Twistable bottle to save space

Source: Youtube, CScout

"Sure or not, like that also can?" That was definitely my first thoughts when I came across this product. I Lohas, from Coca Cola Japan, came up with this bottled water whose bottle can be twisted after drinking to reduce the waste space. But while I was thinking of how to blast these "marketing gimmicks", a thought came to me, "it might really help, you know." Though it's not going to cut down much on the PTE bottle used, think of the number of garbage bags you will save if every plastic bottles were compressed to neat little tubes. Guess every little effort counts. But is this trying too hard? You decide.

Finding the direction

It's been a while since my last post and I must admit I haven't been very regular in my posts. Truth is, I have been trying to find a direction for myself since resigning from my engineering job. So which path I should take? Go back to a 9-5 job? Change industry? Property agent? Become a eco-preneur? It has been quite a depressing period, given that I used to be very busy and did not even much time for a good night sleep, yet now I find myself free enough to do catching up on the Hong Kong and Taiwanese dramas. Borders has also become my best friend.

But now, I must say, the path has become clearer. Tofubox is back!

Are we too late?

If you have read the Straits Time dated 11 Aug 2009 on "Artic ice cap could reach record low", you would probably have the same question in your mind. Are we too late?

According to the article, the rising temperature, most probably due to the manmade greenhouses gases, has resulted in the extensive melting of the Artic ice. The Artic sea ice is disappearing at an alarming rate of about 106,190 sq km per day- equivalent to three Belgiums daily. For more detailed analysis of the extent of the melting of the ice, please refer to the National Snow and Ice Data Center. What is being done now?

Come this December, there will be an international climate treaty held in Copenhagen and the man leading the charge, Yvo de Boer, will need to address this issue fast with all the world leaders. Enough of developing countries disagreeing on whether its their responsibilities to reduce emissions or rich countries pondering on how much they're willing to help fund developing ones' struggles against climate change. We need to do something fast.

Photo from National Geographic

Will we be in time to save the polar bears?

Happy Birthday, Singapore!

Best wishes from the team from Tofubox

Tofubox's First Assignment

Yay! Our first assignment!

Tofubox was tasked to help out in a corporate's "save the environment" activities.

The day began with the members from the corporation cleaning up West Coast Park by raking the leaves and clearing up the rubbish. Everyone was pretty enthusiastic at first but I guess the novelty died down pretty fast as people start to hang around and chitchat.

Raking leaves in West Coast Park

After the cleaning up, there was a little lecture on how to save the earth. Members of the corporate took turns to present and they did a pretty good job with all the charts, puppet and other visual effect.

A "penguin" giving his views on how to save the earth

Then comes the games segment. We introduced a game called "Water is precious" where everyone's gotta top up a glass from a bottle of water without having their hands on the bottle. The game is meaningful because it really requires everyone to work together. We had plans to make it more difficult by making everyone throw the bottle into the recycling bin before they can proceed to the next bottle but seeing so many kids around, we had to modify.

Having fun

The day was hot but we hope everyone had a good time.

Earth Hour 2009 Singapore

It has been a month since my last entry. I took a bet, lost and was banned to pen any entry. Ok, kidding. I was simply too busy, lazy and tired to write.

Anyway, Earth Hour 2009, which was on the 28 Mar, has passed. So how did Singaporeans fare?

A trip down Orchard Road did not show any difference from the other days(or nights). But we had a pleasant surprise at Tiong Bahru Plaza. Shops like The Pasta Shop and Coffee Bean actually made the effort to switch off their lights durin Earth Hour.

The Pasta Shop at Tiong Bahru Plaza

We proceeded to the neighbourhood, hoping to capture on video the effect of many lights turning on after Earth Hour. It didn't turn out the way we were hoping for though, but still we did managed to catch a few households switching on their lights after the clock struck 930pm. Probably some of the households got so used to having their lights off that they couldn't be bothered to turn them back on.

Lights off at Jalan Membina

Proud of my mum and dad too. They also did their part for Earth Hour.

Verdict of Singapore Earth Hour 2009:

6/10 marks = Not bad but could have been better.

See ya next year in Earth Hour 2010.

Should Environmentalists Live Like Cavemen?

The Caveman

Picture source: Fatih YILDIRIM

It started when Colleague A wanted to buy a car. He was considering a Honda Civic Hybrid as he claimed he wants to help the environment. Colleague Q argued that if A truly wanted to help, he shouldn't buy a car at all(and also to quit smoking :p) But A argued that human needs to progress but just have to do so more efficiently to minimise the harm done on our earth. Q felt progression will definitely affect the environment and both cannot co-exist, citing that if China and India are to become more developed, they will only leave more carbon footprint on the environment.

