gabrielsee I for one belong in the category of supporters. I believe that we should all learn and know how to conserve our environment, and the disadvantages of not going green. I feel the media does have the influential power to give today's youths a thought about going green. I think for the media to advertise going green, they themselves have to go green first, being a "role model" in a sense. Questionnaires and Lucky Draws with good prizes might also be a good incentive for youths to start going green.

justinongjr I am proud to say that i belong to the supporters category. In my Daily life, I would do my best to throw the rubbish to the bin and as far as possible, i would discard it according to the different section (Metal, Plastic & Paper). I believe that the Media have the magic power to influence the youth today to be environmentally friendly. The reason why I go Green is because of the video shown on television and internet, which shows all those negative effects on the Earth. Through this, I am Deeply motivated to Go Green and to pass on this message to my friends through my actions!

ehdwns8483 I might as well be a supporter for I always envision myself in the future, where the water is clean, blue skies, green patios. Mother Earth has given so much to us, it'd be wrong not to give back. We have the responsibility of taking care of this world, so that the generations to come can enjoy living in a world we did. It wouldn't help if we used up all the resources and polluted the skies and waters, nobody wants that (unless you are a psychopath). I do believe that the media can influence today's youths to be more environmentally friendly. The media is everywhere, and like Gabriel says if there are role models, youths will possibly look up to them and follow their footsteps.

huilinn For me, i belong to supporters of going green. As we are all living on the same planet, i feel that it is our duty to ensure that the environment is clean. I have always been trying to reduce, reuse and recycle different materials in our daily life. Some of the examples are separating paper, cans and plastics and put them into the recycle bin, reusing used paper as draft paper, reduce the use of plastic bags when i go to convenient stores or supermarkets. In my opinion, i believe that the media are able to influence the youth as youths are easily influence by the media nowadays. Media can make use of television programmes, you tube, facebook, magazines, to design different campaigns and activities. By doing this, it will make it more fun and easier for youths to learn more about going green.

jolenelee To be honest, i am in the categories of the neturals. I have in mind that we should always go Green and should Reuse, Reduce and Recycle for the sake the planet and most importantly, ourselves. However, my laziness tends to result me in throwing rubbishes on a normal bin instead of a recycle bin, not bringing a bag to the supermarket and uses their plastic bag, throwing away tons of paper when I can recycle it, etc. I believe that media can influence today’s youth to be more environmentally friendly. However, this applies only to a certain extent. When I saw the advertisement, be in on the television, brochure, etc. I am very determined on going green but after a few days, I had totally forgotten about it. Thus, I felt that the need to influence the youths, or even the adults, should be a never ending thing and in order to achieve this, there should be more publicity.

rayzacky I definitely am a supporter of going green. My reason for that is simple, natural resources are limited and over time, they will deplete. Actions in my everyday life however are as green as a Fairprice plastic bag. I would have to thank my laziness for that. No, the media can't do that.

jaycng Honestly speaking, we can assume that the majority of youths, including me, in Singapore are somewhat unconcerned when it comes to going green. Hence, i belong to the neutrals. Throughout the years, many campaigns and contests were held to encourage youths to be more environmentally-friendly. These contests usually involves attractive prizes to be won. However, contestants are more attracted to the prizes and non-participants are more concerned about the outcomes of the contests. A good example is the Eco Music Challenge 2010 that was held recently. Therefore, I conclude that the media hardly influence the youths to be more environmentally-friendly.

peilian Personally, I think I fall under the supporter category and I would like to attribute this to the good family culture I grew up in. My family has good environmental friendly habits and I am definitely a supporters of it. We recycle and reuse as much as we can. For instance, we use the used papers as rough papers and decline plastic bags from shops if we do not need them. Although these are just little things, I believe if everyone does the same thing, it would have a good impact on the world. I think the media influence on the youth to be more environmentally friendly is very little. Today's youth may get to know the threats the world is facing through media. Despite this, action taken by youth to help save the world is very little. Youths are not doing much although they have the knowledge of how they can play a part to help save the world. Hence, I think the media influence is not very effective.

