UNEP 2010 Jun report Summary

In Jun 2010, UNEP (UN Environment Program) published a report
““Accessing the Environmental Impacts of Consumption and Production:
Priority, Product and Materials”. The report studies how our
consumption patterns impacts the Environment.

The UN panel gathered many scientists to provide science-based
assessments of how products, materials and economic and lifestyle
activities, impacts the planet. It is the first global assessment to
determine which type of consumption activities have the biggest impact
on the environment.

The purpose of this U.N. Environment Programme-sponsored study was to
identify the "hot spots" in terms of environmental impacts so that
policy makers can use this information to reform policies
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Summary of UNEP Jun 2010 report:
· Two broad areas are currently having a disproportionately
high impact on people and the planet's life support systems-these are
1) Energy in the form of fossil fuels and 2) Agriculture, especially
the raising of livestock for meat and dairy products.

· A doubling of wealth leads to a 60% to 80% increase in CO2
emissions. (In emerging economies, increase in CO2 emissions are even
higher.)

· Rising affluence had triggered a shift in diets towards meat
and dairy products- livestock now consumes much of the world's crops
and by inference a great deal of freshwater, fertilizers and
pesticides linked with that crop production in the first place

· Agricultural goods, particularly products from animals,
which are fed more than half of all world crops, have a huge impact on
the planet. Agricultural production accounts for 70% of the global
freshwater consumption and 38% of the total land use. Food production
accounts for 19% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions and 60% of
the phosphorus and nitrogen pollution and 30% of toxic pollution in
Europe

· In most countries, household consumption, over the life
cycle of the products and services, accounts for more than 60% of all
impacts of consumption.

The report recommends the following:
· “Decoupling growth from environmental degradation is the
number one challenge facing governments. “ However, the report shows
that this decoupling is not happening, and it will not happen in the
future without strong policy interventions.

· “A Substantial reduction of impacts would only be possible
with a substantial worldwide diet change away from animal products.”
The report calls for a significant shift in diets away from animal
based proteins towards more vegetable-based foods in order to
dramatically reduce pressures on the environment.
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The following is a youtube video on the UNEP report:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nB3kfaomWs0

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News article on the UN Report:
The Guardian: UN urges global move to meat and dairy-free diet:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/jun/02/un-report-meat-free-diet

The Telegraph: Eat less meat to save the planet - UN
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/7797594/Eat-less-meat-to-save-the-planet-UN.html

More info can be found in the following websites:
http://www.stwr.org/climate-change-environment/the-environmental-impacts-of-consumption-and-production.html

UNEP “Accessing the Environmental Impacts of Consumption and
Production: Priority, Product and Materials”Full report (112 pgs) :
1. http://www.unep.fr/scp/publications/details.asp?id=DTI/1262/PA
2. http://www.unep.fr/shared/publications/pdf/DTIx1262xPA-PriorityProductsAndMaterials_Report.pdf
………

The report shows that globally, we (as consumers) should adopt a diet
change, away from animal products, to reduce our impact on the
environment.

Perhaps, we can start by adopting meatless days to help the planet:
www.veggiethursday.sg
http://www.meatfreemondays.co.uk/

Let’s do all we can to help the planet.

SPRING Singapore GW lunch-talk (01 Dec)

Ms Ariel Lee, Senior Officer from Textile & Apparel Department of SPRING Singapore, invited Mr Low to conduct a GW company lunch talk on 01 Dec to 30 staffs from SPRING.

For this special event, Ms Ariel Lee catered vegetarian food from Loving Hut (a local Vegan restaurant) for the staffs.

The lunch talk was held at Solaris building, an elegant white-and-blue building with space-age design. While looking at the building, Mr Low felt that humans who are capable of designing and building such elegant structures should be able to work together to halt global warming and secure a future for mankind.

