The Surprize

Beyond the edge of the mangrove swamp and a plot of grassland was a most breathtaking pond. It was flanked by neat rows of frangipani trees. Situated on the west of the island, the orange sun set behind the pond's calm green horizon each day. The chirping of sparrows and the shiny clear waters made the pond a heavenly place to relax in. Fishing, in fact, would be the best activity for the environment was peaceful and the waters were home to much marine life.

Unfortunately, something as magnificent as the pond was often exclusive. It belonged to Mr Tan, an old farmer who owned the piece of land right up to the borders of the mangrove swamp. Mr Tan was protective of his pond and put a barbed wire fence around it to stop trespassers from entering it. He had even forbade his own children to go near it.

"Children and nature do not go well. They will dirty the place with litter and their brawling will scare the fish and birds away. No way am I going to let them near it," declared Mr Tan from the first time he set his eyes on the pond.

Thus, for the longest time, no one could enjoy the tranquil surrounding of the pond. Mr Tan himself found the pond too precious to spend time there. He merely patrolled the place from time to time, making sure that no one dared venture into his property.

It was not long before little Peter, an eight-year-old who had just moved to that place, heard about the pond. His curiosity was as great as an elephant and his favorite past time was fishing, The pond was the perfect hideaway for him! Peter had lived beside a pond all his life and such environments were no stranger to him. So one fine morning, Peter grabbed his rod and bait and climbed under the barbed wire fence.

"Hey! How dare you! What're you doing at my pond?" Mr Tan bellowed when he caught sight of Peter in the waters.

In a panic, Peter let go of his rod and ran like lightning, disappearing as quickly as he had appeared. As Mr Tan was getting on in his years and was no match for Peter, he stood guard where Peter's fishing rod was. He was afraid the little rascal might return to get his belongings.

Suddenly, the fishing line jerked and the water near it bubbled. Mr Tan went into the water and tried to make out the creature in the water. Grabbing hold of the rod, he drew the line in with all his might. The task was arduous as the creature fought to break free. Mr Tan's delight became horror when the big 'fish' which he thought had caught the bait turned out to be a gigantic crocodile.

The Jalalpa Bus Accident

A serious road accident took place in Jalapa, Mexico, on 5 July 2005. The main street - the only point of entry to the town of Jalapa - has a blind bend on a sharp slope at the turning into the town centre. This stretch of road is notorious for being responsible for the deaths of many people in accidents which had taken place on it.

That Monday morning, a bus load of passengers were enjoying the morning breeze through the windows as the vehicle made a descent down the Jalalpa slope. The driver of the bus was a young driver who had just obtained his license. Music was blaring as he drove the vehicle as though manoeuvring a roller coaster. A momentary loss of control and the overturning of the bus left passengers seriously hurt and traumatised. Passengers standing near the doorway of the bus were flung out of the vehicle and the very unfortunate ones of these were caught beneath the bus as it overturned. The overturned bus trapped more than 30 passengers, including young children. Passers-by rushed to the overturned bus, calming the passengers down and assuring them of help which was on the way. Some passers-by, on seeing the crushed victims under the bus, became hysterical and had to be pulled aside by the stronger men.

A young witness of the accident, a boy of seven years, sought help at the Armonia Centre where the Transformation Course rescue team was. Members of the team rushed to the scene of the accident and while some formed a human chain to cordon off the area, others got on the bus to pull the trapped passengers to safety. It was a difficult task as the bus had landed on the side on which the doors were. Rescuers had to break the larger windows and roof ventilations to get into the bus. On top of that, many of the passengers were seriously injured, with many of them bleeding and some concussed. The most disheartening part of it was that the reckless driver, who had survived the crash and was among the first people to be rescued, took off for fear that he would be charged for negligence.

The police and ambulance sirens resounded in the streets shortly after the rescue team arrived on the scene. Woefully, these authorities were ill-equipped and were not trained to deal with situations like the one which had happened. Bed sheets from nearby residences were used in place of bandages while discarded planks were used as stretchers. It was hours before all of the injured were taken to the various hospitals. A shocking fact here was that in Jalalpa, a hospital could house no more than ten patients at a time!

Green Speech

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the annual Community Issues Seminar. The topic for today is 'waste'. The definition of waste to Singaporeans today is no longer merely 'garbage' or 'trash'; it now encompasses objects regarded or discarded as worthless and unwanted. These objects include clothes worn no more than 10 times, good furniture which has gone out of fashion and electrical appliances which have some minor faults.

