Gore Group Plans Ad Blitz on Global Warming

By ANDREW C. REVKIN
April 1, 2008
New York Times

Former Vice President Al Gore and a nonprofit climate group have begun what they say will be a three-year $300 million advertising blitz to recruit 10 million advocates to seek laws and policies that can cut greenhouse gases.

The campaign was introduced in a “60 Minutes” appearance by Mr. Gore on Sunday. The first ad, posted online at wecansolveit.org , compares the challenge of fighting global warming to the invasion of Normandy and the civil rights movement.

That advertisement will start appearing on television Wednesday, according to the Alliance for Climate Protection, a group created by Mr. Gore in 2006. It will be followed by ads tailored to particular audiences and media, including the Internet.

About half the anticipated budget has been raised from donations, mostly from anonymous benefactors, people involved in the campaign said.

In a presentation on the campaign last week, Cathy Zoi, who heads the alliance and was formerly a Clinton administration environmental aide, said the goal was to replicate the marketing success of enduring public service ad campaigns like the frying egg depicted as “your brain on drugs” and the 1971 advertisement featuring a tearful American Indian considering a polluted landscape.

John P. Murry Jr., an associate professor of marketing at the University of Iowa who has studied public service advertising, said the campaign might be spending too little.

“I think the global warming project media budget should be 10 times as high,” he said. “Both Coca-Cola and Pepsi spend over a billion dollars each year to promote brand preference for soft drinks. In this light, the $100 million per year to change our lifestyles seems pretty small.”

Pollsters and communications experts have noted that the public remains deeply divided along party lines over global warming and that the issue rarely shows up on voters’ lists of worries.

Ms. Zoi said the goal was to recruit people she described as “influentials.” She added: “These are people who talk to five times as many people a day as the typical person, who derive self-esteem from having new information.”

The ads will be coordinated with outreach through organizations like the United Steelworkers union and the Girl Scouts.

On various blogs on Monday, reactions ranged from strong support to complaints that the money would be better spent on energy research and that the effort would mainly swell coffers of environmental campaigners and carbon traders.

Singapore will do its part to mitigate effects of climate change: PM Lee

By Hasnita A Majid, Channel NewsAsia
03 November 2007

SINGAPORE : Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong says Singapore will do its part to mitigate climate change but the country cannot afford to do so at the cost of its economic growth.

Global warming has caused extreme weather events like major floods and rising sea levels.

And the situation will worsen if countries do nothing.

Speaking at the launch of the year-long Clean and Green Singapore campaign, Mr Lee says no country can solve this problem on its own but must tackle it collectively.

He says countries are taking this seriously and in ASEAN, this is reflected by the pledge put in recent meetings and will be discussed at the upcoming summit.

Singapore, he adds, will do its part.

But Mr Lee says the country must also be practical and recognise that our direct impact as a small country is limited.

He says: "We contribute less than 0.2 percent of all the carbon emission worldwide...so what we do in Singapore is not going to change the world. And just to give you a sense of it, even if Singapore is to shut down the whole of Singapore, no lights, no fans, no air cons, no cars, buses, MRT, nothing, the amount of carbon saved not generated will be the same as three days of energy consumption in China. So it is not possible for us to solve this problem on our own but we cannot say therefore we will ignore it. We will do our fair share as part of the global effort to reduce greenhouse gases."

Mr Lee says when the Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse gas emission expires in 2012, Singapore will contribute to that.

But the country also has to safeguard its national interests.

This is because it is totally dependent on fossil fuels, with no feasible alternative and it is a major manufacturing base for MNCs, whose products are exported.

Also, Singapore is a major air and sea hub.

Mr Lee says: "Every year we have 25 million containers ship through Singapore, ships taking bunker fuels in Singapore. These are not Singapore's consumption, they are international but happens to upload in Singapore and we have to account for this fairly. If there's a treaty, we have to ensure that it's not all put on our account because that's not fair and doesn't make sense."

Mr Lee says that to prepare for the future, Singapore will have to start now, and redouble efforts to conserve energy, and get used to less wasteful habits.

A Ministerial Committee on Climate change has also been set up to coordinate Singapore's efforts.

And the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources has also announced plans to push for greater energy efficiency in Singapore.

One way is to make buildings here more energy efficient.

Households can also make a difference by taking simple and effective measures, such as choosing energy efficient appliances and also switch to energy-saving light bulbs. - CNA/ch

First-ever carbon trading deal signed in Singapore

By Wong Siew Ying, Channel NewsAsia
05 November 2007

SINGAPORE: A Singapore-based company, ecoWise, has tied up with Japan's Kansai Electric Power Company to tackle climate change.

Under the four-year deal, the first to be signed in Singapore, ecoWise will trade carbon credits for Kansai, Japan's second largest power firm.

Carbon trading is a market-based mechanism to help mitigate the increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

The burning of fossil fuels is a major source of industrial greenhouse gas emissions, including carbon dioxide and methane.

Countries, which have signed the Kyoto Protocol, are legally bound to meet emissions targets by 2012.

The Kyoto Protocol is designed to cut greenhouse gas emissions by making the polluter pay for climate change.

A country that needs to fulfil its obligations may need to buy spare credits from another country that is on track to meet its target.

Under the latest Emission Reduction Purchasing Agreement, Kansai Electric Power Company will buy 95,000 carbon credits from ecoWise over four years, starting in 2008.

ecoWise said it would sell the carbon credits, which will be generated from its facility that processes industrial waste by using thermal energy, at market rate.

