Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Just briefly the major issue in Australia would be water. But not only do we need it for drinking we also need it for agriculture in order to ensure our food supply can be maintained. I would say the next major resource issues are food, due to the lack of water,followed by energy. We use a lot of energy with the majority being produced from our coal resources but these resource have reached/reaching their peak and hence are dwindling and will not last for much longer. We thus need to find alternative sources of energy (i.e green energy) in order to maintain our population sustainably. Evidently land/space is not a restriction in Australia but it could be soon with the changing climate much of our land is becoming drier and of less use. This could be an issue in the future.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Population Issues II responses
Strictly and ecologically speaking, I think that the population of Singapore is unsustainable given the high population density we have. Since Singapore does not have any hinterland to depend upon, we have to import almost all our food and half of our water. If we are to go back to just meeting the most basic needs such as food, shelter and water without degrading much of the natural environment, a population of about 300 people for the whole country is a good figure. However, if we are going to define the population of a city based on the infrastructure we have and our water supplies, a figure of 1.5 million is good enough. Sure enough, we have been complaining about the weekend crowds in the shopping centres and public transport as well as traffic jams on the road. This is the result of too many cars on the road due to rising levels of affluence. There is really no magic figure on whether the population numbers are sustainable. It really all depends on the needs of the country and the level of infrastructural developments in place. Surely, wealth is the primary development on the amount of resources we can draw upon. All cities are ultimately unsustainable as they depended on other areas to draw their resources upon. But at the same time, cities are the main generators of wealth. With money, it will be able to sustain a larger population. Singapore is doing well in terms of population management as the air is generally cleaner than many other cities of the world despite high population and vehicle densities. So you see, this definitive is really very subjective.
In Singapore, the greatest limiting factor is really land. Spatial constraint is really the limiting factor on population increase. Having limited sea space also poses challenges on how much land Singapore can reclaim having to give due consideration to port development. Water is getting less important as an issue as innovative technologies is gradually helping Singapore to become more self sufficient inj water in the years to come. Spatial constraints ultimately mean limits on the number of roads we can build and hence the number of cars on the road. Given the aspirations of Singaporeans, more people would want to buy cars if car population controls are not in place. Being too densely populated also degrades environmental quality, having less spaces that can be set aside for parks, recreation and nature reserve. For the case of Australia, I guess the main issue is water? This is because a large part of Australia is desert and it is by far the driest continent on earth. Any comments from the ANU counterparts?
Space is not an issue in Australia I believe but the actual space that people would prefer to live on is only concentrated along the coastlines and not the interior. So Australia has space but most is not utilised. In Singapore's case, we are running out of space. Both countries face water shortage problems but Singapore is overcoming its water problems slowly such as building new reservoirs, desalination and ultrafiltration of sewage water. Singaporeans have accepted drinking this treated sewage water which is really ultra clean. We have put it back into the reservoirs and supply the water to industrial plants that require such ultra cleaan water such as the silicon fabrication plants. The rest is being put back into the reserviours and let nature "re-treat" this water so as to gain more acceptance from the people. But for the Australian side, I believe that this will take some time for it to be accepted as there is alot of resistance on the ground.
In Singapore, the greatest limiting factor is really land. Spatial constraint is really the limiting factor on population increase. Having limited sea space also poses challenges on how much land Singapore can reclaim having to give due consideration to port development. Water is getting less important as an issue as innovative technologies is gradually helping Singapore to become more self sufficient inj water in the years to come. Spatial constraints ultimately mean limits on the number of roads we can build and hence the number of cars on the road. Given the aspirations of Singaporeans, more people would want to buy cars if car population controls are not in place. Being too densely populated also degrades environmental quality, having less spaces that can be set aside for parks, recreation and nature reserve. For the case of Australia, I guess the main issue is water? This is because a large part of Australia is desert and it is by far the driest continent on earth. Any comments from the ANU counterparts?
Space is not an issue in Australia I believe but the actual space that people would prefer to live on is only concentrated along the coastlines and not the interior. So Australia has space but most is not utilised. In Singapore's case, we are running out of space. Both countries face water shortage problems but Singapore is overcoming its water problems slowly such as building new reservoirs, desalination and ultrafiltration of sewage water. Singaporeans have accepted drinking this treated sewage water which is really ultra clean. We have put it back into the reservoirs and supply the water to industrial plants that require such ultra cleaan water such as the silicon fabrication plants. The rest is being put back into the reserviours and let nature "re-treat" this water so as to gain more acceptance from the people. But for the Australian side, I believe that this will take some time for it to be accepted as there is alot of resistance on the ground.
Population Issues II
Hey guys, these are the questions for the last tutorial!
Preparation instructions
Following on from your earlier tutorials on population, and campus sustainability, we will think about and discuss the impact of population on sustainability by thinking about the maximum population that a country such as Singapore can sustainably support, reflecting on the resources that students think affect their proposed population limit. Following the completion of this topic, it is expected that students will have a deeper understanding of the complex policy, and ecological issues that are inherent to population policy.
Questions to consider for your one page preparation
Your responses to these questions will form the basis for our tutorial discussions:
Your estimate of what population you think Singapore can sustainably support.
ANU students will think about a sustainable population target for Singapore.
