4/23/2022

Climate change - Fear not, Singapore can afford to have 20m people on this piece of rock

As temperatures rise, Singapore races to find solutions to secure its food supply.

How can Singapore bridge the gap between climate change awareness and sustainable actions?

The above two headlines appeared in the CNA referring to the challenges of climate change, food supply and sustainable actions. The first headline gives a sense of urgency that food supply can become a problem if not addressed now.  The second headline is about raising awareness and the need to be considered in Singapore's strategy towards the future and a timely reminder that whatever Singapore does, it must be sustainable. This sounds reasonable as a little reminder to those with megalomaniac ambition like wanting to put 15m or 20m heads into this piece of rock.

When the 15m or 20m population numbers are touched, it is very clear that Singapore would face a lot of very serious problems just to feed and sustain such numbers. Food, energy, living space, water and a whole lot of social and environmental issues would only multiply and compete for attention and resources. These are self inflicted problems that Singapore can do without.

Finding solutions for food supply for 6m population against 15/20m population is a wide gap to handle. Is Singapore finding solutions for 6m heads or 15/20m heads? The scale of the problems in the two parameters cannot be underestimated. Must Singapore ask to have 15/20m problem when it could be more manageable to deal with 6m problem?

15/20m heads in this island prompts the question, is it sustainable? Some quarters are very optimistic to claim that it is sustainable, just on increasing the usage of land alone. What about food, water, energy and the social and political costs? Another camp would say, hold your horses and don't take a bite too big that you can't swallow. Once committed to a reckless population increase, it is very difficult to turn back the clock. The problems of sustainability are no joke. A small crisis could multiply several folds. Do we have the super talents, I mean real super talents, not measured in the salary they are paid, to deal with such gargantuan issues?

Why would Singapore want to go down that road, and who should be making the decision to go down that road? Should this be left to a few politicians with a 4 year tenure to make such decisions for the whole population and the future generations to come? The path to 15m or 20m population is for the good of who? Is it necessary? Is it an existential issue that not going down this road would be the end of the good life in Singapore? Going down this road is certain to be hazardous and very critical and likely to be very precarious. 

The for and against towards a 15/20m population can argue until the cow comes home, just like the issue of mRNA vaccines. The one holding the power would have the final say, right or wrong, but would not be around to answer or take responsibility when the dam collapses.

What do you think?

9 comments:

  1. Increasing Red Dot pop while global economy is slowing down and a looming food shortage coming soon to our doorstep:

    'The rise of food protectionism by countries could exacerbate a massive hunger crisis that could take the world by storm later this year (well, that's at least what the Rockefeller Foundation believes).

    The world's biggest palm oil producer, Indonesia, is the latest country to embrace protectionist measures to mitigate domestic food shortages, according to Bloomberg.

    President Joko Widodo on Friday announced the export ban of all cooking oil and palm oil products would begin on April 28. '

    https://www.zerohedge.com/commodities/indonesia-bans-edible-oil-export-sparks-mayhem-global-food-crisis-ahead

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  2. Would Malaysia do likewise? We are sunk if Malaysia do so as well. Better stock up on cooking oil.

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  3. No need lah, we are planning for 10m or 15m people, sure have plenty of stocks.

    We are the best.

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  4. Who wants to put 20m people in Singapore?

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  5. Singapore can have 20 million inhabitants on the little red dot. Why? Singapore will have underground malls, schools, HDB apartments etc. It will be a city under a city. People will not need to see the sun all their lives, vitamin D supplements and for fresh air, this will be pumped in from air ducts from the surrounding sea. From power, Singapore will have floating solar panels in the sea. All these have been planned by the efficient 4G PAP government. Don't worry about not able to support the GDP. Just import citizens from surrounding countries. The more the merrier. There will no such citizens called the true blue, all will be equal. Singaporeans will all be one and by inter-marriages all will be rojak. So be happy the PAP government will be in power for the next 100 years, maybe more, because all are planned and Singaporeans can sleep easy. Please be kind to all new citizens. They are in the little red dot to help provide a rosy future for Singapore. Welcome them and be extra kind. OK???

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    Replies
    1. Once bitten, twice shy
      Twice bitten, never try!

      When the Covid-19 came, there was no shortage of claims that Singapore has been providing this and that. Those have now been found out to be false claims. The political politicians simply love to talk big, when nothing, not even a simple provision of semblance have been made.

      What has been done was never about Covid-19 but the general consideration of Covid. There was never any specification to categorise each group of Covid, to start with.

      However, the 4G PAP head-hochos simply said that "We have been preparing for it since SAR's time."

      What a big deviation!

      There was never any preparation for this sort of things!

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  6. All these have been planned by the efficient 4G PAP government

    Can you provide a link? Thanks.

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    1. Maybe all the Shorelines will be developed with housings. Sea-water desalinated for water suply and the Solar and Wind-driven Machibe will supply the Energy. Not just 10 to 20 Millions, much more can be added. There are many countries with housings above the Sea and they are Third-World. First World Country with high-tech is capable of building multi-fold larger structure. Airport and Seaport can be built side by side too.
      There are plenty of possible infrastructure development including marine and agriculture integrations into the Over-all plan.
      Sin is full of talented folks, no worry.

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    2. Forgot to add that infinite energy can be harnessed from the Current too.

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