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Jessica Cheam
Money Reporter
Climate crisis OUR problem
February 21, 2009 Saturday, 06:00 AM
Jessica Cheam ponders over the world's energy challenges.
TRAVELLING in the past, used to be a guilt-free, exciting adventure for me, regardless of whether it was for a holiday or for work. But ever since I began covering climate change, some aspects of travelling began to plague me in ways I never imagined it would. Take my recent work trips to places like Calgary and Abu Dhabi for example. I went there with a mission to uncover more about our energy challenges but whilst on my journey, I was also fully aware of the energy my polluting airplane was consuming, and the carbon footprint my travels left on the planet - an irony, considering I was writing about climate change. So today, I forked out about 30 British Pounds (that's about $70) to offset my flight from Singapore to Calgary. This was done easily, quickly, and online at ClimateCare - a unit of investment bank JPMorgan, which allows people to offset their flights by buying carbon credits generated by projects that the company oversees from China to Brazil to Uganda. These are the same people that British national daily The Guardian uses to offset the flights taken by their staff. The carbon credits that ClimateCare sells are verified by a United Nations-approved body, and their projects range from renewable energy projects like wind farms in China's Heilongjiang, to promoting efficent stoves in Cambodia to reduce charcoal burning.
This is only one example of how consumer behaviours have changed, how businesses have reinvented, and how the world is experiencing a revolution. This year - 2009 - will mark a crucial year in the history of mankind, grandiose as it sounds. But the stakes are indeed very high. Climate change effects such as change in water patterns, sea levels rising - a great concern for Singapore - and extreme weather events were only some of the problems that the world will face if no action is taken. And we're already seeing some happen. But the truth is, the man-in-the-street today is not likely to be perturbed by the climate crisis. Sea levels at East Coast appear the same as it's always been. Myanmar's cyclone, Australia's bushfires, well, that's on another continent. More realistically, the issues foremost on the mind will be the global economic and financial crisis. This is the mindset that no doubt will be the strongest obstacle that world leaders and climate change campaigners will face in inking a global deal in Copenhagen at the end of this year to get nations to reduce emissions and put a price on carbon. That got me thinking - why should today's energy challenges matter to you and me. Why should we care? After all, countries like Singapore have uninterrupted, instant supply of energy anywhere we want it. Turning on a light, cooking a meal, or driving a car comes easily to us that we don't even think about it. The thing is, thinking about our climate crisis involves an important element of foresight. Those living "in the now" probably couldn't care less. I guess the world will have to rely on those who do possess some hindsight, or those who might not be a tree hugger but have a basic respect for planet earth, and who want to see all the world's countries and economies morph into a more sustainable one.
Hopefully, though, it won't come to that. Meanwhile, I'm going to continue off-setting my flights, whenever I can afford it. Very small gesture, on my part, and obviously, does not absolve me in my other polluting ways. But at least it's a start - the beginning of a journey towards a more sustainable way of living. I'm looking forward to it. Read Jessica's Saturday Special Report on climate change here and view a video of an eco-city here. Tags: environment, saturday special report, singapore 
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pimpmaster: In that case, I apologise. My sarcasm-meter has been destroyed a long time ago from overexposure to stupid statements on the Internet. Of course, sarcasm does not carry over very well from speech to written comment.
To Varanus salvator> Have you heard of sarcasm? You can google that one too.
fioredeliberi, your bold assertions about the fallacy of anthropogenic global warming ignore a growing body of evidence that human activities are indeed having some impact on the climate. While the issue of climate change has been unfairly politicised and plagued by corporations hopping on the bandwagon to earn more profits, the science remains sound.
http://realclimate.org
http://www.realclimate.org/wiki/index.php?title=RC_Wiki
While I agree that there are numerous other conservation programs that people can participate in (I personally think people can do much more than purchase carbon credits), the examples you cited are very much affected by the threat of climate change, whether natural or anthropogenic.
pimpmaster, whoever told you that the CFC issue was a hoax was lying. The problem was real, and the threat is still present. Before making such statements, do at least do a Google search to find out more.
I am no great fan of ST blogs.
I am most times perturbed by its naiveness rather than its subject matter.
Their holier than thou bloggings, from the comfort of their plush offices, looking down at us, leaves a sickening feeling in my throat.
Ms Cheam's latest blog, however, does carry an important message - global warming.
I do hope she is serious about what she writes and not merely filling column inches.
I wonder why it took so long for Jessica to admit she paid for her own carbon footprint as I am sure readers are surprised (really you are!!) that ST did not pay this for her; but they did for Sandra Davies bogus beagle diploma and did nothing about the reimbursement to the Dutch hero and so missed the big story there.
Either Jessica aint up the ladder high enough to claim back or beagles, it seems, are more important than human beings and global warming....but that's another story.
Meanwhile, sometimes, I wonder if much of what we are told and read about global warming is a lot of hot air.
Ms Cheam, take note.
China relies on carbon for 70 per cent of its energy and its economy is growing fast. So is India's. They and the US account for much of the carbon pollution in the world.
What can we do about it?
Target big polluters, not us, the small fry users.
First, anybody imagining that it makes a difference if a housewife, for example, in Toa Payoh, replaces her light bulbs with low-energy ones might just as well throw a sugar cube into the water around the Marina Barrage to make it sweeter.
Then take a look at any big city at night. Even our own. Office buildings are lit up like Christmas trees, advertising hoardings are illuminated to be seen from afar, and street lights burn every few metres from one another.
Yet we are made to feel guilty for leaving the television on stand-by.
To get anywhere close to solving the energy problem, there's a need to motivate both industry and the public to think of the economics when buying equipment or using energy.
This will be easier to do in Singapore than most other countries, because we are not in jest, a "fine" country.
But world leaders will have to recognise that this is a global problem.
Either we act together or we fry together.
But don't hold your breath that the biggest polluters are going to be persuaded by that argument any time soon.
Meanwhile, Ms Cheam, keep us posted.
To fioredeliberi> I also heard that CFC is a hoax. Man, we were duped on that one big time!
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