found dead at Pohon Batu beach here, with portions of its intestines allegedly taken out from its abdomen.

The most endangered and threatened species of the sea turtle was found by a villager at Kg Pohon Batu on Friday morning and it was subsequently reported to the Fisheries Department at 2.15pm the same day.

The discovery came as a shock to the Labuan Marine Park, turtle conservationists and villagers, who urged for a thorough investigation to be carried out on any elements of illegal hunting of sea turtles for eggs and meat.

Labuan Fisheries Department director Faizal Suhaili Ibrahim told Bernama that based on a preliminary investigation, there seemed to be no ‘foul play’ in the turtle’s death, but assured that thorough investigation would be conducted.

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