The Unsung Heroes

Live Earth

If you are reading this, you are looking at the efforts of five, very different students doing their best to alert people about the reality of Earth's current state. We aim to educate the public majority who either don't already know or fully realise the gravity of the situation we're in. Remember complaining about how hot the weather has been? Then suddenly next day it rained like there was no tomorrow, and you were shivering, freezing, even with two layers of clothing and hiding under your blankets. And the thunderstorms were real loud. Less than 10 years ago, Singapore had perfect weather everyday. Well, now it's a different thing called global warming. And that's not even half of the real deal. And here we are, the Midnight Underground Army, presenting two ordinary people who experience it firsthand, and know it.

This is a song, Earth Song, by Michael Jackson.

SPECIAL THANKS:
Ria Tan
Nick Baker
Edmund Ang
Teresa Teo
Vilma D'rozario
& Those who have helped us with the blog.

The materials in this blog is the property of their respective owners. The usage of these materials is for reference purposes only.

Copyright© 2008

Midnight Underground Army

Midnight Underground Army

Muhammad Nur Asyraf Bin Rosman Age: 18 Course: Electrical Engineering Hobbies: Stoning, Rocking, Jamming Reasons on why I chose Environment: It started off when I was in primary 4, doing a project for the Young Botanist Badge hosted by the Singapore Science Centre.

Medinah d/o Mahamood Age: 18 Course: Accountancy Hobbies: Dancing, Doing anything to do with beauty (make-up, spas & facials, manicures/pedicures etc.), Spending time with family/friends/hot and sexy guys! (HAHAHA), shopping and more shopping! and doing stuff to get money. I'm moneyface you seeeeeee. Reasons on why I chose Environment: As compared to the other options we had such as Events Management, Community and Health and Lifestyle, Entrepreneurship etc. I guess Environment had attracted me the most as I've always been the person who cared when the refrigerator door was open or when the beach was littered or even when the void deck was a teeny bit dirty. Also, after watching Live Earth, I'd come to realize that the environment deserves much more attention that we are giving it right now. Little do we know how much our actions might affect us in the long run. Thus, Environment was the one for me!

Shaktiswaran Age: 18 Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Hobbies: Cycling, Surfing the net, Watching movies, Listening to songs Reasons on why I chose Environment: I chose environment as I found it intresting to do things which can help to save the environment from dangers and help people understand more about the environment n its importance.

Stephanie Justine Rajaiah Age: 18 Course: Accountancy Hobbies: Sing, Smile, Bake, Music Reasons on why I chose Environment: To increase awareness of the importance of nature among the general public. SAVEEEEEEEE THE WORLD! :)

Mohammad Noh Bin Zainuddin Age: 19 Course: Electrical Engineering Hobbies: Composing songs, Playing music & Jamming, Going for an adventure and Body-building. Reasons on why I chose Environment: I am an outdoor person who loves going trekking, hiking, camping and night-cycling and will get in touch with nature. Sometimes I would tell my friends that I belong to the jungle. And I do not like to see people crushing used papers because it can be recycled.

Army of Hope

Fearsome

Rock

And We Are The Good Guys

Nick Baker

A seed of great interest in the environment was planted in Nick Baker’s heart ever since he was a child. He left England for Singapore in 1979 and began working in the oil industry as a petroleum geologist. Then, his hectic work schedule and other circumstances took his focus away from the environment. In the mid 90s, his passion for nature for reignited when he became conscious of the escalating environmental degradation prevalent in Southeast Asia. This propelled him to become a member of the Nature Society in Singapore. He is currently the Chairman of the Vertebrate Study Group of the Nature Society (Singapore). He also helps out in wildlife surveys at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve. Nick is known for his kind heart and witty nature. This makes him a pleasant person to be around. He is a remarkable photographer and is a natural at capturing the beauty of nature with a camera. His amazing website, http://www.ecologyasia.com , is one filled with interesting facts and articles of environmental issues and beautiful pictures of different species of animals.

1.What sparked off your interest in environmental issues/wildlife/wild places?

As a child in England I grew up in a tough, urban part of London. Once a year we would take a family holiday to rural Cornwall or Devon, in the Southwest of the country. The contrast between the urban environment and the beautiful countryside made me realise at an early age the wonder of nature. I was most interested in butterflies and moths and spent many happy childhood days chasing them to add to my collection. These days, of course, capturing and displaying of wildlife is less appropriate : now we have wonderful digital cameras which can really capture the beauty of such wildlife.