Briefly substantiate your figure by listing (in order of importance) the most significant resources that limit the population Australia and Sinagpore can sustainably support
What are some of the similarities and differences between the resources that limit Australia's population to that of Singapore?
Come prepared to discuss and defend your sustainable population target for Singapore. The ideas presented in lectures, readings and collaboration discussions with ANU may be helpful in supporting your views.
Preparation instructions
Following on from your earlier tutorials on population, and campus sustainability, we will think about and discuss the impact of population on sustainability by thinking about the maximum population that a country such as Singapore can sustainably support, reflecting on the resources that students think affect their proposed population limit. Following the completion of this topic, it is expected that students will have a deeper understanding of the complex policy, and ecological issues that are inherent to population policy.
Questions to consider for your one page preparation
Your responses to these questions will form the basis for our tutorial discussions:
Your estimate of what population you think Singapore can sustainably support.
ANU students will think about a sustainable population target for Singapore.
Briefly substantiate your figure by listing (in order of importance) the most significant resources that limit the population Australia and Sinagpore can sustainably support
What are some of the similarities and differences between the resources that limit Australia's population to that of Singapore?
Come prepared to discuss and defend your sustainable population target for Singapore. The ideas presented in lectures, readings and collaboration discussions with ANU may be helpful in supporting your views.
Monday, March 23, 2009
CAMPUS SUSTAINBILITY- ANU
GREAT WORK!
Just a few points to add from my own answers.
1. I think computers are another issue that causes alot of energy waste. They never seem to be turned off and are constatly running.
2. Other environmental strategies undertaken by ANU include the ANUgreen garden, which encourages the concept of local produce, the encouragement of bicycles through lots of space for lockign them up and pathways which are bike friendly. There is also the Hotrot organic recycling program where organic waste is recycled in order to reduce environmental and economic costs of landfill
Most of what you guys wrote is what I had too.
Just a few points to add from my own answers.
1. I think computers are another issue that causes alot of energy waste. They never seem to be turned off and are constatly running.
2. Other environmental strategies undertaken by ANU include the ANUgreen garden, which encourages the concept of local produce, the encouragement of bicycles through lots of space for lockign them up and pathways which are bike friendly. There is also the Hotrot organic recycling program where organic waste is recycled in order to reduce environmental and economic costs of landfill
Most of what you guys wrote is what I had too.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Eco Footprint Tut.
My Ecological Footprint
Food - 56%
Mobility - 6%
Shelter - 10%
Goods/Services - 28%
Global Hectares - 4.1
Number of Planets - 2.3
Really rather inaccurate calculation due to the limited nature of the options. Very difficult to play apply to a Singaporean lifestyle...
1. What can you do to reduce your own ecological footprint?
Seeing as that majority of my footprint is food consumption, i suppose that's the best are to target in bringing down the figure for the number of global hectares used. I'm not too sure about the accuracy of the tests though, since even the 'detailed' questions only involved frequency but not amount.
Another way might be to consciously look for recycled alternatives to paper and plastic packaging. Already, recycling papers and plastics, but it's possible to go one step further to make the switch to consumption of recycled material without too much trouble...
There doesn't seem to be any other way of cutting down that can be exercised on an individual level, since a lot of things here are controlled on a state or government agency level; such as buildings and power.
2. What are some of the resource inputs and waste outputs of universities like the ANU and NUS and how do these contribute to their overall footprint?
The ones that come to mind first are electricity and paper. The first is pretty much basic to keeping facilities running, while the 2nd one is just a norm of most academic/ semi-beauracratic systems that involves tonnes of paper that may or may not be of much use.
As already mentioned by the other members, the air-conditioning is likely to be the primary energy guzzler. It's likely to be supplemented by students' use of plug points for their laptops in the process of transferring points from their own carbon footprint to the schools'.
3. List some innovative strategies that the educational institutions like the ANU and NUS are doing to reduce their overall ecological footprint. Do any of these strategies challenge social or institutional "norms"? (That is, Change the way people behave or think?)
The first major step taken by NUS would be the separation of the Office of Environmental Sustainability into an independent department. One of the more useful strategies implemented was the change of submissions from single sided paper to double sided, as well as the allowance for online submissions. This should cut down the amount of waste paper as report drafts and notes are no longer thrown away with only one side printed on. This is quite contrary for an academic institution as most universities are still built on paper despite technological advancement. While many are still wasting paper at present, it's a step in the right direction that should eventually lower te carbon footprint of NUS.
4. Devise 2 strategies that ANU or NUS could implement to reduce their footprint, and enhance sustainability. Who is responsible? Individuals changing their behaviour, the univerisity changing the way it conducts business, or both? Why?
The universities could go one step beyond allowing online and digital submissions to actually encouraging it. In time it could phase out paper submissions, saving on printing costs and reducing the necessary amount of paper inputs that contribute so much to the carbon footprint. For this it might be necessary for the academic population to change their mindsets and accept more than just the hardcopy reports that they have been hardwired into viewing as the norm.
Universities could also require their vendors to use local or unprocessed food in canteens to reduce food miles. Traditionally, institutional food has never been particularly good, so standards are not necessarily an issue if local produce proves a less appetising alternative.