deryoh We may not live to see the end of days, however, the world is where we live in and I honestly believe in preserving it for out future generations. Hence, I'm definitely a supporter. We've generated so much green house gases that there's already a big hole in our ozone layer which protects us from the harmful rays. And if this generation of green house gases carries on, we wouldn't have a ozone layer anymore. I've seen many countries that has stepped up the effort to help save our world. Such as setting days which plastic bags are not given out in shopping markets, or not given out at all! Gases that are discharged from factories have to meet certain standards of cleaniness set by the country. We've also have to got to play our part. Even the smallest acts like reusing of water bottles and recycling of materials, like newspapers, helps. If everyone does this small acts, it'll add up. Lastly, in my opinion, media has not been of much help in influencing youth to be more environmentally friendly. There are plently of documentaries which states how being environmentally friendly would not affect our daily lives, and lenghten the lifespan of planet earth. But, honestly speaking, I've not seen much change in the youths today. Enough said, if we all want to breathe cleaner air, we've just got to play our part as individuals.

yinyao I am a cynic of the Going Green Movement. I am aware that individually, as a single human being, even the smallest effort would count towards helping to save the Earth. But, Going Green requires a collective effort from both the public and the corporate world in order to be effective. People tend to preach more than they practise. And I'm no exception. I try to keep in mind to reduce, reuse and recycle. But living in today's world has made it difficult to do so. Actions speak louder than words. Unless more people take actions in going green, it is not going to have enough of an impact on our environment. The media can be a powerful tool in influencing today's youth to be more environmentally friendly if its use is exploited correctly. The media can emphasise on the urgency of going green by showing the grave consequences that will arise from global warming through TV and print ads, similar to the National Smoking Campaign which use hard-hitting posters to make smokers take action.

amirahzainal I am a neutral when it comes to going green, if i have to be blatantly honest about it. In general, i, if not in depth, am aware of global warming and the damaging effect it can bring to Earth. But i know that i have not done enough in my efforts to go green and keep global warming to a minimum. This is apparent even when i am carrying out the simplest of tasks in my everyday life - i hardly recycle my empty plastic bottles, reduce the usage of paper or reuse my plastic bags. At the end of the day, actions speak louder than words. It takes more out of me than to just acknowledge the problem of global warming in order to become proactive in becoming a more environmentally-friendly individual. Moving on, i think that the media plays an important role in influencing today's youth to be more environmentally friendly. Various media outlets such as the television and internet can be utilised so as to spread the message of global warming, and show its detrimental effect on the earth. This will then subsequently encourage youths to lead a pro-green lifestyle. The effect may not be immediate but the media is instrumental in increasing awareness about global warming among youths.

cxiaolan To be honest, I am in the category of neutral, even though I do not littering. In some respects, I do well about going green: to recycle my news paper and unused clothes; to buy low-energy light bulbs, high-efficiency appliances. However, I did not intend to go green or to appeal others to go green: using unrecyclable plastic bags as the trash bags; never join any eco-organization. I do not believe that the media is an efficient way to influence today’s youth to be more environmentally friendly. There are many TV shows, newspapers and advertisements which educate people to go green. But, most of youth just accept those theories rather than taking actions to be environmentally friendly. In my opinion, organizing an environmental group in school is very important, using actions to promote the enthusiasm of youth to go green.

nicky Seriously? I am a hardcore supporter. I always bring a bag or recycling bag when I'm out. Hence, I hardly ever uses plastic bags. In the past, the air conditioning unit in my room was on almost everyday, but for the past few years, the air conditioning unit was on hardly more than a total of two months a year. Why? I was influenced by a brochure that was in my mail a few years ago. I remembered the brochure containing many information on the global warming issue and the threats it bring. Every sentence I read sent fear down my spine. Imagine when all our coral reefs were gone, the now endangered species becoming extinct and the frequent occurring extreme weathers. All this can hit us even before we die. So, it left me feeling that I should do something now than to regret it when the global warming issues affect us. Because then, I can tell myself that I have played my part. This thing about media influencing youth to be more environmentally friendly might work, but it will only be a temporary solution. You can broadcast going green messages everyday and it could get into people's head, reminding them to be environmentally friendly. However, once the media stop publicizing, people will eventually forget about it as they don't sense the urgency or need to be green anymore when this little message or reminder stops.

