Hazy Singapore: Before/After shots

I have lived in Singapore for well over 13 years now and I have never seen the air quality deteriorate to such a poor level. 

Seeing the skies like this reminds me of my days in China in the late '90's.  Even to this day Beijing struggles with pollution but of course the source of that is cars and factories (a result of our insatiable desire to have inexpensive goods in department stores worldwide).

Die hard sun bathers refuse to give up even in today's haze.

When the PSI (pollutant standards index) rose over 300 yesterday evening, I think all of Singapore knew this was not going to be good. The Daily Telegraph highlighted the Singapore government's opposition to the slash and burn fires and the smoke drifting across from Indonesia. Meanwhile today a senior minister from Jakarta added fuel to this debate by stating "Singapore shouldn't be like children, in such a tizzy", referring to Singapore's reaction to the haze. 

 

Regardless of all angst, the fact remains that haze this chronic is not a good thing, be it in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia or wherever  I know Australia suffers from smoke haze when the bush fire season hits or when control burn off is implemented but the former occurs as a result of natural disasters (or not in the case of deliberately lit fires) and the latter as good land management practice. I think slash and burn ultimately is not good land management practice. So really all this comes down to is sound farming practices, education and funding. Who takes responsibility for that is an open ended question. Clearly, though, this was one case where burn off was not carried out carefully and as a result, uncontrolled fires spread from one plantation to another resulting in an unhealthy situation for all concern. 

Just to demonstrate how bad that affect has been, here are some before and after shots of various locations in Singapore. 

Before/After shots ...

Before:View towards Raffles Hotel

After: Even the Raffles Hotel is not immune

Before: Chinatown

After: Duxton HDB's fade into the background. 

Before:Retro Methodist Church just one week prior to this post.

After: No blue skies and the buildings fade away. 

Before: Marina Bay Area

After: Marina Bay Sands has just disappears in the haze

Before: Chinatown looking towards the CBD

After: Perhaps the SIA open air bus was not such a good idea today

Pearl Buck's Good Earth

I stumbled upon Pearl Buck's Good Earth via a very indirect means. I had loaded the app OverDrive on my iPad and began loaning books from the National Library of Singapore. I was thrilled to find a novel from Tracy Chevalier since I enjoy historial fiction. I then came across Anchee Min's 2010 book entitled Pearl of China. 

As I began to read this book, I started to realize that the character 'Pearl' was the famous Pearl Buck. After the first few pages, the outline of the story began to fall into place and I started comparing historical notes with Pearl Buck's life in China.

I find the lives of those early pioneers who ventured into China fascinating, more so with Pearl Buck since she grew up there. I would love to find a movie file where Pearl was speaking Chinese. Searching on YouTube, I did find an old movie reel from the 60's where Pearl was interviewed promoting her work in South Korea and war orphans. The first thing that struck me was how British she sounded even though there was a distinct American accent there. The second point I noted was how prophetic she was in her judgement on China and the world today. 

After I finished Anchee Min's Pearl of China, I naturally was keen to read Pearl Buck's Good Earth. How bizzarre that her books were never prescribed reading during my college degree. The story of Wang Lung and his connection to the earth affirms China's agrarian culture especially in the period that it was set. What a contrast to today's China where the urban influx is rapidly tipping the balance of urban versus rural dwellers. Wang Lung's link to the earth resonates on an even more global level. Wang Lung always sought solace with the land and the crops it grew. It was and still is a timely reminder of our relationship with the environment. This is even more poignant considering China's current economic growth and the disastrous effects that is having upon China's own environment. 

Pearl Buck's Good Earth is a book worth reading.  Reading the follow up entitled Sons, it is interesting to contrast the shift in generation attitude between Wang Lung and his sons. Here is Pearl Buck being interviewed in 1966.

Follow the long line:Chopin will never sound the same.

I remember someone once expressing surprise at the fact that I was an avid fan of pop music, thinking that I only listened to classical music (shock, Robin is a Kylie fan!). Classical music has always had the power to move me. It can be tremendously uplifting and always very emotive.

Recently I had the good fortune to watch Benjamin Zander present his TED Talk on classical music. Someone very close shared this with me and I am doing the same.

Two things strike me. Firstly, Chopin is one of my mother's favourite composers. Secondly, after having the luxury of watching kindergartners in a music class the other day, one comes to see just how powerful and important the role of all genres of music are in our lives.

Watch Benjamin Zander and follow the line.