lizziebee Personally, I myself have attended a few of the many awesome concerts which have come to Singapore this year, and I must say, I thoroughly ENJOYED going for all of them!. But on the other hand, I realised that hey, you're right! The amount of energy wasted, and litter accumulated and all! Celebrities are leaving a very very very long trail of carbon footprint! =( all these just to make money! Plus, it seems like Singapore is the perfect place to have gigs. At baybeats this year, this band was telling us that where they came from, it was too cold to support sound equipment, so they were loving the Esplanade stage, lol. OK so here are some things we can implement 1. Have concerts held OUTDOORS, like in Glastonbury, yay! 2. Have them in the daytime, so we can save on energy used for lights 3. This way, sound systems can install solar panels to get electricity! Just some silly ideas! But hey, if it can save the earth, maybe we should bring up this matter with Bono...

dalvin89 hey lizzie! Right with you on the awesome many gigs! But not sure if you noticed but they keep having fireworks for every little event though, its beautiful and everything and definitely lends to the grandeur of the event but fireworks arent a necessary feature of all events and is really harmful to the environment. The smoke and ash that rain down from fireworks contain toxic chemicals, including heavy metals such as barium, cadmium, lithium and lead; potassium nitrate; sulfur-coal compounds and sometimes even arsenic. Scientists have also warned that fireworks can contribute to acid rain. Read more: http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/fireworks-alternatives-460608#ixzz0y1rq5K9D And with that many events featuring fireworks, they are kinda losing their appeal...here are some alternatives to the fireworks: 1. Recycled confetti 2.Laser light show 3. A Parade And if you're still hell-bent on having fireworks, Disney has pioneered new technology that uses environmentally benign compressed air instead of gunpowder as the propellant. Read more: http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/fireworks-alternatives-460608#ixzz0y1tKbvps

ruskinong I guess that these shows can consider the option to really 'calculate their event's carbon footprint' and perhaps try to offset it through actions such as planting of trees.

fasciola89 I do agree. To make the cooking session fun, do it in group whereby you buy something in bulk and hence relatively less packaging materials in comparison to buying individual small packages of ingredients. In addition, consume more veggies than meat because meat releases methane into atmosphere!

dtyw Having cooking sessions with friends is a fun idea, but with most group event it's important to reduce wastage in the process. Many BBQ sessions/picnics between friends accumulate a substantial amount of wastage which ends up in the garbage dump, be it food or other materials used such as disposable cups. With all good intention, we should all try to minimize wastage in anything that we do, even if it involves being careful with the materials and resources that we use to cook our own food!

angrysnail How does eating out waste plastics? You're not talking about takeaway food here. Most proper eating places (not fast food outlets) use reusable plastic plates and utensils.

tiffooo Yes! I believe so too! Cooking sessions are definitely an interesting way to not only improve a skill but also to bond with family and friends! Invite your friends along, or learn from your parents a dish or two, and while you cook and mingle, you'd never know that you are actually on your way to going green.

cmo Actually, every time you decide to cook something, you are using energy, which inevitably affects the environment. but does this mean you should scrap your love of cooking to save the environment. No, but we can make choices that will reduce our energy consumption in the kitchen, and by doing so, you usually save yourself time and money. Here's a tip: think small. In general, the smaller the oven, the less energy used in cooking, so choose the smallest appliance suited to the task. Also, with an electric stovetop, make sure your pan completely covers the heating element. With gas burners, make sure the flame is fully below the pan; otherwise, you’re paying to heat the air around the pan, not just the pan itself. Also, use the appropriate size pan for your meal. Keep appliances clean. Clean surfaces maximize the amount of energy reflected toward your food. For more tips on how to save energy in your kitchen, check out these links: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2001/06/06/FD148977.DTL http://www.ucsusa.org/publications/greentips/0205-saving-energy-in-the-kitchen.html

rhcp09 I do agree that cooking will definately reduce that plastics and unwanted packaging that are given out at the eateries. We will not only save money, but we will ultimately be saving the planet as well. We have to also keep in mind to save energy when we are cooking at home. An example would be to use less heat on the stove which would ultimately reduce the amount of energy used. We should also remember not to over cook as we will be wasting food and ultimately, wasting resources.

fasciola89 What I suggest is 1. Mix and match your wardrobes! You may get unique style instead of new style that is worn by every girl at Singapore. 2. If you feel that you really won't use some clothes anymore, donate them! Or recycle them; e.g. from your jeans, you can make pencil box or some case! 3. To build a list of things-to-buy and shop them all once. Besides saving paper for receipt, you may get discount for buying more. 2. Bring your own shopping bag. Or just take plastic bag from the first shop and put all your subsequent shopping stuffs in the same bag. 3. Donate all your unused

fasciola89 Correction: What I suggest is 1. Mix and match your wardrobes! You may get unique style instead of new style that is worn by every girl at Singapore. 2. If you feel that you really won't use some clothes anymore, donate them! Or recycle them; e.g. from your jeans, you can make pencil box or some case! 3. To build a list of things-to-buy and shop them all once. Besides saving paper for receipt, you may get discount for buying more. 4. Bring your own shopping bag. Or just take plastic bag from the first shop and put all your subsequent shopping stuffs in the same bag.

