johnngxe Yeah - those darn trees, falling down and killing people all the time. We should totally stop proliferating those mass murderers!

reeohnah Nope. If we stop planting trees and removing trees from the sidewalks or the roads, the air quality will be very bad.I have been to countries like Hongkong and Cambodia where the air quality in the city are very bad.

Trees take in carbon dioxide and hence help to reduce the amount of global warming gases. Rather than stop planting and blame on overdoing it by "going green', perhaps we should take into consideration of the safety checks and trimming of the trees.

This perhaps is really an accident. We should not blame the trees.

theverytallcp12 No. I disagree. We cannot totally put the blame on singapore for building those trees. Building tree's gives us advantages and disadvantages. Advantage being that we can go green by reducing pollution. Disadvantage that accidents like that might be likely to happen. But i believe that if we just be a little more careful, this accidents can still be avoided.

hazwari06 no. i think that the trees are good for singapore's environmental health because sg has a very high traffic volume especially along highways and expressways. Tree crushing cars and deaths due to trees falling are rare in sg. however that doesn't mean that extra precautions should not be taken in consideration.there would be monthly or regular pruning for trees by the roads as precaution.

unlucky13 I don’t think that Singapore should plant fewer trees due to the accident. This is because planting trees helps to clean the air naturally and cool down the environment also such cases are not likely to happen on a daily basis and this accident happens due to heavy rainfall recently. Thus, I feel that we should continue to plant more trees and stop removing them to build building like shopping mall which causes more damage to the environment.

collinwang We shouldn't stop planting trees just because of the unpredictable and uncontrollable weather as trees have more advantages than disadvantages. Trees are good for holding the land to prevent mudslides and landslides so if we remove them, it would be disastrous. Maybe we can plant more shrubs and bushes or hire arborists to specially monitor areas where trees have been exposed to harsh conditions repeatedly since trees that survived a "storm" will become more susceptible the second time.

For more on tree safety, you can check out: http://www.southernforests.org/urban/trees-and-storm-safety (:

johnny11 Putting blames on the trees is really immature to even have a thought of it. We should learn to appreciate what we have. In other countries like Vietnam and Cambodia, there are less trees on the sideway and you can immediately tell the difference in the air quality. Also trees help to reduce the amount CO2, which is the largest contributor to global warming. More trees means less CO2. Less CO2 means reducing global warming.

z8gelpure We should not be putting all the blame to going green.Planting trees causes more help than hinder to the world.I believe that trees crushing cars is because of natural factor.The weather is causing it.In addition to that, the government is also looking into this problem and hope to resolve it as soon as possible.And there is never enough to do to protect the earth,not to say overdoing it.We should do more as a minor effort may be a big help to the earth.

jcyl17 I do not think that Singapore is overdoing it. Falling of trees and destroying cars are just accidents. Without trees, more disastrous things might happen such as landslides and air pollution. People's health are more important than objects like cars!

nazama After some thoughts about this, there are 2 sides to this whole overdoing the ‘go green’ by planting too much trees.

Defending: It never really hurts to overdo to ‘go green’ as it will benefit the Earth as a whole just like what almost everyone here has said. Cleaner airs and prevention of landslides are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the benefits of going green even if it is overdone.

Against: Trees can indeed cause damage if they were to be placed anyhow in one’s eagerness to go green. Say if one were to plant a tree on a ground pathway or an unsuitable place, it can be of hindrance or be a danger to anyone around it’s vicinity should it fall.

