EMERGE
BRAINIEST YOUTH
ARTICLES 2016
TERTIARY
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SCIENCE
Why Knuckles Crack
A knuckle at rest (left) pops when pulled. The sound comes from a bubble (right,
yellow arrow) opening up in the joint.
We’ve all heard it — that loud “Crack!” when someone pulls on stiff knuckles. But
what happens to make that sound? It’s something that scientists have puzzled over
for decades. A new study has now used a high-speed camera to watch what happens
to the joint. That popping sound comes from the formation of a bubble in the fluid
between two bones in the finger, it finds.
And these new data may just settle an age-old debate.
In 1947, two researchers used a series of X-rays to probe why knuckles “Crack!” Their
images indicated that the sound occurs when the bones at a joint rapidly separate,
forming an air bubble. It’s a process known as cavitation. Twenty-four years later, a
second study looked into the issue. Using similar methods, it concluded the pop was
due to some bubble in the joint bursting.
Two conflicting explanations. Both involved bubbles. Although most people came to
believe the second explanation, some Canadian researchers wanted to know the real
truth. So they formed a research team and conducted tests to settle the dispute.
Gregory Kawchuk is a bioengineer and rehabilitation-medicine specialist at the
University of Alberta in Canada. His team turned to magnetic resonance imaging, or
MRI. It can study very fast processes. The team chose one of its members, Jerome
Fryer, to lay on his stomach and put his hand inside the MRI machine. Why Fryer?
He has an unusual ability. “We call him the Wayne Gretzky of knuckle cracking,”
explains Kawchuk. “He can do it in all 10 fingers.”
The team stuck one of Fryer’s fingers into a tube. As the MRI recorded what was
happening, that tube slowly pulled on Fryer’s finger until it cracked. What this
revealed “supports the original 1947 study,” says Kawchuk.
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As a finger is pulled, tension mounts in the knuckle joint. Fluid rapidly accumulates
there. This shows up as a white spot on the MRI picture. Suddenly, a cavity — or
bubble — opens. As it does, the knuckle makes a pop. It’s much like the sound that a
suction cup makes as someone pulls it off of a glass window, Kawchuk says. The
joint’s bubble can last for up to 20 minutes. And until it goes away, the knuckle will
not be able to crack again.
The researchers hope to repeat their study with more volunteers. It would include
some people who can’t crack their knuckles and others with joint diseases. By the
way, the researchers say that despite “old wives’ tales,” being able to crack your
knuckles could be a sign of healthy joints.
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Lessons From Failure: Why We Try, Try Again
CHICAGO — Everyone experiences failures. But not everyone brushes themselves
off and tries again. A new study shows that focusing on what can be learned from a
failure appears to help people persevere — with a better chance of success the next
time.
Jamil Bhanji is neuroscientist at Rutgers University in Brunswick, N.J. There are two
main parts to any challenge that may cause someone to fail, he says. First, there are
the aspects a person can control. Whether students study for a test, for instance, is
under their control. But there also are aspects outside people’s control. Getting sick
could make someone too tired to study, even if he might want to.
No matter what causes a letdown, there can be many ways to cope, Bhanji explains.
One way is to concentrate on what led to the failure in the first place. If someone fails
a test, a problem-focused approach might be to study more or better the next time.
But people who fail can also try focusing on emotions, says Bhanji. The test-taker
might feel bad now, but he can convince himself that things will look brighter in the
morning. Bhanji describes that as an emotion-focused approach.
Bhanji’s team wanted to find out what strategies people use to forge ahead after
failing. To test this, they brought 30 volunteers into a lab and had them play a
computer game. The game modeled a classroom and the aim was for players to
graduate from the class. Those who succeeded would earn $10.
But getting a player’s character to move across the computer screen and pass the
class was no easy task. Along the way, players faced setbacks that could return their
characters back to where they had started.
For instance, one set of players encountered an “exam.” They had to guess at the
right answer to a test, pressing the right key to move forward. If they guessed wrong,
they moved back to start. Another group of players faced a non-voluntary “course
cancellation.” Their players, too, got sent back to the beginning of the game — but
there was nothing they could have done to prevent it.
After each “failure,” players were asked if they would like to try again.
The scientists looked at activity levels in parts of each volunteer’s brain as they
played. The researchers used a brain-scanning technique known as functional
magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI. It measures where blood flow is highest and
lowest. An area with lots of blood flow suggests that brain region is active. The
researchers looked for which brain areas’ blood flow changed when the players
decided to try again.
They found that activity was reduced in some parts of the brain when players were
tackling challenges. For instance, the ventral striatum (VEN-truhl Stry-AY-tum) sits
deep in the skull and is important in motivation — such as whether to try again.
Activity here dropped off when players brushed off a failure that had been within
their control (such as guessing the wrong key and failing that so-called exam). The
lower the activity in this brain region, the more likely a player was to give the game
another go. Reduced activity in this area may not be pleasant, since it’s associated
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with getting something wrong. But it also is associated with learning. As they change
their behavior, participants might begin to feel they can do better next time.
But when players were faced with a course cancellation — something they couldn’t
control — the activity dropped in a different part of their brains. That part is located
right above the eyes and called the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VEN-trohMEED-ee-uhl Pree-FRON-tul KOR-tex). This area affects how we judge risk, control
our emotions and make decisions. And for uncontrollable setbacks, the lower the
activity here, the more likely players were to not give up.
After a setback we can’t control, you realize that this “isn’t due to your own actions
[and] you can’t correct that behavior,” Bhanji explains. And this is where successful
people put more emphasis on interpreting their emotions in a way that allows them
to forge ahead. So when failures are beyond someone’s control, he says, rethinking
our emotional responses seems to help.
Persevering Under Pressure
Many failures — from exams to athletics — occur during times of stress. That
prompted Bhanji and his team to repeat their experiment. This time, the scientists
stressed out their participants before they played the game. This was a physical and
mental stress: participants dipped their hands in ice cold water while a video camera
recorded their faces.
After this ice-water bath, the group that faced “exams” still kept trying over and over
when they failed. But the group facing course cancellations — conditions they could
not control — were now more likely to give up. This could mean that when people are
under stress, they are only motivated to forge on if they can learn from their
setbacks. If failures are beyond their control, stress may make them less able to
control their emotions — and persevere.
Bhanji presented the new data October 19 here at the Society for Neuroscience
annual meeting.
This study helps scientists understand what helps people surmount setbacks, says
Candace Raio. She’s a psychologist at New York University in New York City. But, she
warns, the computer game was short, as was the ice-water bath. It would be
interesting to see if stress and the ability to learn from mistakes have a similar
impact on sticking with longer-term goals, she says. These might include staying in
school until you graduate or finishing some long-term project, such as building a
game.
Most obstacles “are not entirely under our control, and not entirely out of our
control,” Bhanji observes. If people focus on the parts over which they have some
control over, "they will be more likely to be persistent,” he suspects — even in times
of stress.
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Can't Sing On Key? Blame The Brain.
CHICAGO — Every time a large group sings “Happy Birthday,” there always seems to
be someone who’s woefully off-key. If you’re unlucky, that person might even be you.
People with congenital amusia are born unable to tell one note from another. And
the problem, a new study finds, seems to stem from how the brain mistakenly
processes pitch.
Many people like to say they are “tone-deaf” when they sing off-key. For most people,
that isn’t true. They just haven’t practiced enough. But for a small group, no amount
of training will help. This true amusia is rare, affecting only about one in every 25
people.
Samuel Norman-Haignere works at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in
Cambridge, where he studies how the brain processes sound. Scientists have never
been sure why people with amusia can’t follow or identify a tune. Especially
confusing: Most people with this condition hear other sounds perfectly well, he
notes. So if the ears aren’t to blame, he says, the problem must rest with how the
brain interprets sound.
To investigate that, he and his colleagues decided to study 11 people with amusia and
11 others who can easily distinguish differences in musical sounds. They used a
technique called functional magnetic resonance imaging — or fMRI. This type of
scan measures blood flow in the brain. Areas where it is highest highlight regions
that are active during different tasks, such as listening to random sequences of
music. The scientists were especially interested in the brain’s auditory cortex. It’s
one of the first areas to process sound signals arriving from the ears.
A tone-deaf person’s auditory cortex can detect musical pitches, the new fMRI data
showed. That brain region responded as well in the tone-deaf people as it did in those
who can easily carry a tune.
Explains Norman-Haignere, “We tried everything we could think of” to find
differences in the auditory cortex. Although this area of the brain seemed to register
sounds well in the tone-deaf listeners, these people still couldn’t distinguish one note
from another.
The results suggest that one or more other brain structures must take basic sound
and interpret it into what most of us understand as music. Which parts of the brain?
That’s still a mystery.
Norman-Haignere presented his team’s results October 19 here at the Society for
Neuroscience annual meeting.
This might seem like a failed study. After all, the scientists still don’t know where the
tune is getting lost. But knowing what parts of a tone-deaf brain work well will allow
scientists to focus their searches elsewhere, says Kirill Nourski. He works at the
University of Iowa in Iowa City. There he studies auditory neuroscience, or how the
brain processes sound.
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Understanding what’s behind tone-deafness might one day help amusic people
appreciate tunes after all, says Adam Greenberg. He works at the University of
Wisconsin in Milwaukee. There he studies brain functioning. The best way to figure
out how a machine works is to compare it with one that’s partially broken, he says. It
takes “detective work to understand what is broken.” Now that scientists know the
auditory cortex isn’t the problem, they can look elsewhere to find out where the brain
is dropping the melody.
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Friends’ Good Moods Can Be Contagious
The flu, measles and other infectious diseases can be contagious. They can spread
through social groups as people transmit germs to one another. Some people have
wondered if the mental illness known as depression also spreads through social
networks. It doesn’t, a new study finds.
Edward Hill was part of a research team that investigated how, if at all, teens’ moods
and attitudes affect the mental health of others. “Having depressed friends does not
make you more likely to become depressed yourself,” he now concludes. Hill is a
graduate student at the University of Warwick in Coventry, England. There he
studies complexity science, which deals with systems affected by many factors.
Depression is a disease. People who suffer from this mental illness feel ongoing
sadness and apathy. Often they lack energy and have difficulty concentrating. Many
have trouble working, sleeping or interacting with others. Depressed teens can be
grouchy and have a prickly personality. They also face an elevated risk of suicide.
Indeed, as of 2010, depression was the second leading cause of death for Americans
aged 10 to 24, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. So,
it’s nothing to be ignored.
While the new study showed depression was not contagious, it found good mental
health can be catching. “Our study suggests that having mentally healthy friends can
help someone recover from depression or even remain mentally healthy in the first
place,” says Hill.
Computers Did The Investigation
Hill’s group used data collected from about 3,000 U.S. teens as part of a long-term
survey. It followed each into early adulthood. Participants were asked at different
times over the years about whether they had symptoms of depression. The teens also
had a chance to name up to five male and five female friends.
The new British study took those answers and applied them to three
different computer models. One model looked for any sign that the number of friends
who were depressed affected a teen’s risk for depression. A second model tested for
evidence that the number of friends who were not depressed affected that risk. The
third was essentially a control, says Hill. It explored whether the mood of someone’s
friends had nothing to do with a teen’s risk of depression.
“Basically, they were trying to go in with as few assumptions as possible,” notes
Christine Klymko. She’s an expert in computational mathematics. She works at
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, and had no role in the new
study.
In the end, there was “no evidence” that the number of depressed friends affects a
teen’s risk of developing or recovering from depression, Hill reports.
But the data did fit the model linking risk of depression to the number of friends who
were not depressed. That model showed that teens with five or more mentally
healthy friends were only half as likely to become depressed within 6 to 12 months as
were the teens with no mentally healthy friends. And those with 10 healthy friends
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were about twice as likely to recover from the symptoms of depression over six to 12months, when compared to teens with just three healthy friends.
The Implications
The team’s findings differ from some earlier studies. Those earlier ones had looked at
teens at just one point in time, Hill says. They couldn’t assess trends over time that
might have linked mood to a particular cause. For instance, clusters of teens might
have had depression and sought each other out after symptoms developed. Or heavy
drinkers might hang out together. If that were true, it could explain the results
because there is a link between heavy drinking and depression. Clearly, a whole host
of factors can be at work, Hill notes. And they may be hard to tease out when teens
are looked at just once — like a snapshot of their life.
The new study, in contrast, used data from multiple time points. By doing so, Hill
explains, “We were able to observe direct changes in individuals’ mood.”
The computer models used in the new study are much like those developed from
studying other diseases, notes Klymko. But using such models to probe whether
mental illness spreads through social networks is “a pretty new area of research,” she
adds. While many questions remain, Hill’s study is a good “start for an intervention
strategy,” she says. By that she means it could be part of a planned effort to help
people who are depressed — or might become so.
Depression is a serious, dangerous disease. And it “should be a public health issue,
rather than an individual one,” stresses Hill. If society encourages healthy
friendships among teens, this “could go some way toward providing them with a
protective effect against mental-health problems.”
“There shouldn’t be a stigma” linked to depression either, Hill adds. Instead, his
study shows, maintaining friendships with people who become depressed might help
them feel better until they finally get better. And isn’t that what you’d want from a
friend?
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Your Sleeping Brain Is Listening
A soundly sleeping brain monitors its surroundings. It also can respond to them
without waking, a new study finds. For instance, even while snoozing, a person’s
brain can sort words correctly into different categories.
This is not the first study to show that the sleeping mind can do useful work. Two
years ago, researchers in Israel showed the sleeping brain can learn.
Sid Kouider of the National Center for Scientific Research (or CNRS) in Paris,
France, led the new study. His team recorded brain signals from people — all wide
awake — as they classified spoken words as either animals or objects. To do that, the
participants might push a button with their right hand when they heard an animal
name. Then they’d use their left hand to push a different button when the word
represented some other type of object.
As each volunteer responded, the researchers tracked their brain activity. They did
this by measuring the participants' brain waves. Such recordings are known as EEGs.
And those EEGs showed that when an individual was about to hit the right button,
the brain responded differently than when it was going to hit a left button.
Then each participant nodded off. The researchers again made EEGs recording brain
activity. As this happened, the researchers played recordings of a different set of
words. These showed that the volunteers’ brains continued sorting the words into
their proper categories. When a sleeper heard “horse,” the EEG looked as if that
person was preparing to hit a button with her (or his) right hand, not the left.
Kouider’s team reported its findings September 11 in Current Biology.
The new data demonstrate one way in which the brain monitors the outside world
during sleep. Those results also may help explain how meaningful sounds, such as a
baby crying or a spoken name, may more easily wake someone than other sounds do.
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Too Many Facebook Friends?
New research suggests that how tweens and teens use Facebook affects levels of a
stress hormone in their bodies. JAYSON PHOTOGRAPHY / ISTOCKPHOTO
Facebook lets friends connect. They can give
each other updates, share photos and post
comments. But that’s not all. Facebook
might also stress users out. The evidence:
elevated levels of a tell-tale hormone in the
saliva of users with lots of friends on the
site.
In a new study, researchers asked 12- to 17-year olds to complete questionnaires. The
88 volunteers reported how much time they spent on Facebook. They described how
many people they had friended through the site. Each person also answered
questions about the types of Facebook posts and comments that they made.
In addition, teens and tweens in the study answered questions about their feelings
and state of mind. Some questions sought out signs of stress and depression. (People
with depression generally feel sad and may lack energy for day-to-day activities.)
Other questions asked for the Facebook user’s feelings of stress and self-esteem. And
some questions asked how much support each person felt he or she got from other
people.
The volunteers also gave saliva samples. This happened four times a day on two
different days. Researchers tested those samples for cortisol. This chemical is a stress
hormone. Levels of it vary throughout the day.
Cortisol can be very helpful when a person feels threatened or stressed. It and other
hormones trigger the body’s “fight or flight” response. That releases the energy to
either face a threat or run away. Stress hormones also can help a person ward off a
blow or jump back in response to a warning. Or, they can make a student more alert
during a test.
But that’s not all. Chronic production of cortisol can affect the brain, notes Sonia
Lupien. She’s a neuroscientist at the University of Montreal in Quebec, Canada. She
worked on the new study.
Over time, a nonstop flood of cortisol can harm parts of the brain that deal with
learning and emotions. Anxiety, forgetfulness or moodiness can result. Chemical
changes in the brain could contribute to depression or other health problems as well.
Her team’s new data also revealed some good news. “We did not find any association
between Facebook use and depression,” says Lupien.
However, research by others has shown that high levels of cortisol in the morning
can raise the risk that a teen will develop depression later on. And in this study,
people with the most Facebook friends — more than 300 — had somewhat higher
cortisol levels. Additionally, the more Facebook friends that users had, the more
likely they were to feel anxious.
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“Having too many friends can be stressful,” Lupien suggests. “Up to a certain number
of friends, you feel good social support. But at some point, it switches.” Perhaps
managing huge numbers of Facebook friends just takes too much work. Or, maybe
most of them are mere acquaintances instead of close, supportive friends.
On the flip side, youths who gave lots of “likes” and supportive comments on
Facebook had lower cortisol levels. “The more you give social support to others, the
lower your stress hormone levels,” Lupien reports. Her team’s findings will appear in
the January 2016 issue of Psychoneuroendocrinology.
A Little Help From Our Friends?
Facebook is an example of social media. These are websites or apps that let people
connect and share content. They have become very popular, especially with teens.
“This research definitely bridges the social science approach and medical science
approach on an important question in our social-media age,” says Wenhong Chen.
She is a sociologist at the University of Texas at Austin. It’s “really refreshing” to see
Lupien’s team study cortisol levels along with questionnaire data, Chen says. It
makes her wonder whether similar results would show up in other age groups.
One finding in Lupien’s work surprised Chen. Teens and tweens who felt they got a
lot of support from other people also had somewhat higher cortisol levels. Usually,
she says, those feelings should protect people from stress.
“We were also surprised by this,” Lupien says. The size of one’s Facebook network
wasn’t linked to whether someone felt he or she generally got strong support from
others. Further studies might show that other factors affect whether people feel they
have good support. If so, those factors might explain the higher cortisol levels.
Also, Lupien notes, high cortisol levels are not always bad. They can prove useful.
And this study only looked at one point in time. “We don’t know what happens in the
long run,” she says.
Chen has done her own studies of Facebook use. In one, her team found that the
more college students interacted on the site, the more supportive and helpful they
acted towards their Facebook friends. More active users also got more support from
their friends on the site. However, students’ perceptions about giving or getting
support didn’t match up with actual behavior on Facebook. Chen’s group published
its findings in Computers in Human Behavior in October 2015.
A second study found a link between higher levels of Facebook activity and lower
self-esteem among college students. Frequent Facebook users were more likely to
feel overwhelmed by too much complex information and communication. Chen and a
colleague published that work in late 2013.
“There are many positive impacts of social media use among young people and
beyond,” Chen notes. But there also are potential pitfalls. So, she says, enjoy
Facebook, but be aware of the risks. Use it in moderation. And don’t let Facebook or
other online activities overwhelm you.
Along those lines, Lupien recommends that teen Facebook users share with and
support their friends on the site. They shouldn’t just stay silent. “If anyone is more
stressed, it’s the watchers, not the sharers,” she says.
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Also, Lupien recommends that people who use social media heavily — or just tend to
feel stressed — should find time to take brisk walks, to run or to do another activities.
Cortisol increases a person’s energy. “The best way to reduce stress hormones,” she
says, “is to use the energy.”
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Cool Jobs: Repellent Chemistry
Lotus leaves’ waxy surfaces and tiny, closely spaced bumps repel water, naturally.
Oil and water don’t mix.
You have probably heard this old saying. It isn’t just folk wisdom, however. It’s
chemistry. Another common expression — like water off of a duck’s back —
illustrates the same basic principle. The oil on a duck’s feathers repels water and
prevents the bird from getting soaked in the rain. Naturally oily feathers also help
keep a bird dry as it swims.
Chemistry is just one way to repel water in nature. Structure, or the shape of things,
is another. To excel at water repellency, the lotus leaf relies on both.
Unlike water lilies, the lotus holds its leaves and flowers high above a pond’s surface.
Still, each lotus is amply prepared to fend off a drenching. The waxy surface of the
leaves helps repel water chemically. But very tiny surface bumps also afford each leaf
physical protection. The closely spaced bumps are far smaller than the width of most
water droplets. Together, these bumps hold water droplets above a leaf’s surface, so
that raindrops just bead up on top of them. You might picture this as something like
a person resting on a bed of tightly spaced nails.
“The leaf of the lotus is one of nature’s most water-repellent surfaces,” notes Anish
Tuteja at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. And he says, “There’s a lot we can
learn from nature.” He should know. As a materials scientist, he studies how the
structure, composition and other aspects of a material affect its properties.
By mimicking processes and structures seen in nature, but using materials created by
people, he and others are developing a new world of super-repellent surfaces.
Scientists call such surfaces omniphobic. This term combines the Latin word
for everything (omni) with the Greek word for fear (phobia). If something is
omniphobic, it “fears everything.” And that describes pretty well a surface that repels
all sorts of liquids, including water and oil.
Oil is a special challenge. No surface naturally repels it. That’s why oil spills can be
deadly for ducks and other waterfowl. If a duck’s feathers become oil-soaked, they
quickly mat. This limits the bird’s ability to swim and keep warm.
Researchers are now surpassing nature by developing oil-repellent surfaces. Some
also have created surfaces that repel oil but attract water. The latter example would
be useful in collecting the oil that forms slicks on the ocean’s surface after a spill. And
on the drawing board for some engineers: truly omniphobic surfaces. They might
help ships travel faster, using less fuel. Or they could keep windshields and glasses
from fogging up.
Here we profile three scientists who are developing super-repellent surfaces. All have
found inspiration in the living world.
So Repulsive!
By coating a wire mesh (left) with
water-repelling polymers (closeup, right), researchers can create
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surfaces that can shed liquids that stain clothes (such as coffee or ketchup) or pose
safety concerns (such as strong acids or blood). Credit: Pan et al., Journal of the
American Chemical Society (2012)
Tuteja has made many different types of omniphobic surfaces. Recently, he and his
coworkers started with a small mesh made of thin, stainless steel wires. It resembled
the screen used to protect doors and windows but was woven much more tightly. A
swatch of mesh the size of an adult’s thumbnail would have more than 1,200 tiny
square openings.
The Michigan scientists then sprayed a coating of tiny, chemical-repelling fibers onto
the mesh. Even though the coating was very thin, it was riddled with pockets of air,
because the fibers didn’t pack together tightly. Any liquid that touched the treated
surface barely touched anything solid. In that way, it was just like a lotus leaf. By
combining both chemical and physical guards for the mesh, it can now repel dozens
of liquids, from coffee to sulfuric acid.
Spill just about any liquid onto the mesh and it will neither splat nor spread out. The
drops simply bounce off. Tuteja’s team described its new treatments Dec. 23, 2012, in
the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
Such a super-repellent fabric could make stain-free clothing that keeps people not
just clean but also safe. Chemists or doctors could wear laboratory coats made from
the mesh when working with acids, blood or any other potentially dangerous liquids.
In the case of a spill, the liquid would bounce off the cloth instead of soaking into it.
Researchers have developed surfaces so
repellent that drops of liquid don’t
splatter and stick — instead they bounce
up to four times before rolling away.
Credit: Kota et al., Advanced Materials
(2012)
The Michigan researchers also recently developed a fabric that helps separate oil
from water. It might aid in removing spilled oil from lakes, rivers or oceans. The
experts again started with the same type of stainless steel mesh. Then they applied a
special chemical coating that not only repels oil but also attracts water.
This new type of filter requires no pump to operate, just gravity. Pour oil and water
over the mesh and only the water passes through, Tuteja explains. Any oil simply
beads up on its surface, from which it can be skimmed off. In laboratory tests, such a
fabric removed more than 99 percent of the oil from a sample of fouled water. The
researchers reported their success in August 2012 in the scientific journal Nature
Communications.
Researchers can create surfaces that repel droplets of
water-based solutions (dyed blue) as well as those that
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are oil-based (a chemical called hexadecane, dyed red). They do this by adding a coat
of super-repellent chemicals to tiny structures that act like a bed of nails. Credit: A.
Tuteja and W. Choi
De-Foggers
Surfaces that display a mix of behaviors can serve many purposes, says Michael
Rubner. He’s a materials scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT) in Cambridge. One advantage of such surfaces that most people would
appreciate: mirrors or other glass surfaces that resist fogging up. Fogging occurs
when warm, humid air hits a camera lens, mirror or other cool surface. Water quickly
condenses from the air and onto the surface. This forms droplets that scatter light,
creating a foggy opaqueness.
Many researchers have tried to minimize fogging by designing surfaces that attract
water droplets. Why? Super attractive surfaces should cause droplets to spread out
evenly, forming a thin layer. Light scattering is minimized when that thin sheet of
water is the same thickness everywhere, explains Rubner. Unless temperatures are
below freezing. Then water atop the surface can freeze into a blanket of frost, which
is an even worse problem. So scientists haven’t had complete success with this
approach.
The MIT group took a different approach. Its new multilayered surface attracts water
vapor but repels water droplets. Moisture in the air passes through the outer layer.
Once inside, it temporarily attaches to a humidity-capturing inner layer. Material in
this layer grabs onto water molecules one at a time — not as a group. That keeps the
individual gas molecules from combining and freezing. At the same time, the
outermost layer of this special coating repels liquid water. Raindrops or any other
large droplets that fall on this surface just roll right off.
To test the surface, Rubner’s team chilled small plates of glass for an hour at –20°
Celsius (–4° Fahrenheit). Some of the glass had been given the new coating. They left
the rest untreated. Afterward, the scientists brought the glass into a warm, humid
environment. The uncoated glass quickly fogged up and then frosted over. Glass
wearing the new coating remained clear. The team described its success online Jan.
29, 2013, in the scientific journal ACS Nano.
The fog-fighting coating has at least one drawback: It is very thin and easily
damaged, notes Rubner. So it may not work for the outside surface of a car’s
windshield, where wipers or weather could damage it. But the scientist believes it
could perform well on the inside of a windshield or on the lens of a camera or
telescope.
Full Steam Ahead!
When it comes to super-repellent coatings, some researchers are thinking big — as in
ships. Big vessels require a lot of energy to overcome friction, known as “drag,” as
they plow through water. Much of that drag comes from watery swirls, called
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vortices. These form as water flows past a ship’s hull. If scientists could reduce this
turbulence, ships could move faster, burn less fuel — or both.
One way to lower friction would be to make a layer of air stick to a ship’s hull below
the waterline, explains Charlotte Barbier. She’s a mechanical engineer at Oak Ridge
National Laboratory in Tennessee. With such an air jacket, Barbier says, “The ship
thinks it’s moving through air rather than through water.”
Her team designed a surface to physically trap air. Then they gave it a chemical
coating that repels water. In that way, the result resembled some of the superrepellent surfaces that others researchers have developed.
The Oak Ridge group tested its two-pronged approach on small disks of aluminum.
First, they carved tiny grooves into the disks. (On a large ship, such grooves would
help steer the water as it moved past the hull, helping it to flow smoothly. This would
reduce drag.) Then, the team used acid to etch even smaller structures between and
inside the surface grooves. Think of them like tiny pores in the skin on your face. By
repeatedly dipping the metal in acid, the pores grew wider. Eventually, each pore
nearly overlapped its neighbor. All that was left were tiny, needlelike bits of
aluminum separating each pore.
Now the team coated the entire pockmarked surface with a super-repellent polymer.
(Polymers are substances made of a large number of repeated chemical units. Think
of them as extremely small but very long chains of the same chemical building
blocks.)
The team tested their sample disks underwater. Using a device like a superfast record
player, it spun these disks at very high speed. (It was easier to make measurements
in a lab that way, instead of towing the pieces of metal through a pool of water.) As
predicted, the surface treatments reduced drag. Some combinations of groove depth
and pore size worked better than others, however, depending on the speed.
These data suggest that by making a surface more slippery, these treatments should
be able to cut the drag by 44 percent on an oil tanker that was 300 meters (984 feet)
long, says Barbier. Her group described its results last November at an international
meeting of mechanical engineers in Houston, Texas.
Other researchers are studying how super-repellent coatings might help solve all
sorts of problems. For instance, the coatings could reduce the amount of ice that
builds up on power lines during winter storms. The coatings could also reduce algae
that grow on ship hulls — another big source of drag. Add in other potential
applications, from stain-resistant clothing to fog-free camera lenses, and it is obvious
why the idea of super-repellent surfaces is becoming super-attractive to so many
industries.
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Cool Jobs: Finding New Uses For Nature’s Poisons
This strawberry poison dart frog is one of many
brightly colored species that have toxins in their
skin. Scientists are looking for compounds among
these natural toxins to fight pests and cure diseases.
If poison dart frogs are what they eat, then the
colorful amphibians are definitely poison.
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A toxin is a poisonous substance produced by a living thing. Certain species of plants,
fungi and animals may produce toxins. So can bacteria. (When a toxin is injected,
through a bite, sting or other means, it is called venom.) Poison dart frogs absorb
toxins from the ants, millipedes, beetles and mites that they eat. The frogs then
secrete those toxins from their skin. That protects them from getting eaten. Some of
these rainforest frogs are so toxic that just touching them can bring death.
Other organisms have evolved different types of poisons. Many of these chemicals
attack microbes, fungi, insects and other threats in ways that make it unlikely they
will become resistant to the poisons.
Scientists are finding ways to adapt compounds that frogs and other animals rely on
for protection against threats in their environment. These compounds can be put to
use fighting pests that threaten human health, the environment and the food supply.
Frog poisons, for instance, can be used to fight insects such as the mosquito. Already,
some of these natural compounds are being enlisted to guard human health and
safety.
Throughout nature, one organism’s defense can become another’s offense — and vice
versa. Here we meet some scientists who look at poisons not as a source of fear but as
a raw material for drugs and other useful chemicals. They’re investigating how to
harness toxins — Mother Nature’s chemical weapons — for the good of people and
the environment.
Turning Microbes Into Swiss Cheese
For decades, people have used drugs called antibiotics to kill bacteria that cause
disease. Many bacteria, though, have become resistant to antibiotics. As a result,
these infections are becoming much more difficult to treat. But natural compounds,
including toxins, are providing a new way to fight these microbes.
Michael Zasloff discovered one of these beneficial toxins by accident. It was the late
1980s, and Zasloff was a medical scientist at the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
in Bethesda, Md. (He now works at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.) At
NIH, he used ovaries from African clawed frogs for genetic studies. After surgery to
remove the ovaries, he placed the frogs in a tank to recover. One day it dawned on
him: Almost all of the frogs healed without infection. And it happened even though
their water teemed with germs.
The skin of these African clawed frogs
contains germ-killing chemicals that help
them heal, even when their water is not
sterile. MUFFET/WIKIMEDIA
COMMONS (CC-BY 2.0)
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Zasloff examined the frogs closely. He discovered their skin contained a group of
compounds that attacked bacteria. He named them magainins (Muh-GAYN-inz). The
name comes from the Hebrew word for shield.
Peptides are short strings of amino acids that are similar to (but usually far smaller
than) proteins. Magainins turned out to be one class of peptides withantimicrobial —
germ-killing — properties. All types of life produce these peptides. They form one of
the most basic defenses against pathogens, or disease-causing microbes.
