Reflective Journal 5
http://www.nature.org/initiatives/climatechange/activities/art19630.html

From this article, I have learnt what we can do to reduce climate change. Firstly, we can travel light. We can either walk or bike instead of driving a car as cars run on fossil fuels, which release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Also, we can Teleconference instead of flying. For office meetings, if you can telephone or videoconference, you will save time, money, and carbon emissions from the airplanes. We can also check the light. Use compact fluorescent light bulbs. These energy-efficient bulbs help fight climate change because they reduce the amount of fossil fuels that utilities burn. Also, by Recycling and using recycled products, we can reduce climate change. Products made from recycled paper, glass, metal and plastic reduce carbon emissions because they use less energy to manufacture than products made from completely new materials.
Also, we can plant native trees as they absorb carbon dioxide from the air and use it as their energy source, producing oxygen for us to breathe. A tree in the temperate zone — found between the tropics and the polar circles—can remove and store 700 to 7,000 pounds of carbon over its lifetime. A tree that shades a house can reduce the energy required to run the air conditioner and save an additional 200 to 2,000 pounds of carbon over its lifetime. We can also turn down the heat. Turn down the heat or air conditioning when you leave the house or go to bed. You can easily install a programmable thermostat that can save up money and carbon. And finally, we can buy renewable energy. A growing number of utilities generate electricity from renewable energy sources with solar panels, windmills and other technologies.
Through this article, I hope that I can help to reduce climate change around the world. Also, I hope I can influence others to play their part in reducing climate change.

Done By: R.Mithiran (27)

Reflective Journal 4
http://www.asiaisgreen.com/tag/singapore/

From this article, I have learnt what the Singapore government is doing to stop climate change. It has the energy efficiency campaign to raise the awareness of climate change every year. Also, the national target in the National Climate Change Strategy is to reduce carbon intensity to 25% below 1990 levels by 2012. A reduction in carbon intensity (carbon dioxide emissions per dollar of GDP) does not necessary mean a reduction in the amount of carbon emissions. The problem of climate change is one of absolute concentrations of carbon dioxide and each country must reduce its absolute carbon emissions. The government plays its part by also coming up with the Singapore Green Plan (SGP). The SGP2012 is Singapore’s 10-year blueprint towards environmental sustainability. More than 17,000 participated in the review through various platforms. It has brought out key environmental issues like Climate Change and resulted in a robust plan able to address emerging environmental challenges.
The SGP2012 has incorporated the majority (more than 90%) of the recommendations raised by the three Focus Groups formed as part of the review, reflecting strong public ownership and commitment to continue to protect and enhance our environment. The SGP2012 covers six focus areas - Air and Climate Change, Water, Waste Management, Nature, Public Health and International Environmental Relations. The air and climate change is to raise public awareness on energy efficiency and climate change.
By reading this article, I hope I can understand that the government is doing something to stop climate change in Singapore as all the while; I had the misconception that the government was not doing anything about it.

Done By: R.Mithiran (27)

Reflective Journal 3
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_effect

From this article, I have learnt all about the green house effect. It refers to the change in the steady state temperature of a planet by the presence of an atmosphere containing gas that absorbs and emits infrared radiation. Greenhouse gases, which include water vapor, carbon dioxide and methane, warm the atmosphere by efficiently absorbing thermal infrared radiation emitted by the Earth’s surface, by the atmosphere itself, and by clouds. As a result of its warmth, the atmosphere also radiates thermal infrared in all directions, including downward to the Earth’s surface. Thus, greenhouse gases trap heat within the surface-troposphere system.
I have also learnt many new facts from this website. I have learnt that in the absence of the greenhouse effect in an atmosphere, the Earth's average surface temperature of 14 °C (57 °F) could be as low as −18 °C (−0.4 °F), the black body temperature of the Earth. I have also learnt that the greenhouse effect is one of several factors that affect the temperature of the Earth. And finally, I have learnt that in our solar system, Mars, Venus, and the moon Titan also exhibit greenhouse effects according to their respective environments. In addition, Titan has an anti-greenhouse effect. The anti-greenhouse effect is a neologism used to describe two different effects, coming under the header of "the cooling effect an atmosphere has on the ambient temperature of the planet." Unlike the greenhouse effect, which is common, an anti-greenhouse effect is only known to exist in one situation in the Solar System, as well as another which is a misnomer.
Through this article, I have about the greenhouse effect and the anti-greenhouse effect. I hope that I can do my part in saving the world by not contributing to climate change.

