Friday, February 15, 2019

Reader's Response Final Draft


In the article, 'Green buildings, Singapore' natural ally for a greener future', MacKenzie (2017) stated that green building designs portray a conducive environment for living and carry significance to Singapore's counter against climate change. With the current state of Singapore’s economic rise, buildings have generated increasing amount of carbon emissions which significantly contributed to climate change. This issue of carbon emissions, steered an opportunity to be countered through green building designs and technologies. Asia Square is one example of an efficient green building in Singapore which reduced energy consumption with its green design concept. Applying bright colors, fully utilizing sunlight, using of technology and selecting sustainable materials are design elements that should be incorporated to counter climate change. MacKenzie also further states that with the adoption of design and sustainability, Singapore guarantees the reduction of environmental impacts by hosting events to spread awareness of going green and enhancing ways to fight climate change.

Based on the points elaborated in the article, I agree to a certain extent that green buildings play a key part in fighting climate change in Singapore. However, in my opinion, investing and building green buildings are not the only solution towards the reduction of environmental impacts. It can also be further improved with the help of Singapore’s community, contributing by ‘living green’ and adopting environmental-friendly practices to their everyday routine.

In terms of statistics on global emissions, Singaporeans played an essential role in contributing carbon footprint. In the article ‘Climate change: Many think they can't make a difference’, Tan (2018) stated that even though Singapore produced 0.11 per cent of global emissions, it is ranked 26th out of 142 countries in terms of emissions per capita. This is based on 2015 data from the International Energy Agency. The results demonstrate that individuals in Singapore produce more than the people in Britain, Switzerland or France in terms of carbon emissions. There are a number of ways individuals and the community in Singapore could make a direct impact in climate change and make simple steps to reduce carbon footprint.

This can be done by applying the 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle). Firstly, in reducing, individuals are encouraged to use only with what they need. Few examples are done by  buying energy efficient appliances with ‘Green Labels’, setting air conditioner at 25 degrees Celsius, switching off appliances after use and using of public transport, cycling or walking.
Secondly, individuals can start reusing things for the same purposes. For instance, using reusable stainless steel metal straws instead of plastic straws when drinking, reusing the water used for dishwashing to water the plants and bringing their own reusable shopping bags when shopping.

And lastly, recycling. Recycling helps in converting waste into useful products for other usage. This can be done through recycling e-waste at designated e-waste recycling bins and depositing recyclables into recycling bin. In a nutshell, individuals will be able to reduce climate change significantly with these simple steps.

The awareness on how impactful these simple steps are were not publicized efficiently.  An article on ‘How simple lifestyle changes can reduce your carbon footprint, help the environment’, Williams (2018) stated a few ways that citizens did make a big impact in saving the environment in the United States. ‘Recycling one aluminium can save 90 percent of the energy required to make a new one. Taking mass transit, walking or biking can also save one pound of carbon dioxide for every mile a person doesn’t drive, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. New LED light bulbs give the same light for 15 percent of electricity. Using them can reduce your carbon footprint by 6 tons per year.

In conclusion, I believe that we can further reduce carbon footprint not only with design planning for future green buildings or large organisations to adjust to greener functionality but also, involving the community to play a part in this fight against climate change.

(685 words)

References:

Tan, A. (2018, January 26). Climate change: Many think they can't make a difference. Retrieved from https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/environment/climate-change-many-think-they-cant-make-a-difference


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