So is Q being an extremist? Can progression and protecting the environment co-exist? Should environmentalist and people who cares about the environment live like a caveman? Makes me wonder how do those hardcore environmentalists live...

HDB Plans To Use the Sun too

HDB flats

More on using the solar energy, this time by HDB. Yes, our very own Housing and Development Board is planning to use the solar energy to power some of the common services such as the lights, lifts and water pumps. Spearheaded by Housing and Development Board (HDB), the National Environment Agency and the Energy Market Authority, this is part of the Energy Save Programme which aims to bring down energy consumption in all HDB estates by 10 per cent in 5 years. The pilot project is already being done at two locations, Serangoon and Sembawang. Cost is the main concern with some $600,000 being spent on the solar panels and the installation which just covered only 7 blocks. But the results have been very encouraging, registering a 40% decrease in energy savings for the flats involved in this trial.

Way to go, HDB! :)

Eye Power!!!

Imagine lying on the beautiful sand of Sentosa, listening to the wonderful songs from Jolin Tsai then suddenly your MP3 battery went flat, what will you do?

Option 1: Curse yourself for not charging the player and pack up

Option 2: Nothing. I will just sing to myself then

Option 3: Simply charge the player by plugging to your shades and continue with Jolin's 日不落

Charging by the shades??? Well, the SIG or "Self-Energy Converting Sunglasses" allows you to do just that. The lenses contain dye solar cells, which converts energy from the sun into your MP3 player. Simple as that. Designed by designers Hyun-Joong Kim & Kwang-Seok Jeong, there is no word as yet on a commercial release or pricing but I do sure want to try it out.

Source: Tech Radar.com "the SIG"

The Rig Hotel

What happened to an oil rig when it got decommissioned? One of the primary method is to blow it up which will cause deadly consequences to the aquatic life. Morris Architects came up with a brilliant solution. In the recent Radical Innovation in Hospitality, an international design competition, Morris Architects showed us how we can turn an oil rig into a luxurious, self sufficient, eco friendly resort. Named the Rig Hotel, the design was retrofit to the 4000 and more oil rigs in the Gulf Coast. With the consistently strong winds in the Gulf Coast, Morris Architects also proposed using wind turbines to be self reliant.

Now, what can be more exhilarating than waking up with unparallelled view of the ocean?

Source: Radical Innovation In Hospitality "the Rig Hotel"

the interior

Using Garbage to power Garbage Truck

Well, almost literally. In Huddersfield town centre, Britain, an electric garbage truck moves by using power generated by the waste it has collected. Basically, the waste collected is burnt in an incinerator that converts waste to energy and produces about 10MW of power which in turn is used to power the garbage truck.

It certainly is a good way to reuse the waste and given that garbage trucks usually move at slow speed and spend lots of time idling makes it an even more worthy eco-friendly investment.

Electric Garbage Truck that uses garbage to move. Source: Register Hardware

A Degree in Sports in NTU

Finally, a university in Singapore is offering a degree programme in Singapore. Nanyang Technological University will be conducting the Sport Science and Management course as a four year full time direct honours programme. It covers several aspects of studies including Sports Medicine, Sports Psychology, Sports Marketing, Finance,...etc, to prepare students for the developing Sports industry in Singapore.

Sports in Singapore is a budding industry with so many major games due to be held here. These graduates will definitely enhance and support the growth of the industry. For more information regarding the course, you can check out the NTU website here.

If this were offered years ago, I might have considered joining. Sigh. Hi NTU, any chance of a part time degree?

Banana Skin Shines My Shoes!!!

Shoe polish is toxic and often have to be disposed as a hazardous material in some countries, because it contains materials like naphtha and turpentine. So what can be an eco friendly substitute?

Ok, this may sound ridiculous and I'm not sure how many of you will go and try it but apparently banana skin can be used to polish shoes. And based on the feedback when the video was posted, it works! What a way to reuse the waste. (Hmm...Wonder what my CSM will say if I do it to my army boots?)

Video source: videojug

Battleground Earth Lightbulb Game

Source: Planet Green

Ok, shooting lightbulbs in a desert may not sound interesting but it sure is fun when you are bored. Besides, it's definitely more eco-friendly than the real thing. The idea is to rid the world of nasty lightbulbs. Give it a try and see if you can beat my score. I did a 352.

Electric Scooters Coming to Singapore!

E-max Scooter

Zeco, a local firm, is set forth to bring the German-made E-max scooters to Singapore in March. These scooters run on silicon batteries and have a motor capacity of 4kW. Initial aproval has been given by LTA but still need approval from other government agencies before they can hit the streets. Priced at around $7000, the scooters, can be charged from any electrical outlet taking about 3-5hrs for a full charge.