Antimicrobial peptides kill bacteria by poking holes in their cell membrane. This is
the soft outer wall surrounding each cell. These holes break down the bacterial cell’s
ability to function. Even better: Antimicrobial peptides can also attack protozoa,
fungi and viruses.
But with bacteria, the peptides attack in a way that is very different from antibiotic
drugs. “Conventional antibiotics are like keys in a lock,” explains Zasloff. The
antibiotics fit into specific proteins — or locks — and block their function. Depending
on the antibiotic, those target proteins can be located inside a germ or on its surface.
But all it takes is a slight change in the shape of that protein “lock” for the “key” to
stop working, he says. That’s what makes it so easy for bacteria to evolve resistance
to antibiotics.
In contrast, magainins burrow through a microbe’s cell membrane. The peptides
effectively turn that membrane into Swiss cheese. To evolve resistance, a microbe
would have to alter the structure of its membrane. That type of change would be too
difficult for the microbe to easily make, says Zasloff.
Promising as it is, this new class of antibiotics is not yet ready for use in people.
That’s because some of these compounds can be very costly and too toxic.
Still, the power of antimicrobial peptides already benefits many people. Consider
nisin (NY-sin). Bacteria called Lactococcus lactis (LAK-tow-KOK-uss LAK-tiss) make
it. This toxin is not harmful to people. Indeed, some manufacturers use it to make
buttermilk and cheese. The bacteria make nisin as a poisonous defense against other
bacteria, including those that cause two potentially deadly foodborne illnesses in
people: botulism and listeria.
Today, scientists grow large batches of L. lactis. Then they extract nisin, which food
companies often add to foods (such as processed cheese) and to food packaging.
Listed on labels as E234, nisin keeps potentially deadly germs from growing on
foods.
Fighting Pests With Frogs And Mites
Antimicrobial peptides have been found in a wide variety of organisms, including
people. They act as the first line of defense against invading microbes. That’s why
these natural germ killers are common on the skin. More than 300 of these peptides
have been found on frog skins alone.
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The skin of some frogs also contains compounds called alkaloids (AL-kuh-loidz).
These are the poisons in poison dart frogs. Those alkaloids can protect a frog from
predators and kill germs.
You can’t see the toxic alkaloids on a frog's skin. Fortunately, a frog usually
advertises — with a colorful skin sporting bold patterns — when those poisons are
present. That coloring makes them easy to spot and avoid.
In fact, many animals that bear such colorful warnings are toxic in some way. For
some, it can be a venomous bite or sting. For others, it’s enough to taste bad if eaten.
Maybe you have seen a dog pick up a toad in its mouth and spit it out again. If so,
you’ve probably seen alkaloids in action. Along with frogs and toads, other animals
that use bright colors to advertise their toxicity include wasps, butterflies and even
some birds.
The deadly alkaloids lurking on the skin of poison dart frogs keep them safe. At just
2.5 centimeters (about 1 inch) in length, the frogs would make a perfect snack for
many birds, fish or mammals. But forget taking a taste. Even touching one of these
frogs can prove deadly. Scientists have identified some 900 alkaloids in the skin of
poison dart frogs.
Robert Vander Meer wanted to learn whether these alkaloids might also protect the
frogs from insect predators. As a chemical ecologist with the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) in Gainesville, Fla., Vander Meer studies the role of chemicals in
plants, animals and their environment. He focuses on red imported fire ants.
The species first entered the United States in the 1930s. It likely stowed away on
ships headed for the southern United States from Argentina. Today, this ant is one of
the world’s worst invasive species. (Lacking natural predators in its new home, an
invasive species tends to spread rapidly, often harming its ecosystem.) Red imported
fire ants are aggressive. People who live where these ants are found face a 1-in-3
chance every year of being stung, says Vander Meer. And their stings don’t just hurt.
The ant’s venom actually kills insects, turtles, snakes — even young birds. Finding
ways to control the ants is one of Vander Meer’s goals.
For a recent study, he selected 20 alkaloids from poison dart frogs. One species lives
in areas of Central America that also are home to fire ants. The alkaloids had been
isolated earlier by other scientists. This allowed Vander Meer to select only the ones
he desired.
Vander Meer and his colleagues then brought local fire ants into the lab. There they
used a bioassay to determine whether any of the alkaloids affected the ants. A
bioassay looks for the effect of compounds, such as toxins, vitamins or hormones, on
animals. (If you have ever had an allergy test, you have taken part in a bioassay.)
Here is how that test worked. First, the experts removed the plunger from a syringe
(like the one used to spritz flu vaccine into your nose) and coated its end with one of
the alkaloids. When the plunger was dry, the researchers placed a single ant inside a
glass tube that had been sealed at one end. Then they inserted the plunger into the
tube until it touched the ant’s body (usually its abdomen). The plunger fit snuggly
against the walls of the tube that prevented the ant’s escape.
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After three minutes of contact, the ant was released into a Petri dish. There, the
experts centered the ant on a piece of paper marked like a target. The circles on the
target were 2 centimeters (0.8 inch) apart. This allowed the researchers to measure
how far the ant could move in a short period. The team also repeated the test using
untreated plungers. This means that some of the tests didn’t expose the ants to any of
the alkaloids. That helped scientists learn whether it was an alkaloid, and not the
cramped conditions, that caused a specific response.
Not all alkaloids affected the ants. For instance, toxins that the frogs originally
obtained by eating fire ants had no effect. And that makes sense, explains Vander
Meer. After all, fire ants have to be resistant to their own poisons. But some other
alkaloids reduced the ability of the ants to walk for a time. Still others provoked
convulsions and ultimately killed the insects. Those alkaloids had come from frogs
that had dined on small relatives of spiders, known as mites. Now that the scientists
know the source of those compounds, future studies may not require them to use
frogs. They can go straight to the mites.
The alkaloids won’t be useful in the fight against red imported fire ants, notes Vander
Meer. The reason: They act too quickly. Effective control requires slow-acting
poisons. Such poisons, whether natural or not, can be mixed in with ant food.
Foraging ants then take the bait back to their nest. There, they will share the toxic
meal with thousands of unseen workers. In time, the whole colony can die.
But the alkaloids could play an important role against another pest — mosquitoes —
and the tropical diseases that they carry, notes Vander Meer. Some of these bloodsucking insects carry yellow fever, chikungunya, malaria and other diseases. Fabric
sheets treated with alkaloids could be hung on the walls of homes to kill mosquitoes
and protect against devastating diseases.
The trick, Vander Meer points out, is to modify the alkaloids. He and others are
working to do that. Without changes, the alkaloids not only are toxic to mosquitoes
but also to people. Even slight changes, though, might greatly alter how alkaloids
work, he notes. And that may permit scientists to develop a version safe for people
but still deadly to insect pests.
Safe For People And The Environment
Although alkaloids can be hazardous to people, some peptides derived from toxins
can control pests and disease without harming us. Spider venom is one source of
such peptides, notes Natalie Saez. This molecular pharmacologist works at the
University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. A molecular pharmacologist studies
the interaction between drugs and the structures found on and inside of cells.
The venom of this Trinidad chevron tarantula
contains peptides that might be useful to fight
malaria. MICHAEL MINTER/FLICKR (CCBY-NC 2.0)
Collectively, spider venoms may contain more
than 10 million different peptides, says Saez.
Some paralyze prey. Others kill microbes.
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Together, the peptides help keep spiders healthy
by killing off infectious germs they encounter as
they slurp down meals. But those same peptides
also show the potential to boost human health.
And scientists have just begun the work of
identifying them all.
One interesting group of them blocks pain signals. One day, medicine might turn to
these as the basis of new painkillers, Saez says. Others might help maintain a steady
heartbeat in patients with irregular heart rhythms.
Large numbers of germ-killing peptides might even be harnessed to fight bacteria,
fungi and other microbes. Among them is a peptide in the venom of a spider called
the Trinidad chevron tarantula.
Malaria is caused by a protozoan parasite known as Plasmodium (Plaz-MOE-deeum). It can enter the body through a mosquito bite. It then moves into red blood
cells, where it reproduces. When the cells break open, huge numbers of new
infectious parasites spew out. Malaria’s victims now experience prolonged fevers as
the body tries to fight off the parasite invasion.
But Plasmodium needs a specific enzyme to enter a red blood cell. And the tarantula
peptide blocks this enzyme. As a medicine, that peptide could stop the infection from
spreading, Saez says. Further tests are still needed, she notes. But it appears the
peptide may be safe enough that it could be given to malaria patients, possibly even
in pill form.
Other spider-venom peptides show promise as insecticides. They one day might
protect farm crops from pests, such as caterpillars, locusts or grasshoppers. In fact,
the first pesticide based on venom peptides recently won approval for use from the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It comes from Australian funnel-web spiders.
Called Versitude, this pesticide is safe not only for people, but also for the
environment, says John Sorenson, who helped develop the insecticide. He heads the
Vestaron Corp. in Kalamazoo, Mich.
Unlike many existing pesticides, the newly approved one doesn’t harm mammals,
Sorenson says. It also breaks down quickly in the environment. He says that means it
shouldn’t cause prolonged — and unintentional — damage. Sorenson expects this to
be the first of many such natural pesticides.
So far, scientists have identified only about 1,000 spider venom peptides, Saez points
out. That means there is still much to learn about these compounds and how they
might be exploited to help people.
If alkaloids, peptides and other natural compounds measure up to their potential,
these compounds could start replacing existing antibiotics and pesticides. Though
born from compounds that harm and sometimes kill, these products could end up
helping people and even saving lives. That's why a whole cadre of scientists are now
looking to turn such poisons into life savers.
Helping Words
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alkaloid
A type of naturally occurring chemical with many
nitrogen atoms in its structure. Alkaloids are often
produced by plants, and they can have many effects on
the body and brain. Examples include drugs such as
cocaine and morphine.
allergy
The inappropriate reaction by the body’s immune system
to a normally harmless substance. Untreated, a
particularly severe reaction can lead to death.
antimicrobial
A substance used to kill or inhibit the growth of microbes.
This includes naturally derived chemicals, such as many
antibiotic medicines. It also includes synthetic chemical
products, such as triclosan and triclocarban.
Manufacturers have added some antimicrobials —
especially triclosan — to a range of sponges, soaps and
other household products to deter the growth of germs.
antimicrobial peptide A short chain of amino acids that attacks the cell
membrane of microbes. Antimicrobial peptides are
produced by almost all organisms, from bacteria to
people.
bioassay
A test that measures the potency or the concentration of a
substance on living cells or tissue. An allergy test that
measures the effect of different allergens is an example.
botulism
A potentially lethal paralyzing disease caused by a toxin
made by bacteria (usually Clostridium botulinum). It is
usually triggered by eating food contaminated with the
microbe’s “botulinum toxin.”
chemical ecology
The study of how plants and animals use chemicals and
chemical signals in their interactions with each other and
their environment. Scientists who work in this field are
called chemical ecologists.
fire ant
A tropical American ant that has a painful and sometimes
poisonous sting.
(also known as aliens) A species that is found living, and
often thriving, in an ecosystem other than the one in
which it evolved. Some invasive species were deliberately
introduced to an environment, such as a prized flower,
tree or shrub. Some entered an environment
unintentionally, such as a fungus whose spores traveled
between continents on the winds. Still others may have
escaped from a controlled environment, such as an
aquarium or laboratory, and begun growing in the wild.
What all of these so-called invasives have in common is
that their populations are becoming established in a new
environment, often in the absence of natural factors that
invasive species
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would control their spread. Invasive species can be plants,
animals or disease-causing pathogens. Many have the
potential to cause harm to wildlife, people or to a region’s
economy.
listeria
The bacteria responsible for a serious foodborne infection
known as listeriosis. It’s caused by eating food tainted
with the toxin produced by the bacterium Listeria
monocytogenes. This germ is particularly worrisome
because it’s common and grows well at the temperatures
inside a refrigerator.
magainins
A family of natural peptides with germ-fighting
properties. They tend to be common in the skin and
mouths (and sometimes other organs) of many animals.
nisin
A defensive poison produced by
certain Lactococcus bacteria to kill certain other microbes
in their environment. Food manufacturers have
harnessed this natural germ-warfare agent to also kill off
certain harmful bacteria that frequently infect foods.
pharmacology
The study of how chemicals work in the body, often as a
way to design new drugs to treat disease.
yellow fever
A disease that creates flu-like symptoms that can start
with fever, chills, headache, backache and vomiting.
Roughly 15 percent of patients may go on to develop more
serious disease. This can lead to uncontrolled bleeding,
the failure of multiple internal organs — and death.
When Every Face Is A Stranger’s Face
prosopagnosia, also known as face blindness.
Imagine watching a movie and not recognizing the characters from one scene to the
next. Or not recognizing your friend after she gets her hair cut. Or struggling to know
your family’s faces — even your own.
Many people grapple with these problems every day. Such people suffer from a
medical condition known as prosopagnosia (Pro-so-pag-NO-shuh). Most people
simply know it as face blindness. To be clear, affected people can see faces. And
they’re not actually blind. They simply don’t recognize faces the way most people do.
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You can experience what it’s like by looking at upside-down photos of celebrity faces.
All the features are there: eyes, nose, mouth. But our brains can’t make immediate
sense of those features the way they do when we view the photos right-side up.
The same thing happens in prosopagnosia. Affected people don’t see faces upsidedown, but their brains similarly lack the ability to instantly recognize faces.
People with prosopagnosia have trouble
recognizing faces, much as other people struggle to
identify faces when they are upside-down. (See
below to find out whose face this is.) PAUL
BIRD/WIKIMEDIA (CC BY 2.0)
As many as two in every 100 people may
experience face blindness, says Constantin
Rezlescu. He’s a psychologist at Harvard
University in Cambridge, Mass., who studies the
condition.
Researchers are just starting to understand the
disorder. They’re learning which areas of the brain
are involved and studying what triggers it. Some
therapists are even helping people cope. They’re
offering alternative ways to identify people, and
even therapy to improve face recognition.
Room Full Of Strangers
Stop for a moment to imagine what it would be like to live with face blindness. When
you look at John’s face, you can’t distinguish it from Joe’s. To identify them, you have
to rely on other hints — hairstyle or color, height and weight, clothing or the way
people walk. If you’re in a crowd, you might not even recognize your close friends. No
matter where you go or who you are with, it’s as though you’re in a room full of
strangers.
Some people are born with this condition. Others develop it after a brain injury,
specifically one that damages the right temporal lobe. This brain area runs along the
side of the head, just above the ear. It’s where the brain interprets what we see,
letting us identify objects, including faces.
Some people with face blindness also have trouble identifying other objects — a
specific house or car, for example. But many struggle only with faces. That suggests
that the brain reserves a specialized pathway just to perform this task.
Rezlescu designed an experiment to test that. He
asked people to look at “greebles.” These are
meaningless, computer-generated objects.
They’re meant to challenge the brain in a way
similar to seeing a face, he explains.
Greebles are made-up shapes. Scientists thought
they might stimulate the same part of the brain
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that is used to recognize faces. MICHAEL J. TARR/CNBC/CMU (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0)
The greebles in his study were grouped into families based on their overall shapes.
Within each family, individual greebles differed from each other in small ways. This
mimicked the way people within a family look more similar to each other than they
do to unrelated people.
Rezlescu and his team worked with two people who had become face blind after
suffering a brain injury. Another group of control subjects — people of similar age
who were not face blind — also took part in the tests. The researchers showed each
person a set of greebles, then evaluated how easily he or she could identify
individuals among these made-up objects. They also asked each person to take a
similar test, this time using photos of real faces.
As expected, the control participants had no trouble learning to identify faces. The
two people with face blindness did. But everyone — including the two face-blind
people — learned to identify greebles. That was true even when these characters
looked very similar to other members of their greeble “family.”
These results offer strong evidence that the brain uses a different process to
recognize faces than to identify greebles or any other object, Rezlescu concludes.
So some damage must have occurred to the brain’s face-recognition pathways in the
two face-blind patients that he tested. But the more general pathways used to
recognize other things, including greebles, were not. Exactly what processes had
been damaged in the face-blind individuals remains a mystery.
Social Struggle
Scientists have known about the kind of face blindness caused by brain injury for
more than a century. It can happen when the brain cells used to identify faces are
damaged. This might happen as the result of some accident, a stroke or carbonmonoxide poisoning. Suddenly, the person becomes unable to recognize faces — even
those he has known for her entire life.
The face blindness that someone is born with —called developmental prosopagnosia
— is a more recent discovery. But scientists are learning that this is actually the more
common form.
The developmental type involves no damage to the brain, he notes. Instead, as a baby
develops, its brain fails to build the pathways that should link up with the region
needed to recognize faces. Because they have never lived any other way, children
with this form of the condition — and even some adults — often do not realize that
they see faces differently than others do. But at some point, many prosopagnosics do
come to realize that they struggle far more than most others do to recognize people.
“Developmental prosopagnosia sometimes runs in families,” says Brad Duchaine.
He’s a psychologist at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H. Such family links
suggests there may be genes that influence this form of face blindness. But
researchers still haven’t figured out which genes those might be.
Duchaine has worked with children and adults with face blindness. They try to
compensate for their conditions by looking for other ways to recognize people, he
notes. All of us use hair, voice, and the context in which we encounter people to help
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us identify them, he notes. But face-blind people use these clues much more than
other people do. They also may rely on distinctive jewelry, the shape of a person’s
face, or the color of their skin. In fact, he says, many people with face blindness have
friends who are distinctive in some way. And that may be simply because these
people were easier to recognize as their friendships were developing.
Even so, many kids with face blindness worry about misidentifying someone. It’s
awkward, they say, to call someone by the wrong name. Flubs like this can put a
strain on relationships, especially during the teen years. Many people simply avoid
using names. Others pay close attention to what other people say to gather clues
about a newcomer’s identity. And some report skipping school and other social
events to avoid the frustration of not knowing who people are.
Improving Recognition
Life with face blindness isn’t easy, in part because so few people understand the
condition. Many people will feel snubbed and even resentful when they meet
someone with face blindness and think they are being ignored by them. Those types
of interactions can create stress with neighbors, classmates or workers.
That’s one reason researchers are working so hard to help people find ways to cope
with their face blindness. One technique involves training the brain to recognize a
small group of people that a face-blind individual may encounter daily. Over weeks to
months, people with developmental face blindness train by viewing photos of these
family members and close friends. Eventually, many show some success in
recognizing those people. Some patients even say the exercise has helped them
identify people not included in this training.
But such training doesn’t work for all people, cautions Sarah Bate. She’s a
psychologist at Bournemouth University in Poole, England. Face-recognition
training requires a large time commitment, she notes. People may spend hours
keeping up their ability to recognize faces. And that’s simply not practical for
everyone. So researchers are also helping people with face blindness learn to rely on
features other than faces to tell people apart.
There seem to be different sub-types of face blindness, says Bate. Identifying them is
the next step in Bate's research. That might help researchers work more effectively
with face-blind people, choosing the training style that might work best for each
individual.
Bate and Duchaine are also looking into another tool for boosting face recognition:
oxytocin (Ox-ee-TOW-sin). Our bodies produce this hormone when we hug or kiss
someone. It helps us feel connected to other people and plays
an important role in social situations.
This is the face shown earlier (and upside down) in the story:
Brad Pitt. Note how much easier a face is to recognize in its
upright orientation. Pitt himself experiences face blindness.
PAUL BIRD/WIKIMEDIA (CC BY 2.0)
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People without face blindness get better at recognizing others when they inhale a
dose of oxytocin. So Bate and Duchaine tried giving it to 10 people with face
blindness. Each then tried two face-identification tasks. In one, they were asked to
view and remember six faces. In the other, they had to find a target face in a group of
three photos.
The prosopagnosics improved at both tasks after inhaling oxytocin. In contrast,
inhaling a spray that lacked the hormone had no effect. But the improvement only
lasted a few hours. And, in contrast to earlier studies by others, here a control group
of people without face blindness did not improve with oxytocin.
The scientists don’t yet know why oxytocin might improve face recognition. The
hormone may directly affect the face-processing area of the brain, says Bate. Or it
may boost the emotional impact of faces. Either way, it could be another tool to help
individuals overcome their challenges.
If you don’t have face blindness, stop to think what it must be like to live with the
condition before making insensitive remarks. People with prosopagnosia find it
frustrating, for instance, when “normal” people complain about how hard it is to
keep track of people, says Rezlescu. What they live with is a severe inability to
recognize faces. It’s not periodically forgetting names or faces. While that may be
embarrassing, it’s a normal part of everyone’s life.
Can Soft Drinks Speed Aging?
Drinking 8 ounces of sweetened soda daily inflicts 1.9 extra years of aging on your
cells, a new study concludes.
Soft drinks may quench your thirst and provide an energy boost. They also can do a
lot of damage — beyond expanding your waistline. Drinking sweetened sodas daily
can speed how fast the body’s cells age, a new study indicates.
Regularly downing sugary soft drinks can boost the risk of chronic diseases,
including type 2 diabetes, heart disease and liver disease. These long-lasting
conditions have no cure. Today, three-fourths of all American healthcare dollars go
to manage such ailments. What researchers hadn’t worked out was why
overindulging in sugary drinks leads to such diseases.
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Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, or UCSF, wondered if the
link might lie with a marker of cellular aging. It’s called the telomere. Telomeres are
the repeated sequences of DNA that cap the ends of our chromosomes. Like the
plastic tips that keep shoelaces from fraying, telomeres protect our DNA from
damage, explains UCSF’s Cindy Leung. As an epidemiologist, she probes the links
between diet and health.
Telomeres shorten each time a cell divides. But “if the telomere gets too short,” she
notes, “the cell can stop dividing and die.” As such, telomere shrinkage is said to
reflect — and possibly even determine — a cell’s biological age. Studies show that
shorter telomeres also raise a person’s risk for diabetes, heart disease and some
cancers.
To scout for a link between sugary beverages and telomere length, her team combed
through a lot of health data. These came from a nationwide survey of 5,309 U.S.
adults between 1999 and 2002. (This survey has been ongoing since the early 1960s.
Over its history, it has collected health data on more than 140,000 people.) At mobile
exam centers, survey participants get their height and weight measured, give blood
samples and answer questions about their lifestyle and other behaviors. During those
interviews, each volunteer also reports everything he or she had eaten or drunk in the
past day.
From this information, Leung’s team calculated how much sugar from beverages
each volunteer had consumed. But since a one-day report doesn’t always reflect
general habits for all other days, the scientists also asked about factors that can vary
among participants. Such variables included their age, gender, what ethnic group
they belonged to, whether they were married, where they live, whether they smoke
and if they had been surveyed on a weekday or weekend. Many of these factors can
affect how well the single-day report reflects a person’s usual habits.
The other piece of information that Leung’s team needed was telomere lengths. To
measure them, they extracted DNA from each participant’s blood. Then they ran
those samples through a test, or assay. It looked for a special, repeated stretch of six
DNA building blocks, called nucleotides. This particular combo of six nucleotides is
found only in human telomeres, not in the rest of our chromosomes’ DNA.
Leung’s UCSF coworker, Elizabeth Blackburn, shared the 2009 Nobel Prize in
Medicine for discovering how chromosomes are protected by telomeres. Members of
Blackburn’s lab assayed the telomeres for the new study.
Then the researchers determined how average telomere length varied depending on
traits and behaviors such as age, race, how much someone exercised and how much
schooling they’d had. Then, taking this information into account, the scientists
homed in on the variable they wanted to study — daily intake of sweet drinks. They
looked at soft drinks sweetened with sugar, sweet non-carbonated beverages (such as
sports drinks), diet soft drinks and fruit juices.
After crunching the numbers, “drinking an 8-ounce serving of soda was associated
with 1.9 additional years of cellular aging,” Leung told Science News for Students.
That means people who guzzle a 20-ounce bottle of some sugary soft drink daily are
inflicting roughly 4.6 additional years of biological wear and tear on their cells. About
one-fifth of study participants reported drinking at least 20 ounces of sweetened soft
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drinks each day. Leung’s team reported its findings October 16 in the American
Journal of Public Health.
Complicating The Picture
Tim Spector expressed caution about interpreting the findings. He’s an
epidemiologist at King’s College London, in England. His team found shorter
telomeres in women who were obese or who smoked cigarettes. “Telomeres are
affected by so many things — social class, smoking, diet, race, gender, the speed at
which your blood cells divide. Nearly everything has a small effect,” he says. That’s
what makes these studies “very tough.”
In a 2008 study, for instance, Blackburn and her coworkers reported that good
habits can lengthen telomeres. They studied a three-month regimen in people. It
consisted of eating healthy, getting regular exercise, not smoking, getting social
support and managing stress.
Looking at the UCSF study, Spector wondered why drinking fruit juice showed no
link to shorter telomeres. Drinking sugary soft drinks did. “Fruit juice is high in
fructose, as are sugar-sweetened beverages. Both are chemically similar,” he notes.
One possible explanation: Maybe people who drink fruit juice differ in other ways
from those who prefer sugary soft drinks. These differences could include cultural
habits, education, income or overall diet choices. Those factors might explain the
groups’ telomere differences, he says. Another possibility: “Maybe you can rescue
drinking lots of Coke with the fiber in fruit juice,” Spector speculates.
Or perhaps the study didn’t detect a telomere effect with fruit juice because
participants simply didn’t drink enough of it, compared with sugary soft drinks.
Participants downed, on average, about 12 ounces of sugary sodas per day, but only 4
ounces of juice and other non-carbonated sugary drinks. Even though all these
drinks are similarly sugary, Leung explains, “we think maybe there was a threshold
effect.” What she means: No effect may appear until someone has drunk a certain
amount.
Right now, sports drinks and energy drinks are on the rise, particularly among teens
and young adults. That is why Leung suspects that “if we were to repeat the study
today, we would expect to see the same association (with shorter telomeres) that we
found with sugary sodas, in all these other sugary drinks.”
Not-So-Sweet Science
On November 10, other UCSF health scientists — along with researchers at the
University of California, Davis, and Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta,
Ga. — launched a new website called SugarScience. A 12-member team of researchers
reviewed some 8,000 scientific papers on the health effects of added sugar. The new
website summarizes what the team learned.
Among its key findings: The average American consumes 82 grams (19.5 teaspoons)
of sugar each day. The American Heart Association recommends no more than 9
teaspoons a day for men and no more than 6 teaspoons a day for women and
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children. A typical 12-ounce sugary soft drink contains 46.2 grams (11 teaspoons) of
sugar.
What’s more, manufacturers add sugar to 74 percent of the packaged foods sold in
grocery stores, the studies showed. “So, even if you skip dessert, you may still be
consuming more added sugar than is recommended,” the researchers conclude.
These and other “added” sugars — those not present naturally in the fruits, grains or
other constituents of foods — really add up. On average, the website notes, today’s
“Americans consume 66 pounds [30 kilograms] of added sugar each year.”
Readers can submit questions to the website’s team of experts. Some visitors already
have asked how to cut back on sugar and how quickly they might see health benefits
if they do.
Teen Friendships May Make For Healthier Adults
Following the crowd may not always be in a person’s best interest. But new research
suggests that teens who go along with their friends may end up healthier as adults.
Scientists have known that close friendships help boost health. Lonely people
are more likely to get sick. That’s true for both teens and adults. And people who do
their own thing, instead of giving in to peer pressure, may experience unpleasant
emotions. Those findings inspired Joseph Allen and his team to look at teen
behavior. Allen is a psychologist at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. His
group had suspected that experiences during teen years might influence adult health.
So they followed 171 teens, starting when the kids were just 13. They interviewed each
one every year for five years. These became the "focal" teens in the study. But they
were not the only teens interviewed. The scientists also spoke to the focal teens’
closest friends. Those friends provided additional information about the quality of
their friendships.
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Allen and his colleagues were most curious about each focal teen’s relationship with
his or her closest friend. The teens were asked about both positive and negative
aspects of that friendship. The scientists also asked the friends how likely the focal
person was to follow the crowd, go along with the friend or insist on doing his or her
own thing.
The same 171 people were interviewed again as adults, at ages 25, 26 and 27. This
time, the questions surveyed each person’s overall health. When the researchers
analyzed the data they found a strong correlation, or link, between a teen’s behavior
and adult health. Teens who had close friends grew up to be the healthier adults. The
study appeared August 19 in Psychological Science.
Whether teens held in their feelings or expressed them to a close confidant also
influenced later health. Those who held back were more likely to be sick as adults.
That supports the idea that teen relationships — having people to confide in — may
play a big role later.
What's more, the study found that teens who went along what their friends wanted,
rather than being independent, also were healthier in their twenties.
The correlations held up even after the scientists accounted for other possible
influences on health. Weight, family income and drug use were all examined. So were
mental health issues, such as anxiety and depression. And in these people, such other
factors did not explain adult health as well as teen friendships did.
Going along with the crowd may have benefits, says Allen, but there are also
drawbacks. Teens who are more independent tend to do better in school and at work.
And peer pressure may lead some kids to engage in risky behavior, such as smoking,
drinking or using drugs.
Tara Dumas is a psychologist at Canada’s Western University in London, Ontario.
She says that the study’s findings not only are interesting but also emphasize the
value of teen friendships. But she wants to know what happens when peers
encourage each other to behave in ways that are unhealthy, such as smoking or
drinking. She wonders whether those friendships still lead to healthier adults.
Dealing with such situations is an ongoing challenge, Allen acknowledges. “Handling
peer pressure is not as simple as just saying ‘no,’” he notes. “Finding the right
balance is the key. Teens shouldn’t beat themselves up for not finding this easy.”
And, he adds, “Parents need to be understanding about the pressures teens face.”
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Exercise Builds Brawn — And Brains
Got an exam coming up? Head to the gym. It won’t just tone muscle and keep you fit.
It could also rev up your memory.
Plenty of research has shown that moving the body — whether jogging, lifting
weights or even playing fitness video games — helps the mind. However, many of
those studies reported mental benefits only after participants exercised regularly for
months or years. Now there’s hope for couch potatoes: Just one 20-minute session of
simple leg exercises can give the brain a lift, a new study finds.
Its lead scientist, Audrey Duarte, works in the Memory and Aging Laboratory at the
Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. As a neuroscientist, she’s interested in
why memory starts slipping as people age. And she suspected exercise might slow
that decline. “We wanted to find simple things people can do to boost their memory,
even just a little bit,” she told Science News for Students.
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Many earlier studies had asked volunteers to really move around. They assigned
people to do various types of aerobic exercise, such as walking for an hour three
times a week. Aerobic exercise makes the heart and lungs work hard. That helps to
build muscle and improve blood flow. Duarte’s team set the bar far lower. They
assigned participants to do leg lifts — a type of resistance exercise. Such exercises
rely on the contraction of muscles to build strength in particular tissues. Leg lifts
have a second benefit: ease. “Anyone can do a 20-minute bout of moving their legs
up and down,” Duarte says.
Indeed, these leg lifts would be easy enough for grannies to do — even patients with
dementia. However, for its initial study, Duarte’s group worked with college
students. Recruiting them for research tends to be easier. The researchers didn’t
want gym rats or athletes, though. They wanted to see if a single session of leg lifts
might benefit even people who don’t exercise regularly.