In the first case it would be up to the university, since students are actually quite willing in general to forgo the usual paper mess. It's mostly professorial staff who will need to be persuaded to make the switch.
The second case requires effort from the university, its contracted vendors and the students. On one hand, they need to ensure the local and unprocessed food sources. On the other, people who eat in school must be willing to support the change and actually continue eating so that the switch will not be rendered useless.
Food - 56%
Mobility - 6%
Shelter - 10%
Goods/Services - 28%
Global Hectares - 4.1
Number of Planets - 2.3
Really rather inaccurate calculation due to the limited nature of the options. Very difficult to play apply to a Singaporean lifestyle...
1. What can you do to reduce your own ecological footprint?
Seeing as that majority of my footprint is food consumption, i suppose that's the best are to target in bringing down the figure for the number of global hectares used. I'm not too sure about the accuracy of the tests though, since even the 'detailed' questions only involved frequency but not amount.
Another way might be to consciously look for recycled alternatives to paper and plastic packaging. Already, recycling papers and plastics, but it's possible to go one step further to make the switch to consumption of recycled material without too much trouble...
There doesn't seem to be any other way of cutting down that can be exercised on an individual level, since a lot of things here are controlled on a state or government agency level; such as buildings and power.
2. What are some of the resource inputs and waste outputs of universities like the ANU and NUS and how do these contribute to their overall footprint?
The ones that come to mind first are electricity and paper. The first is pretty much basic to keeping facilities running, while the 2nd one is just a norm of most academic/ semi-beauracratic systems that involves tonnes of paper that may or may not be of much use.
As already mentioned by the other members, the air-conditioning is likely to be the primary energy guzzler. It's likely to be supplemented by students' use of plug points for their laptops in the process of transferring points from their own carbon footprint to the schools'.
3. List some innovative strategies that the educational institutions like the ANU and NUS are doing to reduce their overall ecological footprint. Do any of these strategies challenge social or institutional "norms"? (That is, Change the way people behave or think?)
The first major step taken by NUS would be the separation of the Office of Environmental Sustainability into an independent department. One of the more useful strategies implemented was the change of submissions from single sided paper to double sided, as well as the allowance for online submissions. This should cut down the amount of waste paper as report drafts and notes are no longer thrown away with only one side printed on. This is quite contrary for an academic institution as most universities are still built on paper despite technological advancement. While many are still wasting paper at present, it's a step in the right direction that should eventually lower te carbon footprint of NUS.
4. Devise 2 strategies that ANU or NUS could implement to reduce their footprint, and enhance sustainability. Who is responsible? Individuals changing their behaviour, the univerisity changing the way it conducts business, or both? Why?
The universities could go one step beyond allowing online and digital submissions to actually encouraging it. In time it could phase out paper submissions, saving on printing costs and reducing the necessary amount of paper inputs that contribute so much to the carbon footprint. For this it might be necessary for the academic population to change their mindsets and accept more than just the hardcopy reports that they have been hardwired into viewing as the norm.
Universities could also require their vendors to use local or unprocessed food in canteens to reduce food miles. Traditionally, institutional food has never been particularly good, so standards are not necessarily an issue if local produce proves a less appetising alternative.
In the first case it would be up to the university, since students are actually quite willing in general to forgo the usual paper mess. It's mostly professorial staff who will need to be persuaded to make the switch.
The second case requires effort from the university, its contracted vendors and the students. On one hand, they need to ensure the local and unprocessed food sources. On the other, people who eat in school must be willing to support the change and actually continue eating so that the switch will not be rendered useless.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Campus Sustainability from Angel
Heya!! I played around with the ecological footprint calculator too, and here's my results and some thoughts.
First thing is, the calculator does not have an option for Singapore, so I chose Australia instead for the quiz. Thus I'm expecting at least some margin of error in the results I obtained, due to the differences in our 2 countries.
For example, there was one question asking about the consumption of local foods, with local being defined as less than 325km away. 325km away from me is probably way over in Malaysia or Indonesia, so I had a hard time trying to decide how to answer that.
| Category | Global Hectares |
| Food | 51% |
| Mobility | 4% |
| Shelter | 9% |
| Goods/Services | 25% |
| Total | 2.6 |
| Number of Planets | 2.2 |
Same as Janice, I explored the scenarios in the calculator. Since this tutorial's about campus sustainability, I picked only the options which I, as a student, is capable of implementing.
Reducing the amount of animal-products eaten by half decreases the number of Earths from 2.2 to 1.9, which to me was quite amazing as I eat red meat less than 3 times a week already. However, I do consume chicken, eggs and milk almost everyday, and I suppose it won't kill to cut down on those.
Purchasing products that used less packaging or were made out of 100% (PCR) recycled material would cause a reduction to 2. I guess this may not be very feasible in Singapore as everything that can be bought comes with pretty packaging. I do make an effort to not take plastic bags from the cashiers though, and use my own bags instead.
The other options did not seem to be things which I can control, so I didn't bother listing them here.
