Essay outline

Research Question: Has Singapore done enough to manage Climate Change that was resulted from Globalisation?

Stand: Yes, although the strategies implemented currently are limited in scope, detailed plans have been crafted for expanding the current strategies and the current strategies do indeed show results.  

Introduction - Problem:
One apparent result of Globalisation is the stark increase in usage of coal by developing countries, such as India and China. Therefore, as the world burns more coal and do not cut back on other fossil fuels usage, carbon emission will greatly increase. Carbon emission have increased from around 25billion metric tons in 2001 to near to 32billions in 5 years (Gail Terberg, 2013) . As countries gets more globalised, undergoing industrialisation, demand for  efficient means of achieving energy would increase (David Kashi, 2013). The high level of carbon emission have resulted in climate change mainly by trapping the heat of the sun within Earth's atmosphere. This results in an increase in global average temperature (Alex Kriby, 2013). The impact of climate change on Singapore includes an increase in mean surface temperature, rising sea levels and threatening food security in Singapore.

References:
https://app.nccs.gov.sg/(X(1)S(srw5jr45ovh5ijj1ooyvb1qc))/page.aspx?pageid=160&secid=157&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1
http://ourfiniteworld.com/2013/02/22/twelve-reasons-why-globalization-is-a-huge-problem/
http://www.rtcc.org/2013/12/12/carbon-dioxides-effect-on-global-warming-understimated/

Introduction - Solution:
Singapore has taken steps to reduce carbon emission on a household level. Measure such as the Mandatory Energy Labelling and Minimum Energy Performance Standard.

Introduction - Thesis Statement: I believe that the measures implemented by the government to seek cooperation from the population is highly efficient. 

Body Paragraph 1 - Topic Sentence: Government has recognised the importance of gathering the support and help from Singaporeans in effectively slowing down climate change without draining too much of the nation resources. Therefore, she has devised measures that include the cooperation of the population.

Body Paragraph 1 - Description of the problem:
The annual mean surface temperature has increased for about 0.8 degree Celsius since 1948 and this would affect the natural diversity of Singapore's plants and animals, altering Singapore's natural processes.
The mean sea level in Straits of Singapore rises 3mm per year over the past 15 years. This pose as an immediate threat for a low-lying nation like Singapore where 30% of Singapore's land lies less than 5m above sea level.
Food security within Singapore can also be threaten as Climate Change threatens global food security and Singapore is particularly vulnerable to fluctuations in global food supply and food pricing.

Body Paragraph 1 - Description of one existing solution:
The Government in Singapore have taken many measures to slow down the rate of climate change, and among these solutions includes engaging Singaporeans on a household level. One measure taken to engage Singaporeans on a household level includes the Mandatory Energy Labelling. It was introduced for registrable goods since 1 January 08. Under the Energy Conservation Act 2012, registered suppliers must affix the Energy Label on the units that they supply in Singapore. The Energy Label can only be affixed after the Certificate of Registration have been issued by National Environment Agency. Retailers are only allowed to display models that have the label affixed on them in a prominent manner. Minimum Energy Performance Standard (MEPS) is also another measure taken by the government to cut down on carbon emission. MEPS is a specification containing a number of performance requirements for an energy-using device, and that limits the maximum amount of energy that may be consumed by a product in performing a specified task. It was introduced in Sep 2011 for a certain household appliances, and the energy performance standards will be further tightened in 2013 to help consumers avoid being locked into high energy consumption and energy costs. Inefficient appliances consuming the most energy in a typical household will be removed.