As a ex-rider, I would welcome any green alternatives but the maximum speed of only 60km/hr and a maximum distance of only 90km do not appeal to me. But with the estimated cost savings of $1300 and zero emissions, these scooters might take Singapore by storm. Anyway, for me, I will just hope there will be better electric bikes or cars to Singapore soon.

Obama's Green Economy

Some of the items Obama has on his agenda, since taking office 1 week ago, is to make America more energy independent and to place more emphasis on cleaner energy. He is asking the Environmental Protection Agency to reconsider allowing California and other states to implement auto emission standards that are tougher than current federal regulations. Obama, making good of his campaign's promises, is also ordering his administration to conduct reviews for new fuel-efficiency standards for cars that could lead to tougher auto emission standards. This decision would force automakers to produce more fuel efficient vehicles.

"For the sake of our security,our economy and our planet, we must have the courage and committment to change" says Obama in a 10 minute announcement at the White House.

Video from Associated Press

Is Bigger Always Better?

3 weeks ago, my dad had a sudden urge to make potato salad so we decided to drop by the supermarket to buy potatoes as well as a bottle of mayonnaise. After looking at the prices, Dad asked to get the bigger one. But I argued that the smaller bottle will be more than enough for the salad. In the end, the head of the family won and we brought home the bigger bottle which till now still lies somewhere in the fridge and my feeling is, it's going to stay there till the next clean up.

Since young, we were always taught to get better value for money but did we consider whether we are taking more than what we need? In the end, the extras will just be wasted.

So is bigger always better? Environmentally and economically speaking, it may not be true.

Levi's Gives You $50 for Your Old Jeans

Yes, I know this has been going on for quite a while but hands up for those who think this is a gimmick. No idea of what I'm talking about(are you a 宅男?)? Let me explain. In place of discounts (which is happening all over the world), Levi's will give a $50 off for your jeans when you make any purchase of their jeans. Terms and conditions apply. Though I'm not sure whether a normal end-of-year discount could have been better, still it sure feels good that your old jeans (that always seem to shrink over time..hmm) can still be of some use. Cheers to jeans' reusage.

This Paper is Sh*t!!

Paper from elephant's poop. Picture from elephantdungpaper

A new line of eco paper is developed and the source... elephant's poop. Yes, unbelievable but it's true. It seems elephant's poop is highly fibrous, due to its diet, and can be made into paper. Now, who would think of such an idea? Elephantdungpaper claims the idea came from Mr Wanchai, from Thailand. Everyday, Mr Wanchai would walk pass a natural paper factory that used tree fibers to make quality hand made paper, and realises how simple a paper making process was. Later, he took a trip to the Thai Elephant Conservation and saw piles of dung. He looked at the dung and noticed the dung was fibrous and that's the start of a ingenious idea.

Collecting the elephant's poop. Picture from elephantdungpaper

The profits from the paper will go back to the elephants, by contributing to their food and medicine at the Thai Elephant Conservation. By the way, we were assured that elephant's poop is not smelly and so is the paper made from it.

Ok, so now we have paper made from poop, what's next?

World's First Mobile Phone Made Using Recycled Water Bottle Plastics

MOTO W233 Renew. (Picture from Motorola)

The Consumer Electronics Show(CES) 2009 was recently held at Las Vegas from 8-11 Jan 2009. Not surprisingly, the green technology seems to be one of the highlights. One such gadget being showcased was the Motorola's first carbon neutral mobile phone.

With the aim of walking the green talk, the phone's recyclable plastic housing are made from plastics from plastic bottles. And, besides the reduced packaging size and in-box materials printed using vegetable based inks on 100% recycled paper, there is also a in-box postage paid recycling envelope which helps you to return your old mobile phone for recycling. Motorola is also teaming with Carbonfund.org to offset the carbon dioxide needed to manufacture, distribute and operate the phone, by investing in renewables and reforestation.

The phone is set to be released in the first quarter of 2009 but with only the simple design and basic functions of a mobile phone (no camera!!), it may not appeal to the techie Singaporeans.

Singapore's Hard Core Ultramarathoner

Can you imagine yourself running 217km in one of the world's hottest and driest place, the Death Valley? Well, I can't. But Mr Lim Nghee Huat can and he did. But 2 years after that experience, he is doing it again, this time in Brazil. (read the report here from channelnewsasia.com)

I had a personal encounter with him before(though I doubt he will remember), he was then the Mountbatten CCC Chairman. A positive guy, full of humour, one will never know from his scrawny frame that he is one of the toughest guy in Singapore.

Mr Lim Nghee Huat (Picture source: channelnewsasia.com)

Also, read about his and Mr Yong Yuen Cheng's experiences conquering the Death Valley in asiatracks.org.