With regards to NUS, check out this site for the things which the university has done in the name of environmental sustainability (http://www.nus.edu.sg/oes/). A new Office has just been set up, so this official movement is still in its infacy stage. However, a well-publicised campaign has been circulating around the university and generating quite successful results so far. The campaign focuses on many different aspects of campus life and enforces ways for the students to "give back" to the environment. Age-old methods like the setting up of recycling bins is one of the moves. Others include the setting of all campus printers to double-sided printing option and the charging of 10 cents for every plastic bag taken from the Co-op bookstore in school. These new methods are more like enforcements rather than genuine concern for the environment on the student's part, but they do cut down on NUS' ecological footprint significantly.
However, I believe that wastage is the major problem facing NUS now. We should learn to save in the first place, instead of just coming up with new ideas. For example, setting all thermostats in lecture theatres to 25 degrees is a good way to save up on electricity (though as Janice pointed out, they don't seem to be keeping to this rule very well). Yet, there was this one time when I went back to school at night looking for a quiet place to study. It was around 12 midnight, and I happened to peek inside an unlocked lecture theatre. To my surprise, all the lights and even the air-conditioning was on though there was obviously nobody there, and I suspect that this is a common occurence. Imagine the wastage, all 32 lecture theatres on campus, guzzling on electricity all night long.
That's all I have for now. Hope to hear some views from the ANU side! :)
Friday, March 20, 2009
Campus Sustainability
hey the link for the eco-footprint calculator is HERE.
1. What can you do to reduce your own ecological footprint?
I explored the scenarios in the footprint calculator.
Reducing the amount of animal-products I eat by half decreases the number of Earths from 2.6 to 2.3. I suppose being vegetarian is the best but I love my eggs and yogurt too much!
Purchasing products that used less packaging or were made out of 100% (PCR) recycled material would reduce it to 2.4, as would having solar panels provide most of the electricity for our house. It's quite difficult for me to implement the latter because I live in an apartment and the only way for that to happen, is if the Housing Development Board suddenly felt guilty and decided to install them on the rooftops of the apartment block.
Apparently, having ALL my appliances being energy efficient does nothing much - it's still 2.6 Earths - same for using public transportation one day more each week instead of driving my car, and for taking a local holiday to avoid flying. Singapore is really small and has a quite efficient public transport network so I can reach most places by public transport, like school. But it gets tiring going to the same places in town, so sometimes I borrow my dad's car on weekends to get away to the "rural" areas which are inaccessible except by car.
If I checked all the boxes, I'd need 1.8 Earths to sustain my lifestyle.
2. What are some of the resource inputs and waste outputs of universities like the ANU and NUS and how do these contribute to their overall footprint?
Generally, resource inputs would include electricity, water, food, paper, petrol - whatever is needed to maintain a university's on-site accommodation, faculties, toilets, canteens, and to bring students in and out of school (public transport, cars, shuttle buses). Outputs would be food waste, used paper, dirty water, erm.. wasted heat from lights and air-conditioners?
In NUS, the lecture halls are ALWAYS too cold and it's even worse when it rains. I am positive that air-conditioning surely takes up a huge portion of the electricity bills.
3. List some innovative strategies that the educational institutions like the ANU and NUS are doing to reduce their overall ecological footprint. Do any of these strategies challenge social or institutional "norms"? (That is, Change the way people behave or think?)
Both institutions have the usual strategies of reducing usage or recycling, with regards to energy, water, paper, etc. It's great that NUS has got default double-sided printing in place though - a simple strategy but effective.
In terms of innovative strategies, for ANU, they purchase over 20% of their electricity from accredited green energy sources; they water some of their sports ovals with recycled water; and they encourage cycling around the campus by providing bicycles. The impact on its ecological footprint is quite direct. NUS has the Kent Ridge Park Volunteer Program - the park is adopted by interested students who reforest/maintain the greenery, do nursery work or guide visitors around; the focus of most of its innovative strategies seems to be on awareness building or education, which indirectly reduces its ecological footprint.
I suppose these strategies do in some way change mindsets, but I'm not sure whether they are converting the non-greenies to become green, or making those who were already interested/active, even more so.
4. Devise 2 strategies that ANU or NUS could implement to reduce their footprint, and enhance sustainability. Who is responsible? Individuals changing their behaviour, the univerisity changing the way it conducts business, or both? Why?
(btw what Sustainability Resource for Universities readings are they talking about? i dont see any)
Individuals are responsible, ultimately. Even though one person can't do much, if we ALL change our behaviour, it'll create a ripple effect and I feel that that is more powerful than anything else.
One strategy is to have lights activated by motion sensors, so that when there is no activity in a room, the lights will shut off automatically. Another strategy would be to decentralize the air-conditioning system so that people in air-conditioned places can adjust the temperature if they feel that its too cold. But one problem with this is that some people might forget to switch off the AC at the end of the day.
my ecological footprint
| Category | Global Hectares |
| Food | 39% |
| Mobility | 15% |
| Shelter | 15% |
| Goods/Services | 31% |
| Total | 4.7 |
| Number of Planets | 2.6 |
1. What can you do to reduce your own ecological footprint?
I explored the scenarios in the footprint calculator.
Reducing the amount of animal-products I eat by half decreases the number of Earths from 2.6 to 2.3. I suppose being vegetarian is the best but I love my eggs and yogurt too much!
Purchasing products that used less packaging or were made out of 100% (PCR) recycled material would reduce it to 2.4, as would having solar panels provide most of the electricity for our house. It's quite difficult for me to implement the latter because I live in an apartment and the only way for that to happen, is if the Housing Development Board suddenly felt guilty and decided to install them on the rooftops of the apartment block.
