An Inconvenient Truth

Carbon dioxide and other gases warm the surface of the planet naturally by trapping solar heat in the atmosphere. This is a good thing because it keeps our planet habitable. However, by burning fossil fuels such as coal, gas and oil and clearing forests we have dramatically increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere and temperatures are rising.

The vast majority of scientists agree that global warming is real, it has already been happening and that it is the result of our activities and not a natural occurrence. The evidence is overwhelming and undeniable.We have already been seeing changes. Glaciers are melting, plants and animals are being forced from their habitat, and the number of severe storms and droughts is increasing.

There is always an apparent contradiction between the environment and the nation's economy. This is because instead of investing in the manufacturing industries which can certainly boost the economy of a nation, we need to put in huge amount of money in combating global warming which seems to yield no vivid benefits to nation's development. Although being a small developing country, Singapore never neglects its role in the fight with global warming. This can be seen by several policies made by Singapore government.

As we all know that forests play a vital role in global warming: storing carbon. When forests are burned or cut down, their stored carbon is released into atmosphere. Hence, Singapore government makes every attempt to protect and conserve existing forests. Even when there is a need to chop down the trees for development, constructors of the project will be required to replant the trees or at the very least produce a green landscape. A good example will be the Marina Barrage- Singapore 15th reservoir. It is built based on the environmental-friendly concept and has been the benchmark to raise awareness among people about the importance of combating global warming.

Research and development (R&D) is essential in solving many problems of today's world and aims at improving the quality of life of the people. Singapore government clearly knows the fact that successfully combating global warming requires a national transition to renewable energy resources such as solar. Thus, they put the R&D knowledge into action and most of the high-rise building now have been installed with solar panels to store energy. Besides, instead of using petrol which are the main culprit of the accumulation of carbon dioxide when burned to drive a car, hydrogen car can now be seen on the road. On the other hand, chemical and manufacturing factories have been legislated to install filtering system to convert greenhouse gases into harmless gases such as oxygen and water vapour.

Several other policies such as the ban on using polystyrene and air-conditioner that produce chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) takes effects long ago.The concept of reduce, reuse and recycle has also been instilled into almost every citizens in order to fight against global warming.

To sum up, there is no doubt we can solve this problem. In fact, we have a moral obligation to do so. Small changes to our daily routine can add up to big differences in helping to stop global warming. The time to come together as one to solve this problem is now - take action!