firstbornunicorn Is there any actual study conducted to show that most of the trees were cut down to make receipts? Any substantial statistics to back this claim? I am sure it's true that receipts do use up a fair bit of paper, but I think it is a far-fetched and improbable claim to say that most trees are cut down simply for receipts. Furthermore, most receipts are made from low-grade, recycled paper. It's not to say that they don't make a dent on demand for paper and thus leading to more deforestation. As long as there is a demand for paper, there will always be trees cut down to meet this demand. It is just a tad bit unreasonable to say that to shopping less can help to save the earth because less receipts are used. It is like asking everyone to eat less to cut down on the cattle being produced. It is not illogical per se, but simply very impractical. Besides, Singapore, having a small enough market, relies on shopaholics to keep the economy going. There is no way Singaporeans are going to cut down on their shopping simply to save the paper used for receipts. It would be more reasonable to get them to perhaps consider shopping online, or as fasciola89 has suggested: recycling their clothes, giving their unwanted garments to the Salvation Army, breathing second life into old clothes by turning them into accessories, or simply bringing their own shopping bag when going shopping. Instead of cutting down on paper used for the receipts (which is a negligible issue as paper CAN be recycled), we should focus more instead on the amounts of plastic bags used as plastic is NOT recyclable and thus imposes more harm on the environment. Retailers can also do their part by using paper bags that can be recycled instead of plastic bags.

dtyw A very valid point by firstbornunicorn. Although I agree that the receipts do take up a substantial amount of paper used, the major pressing issue here would be the recycling of clothes and other items involved in shopping, such as bags. There are really simple solutions to these problems such as giving away old clothes, recycling them for new accessories and bringing your own bags for shopping.

michelleang I absolutely agree with firstbornunicorn. I highly doubt that girls shopping and the "printing" of receipts is to blame for high paper usage. Much paper is wasted elsewhere, take for example, the most common example, printing on a single sheet and not reusing the other side, something i feel most of us do not actually do otherwise.

tiffooo Well, that's where blogshopping comes about! If we look at the trend in Singapore now, more and more girls are looking towards blogshopping as another alternative to purchase our pretty dresses. This, in a brighter side, can help decrease the high paper usage! However, we should also use our laptops less often to prevent high electrical usage. I believe, it's all about give and take.

cmo Actually, and quite remarkably, 9,600,000 trees are cut down each year just to produce paper receipts. To top that, the amount of CO2 emitted by producing one ton of receipt paper - just one - is equivalent to the amount of exhaust a car emits while driving for an entire year. Paper receipts are a remnant of the past. With today's electronic alternatives, there is no reason why consumers or retailers need paper receipts. Electronic versions are not only legal and valid, but much more efficient. So what's keeping retailers and consumers from adopting electronic receipts? For more on receipts and its effects on the environment, head on over to http://www.theenvironmentalblog.org/2010/05/end-paper-receipts.html.

xoxo Indeed Singapore is wasting many electricity sources. But i feel that the street lamps and all are necessary to prevent drivers from getting into accidents on the road at night. Unnecessary lights are light sources coming from buildings like Marina Bay Sands, i just passed by the place last night and i realised that they have lights shining towards the sky creating beautiful light rays. However, with such light rays shining on the sky, do you realise how much power is being used up per minute? These unnecessary lights could be reduced to save energy.

jessica I agree with xoxo. We do need lights to guide us at night and that unnessasary usage of light should be reduced. Solar energy for street lights at night can be used, absorbing the energy during the day and using it during the night.

attsayang Well, I suggest why not we use candles? After all, it will be a very romantic night out with your loved one.

alrickoh03 Many people nowadays have the habit of leaving their desktops and laptops on overnight. They refuse to shut it down because of their laziness to wait for the computer to start up again after rebooting it. As such the computers are left in screensaver mode for long periods of time. If such people could get rid of this habit lots of electrical energy could be saved

sean03 I agree with alrickoh03. Most people nowadays don't really care and are really lazy to close their laptops Its either we become less lazy or laptops should have a function to allow us to not use it and yet save energy at the same time.