Before, during and after the leg exercises, the researchers measured heart rate and
blood pressure in each of their 46 young recruits. They also took a small sample of
saliva from each. From that they could measure an enzyme called amylase. This
enzyme helps to digest starch. It also increases during times of short-term stress —
such as keeping your hand submerged in cold water or getting filmed while giving an
impromptu speech.
Research subjects in prior studies have faced those very stressors. The result?
Increased stress hormones and higher amylase levels — but better memory.
The leg lifts were performed using weights that targeted the quadricep muscles. The
weight lifted was adjusted to match each person’s maximal ability. Just 20 minutes
of leg lifts produced amylase boosts similar to those produced during short-term
stress, Duarte’s team found. (Half the participants served as the control group. They
moved their legs up and down on the same machine. Here, though, a researcher
lifted each person’s legs instead of relying on a recruit’s muscles to do it.)
Before doing lifts, each recruit viewed a series of 90 pictures. Then they went home
with the instruction to do no more exercise. Two days later, they returned to the lab
for a test. A researcher showed each person 180 photos — half from the initial set —
and then asked the subjects to indicate which ones looked familiar. The group that
had done leg lifts scored about 10 percent higher than the control group.
“What we found was on par with studies looking at how psychological stress can
benefit memory in the short term,” says Duarte. She thinks the magic happens
during the “consolidation” phase. That takes place after learning. It’s when
memories are getting laid down in the brain.
Other scientists who study exercise and brain activities find the new results
compelling. “Aerobic training has taken center stage as the type of exercise for
improving brain health,” says Teresa Liu-Ambrose. She’s a cognitive scientist at the
University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. She notes, however, that
“resistance training is emerging as an equally good option… and you can reap the
benefits quite quickly.”
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Eelco van Dongen is a neuroscientist at Radboud University in Nijmegen, the
Netherlands. He finds the new paper “very impressive.” To his knowledge, it’s the
first time researchers have shown that a single round of resistance training can boost
memory.
The regimen’s simplicity “will make it easier to apply in daily life or to use with
people suffering memory problems,” van Dongen says. He is currently running a
similar study with young adults in the Netherlands. It will test if memory can
improve with a single session of interval training on a stationary bike. That’s a type
of workout with alternating periods of high- and low-intensity exercise. His study has
recruited people who already had been exercising regularly.
In the future, Duarte’s team plans to test if the leg regimen can improve brain power
in older people. The group also would like to check if the benefits last longer than 48
hours — and if doing the exercises several times a week might yield a bigger boost.
Ten Brilliant Uses For Banana Peels
1. Grill A Juicier Piece Of Chicken
You're a grill master...except when it comes to skinless chicken breasts.
They're so lean that they dry out faster than you can flip them. Next time,
place a banana peel on top of each breast while cooking. The peel will create a
barrier that acts like skin, helping the meat retain its natural juices.
2. Make A Natural Fruit-Fly Trap
Even though the oranges and apples in your fruit bowl are nowhere near
expiration, you often find little flies buzzing around your kitchen. Catch the
pests once and for all by crafting a trap. First gather a large yogurt container, a
banana peel, a hammer, and a small nail. Using the nail and hammer, poke
holes in the lid of the yogurt container. Place the banana peel inside, snap on
the lid, and leave it where the flies tend to gather. The sweet smell of banana
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will attract the fruit flies, leading them to crawl inside—but they won't be able
to fly back out through the tiny holes. Dispose of the trap after a day or when
most of the flies have been caught.
3. Stop A Scratched CD Or DVD From Skipping
If your favorite disc just won't play smoothly, fix it with a banana peel. To do:
Rub the back of the disc in a gentle circular motion with the inside of the peel.
Wipe off any residue with a soft cloth, then lightly spray the disc with glass
cleaner and buff it until it looks clean. The wax in the peel will fill in scratches
without harming the plastic finish, so the disc can play sans skips.
4. Rid Your Garden Of Aphids For Good
After noticing some insect damage in your garden, you decide that it's time to
nip the problem in the bud. Just cut up two or three banana peels, then dig a
1-inch-deep hole in the ground at the base of your plants and place the peels
inside. Aphids and ants find the high potassium concentration in banana peels
unappealing, so this little trick will make the pesky bugs retreat.
5. Swiftly Lift Ink Stains From Skin
Thanks to an exploded pen, you've got ink-covered hands—and soap and
water aren't doing the trick. To the rescue: banana peels! Rub the white side
onto the discolored areas and watch the stains disappear. The natural oils in
the peel will attract the oils in the ink, weakening the pigment's bond with the
skin for easy removal.
6. Soothe An Itchy Bug Bite—Stat!
Summer is coming to a close, but it seems the mosquitoes have yet to get the
memo—the critters are still biting you. For fast, chemical-free relief from an
itchy bite, rub the inside of a banana peel against the inflamed area. The peels
are full of polysaccharides, which will seep into skin cells to halt swelling and
inflammation within minutes.
7. Whiten Teeth On The Cheap
No need to spend a fortune on professional whitening strips—let banana peels
do the job instead. Simply rub the inner white side of a peel against your
freshly brushed teeth for about 2 minutes every day. The combination of
plaque-busting, astringent salicylic acid and gently bleaching citric acid in
banana peels will effectively lighten surface stains on teeth without wearing
down the enamel. With this trick, you'll have bright pearly whites within a
week!
8. Buff Away Scuffs On Leather Shoes
Last year's sling-backs are still in great condition, except for a few scuffs on
the toes. The natural fix: Lightly rub the spots with the white side of a banana
peel, then wipe with a clean cloth. The peel's potassium (a key ingredient in
leather polish) will be absorbed into the leather and diminish the marks,
leaving your shoes looking brand-new.
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9. Perk Up Dull, Dreary Houseplants
If your potted ferns, cacti, and spider plants look like they need a little pickme-up, give them a quick rubdown with the white side of a banana peel. The
skin's rough texture will gently buff away dust, while its natural oils will add a
nice polished sheen. Bonus: banana peels contain nutrients like potassium
that feed plants to keep them healthy and flourishing.
10. Remove A Splinter Painlessly
Make removal of a tiny wood sliver a cinch with this trick: Tape a piece of
banana peel, white side down, over the wound and leave it on for 30 minutes.
The enzymes in the peel will seep into the skin and encourage the splinter to
move toward the surface for easy plucking. The result: a tear-free extraction.
GEOGRAPHY
The Paradox of Undernourishment
People shouldn’t go hungry.
Not because of someone’s hopeful wish, but because the world produces enough
calories to go around. Each day, farmers grow 2,800 calories per person on the
planet, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). That’s
enough to surpass the recommended intake of 2,100 daily calories per person—and
enough to support a population inching toward nine billion, and then ten billion.
So why do 805 million people still have too little to eat? To start with, it’s important
to understand the difference between hunger and undernourishment.
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People all over the world go hungry, even for just a few hours, when they don’t have
enough to eat. Hunger is a physical condition marked by stomach pangs and general
fatigue. Undernourishment is a more chronic condition than hunger.
Undernourishment affects communities, and even entire countries and regions.
Measuring Undernourishment
Each year, the FAO measures undernourishment around the world. “What we try to
do is come up with a comprehensive picture of food insecurity,” says FAO economist
Josef Schmidhuber. The process is never simple. In countries most at need,
development agencies find it hard to get food in and data out. Food often doesn’t get
to the people who need it. Some of these people are isolated in rural communities,
while others live in politically unstable countries or areas ravaged by natural
disasters.
Africa has the highest rate of undernourishment. In the Central African Republic,
where 38percent of people are undernourished, an ongoing civil war has led to
widespread displacement, which leads to disruptions in the food supply and
distribution. The culprit in Zambia (48 percent undernourished) is infrastructure:
Less than 20 percent of the population has access to a durable road.
Asia has the most undernourished people. According to FAO researchers, parts of
Africa and Asia are plagued by a lack of income, poor agricultural development and
few social safety nets. North Korea may be the best example of a country with a
political climate that limits trade and food aid.
No country has it worse than Haiti, however. Even though the Western Hemisphere
has almost uniformly reduced undernourishment over the past 20 years, the island
nation has been relentlessly attacked by natural hazards and political instability. An
earthquake in 2010, followed by several hurricanes in 2012 and a drought in 2014
have limited Haiti’s capacity to nourish its population.
There is some good news: Since 1990, the overall number of undernourished people
around the world has gone down—that means 209 million fewer undernourished
people.
Solving World Undernourishment
Ultimately, solving world undernourishment comes with diminishing returns. The
more progress you make, the more challenging the remaining work becomes. As
places like sub-Saharan Africa increase their production of food staples, they then
need to focus on distributing it to the people who need it most. Many regions lack
infrastructure such as roads and bridges that can accommodate trucks carrying food.
So, someone looking to alleviate world hunger doesn’t only need to focus on food, but
on building roads and more secure buildings. Stable governments can help ensure
fewer people go hungry. And when a country’s economy grows, almost everyone is
better off.
Source: http://education.nationalgeographic.org/news/paradoxundernourishment/
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Roots of Sustainability
New discoveries and technological breakthroughs are made every year. Yet, as the
information sector moves forward, many people in society are looking back to their
roots in terms of the way they eat. A “locavore” movement has emerged in the United
States. The locavore movement supports eating foods grown locally and sustainably,
rather than pre-packaged foods shipped from other parts of the world.
Experts debate the merits and consequences of eating local, as well as the trend’s
staying power. Erin Barnett is the director of Local Harvest, a company that aims to
help connect people to farms in their area. By eating local, she argues, people have a
better, more personal understanding of the impact their food consumption has on
the rest of the world. “There is a way of connecting the dots, where eating locally is an
act that . . . tightens our awareness around our sense of place,” says Barnett.
Agriculture in the U.S.
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The United States’ agricultural output is one of the highest in the world, says
Timothy Beach, a professor of geography and geoscience at Georgetown University in
Washington, D.C. “There’s just no other place on Earth where the amount of input is
so productive,” Beach says of American agriculture. “Nobody can cut off a food we
need.”
However, the U.S. food system is not sustainable because of its dependency on fossil
fuels, says Beach. Equipment used on “tremendously productive” farms is quickly
depleting the Earth’s natural resources, particularly petroleum. Additionally,
production of agricultural supplements such as fertilizer uses large amounts of
energy.
The world has used close to half of the global petroleum supply, he says, and the
second half will be depleted at an even faster rate because of growing population and
economic development. There is “no way on Earth we are using [fossil fuels]
sustainably,” he says. Although many businesses are experimenting with wind, solar,
and biofuel, Beach says there is no substitute for petroleum. “There’s nothing that we
see on the horizon that can replace it,” he says.
A Shift Toward Sustainability
Louise Keckler, a farmer, believes the push for sustainability should not come from
politicians, but from farmers. Keckler and her husband, Gregg, own Orchard Country
Produce, a farm in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. The farm provides food for
community-supported agriculture (CSA), a network that brings fresh produce from
local farms to consumers. As part of a CSA network, a customer regularly receives
fruits or vegetables that are in season.
Eating fresh food from local farms that practice sustainable agriculture has multiple
benefits. The nutritional value is evident, Beach says. “It’s a healthy thing
individually for Americans,” he says, citing the fact that overconsumption and
obesity are on the rise in the U.S. and in Europe.
Barnett points out that eating local—for example, by participating in a CSA—
contextualizes food. It helps educate people about the potential effects of global
warming on food production. By understanding how climate and weather patterns
affect what we eat, we realize the impact our choices have on the land around us, she
says.
“That non-anonymity, the personal-ness and the intimacy that eating local can create
in our lives, can only help us as we begin to face the climate changes,” Barnett says.
Fad, Trend, or Revolution?
There is some debate about whether eating local is a sustainable solution to an
unsustainable system. “If it’s a wedge of health and food education, then it’s
obviously a good thing,” says Beach.
He is not sure if the locavore movement is a fad or a revolution. Whatever the case,
he believes the U.S. could still feed the country without the large-input system
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currently in place. “I think we could feed ourselves on fully sustainable agriculture,”
he says. “I would call it a trend versus a fad,” says Barnett. “I think that we are in the
process of returning to a way of eating that is much more congruent with who our
species is.” Says Keckler: “I think that it’s becoming a way of life for a lot of people. It
is more about people coming back to their roots.” Keckler says the locavore
movement is also a revelation for farmers: “You don’t have to have hundreds and
hundreds of acres to make a living.”
Urban Sustainable
In fact, you don’t even need a farm. As the locavore trend becomes more popular,
people are providing their own fresh, local produce. “No matter how much space you
have,” says Kirk Wilbur, “you still have enough room to grow some food.”
Wilbur is a product developer at Urban Sustainable, a store in Washington, D.C., that
provides city residents with a place to buy seeds and farming equipment. The
demand for such products is high, he says. “The response has just been
overwhelming,” he says of the store’s first seven months in D.C. Gardening at home
is a more affordable option for those who wish to eat locally grown foods, Wilbur
says. For instance, the seeds and soil needed to grow tomato plants cost a fraction of
the price of tomatoes in the grocery store. “It’s extremely cost-effective right now,” he
says. “The biggest cost is your time.”
Source: http://education.nationalgeographic.org/news/Roots-of-sustainability/
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Sustainable Fishing
Sustainable fishing guarantees there will be populations of ocean and freshwater
wildlife for the future. Aquatic environments are home to countless species of fish
and invertebrates, most of which are consumed as food. (Others are harvested for
economic reasons, such as oysters that produce pearls used in jewelry.) Seafood is
respected all over the world, in many diverse cultures, as an important source of
protein and healthy fats. For thousands of years, people have fished to feed families
and local communities.
Demand for seafood and advances in technology have led to fishing practices that are
depleting fish and shellfish populations around the world. Fishers remove more than
77 billion kilograms (170 billion pounds) of wildlife from the sea each year. Scientists
fear that continuing to fish at this rate may soon result in a collapse of the world’s
fisheries. In order to continue relying on the ocean as an important food source,
economists and conservationists say we will need to employ sustainable fishing
practices.
Consider the example of the bluefin tuna. This fish is one of the largest and fastest on
Earth. It is known for its delicious meat, which is often enjoyed raw, as sushi.
Demand for this particular fish has resulted in very high prices at markets and has
threatened its population. Today’s spawning population of bluefin tuna is estimated
at 21 to 29 percent of its population in 1970.
Since about that time, commercial fishers have caught bluefin tuna using purse
seining and longlining. Purse seine fishing uses a net to herd fish together and then
envelop them by pulling the net’s drawstring. The net can scoop up many fish at a
time, and is typically used to catch schooling fish or those that come together to
spawn. Longlining is a type of fishing in which a very long line—up to 100 kilometers
(62 miles)—is set and dragged behind a boat.
These lines have thousands of baited hooks attached to smaller lines stretching
downward. Both purse seining and longlining are efficient fishing methods. These
techniques can catch hundreds or thousands of fish at a time.
Overfishing
Catching so many fish at a time can result in an immediate payoff for fishers. Fishing
this way consistently, however, leaves few fish of a species left in the ocean. If a fish
population is small, it cannot easily replenish itself through reproduction. Taking
wildlife from the sea faster than populations can reproduce is known as overfishing.
Purse seining, longlining, and many other types of fishing can also result in a lot of
bycatch, the capture of unintended species. Longlines intended to catch bluefin tuna,
for instance, can ensnare birds, sea turtles, and other fish such as swordfish.
Another fish species that has been overfished is Chilean seabass, sometimes called
Patagonian toothfish. In the 1990s, this fish became extremely popular in restaurants
across the United States and other countries, causing an increase in demand. The
fish is native to the South Pacific and South Atlantic Oceans, typically caught by
longline in international waters. Fishing in this area is regulated by international
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agreements, which are very difficult to enforce. Illegal fishing—in this case catching
fish in numbers high above internationally established limits—became widespread.
The number of fish caught and the average size of the fish decreased, leading to even
higher prices and greater incentive for illegal fishing.
Chilean seabass is a long-lived (up to 50 years), slow-growing fish. Smaller seabass
are likely younger, and may not have spawned yet. As fishers caught smaller seabass,
healthy replenishment of the population became unlikely.
By the early 2000s, hundreds of American chefs joined a campaign to “Take a Pass
on Chilean Sea Bass,” with the hope of giving the fishery time to recover. Today,
import of Chilean seabass into the United States is highly regulated by the National
Marine Fisheries Service, but illegal fishing continues.
Overfishing also occurs in freshwater ecosystems. The Caspian Sea, for instance, is
home to the beluga sturgeon, a large, slow-growing fish. Beluga sturgeon can grow up
to 4.5 meters (15 feet) and 1,115 kilograms (2,500 pounds). They take about 20 years
to reach maturity, at which point females release their eggs (called roe), although
they only do so every three to four years. Beluga sturgeon are best known for roe—
also known as caviar. In fact, Caspian Sea sturgeon are the source of about 90
percent of the world’s caviar. The fish are slowmoving and easy prey for fishers.
When its eggs are harvested, the fish cannot maintain their populations.
Rules regulate the caviar harvest and imports in countries worldwide, but illegal
fishing and international demand are huge threats. The fish’s population continues
to decline.
Sustainable Fishing Practices
There are ways to fish sustainably, allowing us to enjoy seafood while ensuring that
populations remain for the future. In many indigenous cultures, people have fished
sustainably for thousands of years. Today’s sustainable fishing practices reflect some
lessons learned from these cultures.
In the Philippines, the Tagbanua people have traditionally employed fishing practices
that simultaneously harvest and maintain fish populations. They continue to follow
these practices today. Tagbanuas fish for specific species only during certain times of
the year, determined by tides and the moon, allowing fish stocks to replenish
themselves. They set aside certain areas, such as coral reefs, as protected spots in
which fishing is prohibited. When they do fish, these traditional fishers primarily use
hook-and-line methods, catching only what they need to feed themselves and their
communities. A 2007 study lauded traditional Tagbanua practices as a way to
prevent injury and death to local Irrawaddy dolphins, which become entangled in
more modern fishing gear like nets and traps.
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Traditional Polynesian cultures of the South Pacific have also always relied on the
ocean’s resources. Their most common historical fishing practices were hook and
line, spearfishing, and cast nets. Hooks constructed of bone, shell, or stone were
designed to catch specific species. Fishers would also craft 2-meter (6-foot) spears.
They would dive underwater or spear fish from above, again targeting specific
animals. Cast nets were used by fishers working individually or in groups. The nets
could be cast from shore or canoes, catching groups of fish. All of these methods
targeted fish needed for fishers’ families and local communities.
Some of these sustainable fishing practices are still used today. Native Hawaiians
practice cast-net fishing and spearfishing. Modern spearfishing is practiced all over
the world, including in South America, Africa, Australia, and Asia. In many cases,
spearguns are now used to propel the spear underwater. Spearfishing is a popular
recreational activity in some areas of the United States, including Florida and
Hawaii. This fishing method is considered sustainable because it targets one fish at a
time and results in very little bycatch.
If you have ever gone fishing, chances are you used a rod and reel. Rod-and-reel
fishing is a modern version of traditional hook-and-line. Rods and reels come in
different shapes and sizes, allowing recreational and commercial fishers to target a
wide variety of fish species in both freshwater and saltwater. The different types of
rods and reels, coupled with different locations and bait, mean fishers can catch
pelagic fish like sailfish, bottom-dwellers like flounder, and freshwater species such
as catfish and trout. Rod-and-reel fishing results in less bycatch because nontargeted species can be released immediately. Additionally, only one fish is caught at
a time, preventing overfishing. For commercial fishers, rod-and-reel fishing is a more
sustainable alternative to longlining.
Another way to prevent overfishing and bycatch is to simply abstain from eating fish
and other seafood. Dr. Sylvia Earle, renowned marine scientist and National
Geographic Explorer-in- Residence, suggests people need to take a break from eating
seafood until we learn better how to maintain healthy fish and wildlife populations.
“I personally have stopped eating seafood,” she explained to National Geographic. “I
know too much. I know that every fish counts at this point. Some more than others,
but I can no longer bear the thought of eating tuna knowing in what dire straits they
currently are. If we value the ocean and the ocean’s health at all, we have to
understand that fish are critical to maintaining the integrity of ocean systems, which
in turn make the planet work.”
Fisheries Management
Many individuals, communities, and nations continue to rely on fish and other
aquatic life as a source of food and raw materials. To maintain fish stocks, we need to
reduce overfishing and bycatch through fisheries management. Managing fish
populations is no easy task. It requires cooperation at all levels of government, from
local communities to nations across the globe.
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Nations are responsible for regulating fishing in their coastal waters. In the United
States, NOAA Fisheries is responsible for fisheries management in waters 5-321
kilometers (3-200 miles) from land. Local municipalities manage the ocean closer to
shore.
Of course, different stakeholders have different perspectives on fishing regulations.
Fishers themselves are interested in both maintaining their livelihoods and ensuring
that fish populations remain for years to come. Conservationists work to protect
marine and freshwater environments, often seeking to prevent fishing and other
activities that remove wildlife from their habitats. Regular citizens want to continue
to purchase the seafood they love to eat. Scientists focus on ensuring the health of
fresh and saltwater ecosystems.
A nation’s territorial waters do not encompass much of the huge ocean. The majority
of Earth’s waters are the “high seas”—international areas that do not belong to one
particular nation. Regulating fishing in international waters is tricky; it requires
nations with competing agendas and economic needs to agree on management
approaches.
There are many international agreements in place, however. There are 17 Regional
Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs), composed of nations that share
economic interests in a particular area. When member nations agree to RFMO
regulations, they are bound by these rules, which may include catch limits and
specifications on the types of gear used. Evidence suggests these regulations have led
to decreased bycatch (such as dolphins in tuna nets), but maintaining healthy fish
stocks has remained a challenge. Enforcing fishing regulations on the high seas is
extremely difficult, but member nations have worked to address the problem of
illegal fishing and prevent illegally caught seafood from being imported.
One organization that has demonstrated enforcement success is the North Pacific
Anadromous Fish Commission (NPAFC), which exists primarily to preserve salmon
stocks. Member nations are Canada, Japan, South Korea, Russia, and the United
States. The commission prohibits catching salmon on the high seas, which is
primarily accomplished using drift nets. Drift nets float freely in ocean currents,
usually near the sea’s surface. They are used to catch schooling fish like salmon and
sardines. Unfortunately, these nets result in a lot of bycatch, ensnaring seabirds,
marine mammals, and other non-targeted species.
The goal of fisheries management is to develop regulations based on scientific data.
These regulations may be based on knowledge of species’ life histories, migration
patterns, or other information.
Fishing for bluefin tuna, for instance, is highly regulated in the United States. Fishers
may only catch this species with a rod and reel or hand-thrown harpoon. This
regulation ensures they may only catch one fish at a time. To be taken from the
ocean, a fish must measure at least 185 centimeters (73 inches). The goal of this rule
is to give fish a chance to spawn before being caught. In addition, only a certain
tonnage of fish may be caught each year. Once that quota is reached, the fishery is
closed for the season. Rules like these take into consideration a fish species’ biology
and natural history in order to maintain populations for the future.
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Consumers
As consumers, we can choose seafood from well-managed, sustainable fisheries. To
do so, we should educate ourselves about where our fish comes from and how it is
caught. Resources such as the Seafood Decision Guide can help us make the best
choices for our ocean’s future.
The remaining struggle is that policymakers must consider the needs of consumers,
the livelihoods of fishers, and the data of scientists as they look ahead.
Source: http://education.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/sustainablefishing/
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Xeriscaping
Xeriscaping is the practice of designing landscapes to reduce or eliminate the need
for irrigation. This means xeriscaped landscapes need little or no water beyond what
the natural climate provides.
Xeriscaping has been embraced in dry regions of the western United States.
Prolonged droughts have led water to be regarded as a limited and expensive
resource. Denver, Colorado, was one of the first urban areas to support xeriscaping.
That city’s water department encouraged residents to use less of the city's drinkable
water for their lawns and gardens.
Xeriscaping has become widely popular in some areas because of its environmental
and financial benefits. The most important environmental aspect of xeriscaping is
choosing vegetation that is appropriate for the climate. Vegetation that thrives with
little added irrigation is called drought-tolerant vegetation. Xeriscaping often means
replacing grassy lawns with soil, rocks, mulch, and drought-tolerant native plant
species. Trees such as myrtles and flowers such as daffodils are drought-tolerant
plants.
Plants that have especially adapted to arid climates are called xerophytes. In desert
areas like Phoenix, Arizona, xeriscaping allows gardeners to plant native xerophytes
such as ocotillo. Supporters of xeriscaping say it can reduce water use by 50 or 75
percent. This saves water and money. In Novato, California, residents were offered
conservation incentives (reductions in their water bills) to convert from traditional
lawns to xeriscaping. The city’s water department estimated that the houses that
chose xeriscaping saved 120 gallons of water a day.
Another main component of xeriscaping is installing efficient irrigation methods.
Drips and soaker hoses direct water directly to the base of the plant and prevent the
water evaporation that sprinklers allow. More efficient irrigation is also achieved
when types of plants with similar water needs are grouped together. A xeriscaped
landscape needs less maintenance than an area landscaped with grass and waterintensive plants.
Drought-Tolerant Plants
The most common example of a xeriscape-friendly plant is the cactus, which has
hundreds of different species that are native to North and South America. Cacti have
evolved many physical adaptations that conserve water. For example, their prickly
spines, the cactus version of leaves, protect the plants from water-seeking animals.
Their large, round stems have thickened to store large amounts of water. Their waxy
skin reduces water lost to evaporation.
Cacti are far from the only plants appropriate for xeriscaping. Other droughtresistant plants include agave, juniper, and lavender. Many herbs and spices are used
in xeriscaping, such as thyme, sage, and oregano. Some plants used for food are
drought-resistant, such as black walnuts, Jerusalem artichokes, and sapodilla, a
sweet fruit native to Mexico.
Source: http://education.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/xeriscaping/
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What It Will Take to Stop Wildlife Trafficking
Nat Geo sits down with conservation biologist Juliana Machado Ferreira. Illegal
wildlife trade—the trafficking of wild plants, animals, and the products derived from
them—is a multibillion-dollar global industry. The World Wildlife Fund even ranks it
as the second-biggest contributor to species loss (after habitat destruction). This
illegal trade is a huge issue facing the Amazon River region, where National
Geographic Emerging Explorer Juliana Machado Ferreira and her colleagues at
Freeland Brasil are helping authorities crack down on poaching and wildlife
trafficking. We caught up with Juliana to learn more about what’s fueling illegal
wildlife trade and why she’s optimistic about a turnaround.
Illegal wildlife trafficking is a global issue, but why is it particularly important for the
Amazon basin?
Illegal wildlife trafficking is one of the biggest threats to biodiversity. It’s essentially
mining biodiversity. But because it’s an illicit activity, it’s very difficult to estimate
the scale of wildlife trafficking. The only estimate we have suggests that all the
different types of wildlife trafficking, combined, withdraws 38 million animals—
without counting fish or invertebrates every year in Brazil alone. But this is a
conservative estimate. The consumer markets for wildlife products and live animals
are huge and growing worldwide. When we consistently take from nature we disrupt
a very delicate biological balance. This affects the environment and our everyday
lives in ways that most people don’t think about.
What are some of the ways wildlife trafficking impacts people’s everyday lives that
they might not realize?
Wildlife trafficking creates the type of ripple effects that can eventually collapse the
ecosystems we rely on. For instance, imagine that we decide to withdraw from an
ecosystem beautifully singing birds to be our pets. Now imagine that these birds prey
on insects. If these birds are missing from the environment, the insect population is
going to explode, and could become a pest to nearby agriculture. Their predators are
also going to decline because their food is gone. Now imagine that these birds
disperse the seeds of the trees in this ecosystem or they’re pollinators for other
plants. With the birds gone, fewer new trees and plants will grow and the entire
ecosystem is compromised.
Also, imagine that we are withdrawing from the environment the biggest, strongest,
most beautiful birds. That means we are removing the birds with the genetic
characteristics that made them attractive in the first place. So future generations
won’t have those traits. Finally, if we are taking several birds from one species, we’re
leaving behind fewer birds to reproduce. In time, the offspring will be more inbred,
making the entire population susceptible to disease, which could even cause species
loss.
All of this can mean huge consequences for the overall ecosystem because everything
is so interrelated. This ripple effect can eventually collapse the ecosystem and affect
our agriculture, water supply, soil quality, and the resources we get.
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What Drives Illegal Wildlife Trade?
This industry is being supported because there is a consumer market. If people are
willing to buy, someone is going to be willing to harvest and then sell these wildlife
products. Most people buying the products or the animals are not aware that it’s
illegal. Also, many people are not aware why something is not legal or they don’t
understand the scale of the problem. They say, “well I’m just buying one bird,” but
they forget that it’s millions of people just buying one bird.
What are the specific challenges in dealing with wildlife trafficking in the Amazon?
Everything about the forest—its size, how difficult it is to move through, how hot and
humid it is— makes law enforcement that much harder. As well as the fact that it
crosses so many political borders. Nature doesn’t know political boundaries, and
certainly neither do poachers. So why should we work against them using political
boundaries?
Illegal logging for timber is probably the biggest challenge in the Amazon right now.
There are even estimates that most timber consumed in the south of Brazil—in the
big cities like São Paulo and Rio —comes from illegal sources in the Amazon.
Another challenge is biopiracy. The indigenous communities of the Amazon have
incredible knowledge of how to use plants and animals for medicine and cosmetics.
Industries are exploiting this knowledge to earn millions of dollars and none of it
goes toward protecting the forest or makes its way back to the communities that
supplied that knowledge in the first place.
What makes you optimistic about the future of the Amazon and curbing illegal
wildlife trade worldwide?
I have never heard as much about wildlife trafficking in the mainstream media as I
do now. Consumers are little by little becoming aware that they should be looking for
some kind of certification of origin for the products they buy. We are seeing more
products—especially timber— with some kind of certified origin, and it’s because
consumers are starting to call for it. But we still need more of this.
Also, I think that governments are finally understanding their responsibility in
addressing environmental issues. Before, if you started talking about wildlife
trafficking or illegal timber, they called you a crazy tree-hugger and no one listened.
But with climate change and this huge drought in São Paulo getting a lot of attention
in Brazil, the government is realizing that it has to act. I love that the world is
focusing on the Amazon. All of this international attention can help keep our
government honest and help us protect the forest.
Source: http://education.nationalgeographic.org/news/ask-amazon-expert-whatit-will-take-stop-wildlifetrafficking/
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Cape Wind Project
Nantucket Sound is located off the coast of Massachusetts in the Atlantic Ocean. It is
defined by Cape Cod in the north, Nantucket Island to the south, and Martha’s
Vineyard to the west. Nantucket Sound is about 48 kilometers (30 miles) by 40
kilometers (25 miles) in area. The population of the surrounding areas varies greatly
seasonally, as much as tripling in the summer months.
Horseshoe Shoal is a shallow area in Nantucket Sound located 8 kilometers (5 miles)
south of Cape Cod. Water depth in Horseshoe Shoal ranges from 15 centimeters (6
inches) to around 18 meters (60 feet). The surrounding islands of Martha’s Vineyard
and Nantucket help to buffer Horseshoe Shoal from large waves. The Horseshoe
Shoal area is visible from some parts of Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket
Island.
