As climate change is becoming our real issue globally, I started wondering how Singapore has been addressing this issue as a country. I heard that there is a gallery called “Sustainable Singapore Gallery” near the Marina area, so I visited there to learn more about sustainable actions in Singapore. As Singapore is a small country surrounded by the ocean, stabilizing its environmental sustainability has always been important to Singapore’s development.
https://www.pub.gov.sg/marinabarrage/ssg
In the past decade, Singapore noticed some severe changes in the climate, for example, the annual mean temperature increasing, or that sea levels are rising at the rate of 1.2-1.7mm per year. Singapore also experienced extreme conditions in recent years like heavy rainfall or the hottest year on record in Singapore. So Singapore committed to addressing climate change very seriously and pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions intensity by 36% from the 2005 levels, by the year 2030. They are committed to achieving that goal for the benefit of future generations and their vision of a sustainable Singapore.
One example of reaching the goal is to promote Solar Energy. It is summer all year long in Singapore, so Solar Energy adoption is growing rapidly. They are adding more Solar Energy in housing estates, Industries, and even at our Reservoirs. My current school plans to install 3,000 solar panels to decrease the school’s environmental footprint and to teach students about renewable sources of energy.
Another key area is water. A safe and stable water supply has always been one of the top priorities for Singapore. When Singapore became independent from Malaysia, there was an agreement between both countries that Singapore can use the water from a river in Malaysia, but Singapore needs to provide a percentage of treated water in return. Singapore is recognized as a model city for managing the water and technology to recycle and supply clean water. The Singapore government tries to achieve three points; collect every drop of water, reuse water endlessly, and desalinate seawater.
https://www.pub.gov.sg/watersupply/singaporewaterstory
One of the projects they made for water recycling is a Deep Tunnel Sewerage System (DTSS). DTSS uses deep tunnel sewers to transfer used water by gravity to water reclamation plants located at the coastal areas. Before they built DTSS they used a night soil bucket. The night soil bucket system served Singapore for over a century from the 1880s as the main method of human waste collection. Today, 100% of Singapore is served by modern sanitation.
I also saw the huge Marina Barrage facility there. This whole infrastructure is built to desalinate seawater, but it also works as a flood control. During low tide and heavy storms, the gates will release excess stormwater into the ocean. During high tide, the gates can not be opened so they use the 7 giant pump drains to get the excess stormwater into the sea. Each of the pumps is capable of emptying an Olympic size swimming pool of water in one minute. To me, the idea is fascinating and really shows how hard Singapore is working for its sustainable water management.
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Singapore is working hard to achieve its goal. Singapore is determined and I always admire Singapore as they always keep their word and follow what they are committed to. I would also like to do what I can do for its sustainable environment as one of the community members.