wendy Personally, I do support Going Green. I believe it is important to play a part in saving the Earth as the planet appears to be warming up and it is caused by man’s actions to the environment. The consequences of global warming are disastrous and scary. Flooding and droughts may occur and these in turn could have a harmful effect on agriculture, marine life which equates to NO food for us, NO corals to mesmerize, NO peace for us! As individuals, we can Go Green through ways that are quick, easy and with little or no expense by practicing the 3Rs – Reuse, Reduce and Recycle. For example, using more energy-saving appliances, taking public transport, buying products with less packaging or products which are environmentally-friendly. In my opinion, the Media can influence today's youth to be more environmentally friendly. For instance, there was this ‘LIVE EARTH’ concert held on July 7, 2007 (07/07/07). The concerts brought together more than 150 musical acts in eleven locations around the world which were broadcast to a mass global audience through televisions, radio, and streamed via the Internet. Furthermore, social networks such as facebook, twitter, youtube could be used as a platform to send the message to the youths. Therefore, as individuals, a nation and international society, we should work together to save our dying planet.

zhiqi Personally, I believe in Going Green to save the Mother Earth thus I am a supporter. Well, I’ve been a rather enthusiastic supporter of Going Green, probably due to the influence of my family, and friends. Since young, my Mother uses a big recycling bag every time she visits the market. I’ve been influenced to not get a carrier every time I buy something if my bag has enough room to put the items in. I am grateful also that my friends surrounding me are Go Green supporters too. We usually bring reusable fork and spoon, chopsticks, mugs whenever we have a picnic or whenever we have a party. It is already a rule for everyone to bring reusable utensils every time we gather! In my opinion, I do not feel that the Media has a large capability to influence today’s youth. The use of media to convey the Go Green message has been going on for probably close to a decade. I guess other than using the media to educate today’s youth on Going Green, why not let them have some hands on experience? I’ve been to a programme called “Balik Kampong” that is held at Bottle Tree Park on every Sunday morning. The main aim of the programme is to let youths, or rather the public to come together and work for the environment. The organization needs help in things like planting of vegetable, painting on used tiles that are recycled to decorate the green houses, building of a bridge, etc. I feel that this is great opportunity for youths to get influenced because they get to feel and have substantial understanding and empathy towards the environment. I believe it is not difficult to Go Green because every little thing you do, a little action you do, can stir up a chain effect. In other words, if you are a supporter of going green, you can try to influence people around you and thus it will spread out and influence more people. Little actions like not using a carrier while buying small items, bringing your own utensils for parties, fully utilizing both sides of a piece of paper can help to cut down on the use of resources thus saving the Earth. They are so simple, so why not?

wenjun Neutral is where I would place myself into the category of Going Green. In the modern cultural we are living in, Going Green is the hottest topic which everyone around us would pledge them to Green. However, I'm not part of the trend. I'm a person who prefers conveniences rather than making an effort, like going to those supermarkets, I rather paying 10cents for each plastic bag which I need than bringing my grocery bag from my house. If I got a car, I would drive than taking public transport. I believe the Media plays an important role influencing the Youths of today. By playing a video on Facebook, Youtube and etc, these platforms will easily conveys an environmental message to Youths of today at an instant. Thus, Media definitely plays a part in promoting Going Green.