Assessment
The primary industry in the Nantucket Sound area is tourism. The area is known for
its mild summer weather, scenic attractions, beautiful beaches, and outdoor
recreation opportunities. Fishing is a popular pastime as well as a commercial
occupation. The land areas around Nantucket Sound are largely summer tourist
destinations, and a number of celebrities and wealthy families have second homes
there. Cape Cod has more than 885 kilometers (550 miles) of coastline, and offers
more than 60 public beaches that are popular with tourists. The island of Martha’s
Vineyard has a small year-round population, but it is best known as a relaxing
summer retreat for the rich and famous. More than half of the homes on the island
are only occupied during the summer. The island is not accessible by land, and the
cost of living is about 60% higher than on the nearby mainland.
Nantucket Sound is uniquely situated to combine both northern and southern
wildlife ranges. Both the cool Labrador Current and the warm Gulf Stream flow
through the Sound. Because of this, the Sound is home to a large diversity of marine
species, including a number of endangered species. Some endangered species living
in the area include humpback whales, North Atlantic right whales, loggerhead
turtles, and leatherback turtles.
Conflict
In November 2001, developers proposed the Cape Wind project, which would locate
a largescale wind farm on Horseshoe Shoal in Nantucket Sound. Cape Wind would
be the first offshore wind farm in the United States. The project would include 130
wind turbines spaced over almost 65 square kilometers (25 square miles). Cape Wind
would have a maximum electrical output of 468 megawatts, with an average output
of 174 megawatts. Electricity from the wind farm would be carried to the mainland
through underwater cables.
For over ten years, the project has faced government hurdles, numerous impact
studies, and legal opposition from an action group formed to protect the Sound. The
project needed both state and federal approval because the turbines would be located
in federal waters, while the cables carrying the electricity would travel over
Massachusetts land.
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Proponents say the wind farm will increase desirable renewable energy capacity,
which can help reduce greenhouse gasses affecting global climate change. They also
believe the project can help Massachusetts keep up with energy demands. They
describe Nantucket Sound as the best available location for the project because of a
combination of strong, less turbulent winds, shallow waters, and low wave heights.
While most people agree that the United States should develop additional sources of
wind energy, those opposing the Cape Wind project insist that Nantucket Sound is
not the place to build such a large project. Opponents argue that the project is too
large and will be unsightly, negatively affecting tourism and property values.
Opponents have also raised both wildlife and historical conservation issues. A
significant unknown issue is the cost of the project, if and by whom the project will
be subsidized, and the ultimate cost to the consumer. Opponents argue that the
higher-priced electricity from the wind farm will raise prices for electricity in the
region. Advocates for the project insist that any increased costs to consumers would
be minimal.
The difficulties with getting the project approved have moved into the political arena.
Among the opponents of the project were the former Senator Ted Kennedy and
former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, as well as other politicians from the
area. Kennedy cited environmental and economic concerns about the project.
Romney pointed to the environment and the legacy of Nantucket as his reasons for
opposing the project. Some advocates for the wind farm have suggested that political
pressures held up key permits and approvals on both the state and federal levels.
Even after gaining the last of the necessary permits and approval from the federal
level in 2010, the Cape Wind project still faced legal challenges from groups ranging
from environmental groups to nearby towns to the Wampanoag Tribe.
Stakeholders
Energy Management, Inc.: Energy Management, Inc. is the developer of the Cape
Wind project. The company first proposed the project in 2001, and company
spokespeople estimate that over $50 million has been spent on the project, even
before actual development has begun. After years of investment and delays, Energy
Management, Inc. would like to get started installing the turbines and making the
system operational.
Electric Utility Companies: In order for the project to be feasible, Cape Wind has to
have buyers for the electricity it expects to generate. National Grid agreed to buy half
of the wind farm’s electricity and, in 2012, Northeast Utilities and NStar contracted
to buy another quarter of the projected supply.
Wampanoag Tribe: The Native American tribe’s ancestors once lived on land now
covered by the waters of Nantucket Sound, and the tribe claims the area should be
protected as sacred land. They also maintain that the area is in the path of sunrise
rituals important to the tribe. The tribe would like to see the Cape Wind project
blocked before it disturbs their ancestral lands.
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Permanent Residents: Year-round residents of the areas surrounding Nantucket
Sound earn most of their living from the tourism industry. Some residents are
concerned that the visibility of the wind turbines will negatively affect tourism.
Others believe that they will have little, or even a positive, effect on the industry.
Residents are also split on costs. Some believe that the wind farm will result in lower
electric costs, while others believe it will result in higher costs. A December 2009 poll
by the University of Delaware found that 57% of Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and
Nantucket residents supported the Cape Wind project, though public opinion about
the project has varied throughout the more than 10-year process.
Vacation Home Owners: Many vacation home owners are concerned about the
impact the wind turbines will have on the scenic environment of the Sound, and they
seek to preserve the beautiful landscape of the area. They are also concerned that the
wind farm will drive property values down. One owner of a vacation home on
Martha’s Vineyard even filed suit to stop the project based on the “adverse effects”
the project would have on his views and property values. The suit was denied by the
State Department of Justice in 2012. Former U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy, whose
family property in Hyannis Port would overlook Cape Wind, was vocal in his
opposition to the project.
Federal Government: Since taking office, President Obama has been an advocate for
renewable energy, including wind energy. The administration has advocated for the
use of offshore areas and federal lands for generating renewable energy. In 2010,
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar gave the final necessary federal approval to the Cape
Wind project.
Wildlife Conservationists: Wildlife conservation groups are split on their opinions of
the Cape Wind project. Some wildlife conservation and animal rights groups oppose
the project because they fear it will negatively impact endangered species, such as the
piping plover, least tern, North Atlantic right whale, and four protected species of sea
turtles. They also fear the impact on other wildlife in the area, such as birds using the
Atlantic Flyway, of which Horseshoe Shoal is a part. The Humane Society of the
United States, the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals,
and the International Marine Mammal Project are among the groups that oppose the
project. Among the conservation groups supporting the project is the Massachusetts
Audubon Society. Although effects on bird populations are often a concern with wind
turbines, the Massachusetts Audubon Society gave their support to the project after
reviewing intensive impact studies.
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Conflict Mitigation
Throughout the more than ten-year span between the initial proposal and the final
federal approvals, numerous compromises and solutions to problems have been
incorporated into the Cape Wind project. Extensive environmental impact studies
were done in response to concerns raised by conservation groups. Cape Wind
developers agreed to mitigation and monitoring suggestions from the Massachusetts
Audubon Society to lessen the wind farm’s impact on birds. Similarly, developers
worked with state and federal officials to adjust their plans in order to get necessary
permits throughout the process. Cape Wind developers also worked with the
Department of Justice and the utility companies Northeast Utilities and NStar to
develop a contract that would allow Cape Wind to sell electricity to the utility
companies while ensuring a relatively stable price for consumers.
Conflict still remains among groups opposed to the project. Many of these conflicts
will eventually be worked out in court cases filed to halt the project on the basis of
laws such as the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the
Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.
Source: http://education.nationalgeographic.org/news/case-study-cape-windproject/
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Silk Road Threads Through History
Navigating Afghanistan’s Geography
The Silk Road was an ancient, storied network of roads, trading posts, and oases that
linked Asia and the Mediterranean basin. The modern nation of Afghanistan was a
major thoroughfare of the Silk Road. Today, the region continues to be a crossroads
for concepts of ancient and modern, East and West, geography and history.
Afghanistan is a land of rugged mountains, but its intimidating topography was
actually beneficial to ancient traders, says Dr. Fredrik Hiebert, a National Geographic
Society archaeology fellow.
“Why do you call it a crossroads of trade if there is a giant, massive, mountainous
blob right in the middle of Afghanistan?” he asks. “Well, those mountains and those
rivers are the best things to facilitate trade. Because what happened is you look at the
mountains, and you see these valleys that go up into the mountains. Those are
superhighways. You go up from the deserts, and you can go up through the
mountains. It’s easy. You don’t really have to know too much about navigation.”
Graveyard of Empires
Afghanistan sat at a strategic juncture between the empires of Asia, eastern Africa,
and southern Europe. Traders and travelers on the Silk Road could interact with the
cultures of China, India, Persia, Arabia, eastern Africa, the Maghreb, and the eastern
Mediterranean. “It is almost equidistant between the China Sea and the
Mediterranean,” Hiebert says. Afghanistan’s central location on the Silk Road helped
develop the region’s impressive wealth.
“It was kind of mythical in the past, because it was very wealthy,” Hiebert says. “They
not only had a lot of agriculture, they had a lot of animal wealth, because [the region]
is really great for herding. And they had mineral wealth.”
The wealth and cosmopolitan culture of Afghanistan’s trading outposts made them
popular sites on the Silk Road. Settlements including Tepe Fullol, Ai Khanoum,
Bamiyan, and Bagram (current site of the U.S. military’s Bagram Airfield) were
bustling stops for traders. It wasn’t only trade goods, however, that moved across
Afghanistan. Powerful ideas spread through the region. Trade, religion,
communication, and political thought all interacted on the Silk Road.
Buddhism, for instance, started in India and spread to Afghanistan before migrating
to China, Hiebert says. Bamiyan, in central Afghanistan, was a Buddhist center with
towering statues that dominated local cliffs before they were destroyed by the
Taliban in 2001.
“Those giant Buddhas were 200 to 300 feet tall,” Hiebert says. “Those were very easy
beacons for traders.” Art, too, developed diverse influences. Greek architectural style,
for instance, permeates the ruins of Ai Khanoum, an archaeological site in modern
Afghanistan’s northeast. Ai Khanoum was conquered by Alexander the Great, and
inscriptions to Greek gods such as Hermes and Heracles have been found on
artifacts.
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The same elements that made Afghanistan so attractive to ancient traders also made
it a target for conquest. “Once you have that kind of wealth,” Hiebert says, “the next
thing you know is you have all these foreign people coming onto your soil trying to
take it over.” But from the Greek forces of Alexander the Great to the British Empire
of the 19th century, Afghanistan has proved to be nearly impossible to permanently
conquer. The region’s climate and landscape have earned it the bitter nickname
“Graveyard of Empires.”
“First of all is that it is right smack dab in the center of Asia, and what that means is
the climate is continental,” Hiebert says. “Continental climate means that it is not
buffered by the ocean’s currents. So it is really cold in the winter, and it’s really hot in
the summer. It’s a pretty tough place to be.”
Historically, the region’s climate and landscape have also made it difficult for
Afghans to unify. “Because the valleys are the main sort of thoroughfares, the country
itself is kind of fractured,” Hiebert says. “There’s a lot of inter-valley competition.
There is fighting.”
New Silk Road
Despite the civil and foreign wars that have defined modern Afghanistan for more
than 30 years, Hiebert says he and other archaeologists take a longer view of history.
“There is chaos and everything like that,” he admits. “[But] it is not at all the
perspective of an archaeologist who is looking over the past 5,000 years.”
Afghanistan has the resources to thrive once the country stabilizes, Hiebert says. He
points out that one of the largest underground copper deposits in the world was just
found in Afghanistan. Afghanistan has other natural resources that may contribute to
a new Silk Road. “We like to think that the 21st century is the century where those
old networks are going to be re-established,” Hiebert says. “It’s not silk anymore. It’s
oil and gas.”
Still, the archaeologist says, it may take Afghanistan years to recover from its longrunning war and turmoil. “Let me leave you with this thought,” Hiebert says.
“Afghanistan is a tough place, but you know what? Europe was tough after World
War II. How long did it take after four years of social disruption in Europe? It took a
long time to repair and recover. How long do you think it will take Afghanistan, that
has had over 30 years of civil war? It is not going to happen overnight.”
Source: http://education.nationalgeographic.org/news/silk-road-threadsthrough-history/
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California Blackouts
Ensuring California’s Energy Future Program
California is on the western coast of the United States, bordering the Pacific Ocean.
At 401.45 square kilometers (155,779 square miles), California is the third largest
state by area in the United States. Over 37.5 million people live in California, making
it the United States’ most populous state. More than 90% of California’s population
lives in urban areas, primarily in the coastal regions where most of the state’s largest
cities are located. Three California counties are among the ten most populous U.S.
counties. California’s main industries include entertainment, tourism, agriculture,
fishing, computers, electronics, aerospace, and food packaging. Most of the industry
in the state is centered around the Los Angeles and San Francisco areas.
California has a very diverse geography, including major mountain ranges, a long
central valley region, a long coastline, and desert regions. California’s climate is
diverse as well. Most of the state experiences two seasons—the rainy season and the
dry season—although the high mountain regions can experience four distinct
seasons. The coastal region has a mild climate, with very little temperature difference
throughout the seasons. The mountain regions have colder winters, while the central
valley has hotter summers.
Assessment
Over half of electricity consumption in California is fueled by natural gas. About 14%
of electricity in the state comes from hydroelectric power, 11% comes from renewable
resources other than hydroelectric, and a small percentage is generated using nuclear
power. California generates more electricity from non-hydroelectric renewable
energy resources than any other state in the country. California also has one of the
lowest rates of per capita energy consumption in the nation, largely because of the
mild climates and energy efficiency initiatives in the most populous areas. However,
because of its large population, California still has the second highest total energy
demand in the country. To satisfy its energy needs, California imports more
electricity than any other state. Some of this imported electricity originates at
hydroelectric dams in the Pacific Northwest. Other imported electricity comes from
neighboring Southwestern states. The importation of electricity into California is
largely dependent on a few main transmission lines, such as the Pacific Intertie,
which runs from the Pacific Northwest to southern California.
The Problem
In 2000 and 2001, California suffered a series of rolling blackouts. Electric utilities in
the state had been deregulated in the 1990s. This led to higher wholesale energy costs
and serious financial problems for many of the state’s electric utilities. By the time of
the blackouts, California had not significantly invested in new power plants in a
decade, and it had been forced to import a significant portion of its electricity from
surrounding states. A drought in the Pacific Northwest significantly decreased the
amount of electricity available for import from hydroelectric power plants in the
region. This drove up the price for electricity in the market, making electric
companies in the other states reluctant to sell to California. In addition, a hotter than
usual summer led to spikes in demand that California’s system could not handle.
Rolling blackouts hit the Bay area first, then hit cities throughout northern and
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central California, and, by March 2001, the entire state. The federal government
intervened early to require electric companies to sell to California, but blackouts
continued. Factors such as problems with major transmission lines and the rupture
of a critical pipeline supplier of natural gas constrained supply during crucial times.
By 2003, emergency measures had reduced the urgency of the situation in California.
But the state has experienced other blackouts since that time, including a 2005
blackout caused by a transmission line failure. That blackout left approximately
500,000 customers without power. In September 2011, a minor short circuit during
a repair at a substation in Arizona initiated a cascading effect that resulted in
blackouts for around 1.4 million people in the San Diego area. At the time, about a
third of San Diego’s power was being supplied from Arizona, while another half of
the supply was coming from the San Onofre nuclear plant. A surge resulting from the
accident in Arizona caused all power to cut off along one of the main transmission
lines from Arizona to California, cutting off about a third of the electric supply to the
area. Electric load was redirected on to other lines, which eventually tripped off line
due to the higher demand. In this surging environment, the San Onofre Nuclear
Generation Station (SONGS) was cut off from much of the grid for safety reasons and
eventually shut down. A lack of real-time communication along the grid led to poor
decision-making. The blackout also raised new questions about the fragility of
California’s electric grid. A reliance on outside electricity traveling along a limited
number of transmission lines leaves California vulnerable to such cascading effects.
Stakeholders
California ISO: The California ISO (Independent System Operator Corporation) is a
non-profit public benefit corporation that manages the high-voltage lines that make
up 80% of the California electric grid and oversees the market for electricity in the
state. The ISO predicts energy needs, and electric companies buy and sell power
based on these projections in an open market. The ISO then manages the flow of
electricity through their high-voltage, longdistance lines. Because the ISO is
impartial and has no financial interest, it keeps the lines open to many providers of
electricity. If the available electricity drops too low, the ISO is responsible for
notifying electric companies so they can reduce the load on the system, often through
blackouts. The ISO is incorporating grid modernization technology into its control
centers to help manage the supply and demand of electricity, to make it easier for
smaller renewable energy inputs to be integrated into the system, and to increase the
reliability and efficiency of the system.
Electric Companies: California electric utility companies produce and/or buy
electricity from variety of sources both in state and out of state. This electricity often
travels along the highvoltage lines run by the ISO, as well as lower-voltage lines run
by the electric companies themselves. The electric companies serve as “middlemen,”
producing or buying electricity from wholesalers and reselling it directly to
consumers. When demand for electricity exceeds supply, the electric companies
make the decision about when and where to interrupt power to reduce the load on
the system. They often do this through rolling blackouts, whereby the electricity will
be interrupted to one segment of their customers at a time for periods usually
ranging from one to two hours. Electric companies have to deal directly with
customers upset over any loss of power. Many California electric companies are
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integrating grid modernization into their systems to give them more control over the
flow of electricity and a better ability to react quickly to spikes in demand.
Large Corporations: During unplanned or rolling blackouts, large corporations lose
productivity time. This loss of productivity time can be greater than the actual
blackout period for some industries, as large machinery takes time to come back
online after a loss of power. This can be extremely costly for businesses and industry.
Businesses and industry also have a vested interest in keeping overhead costs as low
as possible, including the cost of electricity. On one hand, grid modernization
technologies can be expensive to install, a cost that electric companies can pass on to
their customers. They can also make it possible for the companies to charge higher
rates for energy use at peak times. On the other hand, grid modernization technology
contributes to system efficiency, which can lower the overall costs of electricity. Grid
modernization technology also enables large corporations to work more closely with
electric companies to better control what areas lose power and when they lose it in
the case of an emergency.
Citizens: Blackouts can cause numerous problems for California citizens. Besides the
inconvenience of electrical loss in the home, loss of electricity can also lead to traffic
snarls, airport delays, problems with emergency services, and even difficulties with
routine tasks such as grocery shopping. Planned, rolling blackouts can lessen the
effects of some of these problems, but still cause serious inconveniences for many
people. For at-risk populations, such as the elderly, children, and people with special
needs, blackouts can be especially dangerous. Blackouts often occur during periods
of extreme cold or heat, since extra heating and cooling needs place a higher demand
on the system. Electrical loss can knock out heating and cooling systems, leaving atrisk populations vulnerable to extreme temperatures. Most California citizens want
solutions that will minimize blackouts and the cost of electricity.
Government: Blackouts disrupt regular government business in much the same way
they affect private businesses. The need to respond to emergency situations related
to the blackouts can place additional burdens on bureaucrats in state and local
governments. Significant problems can lead to an increase in legislation and
oversight. Large-scale blackouts can also result in negative political fallout for
politicians and elected officials, as citizens are upset over loss of services. Many
analysts cite the energy crisis in the early 2000s as one of the reasons Californians
voted Governor Gray Davis out of office in 2003. California’s state government has
been studying the implications of grid modernization and awarding grants for
research on the best ways to integrate the technology in California. The state
government has advised an informed, collaborative approach among all stakeholders
to improve the state’s electric grid.
Problem Mitigation
Following the 2000-2001 energy crisis in California, the state government created an
Energy Action Plan to ensure the security of California’s energy future. The plan
called for, among other things, measures such as increasing the state electricity
output through new facilities, encouraging conservation, and upgrading the grid
infrastructure. The state also imposed conservation and efficiency standards for
government buildings. In 2006, the state enacted a requirement that 20% of
California’s electricity come from renewable resources by 2010. In 2009, a new goal
of 33% by 2020 was set. In the wake of the 2011 blackout and subsequent problems
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with the San Onofre nuclear plant that caused it to shut down, analysts predicted
rolling blackouts in the summer of 2012.
To help prevent this, electric companies reached deals with the U.S. Navy to
voluntarily reduce energy use on its nearby bases if emergency conditions arise. The
utilities reached similar deals with large corporations in the area. These deals provide
a way to reduce overall energy use in the system in emergency situations without
conducting rolling blackouts. Participants receive reduced charges in exchange for
their cooperation.
Electric companies, as well as the ISO, are also beginning to introduce grid
modernization technologies into their systems. Electric companies are incorporating
smart meters, which provide more specific, real-time data than traditional meters.
Electric companies can use these data to charge more for energy during peak times
and less during non-peak times, to alert customers to those peak times, and to more
quickly identify problems. These measures can be costly up front but can save money
over the long term by greatly increasing the efficiency of the electrical system.
Efficiencies gained by grid modernization can also help California meet its strict
environmental requirements by reducing the need for energy resources.
Source: http://education.nationalgeographic.org/news/case-study-californiablackouts/
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Coriolis Effect
Winds blow across the Earth from high-pressure systems to low-pressure systems.
However, winds don’t travel in a straight line. The actual paths of winds—and of
ocean currents, which are pushed by wind—are partly a result of the Coriolis effect.
The Coriolis effect is named after Gustave Coriolis, the 19th-century French
mathematician who first explained it. The key to the Coriolis effect lies in the Earth’s
rotation. The Earth rotates faster at the Equator than it does at the poles. This is
because the Earth is wider at the Equator. A point on the Equator has farther to
travel in a day.
Let’s pretend you’re standing at the Equator and you want to throw a ball to your
friend in the middle of North America. If you throw the ball in a straight line, it will
appear to land to the right of your friend because he’s moving slower and has not
caught up.
Now let’s pretend you’re standing at the North Pole. When you throw the ball to your
friend, it will again appear to land to the right of him. But this time, it’s because he’s
moving faster than you are and has moved ahead of the ball. This apparent deflection
is the Coriolis effect. The wind is like the ball. It appears to bend to the right in the
Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere, winds appear to bend to the
left.
In the Northern Hemisphere, wind from high-pressure systems pass low-pressure
systems on the right. This causes the system to swirl counter-clockwise. Lowpressure systems usually bring storms. This means that hurricanes and other storms
swirl counter-clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere,
storms swirl clockwise.
Fast-moving objects such as airplanes and rockets are influenced by the Coriolis
effect. Pilots must take the Earth’s rotation into account when charting flights over
long distances. This means most planes are not flown in straight lines, even if the
airports are directly across the continent from each other. The line between Portland,
Maine, and Portland, Oregon, for instance, is very long, and fairly straight. However,
a plane flying from Portland, Oregon, could not fly in a straight line and land in
Portland, Maine. Flying east, the Coriolis effect seems to bend to the right, in a
southerly direction. If the Oregon pilot flew in a straight line, the plane would end up
near New York or Pennsylvania.
Military aircraft and missile-control technology must calculate the Coriolis effect for
similar reasons. The target of an air raid could be missed entirely, and innocent
people and civilian structures could be damaged.
The Earth rotates fairly slowly, compared with other planets. The slow rotation of the
Earth means the Coriolis effect is not strong enough to be seen in small movements,
such as the draining of water in a bathtub.
Jupiter, on the other hand, has the fastest rotation in the solar system. On Jupiter,
north-south winds are actually transformed into east-west winds, some traveling
more than 610 kilometers per hour (380 miles per hour). The divisions between
winds that blow mostly to the east and those that blow mostly to the west create clear
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horizontal divisions among the planet’s clouds. The boundary between these fastmoving winds can create strong, swirling storms, like the Great Red Spot.
Closer to home, you could observe the Coriolis effect if you and a friend stood on a
rotating merry-go-round and threw a ball back and forth. To you and your friend, the
ball’s path would appear to curve. Actually, the ball would be traveling in a straight
line. You and your friend would be moving out of its path while it is in the air. A third
person, standing on the ground near the merry-go-round, would be able to confirm
that the ball travels in a straight line.
Source: http://education.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/coriolis-effect/
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LANGUAGE
LIST OF 120 IDIOMS
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To eat humble pie - to admit your error and apologise
A pig in the poke - an item you purchase without having seen; a
disappointment
A flash in the pan - promising at the start but then disappointing
To pour oil on troubled waters - to make peace to calm someone down
The sword of Damocles - any imminent danger
Pyrrhic victory - a too costly victory
A wet blanket - one who spoils the fun
To bear the lion in his den - to visit and oppose a person on his own
grounds
To shed crocodile tears - insincere tears
To carry the day - to win the approval of the majority
To go up in smoke - to come to no practical result
To throw down the gauntlet - to challenge someone
Hobson’s choice - to have no choice at all
To rule the roost - to be in charge; to be master
Stock in trade - the goods, tools and other requisites of a profession
To take down a peg - to take the conceit out of a braggart
To pass the buck - to evade responsibility
To lionize a person - to make a big fuss over someone
Red letter day - day of happiness, time for rejoicing
To let sleeping dogs lie - to let well enough alone, to avoid stirring old
hostilities
One swallow does not make a summer - don't jump to conclusions based
on incomplete evidence
A bitter pill to swallow - a humiliating defeat
An ax to grind - having a selfish motive in the background
To swap horses in midstream - to change one’s mind
To cool one’s heels - to be kept waiting
A red herring - something that diverts attention from the main issue
To keep a stiff upper lip - to be courageous in the face of trouble
To spill the beans - to give away a secret
To have cold feet - to hesitate because of fear or uncertainty
To look a gift horse in the mouth - to be critical of a present
To pay the piper - to bear the consequences
On the carpet - being scolded
To show one’s hands - to reveal one’s intentions
To tilt at windmills - to fight imaginary enemies
To feather one’s nest - grow rich by taking advantage of circumstances
Fair-weather friends - unreliable friends
To sow one’s wild oats - to lead a wild, carefree life
To wear one’s heart on the sleeve - to make one’s feelings evident
To wash dirty linen in public - to openly discuss private affairs
To take the bull by the horns - to face a problem directly
The lion’s share - the major portion
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Out of the frying pan into the fire - to go from a difficult situation to a
worse one
To keep the pot boiling - to see that interest doesn't die down
To bury the hatchet - to make peace
To gild the lily - to praise extravagantly
To steal one’s thunder - to weaken one’s position by stating the argument
before that person does
To whitewash - to conceal defects, to give a falsely virtuous appearance to
something
To break the ice - to make a start by overcoming initial difficulties
In a beeline - taking the shortest route
To make bricks without straws - to attempt to do something without
having the necessary materials
To have the upper hand - to gain control
To draw in one’s horns - to check one’s anger, to restrain oneself
To put the cart before the horse - to reverse the proper order and do things
backwards
To turn the tables- to turn a situation to one’s own advantage
A chip off the old block - a son who is like the father
Under the wire - just in time
To go against the grain - to irritate
To play possum - to try to fool someone
Behind the eight ball - in trouble
Left holding the bag - to be left to suffer the blame
A lick and a promise - to do something in a hasty and superficial manner
Tongue in cheek - insincerely
To take the wind out of one’s sail - to remove someone’s advantage
Two strings to one’s bow - two means of achieving one’s aim
On tenterhooks - in a state of anxiety
The fat is in the fire - the mischief is done
Like Caesar’s wife - above suspicion
In apple pie order - a neat order, in good condition
Apple polishing - trying to gain favour by gifts or flattery
On the qui vive - on the alert
To get one’s back up - to become angry
To bring home the bacon - to earn a living
To get down a high horse - to act like an ordinary person
Dyed in the wool - set in one’s ways
To split hair - to make fine distinctions
To strike while the iron is hot - to take an action at the right time
Once in a blue moon - on a very rare occasion
To sleep on it - postpone a decision while giving it some thought
To bring down the house - to cause great enthusiasm
To pull one’s weight - to do a fair share of the work
A white elephant - a costly and useless possession
A feather’s in one’s cap - something to be proud of
Out on a limb - in a dangerous position
On the spur of the moment - an impulse without thinking
A fly in the ointment - some small thing that spoils or lessens the
enjoyment
To take French leave - to go away without permission
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87.
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From pillar to post - from one place to another
In the lap of the gods - out of one’s own hands
Ivory tower - isolated from life, not in touch with life’s problems
On the bandwagon - joining with the majority
To hit the nail on the head 0 to state or guess something correctly
To take under one’s wing - to become responsible for
Out of one’s depth - in a situation that is too difficult to handle
To take a leaf out of someone’s book - to follow the example or to imitate
Brass tacks - the real problem or situation
Lily-livered - cowardly
To pull up stakes - to quite a place
To raise Cain - to make a fuss, to cause trouble
To leave no stone unturned - to make every effort
Tongue in one’s cheek -not to be sincere
To throw the book at someone - to give the maximum punishment
In seventh heaven - the highest happiness
Off the beaten track - out of the ordinary
A square peg in a round hole - an abled man in the wrong job
To upset the apple cart - to overturn or disturb a plan or intention
To be in fine fettle - to be in high spirits
To live in a fool’s paradise - to be happy without a real basis
The sum and substance - the substantial part
On pins and needles - to be on edge
A pretty kettle of fish - a mess
To twist around one’s finger - to control completely
A bolt from the blue - a great surprise
To tell tales out of school - to reveal harmful secrets
To toe the mark - to obey or stick to a rule
To be under a cloud - to be in temporary trouble or disgrace
To flog a dead horse - to continue to make an issue of something that is
over
A cat’s paw - a person used as a tool or dupe
Coup de grace - the finishing stroke
Straight from the shoulder - in a direct, open way
To draw in one’s horns - to become cautious
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HISTORY
Emergency Is Declared In Singapore
A state of emergency was declared in Singapore on 24 June 1948, a week after it was
declared in the Federation of Malaya following a spate of violence by the Malayan
Communist Party (MCP). Though initially outlawed by the colonial authorities, the
MCP had emerged after World War II as an ally of the British owing to its role as an
anti-Japanese resistance movement during the Japanese Occupation. After the war,
the MCP started to subvert law and order through its control of trade union activism.
With the resumption of civil government on 1 April 1946, the MCP continued its
agitation against the constitutional changes introduced by the controversial Malayan
Union. Four months after failing to prevent the establishment of the Federation of
Malaya in February 1948, the MCP launched an armed insurgency under the
leadership of Chin Peng.
The communists' armed campaign reached its peak when MCP agents ambushed and
killed then British High Commissioner Henry Gurney on 6 October 1951. Thereafter,
the party’s campaign stalled as their terror tactics had alienated many people from
their cause and they were unable to establish “liberated” areas.[7] Under the forceful
leadership of Gerald Templer, who was then the high commissioner and director of
operations, government forces gained the upper hand. By 1955, the communists had
all but lost the jungle war and Chin Peng made an unsuccessful attempt to negotiate
with Tunku Abdul Rahman and David Marshall – then the chief ministers of the
Federation of Malaya and Singapore respectively – in talks held in Baling, Kedah, on
28 and 29 December that year. Both chief ministers had rejected the demands by the
communists for recognition of the MCP, immediate freedom for all terrorists should
they surrender and the right to form a new political party to propagate their ideology.
