Tuesday, April 29, 2008

A Random Essay

The Impact of Economics and Industry on the Environment

This debate crossed my mind as I was taking a shower (of all places). It floated in my mind as I fumed about the incessant rumble of several air-conditioning systems running from my neighbours’ flats. Having studied the basics of economics back in JC, I formed a pretty logical argument regarding the link between economics and the increasingly urgent problem of global warming.

I’m sure the first reaction to the title would be to think of all the negative impact that economics and industrialization has on the environment. Until today my stance was that the Industrial Revolution way back in the 18th century was the spark that created the demon called environmental degradation. It’s not an illogical one; in fact nearly all evidence of environmental damage today point towardthe overzealous Man, his never-ending thirst of economic and social progress. The burning of fossil fuels to create energy was a major factor in inspiring the improvements Man has made to his way of living, as well as empowering him to exert his influence over the previously all-powerful Mother Nature.

The main principle of economics is the law of demand & supply, something which we all know and love. It’s deceptively simple: somebody wants something; another will provide it – at a price. The first signs of this probably emerged ages ago, when tribes of pre-humans engaged in the primitive version of barter trade, probably exchanging meat for firewood etc. Fast forward to 18th century humanity. Populations were relatively high then, so naturally there would be a high demand for anything that would enhance their standard of living. Then came the miracle drug called Energy (in the form of steam), powered by the seemingly endless supply of coal, oil and wood. Mankind greedily fed on this Energy, driving an insatiable demand for everything that burns fuel. The suppliers gladly obliged, profiting from the feast. Science and engineering came into the picture, churning out a Pandora’s Box of applications for Energy, from clothes to cars, from light bulbs to planes. And all this while, the atmospheric carbon dioxide content, as well as the myriad forms of pollution, started to climb.

On this note we can point the accusing finger at Mankind and economics for engineering the rise of the global warming phenomenon. It’s a simple equation: HUMANITY = Economics = Demand + Supply = Industry = GLOBAL WARMING. That places economics in a rather flattering role, does it not? With Mr. Gore and so many other scientists and environmentalists placing the blame on it, it seems a guilty culprit.

However, economics has the potential to undo the wrongs, to reverse what has already been playing out. Thanks to greater enlightenment and spotlighting on the subject, there has been a sudden change in ideology, spurning millions of people to create what I call the Green Economy. All over the world, there is a small but growing group of people willing and able to subscribe to a greener way of life, which in turn sparks off another group of highly entrepreneurial people to create products which supply exactly just that. And the driving force behind all this? Technology, the offspring of science and engineering, the 2 factors which spawned the problem in the first place. The examples today are countless – the increasing popularity of hybrid/fuel cell vehicles, solar power (and just about any other form of greener energy), biofuels (though the debate still rages on about its greenliness), more efficient appliances, blah blah blah, green this green that. Unfortunately price still remains a high barrier to mass adoption of these products. This is where economics has the potential to exert itself again – when supply increases, price falls, demand rises. With advances in technology, production costs will fall, resulting in manufacturers increasing their outputs. This is already evident in the photovoltaic industry, where the costs of producing solar cells are slowly falling, coupled with a surge of firms into the industry.

The problem with all this is that technology takes time; time which is slowly ticking away the rise in the alcohol. Here is where another aspect of economics takes centre stage – scarcity. Scarcity may seem like a bad thing – who wants to run out of oil? That is precisely the permanent fix to the impending global warming disaster. As we all know, fossil fuels do not last forever and take ages to replenish. The day the last drop of oil burns may be the day we stave off our thirst for the black gold. Fortunately economics may hasten our change of taste – oil is already becoming its nickname. At more than 100USD a barrel, people around the world are feeling the pinch on their wallets. Not only does it affect fuel prices, inflation is also closely linked to it. More often than not many are forced to change their way of living, a greener way of living, even if it may not be that obvious. Consumers aside, the industry is also panicked into looking into cheaper, alternative ways of firing up their factories and plants. One negative fallout would be the proliferation of cheaper, dirtier coal burning power plants, already evident in rapidly developing China. The other, more optimistic view would be the motivation for firms to invest in R&D, to accelerate the magical but slow technology. Already, clean burning coal plants and possible nuclear plants are replacing existing ones in China, while Australia wants to test carbon sequestering. People are rushing to buy hybrid cars which translate to huge savings on the ever rising petrol prices while leaving behind a smaller carbon footprint. Electricity prices will rise in the short term, forcing people to cut down on usage. In a not-so-nice-but-green kind of equation: SCARCITY = Reduced supply = High prices = Reduced demand = GREEN.