What I say if that people should plan and co-ordinate first on where to plant trees so that it will not affect anyone (too much) should it fall. If the tree is indeed placed in an urban area where people are around, then there is the responsibility to take care of it and trim it at the correct intervals so that uprooting and falling won’t likely happen. Unfortunately, fate can be cruel if it really wants to take your life by a falling tree.

minnaypyi The world's face was covered by the forest by more than 70% before man age. But nowadays, merely 40% is covered. We can see the results and if you still think we are overdoing it, you should go see the figures.

chenxwdawn I don't think the problem lies therein the trees but in their maintenance. NEA should look into the constant pruning of and general health of the trees. Some of these trees were imported and aren't native to Singapore, thus their roots have not had time to grow deeper, making them susceptible to strong wind and rain. I think it's great that Singapore is planting more trees, we just need to revise and review the type and maturity of these trees.(:

melissajaswal I agree with Dawn, trees are generally good for the environment and it is just pure misfortune and so unfortunate that death has resulted due to a falling tree. NEA should still plant more trees but pay attention to older trees too to ensure they are healthy.

sharizann They should continue planting more new trees. Not only does it save the environment, it also beautify this concrete jungle. However maybe after a period of 20 years or so and the trees grow too large or too old, they could shift the healthy ones to the nature reserve or something so that they won't topple down and cause any fatalities.

faris The world needs nuclear energy of course.
Going nuclear provides so many advantages, one of which is that the by-product is essentially water, which is not harmful to the environment.

Many countries are scared of nuclear because of its potential to make nuclear weapons and the volatility of the substance, in which just one accident can wipe out an entire city. Like the Chernobyl case.

spade16 There are many other sources for energy. Nuclear energy is not needed by the world but it is the best choice as it provides a lot of energy and it can last a long time.

But the fact is that no one is sure when accidents will happen. If a nuclear plant is built, it is like a active volcano it may erupt anytime and when it does you can not do anything to stop it.

dem14 nuclear energy is currently the best.comparing coal to nuclear energy, nuclear produces much lesser co2 in to the air as compared to coal.
the world is going to end someway or another. in this case, global warming or nuclear war. if every nation is willing to be at peace, nuclear wars would not be a factor. and if they are not willing to use nuclear energy. the world is going to go down in a spiral due to global warming. thus my opinion is that nuclear energy is the best.

victortky Although Nuclear energy produces a lot of energy, but the main problem is that nuclear energy produces radioactive waste, which is harmful to humans and thus should be kept to a bare minimum, not to mention the harmful dangers should an event like chernboyl happen again.

Of all the energy sources available, nuclear energy produces the most energy, but it also have its downsides and terrible dangers.

nazama The world does need nuclear energy (and for it to be used in the right way of course). The use of nuclear energy has to be carefully considered before setting up for use though.

I believe that countries with huge lands and resources like USA, Russia and China can afford to use nuclear energy since they could do with it to power the population that needs it.

Nuclear energy however, like what victortky said, produces harmful radioactive waste that can be detrimental to us humans.

Hence, I think it should be used minimally and only if the country can afford to maintain it and really needs it.

allen05 yes the world needs nuclear energy.the world's population is growing and the thirst for energy is also surging.nuclear energy is one of the best methods to attain enough power to subdue the ever-growing thirst for power.this method is not without its risks,the Chernobyl incident is one such happening that portrays the disastrous side effects of a nuclear mishap.but with careful supervision it could be put to good use.Singapore would probably have one soon in the years to come as talks are being held.

minnaypyi If we are just looking at the disadvantages, no one will want to use nuclear energy. But nuclear is the best way to produce mass energy. Despite its side effects, its useful energy has no match with other sources. I say it worth the risk since other sources' pollution effects are also same with nuclear only they took longer time. If we use carefully, the gain would be very great. Although there had been some very bad accidents, most of the people in the world are in thirst of energy.

Min
2A/05

uresopreto07 Yes the world needs Nuclear Energy. Because now we are using the nonrenewable resources to provide energy for example charcoal and oil for instance. Though there are dangerous consequences if the Nuclear energy plant have a leak or a accident. But by using Nuclear energy we save lots on harvesting of resources like charcoal. But small countries like Singapore can't have a Nuclear power plant because we can't afford the space.So Nuclear energy is only good for large countries where space is abundant and energy is in demand.