Lee Thiam Seng, CEO, ecoWise Holdings, said: "Currently, these agro wastes are using diesel burner, diesel dryer to dry. We are using renewable energy to dry. This will save about 6.1 million tonnes of diesel over the next four years."

The companies are in the process of getting the project registered with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Kansai said this contract is relatively small compared to its 20 other carbon credit deals around the world.

The firm estimates it will need to procure up to 13 million carbon credits between now and 2012.

Koji Toyama, Manager of the Global Environment Group, Kansai Electric Power, said: "In the near future, I hope Kansai will supply or provide environmental related technology to Singapore industries and if possible, Kansai would like to make a direct investment to the energy sector."

It is hoped that this collaboration will pave the way for more companies to follow suit.

For a start, ecoWise said it would explore opportunities in China, while KYOTOenergy, which had helped broker the deal, will look at investing in gas cogeneration projects.

Michel Buron, CEO of KYOTOenergy, said: "The market in 2006 for emission reductions was around US$24 billion. It is expected to grow to US$100 billion by 2010, and I would say the region – Southeast Asia – will take its share of it, but we see that this region is a bit behind compared to India or China, or even Latin America."

But industry players said there are more emission reduction projects coming on-stream in countries like Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam, and the sector is set to grow.

However, the rate of adoption will depend on the level of confidence and awareness of how carbon credits can benefit businesses.

Climate change is expected to be discussed at the upcoming ASEAN Summit in Singapore.

Industry players hope this can further promote sustainable development.


- CNA/so

Vulnerable to rising seas, Singapore envisions a giant seawall

By Wayne Arnold
International Herald Tribune
29 Aug 07

SINGAPORE: Surrounded by sea and almost pancake flat, Singapore is without doubt vulnerable to the rising sea levels many scientists predict global warming will cause.

While topographical maps are considered a military secret here, anyone flying into Singapore can easily see that the island is elevation-challenged. Its highest point is a jungle-clad hill rising 165 meters, or 540 feet, above sea level. Most of the business-end of Singapore - its airport, its business district and, of course, its busy container ports, lie less than two meters above sea level.

Faced with the prospect of a long, slow submersion into the very waters that serve as the lifeblood of this maritime trading hub, Singapore has reached out to the world's greatest experts on the subject of battling back the sea - the Dutch.

"We are already in consultations with Delft in Holland to learn how we can build dikes," said Lee Kuan Yew, the former prime minister, in an interview last Friday.

Delft Hydraulics, a research institute and consulting firm specializing in water management issues in the canalled Dutch city of Delft, is already helping Singapore convert its biggest river and marina into a huge downtown reservoir. Now it is also helping the city-state look into just what it can do to defend its roughly 200-kilometer, or 125-mile, coastline.

"We feel we have strong reasons to be concerned, but no reasons for panic," said Vladan Babovic, director of the Singapore Delft Water Alliance, a $43 million research center opened in February between Delft, the National University of Singapore and the country's water management agency, PUB Singapore. "We will be able to resolve these challenges," he said.

Singapore got a preview of just what havoc rising sea levels could cause back in 1974 when a rare astronomical event caused the tides to rise 3.9 meters, more than double the usual level.

"It eroded the coast very badly," said Wong Poh Poh, an associate professor specializing in beach geography at the National University of Singapore, who studied the event. Areas along the Singapore River were inundated, as were parts of the airport and a coastal public park built on reclaimed land.

Wong later discovered that during such periods of elevated sea levels, the variations between high and low tide are accentuated, putting the country's reservoirs, many of which lie adjacent to the coast, at risk. Singapore officials later used one of Wong's reports to draw the attention of the United Nations to the problems associated with global warming.

Still, no one is certain just how much of Singapore is vulnerable to the problem. The Singapore Delft Water Alliance and researchers at the national university's Tropical Marine Science Institute began a study into the potential effects of climate change on Singapore in March. But the leader of that study, Liong Shie-Yui, said that the group had yet to produce any noteworthy findings.

Assessing the risk is complicated by the fact that no one knows for sure just how much the sea may rise or how fast. Estimates vary from as little as 60 centimeters, or about 24 inches, to as much as 6 meters. And sea levels are not consistent from place to place: atmospheric pressure, wind and currents can cause variations.

Ultimately, Singapore is unlikely to build dikes per se, but rather concrete seawalls, Babovic said. Dikes are technically made of earth. After digging up and quarrying much of its own interior to reclaim new land that has increased Singapore's area by between 15 percent and 20 percent, Singapore now relies on imported landfill and sand for its reclamation efforts and to produce cement for new buildings.

Many scientists believe that dikes are no longer the most environmentally sensitive solution. Wong recommended docks and seawalls back in the early 1990s but now said that more natural structures might work better.

Babovic said that scientists were studying ways to incorporate mangroves and sea grasses into the design of dikes and seawalls to improve their environmental impact and make them look better, too.

"You need more imaginative solutions," said Wong. "What we don't want is to put something there that will constrain future use."

100 trees planted in Kent Ridge Park to tackle global warming

By Lynda Hong, Channel NewsAsia
29 August 2007

SINGAPORE: A hundred trees were planted in Kent Ridge Park on Wednesday morning in a joint initiative by the South West Community Development Council, the National Parks Board (NParks), and corporate partner Bayer.

In a small but significant step to tackle the global warming problem, about 40 National University Singapore (NUS) students, Bayer employees and other volunteers planted 100 trees along a 50-metre cycling trail.

The day's activity was part of the 100,000 Native Plants @ South West Programme which the CDC and NParks initiated last year.

Some 40,000 plants and trees have since taken root.