2. What can the general public do to contribute to the environment?

Its so easy, that I get frustrated watching people doing thoughtless things. Recycling is so easily done - it is second nature to me now. Reducing consumption is easy too - just stopping the purchase of 6 out of 7 of your daily newspapers can make a huge difference. Its easy to reduce emissions of CO2 as well - simply by turning off the lights, using power save options on our computers, not leaving equipment in 'standby' mode. All these are simple solutions, which save us money too. Another key solution is to 'buy local' where possible. Why buy fresh vegetables from China ? Better to buy from Malaysia or Thailand. Certainly don't buy fruits from the US as this makes for too many 'food miles'.

3. In your opinion, what do you think is the most critical environmental need and the obstacles to achieving that goal?

For me the most critical environmental need is to get to the root of the problem : there are simply too many people on this planet ! Even if the worlds population reduced its consumption of resources and output of pollutants we're still probably not going to avoid global warming and major environmental problems. So we need to drastically reduce the human population. How do we achieve that ? Only by appropriate family planning, and by only having one or two children. However, when was the last time you heard a politician talking about reduction of population ? Many countries, Singapore included, are actually trying to build their populations and are encouraging their people to have more babies. What sense does that make ?

4. In your opinion, what other efforts would you like to see for the environment/wildlife/wild places?

More money and real commitment needs to be shown by governments in tackling the problems of the sickening illegal trade in wildlife and timber. At present not enough is being done. This illegal trade is considered the third largest after the illegal trade in guns and drugs.

5. What is your most memorable experience with the experience?

My most memorable experience was when I learned Scuba Diving in Australia. We'd completed our classroom and pool sessions, and were taken out onto the Great Barrier Reef. My first real dive in the open ocean was early in the morning - we went down to just 10 metres and we sat on the sea bed. I was surrounded by a coral garden full of wonderful marine life, including some harmless Reef Sharks circling around. I was astounded by the beauty of this underwater world which, till then, I'd only seen on television.

Ria Tan

Ahead of getting exceptionally drawn in to the environment as a compassionate volunteer, Ria Tan was functioning as a volunteer guide at Sungei Buloh. Through experiences she’d gained there, she developed a personal online journal to share on her fascinating visits there. In the course of meeting volunteers and the folks at Buloh, Ria heard about Chek Jawa. She’d gained supplementary knowledge on it approximately 6 months before it was to be reclaimed. She visited Chek Jawa and she’d ultimately got attracted to nature and wildlife from then on. From then on, she’d gotten herself more involved with Chek Jawa as a Chek Jawa guide. Due to the very fact that everything to do with environment is interrelated, Ria Tan before long got involved in programmes for other nature places in Singapore as well.

1.What sparked off your interest in environmental issues/wildlife/wild places?

It started with the effort for Chek Jawa before deferment of reclamation. Chek Jawa was so beautiful and doomed. In the process of working for Chek Jawa, I met lots of wonderful inspiring people, and learnt a lot about our wild places and what needs to be done for them. This made me realise that one person CAN make a difference. More details on my experiences at http://www.wildsingapore.com/riablog/people/ria.htm

2.What type of environmental projects/projects connected with wildlife/wild places are you involved in?

My personal interest is in our shores but I am also involved in as many other aspects of conservation and environmental work that I can find the time for. I realised we nearly lost Chek Jawa simply because we didn't know it was there. Since then, I've made it my personal mission to visit and document as many of our shores as I can during the brief periods of super low tides. I also make time to share what I've seen by blogging about the trips, uploading photos, giving talks and being involved in guiding on our shores. This remains my primary focus. More about my current projects http://www.wildsingapore.com/vol/index.html

3.What can the general public do to help in the environment?

Simply Explore, Express and Act Explore: visit our wild places, learn about them Express: share what you've seen, speak up for our wild places when they are in danger. Act: volunteer your time in programmes that contribute to our wild places. More about how one person CAN make a difference http://www.wildsingapore.com/vol/index.html

4.In your opinion, what do you think is the most critical environmental need and the obstacles to achieving that goal?

People don't know we have wonderful wild places. If they don't know how can they care about it or make a difference? Awareness is the most critical environmental need. This is why I work hard to consolidate as much information as I can under wildsingapore as a one-stop site for people who want to learn more and do more for our wild places. The wildsingapore website has the latest on our wild places: info for visitors, what to see and do (updated as and when new information is available) http://www.wildsingapore.com/vol/index.html wild happenings in our wild places: walks, talks and more (updated weekly) http://wildsingaporenews.blogspot.com environmental news relevant to Singaporeans (updated daily) http://wildsingaporenews.blogspot.com I am also working on a comprehensive series of factsheets on our marine life, and hope to soon publish a guidebook for all our shores to replace the Chek Jawa guidebook which has run out of print.