liwen I am definitely a supporter. A clean environment makes people feels happier. There would not be anyone who would want to live in a dirty and unhygienic place. Since young, I have been playing my part in going green by abiding with the 3Rs. I have always used recycled paper to makes my notes for studying. In addition, I always try my best to print on both sides of the paper whenever I could. These are just one of the few "green" habits that I have kept up till today. It is indeed true that the media plays a part in influencing the youths today to be more environmentally friendly, however, I believe that it is only to a certain extent. Youths today are in touch with media everyday. The media can be a powerful tool to educate the youths if it is used appropriately. Through the media, we can raise the youth’s awareness on environmental issues. For instance, there are contests which require youths to use recycled materials to produce an artefact or other useful items. By working on the contests, it reminds them that some materials are reusable. However, the use of media to influence youth can also be a double-edged sword. The “Live Earth” concert seeks to spread the important message of going green but the occurrences of these concerts have exhausted large amount of electrical power which in turn have an adverse effect on our ozone layer. Thus, the media should be used appropriately without creating a negative impact on the earth. Through simple actions like throwing our litter into a rubbish bin, we can together make a difference to the Earth. Although an individual effort may seem to be insignificant, the concerted effort of many individuals would definitely make a difference.

wenglenda The topic "Going Green" has been around Singapore for years and I have always been neutral about it. As much as I may like to be more environmental friendly, its has never been my habit to be "more green" like bringing my own bags when doing grocery shopping or making a little more effort to be more environmental friendly. But there are still times where I try using recycled papers for exam notes or throw my rubbish into the correct bins (glass, paper, plastic). There are times I do things that are considered environmental friendly and those actions came from the media efforts. I read magazines that have columns on teaching us how to make use of items that are recyclable, or notes on how to make the earth greener. There are newspapers where there is a section of it talking about the 3Rs occasionally or discussing about how to make the earth greener. Hence, I feel that the Media will be able to change to youth to be more environmentally friendly. And that, is only provided if the youths do look into those media (videos, magazines) that are promoting the "Going Green" campaign.

halimatus I would consider myself a neutral when it comes to going green. I will throw plastic bottles into the recycle bins only when they are in sight. If not, I will just throw them into the nearest rubbish bin. I will keep a stack of papers at home with the intention of reusing them; however, I will end up using new sets of papers. I am definitely aware of the degradation of the earth and the effects it has on my daily life. Unfortunately, people tend to be all talk no action, and I am no exception. The media can be used to influence today’s youth if the right methods are used. Little things such as making use of video-sharing websites and social networking sites which are frequented by youths today could influence them to be more environmentally friendly. However, the media could also contradict the message they are trying to spread when they hold big concerts in the name of promoting a green earth.

jittelicious Not only are green cosmetics great for the environment, they are good for the body as well. Many people might not know this, but up to 60% of what we put on our skin gets absorbed into our bloodstream! Hence wouldn't it be a smarter choice to get make-up that is made up of natural ingredients rather than chemically processed ones? In fact, paraben and phalates are chemicals that are found in most make-up items. They help prevent microbial growth, and are used to protect consumers. However, lately scientists have linked these chemicals to cancer! I think it is a relief that many organisations now are trying to remove these chemicals from their products.

xinderalla Absolutely true! I tend to look out for natural products when it come to cosmetics. Products from Bodyshop are not only natural, they also minimize their packaging to play their part for the environment. If not, we can also use natural fruits and vegetable to make face mask. They not only smell yummy, they make your skin look yummy too! :D

pizzamizza The word green cosmetics will not only beautify your faces but it makes those who are wearing it feel good too. Why feel good? Because you know you are beautiful and is helping to save the earth at the same time.

nad this is absolutely true! you don't have to wait very long to see the negative effects of cosmetics on your skin. in a few months or years u can see how harmful those things u put on your face are. there are some brands that have started using natural products such as Skin Food and Body Shop and i strongly encourage people to opt for safer greener products!

