Love of Nature from Parents

I love reading, and especially love the feeling you get when the author makes a point so powerful, you feel like a train just ran over you. Here's an excerpt from Dr. Jane Goodall's book, Reason for Hope. It's a story that she's told time and again, whenever you attend her lectures, about her trying to find how how chickens lay their eggs as a child. In summary, she had hidden herself in the chicken coop for 4 hours at least, waiting for a hen to enter and lay an egg, while elsewhere, her family (especially her mother Vanne) were in hysterics, thinking that she had gone missing and had even made a police report. The following excerpt describes what happens after she had observed the egg-laying.

"Filled with excitement I squeezed out after her and ran home. It was almost dark--I had been in that small stuffy henhouse for nearly four hours. I was oblivious of the fact that no one had known where I was, and that the whole household had been searching for me. They had even called the police to report me missing. Yet despite her worry, when Vanne, still searching, saw the excited little girl rushing toward the house, she did not scold me. She noticed my shining eyes and sat down to listen to the story of how a hen lays an egg: the wonder of that moment when the egg finally fell to the ground.

Certainly I was lucky to be provided with a mother wise enough to nurture and encourage my love of living things and my passion for knowledge. Most important was her philosophy that her children should always try their very best. How would I have turned out, I sometimes wonder, had I grown up in a house that stifled enterprise by imposing harsh and senseless discipline. Or in an atmosphere of overindulgence, in a household where there were no rules, no boundaries drawn. My mother certainly understood the importance of discipline, but she always explained why some things were not allowed. Above all, she tried to be fair and to be consistent."

It really set me thinking, about parents in general here in Singapore. I have often seen that when children go missing and then found again, parents just whack them. No questions asked. No thought given to the fear, or excitement of discovery, such as in Jane's case, experienced by the child. Imagine Vanne had been one of such parents. Would there have been a Dr. Jane Goodall, the Jane Goodall Institute and everything that she has done? If we really thought deeply, all of those things, inspiration to us and people like me, the survival and profound ethology of chimps and the livelihood that she has made possible for thousands in Tanzania, all of those might have hinged on that one reaction by Vanne when Jane reappeared, and thank goodness for what did happen.

Conservation, and nature in Singapore, I feel suffers from a desperate lack of parental guidance. Sure there are a bunch of parents who bring their children to guided walks and things like that, but a vast majority bring their children up on a diet of materialism, and the belief that humans do not need wildlife (both plants and animals) for survival. Zoologists and botanists are conventionally thought of as biology students who cannot make it to medicine. How many parents out there wholeheartedly support their children when they say they want to study zoology instead of business or medicine or law? We need a massive change in mindsets.

Shopping to Save the Earth?

I've been meaning to blog about this but I just have been too caught up with tests and thesis submission. Anyhow, I am referring to Compass Point's claim that it's shoppers can "Save Planet Earth" simply by shopping there. . Let's try and dissect the poster.

First, it says, if the shopper spends $20, he/she can "Share" eco-friendly tips. Apparently the "best" tip wins the shopper $120. The greatest irony is this: The best eco-friendly tip in reality is to stop mass-consumerism, shopping, and advertising. I'd be damned if that won you anything.

Going down the poster, it says "Learn to be Green", and by attaching a loan receipt of four books from Sengkang Community Library to any $20 receipt, it wins the shopper a monopoly set, and a chance at %100 Metro vouchers. First of all, it seems they left the learning to be green part to the shopper, without specifying the type of books. Heck, he could borrow 4 books along the lines of "How to destroy Planet Earth in 5 minutes" and still win everything on offer. In any case, Singaporeans being Singaporeans, they'd probably just borrow books for the Monopoly set. And it still doesn't address the consumerism problem.

The next three seem to look a little friendlier, but two of them still require you to spend. And honestly, "Saving Planet Earth" is a load of bull. Planet Earth would do well without us. More like saving ourselves. These corporate people should get their perspectives right.

Now we look at the wordy parts. "Carry it green at Compass Point". Apparently, you spend $30 dollars and get a free Compass Point Shopping Bag. So if you spend below $30 you don't qualify to join the Compass Point (Pseudo) Environment Club huh.

"Shop and Learn How You Can Save Planet Earth". And then it says you get a free $5 voucher when you spend $100, I think with that Compass Point Shopping bag. I honestly don't see the link between the title and it's description. Labelling everything green out of desperation I suppose.

"Lucky Green Dips". Instant lucky dip with $50 spent. How's that green again?

"Going Green Saves You More". Even more bizzare stuff. It says, bring your own carriers or containers to enjoy offers from some participating outlets. And then one of the outlets is Best Denki. IF you buy refridgerators. Sure, my Compass Point Shopping Bag can fit THOSE. CITIGEMS are participating too, and you get a diamond pendant at a hugely discounted price. Point number one. There is no such thing as a green diamond / precious metal mining company. Number two. Retailers don't discount at such rates unless they are sure they are still earning from it. Too bad to those who bought these lumps of metal and carbon at their original prices.

The one that takes the cake though, is the Grand Prize of their lucky draw. You get a CAR!! Spend all the money to be green, then burn it all away with the petrol! How smart!

In a nutshell. It's a scam. CASE should get on their backs. Token effort is given about being green, and it's just a bandwagon to jump on to generate sales of ignorant people who want to be on the same bandwagon with little effort. This a blatant attempt to DELIBERATELY mislead shoppers. There no way to shop to your way to "green-ness". Unless you are shopping to buy forest patches to protect. Which Compass Point and their Frasers Centrepoint management have obviously no interest in. It's like "Buy more cigarettes and learn how to prevent lung cancer!". Bunch of bull excreta.