The last three decades have seen a climbing amount of solid waste generated by industries and homes up to as much as six times than 30 years ago. The Singapore Government, in its best efforts to overcome this problem, has increased the number of landfill facilities nationwide where waste can be incinerated. Incineration has helped to greatly reduce the volume of waste by the society. The by-product of incineration, ash, takes up landfill space and a continual increase in the number of landfills is not a permanent solution. The size of an average landfill is about that of Sentosa Island and the scarcity of land in itself is another major concern faced by the government. This problem of escalating amounts of waste spills over onto another problem and the concern is ballooned overnight. Moreover, the construction of incineration plants and landfills runs into the billions - an investment that sees no promising future.

This draws us back to the community. It is obvious at this point that Singaporeans must go beyond incineration. How can we as a community or as individuals, help to ease the burden of this waste problem? The answer is simple - recycle and reuse! By stepping up efforts in recycling and reusing, we can cut down the amount of waste and as such, reduce the amount of incineration ash.

Recycling and reusing not only reduce the amount of waste; they are also earth friendly measures. The recent national update on the progress made in promoting recycling and reusing in industries and communities reported that since its launch in 2001, the number of organizations and households which participated in the program has since doubled in the recent years. If our coming Save by Recycling Campaign were to successfully triple this number, it would mean that the number who recycle and reuse will outshine that of those who do not. This is most encouraging and I urge you to become a part of the former.

Thank you!

Ambassador of Recycle, Reuse, Reduce, Replant.

Working Memory

I was born in my family home on 20 October 1942. Singapore was engaged in World War II then and my birth was hardly a joyous occasion. My parents were more concerned for survival than a new birth in the family. I was fortunate that my father was a merchant and had, through means of a black market, obtained cans of expired condensed milk which became my main source of diet in my early years.

My earliest memory of my tender years dated back to when I was a little over two years old, when my family went to a distant relative's estate home to escape the hardships of war. It was a decision my father made after my grandfather and uncle were taken away by the Japanese soldiers in a raid. I recollected some events at the estate home with little distinctness.

My father died in January 1945. To my regret, I could hardly remember anything about it except my mother's uncontrollable sobbing and Father, lying on the wooden bed in his singlet and black pants. In that same year, I was sent away by my mother to a village in Malacca. There, I went to school. The classroom was no more than a makeshift tent with a few splinter-filled tables and chairs. Learning, however, was enjoyable and it took my mind off my family back home in Singapore.

By the time I completed 'school', I already had a good knowledge of herbs and spices for I worked in a provision shop on weekends. The passion for learning the uses and nutrition in herbs and spices was very strong in me, and was clearly innate, as I could tell which was which by just taking a whiff of them.

One even that I remember clearly took place just after I had begun work formally at the provision shop. The afternoons there were relaxed as hardly anyone bothered to come out in the scorching sun just to buy an item or two. Even the stray dog which loitered around the shop took naps beside the ice boxes for some relief from the unbearable heat. One such afternoon, as I was packing some herbs into smaller bags, a man came into the shop. He took out a few paper packets and laid them out neatly on the counter.

"Tell me, what are the herbs in the packets," demanded the tall, bespectacled man.

At once, I reached out, in a bid to open the packets, but was promptly stopped by him.

"Tell me what they are. Smell them," came the response from the man who appeared to be getting impatient.

Nature Played A Cruel Joke

Johnstown, Pennsylvania, was hit by the nation's worst flood on 1 June 1889. This devastation took the lives of more than 2000 Americans and left thousands more homeless and in a state of loss and shock. Once again, nature played a cruel joke on humanity.

Johnstown, with a growing population of about 30000 Germans and Welsh had an optimistic future with steel as its 'oil well'.

A small town founded in 1794, Johnstown was built upon humble beginnings with the construction of Pennsylvania Mainline Canal in 1834, the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Cambria Iron Company in the 1850s. However, little known to many, the design of this town had a flaw. Johnstown was actually built on a flood plain, at the intersection of Little Conemaugh and Stony Creek rivers. As the river banks had been narrowed to create more land for new infrastructures, flooding due to heavy downpours became a familiar occurrence in the 1870s. In addition to this problem, Lake Conemaugh was situated 1607 meters above South Fork Dam. The dam was old and ill-maintained and even the townsfolk themselves recognized that it might give way any time. Unfortunately, no one took this seriously and thus, the dam was left to hold out for as long as it could.