Dr Amy Khor, Mayor of South West District, said: "This programme was actually (initiated) to bring back our green heritage by the planting of native plants, as well as to create a greener environment in the district in the next two years. If the programme continues to be very welcomed by the community, which I think it is, we will look to increasing the target."

"I think it's very special in the sense that it allows youths to actually have something hands-on to do, something tangible that they can do for the environment," said Teo Shu Li, a 17-year-old junior college student.

Pharmaceutical company Bayer also has good reasons for taking part.

Marcus Yim, Senior Bayer Representative, South ASEAN, said: "Environment protection is always a very big part of requirements for all the corporate organisations around the world. It's very important to protect our environment as the future generations will also benefit from it."

Its green cause was in support of the worldwide Billion Tree Campaign by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).


- CNA/so

Singapore urges ASEAN partners to tackle energy, climate issues

By Dominique Loh, Channel NewsAsia
23 August 2007

SINGAPORE : Singapore is urging its ASEAN partners to tackle issues of energy security and climate change.

Speaking at the ASEAN Energy Meeting in Singapore on Thursday, Deputy Prime Minister S Jayakumar outlined four key areas for the region's energy priorities.

One area is to adopt and encourage energy efficiency so as to help cut energy needs.

Another critical area is the development of a competitive regional energy market.

This will hopefully mean better access to energy supplies and the transfer of new energy technologies.

Prof Jayakumar believes investing in R&D will also reduce CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions.

But he said ASEAN countries must also promote a clean environment and find ways to protect forests, rivers, lakes and air quality.

With Singapore taking over the ASEAN chair recently, he said energy and climate concerns will feature in themes for upcoming summits.

"ASEAN's continued growth and prosperity hinges upon managing the competition for resources through cooperative efforts such as joint exploration and development of energy resources, more integrated markets, and sharing of expertise and technology," said Prof Jayakumar, who is also Singapore's Law Minister and Coordinating National Security Minister.

"Although the challenges are immense, they are not insurmountable if we can strengthen our cooperation, so that the region as a whole can benefit," he added. - CNA /ls

China hails car trial a 'success'

By Michael Bristow
BBC News, Beijing
21 August 2007

A four-day scheme that took 1.3 million cars off Beijing's streets reduced air pollution by 15-20%, officials in the Chinese capital say.

Moving around the city was also easier during the test period, with the speed of vehicles up by more than 50%.

Beijing hopes to repeat the scheme next year to cut both pollution and traffic when the city hosts the Olympic Games.

But officials ducked questions over whether the air quality was good enough for athletes taking part in the games.

IOC warning

Speaking at a press conference to announce the results of the car ban, environmental official Du Shaozhong declared himself satisfied.

"I am sure we will be able to ensure good air quality during the Olympic Games," he said, although he admitted four days was not long enough to make a big difference to pollution levels.

Four types of pollutants, including carbon monoxide and small particles, were tested over the four-day period, which ended on Monday.

Mr Du, who bicycled to work during the car ban, could not say whether the improved air quality would have made the atmosphere good enough to run a marathon.

International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge recently said endurance events could be cancelled if the air quality is not up to scratch.

Mr Du would only say that if air quality met national standards it would be good enough for "all kinds of outdoor exercises".

Fewer private cars on the road meant more people used public transport. Passenger numbers were up by 15%, it was revealed.

This meant buses - there were 800 more of them on the roads - could travel at 20 km/h (12mph) instead of the usual 14 km/h (9mph).

Chinese officials also had a kind word for the 6,500 police officers on duty during the four days, many of whom had "overcome fatigue" to ensure the test went off smoothly.

During the test period, odd-numbered cars were banned on Saturday and Monday, while cars with even-numbered registrations had to stay off the roads on Friday and Sunday.

World's largest moth makes early appearance in S'pore this year

By Ryan Huang, Channel NewsAsia
17 August 2007

SINGAPORE: Pupae of the world's largest moth, Atlas Moth, seem to be making an early appearance on the island this year.

A tree by Singapore's Sungai River has recently become home to Atlas Moth caterpillars, which is common in Southeast Asia, especially Singapore.

They are usually spotted between November and January, but they have appeared earlier than usual this year.

"I was brisk walking, and saw the leaves all eaten up and the tree was almost bare. I counted almost 80 caterpillars,” said Koh Keow Chan, a nature enthusiast.

He supposed the rain that suddenly came during the hot months of July and August might have led to the early appearance of the caterpillars.

The caterpillars may look cute, but it is best to leave them alone.

"If it's a small one, then you feel a lot of itch. If it's a big one, then u feel a lot of pain. It's really like a sting," said Stefanie Fam, who was once bitten by an Atlas Moth caterpillar.

Atlas Moth, so named because of the map-like patterns on its wings, is also known as the Snake Head Moth, referring to the its wing tips’ resemblance to a snake’s head.

When fully grown, it can have a wingspan of some 30 centimetres.

Atlas Moth is nocturnal, with a lifespan of around two weeks.

Yet, traces of their delicate beauty live on in a different form as broken cocoons of the moths are often used to make fagara silk, commonly used in Taiwan to make purses. - CNA/ac

Former US Vice-President Al Gore calls on PM Lee

By May Wong, Channel NewsAsia
08 August 2007 1652 hrs

SINGAPORE: Visiting former US Vice-President Al Gore called on Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the Istana on Wednesday.

Mr Gore, who is now an environmental crusader, is in Singapore for two days as a speaker at the Global Brand Forum.

At the meeting, the two discussed the issue of climate change.

They also exchanged views on how the international community can work together to tackle the climate crisis.