References:
http://app2.nea.gov.sg/energy-waste/energy-efficiency/industry-sector
http://app2.nea.gov.sg/energy-waste/energy-efficiency/household-sector/the-energy-label
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimum_Energy_Performance_Standard
http://app.nccs.gov.sg/page.aspx?pageid=171&secid=193


Body Paragraph 1 - Evaluating the solution
Effectiveness: Market data shows that households, manufacturers and suppliers have responded positively to MEPS. The fraction of energy-efficient house air-conditioners, refrigerators and clothes dryer sold have steadily increased over the years. In 2011, about 80% of purchase of air-conditioners and 85% of refrigerators were from the top two highest efficient categories. 
Limitations: However appliances that are energetically efficient tend to be more expensive compared to the non-energetically efficient ones. Therefore, although there was a marked increase in the purchase of such appliances, the increase is expected to plateau off as time pass by when majority of the well-to-do Singaporeans have already converted to the energy efficient appliances. In addition, appliances such as the air-conditioner and refrigerators are items that people do not change easily and oftenly . Therefore, although more energetically efficient new appliances are introduced into the market, unless the current ones that Singaporeans' owned malfunction, they generally would not purchase a new one.

References:
http://app2.nea.gov.sg/corporate-functions/newsroom/parliament/budget-debate1/budget-debate-2012/meps


Body Paragraph 1 - improvement on existing solution
In order to tackle the loophole on the fact that not everyone is planning to change appliances such as refrigerator and air-conditioner, the government may choose to implement a law that by a certain point in time, every household is suppose to have their high-energy consuming appliances, such as the air-conditioners, switched to more energy-efficient ones. Singapore's government may choose to propose a list of appliances that they deem to be considered high-energy consuming. Also, to be reasonable, sufficient time have to be provided for Singaporeans to switch over to more energy-efficient appliances. In addition, in order to solve the problem of affordability and to ensure that the above suggestion is implementable, subsidies proportional to their income level can be provided to lower income families. The wide influence of mass media can be used to explain to Singaporeans the rationale behind the importance in seeking their cooperation in slowing down climate change. Advertisements and short films can be broadcasted on national channels to raise the awareness and seek to seek cooperation from Singaporeans. 


Conclusion
Problem: The high level of carbon emission have resulted in climate change. The impact of climate change on Singapore includes an increase in mean surface temperature, raising sea levels and threatening food security in Singapore. 
Solution: The main solution adopted by Singapore's Government is to reduce carbon emission on a household level. Measure such as the Mandatory Energy Labelling and Minimum Energy Performance Standard are adopted. 
The world is home to you, us and everyone, therefore lets play our part. Although it may be a small step, but every step counts. 

Reader's response final draft

In "Globalisation of Culture Through the Media ", Kraidy (2002) mentions that international media flow has sparked off many debates, where developing nations are accused of taking advantage of the media flow. Developed nations favour the "free flow of information" but developing nations disagree. As the world becomes inter-dependent, Kraidy highlights the analytical shift towards globalisation. The dispute on whether mass media is the cause of globalisation or does it intensifies globalisation arises. He raises that globalisation is perceived to bring about culture homogenisation or hybridisation. Kraidy then concludes that transnational mass media intensifies the hybridity existing in cultures globally.

I agree with Kraidy on the idea of cultural hybridisation and the apparent relationship between mass media and globalisation. However, I believe that the "chicken and egg" analogy he adopts is over-simplified.

In my opinion, it is not a single cause leading to globalisation but a build-up of multiple factors. Pettinger (2012) quotes that such factors include the improved transport and technology. For example, Pettinger (2012) mentions that there has been a rapid growth in air travel, enabling a greater flow of people and goods across borders. The development of containerisation also reduced the cost of inter-modal transport, making trade cheaper and more efficient, thus leading to globalisation.

The improvement in technology is tightly related to mass media. Without the advancement in technology, people will not have access to mass media and mass media would not influenced the world the way it does now. For example, how influential can the Internet or social media platforms be without computers? Therefore, I believe that the "chicken and egg" analogy used by Kraidy is over-simplified, and globalisation is not due to solely the rise of social media.