The failure of the jungle war in Malaya revived some interest in urban subversion in
Singapore, which had been spared most of the violence except in 1950–51 when the
MCP carried out a campaign of arson and murders, including an attempted
assassination on then Governor Franklin Gimson.[11] From 1955, as liberal conditions
returned prior to the Legislative Assembly general election, the MCP revived its
“united front” strategy of subverting labour, student and political bodies, including
political parties such as the People’s Action Party.[12] The party continued to take
advantage of anti-colonial nationalism, but its efforts finally failed after Singapore
merged with the Federation of Malaya to form the Federation of Malaysia in
September 1963. The merger took place more than three years after the official end
of the emergency in Malaya,[13] which had cost more than 11,000 lives,[14] on 31 July
1960.[15]
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White Paper On Bilingual Education In Chinese Schools
On 8 December 1953, the British colonial government issued a White Paper, Chinese
Schools – Bilingual Education and Increased Aid, that proposed a scheme to
implement bilingual education in Chinese schools.[1] This was part of a move to
create a common education system in Singapore where all schools would use the
same curriculum, textbooks and medium of instruction.[2]
The White Paper outlined the offer of government financial aid to Chinese schools on
the condition that their curriculum be redesigned not only to equip students with a
working knowledge of English and Chinese, but also to nurture them as loyal
citizens.[3] To be eligible for the government aid, schools were required to devote
more time to English lessons as well as to other subjects taught in English, for
example, mathematics and science.[4] In addition, schools had to submit a draft
constitution, a detailed statement of estimated income and expenditure, forms
showing the conditions of service for each staff member, and a statement of the
measures the school would undertake to introduce bilingual education.[5]Moreover,
an inspector of schools would visit at least once a term to assess the schools on their
physical conditions, administration, staff qualifications and competence, timetables,
syllabuses, textbooks, and their pupils’s standard of attainment.[6]
Chinese educators and community leaders strongly opposed the scheme for they saw
it as an attempt by the government to interfere with the autonomy of Chinese
schools, and anglicise Chinese education to the detriment of the Chinese language,
culture and identity.[7] They also felt that the $1.16 million set aside for Chinese
schools was insufficient considering the staggering $26 million that was budgeted for
education in 1954.[8] A 17-man delegation comprising representatives from the
various Chinese schools and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce was subsequently
formed in January 1954 to renegotiate the conditions of the White Paper.[9] The
delegation appealed to the government for increased and unconditional financial aid
to Chinese schools.[10] While the men managed to convince the government to raise
the grant-in-aid amount to $12 million, they were unsuccessful at repealing the
conditional aspect of the scheme.[11]
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People’s Action Party Is Formed
The People’s Action Party (PAP) was formed on 21 November 1954. The founding
members of the party comprised political activists from the three main ethnic
communities of Singapore and included personalities such as Lee Kuan Yew, Toh
Chin Chye, Goh Keng Swee, C. V. Devan Nair, S. Rajaratnam, Abdul Samad Ismail
and Fong Swee Suan.[1]They were mostly lawyers, journalists and trade unionists by
profession.[2] The inaugural meeting of the PAP was held at the Victoria Memorial
Hall, which was attended by some 1,500 people. Among them were union supporters
and key political leaders of the day such as Tunku Abdul Rahman, leader of the
United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), and Dato Sir Tan Cheng Lock, leader
of the Malayan Chinese Association (MCA).[3]
During its formative years, the main objectives of the PAP as laid out in the party’s
1954 manifesto were to seek for the independence of Singapore through merger with
the Federation of Malaya, to set up a democratic-socialist government, to create a
multi-ethnic society, and to establish a fair and just society.[4] The party’s strong
stand against corruption is reflected in its logo – the lightning symbol in red
encircled by a blue ring against a white background. The red lightning represents
action, the blue ring stands for the unity of all races, while the white background
symbolises purity and integrity.[5] The party uniform of white-on-white also signifies
the purity and the incorruptibility of its members.[6]
The first election that the PAP contested was the 1955 Legislative Assembly general
election where it won three out of the four seats it contested. Lee Kuan Yew was one
of the party’s victors after he captured the Tanjong Pagar ward with a 5,121-vote
majority.[7] In the 1959 Legislative Assembly general election, the PAP won the
mandate to form the government after it enjoyed a landslide victory by capturing 43
out of 51 seats in the Legislative Assembly. Lee, who was then the secretary-general
of the PAP, subsequently became the first prime minister of Singapore.
David Marshall Is Appointed The First Chief Minister
Singapore was granted partial internal self-government under the Rendel
Constitution in 1955. Prominent lawyer and leader of the Labour Front, David
Marshall, became the first chief minister of Singapore when the Labour FrontAlliance coalition government was formed after the first Legislative Assembly
election held in April 1955.[1] Marshall's tenure as chief minister coincided with
mounting labour and student agitation that resulted in the Hock Lee Bus riots on 12
May the following month.[2]
Pressing for an end to colonial rule, Marshall led a 13-man all-party delegation in
what became the first of three constitutional talks held in London in April 1956 to
determine the terms of full internal self-government for Singapore with the British
government.[3] The talks ended in a deadlock on 15 May over the issue of internal
security. Failing in his pledge to obtain internal self-government, Marshall resigned
as chief minister in June.[4] Lim Yew Hock, who was then the Minister for Labour
and Welfare, succeeded Marshall as chief minister.[5]
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Buy Singapore-Made Goods Campaign Is Launched
In 1956, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, together with the Singapore
Manufacturers’ Association, embarked on a “Buy Singapore Goods” campaign to
promote Singapore-made products.[1] The aims of the campaign were to change
public mindsets that domestically produced goods were inferior to imported ones,
and to support the small but growing manufacturing industry in Singapore through
encouraging people to buy locally produced goods. The eventual goal was to develop
the manufacturing sector in order to export Singapore-made products to the world.[2]
As part of the publicity efforts, the campaign organisers prepared a list of local goods
that was circulated to government agencies and the various chambers of commerce.
The organisers also held a competition to come out with a design for a label that
would be used on Singapore-manufactured goods so as to facilitate recognition of
these products.[3] The winning design came from a Miss Chung Yun Oi, who was
awarded a prize money of $250 for her entry that depicted a lion head on a map of
Singapore. The final design of a lion head on a lime-green map of Singapore, with an
accompanying tagline “Buy Singapore Products”, was printed on peacock-blue,
postage-sized stickers.[4] Manufacturers could purchase these labels at $1.50 for
1,000 pieces from the Department of Information Services located at Empress Place.
Although 20,000 labels were sold in just over a week,[5] the overall response to the
campaign was assessed as lukewarm due to the “general apathy” of the public
towards Singapore-produced goods.[6]
In 1958, the newly formed Singapore Industrial Promotion Board relaunched the
campaign. Two trade fairs were held at the Great World Amusement Park where
locally made goods were displayed alongside foreign products. Visitors to the fair
were supplied with a list of addresses to help them source for locally manufactured
goods and raw materials.[7]
In 1963, the campaign was revived under the People’s Action Party (PAP)
government[8] and continued throughout the 1970s. By then, the publicity message
had shifted from buying Singapore-made products to buying quality products made
in Singapore.[9] Government departments were urged by the Finance Ministry to give
preference to local products that met the standards or specifications of the Singapore
Institute of Standards and Industrial Research (SISIR).[10]
In May 1971, the Singapore Manufacturers’ Association, together with the Ministries
of Culture and Education, launched a five-month long “Buy Singapore-made”
campaign that culminated in an exhibition at the Singapore Conference Hall in
September. A total of 58 companies took part in the exhibition, where they
showcased locally produced electrical goods, home appliances, petroleum products
and foodstuffs.[11] Supermarkets and departmental stores also participated in the
campaign by displaying locally manufactured goods on their premises during
“Singapore-made week”, which was held in conjunction with the exhibition. The
national publicity blitz also engaged students in the form of excursions to local
factories and various competitions – essay, recipe, fashion and logo design contests –
in which locally made products were given out as prizes. Radio and Television
Singapore helped to create awareness of the campaign through its programmes and
news, including a current affairs quiz show and the finals of the annual National
Day oratorical contest that focused on the “Buy Singapore-made” theme.[12]
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Merdeka Talks – First All-Party Mission To London Is Held
Singapore was granted partial internal self-government under the Rendel
Constitution in 1955. The Legislative Assembly election held in April that year saw
the formation of the Labour Front-Alliance government with David Marshall as the
first chief minister of Singapore. A year later, Marshall led a 13-man all-party
delegation in what became the first of three constitutional talks held in London to
determine the terms of full internal self-government for Singapore.[1]
At the discussions, which commenced on 23 April 1956, the Singapore delegation put
forth the requirements for the independence of Singapore by April the following
year.[2] The delegation proposed that the British retain control over foreign policy
and external defence, but with Singapore holding the right to be consulted on foreign
affairs and to veto on defence matters.[3] Desiring to retain control over internal
security, the British insisted on a defence council made up of an equal number of
representatives from Britain and Singapore, and with a casting vote in the hands of
the British high commissioner.[4] Marshall’s proposal for the British to appoint a
Malayan as chairman of the defence council and for the abolishment of the casting
vote were rejected.[5] The negotiations hit a deadlock on 15 May as both sides refused
to compromise on the internal security arrangements.[6]
Failing to deliver on his pledge to secure independence for Singapore, Marshall
resigned as chief minister in June.[7] Lim Yew Hock succeeded him as chief minister
and led the second all-party mission to London in March 1957 to renew discussions
with the British government.
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Protest By Chinese Middle School Students
In June 1956, Lim Yew Hock succeeded David Marshall as the chief minister of
Singapore.[1] In a bid to check the growing influence of the Communist Party of
Malaya in Singapore, Lim initiated a series of arrests and banning of pro-communist
groups between September and November 1956. He ordered the deregistration of the
Singapore Chinese Middle Schools Students’ Union (SCMSSU) on 24 September
1956, which then Minister for Education Chew Swee Kee had declared as “nothing
less than a Communist front organisation”.[2]
About 5,000 Chinese middle school students responded immediately by taking over
control of their schools on 25 September and threatening a sit-in until the SCMSSU
was reinstated. More than 1,000 students from Chung Cheng High School and close
to 2,000 students from Chinese High School turned up at protest meetings held in
their respective schools. Similar meetings were also held at Nanyang Girls’ School,
Nan Chiau Girls’ High School, Chung Hwa Girls’ High School and Yoke Eng High
School. All the students participating in the protest left before the 7.30 pm deadline
after they were warned that the assembly of “unauthorised bodies” was prohibited on
school premises between 7.30 pm and 7.30 am.[3]
On 10 October, Chew ordered 11 Chinese middle schools to expel 142 students and
terminate the services of two teachers, while seven other teachers were issued
warnings.[4] In response, a group of about 4,000 students from Chinese High School
and Chung Cheng High School took over control of their schools, putting up antigovernment posters and holding meetings with resolutions passed condemning the
government’s action. Students from other Chinese middle schools also turned up to
show their support.[5] The students received moral and material support from procommunist trade unions and organisations.[6] On 12 October, Chew ordered the
schools to close temporarily.[7]However, the schools remained occupied, with food
and other forms of support streaming in from the Singapore Farmers’ Association
(SFA), bus workers and Nanyang University undergraduates.[8] On 22 and 23
October, large numbers of students from the two schools where stay-ins were held
picketed other Chinese middle schools to dissuade pupils from attending classes. On
25 October, pro-communist leader Lim Chin Siong and others held a protest meeting
at the marketplace in his Bukit Timah constituency near Chinese High School.[9]
The camp-in demonstration at Chinese High School and Chung Cheng High School
sparked islandwide riots and a curfew was imposed.[10] The disturbances spread to
Jurong where members of the SFA burned down an English school and attacked a
police station.[11] In the early hours of 27 October, the police raided the premises of
several pro-communist unions, including the Singapore Factory and Shop Workers’
Union and the Singapore Bus Workers’ Union. Altogether, 219 persons were
arrested, including Lim and fellow pro-communist leader Fong Swee Suan.
Subsequently, another 37 people were also arrested.[12] Between 25 October and 31
October, a total of 290 people were arrested for rioting, 962 for breaking the curfew,
912 detained under the Preservation of Public Security Ordinance, and 55 for other
offences.[13] A total of 31 vehicles were burnt and another 101 damaged. Another
three buildings were set alight and two others damaged.[14] By 2 November, lessons
had resumed in all the schools, except Chung Cheng High School and Chinese High
School.[15] Both schools were reopened on 13 November.
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Singapore Citizenship Ordinance Is Passed
With the passing of the Citizenship Ordinance in 1957, all residents born in
Singapore or the Federation of Malaya and British citizens who had been residents
for two years were eligible for Singapore citizenship.[1] Citizenship by naturalisation
was offered to those who had resided in Singapore for ten years and were prepared to
swear loyalty to Singapore.[2] The minimum period of residence was later reduced to
eight years in alignment with citizenship regulations in the Federation.[3] The
Ordinance was described as a "watershed"[4] as it granted Singapore citizenship to a
large proportion of the 220,000 foreign-born Chinese residents and gave them the
right to vote in the general election held in 1959.[5] Registration for Singapore
citizenship commenced on 1 November 1957.
Inauguration Of The Worker’s Party
On 23 June 1957, Singapore’s then Chief Minister David Marshall mooted the idea of
forming a “political party whose membership is exclusively trade unionists” to
protect the welfare and rights of workers in Singapore.[1] A draft constitution of the
proposed party, to be called the Workers’ Party (WP), was sent a month later to more
than 200 registered trade unions in Singapore.[2] According to a statement by the
Army Civil Service Union, whose then president, N. S. N. Nair, had been nominated
as convenor for the new party, the WP “will work for the elimination of man’s
exploitation of man, for the recognition in practice of the basic equality of all human
beings and for equal opportunities for the individual for full and free development
within the framework of respect for the rights of all”.[3]
The WP was inaugurated on 3 November 1957 at the Hokkien Association Hall on
Telok Ayer Street, with the founding principles of merdeka (“independence”),
parliamentary democracy and socialism.[4] Marshall was subsequently elected to
head the newly formed party as its chairman.[5]
The first election contested by the WP is the 1957 City Council Election held on 21
December 1957, in which the young party surprised everyone by winning four out of
the five seats it contested.[6] However, the party suffered a major blow when its vicechairman and city councillor for Kallang, Chang Yuen Tong, abruptly resigned from
the party in May 1958 supposedly over differences of opinion with his party
colleagues, sparking off a series of mass resignations.[7] The party lost badly in the
subsequent Kallang by-election, with its candidate obtaining only 3.4 percent of valid
votes from the four-cornered fight. The seat went to the candidate from the People’s
Action Party (PAP).[8]
In the 1959 Legislative Assembly general election, the WP lost in all three of the seats
it contested.[9] Marshall, who contested in Cairnhill, lost by 2,355 votes to
incumbent Chief Minister Lim Yew Hock of the Singapore People’s
Alliance.[10] Marshall returned to the Legislative Assembly two years later when he
won the 1961 Anson by-election.[11]He remained as the WP assemblyman for Anson
until January 1963 when he resigned from the party due to opinion clashes with his
party comrades over the issue of Singapore’s merger with the Federation of
Malaya.[12]
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The WP was then led by Chiang Seok Keong from 1964 to 1970.[13] In 1971, the party
was given a new lease of life with the election of Joshua Benjamin Jeyaretnam as the
party’s secretary-general.[14] A decade later, he became the first person since 1963 to
beat the PAP at the polls when he won the 1981 Anson by-election.[15]
Jeyaretnam was re-elected member of parliament for Anson in the 1984 general
election.[16] However, he lost his parliamentary seat two years later in November 1986
when he was sentenced to one month’s imprisonment and a fine of S$5,000 by the
High Court for falsifying party accounts.[17] In the same 1984 election, M. P. D. Nair
obtained the highest proportion of opposition votes in the Jalan Kayu constituency,
and was offered the non-constituency member of parliament (NCMP) seat; however,
he did not take up the offer.[18]
In 1988, the Singapore United Front and the Barisan Sosialis merged with the WP in
light of the introduction of the group representation constituencies (GRCs) whereby
members are voted into parliament as a team and at least one member has to belong
to a minority racial group.[19] Although the party did not win any seats in the 1988
general election, its candidates for Eunos GRC won the highest percentage of
opposition votes.[20] As a result, Lee Siew Choh and Francis Seow were offered the
NCMP seat.[21] Seow ceased to be an NCMP from 17 December 1988 onwards in view
of his tax-evasion convictions for which he was fined S$19,000, while Lee held the
NCMP post until 1991.[22]
In the 1991 general election, Low Thia Khiang won the seat for the Hougang singlemember constituency (SMC).[23] He managed to retain the Hougang seat in the 1997,
2001 and 2006 general elections.[24]
In 1997, Jeyaretnam became an NCMP after he led the party’s Cheng San GRC team
to emerge as the top opposition loser in the general election held that year.[25] In
2001, he lost his NCMP seat following his failure to win an appeal against the order
of bankruptcy that had been made against him.[26]
In May 2001, Low replaced Jeyaretnam as WP’s secretary-general, who subsequently
resigned from the party due to a “falling out with the party’s leadership”.[27] Two
years later, the party’s central executive committee elected Sylvia Lim as its
chairman.[28] In 2006, Lim became an NCMP after she led the party’s Aljunied GRC
team to garner the highest number of opposition votes in the general election.[29]
In the 2011 general election, Low left the Hougang constituency to join Lim in
leading the Aljunied GRC team.[30] His bold move was rewarded with the
opposition’s first-ever capture of a GRC.[31] The party also retained the Hougang seat
through its candidate Yaw Shin Leong.[32] Furthermore, the party’s candidate for the
Joo Chiat SMC, Yee Jenn Jong, and a member of its East Coast GRC team, Gerald
Giam, were named as NCMPs.[33]
In February 2012, the party lost the Hougang seat after Yaw was expelled from the
party over allegations of infidelity.[34]However, the party managed to recapture the
constituency in the by-election held on 26 May when its candidate Png Eng Huat
beat his PAP rival.[35] In January 2013, Lee Li Lian contested and won the Punggol
East by-election, which was called after the PAP member of parliament for the SMC
stepped down as a result of his extramarital affair.
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Nanyang University Opens
Nanyang University was officially opened by then Governor of Singapore William
Goode on 30 March 1958.[1] This took place two years after the inauguration
ceremony officiated by Tan Lark Sye – then chairman of Nanyang University – on 15
March 1956, which marked the start of its first classes.[2] The idea of setting up a
tertiary institution for the Chinese in Malaya was first proposed in 1950 and again in
1953 by Tan, who became the prime motivator and the driving force for the
establishment of the university.[3]
The name “Nanyang University” was decided upon at a meeting held on 20 February
1953. At the meeting, the Hokkien Huay Kuan (Hokkien clan association) donated
500 ac (2 sq km) of land in Jurong for the establishment of the campus.[4]
The university was officially registered as a company, Nanyang University Ltd, on 5
May 1953 under the Companies Ordinance.[5] It was granted university status on 27
May 1959, following the enactment of the Nanyang University Ordinance.[6]
The opening of the university was made possible by the support from the Chinese
community. Tan was the chief sponsor and had promised to donate $5
million.[7] Donations also came in through fundraising activities held by businessmen
as well as from associations.[8] Contributions were received from people from all
walks of life, including taxi drivers, hawkers, trishaw pullers and cabaret dancers.
Within a year, a substantial sum of $10 million had been raised for the Nanyang
University Fund.[9] With the money collected, planning for the construction of the
Jurong campus began in 1954.[10]
In February 1959, a four-man commission led by Stanley Lewis Prescott, then vicechancellor of the University of Western Australia, was appointed to review the
academic standards of the university and obtain recognition of its degrees.[11] The
Prescott report (Report of the Nanyang University Commission) was submitted to
the Singapore government on 12 March 1959.The report highlighted the university’s
weak organisation and administration, the ill-equipped library and laboratories,
graduates’ poor employment terms and prospects, poorly qualified staff, lack of a
research culture as well as a heavy curriculum for both teachers and students.[12]
On 23 July 1959, the government convened a second committee, led by Gwee Ah
Leng, then the acting medical superintendent of the Singapore General Hospital, to
review the Prescott report.[13] The committee’s report was released during the
Legislative Assembly on 6 February 1960.[14] The committee proposed that the
university should recruit students from other language streams, promote the
learning of Malay, increase the use of English in teaching and raise the admission
standard of English. Similarly, the Gwee Ah Leng report (Report of the Nanyang
University Review Committee) did not recommend the recognition of the
university’s degrees.[15]
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While the government accepted the findings of the second report, the Chinese
community held a different view. This prompted a third review to be carried
out.[16] On 20th January 1965, the university formed the Nanyang University
Curriculum Review Committee headed by Wang Gungwu, then professor of history
at the University of Malaya’s Kuala Lumpur campus. The review committee’s report
was submitted on 14 May 1965. Among its recommendations were proposals to
enhance bilingualism and improve the quality of teaching staff as well as the
formation of a Malay-studies department to serve as an important cultural bridge
between the Chinese and the Malays.[17]
In December 1967, then Minister for Education Ong Pang Boon announced in
parliament that the government would recognise the degrees conferred by Nanyang
University.[18] This was made official at the university’s ninth convocation held on 25
May 1968.
State Of Singapore Act Is Passed
The final terms of agreement on full internal self-government for Singapore were
made at the third and concluding all-party constitutional talks held in London in
May 1958. Thereafter, the State of Singapore Bill received its first reading in the
House of Commons on 17 June the following month and passed its third reading on
16 July.[1] The bill subsequently passed the House of Lords on 24 July and became an
Act of Parliament upon receiving the royal assent on 1 August.[2]
The State of Singapore Act of 1958 vested power in the Queen to issue an order in
council that would convert Singapore from a colony into a self-governing
state.[3] Published on 27 November 1958, the Singapore (Constitution) Order in
Council laid down the terms of the new constitution, which included provisions for
the offices of a head of state, or Yang di-Pertuan Negara, and a United Kingdom
Commissioner; an Executive, Legislature and Judicature; and an Internal Security
Council.[4] Internal self-government for Singapore was achieved in May 1959 when
the constitution came into force with the formation of the city state’s first fullyelected government.
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First Master Plan Is Approved
In December 1951, an amendment was made to the Singapore Improvement
Ordinance that required the Singapore Improvement Trust to carry out a diagnostic
survey of Singapore, and to prepare a master plan that would guide land use and
development in Singapore.[1] This was the first master plan of Singapore since
Raffles’s Town Plan was initiated in 1822.[2] In the following decades, the British
authorities had adopted a laissez-faire approach towards town planning[3]which,
when coupled with a population explosion, led to the emergence of slums and
overcrowding in the city area.[4]This master plan re-introduced the concept of
planned urban growth and included rural areas in land use plans for the first
time.[5] The draft of the master plan was completed in 1955 and then exhibited for a
period of six weeks in 1956 to obtain public feedback.[6] The final report of the master
plan was approved by the government on 8 August 1958.[7]
The diagnostic survey of Singapore was conducted over two years from 1952 to 1953,
and involved studies on the land and building use of the central (city core), urban
and rural areas, as well as traffic flow and the industries that would provide
employment for the people.[8] The aim of the master plan was to provide a blueprint
to guide the physical development of Singapore so there would be adequate land for
residents to live, work and play in a conducive environment.
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Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) Is Introduced
The Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) is a national examination system
for all graduating primary school students in Singapore and determines their entries
into a secondary school. Announced by then Minister for Education Yong Nyuk Lin
on 31 March 1960,[1] the government-administered PSLE is the first national
examination system to be established in Singapore.[2] At the time, the examinations
were conducted in four language medium – English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil.
Today, all leaving primary school students are still required to take the
examination.[3]
Prior to the nation-wide PSLE, English-medium schools conducted their own
entrance examination (implemented in 1952) known as the Secondary School
Entrance Examination. Chinese-medium schools had implemented entrance
examinations in 1935 but dropped them in 1951, while Malay schools started theirs in
1959. Tamil schools did not conduct any entrance examinations.[4] The PSLE
examination system was an attempt by the government to standardise the various
education systems and, through common syllabus and content, unite the different
ethnic groups and encourage loyalty to Singapore.[5]
Each language stream was managed by a consultative committee and coordinating
committee comprising Ministry of Education (MOE) officials as well as principals
and teachers of the four language streams. The two committees advised on the dates
of examination as well as the scope and weighting for each subject. Examination
papers were set by the MOE and marking conducted by appointed school teachers
using a common standard.[6]
The first PSLE was held from 2nd to 4th November 1960,[7] with a total of 30,615
candidates. Results were released on 23 December 1960.[8] In all, a total of 13,736
candidates across all four language streams passed and were posted to secondary
schools, while the rest were categorised under four groups based on their
performance and age: Secondary Remove I Classes, Primary 6 (repeat) Classes, Post
Primary Classes, and those who were disqualified from all categories. Secondary
Remove I Classes were for the candidates who were close to passing and they
underwent two years of intensive studies before taking the same final Secondary II
examination as the PSLE candidates who had passed. Primary 6 (repeat) classes were
for students who had failed but were under the age of 13, and hence allowed to repeat
Primary 6 and retake the PSLE the following year. Post Primary Classes were for
candidates who failed but were too old to remain in primary school. The last group of
candidates were those who failed badly in the examinations and were over the age of
16.[9]
Today, students who take the PSLE can seek entry into a secondary school through
the Secondary One (S1) posting exercise or Direct School Admission-Secondary
(DSA-Sec) exercise. Based on their results, students are eligible for various streams:
Express, Normal (Academic) and Normal (Technical). During the S1 posting exercise,
students submit a list of six schools in order of preference and gain acceptance based
on their PSLE scores and available vacancies in the school. Students who go through
the DSA-Sec route, apply directly to schools based on other criteria, for instance
sports excellence, besides their PSLE results.
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The People’s Association Is Formed
The People’s Association (PA) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Culture,
Community and Youth (MCCY).[1]Established on 1 July 1960 through the People’s
Association Ordinance,[2] the association aims to foster multicultural values in the
different communities through group participation in social, cultural, educational
and athletic activities that cut across communal lines.[3] This was necessary to blur
the sharp divisions that existed in Singapore society then, when the different ethnic
communities were living in their own enclaves. At the time, race, language and
religion largely determined who the people mixed with, which schools they attended
and how they earned a living.[4] The PA was also responsible for the training of
community leaders so as to instil in them a sense of national identity and a spirit of
dedicated service to a multiracial society.[5] As a political tool, the PA allowed the
government to keep in constant touch with the people as it had representation from
both government and grassroots organisations.[6]
The PA carries out its grassroots activities mainly at the community centres (CCs),
which were originally built by the colonial government in the 1950s as recreational
spaces. After its formation in 1960, the PA took over control of the twenty-odd CCs
that the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) had inherited from the colonial
government,[7] and developed them as common spaces for people from all ethnic,
linguistic and religious backgrounds to interact.[8] The activities organised by the CCs
were managed by the Community Centre Management Committees (CCMCs) that
were set up in 1964,[9] while the Citizens’ Consultative Committees (CCCs) and the
Residents’ Committees (RCs) were formed in 1965 and 1978 respectively to improve
communication between the people and the government as well as to promote a
community spirit.[10]
The PA adopted a crest consisting of four red interlocking circles as its official logo.
The circles represent the four main ethnic groups in Singapore, while the overlapping
area denotes the common spaces in which they interact.
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Special Branch Mounts Operation Coldstore
On 2 February 1963, the Special Branch mounted Operation Coldstore to “safeguard
against any attempt by the Communists to mount violence or disorder in the closing
stages of the establishment of the Federation of Malaysia” and ensure that Singapore
joins Malaysia “in a more secure and sound state”.[1] Acting under the Preservation
of Public Security Ordinance, the Special Branch initially arrested 107
persons.[2] Among them were key leaders of the left-wing Barisan Sosialis and its
associated pro-communist organisations which had “done their utmost to sabotage
the formation of Malaysia”. They included Lim Chin Siong, S. Woodhull, Fong Swee
Suan and Dominic Puthucheary.[3] In explaining the arrests, the Internal Security
Council (ISC), which had sanctioned the operation, stated that it had evidence
pointing to communist infiltration and control of the Barisan Sosialis and its
affiliated labour unions, and that their leaders were “deeply implicated” in
communist “subversive activities”.[4]
Following the 1959 Legislative Assembly general election, Singapore for the first time
had a fully-elected government led by Lee Kuan Yew, whose People’s Action Party
(PAP) was voted into power with a strong majority.[5] The PAP then began to focus its
efforts on gaining full independence for Singapore, which was closely tied to the
party’s aim of reunification with Malaya through merger.[6] In July 1961, then
Malayan Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman invited Lee Kuan Yew to discuss
plans for a “Greater Malaysia”.[7] The proposal triggered a bitter power struggle
within the PAP that eventually led to its split.[8] The splintered left-wing group led by
Lim Chin Siong formed the Barisan Sosialis in July 1961.[9] The party fought against
Lee’s merger (Malaysia) plans, but was defeated in the September 1962 referendum
called by the PAP to obtain the people’s vote on merger.[10]
Before the scheduled pronouncement of Malaysia to take place in September
1963,[11] an anti-colonial revolt broke out in Brunei in December 1962. Not only did
Lim express support for the uprising, he had also met the leader of the Brunei revolt
days before. This sowed the conviction that the Barisan Sosialis was not averse to
political violence and that they were ready “to depart from constitutional methods
and to jeopardise national defence and Singapore’s security by joining with groups
resorting to violence and bloodshed as in the Borneo Territories”.[12]
Following the security operation, the remaining Barisan Sosialis leaders led by Lee
Siew Choh condemned the arrests and lobbied the United Nations for the release of
their cadres. The protests led to the further arrests of the party’s leaders in April and
May 1963. By the time the 1963 Legislative Assembly general election was called in
September, the Barisan Sosialis had been severely weakened. The Barisan Sosialis
captured 13 seats at the polls, which the PAP won resoundingly with 37 seats.[13]
Operation Coldstore dealt a severe blow to the communist network in Singapore.
Chin Peng, then the Secretary-General of the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM),
admitted in his memoirs that “Operation Cold Store shattered our underground
network throughout the island. Those who escaped the police net went into hiding.
Many fled to Indonesia.”
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PAP To Contest The 1964 Malaysian General Election
On 1 March 1964, the People’s Action Party (PAP) announced that it would be
sending a token team of candidates to contest the upcoming Malaysian general
election to be held on 25 April. The PAP’s objective was to establish itself as a
national Malaysian party to fight the anti-Malaysian parties so as to ensure the
success of the Federation of Malaysia.[1]The PAP contested nine parliamentary seats
but only managed to win the Bangsar seat.[2]
The PAP’s participation in the general election caused a political uproar in Kuala
Lumpur. Tunku Abdul Rahman, then the Malaysian Prime Minister, saw the contest
as a political challenge and an attempt by the PAP to intervene in federal
politics.[3] Subsequently, the winning PAP candidate and the rest of the Singapore
representatives were branded as opposition in the federal parliament, and Lee Kuan
Yew, then the Prime Minister of Singapore, was offered the post of leader of the
opposition.[4] Although Lee declined the offer, he highlighted in his first post-election
speech in the federal parliament that Kuala Lumpur’s communal approach to politics
might not be conducive in the long-term for promoting racial unity. He was of the
view that the federal government should look to the PAP for new directions so as to
better integrate the races. In response, the Tunku made it clear to Lee that the PAP
should confine its role to Singapore and devote its energy to turn the island into “the
New York of South East Asia”. In exchange, the Tunku assured Lee that his Alliance
party would not interfere in the affairs of Singapore.[5]
However, extremists within the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) party
did not agree to such a compromise. They launched a smear campaign against the
PAP, accusing Lee and his government of mistreating the Malays in Singapore, and
depriving them of the special rights enjoyed by their counterparts in Malaysia. The
extremists used a combination of fiery language and appeals in Malay newspapers
and rallies to stir up sentiment within the Malay community in Singapore.[6] It was
believed that the tense atmosphere created by the smear campaign led to the
eventual outbreak of communal riots in Singapore on 21 July and 2 September 1964.