cmo So what should you look for in a beauty product to show it’s environmentally friendly? There are a number of things to keep an eye out for. First and foremost, that the product is not animal tested. Animals are, after all, an important part of our environment! Other points to look out for: - Even products that are labelled as not having been tested on animals might contain animals. Believe it or not, slaughterhouse by-products are often included in cosmetics. Look on the ingredients. If your intended purchase contains gelatine, collagen, or animal based emulsifiers, you’d be smearing yourself in dead animals. Yuk. Also look out for an ingredient called Spermataceti Cetaceum. This is a latin description of a product that comes from sperm whales. Seriously unfriendly to our environment! Avoid products containing petroleum by-products. These come from unsustainable sources, and are therefore not good for the environment. Ingredients to avoid include: Paraffin oil (or Mineral Oil), Propylene Glycol and Ethylene. Interestingly, many of these products block pores or stop skin from functioning properly by creating a barrier on the surface of the skin. Products containing coconut butter will do exactly the same job and will look after you and the environment. Make sure that your products’ ingredients don’t pollute the environment whilst they are being manufactured. A number of common ingredients are guilty of this. Make sure that the packaging your cosmetics come in are recyclable and don’t contribute to landfill. Make sure the containers your products come in state that they are recyclable. Avoid PVC containers as they are the most environmentally damaging. Greenpeace recommends using glass containers if possible.

notsosunnily They also produce models of their furniture 100% out of post-consumer materials and provide recycling bins in their store for bulbs and batteries. The concept of flat-pack self-assembled furniture helps to maximize transportation and makes transporting the products much more efficient. Their stores are fitted with toilets with dual-function flushers and their restaurants only offer reusable plates and cutlery. The store also doesn't provide plastic bags to their customers, but instead, offer reusable bags for sale.

notsosunnily The amount of going green and being environmentally friendly, despite being a retailer with a contradicting cause, just goes to show that IKEA is more than just a store. Are there any other stores as green as them?

denzelljy I wonder if their foods go through green processes too, because many people love their meatballs and hotdogs. So it would be an even better move for IKEA to educate us on their food too. It would be a greener, more wholesome experience. Don't you think?

xinderalla Yes, their restaurant send their food waste to farms as fertilizer. It is heartening to see them playing their part in all area to save the environment. :)

annabellaftw IKEA is a store which has constantly proved itself to be consumer-friendly, employee-friendly and now, environmentally-friendly. What is it that IKEA can't do?! As a furniture store, they contribute to the destruction of the environment. However, what makes IKEA different is that they choose and make a conscious effort to give back to the environment. As seen above, IKEA has tried to implement environmentally friendly actions in all areas of their services. Indeed, it is extremely commendable of IKEA to provide such services.

camellialimxinyi I am actually a big fan of IKEA too...as much as I love their meatballs, I also love the fact that they do recognize and will put in the effort to maintain their corporate social responsibility and also do their part to save the Earth. Most companies are not ready to go green due to higher overhead costs but IKEA, who proves that the are beyond selfish monetary gains, deserves our respect and support. One suggestion from me would be that it'll be even better if they can produce their furnitures from recycled materials (apart from their models) or only use wood of trees from sustainable forests.

deepthroat If climate change is your concern, save it for yourself. Going green isn't going to save the world. Despite activist concerns over CO2 levels, CO2 is a minor greenhouse gas, unlike water vapour which is tied to climate concerns, and which we can’t even pretend to control. But going green certainly saves Earth's resources. before it runs out!

ruskinong deepthroat. While i agree with you that CO2 is not a major greenhouse gas, but it should be noted that the increase in CO2 levels have proven to increase global temperatures and accelerate global warming. For instance, for millions of year in Earth's evolution, temperatures and climates have changed over time according to patterns (not forgetting that water vapor and carbon emissions were present), but what is it that really causes global warming and climate change? We can attribute this to increase in carbon emission levels since water vapor standards have dramatically been the same since the past. For your point on conserving natural resources. I agree since we are definitely using them as though they were infinite.

deepthroat Can you prove that there's a direct relationship between the increase in temperature and CO2 level? How do you explain why warmer periods of the Earth’s history came around 800 years before rises in CO2 levels? Why did global temperatures fall for four decades after 1940 despite a huge surge in recorded CO2 emissions? Come on, open your eyes, don't be naive. Politicians claim that sea levels are a direct cause of global warming but sea levels rates have been increasing steadily since the last ice age 10,000 ago. There were leaked e-mails from British climate scientists that suggests that that has been manipulated to exaggerate global warming. They knew it all along.