Apparently, having ALL my appliances being energy efficient does nothing much - it's still 2.6 Earths - same for using public transportation one day more each week instead of driving my car, and for taking a local holiday to avoid flying. Singapore is really small and has a quite efficient public transport network so I can reach most places by public transport, like school. But it gets tiring going to the same places in town, so sometimes I borrow my dad's car on weekends to get away to the "rural" areas which are inaccessible except by car.
If I checked all the boxes, I'd need 1.8 Earths to sustain my lifestyle.
2. What are some of the resource inputs and waste outputs of universities like the ANU and NUS and how do these contribute to their overall footprint?
Generally, resource inputs would include electricity, water, food, paper, petrol - whatever is needed to maintain a university's on-site accommodation, faculties, toilets, canteens, and to bring students in and out of school (public transport, cars, shuttle buses). Outputs would be food waste, used paper, dirty water, erm.. wasted heat from lights and air-conditioners?
In NUS, the lecture halls are ALWAYS too cold and it's even worse when it rains. I am positive that air-conditioning surely takes up a huge portion of the electricity bills.
3. List some innovative strategies that the educational institutions like the ANU and NUS are doing to reduce their overall ecological footprint. Do any of these strategies challenge social or institutional "norms"? (That is, Change the way people behave or think?)
Both institutions have the usual strategies of reducing usage or recycling, with regards to energy, water, paper, etc. It's great that NUS has got default double-sided printing in place though - a simple strategy but effective.
In terms of innovative strategies, for ANU, they purchase over 20% of their electricity from accredited green energy sources; they water some of their sports ovals with recycled water; and they encourage cycling around the campus by providing bicycles. The impact on its ecological footprint is quite direct. NUS has the Kent Ridge Park Volunteer Program - the park is adopted by interested students who reforest/maintain the greenery, do nursery work or guide visitors around; the focus of most of its innovative strategies seems to be on awareness building or education, which indirectly reduces its ecological footprint.
I suppose these strategies do in some way change mindsets, but I'm not sure whether they are converting the non-greenies to become green, or making those who were already interested/active, even more so.
4. Devise 2 strategies that ANU or NUS could implement to reduce their footprint, and enhance sustainability. Who is responsible? Individuals changing their behaviour, the univerisity changing the way it conducts business, or both? Why?
(btw what Sustainability Resource for Universities readings are they talking about? i dont see any)
Individuals are responsible, ultimately. Even though one person can't do much, if we ALL change our behaviour, it'll create a ripple effect and I feel that that is more powerful than anything else.
One strategy is to have lights activated by motion sensors, so that when there is no activity in a room, the lights will shut off automatically. Another strategy would be to decentralize the air-conditioning system so that people in air-conditioned places can adjust the temperature if they feel that its too cold. But one problem with this is that some people might forget to switch off the AC at the end of the day.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Campus Sustainability
Hey guys, the topic for the next collaboration is Campus Sustainability, so lets get cracking! Hopefully by this time next week we will all have something to work with!
Cheers
Jimbo
Cheers
Jimbo
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Commons tut.
Hi all,
Gabriel here. Year 2 geography major... Apologies for the slow response.
REgarding the topic, i derived my definition from reading the suggested David Feeny article. He summarised Garrett Hardin's view that a commons has the following list of features:
1) Open access to a community
Anyone within a group (household, school, country,etc.)can tap into the pool of resources in question.
2) Subtractability
If one member uses too much of any resource, other members of the community will be unable to benefit from that same resource.
3) Excludability
More like an impossibility to exclude really. Regulation to limit usage or access to a common area is impossible or almost so.
My examples of a form of commons would be the cinema. The community with access to this resource would be anyone who has bought a ticket. Whatever snacks they buy or consume, there is that much less to go around for the other patrons. Wherever they sit, there is one less chair available and so on. This applies to environment and aesthetics of the cinema as well, in that if someone decided to litter or put their feet up on another's chair, other user's experience in using the place would be negatively affected. You can't throw the person out unless someone actually saw and reported the matter, by which time it'll probably be too late since everyone usually leaves at the end of the show.
This is one of the smaller scale commons (smaller in terms of community of users). Others that were suggested would include the NUS Library, supermarkets, HDB estates and even the transport system, some of which i think my NUS group mates have already covered in part...
Gabriel here. Year 2 geography major... Apologies for the slow response.
REgarding the topic, i derived my definition from reading the suggested David Feeny article. He summarised Garrett Hardin's view that a commons has the following list of features:
1) Open access to a community
Anyone within a group (household, school, country,etc.)can tap into the pool of resources in question.
2) Subtractability
If one member uses too much of any resource, other members of the community will be unable to benefit from that same resource.
3) Excludability
More like an impossibility to exclude really. Regulation to limit usage or access to a common area is impossible or almost so.
My examples of a form of commons would be the cinema. The community with access to this resource would be anyone who has bought a ticket. Whatever snacks they buy or consume, there is that much less to go around for the other patrons. Wherever they sit, there is one less chair available and so on. This applies to environment and aesthetics of the cinema as well, in that if someone decided to litter or put their feet up on another's chair, other user's experience in using the place would be negatively affected. You can't throw the person out unless someone actually saw and reported the matter, by which time it'll probably be too late since everyone usually leaves at the end of the show.
