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Energy

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Steps to be taken

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3Rs and beyond

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The first step is to avoid consuming new things.

Do you really need to buy the iPhone 5s just because your iPhone 4 seems kinda laggy? You can still call and text on it.

I can call and text on the new one! Wait a minute...

In today’s materialistic society, it’s easy to want bigger, better things. However, this simply isn’t sustainable.

It’s not a matter of money. Mother Nature cannot satisfy our wants anymore.

 If you simply have to buy a certain something, however, you could buy less of it.

For example, using 2 plastics bags instead of 5, or buying a new phone once every two years instead of yearly. If you MUST buy a new phone every Christmas, however, you can consider buying second-hand ones.


This huge grey totem pole expands on what we know as the 3Rs, and promotes reducing and reusing even before considering recycling.

 Re-using things that have already been created also stops you from having to buy new things. You can dig out those old earphones instead of buying new ones, or remodel your old clothes instead of buying new clothes.

 Cutting down or avoiding creating waste saves the need to recycle or dispose it. That means less demand on resources as well, giving them time to regenerate.

This can help postpone Earth Overshoot Day.

 Some things, such as broken phones, are completely useless, and can’t be reused. BUT, Instead of throwing it in the bin, you should recycle it!

An e-waste recycling programme has recently been launched in Singapore. It’s called the Heartland E-waste Recycling Programme. They accept all kinds of electronics, even bulky ones such as refrigerators, televisions, other home appliances, and. personal entertainment gadgets. Monthly drives and collection points can be found here.

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Prevention of E-waste

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This can be done primarily through reusing and recycling electronics. Preventing waste in the first place is usually preferable to any waste management option... including recycling.

Donating electronics for reuse extends the lives of valuable products and keeps them out of the waste management system for a longer time.

By donating your used electronics, you allow schools, non-profit organisations, and lower-income families to use equipment that they otherwise could not afford.

Recycling electronics avoids pollution and the need to extract valuable and limited resources. It also reduces the energy used in new product manufacturing.

As with all great new social movements, there is a list of questions you can badger ask your friendly neighbourhood cell phone salesman with regards to his company’s efforts to help prevent e-wastage (answer: he doesn’t know), which can be found here, complete with rationale.

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Sustainable Food

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To combat the issue of overfishing and extinction, we present to yoouuuuu (drum roll) the Seafood Watch Guide!

No, this is not a brochure trying to sell you time-tellers that are cobbled together from sushi bar sashimi scraps.

This is an informational resource that tells restaurant-goers which sea creatures they should or should not order for consumption based on how close said sea creatures are to extinction.

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If you don’t want your favourite seafood to extinct, stay away from it if it’s in the “avoid” section.

They need time to respawn (mmmmmm prawns) before you and your future kids can start eating them again.

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Alternative/Renewable Energy

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These energy sources (also known as renewable energy sources) can be replenished naturally, such as wind, solar and hydroelectric. Arguably, the most well-known renewable energy source is solar energy.
Humans have harnessed energy from the sun in our daily activities since the dawn of time. With the aid of technology though, there are a further two main ways that Man has used solar energy - for electricity and as solar cells. In California's Mojave desert, there are huge rows of solar mirrors arranged in what's called "solar thermal power plants" that converts solar energy into electrical energy, which in turn powers more than 350,000 homes.

Using solar energy for electrical purposes however, requires the use of a highly curved mirror called a parabolic trough to focus the sunlight on a pipe running down a central point above the curve of the mirror.

The mirror focuses the sunlight to strike the pipe, and it gets so hot that it can boil water into steam. That steam can then be used to turn a turbine to make electricity.

On the other hand, solar cells (aka photovoltaic) allows us to use electricity directly from the sun, in lights, businesses, and even daily appliances like a simple calculator.

Because solar, so good.

Another familiar renewable energy source is hydroelectric energy.

When it rains in hills and mountains, the water becomes streams and rivers that run down to the ocean. The moving or falling water can be used to do work because this moving water possesses kinetic energy that can be changed into electrical energy.

Dams are built on major rivers to harness the power generated by water, which is passed through a hydroelectric power plant or powerhouse. Power lines are connected to the generator that carry electricity to your home and mine. The water continues past the propeller through the tailrace into the river past the dam.

By the way, it is not a good idea to be playing in the water right below a dam when water is released! Because if you do...
Dam, son.

Last but certainly not the least of renewable energy resources is that of wind energy.

Farmers have been using wind energy for many years to pump water from wells using windmills and wind is also used to turn large grinding stones to grind wheat or corn, just like a water wheel is turned by water power.

Blowing wind spins the blades on a wind turbine – just like a large toy pinwheel.

No. Not this one.


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