The Man with the Hat is back

Shall talk about boston once photos are done. The little canon ixus 70 did well, its good going around with a little camera snug in your pocket.

Back from the states and went for spatial planning conference organised by the Singapore Institute of Planners. Prof Chou was there to speak on the impact of dredging on the ecology of corals. But majority of the audience are from the Jurong Town Industrial, ex HDB and a few academics in urban spatial planning. Felt more like a pat on each others back session for the spatial planners but at least they are enlightened enough to invite Prof Chou and Dr Geh Min. Though you still cringe when they proudly declare that over 50% of Singapore’s land area is green. The Garden City Plan is a success and one should be thankful.

Was also regaled with stories of how the problem of housing and jobs were quickly solved. What I find interesting is how Singapore can muster the political will (as so proudly stated by an ex-chief architect) to convert slums in 1960s to house 800,000 people in a short span of 20 years but still cannot decide on how best to conserve a mere 164ha rainforest where irreplaceable and priceless natural heritage reside. Well its a balance they all say. Landfill for a casino over a 30m seagrass patch? You go figure.

But we can actually have the cake and eat it. Just a simple sediment net near the seagrass patch will work wonders, just being aware of what we have will make a difference.

Like what EO Wilson so aptly wrote when he review the climate change rush – ‘What about the rest of life?’

Here’s something written by him to mull over when you so often hear about ’saving costs’.
The natural world we are now obliterating with such cheerful abandon cleanses and efficiently distributes our fresh water; it creates and constantly renews our soil; it channels the great cycles of materials and energy; it sustains whatever climatic stability we have not yet perturbed; and it manufactures the very air we breathe. All these services together have been estimated to equal in dollar value the summed Gross Domestic Products of every country in the world combined, and is given to our species free of cost.

Went lower peirce today and saw 2 oriental whip snakes. Just a simple walk through the boardwalk gave me a feeling that I have returned home from cold dry Boston. A good way to end the week.

One last thing, the man with the hat is back.
May 22.