Siva
2A/05

fashhan8 no, the world does not need it because there are many other alternatives other than using nuclear energy.. such as wind energy and solar energy which is not harmful and very useful in many ways. there are lesser disadvantage compared to using nuclear energy because it will harm the human population

fshan 2A/05

han91 Although it can produce large amount of energy, it is a very dangerous source of energy as it produces radioactive waste which is harmful to us. So nuclear energy is not the best source of energy... Yes it is needed and should be kept to minimum.

zhenggggg Nuclear energy is easily the best kind of energy source we can (and should) use.
It uses a material that is in abundance, creates more energy than most energy sources and causes virtually no pollution. Most people worry about the danger of nuclear plants, often citing Chernobyl. Well, aside from Chernobyl and the safely-contained Three Mile Island incidents, there has been no other incidents concerning nuclear plants in its long history.
Furthermore, Chernobyl happened 30 years ago, with technology that was less developed than that of today's. It is like saying that because of Hindenburg, we should not have air transportation anymore.

xoxo Yes, it is a big deal going green. Today, i just read an article on straits time.
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_556057.html

Green buses will be hitting the road in Singapore in August!

These buses will ferry YOG participants around NTU. They are hydrogen-electric hybrid bus. Just like celebrities all around the world are doing - driving their hybrid cars, I'm proud that Singapore is going to be one of the first few countries driving these buses.

Not only does it allow other countries to look up to us and follow our example of going green, we're building a good image for Singapore!

theverytallcp12 Yes. I think it is really a big and important thing. We people by nature are selfish. I agree that we should make the effort to go green and save the earth that we are living! Instead of polluting it constantly with waste. Everyone of us can play a part to make the earth a better place for us to live in!

collinwang I didn't know about previous SP's green initiatives but that's probably because SP wanted going green to start small before how it's like today. Now that the awareness of going green is everywhere, retailers are also encouraged to be environmentally-conscious. I was passing by Suntec the other day and there were green posters on pillars and a push cart selling organic products.

Going green is definitely important and it doesn't matter even if people were to contribute once just for publicity or a genuine and constant effort as long as everyone plays their part!

Here's a list of credible green celebrities just for leisure reading! http://www.greentimes.com.au/lifestyle/green-celebrities.html

anlesytx Everyone needs to know that going green is important.

It is not a matter of how big or crazy the event is, but how the message has been effectively and efficiently put across to its audience. I personally believe that all organisers should ensure that their audience will remember what they have had learnt from the event or otherwise it would be pointless for the event to happen in the first place. Going green is important because it affects our live indirectly. As the Earth continues to age, we know in our hearts that the Earth is dying, but at a more rapid pace than ever before.

Because time is not sparing both the Earth and the human beings at all, I believe Singapore Polytechnic has opted to go for a Go Green campaign this time round to ensure that the mass public will take notice and hopefully, getting them into actions to save the planet Earth.

farhana Well, I too am not aware of Singapore Polytechnic's previous green efforts though I do know the school has a green pledge. To me, it is a BIG thing made BIG. The reason why I said this is because, these campaigns are mostly targeted to the younger generation ie: youth. And no one youth can deny that they do follow trends. So you see, it is a somewhat interlinked somewhat; if something is made BIG, there'll be a BIG following to it thus reaping BIG results. So if it is a win-win situation for all, why not?