Prime Minister Lee informed Mr Gore that climate change will be one of the key items on the agenda of upcoming regional meetings.

These include the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in September and the ASEAN and East Asia Summits in November.

'I Used To Be The Next President Of The Us'

Al Gore spreads green message with touch of humour and sincerity

Sheralyn Tay
sheralyn@mediacorp.com.sg
Aug 8 2007 (TODAY)

A DISCOUNT store chain and a former "next President" had a profitable
lesson to share with global business yesterday.

Under pressure from a changing business environment and eco-conscious
consumers, Walmart - one of the world's biggest corporations - reduced its
energy consumption and reaped big gains in turn, noted former United
States Vice-President Al Gore (picture).

Speaking in Singapore at the Global Brand Forum yesterday, Mr Gore cited
the American-based chain of discount stores as an early adopter of energy
sustainability.

In its efforts to be a leader in carbon reduction, Walmart placed
windmills on the roofs of many stores and is talking to sub-contractors
about packaging.

And even as Walmart has become embroiled in controversy - over employee
discrimination and union issues - it has gotten a "huge" brand response at
a time this was needed, Mr Gore added.

Mr Gore, who spoke to a packed ballroom of industry leaders, shared his
views on how sustainability was good for branding - served with dollops of
wry and often self-deprecating humour.

Introducing himself, Mr Gore - one of four Vice-Presidents in American
history to win the popular vote but lose a presidential election -
good-naturedly alluded to his controversial loss in 2000, telling the
audience: "I used to be the next president of the United States."

Recounting a meal at a cheap diner with his wife, Tipper, he said: "The
waitress came over and fawned over (Tipper). Then she went over to the
couple next to us and whispered - so low I had to strain to hear her -
'yes, that's Al Gore'. The man replied, 'He's come down a long way hasn't
he?'"

Mr Gore also could also not resist a few pot-shots at the current US
administration, saying - with an unrepentant grin - "I'm sorry, I can't
help myself".

The audience, which responded to his humour and sincerity, asked during
the question-and-answer session: Is he running for President?

No, said Mr Gore, to which another participant stood up and said: "I'm
glad you didn't become President, because you have a far superior role
than a presidential role now."

Mr Gore replied in jest: "I'm sure I would have made my own mistakes, but
different ones."

Even as he peppered his speech with funny asides, Mr Gore had a serious
message for businesses: What were they doing about the climate crisis?

Pointing to the urgency of the situation, Mr Gore said that growing demand
around the world for solutions meant business had to move, or lose out.

"Companies ahead of that curve will be rewarded in the marketplace," he
said. "It is in your business interest to be part of the solution to the
climate crisis."

While lack of political will remained a key stumbling block, Mr Gore was
optimistic that a tipping point, particularly in the US, was close at
hand.

Already, he said, state governments and some 600 cities in the US have
embraced the Kyoto Protocol, a treaty that seeks to reduce carbon
emissions - even though the US government itself has not ratified it.

The world's largest companies, such as General Electronics, Caterpillar,
and Proctor and Gamble, have also demanded government limits on carbon
dioxide emissions.

With the newly-elected congress in place and a new American President in
18 months, said Mr Gore: "No matter which party is elected, there will be
change on global warming."

Climate Change Can Give You Returns

Cheow Xin Yi
cheowxinyi@mediacorp.com.sg
Aug 4 2007 (TODAY)

Climate change doesn't always have to be negative.

Investors could put their money in companies that "prosper as a result of
having a direct impact on efforts to mitigate or adapt to climate change",
said Shroders Singapore's Head of Retail Chin Szu Yi.

Through "Shroder ISF Global Climate Change Equity", its
climate-change-related retail fund that invests in companies benefiting
from efforts to cut carbon emissions, Ms Chin said, the firm hopes to
"pick out these winners".

Launched by the global asset management company on June 26, the fund -
described as the first such initiative to hit Singapore shores - currently
invests in over 70 companies in its portfolio.

United States companies make up 35 per cent of the portfolio, while the
rest comes from Europe, Japan and other emerging markets, with about five
to six per cent in Asia.

The fund's portfolio manager, Simon Webber, said Sinomem Technology and
Hyflux, Singaporean companies that deal with water management, are two
firms the fund could include in its portfolio because of the problem of
water shortage in Asia, particularly in China.

The current fund size stands at more than US$100 million ($152 million),
excluding the $100 million raised in Singapore so far. In addition to
Singapore, the fund has been offered to retail investors in South Korea
and Hong Kong.

Mr Webber said that there are plans to launch the fund in Japan, the
United Kingdom and Europe in the next three months, adding that the fund
will use the MSCI world index as its reference.

"We believe this is the biggest investment theme in the next 20 years or
more, and as a result, we expect to be able to outperform the broad world
market. We believe we can beat (the MSCI world index) consistently," he
said.

Following Schroder, Deutsche Bank Group launched a similar product, the
DWS Global Climate Change Fund, in July.

money on the weather

Fund: Shroder ISF Global Climate Change Equity

Launch Date: June 26 to Aug 8

Launch Price: $10

Minimum Initial Investment: $2000

Minimum Subsequent Investment: $2000

Sales Charge: Up to 5 per cent of gross investment

Annual Management Fee: 1.5 per cent

Administration Fee: 0.4 per cent yearly

Dealing Frequency: Daily

Subscription Mode: Cash

Whip Up Dinner, Melt A Glacier

Aug 3 2007 (TODAY)

BANGKOK - Huge haze clouds over the Indian Ocean contribute as much to
atmospheric warming as greenhouse gases and play a significant role in the
melting of the Himalayan glaciers, according to a study published
yesterday.