Not everyone welcomes high prices of course. While the US slips into recession and prices of oil and commodities skyrocket, everyone will have to lead less lavish lifestyles. Hardest hit would be the poor, and more will slip into poverty. I do not wish to be insensitive to them, but humanity will have to make some sacrifices in order for us to be able to combat global warming. If you think about it, if all of us were still living the way we lived a few centuries ago, the Earth would be a much cooler place. At the moment probably a few pockets of us still live off the land and I respect them for that. But for the rest of us, the life that we’ve always led is hard to change. We can always hope for the economy to bring about greener technology, but what we can do NOW is to sacrifice a little here and there. Trust me, you will feel better, once you believe that you have made AN impact. And that in itself is economics – Earth needs something and WE shall provide it.

Lim Hong Yi
29/04/08

Monday, April 28, 2008

Tokyo! (part 5)

Time to continue the Japan story...

And so we went off on our own to Tokyo on Wednesday!

We took the Keisei Subway line first thing in the morning from Narita airport direct all the way to Nippori station in Tokyo, after which we immediately transferred to Ikebukuro, where our hotel, Sunshine City Prince was. Must be quite a spectacle, 4 foreigners hauling 4 huge luggages through the crowded station. The 3rd most crowded (and complicated) station in Tokyo apparently, after the Tokyo and Shinjuku stations.

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A typical densha (electric train) station in Japan.

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The view from inside the train. This was taken just after the rush hour, so we were lucky to escape the canned sardines feeling. Lots of ads hanging from the rails! One thing that impressed me - no one talked on their mobile phones in the train! Although I don't see the reason for doing so (I suppose its irritating to some), it really contributes to a relatively peaceful train ride.

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Ikebukuro, outside the station! This became our home in Tokyo, walking through the same street every morning and night. Although not as hip as Shibuya, there's alot of small shops that sell all kinds of stuff hidden in the narrow alleys! I found 2 used CD shops (where I spent most of my free time), a guitar shop, a tiny ramen stall, lots of Pachinko shops and random others from porn to Italian cuisine. Aside from the huge Mitsukoshi, Seibu and HMV stores of course =)

After checking in and settling down we headed down to Shibuya for some retail therapy.

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The famous "Shibuya crossing". Hordes of people!! Irrespective of the direction, whenever the traffic stopped everyone just poured onto the road, crisscrossing here and there.

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The famous Shibuya "ichimarukyu" 109! 7 floors filled with ladies fashion from top to bottom! And there's a 109 for guys too haha.

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I just had to take this. Hahaha.

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The not-so-famous Hachiko statue! The story goes something like this - Hachiko was a dog who followed his master every morning to Shibuya station to send him off to work. One day his master died, but he never failed to show up at the station every morning, hoping to see his master, until he himself passed away. After he died the residents of Shibuya built a statue to remember the dog's loyalty and love for his master!

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A "Safe & Clean" campaign, featuring YUI! The lamp posts were blasting her songs throughout the streets of Shibuya. I was kinda puzzled with the connection though haha.