This is one of the smaller scale commons (smaller in terms of community of users). Others that were suggested would include the NUS Library, supermarkets, HDB estates and even the transport system, some of which i think my NUS group mates have already covered in part...
Some answers
A few examples of communal systems I have been a part of:
My Housing Development Board (HDB) block of flats.
For my family's section of the block of flats, we have 12 floors with 4 homes on each floor. That means that there are 4 households sharing a corridor, 48 households sharing one staircase and lift (plus lift lobby) and void deck (the empty space on the ground floor of the block). So we all have to do our part to keep the common areas clean and nice to live in - no dumping of rubbish or unwanted furniture if possible, no spitting or peeing in the lifts, so on. And we hang our clothes out to dry, so for the sanity of those living on the lower floors, we try not to let the clothes be dripping wet. It can be fun though, when it rains, our neighbours will shout at us to KEEP THE CLOTHES!
An online forum restricted only to those who sign up.
People who want to join the forum or yahoogroup usually need to get past the administrator first. Generally there are rules, explicit and implicit, to abide by. But occasionally there're people who are a bit nuts and go spastic and flame people, or make offensive comments. Most of the time, they are kept in line by other users who scold them; occasionally they are removed from the online space by the admin.
Key determinants of whether communal systems were successful:
I suppose the people in the system have to self-regulate themselves so that the system can run smoothly. Self-regulation will happen perhaps because those people were civic-minded and considerate, but for those who are not naturally considerate, they will only self-regulate if they feel that they are being watched (refer to Foucault's Panopticon) - so I think there must be some sort of surveillance by other people in the community (or some higher authority) for the communal system to be successful.
By the way, does anyone mind if the background colour of our blog is changed to white? I'm finding it quite hard to read against a black background, and highlighting the text doesn't help much :/ Am I the only one?
My Housing Development Board (HDB) block of flats.
For my family's section of the block of flats, we have 12 floors with 4 homes on each floor. That means that there are 4 households sharing a corridor, 48 households sharing one staircase and lift (plus lift lobby) and void deck (the empty space on the ground floor of the block). So we all have to do our part to keep the common areas clean and nice to live in - no dumping of rubbish or unwanted furniture if possible, no spitting or peeing in the lifts, so on. And we hang our clothes out to dry, so for the sanity of those living on the lower floors, we try not to let the clothes be dripping wet. It can be fun though, when it rains, our neighbours will shout at us to KEEP THE CLOTHES!
An online forum restricted only to those who sign up.
People who want to join the forum or yahoogroup usually need to get past the administrator first. Generally there are rules, explicit and implicit, to abide by. But occasionally there're people who are a bit nuts and go spastic and flame people, or make offensive comments. Most of the time, they are kept in line by other users who scold them; occasionally they are removed from the online space by the admin.
Key determinants of whether communal systems were successful:
I suppose the people in the system have to self-regulate themselves so that the system can run smoothly. Self-regulation will happen perhaps because those people were civic-minded and considerate, but for those who are not naturally considerate, they will only self-regulate if they feel that they are being watched (refer to Foucault's Panopticon) - so I think there must be some sort of surveillance by other people in the community (or some higher authority) for the communal system to be successful.
By the way, does anyone mind if the background colour of our blog is changed to white? I'm finding it quite hard to read against a black background, and highlighting the text doesn't help much :/ Am I the only one?
My tutorial questions answered...
What is a commons?
A commons is an environment (can be macro or micro in scale, can be highly modified urban or retaining natural biodiversity) which is used by multiple actors. With or without common goals, motivations and perspectives.
Examples of commons that I have been a part of or used:
Share house - I have lived in share houses which worked because we all shared similar perspectives about habitual “norms” and I have been involved in a share house where views differed about food, drug-use and cleaning habits and the living arrangements broke down. Living with a vegan-vegetarian who would put “meat is murder” stickers around the kitchen didn’t help to unite the different food perspectives of people living there for example. It is also difficult to raise the issue of drug taking habits’ with friends when they do not see that their behaviour as out of the ordinary... This can have flow on affects to food shortages in the house.
Uni Food Co-Op - I am apart of the ANU Food Co-Operative which is an organic food shop on the edge of the campus. You have to pay a joining fee to buy into the commons and then you can volunteer selling food, doing maintenance, etc.and get cheaper food. This is an institutional incentive to play a more active role in the commons and rewards collective behaviour and cooperation, because collective action benefits the whole.
Public Park – This is a commons often associated with urban environments and a place where people can unite for multiple activities with multiple perspectives. Each group uses the space differently physically and approaches the activity with a different sub-cultural background rooted in their activity of choice; dog owners, joggers, people playing sport or people having barbeques etc. Institutional rules are often present, if not actively enforced, in the form of signage; “leash your dog” etc. For this type of commons break down occurs usually through some form of vandalism, the burning down of a children’s playground or an owner not picking up the dog poo for example. An individual acting in self interest has a negative affect on the commons.
