25 years later – NOTHING HAS CHANGED

Last week marked the 25^th anniversary of the horrendous oil spill by the supertanker ESSO VALDEZ at Prince William Sound, Alaska.


The disaster has made worse by the late arrival of clean-up equipment and when they did eventually arrive, many of them did not work.  10 hours after ESSO Valdez ran around the captain of Esso Valdez was given a breath test for alcohol and still they found his alcohol level way over the acceptable legal limit – this leads one to the deduce that at the time of the grounding the captain (who was not on the bridge) must have been very drunk.


Since then (a quarter of a century later) the oil companies/government agencies have introduced/imposed many stringent laws and safety measures to ensure that an accident of this magnitude never happens again.  This disaster killed millions of sea birds, otters and destroyed many livelihoods even today the herring have not returned.   Even 25 years later patches of oil sludge can be found in coves and under rocks at once pristine beaches.


Fast forward to 2010, 20 years after the Esso Valdez, the BP operated drilling rig deepwater horizon caught fire and spilled about 210,000,000 gallons of oil into the sea.  And guess what? The same debacle happened again.  Clean up efforts were both delayed and tardy while all parties were more concerned with blaming each other by hiring the experts at wriggling – lawyers. 


BP blamed the operator who in turn tried to push the blame to the rig’s owner who of course put the blame back on BP the charterers – while these 3 stooges were pointing fingers at each other, our world was being polluted.


Esso and BP are reputed to be world class companies and said to have great operations practices (the all have ISO and other internationally recognized ratings).  They practice the best Corporate Social Responsibilities and even support green NGOs with grants/sponsorships.  It’s their 20 pieces of silver to “greenwash” the world and unsuspecting gullible public. 


Esso and BP are reputed to be world class companies and said to have great operations practices (the all have ISO and other internationally recognized ratings).  They practice the best Corporate Social Responsibilities and even support green NGOs with grants/sponsorships.  It’s their 20 pieces of silver to “greenwash” the world and unsuspecting gullible public.


I’ve got some simple advice for these talking heads – stop talking and go plant a tree.  I think enough is enough and we the common people (often passive bystanders) have to take a stand and demand for a cleaner and greener environment.  I can hear some of you saying that as Singaporeans we have no influences over world events.


Yes, this is correct, even the Singapore government cannot stop the regular haze that comes from Indonesia even though this has been happening for years but we can make a stand/report illegal irresponsible acts or activities.  In Pasir Ris where I live I found out that a wafer plant company was pumping out toxic waste into Sungei Api-Api.  I made several reports to the authorities with little tangible results so I brought this attention to my MP (who happens to be the DPM Teo Chee Hean) and now things are moving much faster.


On the path to Pasir Ris park besides Sungei Api-Api there is a healthy population of jungle fowls but I noticed that some have been disappearing.  So last week, I took the time and explored the long grass area and found some traps that I promptly removed.  Here are some numbers that you can save into your mobile to report illegal or unaccepted behavior.

• AVA – 6325-7625
• NEA  -  1800-2255-632
• PUB  -  1800-2846-600
• Police  -  999

Don’t just talk the talk – it is time to walk the walk.  We are having a mangrove clean-up at Sungei Api-Api on Saturday 19^th April, 8.00 am (to celebrate Earth Day, 22^nd April).  For details of the mangrove cleanup activity on meeting point and what to bring, please visit our previous blog post here.  Come join us!  Email Grace if you want to make a difference.


Cheers,
Grant W. Pereira
Mobile: 968-40-950

Mangrove cleanup at Sungei Api-Api (Pasir Ris Park), 19th April Saturday

Sungei Api-api and its river bank is home to many native and migratory birds, otters and other animals important to the eco-system.  With waste thrown into the sea and increasing development around the area, the mangroves are getting more polluted than it is naturally created to handle, threatening the homes of these animals and the ecosystem that thrives.

Mangroves protect shorelines from damaging storm and soil erosion.  Mangroves also help prevent erosion by stabilizing sediments with their tangled root systems.  They maintain water quality and clarity, filtering pollutants and trapping sediments originating from land.  They also serve as valuable nursery areas for shrimp, crustaceans, mollusks, and fishes.

In celebration of Earth Day (on 22nd April), we are organising a mangrove clean-up. Do come along with your family and friends and do your part for the environment, to understand the importance of protecting our fragile eco-system and lastly, to have fun!

The tide on 19th April (Saturday) morning is 0.3 meters and is a good opportunity to get our hands-on cleaning the trash in the mangrove.  Be prepared to get your feet muddy and hands wet while in the mangrove habitat.  We will prefer children age 12 and above and adults as we try to minimise the human impact to prevent stepping onto the mangrove saplings and creatures.

This event is organised by The Green Volunteers & Sea Shepherd.  

If you would like to make a difference for the mangrove at Sungei Api-Api, email Grace with your full name, mobile number and (name of other friends/family members participating).

Meeting point:
Pasir Ris CARPARK C; Wash up/Toilet area (where the Gallop Stables are)

By train: Alight at Pasir Ris MRT station and turn right to exit B. Walk straight the sheltered walkway and turn right and walk on the pavement (where you will see a soccer field on your right) till the end and cross the traffic light to the park and continue walking till you see the car park.
 
Things to bring:
- Drinking water
- Gloves
- Wellies (or well-covered shoes, NO slippers/sandals!)
- Tongs
- Insect repellent
- Cap/hat
- Poncho/Raincoat
- Smiles, enthusiasm and friends! 

The mangrove cleanup session should end by 11.30 am. 

IMPORTANT NOTICE
There will be NO lockers at the park hence please avoid bringing any valuable and bulky items to the mangrove.  Bring a spare set of clothing in case you get really muddy!

(We will be providing trash bags. Some gloves and tools too but it will not be enough to go around, so please do bring your own gloves if possible, thank you!)

Glowing green at Tampines ECO Green park!

It has been a hot but dry and breezy season for sometime and affected the plants and the our waterways.  A group of students from NUS who returned from their expedition trip to Northern Thailand, Chiangmai came to help to maintain the park.

It was such a great help from this group of students that had quickly removed the weeds.  On the whole of the activity, we spent 3 hours weeding and almost 5 hours to water the plants due to the weather.  We were glad that most of the sapling and trees we planted survived during the dry spell.  The grass are drying up and the trees and butterfly attracting plants are lack of water which is now a common sight in the parks and we put in our best effort to weed for about 3 hours and spent almost 5 hours to water the plants.

As we were packing up to leave the park, I realised that parts of the grass came alive!  It had changed into glowing green colour (photos below).

Thanks to all the students who came on the Saturday to help us!

Your opporunity to volunteer at Tampines Eco Green!

Coming 30th November, Saturday we will be at Tampines Eco Green park to help with planting butterfly attracting saplings and monthly maintenance to help keep the garden free from weeds.  If you wish to help out at the gardening session, we will be meeting 9.30 am at Tampine MRT station at exit (Tampines One).  For those who know the way can head to the park directly and we shall meet between 9.45 - 10 am.

 

Do bring along drinking water, hat, camera and sun block lotion (optional).  The gardening session should end at 1 pm.  See you!