xyrhs What?! I didn't know that screensavers with heavy graphical motion consumes more energy and I didn't know that when a laptop is in sleep mode, it uses 10 watts! WOW! All these unecessary use of electricity just for "entertainment" purposes or because of our laziness. I did some research and found out that: Screen Savers were invented to turn on after a period of time and change the imaged displayed so that burn-in never occurred. However, in today’s LCD displays do not suffer from burn-in. Reasons why we should get rid of screensavers: 1. Screen saver causes unecessary electrical consumption 2. Screen saver is bad for your LCD screens 3. Screen savers can interupt and ruin important tasks Read http://www.interrupt19.com/2009/01/05/get-rid-of-your-screen-saver/ for more information With all this new knowledge installed in my brain, maybe, I should get into the habit of shutting down my laptop as of today!

alvin2 I agree with mjquek, but instead of just putting your computers/laptops to sleep, people should just shut down their computers. It takes only a couple of minutes to start up. If everyone does that, plenty of electrical energy can be saved

xian wow, i didnt know about that. thanks for sharing. now i will take note of it when using laptop. another way to save energy is to only charge ur laptop when you need to. this way, you not only can save energy, you can also ensure that your charger doesnt overheat and spoil too soon.

bluefairy Wow, I didn't know that! That's a huge wastage of power. "But did you know that screensaver with heavy graphical motion consumes more energy than it is actually projected to save?" ^ So if my screensaver is blank (without any unnecessary heavy graphical motion), I wouldn't be consuming as much energy right? But the best way is still to the switch of your laptop when it's not in use, charging your laptop only when it's necessary, or even better.. Don't use your laptop! Save energy, save Earth.

crazymadzy wow! I didn't know about this! Thanks for the information! If everyone put their laptop on screensaver mode, imagine the amount of energy that is being wasted! Another way to save energy is also to make sure that you don't overcharged your laptop battery especially when you're charging it! Many people are lazy to unplug their plugs from the sockets when their battery is fully charged, so they just leave it on eventhough the battery is full! This is really bad both for your laptop and the earth! Let's not be lazy and save energy! So unplug the plugs!

jaynetoh I didn't know that screen savers consumes so much energy that we can conserve! I agree with crazymadzy that many people are lazy to unplug their plugs from the sockets when their lap top battery's are fully charged. I feel that we should unplug it when the battery is full and start shutting off our lap top after use rather than leaving them on with the screen savers conserving so much energy. We should really take action and stop wasting energy!

pizzamizza Easy solution. Just switch off your laptops when not in need. There is no wastage as there is no energy consumption. Easier said than done, yes. But putting in a little more effort is no big deal than the consequences it will lead to. Not using your laptop now? SWITCH IT OFF NOW!

pfang I think it may not be effective to use wind to generate electricity in Singapore as there are high-rise buildings everywhere. However, wind turbines can be situated on the roofs of tall buildings. However, installing wind turbines is costly. As for solar panels, HDB has recently bought solar panels as part of their sustainable housing initiatives.3,000 residential units will have solar panels installed in their precincts by year end in Singapore. The areas are Aljunied, Ang Mo Kio, Bishan, Jalan Besar, Jurong and Telok Blangah. Therefore, there might be more plans to use solar panels to generate electricity in Singapore?

ruskinong Agree with pfang, but one thing to note is that it is possible for the implementation of horizontal-axis wind turbines in singapore since it might prove to a great solution to harnessing erratic wind patterns in urban areas. It is definitely heartening to hear that Singapore has decided to implement developments in the use of clean energy although the output isn't really satisfactory (it only powers the lighting systems), but it is better than not doing anything at all. Perhaps, solar concentrators could be considered instead?

xian How about polytechnic in Singapore? I am sure we can come out with more ways to save energy for Singapore polytechnic. :) Agree with pfang too. Singapore have many tall buildings and wind energy may be a challenge.

mjquek Singapore Polytechnic should set aside an area for installation of solar panels - like an open space filled with solar panels, which provide energy for the common electrical appliances in SP, such as lights in classroom. I believe nothing is impossible. Taking the point from ruskinong, perhaps, SP Diploma in Clean Energy should conduct a research on how to harness wind as a source of energy in Singapore. I'm pretty sure that there is a way to work around the erratic wind patterns in urban areas. Implementation of horizontal-axis wind turbines to harness erratic wind patterns? Why not? By the way, if you say turbines are expensive to install, so are solar panels! Everything costs money but it's the thought and actions that count! =)

dorkyain I think SP should adopt solar panels because mainly for the fact that they are already renovating too much and more places need more light. Yes, installing them is expensive. But isn't it a better use of money than just renovating every single month. In my 3 years here in SP, i just wish that SP would stop reinventing their image and just reinventing how they use their resources.

rinka Solar energy is a good way to save our resources However it is hard to use it in too many ways such as charging our laptop.. Use it in possible ways~