The following are some Feedbacks for the GW talk:

Mr Low is a good speaker, friendly and interactive while conducting the talk. The talk creates an awareness of the seriousness of global warming and provided solutions to reduce global warming. It encourage people to eat more veg / less meat and promotes a “Go Green” environment. Comprehensive materials such as handouts and DVDs are given out to participants after the talk.
– Jeslin Yee, Admin staff, SPRING

Very informative talk, speaker is very passionate. We’ll try to change to eat more vegetable. Videos shown are an eye-opener, we never realise there are so many hungry people around. - Susie/ Juan / Gerard, SPRING

The talk was interesting. Creates awareness about the present global warming situation. Really impresses upon going veg! Keep the good work going, Good Luck!
- Saliha/ Thana, SPRING

Pro-teach Event @ 8 treasures (25 Nov)

On 25 Nov, Pro-teach CEO, Ms Peggy Ong, invited Mr Ganga (Chief Editor of VegeVibe Magazine), Mr Low & Dr Priya to 8 Treasures vegetarian restaurant to speak to 50 Pro-teach staffs.Mr Ganga presented on Kindness to animals, Mr Low spoke on Global Warming & Solutions to climate change and Dr Priya discussed with the staffs about the Health benefits of a Vege diet.

Pro-teach staffs enjoyed a 9-course veggie lunch as they learnt about the environmental and health benefits of a plant-based diet from the various speakers.

Pro-teach management team gave the following comments on the GW talk:

This is a powerful talk that wakes all of us up from our complacency. It empowers us with clear knowledge of how regular people like us can take charge of our destiny and our children's future just by choosing our food responsibly. Since the quickest solution to global warming is by reducing the consumption of meat, Pro-Teach pledges do our part by offering at least twice weekly plant-based lunch to our students across 29 branches! Thank you Mr Low for your generous and selfless sharing! - Ms Peggy Ong, CEO, Pro-Teach Education Group Pte Ltd

The talk strikes into the heart of the whole climate change problem. It reveals the truth which certain industries doesn't want the world to know about. The danger is clear and present: act now or it'll be too late!"
- Mr Aden Gan, Branch Head, Pro-teach Education Group

GW Booth & Seminar @ Singapore Polytechnic (16 Nov)

On 16 Nov, Singapore Polytechnic Environment club invited GW study group to set up a booth @ SP to promote environmental awareness to SP students. We set up a booth from 10am till 3:30pm. Mr Low conducted a GW presentation to 25 students from 3:30 till 5pm. SP students listened very attentively during the seminar.

Feedbacks for the seminar includes:

This talk was awesome! It raises awareness of climate change and the factors that causes it. I really urge all of you to attend the seminar too! Cheers! Go Green, Be Veg, Save the planet! - Jocelyn Lim, SP student

It was really eye-opening and inspiring. I enjoyed it a lot as the speaker is very passionate in conveying the message. Thanks for everything. – Gan Bee Li, SP student

Speech is given clearly and understandable. Able to provide easy-understanding information regarding the impact of human activities on Earth. – Raymond Sim, SP student

The talk is very informative and I believe that it benefits all walks of life. It is a talk which will raise people's awareness ! - Lai Hong Chern, SP student

Republic Polytechnic Technology Day (16 Nov)

Dr Amy Choong, a lecturer in Republic Polytechnic, invited Mr Low to attend a series of talks at Republic Polytechnic on RP’s “Environment & sustainability Cluster Technology Day 2011” held on 16 Nov. Mr Low attend the talks from 9 till 12pm and learnt about the development of green energy such as Photovoltaic cells & Biofuels in Singapore.

GW Booth @ Woodlands Ring Primary school (15 Nov)

GW study group was invited by Ms Mazlindah to set up a booth at Woodlands Ring Primary School’s Science Carnival on 15 Nov. Neighbouring Primary schools such as Innova Primary, Admiralty Primary, Sembawang Primary also set up booths to display their science projects. We networked with the teachers of various schools during the carnival. Many teachers showed concern for the environment and some school were interested to invite us to conduct assembly talks for 2012.

Feedback for Assembly talks @ Northland Primary (11 Nov)

Feedback for Assembly talks @ Northland Primary on 11 Nov
Attendance: 1200 Students + 100 teachers

On behalf of the school, thank you once again for taking time to set up the booths and giving two environment talks to the pupils on 11 Nov. Your talks were certainly powerful and informative. We look forward to working with you and your group next year.
- Mrs Prema Suresh, Environment Coordinator, Northland Primary School