ANU Organic Garden - I am also part of an organic garden commons on campus. Three sessions a week the garden is open to people who want to come down and learn about organic gardening and get involved in the cultivation of organic food. We work in the garden, gain knowledge and then get to take food home at the end of the day that we pick fresh form the plants. This is a great example of the success of collective commons action when actors share views and perspectives. The garden does suffer from excludability issues as it is not fenced and people and pests often help themselves to the produce.
Rural Road – Another commons that I have been a part of is a common rural road that ran through multiple private properties to get to our property in the Brindabella ranges. The road serviced four different private properties and land owned by a timber company. As a collective the four land owners and the timber company all serviced their respective sections of the road. The commons functioned well until one of the land owners suffered an erosion problem that forced the road to adapt and go around his land. This was a communal property commons.
What are some of the key determinants that dictate whether the communal systems examples identified above have worked or not?
The key determinants for systems that worked are the shared “norms” or views held by people who may have different ways of using the environment and the understanding that cooperation is key to successful commons. Sometimes observable rules must be set up for monitoring the use of a system, a sign in book for the food co-op for example helps track the participation rewarding collectively.
Commons collapse when individual users act or do not act collectively. This can happen for example, when the property owner did not maintain the erosion at an early stage on the road, or when someone takes other peoples food in a share house, these are problems of subtractability. Commons can also collapse because of excludability like the example of the “poachers” in the organic vege-patch.
Why is it that some communal systems involved in the management of resources work while others don’t?
Communal systems work because of multiple actors working together to sustain the system, understanding that collective rules either legislated or accepted local knowledge should govern that system. Working together is mutually beneficial, sustaining the system sustains the income or benefit that the system gives the user, while working individually will lead to the system collapse. We saw this in class with the slide of the Victoria/South Australia border. Individualism may be profitable the short term but will ruin an ecosystem.
A commons is an environment (can be macro or micro in scale, can be highly modified urban or retaining natural biodiversity) which is used by multiple actors. With or without common goals, motivations and perspectives.
Examples of commons that I have been a part of or used:
Share house - I have lived in share houses which worked because we all shared similar perspectives about habitual “norms” and I have been involved in a share house where views differed about food, drug-use and cleaning habits and the living arrangements broke down. Living with a vegan-vegetarian who would put “meat is murder” stickers around the kitchen didn’t help to unite the different food perspectives of people living there for example. It is also difficult to raise the issue of drug taking habits’ with friends when they do not see that their behaviour as out of the ordinary... This can have flow on affects to food shortages in the house.
Uni Food Co-Op - I am apart of the ANU Food Co-Operative which is an organic food shop on the edge of the campus. You have to pay a joining fee to buy into the commons and then you can volunteer selling food, doing maintenance, etc.and get cheaper food. This is an institutional incentive to play a more active role in the commons and rewards collective behaviour and cooperation, because collective action benefits the whole.
Public Park – This is a commons often associated with urban environments and a place where people can unite for multiple activities with multiple perspectives. Each group uses the space differently physically and approaches the activity with a different sub-cultural background rooted in their activity of choice; dog owners, joggers, people playing sport or people having barbeques etc. Institutional rules are often present, if not actively enforced, in the form of signage; “leash your dog” etc. For this type of commons break down occurs usually through some form of vandalism, the burning down of a children’s playground or an owner not picking up the dog poo for example. An individual acting in self interest has a negative affect on the commons.
ANU Organic Garden - I am also part of an organic garden commons on campus. Three sessions a week the garden is open to people who want to come down and learn about organic gardening and get involved in the cultivation of organic food. We work in the garden, gain knowledge and then get to take food home at the end of the day that we pick fresh form the plants. This is a great example of the success of collective commons action when actors share views and perspectives. The garden does suffer from excludability issues as it is not fenced and people and pests often help themselves to the produce.
Rural Road – Another commons that I have been a part of is a common rural road that ran through multiple private properties to get to our property in the Brindabella ranges. The road serviced four different private properties and land owned by a timber company. As a collective the four land owners and the timber company all serviced their respective sections of the road. The commons functioned well until one of the land owners suffered an erosion problem that forced the road to adapt and go around his land. This was a communal property commons.
What are some of the key determinants that dictate whether the communal systems examples identified above have worked or not?
The key determinants for systems that worked are the shared “norms” or views held by people who may have different ways of using the environment and the understanding that cooperation is key to successful commons. Sometimes observable rules must be set up for monitoring the use of a system, a sign in book for the food co-op for example helps track the participation rewarding collectively.
Commons collapse when individual users act or do not act collectively. This can happen for example, when the property owner did not maintain the erosion at an early stage on the road, or when someone takes other peoples food in a share house, these are problems of subtractability. Commons can also collapse because of excludability like the example of the “poachers” in the organic vege-patch.
Why is it that some communal systems involved in the management of resources work while others don’t?
Communal systems work because of multiple actors working together to sustain the system, understanding that collective rules either legislated or accepted local knowledge should govern that system. Working together is mutually beneficial, sustaining the system sustains the income or benefit that the system gives the user, while working individually will lead to the system collapse. We saw this in class with the slide of the Victoria/South Australia border. Individualism may be profitable the short term but will ruin an ecosystem.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Hi all !
Hi , my name is Amit ,
I am an international student studying SW-Eng. 3rd Year @ANU.
I met here many Singaporeans at the university ,
and I must say they are really friendly.
