If We Could Be Heroes

We all have our heroes in life. People we look up to and admire. People whom we want to emulate.

For some of us, our hero could be our father or mother, a relative, someone we know or a complete stranger to us; perhaps an athlete or a movie star; even a saint.

Heroes are important people in our lives.

They can give us hope when we need it most and even a reason to cheer. They inspire us and make us want to strive for more.

They influence our views. They shape our morals, our values. They add colour to our perception of life.

Like signposts, heroes give directions to those who need it. They point the way to something - something that we value; something that we agree with.

Like a mirror, they reflect a part of our inner-selves back at us, enamoring us by our own vanity, and draw us towards them.

They resemble a message that we embrace.

A message that we live by.

Love: think Mother Theresa; maybe Casablanca

Freedom: Nelson Mandela; Aung San Suu Kyi

Peace: Mahatma Gandhi; John Lennon

Solidarity: Pope John Paul II

Wealth: Warren Buffett; Donald Trump

Fun: Adam Sandler

Non-conformity: Lady Gaga; Pink

Change: Obama (although I wonder about this)

Challenging authority: Just about any rock star

The world needs heroes.

Generation in, generation out, we continue to look for them.

But why search when you could be one?

Yes, you.

You too, can be a hero. A hero to someone. You could be that signpost; the mirror that reflects the message of someone’s life.

Heroes aren’t exclusive to the realms of celebrities and media.

Even ordinary people can be heroes to others.

All you have to do is fight for something you believe in. Whole heartedly. No effort sparing. And aim to make the change you seek happen.

It doesn’t have to be huge. It doesn’t have to be life-changing. It just has to make a difference to somebody.

It has happened many times over. (Refer to the list above.)

My money’s on that it will continue many times more.

Think about it.

"We could be heroes for just one day." ~ Wallflowers, Heroes.

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EVENT:

To meet a hero is always an honour.

To spend time in a hero’s presence? Priceless (so the Mastercard slogan goes).

This Tuesday, the 4^th of October, you’ll have your chance to do just that!

Marine mammal specialist, Ric O’Barry, of the Earth Island Institute, will be giving a talk at the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel from 7.30pm to 9.30pm. (Click here to see the map.)

In a show of support for ACRES World’s Saddest Dolphins campaign against Resort Worlds Sentosa holding 25 dolphins captive for their marine park plans, he will be sharing about his work to end dolphin exploitation around the world.

Ric O’Barry is best known for his award-winning documentary entitled The Cove, an exposé documentary on the secretive annual dolphin massacre in Taiji, Japan. (To watch it, click here.)

An ex-trainer of dolphins for the original Flipper series, Ric O’Barry had a change of heart ever since he witness a dolphin commit suicide in his arms from stress. Since then, Ric O’Barry has worked to end dolphin captivity and exploitation for the past four decades.

For those interested, send an email to denise@acres.org.sg to reserve your seat.

For more details, click here.
For the official website of the Cove, click here.
To read more about Ric O'Barry, click here.

And for those who want to relax to some music, click here for Wallflower's Heroes.

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Thanks for reading!

Stay Green!

Cheers,

~Kerry

The Dragon Rises

Make no mistake. China is indeed rising to be the next superpower.

With their huge cash reserves and ambitions to match, China has been steadily building its nation towards progress. (Literally too, with dozens of construction projects ongoing all over the country.)

Furthermore, China has revealed plans to have their own space station orbiting the Earth by 2022, with the first module of their “heavenly palace” ready for launch in a couple of days. (Video)

It seems that not only are they bent on taking over the planet, but the universe as well.

However, despite the grand scheme of things, I continue to ponder over a question close to my heart.

What morals will this rising dragon bring along with its ascend and how will we be affected?

If China is to progress as a nation, it should not only build up its façade but also concentrate in churning out new policies that embrace first world, first class thinking. Policies that are not self-absorbed. Policies that are thoroughly thought through. Policies that will harm neither the environment, you nor me.

And ensure these policies are successfully implemented.

The Three Gorges Dam is an example of such a failing.

For years environmentalists have warned of the dam’s consequences but the Chinese government stubbornly forged ahead with its construction. Today, more than a million citizens have relocated due to massive the flooding of the Yangtze River, destroying homes and businesses in the process. (Watch BBC video report here.)

Other environmental-related problems include massive air and water pollution, staggering amounts of green-house gas emission, and resource depletion. (Check out the 2010/2011 stats here for the shockers.)

Thankfully, the Chinese government has acknowledged the environmental problems and is moving to reduce their environmental impact. But can they move fast enough?