Teachers’ feedback
- The talk was interesting and educational. The pupils were captivated by the funny antics of the speaker. Keep up the good work!
- The talk was a wake-up call for many including myself. We have been living in the comfort zone for too long, like a frog in the well. I agree it has to be a collective effort to save the earth. Will reiterate this message to my pupils during lessons.
- Good presentation and choice of medium. Video was impactful.
- The talk was certainly an eye opener for all pupils and teachers present.
- The message behind the video was shocking, glad that I was present for the talk.
- I want to share what I have learnt during the talk to my family and friends not just to my pupils.
- Hope that pupils are more aware of the environment and do not take the Mother Earth for granted.
- Can we have more of these talks regularly? So informative.
- The talk for the lower primary was interesting and easy to follow. Pupils will certainly get the message on global warming.
- Very interesting presentation. Good rapport with the children.
Collated by Mrs Prema Suresh
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Students’ Feedback:
I like the talk as now I realize that eating more vegetables/ eating less meat can help save the planet from Global warming. I also learnt what is happening to other countries due to GW. Many people go to bed hungry and one child dies every 5 seconds. I hope people will Go Veg, Be Green and Save the planet !
– Celyn Tan, NLPS student

We had fun listening to the talk. We like the talk as it was entertaining and we learned about how we could save the earth more efficiently. We also learn about the harms of global warming. – Janesh, NLPS Student

The cartoon is very funny. The video is very interesting and teaches us how to save the earth. – Praiselyn Tan Tshi Kim, NLPS student

We must save our Earth. The teacher is very kind to teach us all this information about our Earth. – Brenda Tan Shin Ytian, NLPS student

It’s very important for us to save Mother Earth. We should save her by reusing, reducing
global warming and recycling materials including paper. We should stop cutting trees.
– Vrashali Sharad Hosur, NLPS student.

The talk was very interesting and fun. I learnt from the talk that we should not waste things around us. - Sarah Ang Jia Wen, NLPS student

Assembly Talks and Booth @ Northland Primary School (11 Nov)

Mrs Prema Suresh, Environment co-ordinator in Northland Primary School, invited GW Study group to conduct Assembly talks and set up a booth in the NL Primary on 11 Nov.

At the request of the school, Mr Low conducted 2 Global Warming Assembly talks:
- A primary school version for P3 to P6 students from 11 to 11:30am &
- A simplified version for P1 & P2 students from 1:30pm to 2pm.
Both talks are followed by a quiz, where students had a chance to win prizes when they answered questions correctly.



Students and teachers enjoyed the assembly talks & the quiz very much.

GW team set up a booth to distribute Eco-Kid websites and climate change information to students and teachers. We manned the booth from 9am to 2:30pm.
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Some feedbacks from teachers & students on the Assembly talk are as follows:

Teachers’ feedback:
- The talk was interesting and educational. The pupils were captivated by the funny antics of the speaker. Keep up the good work!
- The talk was a wake-up call for many including myself. We have been living in the comfort zone for too long, like a frog in the well. I agree it has to be a collective effort to save the earth. Will reiterate this message to my pupils during lessons.
- I want to share what I have learnt during the talk to my family and friends not just to my pupils.
- Can we have more of these talks regularly? So informative.
Compiled by Ms Prema Suresh.

Students’ Feedback:
We had fun listening to the talk. We like the talk as it was entertaining and we learned about how we could save the earth more efficiently. We also learn about the harms of global warming. – Janesh, NLPS Student

We must save our Earth. The teacher is very kind to teach us all this information about our Earth. – Brenda Tan Shin Ytian, NLPS student

I like the inspiring speech as we know what is happening in other countries, not only Singapore. I learn a lot of things in the speech. I learn how to save the earth by eating less meat / eating lots of vegetable. I am grateful for the inspiring speech.
– Preethija, NLPS student.

Assembly Talk and Booth @ New Town Primary school (09 Nov)

Ms Janice Lum Jia En, Teacher-in-charge of Environment in New Town Primary School, invited Global Warming Study Group to NTPS on 09 Nov 2011.

Mr Low conducted an Assembly talk to the school from 1:00 to 1:30pm. The talk was well-received.

Our GW team set up Exhibition panels and a booth in New Town Primary. We distributed leaflets on ‘Eco-kids websites’ & MRT card holders to students and played some SOS climate change videos on TV. We manned the booth from 11am to 3pm.