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The skies turned dark as I explored Shibuya. Didn't really buy much stuff since most of the things there were geared towards the ladies and the really fashionable (neither of which I belong to). I did pop into the major record stores Tower Records and HMV though. Its a unique concept really, individual buildings owned by entire stores with multiple floors catering to their customers. You simply don't see that in Singapore, everything's located inside a shopping mall. I suppose its the lack of land here (but then again, Tokyo's not exactly spacious either lol).

After that we went to Roppongi Hills for dinner.

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A great view of Tokyo Tower from the top of Roppongi Hills! Besides being known for its nightlife, pubs and clubs, Roppongi Hills also hosts most of the foreign embassies.

Which is probably the reason why I saw this:

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ZOMG CARROT CAKE! HOKKIEN MEE! CHICKEN RICE!!!! At horrendously inflated prices.

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We dined at Hard Rock Cafe Tokyo.

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The huge beef burger I ordered. Finally, something sinful after all that super healthy Japanese food. Muahahahahaha.

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There were lots of foreigners (i.e non-asians) hanging around the pubs and clubs - I spotted Americans, British, Russians, French, and some others which I couldn't identify the languages.

And so this concludes part 5!

Saturday, April 26, 2008

SILVERRRRRR

I've never felt this heng before.

First IPPT test of the year. 2 days after a sort-of-intensive 2.4km practice run. 1 week after I pulled a muscle in my left arm for doing too many pull-ups.

SILVER!!!

10 chin-ups! first time in history!

1 second under the silver cut-off for 2.4!

Like I said, sibeh heng ah.

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Anyway I found this site where everyone can share music (legally!)

Muxtape.com

Its so simple! Here's mine - asuna.muxtape.com

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Big Match!

Manchester United versus Barcelona at Nou Camp in the Champions League Semi-finals!

According to a reliable source, whenever a big match is coming, the team which is prominently featured in local newspapers (i.e Straits Times and New Paper) the day before (i.e today), that team will lose.

So thank you, editors of The New Paper, for dedicating so many pages of your sports section to Barcelona and how they can defeat Manchester United.

I'll eat my jockey cap if we lose.

Monday, April 21, 2008

Japan! (part four - Tokyo!)

The next morning on Tuesday, we prepared to fly off to Tokyo from the very faraway reaches of Aomori.

Took this shot at the Aomori International Airport (International = Includes flights to Russia).
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Though it wasn't the season for the famous Aomori ringo (apples), last season's ones look equally shiny and delicious. I bought a green one which cost about 200yen and whoa! It was the sweetest, juiciest, crunchiest apple I ever had! I will never ever refer to the "grown in China" Fuji apples as my favourite apples again.

We were rocked by news that Tokyo was experiencing crazy weather and strong winds, so our flight was delayed for an hour. Took this in the airport out of boredom:

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Japanese (high?) school students boarding the same plane as us. School trip!

The next few hours were the most nauseating of my trip. Thanks to the typhoon that was blowing across central Japan, the ENTIRE flight was filled with upward and downward lurches, rather like those theme park rides where they drag you up into the sky and drop you all the way down. My mind was alternating between keeping my lunch inside and hoping that the plane would reach quicker. I think most of the passengers were throwing up. Some were even praying!

It got even worse when we were about to land at Haneda Airport - I was really afraid that the winds would blow the plane over, you could tell from the shaking that the pilot was struggling to bring it down. Then he pulled the plane up just as the wheels were going to touch down, aborted the landing. Took another 45minutes of circling and near-vomitness before we finally touched down safely.

Remember those students? Every one of them was clutching the barf bag as they walked out of the plane. What an experience. Not that I'd want to go through that again.

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Thanks to the delay we had to rush through the Tokyo leg of the tour. This is the well-known Ueno station crossing. The winds and rain were really heavy!

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Then we went to Ginza for some (high-end) retail therapy - I went into Burberry to use their toilet HAHAHA. Took a short walk before I chanced upon a record store and voila!

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An autographed guitar and massive promotions of YUI's latest album, I Loved Yesterday!
They had a floor for CDs and videos, a floor for classical music, a floor for songbooks and music scores and finally a floor for guitars!