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Macdonald House Bombing Occurs
The bombing of the 10-storey Hongkong and Shanghai Bank building, also known as
MacDonald House, was one of the attacks carried out by Indonesian saboteurs
against Singapore during the Indonesian-Malaysian Confrontation (orKonfrontasi,
1963–1966).[1] It was the deadliest of at least 42 bomb incidents which occurred
during Konfrontasi, leaving three people dead and 33 others injured.[2] The three
casualties were Elizabeth Suzie Choo Kway Hoi, private secretary to the manager of
the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank; assistant secretary Juliet Goh Hwee Kuang; and
Mohammed Yasin bin Kesit, a driver for the Malaya Borneo Building Society.
Mohammed Yasin was in a coma for three days before succumbing to his injuries.[3]
The bomb, which exploded at 3.07 pm on 10 March 1965, was so powerful that it
blasted the floors and inner walls of the first four floors of the building: it ripped out
lift doors; destroyed the connecting staircase between the first and mezzanine floors;
and shattered the windows in the building, as well as those in the adjacent and
opposite buildings.[4]The windscreens of most of the vehicles parked across the road
were also shattered. The explosives had been planted near the lift at the mezzanine
floor by two Indonesian marines, Osman bin Haji Mohamed Ali and Harun bin
Said.[5]
Three days later, Osman and Harun were rescued by a fisherman after the vessel they
had been travelling in capsized off Singapore. They were heading back to Indonesia
after their mission. Finding them suspicious, the fisherman handed them over to the
Police Coast Guard.[6] They were arrested and charged in court and sentenced to
death on 20 October 1965.[7] On 17 October 1968, Osman and Harun were hung at
Changi Prison after their appeals were turned down.[8]On the day of the execution,
mobs ransacked the Singapore Embassy in Jakarta. The bodies of the executed
marines were brought back to Indonesia and buried at the Kalibata National Heroes
Cemetery with full military honours.[9]
Relations between Singapore and Indonesia suffered a temporary setback after the
execution of Osman and Harun. During a state visit to Indonesia in May 1973, then
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew scattered flowers on the graves of the two
marines as “a diplomatic gesture that addressed ‘Javanese beliefs in souls and clear
conscience’”. Lee agreed to do so upon the advice of then Singapore’s ambassador to
Indonesia Lee Khoon Choy, who thought that it would be “the key to an
improvement in relations because the Indonesian generals placed great store by this
gesture”.[10] The gesture won over many Indonesian hearts and marked the
restoration of bilateral relations between the two countries.
Yusof Ishak As First President
Yusof bin Ishak (b. 12 August 1910, Padang Gajah, Trong, Perak– d. 23 November
1970, Singapore) became Singapore's first president upon Singapore's independence
on 9 August 1965. The presidency was a natural transition[1]as he had been the Yang
di-Pertuan Negara or the Head of State of Singapore since 3 December 1959, after
Singapore achieved internal self-government.[2] Yusof Ishak passed away on 23
November 1970 due to heart failure during his third term in office.[3] He was given a
state funeral and buried with full state honours at the Kranji National Cemetery. He
was survived by his wife, Puan Noor Aishah, and three children.
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Singapore Joins The United Nations
Singapore officially applied to join the United Nations (UN) on 3 September 1965,
less than a month after it separated from Malaysia on 9 August. The application was
submitted via cable by then Minister for Foreign Affairs S. Rajaratnam to then UN
Secretary-General U Thant.[1] Under the UN Charter at the time, a new member
application had to be sponsored by at least two Security Council members, and would
be successful only upon receiving the endorsement of the Security Council as well as
a two-third majority vote in the General Assembly.[2] When Singapore applied for UN
membership, there were 11 members in the Security Council consisting of five
permanent members (United States, United Kingdom, France, China and the Soviet
Union) and six non-permanent members (Malaysia, Jordan, Ivory Coast, Bolivia,
Uruguay and the Netherlands).[3]
Malaysia, the United Kingdom, Jordan and Ivory Coast jointly sponsored Singapore’s
UN application.[4] Malaysia was the first UN member state to declare its sponsorship,
and the pledge was made by then Malaysian Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman
on 9 August 1965 simultaneously with Kuala Lumpur’s announcement that
Singapore had left Malaysia to become an independent state.[5] Malaysia’s then
permanent UN representative, R. Ramani, visited Singapore on 20 August to hold
discussions with Rajaratnam and other senior government officials on procedural
matters relating to Singapore’s UN application. During the visit, Ramani assured
Singapore that the Malaysian government would see Singapore’s UN application
through and take the necessary measures to ensure that the application was
processed promptly.[6]
On 20 September 1965, a resolution recommending that the General Assembly admit
Singapore into the UN was put to a vote in the Security Council. A delegation led by
Rajaratnam and then Deputy Prime Minister Toh Chin Chye attended the
session.[7] Singapore’s UN membership application met with no objections in the
Security Council and received unanimous support in the General Assembly a day
later. As a result, Singapore became the 117th UN member state on 21 September
1965.[8]
In his speech thanking the General Assembly, Rajaratnam called Singapore’s
admission a “momentous occasion” and its UN membership “an international
endorsement of Singapore sovereignty and integrity”.[9] He also outlined some
guiding principles that were eventually incorporated into Singapore’s foreign policy.
He said, “For [Singapore], the essentials of the [UN] Charter are the preservation of
peace through collective security, promotion of economic development through
mutual aid and the safeguarding of the inalienable right of every country to establish
forms of government in accordance with the wishes of its own
people.”[10] Rajaratnam stressed that Singapore valued peace and denounced war.
The country viewed “world peace as a necessary condition for the political and
economic survival of small countries like Singapore”. Therefore, it was “natural” for
Singapore to adhere to the policy of “resolving differences between nations through
peaceful negotiations, not by violent means”.[11]
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Following Singapore’s admission into the UN, Rajaratnam and Toh embarked on a
two-month diplomatic mission of goodwill. They visited four Asian countries, eight
African nations, as well as Britain, Soviet Union and Yugoslavia, to establish
Singapore’s status as a fully independent, sovereign state and to forge ties for trade
and cultural exchanges.
National Registration For Singapore Identity Cards Begins
The national registration for pink and blue Singapore identity cards began on 9 May
1966 with pink cards for citizens and blue ones for non-citizens who are permanent
residents (PRs).[1] The exercise was governed by the National Registration Act of
1965 that took effect on 5 May 1966, requiring all Singaporeans above 12 years of age
and those with existing identity cards issued under the Registration of Persons
Ordinance 1955 to re-register.[2] Although the National Registration Act legislated
two types of ICs to differentiate between citizens and non-citizens, it did not stipulate
that pink was for citizens and blue for PRs.[3] This colour differentiation was only
legislated when the National Registration (Amendment) Regulations 1969 came into
operation on 28 March 1969.[4]
The new identity cards replaced earlier identification papers that were issued during
the British colonial period. Identification papers were introduced in 1938 when
registration of births and deaths became compulsory under the 1937 Registration of
Births and Deaths Ordinance.[5] However, it was the 1948 Emergency Regulations
(Registration) legislation that made it compulsory for all persons above 12 years old
in the colony to be registered and issued with identity cards as a deterrent against
communist infiltration.[6] The emergency registration was held between October and
December 1948.[7] The Emergency (Registration) Regulations Ordinance 1948 was
later repealed by the Registration of Persons Ordinance 1955.[8] In December 1965,
then Minister for Labour Jek Yeun Thong proposed the National Registration Bill to
replace the 1955 ordinance and this bill eventually became the National Registration
Act of 1965.[9]
After Singapore gained independence in 1965, the People’s Action Party government
implemented its population re-registration plans [10] in order to obtain more detailed
population statistics. In the long run, the re-registration exercise would provide
Singaporeans with a unique alphanumeric serial number that could be used for
citizenship and birth certificates as well as Central Provident Fund accounts.[11] The
new identity cards were designed with improved security features to deter forgeries.
At the time, large numbers of forged cards were being sold to illegal immigrants,
which had put a strain on the country’s social services.[12] The newly designed
identity card was a laminated waterproof German-made card that made forgery and
tampering of particulars and photographs difficult.[13] With an identity card, a
Singapore citizen’s rights to priorities in employment and social benefits were
ensured.
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Singapore Joins IMF And World Bank
Singapore became the 104th member of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
and the World Bank on 3 August 1966.[1] Singapore had sought out the two
institutions for financial advice and loans prior to its application for membership.
After the political separation between Singapore and Malaysia in August 1965, both
countries wooed the IMF for its technical and brokering expertise in the subsequent
negotiations over the adoption of a common currency and banking system. Despite
the breakdown in negotiations and the decision to issue separate currencies,
Singapore highly valued the two IMF missions sent to reconcile the wishes of the two
governments.[2] Singapore had also previously benefitted from loans provided by the
World Bank for two major projects[3]: the loan for the construction of the first phase
of the Pasir Panjang 'B' Power Station was approved on 16 May 1963,[4] and the loan
for the Johor River Water Project was granted on 2 March 1965.[5]
Singapore applied for membership to join the IMF and the World Bank on 8
September 1965. After the two institutions came to an agreement over the terms of
the membership application on 21 February 1966, Singapore was given six months to
accept the membership offer.[6] Then Finance Minister Lim Kim San tabled the
Bretton Woods Agreements Bill in parliament on 22 June 1966 on a Certificate of
Urgency. Lim’s justifications for Singapore joining the IMF and the World Bank were
as follows: to boost Singapore's capacity to manage its balance of payments; to instil
global confidence in Singapore's monetary policies; and to gain continued access to
IMF technical expertise and advice on the country's economy. In addition,
membership to the IMF was a prerequisite for joining the World Bank, which would
in turn make Singapore eligible for more development loans.[7] The Bretton Woods
Agreements Act came into effect on 4 July 1966, thereby completing the
constitutional process of obtaining government approval for Singapore’s application
for membership to the two institutions.[8]
On 3 August 1966, Goh Koh Pui, then Chairman and General Manager of the Port of
Singapore Authority (PSA), finalised Singapore's entry into the IMF and the World
Bank by representing the nation in Washington D.C. to sign the articles of agreement
of the IMF and the World Bank.
Singapore’s First National Day
On 9 August 1966, Singapore marked the first anniversary of its independence with
the inaugural National Day Parade held at the Padang. The parade, which involved
some 23,000 men, women and children, commenced at 9:00am in the morning upon
the arrival of President Yusof Ishak.[1] Some members of the Cabinet and members of
Parliament donned uniforms and joined the uniformed contingents that marched
through Chinatown.[2] Other highlights of the day included a 90-minute fireworks
display at Fort Canning and a giant illuminated sea dragon float that glided along the
nearby waterfront.[3] Aside from the main parade, cultural performances, dinners,
speeches and other events were held at community and state levels throughout the
week to celebrate the occasion.
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Konfrontasi (Confrontation) Ends
Konfrontasi (or Confrontation, 1963–1966) was a conflict started by Indonesia under
the leadership of President Sukarno, who opposed the formation of the Federation of
Malaysia consisting of Singapore, Malaya, Sarawak and North Borneo
(Sabah).[1] The Indonesians carried out armed incursions and acts of subversion and
sabotage, including bombings, to destabilise the federation. Singapore experienced a
series of bombing incidents, which killed seven people and injured 50 others. The
most serious incident was the MacDonald House bombing on 10 March 1965 in
which three people were killed and 33 others injured.[2]
The conflict eased in 1965 following internal political struggle in Indonesia. On 1
October 1965, several top army generals were kidnapped and murdered in an
attempted coup purportedly carried out by the Partai Komunis Indonesia (PKI) or
the Indonesian Communist Party. The coup attempt was quickly crushed on the
same day by the Indonesian army led by General Suharto. President Sukarno was
consequently discredited because of his alleged association with the PKI, and he
relinquished power to Suharto in March 1966. This marked the end of Konfrontasi,
although the policy was not formally abandoned until 12 August 1966 when
Indonesia signed a peace treaty with Malaysia.[3]
Konfrontasi was a costly campaign for both Indonesia and Malaysia as the severance
of economic links between the two countries and the increase in defence
expenditures strained their economies.[4] Between 1964 and 1965, Japan, Thailand
and the Philippines had all tried to broker a peace conference but to no avail.[5] It was
not until April 1966, following a change in Indonesian leadership, that Jakarta began
dropping hints to Malaysia that it was open for peace talks.[6] The talks began in May
1966 and by June, both Malaysia and Indonesia had agreed in principle on a peace
agreement.[7] The peace treaty was ratified by Malaysia’s then Deputy Prime Minister
Tun Abdul Razak and then Indonesian Foreign Minister Adam Malik in Jakarta on
12 August 1966, bringing an end to the Indonesian-Malaysian Confrontation.[8]
There were three main provisions in the peace treaty.[9] First, both countries agreed
to cease hostilities. Second, both countries agreed to restore diplomatic relations
immediately and establish diplomatic representations. Third, Malaysia agreed to give
the people in Sabah and Sarawak the chance to reaffirm their position in the
Malaysia Federation as soon as possible in a general election.[10] The peace treaty was
significant in paving the way for the formation of the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) on 8 August 1967.[11] It also enabled Singapore – which had by
then become an independent state – to establish formal diplomatic relations with
Indonesia on 7 September 1967.[12]
Singapore’s relations with Indonesia had suffered a temporary setback when the two
Indonesian marines responsible for the MacDonald House bombing were hanged on
17 October 1968 after being convicted on murder charges. On the day of the hanging,
Indonesian youths ransacked the Singapore Embassy in Jakarta. Bilateral ties
between both countries were only restored in May 1973 when then Singapore Prime
Minister Lee Kuan Yew visited Jakarta’s Kalibata National Heroes Cemetery and
scattered flowers on the graves of the two marines during a state visit.
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National Service Becomes Compulsory
The National Service (Amendment) Bill was passed in parliament on 14 March 1967,
making National Service (NS) compulsory for all 18-year-old male Singapore citizens
and permanent residents.[1] Some 9,000 male youths born between 1 January and 30
June 1949 became the first batch of young men to be called up for NS.[2]
NS was not a new concept when it was implemented. It had been introduced by the
British colonial government in 1954 at the height of the Communist Emergency in
Malaya.[3] At the time, many Chinese Middle School students strongly opposed NS,
resulting in the outbreak of deadly riots in 1954 and 1955.[4]
There was also some resistance towards the introduction of NS in 1967, with the
most serious anti-NS protest occurring on 27 March 1967, when 300 protestors held
street demonstrations at New Bridge Road, Rochor Canal Road and Kim Keat
Road.[5] These anti-NS demonstrations in 1967 were, however, fewer and smaller in
scale compared with the anti-NS riots in the 1950s.[6]
The first batch of Singaporean men to be called up for NS received their registration
reminders – in the form of pink cards – on 17 March 1967.[7] These men were
required to register for NS at any of the four registration centres located at Kallang
Camp, and the district offices in Katong, Serangoon and Bukit Panjang. Full-time
students in government and government-aided schools were not required to register
at these centres as they would be registered by their schools.[8]
Registration for NS was conducted over a period of 16 days from 28 March to 18
April 1967.[9] At the end of the registration exercise, around 96 percent of the 9,428
men expected to register had done so.[10] The names of those who failed to register
were submitted to the police for arrest.[11] These NS “registration evaders” were liable
to be convicted and sentenced to a jail term of six months or a S$2,000 fine, or
both.[12]
For the registered men, their NS journey continued in May 1967 when they had to
undergo medical examinations.[13]They were then selected to serve in one of the four
branches of NS.[14] About 10 percent of the better-educated men were shortlisted to
serve two years full-time NS in the army.[15] Those not selected for full-time service
were deployed for part-time service either in the People’s Defence Force, Vigilante
Corps or the Special Constabulary.[16]
On 17 August 1967, the pioneer batch of 900 full-time national servicemen was
enlisted in the army’s 3rd and 4th Singapore Infantry Regiment (SIR). Between 30
August and 2 September, 2,000 men were enlisted in the Special Constabulary, with
an equal number enlisted from 4 to 8 September in the Vigilante Corps. In
December, the army’s 1st and 2nd SIR received their first batch of full-time national
servicemen.
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Formation Of ASEAN
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a regional grouping founded
on 8 August 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines to
promote economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the Southeast
Asian region through multilateral cooperation.[1] It also functions as a non-political
platform to maintain peace and stability among member states and external
partners.[2] The grouping was formed when the foreign ministers – Adam Malik of
Indonesia, Narciso Ramos of the Philippines, Tun Abdul Razak of Malaysia, S.
Rajaratnam of Singapore and Tun Thanat Khoman of Thailand – of the five founding
member states convened in the Department of Foreign Affairs building in Bangkok to
sign the ASEAN Declaration.[3]
ASEAN has its origins in the Association of Southeast Asia (ASA).[4] Constituted on
31 July 1961 with Malaya, Thailand and the Philippines as members, ASA fell short of
becoming a viable regional grouping.[5] This was due to numerous factors, including
ASA’s inability to obtain endorsements from other Southeast Asian countries, most
crucially Indonesia, and the breakdown of bilateral relations between two of its
members – Malaya and the Philippines – over the formation of the Federation of
Malaysia in 1963.[6] However, following an improvement in multilateral ties marked
by the end of Indonesia’s Confrontation policy in August 1966 against Malaysia and
the normalisation of relations between Malaysia and the Philippines in June 1966,
ASA initiated discussions to include more members.[7] By May 1967, plans to enlarge
ASA were replaced by a proposal to form a new grouping based on ASA’s
framework.[8] The initial name of the new grouping was Southeast Asian Association
for Regional Cooperation, but this was later changed to ASEAN.[9] Some of the joint
development programmes first undertaken by ASEAN include projects to increase
food production, promote tourism, ease travel restrictions, and enhance cooperation
in the field of mass media through exchanges of radio and television programmes.
Plans were also put in place to liberalise trade among members in a bid to improve
intraregional trade.[10]
Today, ASEAN is considered one of the most successful intergovernmental
organisations in the developing world.[11]Since its founding, the grouping has
expanded to include other Southeast Asian states – Brunei (1984), Vietnam (1995),
Laos (1997), Myanmar (1997) and Cambodia (1999).[12] It has also ratified many key
agreements, particularly the ASEAN Free Trade Area Framework Agreement on 28
January 1992, which aimed to establish a free-trade area in the region by means of a
Common Effective Preferential Tariff scheme.[13] Another key agreement is the
ASEAN Charter, which was ratified on 15 December 2008. The charter is the legal
framework of the grouping as it codifies the rules and principles for ASEAN
members, and outlines the organisational structure of the grouping.
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Environmental Public Health Act Is Enacted
The Environmental Public Health Act came into effect on 2 January 1969.[1] The act
aimed to improve Singapore’s public-health laws by standardising the code
governing public-health-related matters such as hygiene standards of eating places,
markets and public places as well as the provision of public cleaning services.[2] The
legislation also helped to augment the role of the Public Health Division, especially
its responsibility as the enforcer of the clauses embodied in the act.[3]
The Environmental Public Health Act was modelled after similar legislations at the
time such as the United Kingdom’s Public Health Act, New Zealand’s Public Health
Act and New York City’s Health Code.[4] The act was realised after the government
had introduced a series of measures to raise Singapore’s environment standards and
make Singapore a cleaner and greener city.[5] These measures include daily refuse
collection as well as the launch of the Keep Singapore Clean campaign on 1 October
1968.[6]
Some of the notable features in the act include provisions against littering and the
disposal of refuse in public places. Penalties were imposed on those who littered,
disposed refuse or building-materials waste in public places, or failed to take
precautions to prevent danger to others during building operations.[7]
To facilitate the removal of refuse, developers of housing estates and industrial
complexes were required by law to provide refuse chutes and refuse bin centres
within the property.[8] Building owners also had to carry out necessary repair and
maintenance work on defective sanitary facilities within their premises and ensure
that drains were not clogged.[9]
The act also incorporated public-health practices into the licensing and control of
markets, hawker centres and food establishments. Under the act, all stallholders and
food handlers were required to undergo regular medical examinations and
immunisation. In addition, food establishments had to comply with regulations
governing the preparation, storage, transport and sale of food.
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Post Office Savings Bank Becomes A Statutory Board
On 1 January 1972, the Post Office Savings Bank (POSB) was turned into a
statutory corporation by the government.[1] When Singapore stepped up its
industrialisation programme after 1965, then Minister for Finance Goh Keng Swee
identified domestic savings as one of the ways to promote the growth of industries.
Such savings could provide the government with a non-inflationary source of funds
for national development.[2] To promote domestic savings through POSB, the trend
of decreasing deposits with the bank had to be reversed. The bank, which was
established by the British colonial government in 1877, had been experiencing
declining deposits since 1957.[3] As a statutory board, the bank would have more
management flexibility and financial freedom to improve its bank operations.[4]
In September 1970, then Minister for Communications Yong Nyuk Lin announced at
the first live televised broadcast of the POSB Lucky Draw that the POSB would
become a statutory board.[5] The Post Office Savings Bank Bill was subsequently
introduced in parliament on 30 July 1971,[6] and the Post Office Savings Bank of
Singapore Act, 1971,[7] came into effect on 1 January 1972.[8] Following the enactment
of the act, the POSB ceased to be a branch of the Postal Services Department. As an
independent statutory corporation, POSB was run by a board of directors which was
appointed by the Minister for Communications. Tan Chok Kian was named as the
first chairman and head of its board, which included seven other directors.[9]
In July 1998, the government announced that the Development Bank of Singapore
(DBS) would acquire POSB and its various subsidiaries for S$1.6 billion.[10] Then
Minister for Finance Richard Hu explained to Parliament that the merger would
enable POSB to compete better with full-fledged commercial banks as well as better
serve more sophisticated customers. The sale was officially sanctioned by parliament
with the passing of the Post Office Savings Bank of Singapore (Transfer of
Undertakings and Dissolution) Bill on 12 October 1998.[11] Today, POSB still
maintains its distinct identity though it operates as part of the DBS group.
Singapore Airlines Is Incorporated
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Singapore Airlines (SIA) is the national carrier of Singapore. It was incorporated as
Mercury Singapore Airlines on 28 January 1972 before it was renamed Singapore
Airlines on 30 June the same year.[1] Mercury Singapore Airlines was previously part
of Malaysia-Singapore Airlines (MSA). The predecessor of MSA, Malayan Airways,
was formed on 21 October 1937 by British Imperial Airways, Straits Steamship
Company and Ocean Steamship Company.[2]
As there were doubts over the commercial viability of a Singapore–Malaya air route
at the time, Malayan Airways was inactive for almost 10 years before making its first
commercial flight – from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur – on 1 May 1947.[3] Since the
inaugural flight, Malayan Airways has steadily grown, adding more routes to
regional destinations such as Jakarta, Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City), Rangoon (also
known as Yangon, the former capital city of Burma, now known as Myanmar) and
Hong Kong.[4] It also increased its fleet size with the acquisition of new jet aircraft:
the DC-4 Skymaster, Lockheed Super Constellation, Comet IV, Fokker F27, and
Boeing 707 and 737.[5] After the formation of the Federation of Malaysia on 16
September 1963, Malayan Airways was renamed Malaysian Airways in November
two months later. Following Singapore’s independence on 9 August 1965, Malaysian
Airways changed its name to Malaysia-Singapore Airlines.[6] On 25 January 1971, the
Malaysian and Singapore governments announced that MSA would split, which
resulted in the formation of SIA and Malaysian Airline System.[7]
SIA began as a new entity with assets in excess of M$180 million inherited from
MSA, including the entire fleet of seven Boeing aircraft, MSA’s overseas offices, the
airline’s headquarters building on Robinson Road, aircraft hangars as well as
maintenance facilities at Paya Lebar Airport.[8] It also took over MSA’s international
route network encompassing 18 countries.[9]
During SIA’s formative years, one of the first tasks it undertook was to consolidate its
position as the national carrier, and it did so by expanding its international route
network.[10] To complement the expansion efforts, SIA enlarged its fleet to include
better and bigger jet aircraft such as Boeing 747 and 777, and the Airbus A380.[11] The
company also heavily invested in its brand by emphasising the high level of cabin
service provided on SIA flights, using the sarong kebaya-clad “Singapore Girl” as the
face of its advertising campaign in print and on television.[12] In addition, SIA looked
to other areas to facilitate its growth such as the development of Changi Airport as an
air-traffic hub and the promotion of Singapore as a travel destination.[13] In order to
capitalise on new opportunities in the aviation industry, SIA established subsidiary
airlines – regional carrier SilkAir (formerly known as Tradewinds) and long-haul
budget carrier Scoot[14] – and acquired stakes in other airlines.[15]
Today, SIA – with its many awards and accolades – is a global carrier with a fleet of
103 aircraft flying to more than 60 destinations across 30 countries
Singapore Armed Forces Act Comes Into Effect
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The Singapore Armed Forces Act 1972 was introduced to strengthen, and improve
the management of, the nation’s defence forces. The act unified the army, navy and
air commands into a single force known as the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), and
established the Armed Forces Council.[1] Chaired by the minister for defence and
comprising members appointed by the chairperson, the Armed Forces Council
oversees all administrative matters pertaining to the SAF.[2] Prior to the enactment of
the act, the defence forces of Singapore, which comprised the Singapore Army and
the People’s Defence Force, were administered separately under the Singapore Army
Act 1965 and People’s Defence Force Act 1965 respectively.[3] These two legislations
were repealed following the enactment of the SAF Act on 15 June 1972.[4]
Apart from administrative matters, the SAF Act also contained provisions to improve
the disciplinary structure of the SAF. Prior to the enactment, there was a lack of
uniformity in this area, as disciplinary laws of the military were scattered across a
number of legislations including the Singapore Army Act and the People'’s Defence
Force Act.[5] Furthermore, since the laws were conceived before the enactment of the
National Service (Amendment) Act 1972, their relevance were limited to an army that
was made up of regular professional soldiers or volunteers rather than operationally
ready national servicemen.[6] Therefore, this created an outdated and ineffective
military disciplinary system, resulting in a number of indiscipline cases.[7]
The SAF Act brought about key changes to the military’s disciplinary system. For
example, a system of trial by disciplinary officers – made up of junior disciplinary
officers, senior disciplinary officers and superior commanders – was introduced to
replace the system of trial by company commanders and commanding
officers.[8] Empowered with the authority to award strict punishments, including
detention to servicemen, these officers could now deal with cases of indiscipline
more expeditiously at unit level.[9] Furthermore, they were vested with the power to
authorise officers to investigate offences without seeking the permission of the
commanding officer.[10]
In addition, the legislation contained provisions that simplified the court-martial
process by establishing a two-court system under the subordinate military courts –
comprising the general courts-martial and the field-general courts-martial – to
handle trials of all servicemen irrespective of rank.[11] The Military Court of Appeal
was also created to enable an aggrieved party to appeal against decisions made by the
subordinate military courts.[12]
Under the act, the Armed Forces Council was empowered to review sentences meted
out by the courts.[13] Additionally, the act also consolidated military offences
provided in other military law enactments into a single list. Offences ranged from
milder ones like looting and insubordinate behaviour to severe ones punishable by
death, such as assisting the enemy and misconduct in action.