Scientist Veerabhadran Ramanathan and his colleagues sent unmanned
measuring devices into the haze pollution - known as atmospheric brown
clouds - over the Indian Ocean last year.

Measuring aerosol concentrations, soot levels and solar radiation, the
team concluded that the pollution - mostly caused by the burning of wood
and plant matter for cooking in South Asia - enhanced heating of the
atmosphere by around 50 per cent, and contributed to about half of the
temperature increases blamed in recent decades for the glacial retreat.

Mr Ramanathan, a chief scientist at the University of California San
Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography, said his team's research
shows that the clouds are an additional factor in the melting of glaciers,
along with overall global warming caused by greenhouse gas emissions.

Until this study, published in the British journal Nature, scientists
believed the brown clouds mostly deflected sunlight and cooled the
atmosphere. But as the study now shows, the particles also absorb sunlight
and warm the atmosphere much more than previously believed. - Agencies

Petrol stations may dispense compressed natural gas

By Tan Hui Leng, TODAY
19 July 2007

The first one, on Jurong Island, cost $2.6 million to build.

The second station, coming up next year on the mainland, is likely to cost much more.

But the refuelling infrastructure for compressed natural gas (CNG) might not have to be built from scratch — and cost so much — if the government can eventually strike a deal with petroleum companies here.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) has been exploring with petrol stations the possibility of dispensing CNG at service stations, Environment and Water Resources Minister Yaacob Ibrahim told Parliament.

These include Singapore Petroleum Company, Caltex and Shell.

"The oil companies are still considering the idea of installing CNG dispensers in their service stations," said the NEA, which has been in talks with the companies since 2002.

These efforts are in addition to the government's co-funding support for private sector initiatives to build new CNG refuelling stations.

The NEA's Innovation for Environmental Sustainability Fund has helped to co-fund the start-up costs of the Jurong Island outlet, the only CNG station in Singapore so far.

Two more stations are to be operational next year, also with the help of government funding. Smart Automobile is setting up a station at Mandai by January and another at Serangoon North by the end of 2008. Earlier cost estimates of the Mandai Link station range from $8 million to $12 million, which includes the cost of the land.

If CNG refuelling facilities can be incorporated into existing petrol stations, the cost to car owners of going green could be further lowered.

Currently, the green vehicle rebate, introduced in 2001 to lower the cost differential between green vehicles and conventional vehicles, gives motorists a 40-per-cent discount on the additional registration fee up till 2009.

As of end May this year, there are 339 CNG vehicles on the road.

"I hope that moving forward, more Singaporeans will opt for CNG or other green vehicles," said Dr Yaacob, who was responding to a parliamentary question.

"As more CNG vehicles come onto the road, the demand for refuelling stations will grow and this in turn will encourage the private sector to provide such infrastructure."

CNG vehicles are environmentally friendly as they produce 76 per cent less carbon monoxide and about 99 per cent less of the cancer-causing chemical benzene than diesel-powered vehicles. - TODAY/ra

MediaCorp Ch 5 to show highlights of Live Earth concerts

13 July 2007 (CNA)

Missed the message first time round?

Fret not.

If you weren't one of the one million Singaporeans who caught Channel 5's exclusive 24-hour broadcast of Live Earth's global concert last weekend, you can do so, albeit in an edited show.

On July 22, Channel 5 will be airing a three-hour highlight show, featuring a select line-up of some of the biggest stars who performed.

The programme starts at 4 pm.

More than 100 artists took part in concerts in nine different locations around the world, in an effort to raise aware- ness about the global warming crisis.

Organised by former United States Vice-President Al Gore, Live Earth staged concerts in London, Sydney, Tokyo, Shanghai, Johannesburg, Hamburg, Rio de Janeiro, New York and Washington DC.

Some of the stars that will be featured in the highlight show include Linkin Park and Rihanna rocking from Tokyo; Shakira shaking her hips in Hamburg; classic bands The Police and Bon Jovi bringing down the house in New York; and popular acts Black Eyed Peas, Madonna, the Red Hot Chilli Peppers and the Pussycat Dolls wowing the crowd in London.

Fans can also look forward to catching performances by Jack Johnson, Pharell Williams, Alicia Keys, Lenny Kravitz, Kanye West and a host of other musical acts — all in a bid to trigger a movement towards solving the environmental crisis.

The Live Earth concerts drew an estimated 19 million viewers in the US and 4.5 million viewers in the UK, along with eight million users who streamed the concert live on MSN.

Singapore's first public CNG station to be ready by Jan 2008

By Daryl Loo, Channel NewsAsia
12 July 2007

SINGAPORE: Singapore's first-ever publicly-accessible refuelling station for compressed natural gas (CNG) is expected to start running by next January.

CNG is seen as a cleaner and cheaper alternative to petrol as it produces very little pollutants and costs about 50% less.

The station will be built and operated by Smart Automobile, which also runs Singapore's first and largest fleet of CNG taxis.

Smart Automobile expects to charge about 75 cents per litre for CNG, much cheaper than petrol, which costs from $1.60 per litre.

The new CNG refuelling station will sit on a 55,000-square-foot site on Mandai Road, just off the Woodlands Road junction.

Smart Automobile has obtained a 30-year lease to build the station, which will serve all CNG-fuelled vehicles here.

The company hopes to have four more stations by 2011, including one in Serangoon North - to be up and running by next September.

Smart Automobile says it is still awaiting regulatory approval for the second station.

All its CNG stations will operate under the name Smart Energy.