China has a lot on its plate to wolf down.

Besides solely dishing out policies, the Chinese government needs to educate her citizens. This will play a huge part in solving the dilemma and speeding things up.

Habits need to be changed. Dumping, wasting, contaminating, must be eliminated. Conservation, the respect for nature, and the repercussions of not doing so taught to them – that ignorance is truly not bliss but in fact, lethal.

At the end of the day, China will rise, whether we like it or not. But will it be able to rise multiple times from its stumbles like the Phoenix of Chinese lore depends on how the Chinese government solves these issues.

Like any great country, it should have sound policies and sound governing principles. Most importantly however, a worthy country should be filled with worthy citizens.

Don’t you think?

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Thanks for reading!

Be awesome! And Stay green!

Cheers,
~Kerry

What Uncle Ben Said

"With great power comes great responsibility."

I love this line. As an avid comic reader, few quotes stick in mind as faithfully as this does. Uncle Ben’s simple but effective words of wisdom serving as a reminder not only to one man (Peter Parker, who else?) but to Man as a species; pointing out what the many years of progress has caused us to forget:

Man is the most powerful and dominant creature that has ever inhabited the Earth. And we need to wield this power wisely.

No, we do not have hands and feet that double up as suction cups for easy scaling of walls just so we can indulge in our latest peeping Tom fantasies. No, we can’t leap 5 meters in the air, somersault, do the splits and end up kicking 300 baddies simultaneously in the face. (Well, most of us can’t at least.) And if you had checked the number of accidents per year, you’d also know that we do not possess a 6^th sense to alert us of the dangers lurking round every corner.

But it’s still true. We have great power. Power that requires wisdom and responsibility to guide it well. Without it…

How do you think global warming started?

Need I say more?

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Thanks for reading! Stay Green!

Cheers,

~Kerry

7 Tips to be a Nature-Friendly Traveller

Travel. It’s on a lot of people’s mind these days. But if you’re going to do it, you should do it right. Most environmentally harmful traveling is created due to the laws of supply and demand (economics 101) and our own ignorance. Therefore, here are 7 tips to help you become a more nature-friendly traveller (or as I like to call it, a nature-walker).

1. Leave It As You Found It

In 2007, I went for a caving trip in Ipoh, Malaysia. My guide, I forget his name (doh!), had only one poetic rule.

Leave nothing but footprints,

Take nothing but photographs,

Kill nothing but time.

It has stuck with me ever since. Furthermore, it is reminiscent of my scouting spirit back in my secondary school days. Leaving it as you found it preserves the state of nature and allows many more to enjoy and marvel at it.

2. Avoid Patronizing Animal-Exploitation Attractions

Circuses, marine parks, elephant rides. These are but few of the activities tour agencies constantly tout when promoting a destination package. For every unwilling animal there, an unknown number of animal cruelty cases take place behind the scenes.

Wildlife Reserves Singapore has made leaps and bounds in transforming the animal shows and their enclosures at the Singapore Zoological Gardens to reflect the animals’ natural lifestyles and behaviours as well as mimic their natural habitats as close as possible. Huge salute for their efforts. A toast to you guys!

3. Resist Buying or Having Your Picture Taken with Exotic Animals

Linking to Tip #2, in some countries, it’s common to be approached with the invitation to have your picture taken with a python or a baby orang-utan. Some offer you a chance to attend a snake-charming show usually performed with a cobra. Other times, children will parade pathetic ill-looking birds in the hope that you’ll buy them and set them free.

In these cases, our curiosity and sympathy are used against us.

Cobras commonly have their fangs pulled out for the safety of the charmer, ripping them of their ability to defend themselves. Baby orang-utans on the other hand, find their way to the photography industry normally after their mother is brutally shot and killed in order to haul the baby away without the unreasonable protests of the mother. Lastly, when we buy the sad bird in the cage, and set them free, it spurs demand and create jobs. As such, more birds are trapped and made to endure harsh conditions with the intention of preying on the emotionally gullible. Many die in captivity.

Moral of the story: Oh, toughen up, people.

4. Choose Eco-friendly or Conservation-linked Tourism

WWF and National Geographic are leaders in this field. Unfortunately, their tours often come with a heavy price tag. That’s because a huge bulk of that is used to fund their conservation projects and research studies. However, with the green movement getting more popular, more and more resorts, tours and agencies are hopping on board.

If you’re at a fair, or at your local travel agency, request for green tours. By refusing other tours and specifically stating that you only want to experience green travel, you help create the demand for it which will help swerve the tourist industry in that direction.