In the cold late afternoon of 31 May 1889, a low rumble which became a loud thunderous roar over time was heard by some townsfolk. By that time, the suspicion of many that the heavy rains had brought down South Fork Dam became evident. The dam broke under the pressure of great waters from the rains and sent about 20 million tons of waters gushing down narrow valleys, carrying with it debris and sediments. Flood waters rose over 200 meters and gushed down the hill at great speed. Everything in its path was washed away or destroyed.

Panic, confusion and fear arose as people tried to escape from imminent death. Those who were swept up were thrown about in a torrent of murky and debris-filled water. The fortunate ones caught hold of pieces of debris and were kept buoyant; the less fortunate ones became victims of debris. The disaster took no more than 10 minutes. However, the trail of destruction that it left behind was indescribable and left Johnstown robbed of its sunshine.

Man When Are We Going To Stop

Man is the world's greatest friend and also its greatest enemy. Many scientists have pointed to man's excessive cutting down and burning of trees and fossils fuels as the primary contributor to global warming. Global warming is the increase in the earth's average temperature caused by the build up of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. These gases are the result of man's activities.

Although the earth has braved and survived Ice Age, droughts, hails, and other weather related disasters, it does not necessarily mean it is resistant to the effects of global warming. Man's complacency has put earth in a dangerous predicament: the increase in the amount of heat trapping gases is likely to warm the earth to a point whereby life cannot go on. Unless large scale measures are being implemented to curb the increase in the heat trapping gases in the atmosphere, man will soon witness the slow destruction of earth due to man's selfish nature.

Looking at the current rate of global warming, the consequences man has to face are likely to be dire. Climatic shifts resulting from global warming render densely populated coastal areas extremely vulnerable. This is especially so if they are situated in low-lying areas. Established scientific institutes have projected that floods occurring in these places will affect between 13 and 88 million people on a global basis annually from 2080s. If this projection were to come to pass, many developing countries and island nations will be the hardest hit as the cost of restoration works and re-housing the homeless will run into the millions.

The first people forced to evacuate to another region because of the threat of a great flood were residents of Tegua Island in the Pacific Ocean. The government of Tegua feared that the island;s eventual fate was permanent submergence due to rising waters attributed by climatic changes. A survey conducted recently showed that more than 2000 islanders all over the world fear facing a similar situation and are prepared to move at any costs.

Floods are just the first wave of consequences brought about by global warming. The immediate concern following a flood is the scarcity of clean drinking water and food. Starvation and the shortage of clean water are serious threats faced by the government and aid agency. This inability to adapt is not specific to man only. Plants and animals too may likely not survive the many changes taking place. All hope lies with mankind. Otherwise, these plants and animals will be eventually wiped out, leaving generation and the generations to come with a sad tomorrow.

I Saw Fire Burning At My Feet

Would you believe your eyes if you were to witness a man catch fire with no flame or spark source and then burning completely without causing damage to anything he comes into contact with? This scenario sounds utterly absurd but it has occurred in various contexts - homes, schools, offices and playgrounds and witnesses are more puzzled than horrified.

The question screaming to be answered is this: can man spontaneously burst into flames without being set alight by an external source? Scientists who studies this strange phenomenon have termed in the 'Spontaneous Human Combustion'. Spontaneous human combustion takes place when a person bursts into flames without an external heat source. This happens due to a chemical reaction within the human body. Although there is no concrete evidence to prove this phenomenon, many people believe that this occurrence is as real as the air that we breathe. However, most scientist are not convinced.

The first reported account of spontaneous human combustion came from France. In 1663, Thomas Bartholin, an anatomist, witnessed a woman in Paris who has for no apparent reason burst into flames and became charred in less than half an hour. Apparently, the woman was asleep when the burning took place. Many were dumbfounded by the fact that the straw mattress on which the woman lay was not damaged by the great fire which took place.

Besides spontaneous human combustion, there are no other convincing explanations behind these occurrences. Furthermore, many of the burnings took place in the presence of witnesses which rules out the possibility of murder. Scientists, in a bid to put down this theory, explain these occurrences using the 'wick effect'. This theory suggests that the body, when lit by a cigarette or putting out a heat source, acts like a candle. The only difference is that the body becomes the 'wick' of a candle.

Till today, the fact remains that no one has been able to ever conclusively prove the truth about spontaneous human combustion. Scientists today still disregard the theory and now, attribute it to the smoking habits of individuals. Many victims of the spontaneous human combustion were discovered to be smokers who have fallen asleep with a lit cigarette or cigar. And a great number of these people were believed to have consumed alcohol or have medical conditions that stopped them from attempting to put out the fire on their bodies.