Johnny Harjantho, Managing Director of Smart Automobile, said: "We project that by the time the five CNG stations are up, there will be about 3,000 to 4,000 CNG taxis of our own, and from the public side - commercial and private cars - we estimate that there are going to be about 10,000 cars available on the road.

"If you ask me: is that number exaggerated? I think it is not. It's a chicken and egg situation. If you build more stations, then we believe more people will convert their cars, or buy the OEM CNG cars in Singapore."

There are 400 CNG vehicles on the road here, and these currently need special permission to refuel at Singapore's sole CNG station on Jurong Island.

Once the Mandai station is ready, however, refuelling on Jurong Island will no longer be allowed.

Smart Automobile estimates that the first station will cost $8 million to build, and subsequent stations about $7 million each.

To take advantage of the lower cost of refuelling, Smart Automobile intends to replace its remaining fleet of 550 diesel-run taxis with CNG cabs over the next four years.

Mr Harjantho said: "Currently, we have about 110 CNG taxis, which is about 10-15% of our entire fleet. But going forward, we are going to change all of our taxis to run on CNG.

"Green environment is the 'in' thing. Everyone's talking about being environmentally-friendly. So why not run a CNG fleet. The cost is cheaper, and also it does not pollute so much. The whole world is going in that direction."

Other countries with CNG stations include Australia, China and South Korea. - CNA/ir

A message from the melting slopes of Everest

The sons of Hillary and Tenzing speak out about climate change: "Believe us, it's a reality"

By Cahal Milmo and Sam Relph
Independent Online Edition
06 July 2007

Fifty-four years after Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first men to scale Everest, their sons have said the mountain is now so ravaged by climate change that they would no longer recognise it.

On the eve of the Live Earth concerts this weekend, Peter Hillary and Jamling Tenzing yesterday issued a timely warning that global warming is rapidly changing the face of the world's highest mountain and threatening the survival of billions of people who rely on its glaciers for drinking water.

The base camp where Sir Edmund and Norgay began their ascent is 40 metres lower than it was in 1953. The glacier on which it stands, and those around it, are melting at such a rate that scientists believe the mountain, whose Nepalese name, Qomolangma, means Mother of the World, could be barren rock by 2050.

Up to 40,000 Sherpas who live at the base of the Himalayas face devastation if vast new lakes formed by the melted ice burst and send a torrent of millions of tons of water down the slopes.

Mr Hillary, who has himself twice reached Everest's summit, said: "Climate change is happening. This is a fact. Base camp used to sit at 5,320 metres. This year it was at 5,280 metres because the ice is melting from the top and side. Base camp is sinking each year. For Sherpas living on Mount Everest this is something they can see every day but they can't do anything about it on their own."

The warning came as a survey revealed that most Britons remain unconvinced about the extent of climate change and that terrorism, crime, graffiti and even dog mess are more pressing issues for the UK. The Ipsos-Mori poll found that 56 per cent of people believe scientists are still debating whether human activity is contributing to climate change. In reality, there is virtual consensus that it is.

Just over half of people, 51 per cent, believe climate change will have little or no effect and more than one-third admitted they were taking no action to reduce their carbon emissions.

Speaking before the seven Live Earth concerts, which organisers hope will be a catalyst for action on global warming, Jamling Tenzing, who has also climbed Everest, said the mountain was serving as an early warning of the extent to which it is already changing the planet.

The glacier where Sir Edmund and Norgay pitched their base camp before eventually reaching the summit at 29,000ft on 29 May 1953 has retreated three miles in the past 20 years. Scientists believe that all glaciers in the Himalayas, which are between half a mile and more than three miles in length, will be reduced to small patches of ice within 50 years if trends continue.

Mr Tenzing said: "The glaciers have receded a great deal since my father's time. There are many things he wouldn't recognise today. The glacier on which base camp sits has melted to such a degree that it is now at a lower altitude. I think the whole face of the mountains is changing."

The glacial retreat presents a double peril for those who live in the Himalayas and the populations of India and China, where the water flowing from the mountains accounts for 40 per cent of the world's fresh water.

The rapid increase in the rate of glaciers melting - from 42 metres a year in the 40 years to 2001 to 74 metres a year in 2006 - has resulted in the formation of huge lakes in the space of a few years.

A United Nations study of the 9,000 glacial lakes in the Himalayas found that more than 200 are at risk of "outburst floods", unleashing thousands of cubic metres of water per second into an area where 40,000 people live. In 1985, Lake Dig Tsho in the Everest region released 10 million cubic metres of water in three hours. It caused a 10-metre-high wall of water which swept away a power station, bridges, farmland, houses, livestock and people up to 55 miles downstream. Scientists estimate that the most dangerous lakes today are up to 20 times bigger. One of those, Imja Tsho, did not exist 50 years ago and lies directly above the homes of 10,000 people.

The worst-case scenario according to Nepalese scientists is a cascade effect whereby one overflowing lake empties into another, starting a chain reaction which would kill thousands and wipe out agriculture for generations.

Peter Hillary said: "I've seen the result of glacial lakes bursting their banks and it's just catastrophic. It's like an atomic bomb has gone off. Everywhere is rubble. The floods of the past are unfortunately nothing compared with the size of what we are currently threatened with."

In the longer term, scientists believe the depletion of the glaciers will drastically reduce the flow of water into the nine major rivers fed by the Himalayan glaciers.

Defra recruits critic of Bush

An outspoken critic of President George Bush's approach to combating global warming has been appointed to advise the British Government on climate change.