(But if you’re loaded, remember WWF and NG yeah? Yeah.)

5. Do Not Buy Animal-parts for Souvenirs

This includes ivory, shells, stuffed animals and fur. A simple rule of thumb: Where there’s demand, supply will rush in to fill in the void thereby creating a black market and causing more animals to be killed by poachers.

In China, it’s easy to find tiger parts being sold – claws and penises too – for consumption! What the?! They believe it helps with certain bodily ailments. As far as science is concern, this is all bull. Utter nonsense. Anything useful you can get out of a tiger’s peepee or his sharp digit, you can extract from a dozen other herbal plants. Tiger balls, my....

6. Be Mindful of the Illegal Logging Industry

Illegal logging is rampant in certain countries especially in the developing ones. Avoid buying wood products unless you’re confident that only farmed trees are used. Researching the illegal logging scene of the country online would be most helpful.

During a visit to Bali, Indonesia, in 2006, despite the picturesque scenery of a volcano to enjoy lunch to, I was horrified to see huge sections of forest bare of trees. Though I admit that the Balinese are master craftsmen, the rate of logging is unsustainable. The memory of a thriving habitat means tons more to me than my desire to own one of those beautifully sculptured mementos.

Want wood? Think Ikea.

7. Be Vocal About Your Disapproval

Agencies, tour operators, retailers and anyone who entertains, and even runs, these operations need to hear your disapproval. Being vocal about your non-patronizing attitude and discontent with the exploitation and environment-damaging activities will have an impact on what these people provide to their customers.

If a number of people vocalize their dissatisfaction and desires, you can be sure that things will change for the better over time. Tolerance for such activities, and worst, silence, only serves to allow the industry to grow delaying any improvement and thereby causing more innocent creatures to be victimized.

Do be polite though. It helps ease any defensive attitudes.

(And helps you avoid becoming a victim yourself.)

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Thanks again for reading!

Keep being awesome! And stay green!

Cheers,

~Kerry

The Change That Commitments Bring

Commitments can be scary. Depending on how big the commitment is, it can be downright intimidating. Sometimes even feel like a bully, pressurizing you to honour your words and to do what you said you would; an unwritten binding contract.

With myself, I have another problem with commitments. I hate breaking them. Cos I feel bad, that's why. Like, ewwww, bad. It's uncomfortable. Sickens the tummy. Right in the gut. Probably the worst feeling in the world. After all, no one likes deal-breakers. Not even me.

Commitments, to me, are responsibilities that I have chosen to undertake and see through. Therefore, I have every obligation to deliver. If that makes me an approbation-junkie, then so be it.

So before I make a commitment, I think a lot about it. I weigh the pro and cons, my ability to carry out my promise, and even the consequences of not being able to fulfill my part of the bargain. The bigger the commitment, the more time I need to dwell on it.

Today, marks one month since I started the GAP (prompt: see title of the blog for the meaning of the acronym). I wondered then, if my writing would be sustainable and continued to self-debate if I could keep this up over a period of time.

I also thought that if I did skip a week, no one could make any noise and hold me accountable as I never promised a weekly post. Being more confident now, I'm ready to make not one, but two, commitments to you in appreciation for sticking with me through the startup weeks and for giving the GAP a chance.

Commitment No. 1:
I am committed to publishing one post every thursday for the next three months

Does that mean that after three months I'm going to close shop? Of course not. Don't be silly. I'm enjoying this too much to stop now. What will happen is that the GAP will be reviewed once more (with all your feedback, if any) to see how else the site can be improved. So pls feel free to comment and suggest to your hearts content. Till then you'll be receiving a new thought-nudge, article or personal post every thursday till December 1st.

Commitment No. 2:
I am committed to improving my photography skills

This so that you will have a better GAP experience through my photographs sharing the natural wonders and marvels of Mother Nature and the world we live in. I've already signed up for a basic photography class. I'm excited and looking forward to it. It's been a hobby of mine that I never bothered taking seriously. Thanks to all of you out there, I've reason now to be better. Can't wait!

These are rather small commitments, I know. But all great things begin with a single step. Picture a snowball rolling downhill, gaining in speed, growing in size, eventually accumulating enough energy to blanket an entire town upon impact. Avalanche! That's what momentum can do, I believe. It can leave things irreversibly changed.

In the immortal words of Neil Armstrong:

A small step for man, a giant leap for mankind.

Yes, the GAP is going to be life-changing, for you and for me - if we let it. We're in this together.

Let's make that commitment to see it through.

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Thanks again for reading. Your support is invaluable.

Keep being awesome! And stay green!

Cheers,
~Kerry