Opening Of The National Stadium
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The National Stadium was one of the most iconic buildings in Singapore. Opened on
21 July 1973 by then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, the stadium was a venue for
many sports, cultural and entertainment events such as the 1983 and 1993 Southeast
Asian (SEA) Games, Malaysia Cup football matches, inter-constituency football
tournaments, opening ceremonies of the Singapore Youth Festival and concerts of
popular artistes. Perhaps the most notable usage of the National Stadium was for the
nation’s national day parades (NDPs).[1] From the time of its opening to its official
closure on 30 June 2007, the stadium had hosted 18 NDPs, with the first held on 9
August 1976.[2]
Before the opening of the National Stadium, Singapore had two stadiums, namely the
10,000-capcity Jalan Besar Stadium and the 3,000-capacity Anson Road
Stadium.[3] In 1947, officials from various sports associations began planning for a
new stadium of international standards.[4] However, there was little progress
until1963 when a decision was made to build the stadium at Kallang.[5] Even then,
the project failed to take off.[6] In December 1965, plans for a new stadium were
revived when then Minister for Culture and Social Affairs Othman Wok proposed in
parliament the construction of a proper national sports stadium as a means to boost
sports promotion in the country.[7] Kallang remained as the site for the stadium
because of its prime location and close proximity to other sports venues.[8]
The construction of the National Stadium took about six years from 7 December 1966
to June 1972.[9] Singapore Pools, owned by the Ministry of Finance, was set up in
1968 to raise the necessary funds, while the National Stadium Corporation (NSC)
was established in 1971 to oversee the construction of the National Stadium.[10] The
stadium was built at the cost of about S$50 million.[11] When it opened, the stadium
was one of the best in Southeast Asia. Not only did it have a seating capacity of
50,000, it was also equipped with a 400-metre eight-lane synthetic track.[12] Other
facilities at the stadium included six air-conditioned squash courts, eight tennis
courts, a number of table tennis tables and a weights room.[13] The stadium also had
an 8,400-square-metre air-conditioned exhibition area, state-of-the-art sound and
floodlight systems, as well as electronic scoreboards.[14]
Temasek Holdings Is Incorporated
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An investment holding company for the Singapore government, Temasek Holdings
was incorporated on 25 June 1974 to manage its investments in government-linked
companies (GLCs).[1] The company has since expanded its operations to cover key
areas of business in sectors such as telecommunications, media, financial services,
energy, infrastructure, engineering, pharmaceuticals and the bio-sciences. As at 31
March 2013, Temasek’s global portfolio was worth S$215 billion.[2]
Temasek Holdings is wholly owned by the Minister for Finance.[3] Ho Ching, wife of
Lee Hsien Loong, the current prime minister of Singapore, was appointed the
company’s executive director on 1 May 2002, and has served concurrently as chief
executive officer since 2004.[4]
Since March 2002, Temasek has begun diversifying its portfolio outside of Singapore
such that a third of its investments are in developed markets, a third in developing
countries and a third in Singapore.[5] Some of the company’s major investments in
foreign companies include Standard Chartered, ICICI Bank (India), Bank Danamon
(Indonesia), Telekom Malaysia and ShinCorp (Thailand).[6] Temasek’s investments
in local companies include Singapore Airlines, Singtel, DBS Bank, SMRT, ST
Engineering, MediaCorp and Singapore Power.[7]
In the financial year ending March 2013, Temasek Holdings posted a group net profit
of S$11 billion[8] on revenue of S$83.8 billion.[9] It has been granted an “AAA” credit
rating by Standard and Poor’s and an “Aaa” rating by Moody’s, marking it’s 10th year
as a “Triple A” credit-rated company since the inaugural rating in 2004.[10]
Commercial Pig Farming In Punggol Is Announced
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The government announced in December 1974 that 620 ac (2.5 sq km) of land in
Punggol would be allocated for intensive commercial pig farming. There were about
30 to 40 plots of land available, each spanning at least five ac (20,234 sq m) and
requiring a capital of at least S$500,000. In light of the huge capital outlay required,
smaller farmers were encouraged to pool their resources together to set up a farm, or
to work for the bigger farms.[1]
The plan to concentrate all pig-farming activities at Punggol was triggered by the
development of the Kranji-Pandan Reservoir in 1971. It began as an experiment to
relocate traditional pig farms to high-rise intensive pig-farm units at Punggol, which
was located outside the water-catchment area and thus would not pose any pollution
threats.[2] Pig farming was found to be a serious source of pollution, as it produced
one of the highest amounts of solid waste at high concentrations.[3]
Before the resettlement of pig farms at Punggol, there were about 10,000 of such
farms (with more than 715,000 pigs) located around the island, which were sufficient
to meet domestic demands.[4] By 1977, the performance of the resettled pig farmers
at Punggol had exceeded expectations by half the time estimated to achieve the
three-year target set for pig production.[5] Although then Senior Minister of State
(National Development) Tan Eng Liang assured the resettled farmers that they were
likely to stay in business at Punggol for at least another 15 years, pollution became a
cause for concern as the pig farms used up too much land and water.[6]
In January 1984, when Goh Keng Swee took over the Primary Production
Department (now known as the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority) from the
Ministry of National Development, he concluded that pig farming caused massive
pollution and required intensive use of land and water – scarce resources in
Singapore – and that it was also expensive to treat pig wastes. He proposed
importing live pigs and frozen pork to meet the local demand for pork.[7] Since then,
pig farming had been gradually phased out in Singapore, and came to an end in 1989
when 22 Punggol pig farms were informed to stop operations by end November that
year.[8]
Last British Naval Units In Singapore Withdraw
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On 24 September 1975, after 150 years of British naval presence in Singapore, the
last British warship, HMS Mermaid, left the Sembawang Naval Basin.[1]
On 18 July 1967, the British announced that all British military forces would be
withdrawn by the mid-1970s.[2] The move was a bid to bolster the ailing British
economy by cutting back on its defence expenditure in the Far East.[3] The British
economy was vulnerable following the sterling crises from 1966 to 1967 and the
devaluation of the sterling in 1967. Further, the British political arena was facing
instability after a cabinet reshuffle.[4] As a result, the withdrawal of the forces was
accelerated, with most of them leaving by the end of 1971.[5] The last of the British
forces, stationed in Singapore under the Five-Power Defence Agreements, left in
March 1976.[6]
The military withdrawal had economic and security repercussions on
Singapore.[7] The departure of the British forces meant the liquidation of an
“industry” then representing 20 percent of Singapore’s gross national product.[8]
However, the anticipated effects of the withdrawal were ameliorated by the British
agreement to provide monetary aid[9]and to encourage British investment in
Singapore.[10] In addition, property held by the British were handed over to the
Singapore government.[11]
The military pullout coincided with the rise of communism in Southeast Asia, in
neighbouring countries such as Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Singapore increased
its regional cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
member nations, which then included Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the
Philippines. Singapore signed a Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in 1976 with
ASEAN member states in the face of growing external threats.[12]Singapore was also
part of the Five-Power Defence Arrangements, a consultative regional security
framework comprising Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Singapore,
which came into effect in 1971.[13]
Singapore sought to maintain good ties and strategic links with its allies, promote
peace and increase commercial and industrial projects. Further, a policy of
friendship was maintained with the People’s Republic of China to enhance trade and
culture.[14] Singapore also advanced its military capabilities by upgrading the
Singapore Armed Forces and engaging in military exercises with neighbouring
countries as well as the United States, New Zealand and Australia.[15]
Singapore Science Centre Opens
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The Singapore Science Centre (now known as Science Centre Singapore) was set up
to promote interest in and the learning of science and technology among students
and the general public.Situated in Jurong, the centre has held many science and
technology-related exhibitions and programmes[1] since its opening on 10 December
1977.[2]
The idea of establishing a science centre in Singapore was first envisaged in 1955 by a
group of four men[3] comprising Rex Anthony Shelley (Hume Industries Ltd), Ronald
Sng Ewe Min (Science Council of Singapore), Bernard Tan (University of Singapore)
and Sng Yew Chong (Ministry of Education).[4] The men had visited a number of
science centres overseas and felt that such an establishment in Singapore would be a
useful avenue to promote science and technology. Initially, the group planned to
open a small science centre in a rented shophouse.[5] This, however, became a larger
public project after the plan was picked up by Lee Kum Tatt, then chairman of the
Science Council of Singapore.[6] To advance the Science Centre plan, the council
mooted the idea to the government in 1968 and extolled the merits of having such a
centre to “promote and disseminate knowledge in science and technology”.[7]
The council’s proposal was accepted by the government who then passed the Science
Centre Bill on 22 July 1970 to create a Science Centre Board to manage the Science
Centre. The bill also stated that the Science Centre would take over the natural
history component of the National Museum.[8] An architectural design competition
was held in February 1971 for the design of the building and Raymond Woo’s design,
which still stands today, was picked as the winning design.[9] Construction of the
Science Centre began in 1973 and was completed in 1976 at the cost of S$12 million.
The centre was officially opened on 10 December 1977 by then Minister for Health
Toh Chin Chye.[10] At the time of its opening, the Singapore Science Centre had four
exhibition galleries: Physical Sciences, Life Sciences, Special Exhibits and Lobby. On
display were 328 exhibits featuring 19 themes such as nuclear power, wave
fundamentals, solar radiation, the universe and the origins of life.[11]
Residents’ Committees Are Formed
In the 1960s, Singapore began a massive public housing development programme in
which the bulk of Singapore's rural population was moved into new high-rise
Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats in housing estates. To ameliorate the
effects of the dislocation and to foster community spirit in these new
neighbourhoods, Residents' Committees (RCs) were introduced in 1978 to promote
neighbourliness, harmony and community cohesiveness among residents living in
HDB flats.[1] RCs also help to organise activities for residents and work with
government agencies to improve the living environment in the neighbourhoods.[2]
RCs were first established in the HDB estates of Bedok, Marine Parade and Tanjong
Pagar in April 1978. By June that same year, RCs were also set up in Ang Mo Kio,
Boon Lay, Bukit Merah, Kolam Ayer and Toa Payoh.[3] Similar to Citizens'
Consultative Committees (CCCs), RCs initially came under the Prime Minister's
Office and, later, the Ministry of Community Development.[4] Since 1993, both RCs
and CCCs have been operating under the umbrella of the People's Association.[5]
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Chinese Senior Vice-Premier Deng Xiaoping Visits Singapore
In November 1978, then Senior Vice-Premier of the People's Republic of China, Deng
Xiaoping, made his first and only official visit to Singapore – the last stop on his
three-nation tour of Southeast Asia that included Thailand and Malaysia.[1]
Arriving on 12 November, Deng and his 36-member delegation were met at the Paya
Lebar airport by then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and his cabinet colleagues,
including Deputy Prime Minister Goh Keng Swee, Foreign Minister S. Rajaratnam
and Finance Minister Hon Sui Sen.[2] Following a ceremonial welcome, the visitors
were taken on a state drive to the Istana where the first meeting between Deng and
Lee, together with their respective teams of ministers and officials, took place that
afternoon in the Cabinet Room.[3]
Both the Chinese and Singapore governments met in face-to-face discussions for a
total of five-and-a-half hours over two days, during which they discussed the threat
posed by the Soviet Union, its alliance with Vietnam, and the implications for
Southeast Asia and China.[4] At the time, Vietnam had gained a reputation as a
formidable military force in the region and with Soviet support, was poised to expand
its control by first invading Cambodia.[5] There were fears that a domino-like collapse
of the countries lying southwards of Vietnam – Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore –
would ensue.[6] In light of this threat, the question of what China would do in the
event of a Vietnamese takeover of Cambodia was of utmost concern to the Singapore
government in the talks with Deng.[7]
During his brief stay, Deng also visited the Housing Development Board (HDB) and
the Jurong Town Corporation (JTC) to learn about Singapore’s public housing and
industrialisation programme.[8] From the JTC headquarters, Deng proceeded to
Jurong Hilltop, where he was invited to plant a pong pong tree to mark the historic
occasion.[9] Deng's 1978 visit laid the foundation for close ties between Singapore and
China well before diplomatic relations were formalised in 1990.[10] The visit also
sowed the seeds for the replication of the Singapore model of industrial development
in China that led to the joint establishment of the Suzhou Industrial Park in 1994.[11]
Launch Of First National Courtesy Campaign
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The first national courtesy campaign was launched by then Prime Minister Lee Kuan
Yew on 1 June 1979, with the objective of turning Singapore into a pleasant country
where the people are kind, considerate and thoughtful towards each other.[1] The
campaign had its origins in an earlier courtesy campaign initiated by the Singapore
Tourist Promotion Board (now Singapore Tourism Board) in April 1978 to encourage
Singaporeans to be more polite and friendlier towards tourists.[2] Of the view that
attributes such as kindness, consideration and thoughtfulness should be inculcated
in everyone, Lee expanded the campaign into a nationwide public awareness
programme headed by the then Ministry of Culture (now Ministry of
Communications and Information).[3]
The courtesy campaign started off as a month-long campaign held annually in July
before turning into a year-long blitz in 1985.[4] In conjunction with the courtesy
campaign each year, activities and programmes were organised to reinforce the
courtesy message. These include distribution of pamphlets and souvenirs, airing of
commercials and catchy jingles, as well as the organisation of contests and
competitions.[5] Different themes and catchy slogans were also used each year to
encourage different groups of Singaporeans such as youths, mobile-phone users,
travellers, wedding guests and neighbours to be courteous and considerate to others
in various social situations.[6]
The slogan for the first courtesy campaign, held in 1979, was “Make Courtesy Our
Way of Life”, accompanied by a round smiling head logo.[7] In 1982, a mascot
named Singa (Malay for “lion”) was introduced to replace the smiling head logo,
which organisers felt was conveying the message that the campaign was only about
smiling.[8] Designed by the Ministry of Culture’s art team comprising Joseph Teo
Teck Seng, Ahmad Assan and Eileen Wat, Singa is depicted as a smiling goldenmaned lion with outstretched welcoming arms and wearing a red T-shirt with the
smiling head logo. It is accompanied by the slogan, “It is so nice to be
courteous”.[9] Since its unveiling, Singa has been featured in the publicity materials
of many courtesy campaigns.[10]
In 1993, the Singapore Courtesy Council was set up to advise the government on the
organisation and coordination of the annual national courtesy campaign.[11] Under
the council, the reach of the campaign was enlarged through various means. This
include the release of a comic book titled It’s the Hosomes! in 1994, and the launch of
a courtesy-themed website in 1998.[12] On 1 March 2001, the courtesy campaign was
subsumed under the Singapore Kindness Movement, which was launched in 1996
after the Singapore Courtesy Council was dissolved.[13]
Speak Mandarin Campaign Is Launched
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The Speak Mandarin Campaign was launched by then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew
on 7 September 1979 with the aim of simplifying the language environment and
improving communication among Chinese Singaporeans.[1]
Singapore adopted a bilingual education policy in 1966, where English was promoted
as a first language to ensure that the country would keep up with the global economy.
Besides English, students studied their respective mother tongues — Mandarin,
Malay and Tamil — to remain in touch with their cultures and heritage. However, it
was reported that many Chinese still preferred to speak dialects, such as Hokkien,
and it was believed that the use of dialects diluted the bilingual education policy.
Parliamentary secretary of the then Ministry of Culture, Ow Chin Hock, cautioned
that if the trend continued, the Chinese community would become an English and
dialect-speaking one, with Mandarin becoming a minority language. Ow stressed the
importance of communicating with Chinese-speaking people from other countries as
well as its economic advantage.[2]
In August 1979, a committee – comprising representatives from the press, cultural
and educational bodies, industrial and commercial trade affiliates, as well as clan
associations – was formed to oversee the launch of the Speak Mandarin Campaign. It
was tasked to coordinate the plans and activities of these various groups and to avoid
the duplication of programmes.[3] The Speak Mandarin Campaign was launched with
the following aims in mind:
a. To simplify the language environment for Chinese Singaporeans;
b. To improve communication and understanding among Chinese Singaporeans; and
c. To create a Mandarin-speaking environment conducive to the successful
implementation of the bilingual education programme.[4]
The initial target audience of the campaign were Chinese Singaporeans, to encourage
them to speak Mandarin instead of dialects so as to help them better appreciate their
culture and heritage.[5] The goal of the campaign was for Mandarin to become the
common language for Chinese Singaporeans within 10 to 20 years, which the
government hoped to achieve through joint efforts from civic, commercial and other
organisations in promoting the use of the language.[6]
Chewing Gum Is Banned
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Chewing gum is banned in Singapore under the Regulation of Imports and Exports
(Chewing Gum) Regulations.[1] The ban, which includes all gum substances of
vegetable or synthetic origin such as bubble gum and dental chewing gum, carries a
hefty fine and possible jail term for those caught importing, selling or manufacturing
chewing gum.[2]
One of the objectives of the ban was to prevent vandals from using spent chewing
gums to disrupt Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) services. Before the ban was enforced,
there had been many instances in which vandals stuck chewing gum on door sensors
of MRT trains, which prevented the doors from functioning properly and causing
disruptions in train services.[3] The chewing gum ban was implemented to eradicate
problems created by chewing-gum litter in public places like cinemas, parks and
common areas of housing estates such as lifts, staircases and corridors, as well as the
high costs involved to clean up the litter.[4] The Housing and Development Board
(HDB) reportedly spent S$150,000 annually to clean up chewing gum litter.[5]
The various problems created by chewing-gum litter and the idea of banning chewing
gum were first raised in 1983 by then Minister for Foreign Affairs and Culture S.
Dhanabalan.[6] In the 1980s, before the ban came into effect on 3 January 1992, the
government had already implemented some controls over the sale of chewing gum.
The then Singapore Broadcasting Corporation (now known as MediaCorp) was
prohibited from showing commercials that promoted the sale of chewing gum, while
school tuckshops were told to stop selling chewing gum to students.[7]
Public reaction to the chewing gum ban was divided. Supporters of the ban, including
Singapore Mass Rapid Transit, the Consumers Association of Singapore, cinemas
and cleaners, felt that the ban would help get rid of a perennial nuisance, and in
turn improve the cleanliness of public places.[8] Critics of the ban felt that it was too
sudden and harsh. They proposed that a more pragmatic approach be adopted such
as public education or heavier fines imposed on those who failed to dispose their
chewing gum appropriately.[9] The ban was also unpopular with chewing gum
distributors – including provision shops, convenience stores and supermarkets – as
they had to get rid of their chewing gum stocks at a loss.[10]
Despite the criticisms, the government went ahead with the chewing gum ban, as
public education did not produce the desired effect.[11] The ban proved effective in
reducing the number of chewing gum litter cases. For instance, in February 1993, the
average number of cases per day was just two compared with 525 before the ban.
With the drastic reduction in chewing gum litter, town councils reported huge
savings in cleaning costs.[12]
In March 2004, the chewing gum ban was partially lifted after the government
allowed the sale of gum under the free-trade agreement signed with the United States
of America.[13] However, the permitted gums were restricted to those with
therapeutic value such as nicotine gum and oral dental gum.[14]
SARS Outbreak Occurs In Singapore
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Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) is a type of atypical pneumonia caused
by a coronavirus now known as the SARS-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV) that is
transmitted through direct contact with the respiratory secretions or body fluids of
an infected person.[1] The virus was brought into Singapore in late February 2003 by
three Singaporean women who contracted the highly infectious disease while
holidaying in Hong Kong.[2] One of them, Esther Mok, was identified as the first
“index case” as 22 other close contacts caught the virus from her, sparking the
outbreak in Singapore.[3]
As more cases surfaced, a number of measures were introduced to deal with the
national crisis. On 22 March, Tan Tock Seng Hospital and the Communicable
Disease Centre became the designated facilities for the isolation and treatment of
SARS cases.[4] As a precaution, the Ministry of Health invoked the Infectious
Diseases Act on 24 March to impose home quarantine orders on persons who had
been in contact with SARS patients.[5] In addition, temperature checks were
conducted at all immigration checkpoints as well as schools, government offices and
many workplaces across the island.[6]
The SARS outbreak was successfully contained and Singapore was declared free of
SARS by the World Health Organization on 30 May 2003.[7] Singapore had a total of
238 reported cases of SARS, including 33 deaths.[8] Globally, SARS infected 8,096
people and resulted in 774 deaths, with China, Hong Kong and Taiwan being the
three worst-hit areas.[9]
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MATHEMATICS
1
2
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3
4
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5
6
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Mathematical Formulae
1. ALGEBRA
Quadratic Equation
For the equation ax 2  bx  c  0,
x
 b  b 2  4ac
2a
Binomial expansion
 n
 n
 n
(a  b) n  a n    a n 1b    a n  2 b 2  ...    a n  r b r  ...  b n ,
1
 2
r
n
n!
where n is a positive integer and   

 r  (n  r )! r!
n(n  1)...(n  r  1)
r!
2. TRIGONOMETRY
Identities
sin 2 A + cos 2 A = 1
sec 2 A = 1 + tan 2 A
cosec 2 A = 1 + cot 2 A
sin  A  B   sin A cos B  cos A sin B
cos  A  B   cos A cos B  sin A sin B
tan  A  B  
tan A  tan B
1  tan A tan B
sin 2 A  2 sin A cos A
cos 2 A  cos2 A  sin 2 A  2 cos2 A  1  1  2 sin 2 A
tan 2 A 
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2 tan A
1  tan 2 A
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sin A  sin B  2 sin 12  A  B  cos 12  A  B 
sin A  sin B  2 cos 12  A  B sin 12  A  B 
cos A  cos B  2 cos 12  A  B  cos 12  A  B 
cos A  cos B  2 sin 12  A  B sin 12  A  B 
Formulae for ABC
a
b
c


.
sin A sin B sin C
a 2  b 2  c 2  2bc cos A.
=
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1
bc sin A
2
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GENERAL KNOWLEDGE
The Confused Person’s Guide To The Syrian Civil War
In what French President Francois Hollande called “an act of war” against his
country, on November 13 several attackers staged a complex assault involving
shootings and suicide bombings in Paris that left 129 people dead. ISIS has claimed
responsibility, citing France’s participation in the “crusader campaign” against the
group. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was unsympathetic, blaming French policy
toward his country: “We said, don’t take what is happening in Syria lightly.
Unfortunately, European officials did not listen.” France is one of 65 members of the
U.S.-led international coalition against the Islamic State, and one of eight that has
conducted airstrikes against the group in Syria.
France’s direct combat involvement in Syria is fairly recent; having enlisted in
international airstrikes in Iraq last year, in September France joined a long list of
combatants in Syria’s civil war by bombing an ISIS training camp in the country.
(David Graham has more here on France’s campaigns against ISIS and its affiliates in
Syria and elsewhere.) That participation seems destined to expand; two days after
the Paris attacks, France’s defense ministry announced it was conducting airstrikes
against the Islamic State’s de facto capital of Raqqa, Syria, and U.S. officials were
reportedly sharing intelligence on ISIS targets with their French counterparts.
What?
Syria’s conflict has devolved from peaceful protests against the government in 2011
to a violent insurgency that has drawn in numerous other countries. It’s partly a civil
war of government against people; partly a religious war pitting Assad’s minority
Alawite sect, aligned with Shiite fighters from Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon,
against Sunni rebel groups; and increasingly a proxy war featuring Russia and Iran
against the United States and its allies. Whatever it is, it has so far killed 220,000
people, displaced half of the country’s population, and facilitated the rise of ISIS.
While a de-facto international coalition—one that makes informal allies of Assad, the
United States, Russia, Iran, Turkey, the Kurds, and others—is focused on defeating
ISIS in Syria, the battlefield features numerous other overlapping conflicts. The
Syrian war looks different depending on which protagonists you focus on. Here are
just a few ways to look at it:
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Who?
When we asked readers what they wanted to know about the civil war, one asked:
“Who are the various groups fighting in Syria? What countries are involved?” By one
count from 2013, 13 “major” rebel groups were operating in Syria; counting smaller
ones, the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency puts the number of groups at 1,200.
Meanwhile, the number of other countries involved to various degrees has grown;
including the United States, nine countries have participated in U.S.-led airstrikes
against ISIS in Syria (though Canada’s newly elected prime minister has vowed to
end his country’s involvement in the military campaign); Russia is conducting its
own bombing against ISIS and other rebel groups, in coordination with ground
operations by Iranian and Hezbollah fighters. This is before you tally the dozens of
countries whose citizens have traveled to join ISIS and other armed groups in Syria.
Thomas van Linge, the Dutch teenager who has gained renown for his detailed maps
of the Syrian conflict, groups the combatants into four broad categories: rebels (from
“moderate” to Islamist); loyalists (regime forces and their supporters); Kurdish
groups (who aren’t currently seeking to overthrow Assad, but have won autonomy in
northeastern Syria, which they have fought ISIS to protect); and finally, foreign
powers.
Many of the parties I place in this last category are fighting or claiming to fight ISIS.
The divide among them is whether to explicitly aim to keep Assad in power (Russia
and Iran), or to maintain that he must go eventually while focusing on the Islamic
State at the moment (the U.S.-led coalition).
In that sense, broadly speaking, Russia has intervened on behalf of the loyalists and
the United States has intervened on behalf of the rebels, though the U.S. has tried to
only help certain rebels, providing arms and training to “vetted” groups. It’s this
contradiction in U.S. goals—America wants Assad to go but is also fighting ISIS, one
of the strongest anti-Assad forces in Syria, in defiance of “the enemy of my enemy is
my friend” principle—that helps answer another reader’s question: “Why is it still so
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difficult to wrap my own head around our official involvement in the conflict?”
Russia’s approach is less sensitive to the differences among rebel groups: It opposes
all of them. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov summed it up at the United
Nations earlier in October: “If it looks like a terrorist, acts like a terrorist, and fights
like a terrorist, it’s a terrorist, right?”
The Battle For Syria
Airstrike locations are approximate. (Sources: Institute for the Study of War;
Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation; U.S. Central Command; Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights / Reuters)
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Where?
What started in Syria has spread to multiple countries—to Iraq, where ISIS has
effectively erased part of the border with Syria and taken over a chunk of the
northwest; to Turkey and Lebanon, which together have taken in more than 3 million
of the 4 million registered Syrian refugees; to Europe, which has received more than
500,000 asylum applications from Syrians since 2011; and to the United States,
which as of this writing has resettled fewer than 2,000 Syrian refugees since 2011 but
has pledged to take in 10,000 more over the next year.
(UNHCR; World Bank; Eurostat; U.S. Department of State’s Humanitarian
Information Unit / Reuters)
Why?
Why did Syria’s protests of 2011, which began in part as a response to the arrest and
mistreatment of a group of young people accused of writing anti-Assad graffiti in the
southern city of Deraa, morph into today’s chaos? Or as one reader asked: “What are
they fighting about?” The protests started after two Arab dictators, in Tunisia and
Egypt, had already stepped down amid pro-democracy demonstrations in their
countries. Syria’s war is unique among the Arab Spring uprisings, but it is not unique
among civil wars generally. Stanford’s James Fearon has argued that “civil wars often
start due to shocks to the relative power of political groups that have strong, preexisting policy disagreements… War then follows as an effort to lock in… or forestall
the other side’s temporary advantage.” The Syrian uprising presented just such a
shock, and the opposition to Assad may have seen a short-term opportunity to press
for more gains by taking up arms before their Arab Spring advantage disappeared.
An International Crisis Group report from 2011 noted that Assad at first responded
to protests by releasing some political prisoners and instructing officials “to pay
greater attention to citizen complaints,” but that “the regime acted as if each...
disturbance was an isolated case requiring a pin-point reaction rather than part of a
national crisis that would only deepen short of radical change.”
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Once a war starts, an awful logic often keeps it going, according to Fearon: “Given
enormous downside risk—wholesale murder by your current enemies—genuine
political and military power-sharing as an exit from civil war is rarely seriously
attempted and frequently breaks down when it has been attempted.” Another
complication: The Atlantic’s Dominic Tierney, among others, has argued that Assad
purposely radicalized the opposition to delegitimize the rebellion, by releasing
terrorists from prison and avoiding fighting ISIS.
When?
To paraphrase one reader’s question: When does this end? The political-science
professor Barbara F. Walter has pointed out that since the end of World War II, civil
wars have lasted an average of 10 years, but that the number of factions involved is
likely to prolong this one. Ben Connable and Martin Libicki of the Rand Corporation
have meanwhile found that insurgencies tend to end when outside state support is
withdrawn, and that “inconsistent or partial support to either side generally presages
defeat.” With foreign involvement increasing on both sides, neither is likely to win, or
lose, anytime soon.
Source: http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/10/syrian-civilwar-guide-isis/410746/
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Climate Change Is Altering How The Poles Drift
The spin of the earth is a constant in our lives. It’s quite literally why night follows
day. And while that cycle isn’t going away, climate change is messing with the axis
upon which our fair planet spins. Ice melting has caused a drift in polar motion, a
somewhat esoteric term that tells scientists a lot about past and future climate and is
crucial in GPS calculations and satellite communication.
Before 2000, Earth's spin axis was drifting toward Canada (left globe). Climate
change-driven ice loss in Greenland, Antarctica and elsewhere is pulling the
direction of drift eastward.
Credit: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Published: April 8th, 2016
Polar motion refers to the periodic wobble and drift of the poles. It’s been observed
for more than 130 years, but the process has been going on for eons driven by mass
shifts inside the earth as well as ones on the surface. For decades, the north pole had
been slowly drifting toward Canada, but there was a shift in the drift about 15 years
ago. Now it’s headed almost directly down the Greenwich Meridian (sorry Canada no
pole for you, eh).
Like many other natural processes large and small, from sea levels to wildfires,
climate change is also playing a role in this shift.
“Since about 2000, there has been a dramatic shift in this general
direction,” Surendra Adhikari, a researcher at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
said. “It is due to climate change without a doubt. It’s related to ice sheets, in
particular the Greenland ice sheet.”
That ice sheet has seen its ice loss speed up and has lost an average of 278 gigatons of
ice a year since 2000 as temperatures warm. The Antarctic has lost 92 gigatons a
year over that time while other stashes of ice from Alaska to Patagonia are also
melting and sending water to the oceans, redistributing the weight of the planet.
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Adhikari and his colleague Erik Ivins published their findings in Science Advances on
Friday, showing that melting ice explains about 66 percent of the change in the shift
of the Earth’s spin axis, particularly the rapid losses occurring in Greenland.
It’s a huge, mind boggling process on the global scale, but imagine it like a top.
Spinning a top with a bunch of pennies on it will cause wobble and drift in a certain
pattern. If you rearrange the pennies, the wobble and drift will be slightly different.
That’s essentially what climate change is doing, except instead of pennies, it’s ice and
instead of a top, it’s the planet. Suffice to say, the stakes are a little higher.
Ice loss explains most but not all of the shift. The rest can mostly be chalked up to
droughts and heavy rains in certain parts of the globe. Adhikari said this knowledge
could be used to help scientists analyze past instances of polar motion shifts and
rainfall patterns as well as answer questions about future hydrological cycle changes.
Ice is expected to continue melting and with it, polar motion is expected to continue
changing as well.
“What I can tell you is we anticipate a big loss of mass from West Antarctic and
Greenland ice sheets and that will mean that the general direction of the pole won’t
go back to Canada for sure,” Adhikari said.
If it continues moving down the Greenwich Meridian or meanders another way
remains to be seen, though.
“This depends highly on the region where ice melts, or if the effect of ice melt would
be counterbalanced by another effect (for example sea level rise, increased water
storage on continents, changes of climate zones),” Florian Seitz, the director of
German Geodetic Research Institute, said in an email.
In the here and now, polar motion shifts matter for astronomical observations and
perhaps even more importantly for the average person, GPS calculations.
Source: http://www.climatecentral.org/news/climate-change-polar-motion20229
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Zika Virus
Key Facts
Zika virus disease is caused by a virus transmitted primarily by Aedes mosquitoes.
People with Zika virus disease can have symptoms that can include mild fever, skin
rash, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain, malaise or headache. These symptoms
normally last for 2-7 days.
There is no specific treatment or vaccine currently available.
The best form of prevention is protection against mosquito bites.
The virus is known to circulate in Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific.
Introduction
Zika virus is an emerging mosquito-borne virus that was first identified in Uganda in
1947 in rhesus monkeys through a monitoring network of sylvatic yellow fever. It was
subsequently identified in humans in 1952 in Uganda and the United Republic of
Tanzania. Outbreaks of Zika virus disease have been recorded in Africa, the
Americas, Asia and the Pacific.
Genre:
Vector:
Reservoir:
Flavivirus
Aedes mosquitoes (which usually bite during the day with peaks during
early and late afternoon/evening hours)
Unknown
Signs and Symptoms
The incubation period (the time from exposure to symptoms) of Zika virus disease is
not clear, but is likely to be a few days. The symptoms are similar to other arbovirus
infections such as dengue, and include fever, skin rashes, conjunctivitis, muscle and
joint pain, malaise, and headache. These symptoms are usually mild and last for 2-7
days.
Potential Complications Of Zika Virus Disease
During large outbreaks in French Polynesia and Brazil in 2013 and 2015 respectively,
national health authorities reported potential neurological and auto-immune
complications of Zika virus disease. Recently in Brazil, local health authorities have
observed an increase in Guillain-Barré syndrome which coincided with Zika virus
infections in the general public, as well as an increase in babies born with
microcephaly in northeast Brazil. Substantial new research has strengthened the
association between Zika infection and the occurrence of fetal malformations and
neurological disorders. However, more investigation is needed to better understand
the relationship. Other potential causes are also being investigated.
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Transmission
Zika virus is transmitted to people through the bite of an infected mosquito from
theAedes genus, mainly Aedes aegypti in tropical regions. This is the same mosquito
that transmits dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever. However, sexual transmission
of Zika virus has is also possible. Other modes of transmission such as blood
transfusion and perinatal transmission are currently being investigated.
Zika virus disease outbreaks were reported for the first time from the Pacific in 2007
and 2013 (Yap and French Polynesia, respectively), and in 2015 from the Americas
(Brazil and Colombia) and Africa (Cabo Verde). In total, 64 countries and territories
have reported transmission of Zika virus since 1 January 2007.
Diagnosis
Infection with Zika virus may be suspected based on symptoms and recent history of
travel (e.g. residence or travel to an area where Zika virus is known to be present).
Zika virus diagnosis can only be confirmed by laboratory testing for the presence of
Zika virus RNA in the blood or other body fluids, such as urine or saliva.
Prevention
Vector Control
Mosquitoes and their breeding sites pose a significant risk factor for Zika virus
infection. Prevention and control relies on reducing mosquitoes through source
reduction (removal and modification of breeding sites) and reducing contact between
mosquitoes and people.