Some feedbacks from teachers and students on the assembly talk are as follows:

Very comprehensive and children were made aware of Global Warming and its repercussions. Thank you. – Krishna, Teacher

Informative, Easy illustration for pupils to understand. Videos are useful for pupils to understand big terms like global warming - Mdm Sum, teacher

Very informative. Good exposure on the realities of Global Warming and how to help - Mdm Karen Mohan, teacher

Good talk with engaging videos – Ee Chin Siang, teacher

Terms used are too difficult for lower primary. Good for upper primary, related to P5 & P6 science syllabus. – Keavlie, teacher

Students’ feedback

I found the presentation really interesting and fun. Now I want to help to save Mother Earth! - Nur Hajir, NTPS student

I like this talk very much, I have learn how to save the earth and this talk tell me how serious is Global Warming. - Cai Zi Wei, NTPS Student

I learn that a lot of trees have been cut down and a lot of ice is melting
– Nurul Farah, NTPS student

Thanks for the talk, it was very useful for global warming
– April Leong Jia Yi, NTPS student

GW Workshop at NTU (09 Nov)

On 09 Nov, NTU lecturer, Professor Patrick Chan, invited Mr Low to NTU to conduct an evening Global Warming Workshop to 50 undergraduates. These undergraduates are working adults who are taking a 5-year evening course to complete their EEE degree.

These intellectual adults pay full attention to the workshop and interacted very well with Mr Low. Some of the undergraduates express interest in inviting Mr Low to their company to conduct lunch talks after the workshop. : )

The following are some feedbacks from the participants:

Well presented! Very encouraging to go green and save the planet. Very informative! Thanks for all your sharing and info.
- Theis Nandar Soe, Lab Executive

Excellent presentation. I will feedback to others.
- G.N. Murthy, technician

This seminar is really useful in terms of understanding Global Warming.
Better to add some solution in terms of Renewable energy.
- R. Baskarran, Electrical Engineer


Mr Low giving off a SOS bag to a participant |||| Prof Partick Chan with Mr Low

Vegan Burg Discussion 2 (04 Nov)

After the well-received GW talk in Oct, Mr Alex ( Vegan Burg CEO) invited Mr Low to Vegan Burg restaurant for an environmental discussion session with another group of his friends (about 14 people). We had a lively discussion and many of the friends express wishes to adopt one meatless day a week to help the environment. : )

Feedback for GW Seminar @ NTU (01 Nov)

Feedback for GW Seminar @ NTU (01 Nov)
Attendance: 180 EEE Students + 1 Lecturer

I have learnt a lot in the presentation slides. It gives me a very good idea of the big picture of the causes of Global Warmin. Jia You! I would be willing to help if there is a need to bring the message across to more people.
– Chee Zhun Yu, EEE undergraduate

The session is very informative and has become an eye-opener for most of us. I think we should make it a habit to think of the impact of our actions on the environment! - Yeang Zhong Wei, EEE student

The presentation was very informative and interesting. It helps to bring the critical message about Global Warming to the students. Good Presentation! - Priscilla

The message that reach me is that we, as an individual, have to take actions to save the earth each day. By Eating less meat, saving water, taking public transport, we have the responsibility to “Go green & Save the Earth” - Nicole Liu, EEE student

Good presentation on the worldwide issues. Provides more solution for everyone which can be applied in our daily lives. - Wei King, EEE student

Really impressed by the info delivered. Should maximize the availability of those information to more and more people. Thanks so much!
- Han Aigno, EEE undergraduate

Nice presentation. This presentation really brought about environment awareness to all of us. I will do my part to help. – Ng Yao Hua, EEE student

This seminar is interesting. Through this seminar, I know that eating more veg and less meat, human beings has more food to consume. Therefore, it is vital to promote this seminar to everyone. – Toh Li Fang, EEE student

GW Seminar at NTU (01 Nov)

NTU lecturer, Professor Patrick Chan, invited Mr Low to NTU to conduct a Global Warming Seminar to 180 undergraduates. The undergraduates are year 4 students for EEE (Electrical & Electronics Engineering) course at NTU.

Students are especially attentive when Mr Low showed various short videos on Global Warming, food shortages, solutions to GW etc.

Below are some feedbacks from the EEE undergraduates:

I have learnt a lot in the presentation slides. It gives me a very good idea of the big picture of the causes of Global Warmin. Jia You! I would be willing to help if there is a need to bring the message across to more people.
– Chee Zhun Yu, EEE undergraduate

The session is very informative and has become an eye-opener for most of us. I think we should make it a habit to think of the impact of our actions on the environment!