Bob Watson was voted out of his job chairing the United Nations-sponsored Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) five years ago after incurring the wrath of the Bush administration. He will take over as chief scientific adviser at the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in September. The appointment was approved by Gordon Brown.

His recruitment, a week after Mr Brown took over as Prime Minister, will be seen as further evidence the Government is trying to distance itself from Mr Bush. Last week, he caused consternation at the White House when he appointed Sir Mark Malloch Brown, a strong critic of US foreign policy, as minister for Africa, Asia and the United Nations.

Dr Watson, a British-born expert on atmospheric pollution, advised former US President Bill Clinton on the environment and worked at the World Bank before becoming the IPCC's chairman. The US began manoeuvring to remove him shortly after President Bush's inauguration in 2001. A year later, he was replaced by Rajendra Pachauri, an Indian scientist.

Environmental groups uncovered a memo from the US oil corporation ExxonMobil, a major contributor to Mr Bush's election campaign, asking the White House to unseat Dr Watson because he had an "aggressive agenda". At the time, Dr Watson acknowledged the US government's intervention was an "important factor" in the campaign to oust him.

A Defra spokeswoman said: "He was the unanimous choice out of all the candidates."

Drifting Icebergs Are Hotspots of Life

June 22, 2007 — By Randolph E. Schmid, Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- Icebergs that break off Antarctica and drift away turn out to be hotspots of life in the cold southern ocean, researchers report. Climate warming has led to an increase in the number of icebergs breaking away from the Antarctic in recent years, and a team of researchers set out to study the impact the giant ice chunks were having on the environment.

Turns out, the melting ice also dumps particles scraped off Antarctica into the ocean, providing a pool of nutrients that feed plankton and tiny shrimplike creatures known as krill.

Indeed, the researchers led by Kenneth L. Smith Jr., of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in Moss Landing, Calif., found an increase in life forms surrounding a pair of icebergs they studied.

The abundance extended nearly 2 1/2 miles away from the drifting ice, they report in this week's online edition of the journal Science.

"Just as water-holes become "hotspots" in the desert, drifting icebergs are like oases in Antarctic's ocean," helping promote life, said Russell R. Hopcroft of the Institute of Marine Science at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks.

It has been known that biological productivity is increased near the edge of an ice pack, Hopcroft said, but it's an aspect of floating icebergs that has not been previously considered. Hopcroft was not part of the research team.

Smith said he was surprised at the amount of sealife surrounding the icebergs, though "there had been anecdotal observations in the past of increased seabird abundance around icebergs."

By promoting life surrounding them, the icebergs also may have an impact on reducing the excess carbon in the atmosphere -- at least somewhat countering the greenhouse warming that helped make them break free in the first place, Smith suggested.

"One important consequence of the increased biological productivity is that free-floating icebergs can serve as a route for carbon dioxide drawdown and sequestration of particulate carbon as it sinks into the deep sea," Smith said in a statement.

"While the melting of Antarctic ice shelves is contributing to rising sea levels and other climate change dynamics in complex ways, this additional role of removing carbon from the atmosphere may have implications for global climate models that need to be further studied," he added.

Kristen St. John, a professor or geology and environmental science at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va., said the surprising aspect of the report is the scale at which it is happening.

It has been known that icebergs deposit material from land into the ocean as they melt, but the amount of the impact in this case was significant, she said.

Lack of iron is known to limit biological activity in the southern ocean, she said, and "if icebergs are transporting iron-rich minerals to offshore marine settings it is logical that the icebergs are ... helping the base of the food chain, which then can have positive effects all the way up the food chain," she said.

However, St. John cautioned that bedrock in different source areas has different rock and mineral types so every source will not be the same.

"This study is fascinating and should prompt others to pay greater attention to the organic content of the drifting ice," said St. John, who was not part of the research team.

Smith said he is organizing a new study to make more detailed measurements of the amount of iron and other nutrients released.

Walker Smith of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science of the College of William and Mary, said the study "confirms what has been known in a fragmentary sense."

"What is novel about the study is the use of radium isotopes to establish clearly the influence of" the material in the water and estimating the area it influenced, said Smith, who was also not part of the research team.

The researchers closely studied icebergs W-86 and A-52 in the Weddell Sea, adjacent to Antarctica and southeast of the southern tip of South America. They collected samples of the water around the ice and used a remotely operated submarine to study the undersides of the ice.

The work was supported by the National Science Foundation and the David and Lucille Packard Foundation.

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On the Net:

Science: http://www.sciencemag.org

Source: Associated Press

Google Aims to Go Carbon-Neutral by End 2007

US: June 20, 2007
Story by Timothy Gardner
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
Source

NEW YORK - Google Inc. aims to cut or offset all of its greenhouse emissions by the end of the year, the Web search leader said on Tuesday .

Google is one of a number of companies, including News Corp., that are attempting to cut all of their emissions of gases scientists link to global warming.
To boost energy efficiency, Google is investing in renewable energy like solar, and will purchase carbon offsets for emissions it cannot reduce directly, the company said on its Web site.

"On their own, carbon offsets are not capable of creating the kinds of fundamental changes to our energy infrastructure that will be necessary to stabilize global greenhouse gas emissions to safe levels," Google said on its Web site. "But we believe that offsets can offer real, measurable, and additional emissions reductions that allow us to take full responsibility for our footprint today."

European companies invest in carbon offsets through the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism. The United States did not ratify Kyoto, but some US companies have begun to offset emissions on a voluntary, unregulated basis.

The company said it would invest in projects like capturing methane, a greenhouse gas with about 20 times the warming potential of carbon dioxide, from animal waste at Mexican and Brazilian farms.