Cheers!

khairulariffin This is AWESOME, judging by the number of bags of chips sold everyday. Students definitely buy more snacks like this to snack on between classes during breaks. It will be great if they could do it to other snacks such as Snickers, and even for drinks!

ming18 I am definitely hoping that this trial will be successful. Just look at the number of packet of chips available for sale in the supermarket shelves. Imagine every single packet are made of compostable material, how 'green' will it be!

deepster07 Thats great news!I too feel that popular snacks such as potato chips go off the shelves like hotcakes.Thus, if this technology could be used across the globe, imagine the amount of land pollution that could be avoided if this chips bags were biodegradable.I hope that in future,other brands could adopt this technology as well.

unlucky13 I think that it would be a good idea to change all the plastic bags to compostable bag as we use it more frequently in our daily life. Also hope that the other company could see the need of using this technology to cover the damage that we did to our mother nature.

jcyl17 Hope that this plan is working out fine and rapidly! WIth this technology rolling out across more product lines, people will then use lesser plastic bags and destroy the earth!

p0905527 This is a very interesting trial. Instead of using plastic packaging, the chips could be packed in biodegradeble material. In this way, if the packaging is not properly disposed, the waste could be disdecomposed naturally. I feel that more snacks should be packed in biodegradeble material.

sharizann This is sure to take off and be well received by consumers. With such technology, it means that other brands of chips products could follow suit. I hope to see it in another 5 years. Can't wait. Yay.

luiting why does it take so long for them to approve something as feasible as this. within five years or more, a lot more damage would have been caused by then. after all these years of chips in plastic, we should embrace the idea of having them packaged in something that is biodegradable. in addition to that, we could look into inventing something to replace plastic.

dtyw A way to enjoy my favourite snack AND save the environment? I'll take 6!

softbunlet More info here:

http://www.350.org/about/science

alvinsyb09 This is actually quite alarming and worrying.
However, at the rate that we are going, I am highly doubtful if we would be able to actually reduce the burning of fossil fuels enough for nature to heal itself.
This message should be spread widely to get more people concerned about saving the Earth.

maotao19 I am so shocked by this message. The earth is becoming more and more dangerous. If the rate keeps going up and the glaciers melt, where should we live?
This message tells us that we need reduce the burning of fossil. For example we can appeal to people take bus or train instead of using cars.

victortky Hmm...this is indeed a pressing concern.

We should speed up our efforts by going green and cut down on fossil fuels, as well as turning to other sources of energy instead of fossil fuels. In this way, less fuel would be consumed and hence the less harm to the atmosphere.

johnny11 It is indeed very difficult to cut down on burning of fossil fuel as it may affect the economy of a country, but what about planting more trees? You know they really help to reduce the amount of CO2 while givning us other benefits as well. For example, you plant fruit bearing trees, in a few years time, it not only reduce the amount of CO2, it can give you shades and fruits as well. Its like killing 2 birds with 1 stone, and according to research, as the level CO2 in the air is at a high, trees are also growing faster as they can take in more CO2.

han91 This is a very important message to us, we should start to save the earth by producing as less CO2 as possible, if we don't, we're gonna be in doom. A very helpful way is to go green and plant more trees if the amount of CO2 produced is at the minimum.

greenism Honestly speaking, this is scary! As much as this is a wake up call to all individuals, I feel that this concern should instead be addressed to the world leaders and the various relevant international bodies first. I feel that we should let these leaders see the urgency and need to go green. Why?

Well, even though going green is the responsibility of all human beings, I still feel that there's a limit to the things that we can do to save the Earth. Our education, laws and public policy is controlled and administered by them. If our world leaders decide to implement more green issues to address this worrying problem, it will be easier on our part as a whole.

greenism Honestly speaking, this is scary! As much as this is a wake up call to all individuals, I feel that this concern should instead be addressed to the world leaders and the various relevant international bodies first. I feel that we should let these leaders see the urgency and need to go green. Why?