- Yeang Zhong Wei, EEE student

The message that reach me is that we, as an individual, have to take actions to save the earth each day. By eating less meat, saving water, taking public transport, we have the responsibility to “Go green & Save the Earth” - Nicole Liu, EEE student

Really impressed by the info delivered. Should maximize the availability of those information to more and more people. Thanks so much!
- Han Aigno, EEE undergraduate

Green Drinks NCCS Climate change Strategy Discussion held at TAB, Orchard Road. ( 27 Oct )

On 27 Oct, Green Drinks Singapore, a famous local green group, organized a large 10-member panel discussion forum to gather feedback from business/ community/ academia/ NGOs on Singapore's National Climate Change Strategy 2012. The discussion was specially organised in consultation with the National Climate Change Secretariat (in the Prime Minister's Office).

The panel members include representatives from Biosphere Foundation, A*STAR, NUSDNV Clean Technology Centre, Halcyon Group, Alpha Biofuels, evHUB, Low Carbon SG / Green Future Solutions & Singapore Environment Council.Ms Jessica Cheam from Straits Time is the moderator of the forum.

Global Warming Study group attended the meaningful public forum to join in the discussion.

During the discussion, Mr Low posed a question on Green Diet:
“A lot of the time, the debate (on climate change) is centred around the energy issue. There’s another side of the issue, which is agriculture. The green and sustainable Economy needs green energy, but also a green diet. Meat production causes a lot of greenhouse gases and it is an inefficient way of using the world’s resources. Meat production causes about 20% of Global Green house gas emissions. Climate scientists like the Director of NASA, Dr James Hansen, and UN IPCC Chairman Dr Rajendra Pachauri have asked people to adopt a plant based diet, saying it is the fastest action each individual can do to make an impact. Meat production also uses a lot of water, food and land. Meat production uses 20 to 80 times more water and 2 to 8 times more food compared to vegetable production. 1 hectare of land can feed 1 omnivore or 80 vegans. Thus, a lot of people are adopting Meatless Monday or Meatless Thursday to help reduce green house gas and reduce resource consumption. I would ask the panel your views on that.”

Mr Eugene Tay from Low Carbon SG/ Green Futures Solutions, answers:
“Going vegetarian should be a personal choice. It cannot be forced top down, but bottom up, and so we’ve seen movements like Meatless Monday or Veggie Thursday. Beef is the most carbon intensive of them all. If you can’t go vegetarian, just don’t eat beef.”

Feedback for GW talks @ Bedok Green Sec Sch (25 Oct)

Feedback for GW talks @ Bedok Green Secondary School (25 Oct)

Attendance: 35 Students + 2 teachers

Very clear, interesting power point presentation with captivating graphic videos. Good strategy to stop after a few slides to interact with the audience. Emphasize on the last slide – Action to be taken. Challenge them to accept the challenge / pledge. Will promote go Green in school / canteen.
- Mrs Tang-Lee, Bedok Green secondary school, Env Club teacher-in-charge

Very motivating and an eye-opener. It will encourage me to do my part in protecting our environment.
- Mr Kamaruddin, Bedok Green secondary school, Design & Technology teacher

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Students’ feedback

Very inspiring and I hope that I would be able to share this with my church and other organization that I am in charge of. This presentation really hit me very hard and I believe that the whole of Singapore should know about this. – Loke Boon, student.

Now I know more about Global Warming and that I should also take efforts to reduce it. I would try my best to save the Earth from now on! I really enjoyed the presentation a lot as there were interesting videos. This talk is really meaningful as I learnt many things in detailed. -Vaeertacyey, BGSS Env Club student

I think I learnt useful information on how to save the fragile earth. It was interesting to see the videos relating to global warming. I learnt useful information which I would probably apply in my daily life. After the seminar, I would try to save the planet.
-Nikhila Saku, student

I learnt what are the cause and effects of Global warming. I also learnt what are the various useful ways to improve the current situation of Global warming. The videos shown are interesting. – Audrey Chiah, student.

Wow! It is interesting, I’m loving it. Learnt a lot of stuffs and I start changing my diet sooner or later. I always thought that global warming was caused by people instead of animals. Be Veg, Go Green, 2 Save the planet! : )
- Linus Lim Jun Guang , student

I learnt how to prevent Global warming from increasing. I learnt that meat is one of the cause that Global warming is increasing. I learnt that by eating vegetables I can help in preventing global warming little by little – Celine Goh, student

It was interesting! I get to know more about the Earth and how to save it. The teacher is very interactive and kind. – Liyana Bte Yusri, Student

I like his talk. He speaks clearly and talks interestingly. I think they should do more of this and spread out. – Lim Jun Han