This can be done by using insect repellent regularly; wearing clothes (preferably
light-coloured) that cover as much of the body as possible; installing physical
barriers such as window screens in buildings, closed doors and windows; and if
needed, additional personal protection, such as sleeping under mosquito nets during
the day. It is extremely important to empty, clean or cover containers regularly that
can store water, such as buckets, drums, pots etc. Other mosquito breeding sites
should be cleaned or removed including flower pots, used tyres and roof gutters.
Communities must support the efforts of the local government to reduce the density
of mosquitoes in their locality. Efforts must be made to eliminate mosquito breeding
sites such as still water soon after rains and its accumulation in discarded containers
and waste materials in and around houses.
Repellents should contain DEET (N, N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide), IR3535 (3-[Nacetyl-N-butyl]-aminopropionic acid ethyl ester) or icaridin (1-piperidinecarboxylic
acid, 2-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1-methylpropylester). Product label instructions should be
strictly followed. Special attention and help should be given to those who may not be
able to protect themselves adequately, such as young children, the sick or elderly.
During outbreaks, health authorities may advise that spraying of insecticides be
carried out. Insecticides recommended by the WHO Pesticide Evaluation Scheme
may also be used as larvicides to treat relatively large water containers.
Travellers should take the basic precautions described above to protect themselves
from mosquito bites.
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Sexual Transmission
Sexual transmission of Zika virus is possible. All people who have been infected with
Zika virus and their sexual partners should practice safer sex, by using condoms
correctly and consistently.
Pregnant women’s sex partners living in or returning from areas where local
transmission of Zika virus occurs should practice safer sex, wearing condoms, or
abstaining throughout the pregnancy.
People living in areas where local transmission of Zika virus occurs should practice
safer sex or abstain from sexual activity.
In addition, people returning from areas where local transmission of Zika virus
occurs should adopt safer sexual practices or consider abstinence for at least 4 weeks
after their return to reduce the risk of onward transmission.
Treatment
Zika virus disease is usually relatively mild and requires no specific treatment.
People sick with Zika virus should get plenty of rest, drink enough fluids, and treat
pain and fever with common medicines. If symptoms worsen, they should seek
medical care and advice. There is currently no vaccine available.
WHO Response
WHO is supporting countries to control Zika virus disease by taking actions outlined
in the “Zika Strategic Response Framework":
a. Define and prioritize research into Zika virus disease by convening experts
and partners.
b. Enhance surveillance of Zika virus and potential complications.
c. Strengthen capacity in risk communication to help countries meet their
commitments under the International Health Regulations.
d. Provide training on clinical management, diagnosis and vector control
including through a number of WHO Collaborating Centres.
e. Strengthen the capacity of laboratories to detect the virus.
f. Support health authorities to implement vector control strategies aimed at
reducing Aedes mosquito populations such as providing larvicide to treat still
water sites that cannot be treated in other ways, such as cleaning, emptying,
and covering them.
g. Prepare recommendations for clinical care and follow-up of people with Zika
virus, in collaboration with experts and other health agencies.
Source: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/zika/en/
Updated 15 April 2016
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Singapore-Malaysia Water Agreements
Singapore and Malaysia have signed four agreements to regulate the supply of water
from Malaysia to Singapore. The first - signed in 1927 - is no longer in force. Water
imported from Malaysia under the other three agreements - signed in 1961, 1962 and
1990 - meets about half of Singapore's water demand. However, this will be reduced
after the 1961 pact expires in August 2011. The government has also stated that
Singapore can be self-sufficient in water by the time the 1962 and 1990 agreements
expire in 2061.
1927 Agreement
Dated 5 December 1927, this was signed between the municipal commissioners of the
town of Singapore and Sultan Ibrahim of the state and territories of Johor. It allowed
Singapore to rent 2,100 acres (8.5km2) of land in Gunong Pulai for the purpose of
supplying raw water from the area to Singapore. An annual rent of 30 cents per acre
(per 4,047m2) was payable on the land, but the water was free. Johor set aside an
additional 25mi2 (64.7km2) of land and agreed not to alienate any part of this land
for the next 21 years without the consent of the Singapore commissioners. If the
latter wanted to reserve any part of this plot for drawing water, they had to give
notice to the Johor government and pay an annual rent of $5 per acre. In return,
Johor could obtain 800,000 gallons (3,637m3) of treated water from Singapore daily
at a rate of 25 cents per 1,000 gallons (per 4.55m3). If Johor required more treated
water after 1929, the amount supplied could be increased but only up to 1,200,000
gallons (5,455m3) per day.
1961 Agreement
This was called the Tebrau and Scudai Rivers Water Agreement and was made
between the city council of the state of Singapore and the government of the state of
Johor. The agreement was officially signed on 2 October 1961 but took effect on 1
September 1961. By then, Singapore was a self-governing state within the British
empire while Malaya was already an independent nation. The 1927 agreement was
declared void in this document.
The agreement gave Singapore the full and exclusive right to draw off all the water
within the designated land at Gunong Pulai, Sungei Tebrau and Sungei Scudai for a
period of 50 years up till 2011. Singapore was to pay an annual rent of $5 per acre for
the land and a charge of 3 cents for every 1,000 gallons of water. Singapore also
agreed to provide Johor with a daily supply of treated water up to 12% of the raw
water it drew, subject to a minimum of four million gallons (18,184m3), and at a price
of 50 cents per 1,000 gallons. If the 12% provided by Singapore was insufficient,
Johor could request for more treated water to be supplied.
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1962 Agreement
Called the Johor River Water Agreement, this was signed on 29 September 1962
between the Singapore city council and the Johor state government. Valid for 99
years up till 2061, it gave Singapore the full and exclusive right to draw water from
Johor River up to a maximum of 250 million gallons per day (mgd) (1.14 million
cubic metres a day). In return, Johor was entitled to a daily supply of treated water
from Singapore up to 2% of the raw water it supplied.
Singapore had to pay rent for the land it used "at the standard rate applicable to
building lots on town land". The water prices remained the same as in the previous
agreement - 3 cents per 1,000 gallons of raw water supplied to Singapore and 50
cents per 1,000 gallons of treated water sold to Johor. After Singapore and Malaysia
stopped using a common currency, the prices became denominated in Malaysian
ringgit.
The 1961 and 1962 agreements provided for a price review after 25 years, with
arbitration being the agreed course of action if bilateral price negotiations failed.
However, the Johor government chose not to revise the prices at both opportunities,
in 1986 and 1987.
The Independence of Singapore Agreement (also known as the Separation
Agreement) signed between the governments of Singapore and Malaysia on 9 August
1965 guaranteed the 1961 and 1962 water agreements.
1990 Agreement
This was signed on 24 November 1990 between the Public Utilities Board (PUB) of
Singapore and the Johor state government. It was supplementary to the 1962 pact
and would also expire in 2061. A separate document was signed on the same day by
the governments of Malaysia and Singapore to guarantee adherence to the
agreement.
Under this agreement, Singapore was allowed to construct a dam across Sungei
Linggui to facilitate the extraction of water from Johor River, with Johor setting
aside about 21,600ha (216km2) of land for the project. Singapore agreed to pay
RM320 million as compensation for the permanent loss of use of the land and its
associated revenue, in addition to a premium of RM18,000 per hectare (per
10,000m2) and an annual rent of RM30 for every 1,000ft2 (per 92.9m2) of the land.
The cost of building and maintaining the dam would be borne by Singapore.
In return, Singapore could buy (from Johor) treated water generated by the new
dam. This would be over and above the 250mgd of raw water that it was allowed to
draw from Johor River under the 1962 agreement. The price of this additional supply
would be calculated based on a fixed formula: the weighted average of Johor's water
tariffs plus 50% of the surplus from the sale of this water by PUB to its consumers
after deducting Johor's price and PUB's cost of distribution, or 115% of the weighted
average of Johor's water tariffs, whichever was higher.
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This agreement was a follow-up to the memorandum of understanding (MOU)
signed on 28 June 1988 between the two countries' prime ministers at the time, Lee
Kuan Yew for Singapore and Mahathir Mohamad for Malaysia. The signing of the
MOU was hailed as a breakthrough in Singapore-Malaysia water relations, the
culmination of six years of difficult negotiations.
Beyond 2061
The Singapore government has stated that it will not renew the 1961 agreement
which expires in 2011. Attempts to reach a new deal with Malaysia to secure water
supply for Singapore beyond 2061 have not borne fruit despite years of tedious
negotiations. To reduce Singapore's dependence on imported water, the government
has taken steps to increase the size of the local water catchment area and to build up
the supply from non-conventional sources, namely NEWater (reclaimed water) and
desalinated water. With the various water projects progressing well, government
officials have assured Singaporeans that the country can be self-reliant in water by
2061 if it needs to be.
Source: http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_1533_2009-06-23.html
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The Truth About The Bermuda Triangle
The Bermuda Triangle is a large area of ocean between Florida, Puerto Rico, and
Bermuda. Over the last few centuries, it’s thought that dozens of ships and planes
have disappeared under mysterious circumstances in the area, earning it the
nickname “The Devil’s Triangle.” People have even gone so far as to speculate that it’s
an area of extra-terrestrial activity or that there is some bizarre natural scientific
cause for the region to be hazardous; but most likely, it’s simply an area in which
people have experienced a lot of bad luck—the idea of it being a “vortex of doom” is
no more real than Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster (see The Origin of the Bigfoot
Legend and The Origin of the Loch Ness Monster).
The Bermuda Triangle’s bad reputation started with Christopher Columbus.
According to his log, on October 8, 1492, Columbus looked down at his compass and
noticed that it was giving weird readings. He didn’t alert his crew at first, because
having a compass that didn’t point to magnetic north may have sent the already on
edge crew into a panic. This was probably a good decision considering three days
later when Columbus simply spotted a strange light, the crew threatened to return to
Spain.
This and other reported compass issues in the region gave rise to the myth that
compasses will all be off in the Triangle, which isn’t correct, or at least is an
exaggeration of what is actually happening as you’ll see. Despite this, in 1970 the
U.S. Coast Guard, attempting to explain the reasons for disappearances in the
Triangle, stated:
First, the “Devil’s Triangle” is one of the two places on earth that a magnetic compass
does point towards true north. Normally it points toward magnetic north. The
difference between the two is known as compass variation. The amount of variation
changes by as much as 20 degrees as one circumnavigates the earth. If this compass
variation or error is not compensated for, a navigator could find himself far off
course and in deep trouble.
Of course, despite this now being repeated as an explanation for disappearances in
the Triangle on numerous documentaries and articles since then, it turns
out magnetic variation is something ship captains (and other explorers) have known
about and had to deal with pretty much as long as there have been ships and
compasses. Dealing with magnetic declination is really just “Navigation by Compass”
101 and nothing to be concerned about, nor anything that would seriously throw off
any experienced navigator.
In 2005, the Coast Guard revisited the issue after a TV producer in London inquired
about it for a program he was working on. In this case, they correctly changed their
tune about the magnetic field bit stating. Many explanations have cited unusual
magnetic properties within the boundaries of the Triangle. Although the world’s
magnetic fields are in constant flux, the “Bermuda Triangle” has remained relatively
undisturbed. It is true that some exceptional magnetic values have been reported
within the Triangle, but none to make the Triangle more unusual than any other
place on Earth.
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The modern Bermuda Triangle legend didn’t get started until 1950 when an article
written by Edward Van Winkle Jones was published by the Associated Press. Jones
reported several incidences of disappearing ships and planes in the Bermuda
Triangle, including five US Navy torpedo bombers that vanished on December 5,
1945, and the commercial airliners “Star Tiger” and “Star Ariel” which disappeared
on January 30, 1948 and January 17, 1949 respectively. All told, about 135
individuals were unaccounted for, and they all went missing around the Bermuda
Triangle. As Jones said, “they were swallowed without a trace.”
It was a 1955 book, The Case for the UFO, by M. K. Jessup that started pointing
fingers at alien life forms. After all, no bodies or wreckage had yet been discovered.
By 1964, Vincent H. Gaddis—who coined the term “Bermuda Triangle”—wrote an
article saying over 1000 lives had been claimed by the area. He also agreed that it
was a “pattern of strange events.” The Bermuda Triangle obsession hit its peak in the
early 1970s with the publication of several paperback books about the topic,
including the bestseller by Charles Berlitz, The Bermuda Triangle.
However, critic Larry Kusche, who published The Bermuda Triangle Mystery:
Solved in 1975, argued that other authors had exaggerated their numbers and hadn’t
done any proper research. They presented some disappearance cases as “mysteries”
when they weren’t mysteries at all, and some reported cases hadn’t even happened
within the Bermuda Triangle.
After extensively researching the issue, Kusche concluded that the number of
disappearances that occurred within the Bermuda Triangle wasn’t actually greater
than in any other similarly trafficked area of the ocean, and that other writers
presented misinformation—such as not reporting storms that occurred on the same
day as disappearances, and sometimes even making it seem as though the conditions
had been calm for the purposes of creating a sensational story. In short: previous
Bermuda Triangle authors didn’t do their research and either knowingly or
unintentionally “made it up.”
The book did such a thorough job of debunking the myth that it effectively ended
most of the Bermuda Triangle hype. When authors like Berlitz and others were
unable to refute Kusche’s findings, even the most steadfast of believers had difficulty
remaining confident in the sensationalized Bermuda Triangle narrative.
Nevertheless, many magazine articles, TV shows, and movies have continued to
feature the Bermuda Triangle.
Because the number of disappearances in the Bermuda Triangle is no greater than
any other similarly trafficked area of the world’s oceans, they don’t really need an
explanation. But if you’re still convinced that the Triangle is a ship graveyard, relative
to other regions that get around the same number of travelers, here are some natural
explanations from the Coast Guard to combat some of the “alien” and other
fantastical theories.
The majority of disappearances can be attributed to the area’s unique features. The
Gulf Stream, a warm ocean current flowing from the Gulf of Mexico around the
Florida Straits northeastward toward Europe, is extremely swift and turbulent. It can
quickly erase any evidence of a disaster.
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The unpredictable Caribbean-Atlantic storms that give birth to waves of great size as
well as waterspouts often spell disaster for pilots and mariners. (Not to mention that
the area is in “hurricane alley.”) The topography of the ocean floor varies from
extensive shoals to some of the deepest marine trenches in the world. With the
interaction of strong currents over reefs, the topography is in a constant state of flux
and breeds development of new navigational hazards.
Not to be underestimated is the human factor. A large number of pleasure boats
travel the water between Florida’s Gold Coast (the most densely populated area in
the world) and the Bahamas. All to often, crossings are attempted with too small a
boat, insufficient knowledge of the area’s hazards and lack of good seamanship.
Source: http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2014/01/myth-bermudatriangle/
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Why Is Pluto No Longer A Planet?
Nasa's New Horizons mission made a close pass of Pluto this week. For more than 70
years, Pluto was one of nine planets recognised in our Solar System. But in 2006, it
was relegated to the status of dwarf planet by the International Astronomical Union
(IAU). So why was Pluto demoted? Where did the controversy start?
Pluto was discovered in 1930 by US astronomer Clyde Tombaugh, who was using the
Lowell Observatory in Arizona. Textbooks were swiftly updated to list this ninth
member in the club. But over subsequent decades, astronomers began to wonder
whether Pluto might simply be the first of a population of small, icy bodies beyond
the orbit of Neptune.
This region would become known as the Kuiper Belt, but it took until 1992 for the
first "resident" to be discovered. The candidate Kuiper Belt Object (KBO) 1992 QBI
was detected by David Jewitt and colleagues using the University of Hawaii's 2.24m
telescope at Mauna Kea.
How Did This Change Things?
Confirmation of the first KBO invigorated the existing debate. And in 2000, the
Hayden Planetarium in New York became a focus for controversy when it unveiled
an exhibit featuring only eight planets. The planetarium's director Neil deGrasse
Tyson would later become a vocal figure in public discussions of Pluto's status.
But it was discoveries of Kuiper Belt Objects with masses roughly comparable to
Pluto, such as Quaoar (announced in 2002), Sedna (2003) and Eris (2005), that
pushed the issue to a tipping point.
Eris, in particular, appeared to be larger than Pluto - giving rise to its informal
designation as the Solar System's "tenth planet".
Prof Mike Brown of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), who led the
team that found Eris, would later style himself as the "man who killed Pluto", while
deGrasse Tyson would later jokingly quip that he had "driven the getaway car".
The finds spurred the International Astronomical Union to set up a committee
tasked with defining just what constituted a planet, with the aim of putting a final
draft proposal before members at the IAU's 2006 General Assembly in Prague.
Under a radical early plan, the number of planets would have increased from nine to
12, seeing Pluto and its moon Charon recognised as a twin planet, and Ceres and Eris
granted entry to the exclusive club. But the idea met with opposition.
What Happened Next?
The discussions in Prague during August 2006 were intense, but a new version of a
planetary definition gradually took shape. On 24 August, the last day of the assembly,
members voted to adopt a new resolution outlining criteria for naming a planet:
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Pluto met the first two of these criteria, but the last one proved pivotal. "Clearing the
neighbourhood" means that the planet has either "vacuumed up" or ejected other
large objects in its vicinity of space. In other words, it has achieved gravitational
dominance.
Because Pluto shares its orbital neighbourhood with other icy Kuiper Belt Objects,
the resolution effectively stripped the distant world of a planetary designation it had
held for some 76 years.
It was immediately relegated it to the distinct category of "dwarf planet", alongside
the biggest body in the asteroid belt, Ceres, and other large Kuiper Belt Objects such
as Eris, Quaoar and Sedna.
Commenting at the time, the IAU's president of planetary systems science Prof Iwan
Williams said: "By the end of the decade, we would have had 100 planets, and I think
people would have said 'my goodness, what a mess they made back in 2006'."
Was That The End Of The Matter?
In a word, no. Some experts immediately questioned the part of the definition about
a planet clearing its orbital neighbourhood.
This is because Earth shares its cosmic turf with more than 12,000 near-Earth
asteroids. Thus, some have argued that Earth, Jupiter and other planets also fail to
meet the IAU's 2006 definition.
Speaking just after the vote, Prof Alan Stern, chief scientist for the New Horizons
mission, called the outcome "an awful decision" and described the new definition as
"internally inconsistent".
Prof Owen Gingerich of Harvard, who chaired the planet definition committee,
revealed that only 10% of the 2,700 scientists who had attended the 10-day meeting
were present at the Pluto vote. The low turn-out has been blamed on timing; the vote
was held on the last day of the General Assembly when many participants had left or
were preparing to fly out from Prague.
The debate has rumbled on ever since, on television, in the pages of books and in
public talks.
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Most recently, Alan Stern challenged Neil deGrasse Tyson to a debate on the matter
in 2014. But the latter expert turned down the offer, stating: "I don't have opinions
that I require other people to have."
The flyby of Pluto is unlikely to provide any information relevant to a change in
Pluto's status. But it will bring into clear focus once more what is, and what isn't,
meant by the term "planet".
Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-33462184
By Paul RinconScience editor, BBC News website
13 July 2015
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South Sudan: The State That Fell Apart In A Week
A week ago, Simon K, a 20-year-old student living in the capital of South Sudan, was
arrested by men in military uniforms. He was asked a question that has taken on
deadly importance in the world's newest country in the past seven days: incholdi –
"What is your name?" in Dinka, the language of the country's president and its
largest ethnic group.
Those who, like Simon, were unable to answer, risked being identified as Nuer, the
ethnic group of the former vice-president now leading the armed opposition and
facing the brunt of what insiders are describing as the world's newest civil war.
Simon K was taken to a police station in the Gudele market district of Juba, where he
was marched past several dead bodies and locked in a room with other young men,
all Nuer. "We counted ourselves and found we were 252," he told the Guardian.
"Then they put guns in through the windows and started to shoot us."
The massacre continued for two days with soldiers returning at intervals to shoot
again if they saw any sign of life. Simon was one of 12 men to survive the assault by
covering themselves in the bodies of the dead and dying.
Simon spoke from inside the UN compound that has become an emergency
sanctuary to the remaining Nuer in the capital. Sitting on a filthy mattress by the side
of a dirt road, with bandages covering bullet wounds in his stomach and legs, he
recalled: "It was horrible, because to survive I had to cover myself with the bodies of
dead people, and during the two days, the bodies started to smell really bad."
In the space of seven desperate days, the UN base has been transformed from a
logistics hub for an aid operation into a squalid sanctuary for more than 10,000
people. Amid the confusion of bodies and belongings, a handmade sign hangs from
the rolls of razor wire. "The Lord is our best defender," it reads.
But there is no sign here of the Lord's defence, as the country that gained
independence in 2011 with huge international fanfare and support has come apart in
the space of a week.
The latest violence began after a fight between Dinka and Nuer soldiers in the
presidential guard on 15 December, igniting a simmering political power struggle in
South Sudan's ruling party and sparking widespread ethnic killings.
Juba resident Gatluak Kual, who has bullet wounds in both arms and a prosthetic
foot from the 20-year battle that split Sudan and created an independent south two
years ago under President Salva Kiir, says the country is once more at war.
"Everyone here has lost someone [in the last week]," he said, gesturing out over the
multitude with the finger he broke five days ago disarming a Dinka militiaman who
was trying to kill him. "We have seen our daughters, our brothers, our mothers killed
simply because they are Nuer. To me this is already a civil war."
The reverberations of the wave of targeted killings that began in the fledgling capital
are being felt throughout the country, where they have sparked revenge attacks and
copycat atrocities. Generals who have mutinied have seized the capital of South
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Sudan's largest state, Jonglei, and its main oil-producing area, Unity State. Former
vice-president Riek Machar threw his support behind the armed opposition and is
now its de facto leader. On Sunday a full-scale tank battle was being fought between
opposing factions in the South's army in the far western reaches of oil-rich, swampy
Upper Nile.
"It would have been difficult one week ago to imagine that things would unravel to
this extent," said the UN's head of humanitarian affairs in South Sudan, Toby Lanzer.
The fighting has already claimed thousands, if not tens of thousands, of civilian lives.
Hundreds of thousands of South Sudanese have fled into the bush or returned to
home villages, according to the UN. The official death toll of 500, which corresponds
with the number of dead in a single Juba hospital six days ago, is being dismissed by
experts. A veteran aid worker, who has been assessing the scale and nature of the
killings from sources nationwide, said the real figure was "in the tens of thousands".
On Monday, Machar claimed his forces had gained control of all the major oil fields
in Unity and Upper Nile states. The information minister, Michael Makuei, told
Reuters this was "wishful thinking".
In Juba, Gatwech T remembers how, last Tuesday, he ran for his life when soldiers
attacked his home area of Hai Referendum. Some of the men outran the younger
ones, who were caught by men in uniform. "They caught the boys and I stopped to
watch. They counted them and there were 21 boys, as young as him," he said,
pointing at a 15-year-old. "They tied their hands behind their backs and killed them."
Yien K, 28, was at home last Monday evening at around 10pm in the Jabarona area
on the outskirts of the capital when he heard shooting. As it came closer he decided
to hide at his brother's home. There were five of them inside the simple structure: his
brother, his brother's wife, one-year-old niece and another six-year-old girl, a cousin.
Yien recalls the moment just after midnight when the tracks of a tank ripped through
the walls and crushed the one-year-old. "The tanks came and ran over the house," he
said. "The men escaped but the woman and girls were killed."
Unlike some of Juba's neighbourhoods, which have divided along ethnic lines,
Jabarona is a mixed area and Yien believes the tank operators had guides showing
them where Nuer people were living.
In neighbourhoods such as Mangaten, Hai Referendum, Area 107 and Eden City, it is
now easy to tell where the Nuer community lived. Halfway down the main market
street of Mangaten, a dust-blown complex of tin-shack shops and rickety stalls, the
bustle and activity stops. Most businesses have been ransacked, their rough shelves
stripped of everything; stalls have been burned to the ground. Crossing into Hai
Referendum, one of the highest density settlements in Juba, is now a ghost town of
abandoned houses.
On Saturday, a few laid-back looters could be seen loading a meagre haul of plastic
chairs, pots and foam mattresses on to three-wheelers. In some houses nearby plates
of food were left behind, clothes have been scattered where people fled. Only broken
plastic chairs, empty tubs of milk powder and smashed fans lie in the dirt.
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Crossing the boundary into Eden City, the atmosphere changed. Plainclothes
soldiers, one of them with a plastic-handled kitchen knife in the pocket of his shorts
and a machete visible under his football shirt stopped and questioned any outsiders.
Only 20 metres away was the charred corpse of a man lying with his legs splayed
outside the looted Eden Sports bar.
Nearby, a nervous family had returned to their mud hut home, known as a tukul, to
visit Moses' aged mother who is too ill to make the journey to the UN base less than a
mile away. He was determined to leave before nightfall, when a dusk-to-dawn curfew
imposed by the government begins. "The army is coming at night," he said. "You hear
the guns going tuk-tuk-tuk."
Rose, who emerged from the tukul where Moses' mother is bed-ridden, said:
"Everybody has been running because of war. We're also running."
South Sudan's government, which has received billions of dollars in foreign aid and
is home to the largest UN peacekeeping operation in the world outside the
Democratic Republic of Congo, continues to insist that massacres in Juba have not
happened. The president, whose guards sparked the first fighting on 15 December,
has assured the South Sudanese that his forces will protect civilians.
Philip Aguer, a spokesman for the Sudan People's Liberation Army, the civil war
guerrilla force that is now the national army, denied any orchestrated attacks had
taken place. He said he was unaware of the slaughter at Mangaten police station and
blamed any deaths on "criminal elements" who had exploited the chance to loot and
kill afforded by the crisis. "Even though some of these criminals are wearing army
uniforms does not necessarily mean they are part of the army," he said. He denied
any national army soldiers were involved: "No SPLA soldiers are involved in this
criminal activity."
With regard to those carrying out the atrocities, he added: "We are ready to arrest
them and take them to court."
But this description of rogue elements does not tally with the account of Riek W, who
was until Saturday a serving member of the presidential guard, known to Jubans as
the "Tigers".
A three-year veteran of the multi-ethnic unit that was meant to bind the diverse
communities of what had been southern Sudan, he was not openly known as a Nuer
to many of his colleagues and does not bear the traditional "Gaar" scarring that many
Nuer men have on their faces.
Now in hiding in the UN base, he described how fighting between Dinka and Nuer
members of the Tigers last Sunday night had spilled over into attacks on civilian
Nuers all over the city.
"They took people who were not soldiers and tied their hands and shot them. I saw
this with my own eyes, I was there wearing the same uniform as them."
Young men from the Dinka community, many of them with no military training,
were given uniforms and guns from various armouries around the capital, including
one located at President Kiir's own compound, known as J1, he says.
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"It is soldiers who are doing this and militia from Dinka boys who have been given
guns from the Tigers," he said.Riek W said that his Dinka colleagues could not act
without the authority of their commander and that they were "the same soldiers that
are killing people at night".
Riek W, who decided to abandon his post in the president's compound at the
weekend as he feared for his life and was horrified at the murder of civilians, said
that the scale of the killings was being covered up. " They… are using the curfew to
remove the bodies," he said.
He described how he had seen "large trucks" full of bodies, some of which were taken
to grave sites dug with bulldozers, while others had been dumped in the river Nile at
two points: one near the Bilpam barracks and one at Juba bridge. These reports have
been corroborated by fishermen who have seen the bodies up on the river bank. "The
numbers they are saying are completely wrong, people have been killed everywhere,"
Riek W said.
The Nuer who have survived in Juba, numbering 20,000, are now crammed into the
city's two UN bases. Their fate is matched by another 14,000 civilians from other
ethnic groups sheltering with the UN in South Sudan's other main towns.
Many of the Nuer crowded into the main UN mission base in Juba said they were
sure the peacekeepers would protect them despite the evacuation over the weekend
of all non-critical UN staff.
Not everyone feels safe, though. Wearing a dusty pinstriped suit jacket and
apologising for not having showered in six days, 51-year-old Peter Bey was unsure.
He has watched in recent days as one evacuation flight after another has taken
foreign nationals to safety from the airport on the other side of the fence. "We see
from history that the UN has left people behind before in Rwanda," he said. "They
put their own people on helicopters and left the people who died."
Source: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/23/south-sudan-statethat-fell-apart-in-a-week
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Living Off The Grid - Alternative Power Sources
As new technological innovations continue to offer new forms of clean and green
power, the ability to live with less has become a reality. Solar, wind, geothermal, and
hydro means of power make it possible to live “off the grid,” where dependence on
natural kinds of power and energy replaces the dependence on more traditional
power systems. Whether you’re living in a remote area or interested in energy
savings, natural power source innovations are available in many different forms.
Solar Power Systems
Off-grid power systems operate independently from power lines, whose generated
energy can be used to power appliances. An off-grid solar system, for example, uses
only the solar energy is gathers to power appliances in that system. An off-grid
hybrid system, on the other hand, uses a combination of solar, hydro, and wind
power as the main energy supply for a system.
When it comes to solar systems, many different configurations are available
depending on the kind of power needed (AC or DC voltage). Most systems, regardless
of their energy output, absorb solar energy in a similar fashion. Solar panels are one
of the most commonly used methods for harnessing solar energy.
Solar panels are comprised of multiple solar cells, called photovoltaic cells, which
absorb the sun’s energy and convert it into usable power. To do this, photovoltaic
cells are comprised of semiconductor materials—such as silicon or cadmium
telluride—which absorbs solar energy which in turn releases electrons. Metal
contacts on various sides of the solar panel direct the free electrons in one direction,
creating a current. The current, combined with voltage stored within the photovoltaic
cells, is the end result and can be used to power devices.
Hydropower Systems
A hydropower system uses the force of moving or falling water to generate energy.
These systems range in size, depending on the amount of power desired: large
hydropower system can produce enough energy to provide electricity for millions of
homes, whereas smaller hydropower systems can be engineered to produce enough
energy to provide power for one household.
Regardless of the size of the system, there are several elements that most hydropower
systems share. First, a dam must be created, which is a barrier that essentially slows
a moving body of water, thus raising the water level—the result is a small waterfall or
controlled outpouring of water on the other side of the dam. As the water is released
through the dam, it accumulates great force. A turbine, a device that operates in
much the same way as a windmill, rotates as the water propels the turbine’s blades,
and converts the energy of the water into mechanical energy. The turbine is
connected to a generator which spins as a result of the spinning turbine, and converts
the mechanical energy into electrical energy. Lastly, the electricity is fed into
transmission lines, which carry the energy to homes or devices. The amount of
energy created by a hydropower system is contingent upon the amount of water
passing through the system and how far the water falls.
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Wind Systems
Wind energy systems harness kinetic energy from wind and turn it into mechanical
or electrical energy, in much the same way hydropower systems gather energy from
water. The primary device wind systems use is a wind turbine, which is available as a
vertical axis and a horizontal axis turbine.
The most commonly used type of wind turbine is a horizontal axis turbine, which is
typically used in large scale wind systems that harness 100 kilowatts and higher.
Most turbines include the following elements: a rotor, a nacelle, a tower, and some
electronic equipment.
In the same way that a hydro turbine depends on rotors to rotate, the rotorsof a wind
turbine propel the turbine when they encounter wind. The nacellehouses the
generator, which spin as the rotors spin. The tower supports the rotor, narcelle,
and electronic equipment, which helps feed the electricity generated by the wind
turbine into utility power lines. Depending on the size of the turbine, capacities as
large as 5,000 kilowatts can be reached.
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