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We had dinner at this buffet BBQ restaurant. See that plate next to the grill on the left? That's wagyu beef! Tasted pretty normal, but the meat was super soft and tender!

Stayed at a hotel next to Narita airport to prepare for the flight back to Singapore (them), while (we) prepared for all the action to come in Tokyo!

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Japan! (part three)

Wow this Japan photo journal is taking quite a number of posts @.@

Monday morning -

Got this shot while I was in the bus

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Schoolboys cycling off to school! A lot of Japanese ride bicycles to get around, you rarely see a town without seeing a cyclist peddling on the pavements. Its quite logical really, considering that the countryside has limited public transport, while driving may not be a good choice since the roads are narrow. Even in cities like Tokyo you see plenty of bicycles parked next to the train stations, many times more than say Tampines MRT back in Singapore. Plus its environmentally friendly and healthy! And its not just the youths and guys who cycle, I've seen working ladies dressed in coats and HIGH HEELS cycling to work!

We headed off to the town of Kakunodate, an old samurai town in Akita. The whole area had this really old-school Japan feel to it, with all the old wooden houses and the old yet-to-bloom sakura trees.

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That's a very nice looking cherry blossom tree, the way its branches droop down.. Too bad the flowers had yet to appear.

We entered this compound belonging to a samurai family, inside was basically a museum showing all the aspects of being a samurai, from the katanas and armour to their clothes, tools, Noh masks and dolls used for puppetry.

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That's one scary looking samurai armour.

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Bizzare looking Noh masks.

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I see this figure a lot in Japan, I think its some kind of a local mythical character. Looks like something out of a Hayao Miyazaki creation haha.

Thereafter we headed off to Lake Towada, near Aomori for some sightseeing and photo-taking. Its a HUGE lake formed from an old volcano crater.

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The view taken from a vantage point way up in the mountains.
After going all the way down to the bank of the lake, we got off the bus to take a short walk along the lake.

There were lots of swans and ducks milling about near the edge of the lake and the reason was apparent later - a provision shop owner threw leftover bread scraps periodically into the lake!

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Greedy birds fighting for the food

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A grey swan showing off to me hahaha.

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This mountain face looks as if someone had written some kind of words on it.

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A nearby waterfall fed with water from the lake. That was when I started to experiment with my camera settings, so it came out with that whitish-water-flowing effect haha.

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A crystal clear stream, again from the waters of Lake Towada. Looks good enough to drink! I didn't try though, heh. I did practise my stone skipping technique! Managed 3 skips whee hahaha.

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There was a sign accompanying this slab of rock which was leaning onto a dead tree. It said something like this: "It is said that a female spirit resides under this rock and would draw unsuspecting tourists into its lair". Spooky huh? I didn't go near it after I read the sign.

Which wraps up a loong day spent travelling here there up and down.

Stayed in this onsen/ski hotel on the top of the mountain, AND THERE WAS NOBODY OTHER THAN US AND THE STAFF.

It goes both ways I suppose -
1) we had the whole hotel to ourselves (yay!)
2) there must be a reason why no one was staying there..... (gulp)

My entire family skipped the onsen for that night. Heh.

Ok that's all for today. Tired zzz.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Japan! (part two)

The next morning on Saturday, we headed straight for Tobu World Square in Nikko, a theme park with miniature scale models of famous landmarks around the world. Most of the models looked extremely realistic, down to the tiny people, cars and animals etc. Some landmarks included the Great Wall, Forbidden City, Taj Mahal, Angkor Wat, Big Ben, Eiffel Tower, Tokyo tower, the already-gone World Trade Centre, the pyramids etc etc. Took LOTS of photographs, so I shall share some nicer ones here.

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This is the most elaborate of them all, St Peter's Cathedral in Vatican City. Looks absolutely stunning! The amazing thing is that all the greenery and plants are all real. To make them look like tiny miniature trees they used bonsai, which must have taken ALOT of work. Lunch was another buffet and we were joined by a huge group of (again!) university students.