I am looking forward to discuss the topics on ENVS with NUS.
I am happy to dicuss any topic with the collaboration group just add me on FB or mail me :
Mail/Facebook: amitjain20@gmail.com
Have a good uni time , cheers , Amit
I am an international student studying SW-Eng. 3rd Year @ANU.
I met here many Singaporeans at the university ,
and I must say they are really friendly.
I am looking forward to discuss the topics on ENVS with NUS.
I am happy to dicuss any topic with the collaboration group just add me on FB or mail me :
Mail/Facebook: amitjain20@gmail.com
Have a good uni time , cheers , Amit
Hello to co-lab group
Hi I'm Nikki and I'm at ANU studying a Graduate Diploma in Environment. I'm hoping we can pull in the other people who don't seem to have gotten into the blog with us as soon as possible to really get the discussions going.
I have the emails of all the people in the groups from ANU and NUS, they are as follows:
ANU:
(Me, Nikki) u4656118@anu.edu.au
James u4539781@anu.edu.au
Crystal u4401232@anu.edu.au
Amit u4462216@anu.edu.au
Tina u4665687@anu.edu.au
Nus: (sorry if I spell any names wrong, please correct me)
Tan Yong Zhi u0500268@nus.edu.sg
Chua Zhao Wen Gabrial u0701646@nus.edu.sg
Gan Weile Janice u0702856@nus.edu.sg
Loo Yuh Ning u0703786@nus.edu.sg
Please contact any of the other people you know at NUS if they are on this list, you know them and they have not found the blog yet. Thanks.
These are the emails I have written down and I'll send off an email to them all with a link to our bolg...
Hopefully we will get a rush of action tomorrow because we have our tute on
Wednesday morning at ANU so we will have to do the discussions before then each week.
I am going to do the required reading now and I will be back on later to discuss the questions and respond to other posts.
Cheers, Nikki.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Tutorial 2
Hey,
Okay well I am Tina- also know at Tot- and I am doing science/commerce at ANU.
So basically the questions to be discussed by us are as follows.
Note: These were all taken from the course website for ANU - http://fennerschool-lectures.anu.edu.au/lectures/2009/ENVS1001/lectures_and_tutorials/tutorials/toc.html. Also as you can see I have listed some fo my thought in blue.
What is a commons?
To me they involve something that is shared equally among people. They can be shared between a community, a nation or culture.
List some examples of communal systems that you and your Singapore partners have been a part of and identify which ones have worked and which have not.
What are some of the key determinants that dictate whether the communal systems identified above examples above have worked or not?
Why is it that some communal systems involved in the management of resources work while others don't?
I think it depends on the management strategies in place and the various rules and their concequences that have a large imapct on the sucess of communal systems. I think it also depends on the attitudes of the people invovled in such communal systems.
Were there any distinct international/cultural differences between Singapore and Australia that explain why some communal systems worked, while others did not? If not, why not?
I just thought it might be easier if we could all see them and then get discussing!
Tina
Okay well I am Tina- also know at Tot- and I am doing science/commerce at ANU.
So basically the questions to be discussed by us are as follows.
Note: These were all taken from the course website for ANU - http://fennerschool-lectures.anu.edu.au/lectures/2009/ENVS1001/lectures_and_tutorials/tutorials/toc.html. Also as you can see I have listed some fo my thought in blue.
What is a commons?
To me they involve something that is shared equally among people. They can be shared between a community, a nation or culture.
List some examples of communal systems that you and your Singapore partners have been a part of and identify which ones have worked and which have not.
- Sharehouses
- farming commons
- School common room
- Public facilities
What are some of the key determinants that dictate whether the communal systems identified above examples above have worked or not?
Why is it that some communal systems involved in the management of resources work while others don't?
I think it depends on the management strategies in place and the various rules and their concequences that have a large imapct on the sucess of communal systems. I think it also depends on the attitudes of the people invovled in such communal systems.
Were there any distinct international/cultural differences between Singapore and Australia that explain why some communal systems worked, while others did not? If not, why not?
I just thought it might be easier if we could all see them and then get discussing!
Tina
Introduction
Hi all,
My name is Yong Zhi, a final year Geography honours student from NUS. I will be using the username cedrictyz in this blog in case anyone of you do not know who I am. Hope that we will all have a great time working together!
My name is Yong Zhi, a final year Geography honours student from NUS. I will be using the username cedrictyz in this blog in case anyone of you do not know who I am. Hope that we will all have a great time working together!
Introductions
Hi everyone, I thought it would be nice to have a post for each person to briefly introduce themself, just so we know who's saying what.
Firstly though I'm not sure if all students from NUS have been invited to/accepted the collaborator emails, which I think can only be sent through Amit's account since he made the blog. Does anyone know what's happening there? Got an email from Yong Zhi that said they hadn't received anything, so I sent the link for this blog on. Hopefully we can get some more discussion going before Wednesday.
Firstly though I'm not sure if all students from NUS have been invited to/accepted the collaborator emails, which I think can only be sent through Amit's account since he made the blog. Does anyone know what's happening there? Got an email from Yong Zhi that said they hadn't received anything, so I sent the link for this blog on. Hopefully we can get some more discussion going before Wednesday.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
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