Climate Connections

Climate change is caused by the rise in anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. Such gases include carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, which are long-lived compounds that can remain in the atmosphere for several years. But you might be wondering if climate change in turn impacts the quality of the air we breathe.  On this episode of Climate Connections, NTU Professor Stephan Schuster, Research Director of the Meta-o’mics & Microbiomes cluster at the Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering reviews the connection between air pollution and climate change, as well as the tell-tale signs that scientists look out for when measuring air quality. Professor Schuster also reveals some potential solutions that actually already exist in Singapore! Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg) Voiced by: Emaad Akhtar Photo credits: NTU Music credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributors

Calling out to plant parents, as well as those thinking of getting succulents to spruce up your homes!  Increasingly, many popular ornamental plants are plucked from their natural habitats instead of being grown in nurseries. The consequences of this go beyond our living rooms, impacting entire landscapes and the livelihoods of communities that depend on them. The highest number of native succulent species - drought resistant plants which are slow growing, long lived, and occur in arid areas - are found in Africa. It might not occur to you that your plant purchase is fueling plant poaching - but since 2019, more than 600,000 illegally harvested succulents, representing 450 different species have been seized by authorities as they transit Southern Africa to overseas markets.  On this episode of Climate Connections, Dominique Prinsloo, Project Manager from TRAFFIC - who’s done quite a bit of research into the succulent plant poaching crisis - explains what's driving the trade and how you can differentiate between a wild harvested succulent versus a nursery-grown one. Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg) Voiced by: Audrey Siek Photo credits: TRAFFIC Music credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributors

Have you been to Phillip Island Nature Parks in Australia?  It’s home to the largest little penguin population - better known as fairy penguins - globally. They’re the smallest penguin species in the world.  But today’s focus is on another seabird - short-tailed shearwaters that use Phillip Island as their breeding grounds! From this week, four-month old fledglings are starting their migration and the Phillip Island Nature Parks is calling for individuals and businesses on the island to switch off their lights at night. Short-tailed shearwaters are mid-sized migratory birds that travel from the Southern to Northern Hemisphere each year, migrating from Australia towards Japan, then across to the Bering Sea and Chukchi Sea to the north of Alaska. They manage this massive 16,000km journey in under four weeks, all before returning to the shores of Phillip Island (Millowl). Among the most vulnerable are seabirds, with shearwaters facing the greatest risk. In a series of studies by Phillip Island Nature Parks exploring the negative effect of artificial lights on shearwaters, light pollution is now at the forefront of negative factors disrupting the delicate balance of ecosystems.  On this episode of Climate Connections, Dr Duncan Sutherland, Senior Scientist, Phillip Island Nature Parks why the night lights are so detrimental to the short-tailed shearwaters during migration season, conservation efforts under the "Dark Sky So Shearwaters Fly" campaign and how you can do your part. Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg) Voiced by: Audrey Siek Photo/Sound credits: Phillip Island Nature Parks Music credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributors

Quite unsurprisingly, demand for batteries is expected to increase 30% each year until 2030. A greater need for batteries to power more electric vehicles means increased demand for metals like lithium, a finite resource whose extraction has raised ecological and human rights issues.  Lithium mining takes a heavy toll - trees are often cut down to make room for mines, chemicals used in the process can poison waterways, and meanwhile, millions of tonnes of batteries are expected to be decommissioned over the coming decades, creating hazardous waste. But have you ever thought about how sustainable your batteries are?  On this episode of Climate Connections, Justin Hung, CEO & Co-Founder of GRST (which stands for Green, Renewable, Sustainable Technology) and 2023 Earthshot Prize winner shares about the cleaner process he developed to make batteries that pollutes less and uses components that can be more easily recycled. The eco-friendly lithium batteries technology start-up aims to raise US$50 million over the next two years. Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg) Voiced by: Emaad Akhtar Photo credits: Earthshot Prize Music credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributors

Rice is a key staple in many diets around the world. But did you know that rice production accounts for over 10% of global methane emissions? These emissions in turn contribute to climate change. Bali is an Indonesian island known for its stunning landscapes, famous for its terraced rice fields that cascade down hillsides, creating a picturesque environment. But beyond aesthetics, the Bali rice fields and the Subak system are closely intertwined and they represent the lifeblood of Bali's cultural and agricultural heritage.  The Subak system, recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, refers to the traditional irrigation system developed by Balinese farmers to manage water distribution and cultivation in flooded rice fields. It is a cooperative and democratic system that emphasises harmony between nature and the community. On this episode of Climate Connections - Sharadha Sathiakumar, Research Fellow, Earth Observatory of Singapore shares more about her project exploring potential solutions to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions in the rice fields of Bali located in Indonesia, the fourth-largest producer of rice worldwide. She found that the Intermittent Wetting and Drying technique allowing local farmers to improvise based on their experience could very well be the solution to reducing the greenhouse gases emitted by the rice you eat! The results of this experiment were very promising: both methane and nitrous oxide emissions reduced, and rice yield increased. Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg) Voiced by: Emaad Akhtar Photo credits: Sharadha Sathiakumar, Joanne Petrina, Earth Observatory of Singapore Music credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributors

Ice-cold, juicy oysters definitely sound like a good idea, as we search for ways to beat the heat in recent weeks! But have you ever wondered what happens to the oyster shells afterwards? On this episode of Climate Connections, we feature two local ecologists - Yukie Yokoyama and Erika Ng from Witteveen+Bos - who are giving discarded oyster shells a new lease of life in Singapore by creating the country's first artificial oyster reef at the jetty near Changi Sailing Club. Find out more about their journey to find ways to help Singapore fight pollution, improve marine biodiversity, and protect against coastal erosion - through the help of oyster reefs. And as they say - "The world is your oyster!" Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg) Voiced by: Audrey Siek Photo credits: Yukie Yokoyama & Erika Ng Music credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributors

Plastic consumption has increased exponentially in recent years. When plastics enter the ocean, microorganisms attach to and colonise them, forming an ecological community known as the ‘Plastisphere’. But we don’t really know much about these colonies. What we know, is that plastics can be silent killers of marine life. Plastics also carry other chemical compounds called additives in addition to the polymer resin, and these materials can actually leach into the environment.  To understand the plastic-microbes interaction, NTU researchers extracted DNA information of plastispheres gathered from 14 coastal locations in Singapore, and they found both potential plastic-eating bacteria and harmful microbes thriving on the samples. On this episode of Climate Connections, we feature:  - Jonas Koh (NTU doctoral student, Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering) - Professor Shane Allen Snyder (Executive Director, Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute) Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg) Voiced by: Audrey Siek Photo credits:NTU Music credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributors

The Andes stands out for its striking species richness and endemicity that characterise many emblematic Neotropical clades distributed in or around these mountains. It's also a vital region, with its highland forests providing water for millions of people downstream.  However, this rich ecosystem is increasingly threatened by rapid development, mining and climate change. With the glaciers melting and forests disappearing, 2023 Earthshot Prize winners Florent Kaiser, CEO of Global Forest Generation and Constantino Aucca Chutas, President & Co-founder of Acción Andina are working hard to restore the degraded ecosystems of the Andes and secure the water supply for local communities.  On this episode of Climate Connections, we go on a journey to find out how they are reviving ancient indigenous practices and galvanising the help of multi-generations of locals and partners to conserve the Andes and beyond. Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg) Voiced by: Emaad Akhtar Photo credits:Acción Andina, Earthshot Prize  Music credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributors

In the heart of Sumatra lies the Leuser Ecosystem - the last place on Earth where several of the key Sundaland mega-fauna species can still be found together: the tiger, orangutan, elephant, and rhino. But all that are under extreme threat due to unsustainable development.  In the spirit of International Women’s Day, on this episode of Climate Connections - we feature the Chairperson & Co-Founder of Forest Nature and Environment Aceh, Farwiza Farhan, a fearless female voice who has succeeded in advocating for law enforcement against companies operating illegally and launched a citizen lawsuit that empowers local communities to have meaningful involvement in policy making. Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg) Voiced by: Emaad Akhtar Photo credits:HAkA, Joel Sartore, Paul Hilton, Ruben Hoekstra, Junaidi Hanafiah, Citra Drone, leuserconservationforum IG Music credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributors

What does sustainability mean to you? Challenges surrounding going green often involve an intricate web of complex problems that are interlinked. On this episode of Climate Connections, 11-year-old Aurvi Jain, Eco Warrior & TEDxSingapore Speaker explains why every single little action counts more than age. She also lets us in on a little secret project that she worked on together with renowned filmmaker Damon Gameau, that will be released later this year. Feature produced and edited by: Yeo Kai Ting (ykaiting@sph.com.sg) Voiced by: Audrey Siek Photo credits: Aurvi Jain & regenerators (Instagram) Music credits: pixabay & its talented community of contributors