We took a looooong road trip all the way up into the Miyagi prefecture to see some snow! The bus headed straight for Mt. Zao, a ski-mountain with lots and lots of snow!

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These are the so called "snow monsters", which are actually trees covered in snow blown by winds from the chilly Siberia. I wonder how those trees actually survive winter covered in snow like that :/ Interestingly I noticed animal footprints on the snow, though they looked really weird, as if it had 3 legs... the Abominable Yukidarumon? (its an old Digimon character that I suddenly thought of LOL)

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That's the highest we could go by cable car. Super strong and chilly winds! I only spent about 15mins outside and my hands, feet and ears were numb. The vending machine inside the cable car station was our savior, I bought a hot coffee and there was an instant "Ahhhhhh....."

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On the way down in the cable car, I spotted a snowboarder zipping down the slopes, twisting and turning as he winded down. Cool stuff!

After a long day in the freezing cold the bus took us to another onsen hotel! Perfect way to warm up the body. Took this shot in the hotel:

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Its a weather information board! You can set the city or prefecture that you're in and it adjusts accordingly. Subsequently I saw this board in 2 other hotels located in the smaller towns.
Next morning, I experienced the hospitality of Japanese service staff - the entire reception and lobby staff lined up outside as we boarded the bus and waved us farewell, until our bus went out of sight.

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Such politeness! I wonder when Singapore can ever reach that standard of service..

On the way to the next activity which was strawberry picking (drool!), the bus weaved through swathes of farmland and rice paddies. I took this pic of an oba-san, toiling hard at her age. One trend I noticed was that most of the farmers I saw were old folk, with the exception of a few young guys helping out. I suppose all the youngsters headed straight for the big cities upon graduation from school - who would work in the fields nowadays?

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Strawberry picking was rather fun, even though I wasn't a fan of strawberries. It was really warm inside the greenhouses, and everyone had a great time gorging on HUGE SHINY strawberries. They gave us 30 minutes, but within the first 5 everyone was already full. I think my dad easily wolfed down 30. He'll probably have strawberry nightmares for the next few nights LOL.

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Drooling yet? All the strawberries were crazily sweet, without a hint of sourness at all.

After that hearty, fruity breakfast we went to Matsushima Bay, one of the more popular tourist spots in Northern Japan.

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Nice view isn't it? Especially with the morning sun shining overhead. We boarded a small boat to cruise around the Bay and check out the tiny rock outcrops that seem to sprout out of nowhere. From what I can recall there were more than 50 such islands, and each had a name. An example is "Kabutoshima", which means helmet island (it really looks like Kabuto the Pokemon XD)

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Strange to see pine trees growing right? Must have been part of the mainland a loooong time ago. The fun part was when the guide brought out some snacks, and the seagulls started to swarm around the boat trying to get a quick meal. They flew really close to us!

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Oyster farms! Too bad it wasn't the oyster season then, otherwise we could have eaten FRESH oysters plucked from the ocean and eaten on the spot just like you see in Japan Hour on TV where the host goes "mmmmmmmmmm oishiiiii!!!!!!"

After some retail therapy at the shops by the bay and a visit to a shrine that opens its doors only once every 33 years, we went to see a golden shrine built for one of the shoguns. Unfortunately photos weren't allowed. Every part of the shrine was covered in gold! From the statues to the pillars right down to the floor! No wonder they protected it within a glass exhibit. Took some pictures within the grounds:

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A really fat cat guarding the entrance to one of the shrines. Cute!

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A family checking out their fortunes.

That night we stayed in Morioka. After dinner we explored the area around the hotel and discovered a shopping street that was closed by the time we got there (around 9pm). Japanese stores close so early!

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This guy was busking along the street, and his voice was really good! The tune was also rather catchy - the next YUI perhaps? His friend looked kinda spooky though =x

And that concludes part 2! More to come...