Done By: R.Mithiran (27)

Reflective Journal 2
http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/earth/climate/cli_effects.html&edu=elem

From this article, I have learnt what the effects of climate change are. Firstly, Sea level is rising. During the 20th century, sea level rose about 15 cm (6 inches) due to melting glaciers and expansion of warmer seawater. It could rise much more than that in the next 100 years. Arctic sea ice is melting. The summer thickness of sea ice is about half of what it was in 1950. This is causing the Arctic to warm up faster.
Also, Ecosystems are changing. As temperatures warm, animals and plants may either look for a cooler place to live or die. Species that are vulnerable include endangered species, coral reefs, and polar animals. Warming has also caused changes in the timing of spring events and the length of the growing season. Hurricanes have changed in frequency and strength. There is evidence that the number of intense hurricanes has increased in the Atlantic since 1970. Scientists continue to study whether climate is the cause.
Also, heat waves more frequent. It is likely that heat waves have become more common in more areas of the world. Seawater is becoming more acidic. When carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, gets into the oceans, it makes the water more acidic. This could impact coral reefs and other marine life.
From this article, I have learnt many things about the effects of climate change. By reading this article, I hope that I can influence others not to contribute to the effects of climate change.

Done By: R.Mithiran (27)

Reflective Journal 1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_change

From this article, I have learnt what climate change is. It is any long-term significant change in the expected patterns of average weather of a specific region over an appropriately significant period of time. Climate change reflects abnormal variations to the expected climate within the Earth's atmosphere and subsequent effects on other parts of the Earth, such as in the ice caps over durations ranging from decades to millions of years.
I have also learnt many new facts on climate change. I have learnt that Climate Change is the result of a great many factors including the dynamic processes of the Earth itself, external forces including variations in sunlight intensity, and more recently by human activities, which might in future be deliberate geoengineering. External factors that can shape climate are often called climate forcing and include such processes as variations in solar radiation, deviations in the Earth's orbit, and the level of greenhouse gas concentrations.
I have also learnt what glaciation is. Glaciers are recognized as being among the most sensitive indicators of climate change, advancing during climate cooling (for example, during the period known as the Little Ice Age) and retreating during climate warming on moderate time scales. Glaciers grow and shrink; both contributing to natural variability and amplifying externally forced changes.
Through this article, I have learnt many things on climate change and other new facts on it. By reading this article, I hope that I can contribute to the world to stop climate change.

Done By: R.Mithiran (27)

Total Defence/ Cross Country

On February the 13th was my school’s annual cross country cum total defence celebration. This year, it was held at Nanyang Polytechnic. We first celebrated total defence. The National Cadet Corps (NCC) showed how to self-defend by showing some stunts. It was very interesting and nice to watch. Next, the National Police Cadet Corps (NPCC) showed us how to make a stretcher with just your own clothes. After that, the Red Cross showed us how to make a stretcher with two poles. It also showed us how to treat a cut. Then there was a short quiz on total defence. After that, it was time for our cross country.

We boys had to run 3.6km while the girls had to run 2.4km. We had to run two rounds around the school and one round in the stadium. It was very hard. But I managed to pull through and I finished it. I was very happy and proud of myself as I had thought that I could not finish it. After everyone had finished, there was a prize presentation. Two of my classmates had won a medal. My other classmates and I were very proud of them. After that, it was time to go home. I had really enjoyed myself and look forward to next year’s cross country cum total defence celebration.
(220 words)

Chek Jawa

At first, we thought that Chek Jawa was in some part of Indonesia. But it actually is in Pulau Ubin! Chek Jawa is a gem of marine wildlife. Located at the eastern tip of Pulau Ubin, Chek Jawa is a collection of six distinct habitats - coastal forest, mangroves, sand bars, sea grass lagoon, rocky shore & coral rubble. Some of these habitats can be found at Pulau Sekudu, which is considered part of Chek Jawa We have learnt that Chek Jawa has a wide variety of exotic animal. Chek Jawa is teeming with a wide array of marine wildlife – starfish, sea horses and octopi living in the sand and mud flats, carpet and peacock anemones in the sea-grass meadows, and sponges of all hues residing in the coral rubble.


One of the fascinating animals would be the sea pen long, slender colonial organism of the same phylum as the jellyfish. Sea pen colonies are formed by several genera of the order Pennatulacea. The colony consists of a stalk formed by an organism called a primary polyp (see polyp and medusa) and short branches formed by secondary polyps. The stalk, embedded in sand or mud, holds the colony upright. Sea pens differ from the closely related sea pansies and sea feathers by the form of the colony. Sea pens are .marine organisms; they are found on Atlantic and Pacific coasts in shallow to moderately deep water. Some reach a length of 2 ft (61 cm) or more. They belong in the phylum Cnidaria, class Anthozoa, order Pennatulace.





The sponges or poriferans bodies consist of an outer thin layer of cells, the pinacoderm and an inner mass of cells and skeletal elements, the choanoderm. Sponges do not have nervous, digestive or circulatory systems. Instead most rely on maintaining a constant water flow through their bodies to obtain food and oxygen and to remove wastes, and the shapes of their bodies are adapted to maximize the efficiency of the water flow. All are sessile aquatic animals and, although there are freshwater species, the great majority are marine (salt water) species, ranging from tidal zones to depths exceeding 8,800 metres (5.5 mi). While most of the approximately 9,000 known species of sponge that live in food-poor environments have become carnivores that prey mainly on small crustaceans.

We have learnt that Chek Jawa is a precious place and it is one of the few nature reserves in Singapore which has a variety of many exotic animals that we should cherish and preserve so that the future generation can enjoy the array of animals that we have for them.