Sea level 'rising faster than thought'

The Ilulissat Icefjord, in western Greenland, in a picture taken in May. New findings by scientists show that Arctic ice levels have dropped sharply due to global warming, with the extent of sea ice dipping below the 2005 minimum. -- PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

PARIS: Much of the world's coastline may be drowned by rising seas sooner than anticipated because scientists now say they cannot rule out a fast-track melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet - a prospect once the preserve of doomsayers. This would spell trouble for Singapore and many countries in the world.

To find out more, please refer to the Straits Time's 2 Sept 08 edition.

Now, I am no Geographer. Physical Geography never made much sense to me. Platonics, block mountains and contour lines were as alien as physics. Perhaps slightly less.

But I do understand rising sea levels caused by melting ice caps which is caused by global warming. Take an ice cube out of the fridge, put it under the sun and see how fast it melts (global warming). When previously, the ice cube could stay solid in the freezer. More melted ice = more water. More water = rising sea levels = Singapore drowning.

Let's help save the environment. Without it, we can forget about sustainable growth. We will all be suffering.

Switch off your computers, fans, lights when you are not using it.
Use less air cons.
Use more public transport.
Use less plastic bags.
Etc Etc Etc. The list can go on.

But the idea behind using less and recycling is so that less energy is used to produce more of these items. And when less energy is used, less pollutants are released into the atmosphere which causes global warming.

Did I get my concepts right, Geography teachers and students?

Save the Earth while shopping!

As most Marists would know by now, shopping is my favourite activity and I am always on the prowl for good buys and nice stuff. In true Ms Lee style, I was planning to go shopping yesterday after the Common Test marking (YEAH!) and stumbled upon a whole heap of plastic bags in my storeroom before I left.

I then decided that I was going to bring my bag to go shopping and selected a nice cloth bag which i brought with me to Orchard Road. Now, you know I seldom come home empty handed and the chances of me buying something is very high. True enough, I found that cloth bag very useful as it helped me to reject taking 2 plastic bags from the shops I patronised.

I have thus decided that from now on, I'll make a greater effort to bring my own bag when i go shopping and will decline taking any bags if I can help it. Truth really is I don't need a small plastic bag when I buy 2 pens and when i buy a hot dog bun, I don't need 2 bags.

I wish to encourage all Marist to do likewise - stop taking bags you don't need or would otherwise end up in the bin when you bring them home.

Let's save the Earth together!