Well, even though going green is the responsibility of all human beings, I still feel that there's a limit to the things that we can do to save the Earth. Our education, laws and public policy is controlled and administered by our leaders. If our world leaders decide to implement more green issues to address this worrying problem, it will be easier on our part as a whole.

luiting did u know that there are actually initiatives to bury carbon dioxide? yupp. BURY. or at least storing it in some other places. as fuel-burning always produces a lot of carbon dioxide which in turn takes its toll on the environment, they have come up with the direct approach of "catching" the carbon dioxide before it is released by the coal burning plants and containing it somewhere else. that is really a very short term solution in my opinion. read more at http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/05/23/carbon-sequester.html

moesat , xian , j04karies , greenrenaissance like this.

xian Instead of using 4 plastic bags, could Macdonald's use paper bags like how Burger King do? BK uses paper bags to contain burgers, fries and drinks, and only 1 plastic bag is used to carry the paper bags. In other words, if you take away 1 or 2 set meal, BK uses only 1 plastic bags, and 3 paper bags.

While Macdonald's use 4 plastic bags for a meal. Well, Macdonald's could also use biodegradable plastic bags, or try to find other means to make takeaways more environmental friendly.
I agree that having seats around the new Mac is better than having students taking away their food, due to the lack of seats. If 1 students use 4 plastic bags, then 200 of students would waste 1000 plastic bags per day!
thanks moesat for highlighting this issue. good observation!

j04karies I agree with the topic, I personally find the newly opened Macdonald to be quite ineffective. Firstly is the 'walk-through' outlet concept. Instead of SP being go green, it had really increased the plastic going around. Previously, dustbins around the engineering blocks are void of Macdonald plastic bags, but now, it's like everywhere.
Other than making Macdonald so convenient, why not just create more seats around that area. However, of course, the big area is needed to host big events and the school cannot afford to allocate more space lest the area cannot be used as it is not big enough. My suggestion is to rush out the ongoing project, which is the expansion of the study area nearest to Macdonald. Hopefully, that area can be turned into something like FC5.

bu02 I definately agree with the topic. I feel that its just too much plastic bags.
Normaly i would just keep some of them for use at home.
I hope that when the study area opens, they would start using trays or something cuz i believe many students would go there.
1 plastic bag per burger per person is just sad

dem14 I totally agree with the topic. If you compare to all the other Fast food joints in SP, the T16 Mac is probably the most convenient for everyone. But due the shortage of seat or eating area there, most of the people just take away...
Maybe its a good idea for them to just change from just using plastic bags to using paper bags instead. this would really help Sp in going green.

chanliyi15 McDonalds is definately using too many plastic bags. 1 cup of drink to be placed in 1 plastic bag and nothing else. And the rest of the meal? More plastic bags. I suggest they should start using paper bags, asking customers if they require plastic bags. Most of the time, even before I could open my mouth to ask for no plastic bags, my meal is already in the bag and pushed towards me. For drinks, I suggest that McDonalds adopt what Starbucks is doing to their hot drinks: a layer of cardboard around the cup for us to hold. At least cardboard is recyclable, not like plastic.

deepster07 The new Mcdonalds@T16 is certainly very popular due to its convenient location.However,i agree that they do use too much plastic bags since many takeaway their orders due to the renovation works going on next to the restaurant.I agree that they should switch to paper bags like what other fast food restaurants are doing since paper is biodegradable.Another alternative is that they should give 2 plastic bags at most per customer,one for the meals and the other for the drinks to reduce their usage of plastic bags.

moesat thanks for your all reply! :)

johnovan15 bring your own plastic bag la

luiting the only thing that macdonald uses paper bags for is shaker fries. i totally agree, it is not only macdonald, but all other fast food restaurants like kfc as well. they all should start using paper bags which are more friendly.

rinka I think they should not giving out so many plastic bags to create so many waste.

They should give out paper bags instead of plastic bags!

lizziebee Hmm... well they give us plastic bags, yes but we don't HAVE to accept them since we know its harmful.

Usually, with other items I buy, I tell the shops and cashiers that I dont need a bag and just put whatever I bought into my bag. I've done this ever since the green march project started, lol. The effects of schoolwork on my daily life! >.<

Anyway, the next time I go to that Macdonalds, I'll make sure to tell them I dont want so many plastic bags... shame on them for not realising the harm they're causing!

lets take a stand against this! =D