However, I agree on the phenomenon of cultural hybridisation mentioned by the author Kraidy, and it can be observed in a globalised city like Singapore. For example, Macdonald's is a fast food restaurant people believe was due to cultural imperialism. However, I disagree as Macdonald's do provide different menus in different countries in attempt to include the local culture. Macdonald's offer curry sauce in Singapore. In addition, teriyaki burger and Ebi-fillet-o burgers are offered exclusively in Asia. This shows that there is no longer the imperialism of one culture but a hybrid of the different cultures.

In conclusion, most of the ideas raised by Mr. Krabbs are valid, except for some which he over-simplified.   

Reader Response Draft 1

I agreed to majority of the point raised by Kraidy, such as the phenomenon of cultural hybridization and the apparent releationship between mass media and cultural hybridization. However I don have some opinions towards some controversies he raised. In “Globalisation of Culture Through the Media”, Kraidy (2002) mentions that international media flow has sparked off many debates, where developed nations are accused of taking advantage of the media flow. Developed nations favor the “free flow of information” but the developing nations disagree. As the world becomes more inter-dependent, Kraidy highlights the analytical shift towards globalization. The dispute on whether mass media is the cause of globalization or does it intensifies globalization arises. He also raises that globalization is perceived to bring about either cultural homogenization or cultural hybridization. Kraidy then concludes that transnational mass media intensifies the hybridity existing in cultures globally. I agreed with Kraidy when he raised the topic on cultural hybridization, where the world is no longer dominated by a single culture. Such a phenomenon can be seen in a small, globalized city like Singapore. For example, MacDonalds is a very popular fast food restaurant globally, deemed to be a result of Westernization. However, taking into account of the local culture, MacDonalds in Asia alter their menus, such as introducing Curry Sauce in Singapore, Teriyaki and Ebi Filet-O in Japan. This therefore showed that there is no dominance of one western culture but a dapted, hybridized form of culture globally. However there is an analogy raised by Kraidy that I don not agree on, which is the Chicken-and-Egg analogy, describing the releationship between mass media and globalization. The confusion stated in the passage is whether mass media is the cause of globalization or did it intensify globalization. The stated analogy suggests mutual cause and effect releationship, which I disagree. I believe that mass media is a huge factor that caused globalization, however it is definitely not the only factor. Other factors may include the advancement of technology. Without the advancement of technology, the influence of mass media will not be that great, or even the start of mass media would have never happened. Thus, I believed that it is a build up of many factors that lead to globalization and its wide influence. In conclusion, I agree with the majority of the points Kraidy raised and that transnational mass media, backed up with other relating factors, do intensify the hybridity in existing cultures globally.

Summary for Globalisation article

In "Globalization of Culture Through the Media", Kraidy (2002) mentions that international media flow has sparked off many debates, where developed nations are accused of taking advantage of the media flow. Developed nations favour the "free flow of information" but the developing nations disagree. As the world becomes more inter-dependent, globalisation becomes a better representation of the global situation. The dispute on whether mass media is the cause of globalisation or it intensifies globalisation. Globalisation is perceived to bring about either homogenisation of one culture or hybridisation of different cultures. Kraidy concludes that transnational mass media intensify the hybridity existing in cultures globally.

An event that has shaped my life and the person I have become

I believe that how a person thinks or behaves are heavily influenced by the experiences he or she has gone through. Most people change over time, after being exposed to more situations, be it good or bad, and I am no exception. One event that has shaped my life and the person I have become is the passing away of my grandfather.

My grandfather passed away four years ago and that hit my family really hard. My family have been living well with occasional minor hic-cups all along. Therefore, this might be the very reason for us taking the happy times for granted.

The passing away of my grandfather has taught me to cherish every living moment spent with my family and friends and not to take the happy times for granted. It has taught me how fragile a human life can be and that we can never anticipate what is to happen in the future. Therefore after the event, I have changed to become a more cheerful person who makes the most out of everyday and most importantly, be happy. I have learnt that although to plan and look ahead in life is important, to slow down your footsteps and enjoy every living moments with the loved ones around you is also equally important.