"Our funding makes it possible for anaerobic digesters to be installed, which capture and flare the biogas produced while simultaneously improving local air quality and reducing land and water contamination," Google said.

Nonprofit emissions advisors The Climate Group said they will partner with Google to support its offset plans.

"This is just a start," Google Chairman and Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said in a release issued by The Climate Group. "We are actively looking for more opportunities to help tackle climate change."

Google last week launched a program with semiconductor maker Intel Corp. to introduce more energy-efficient personal computers and server systems.

News Corp. pledged in May to become carbon-neutral by 2010.

Canon Tops List of Climate-Friendly Companies

US: June 20, 2007
Story by Deborah Zabarenko, Environment Correspondent
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
Source

WASHINGTON - Canon Electronics Inc., athletic gear leader Nike Inc. and food and consumer goods giant Unilever Plc topped a list rating climate-friendly companies released on Tuesday.

There was a cluster at the bottom of the list of 56 companies. Six tied for last, with a score of zero on a 100-point scale -- Jones Apparel Group Inc., CBS Corp., Burger King Holdings Inc., Darden Restaurants Inc., Wendy's International Inc. and Amazon.com.
Even for those at the top, there was room for improvement on the Climate Counts scorecard, put together by a nonprofit group organized by the New England-based environmental entity Clean Air-Cool Planet and Stonyfield Farm, a US organic yogurt maker that placed sixth on the list, with 63.

"It's not enough to recycle paper and change lightbulbs," said Gary Hirshberg, Stonyfield Farm's chief and chair of Climate Counts. "We need to significantly reduce our carbon footprint ... Nobody deserves, or for that matter is getting, an A."

Stonyfield offsets 100 percent of its carbon emissions from manufacturing, Hirshberg said, but it needs to do more with renewable energy to cut the greenhouse gases that spur global warming.

The survey ranked the 56 companies chosen for their popular household use among mainstream consumers in North America and Britain, and for leading their respective sectors, from electronics to fast food.


CLIMATE-CONSCIOUS ELECTRONICS

Companies in the electronics/computer sector did well in addressing climate change compared with media and Internet companies, the survey found, with six of the 12 studied scoring above 50.

Besides Canon, these were International Business Machines Corp., Toshiba Corp., Motorola Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co. and Sony Corp. Dell Inc., Hitachi Ltd., Siemens, Samsung Corp. and Nokia were all in double digits and Apple Inc. scored only 2.

Food services as a sector was worst in terms of climate change impact, with none of the six scoring above 50 and three with a zero rating. Starbucks Corp. ranked highest in this group, with 46, followed by McDonald's Corp., at 22. Yum Brands Inc. -- which includes Kentucky Fried Chicken and Taco Bell -- scored a 1.

The rankings were based on 22 criteria that roughly broke down into four categories: how well a company had reviewed its global warming impact, how much it had reduced that impact, how much it supported public policies that encourage this reduction and whether the company made this information available. The amount of carbon reduction was weighted most heavily, worth a possible 56 out of 100 points.

Hirshberg and others on a telephone news conference announcing the scorecard stressed that this was seen as a "snapshot" of companies' progress. But it was also supposed to work for consumers who want to make an environmentally sound choice.

To do so, they can check the group's Web site, climatecounts.org for individual company rankings and the complete scorecard.

"Green" Helpline to Cut Consumers' Carbon Footprint

UK: June 20, 2007
Story by Jennifer Hill
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
Source

LONDON - A new service designed to help consumers reduce their carbon footprint aims to boost the number of "green" homes in Britain by half a million within a year.

Greenhelpline.com, which went live on Tuesday, allows people to search environmentally friendly energy tariffs and source local food producers.
The site -- developed by environmentalist Alex Lambie and energy price comparison service energyhelpline.com -- hopes to convert 500,000 homes to electricity from renewable resources within the next 12 months.

Currently, just 150,000 households are on green energy tariffs, of which there are around 17 at present.

Switching to green electricity can cut the average household's annual carbon footprint from energy consumption to four tonnes from six, and save them up to 145 pounds per year, the Web site says.

However, green energy is often more expensive than electricity from non-renewable resources and Lambie concedes that such cost savings will generally only be available to those who have never switched provider.

There are some 25 million householders in the UK -- half of whom have never switched energy supplier.

People already on competitive tariffs will pay an average 10 percent more for "green" energy, while those on the cheapest deals -- such as British Gas' online "Click" tariff -- could pay up to 14 percent more.

"For a slight (cost) increase -- as a worst case scenario -- you can go green and have an immediate positive effect on the environment," Lambie told Reuters.

Users are able to rank green electricity deals by the potential CO2 reduction, price, service rating or fuel mix.

They can also search for local food producers -- such as farm shops, markets, delis, box schemes, "pick your own" sites and bakeries -- within a 50 mile radius of their home.

Once the site is fully developed, consumers will be able to buy local produce through the site, with a proportion of revenues being invested in schemes to help local farmers.

"There's so much confused messaging about what 'going green' is: there's an overload of information, and it's often contradictory," said Lambie.

"These days, there's also so much noise about the 'nanny state' and the way the country is run.

"But here are two really simple things you can do -- ones that will have real measurable effect."

A number of big companies are also being offered the tool to help their customers and staff become more environmentally friendly.

Greenhelpline.com -- which will make a flat rate of commission of 40 pounds per energy switch, from which around two pounds will be profit -- will split revenues 50/50 with the companies who sign up.

This money will then go into a scheme run by greenhelpline.com to give cash-back, vouchers and discounts to those who switch to a greener way of life.