WEAR AN N95 MASK AT ALL TIMES: CLEAR AIR DOES NOT MEAN CLEAN AIR

3M N95 Disposable Respirator

Please share with your friends and loved ones.

We need to be vigilant and help educate those who do not understand. Despite PSI being in the Moderate range (below 100), it is still shockingly above the US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) air quality standards for PM 2.5.

PM 2.5 exposure is very dangerous in the long-term. Be responsible for your health, and the health of your loved ones.  You should wear an N95 mask (or greater) whenever you step outside. If possible, wear your mask at all times, even indoors.

Singapore PM 2.5 (24 hour) 27 June 2013 @ 4pm

EPA PM 2.5 (24 hour) primary standard

Singapore's PM 2.5 24 hour concentration has been 49-58 μg/m³. The EPA 24 hour primary standard is 35 μg/m³. (Primary standards provide public health protection, including protecting the health of "sensitive" populations such as asthmatics, children, and the elderly.) Based on my understanding, this means Singapore's PM 2.5 concentration is 40% to 65% over the EPA's primary standard!

3M 7500 Half Face Respirator

Consider purchasing a long-term reusable mask instead of the N95 disposables. A reusable mask is far more comfortable, durable, the filters last longer, and it is more affordable in the long-run. Treat your mask like an umbrella or fire extinguisher. Haze is the new normal - it's been 19 years already, let's stop complaining and just protect ourselves. Preparation is more important at this point.

Sources

Singapore PM 2.5 (24 hour) 27 June 2013 @ 4pm

EPA PM 2.5 (24 hour) primary standard

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Great information from the Ministry of Health

MOH | Frequently Asked Questions on Haze

What are the long term effects of the haze?

Studies have shown that long-term exposure to fine particles (i.e. particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5); particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers) include (i) cardiovascular effects, such as heart attacks and strokes, (ii) reduced lung development, as well as (iii) the development of chronic respiratory diseases, such as asthma, in children. However, these are the results of long term prolonged exposure, which is not the case here, as we do not get haze throughout the year.

Should I still follow the daily Health Advisory if the skies look clearer, since these are based on PSI readings from previous hours’?

While you need not rigidly adhere to the daily Health Advisory, if the situation changes, following the advice for a higher PSI based on previous day’s level would be prudent.

Rebuttal to Indonesian student Yuna Seah on haze

Here is my rebuttal to Yuna Seah's Facebook post which criticized Singaporeans.

1. Singaporeans are ignorant
Before this week, we didn't know much about PSI, PM10 vs PM2.5, real and fake N95, etc. We were unprepared. We’re less ignorant now.

2. Singapore news is biased
News everywhere is biased and panders to its audience. Singaporean, Indonesian, Malaysian, and even Western media do this, so this is irrelevant. Just as the media can choose to print rubbish, people can choose not to believe it.

3. Health is the main priority
It is the main priority, hence the complaining and finger-pointing. No one is complaining that the haze ruined their hair. We’re complaining that the haze is ruining our lungs.

4. Indonesia contributes to “Singapore’s economies” (sic), Singapore does not have resources, it will be “good game” if Indonesia stops “transitting” (sic)
Singapore also contributes a lot to Indonesia’s economy. Singapore may not have resources, but Indonesia does not have capital. Singapore can invest the capital anywhere, but we choose to invest in our friendly neighbor. If Indonesia stops trading with Singapore, it will suffer too.

5. When did Singapore ever thank Indonesia?
Oct 4, 2009: A 54-member medical team from Singapore arrived Sunday on the Indonesian island of Sumatra to help with recovery efforts in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake, the defence ministry said. http://www.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne+News/Singapore/Story/A1Story20091004-171687.html

Feb 19, 2005: Singapore's Tsunami aid close to $150 million; Red Cross Team to go to Meulaboh. http://singaporeangle.blogspot.sg/2005/02/singapores-tsunami-aid-close-to-150.html

Dec 2004: In collaboration with the Singapore SOKA Association, we delivered some 1.4 million kilograms of relief supplies worth more than S$3 million and S$300,000 in medical supplies to Sri Lanka, Aceh and Nias. Items included medical supplies, food, water, surgical gloves and masks, body bags, and blankets. NTUC Fairprice donated the bulk of our food supplies worth about S$400,000. http://www.mercyrelief.org/web/contents/Contents.aspx?ContId=123

How does Indonesia thank Singapore?

6. Indonesia blocks Singapore from natural disasters
I am sure Indonesians did not make a strategic decision to sacrifice itself by locating its land around Singapore, just as Singapore did not choose to nestle itself between Malaysia and Indonesia. We can’t take credit for something we didn't do.

7. Indonesia’s PSI is worse
The PSI is worse by choice, not by circumstance. Singapore has offered many times to help by sending planes, equipment, experts and medical teams, but Jakarta has repeatedly refused.

8. The companies are owned by Singaporeans and Malaysians
That does not absolve or indict the owners. It definitely warrants investigation to figure out the extent of culpability, but at this point, ownership cannot be the sole criteria for blame. For example, when you invest in Nike or buy a Nike product, should Nike hire workers in unsatisfactory conditions, that decision was made by management, not the owners or investors. Furthermore, to date, the bulk of the companies named are Indonesian-owned.

9. Farmers earned the money in the rightful way
It is not rightful to harm others to benefit yourself. No one is allowed pollute shared resources like water and air. It is illegal in Indonesia. There is nothing right about this. These big companies may offer money to the farmers to burn the land, but the farmers can also reject the offer.

The haze exposes our lack of readiness

 I understand the need to look at the 24 hour data. That makes sense to avoid undue alarm. But alarm regardless, should a world class gov, in a time of crisis, be this slow and evasive? Do you think it is proper for the gov to prepare the population only after a crisis has hit? That's like putting on a kevlar vest after you've been shot!

Why is it that every time we get hit by a flood/disruption/outbreak/haze, our gov looks like a deer caught in the headlights for the first time? The haze is a 19 year problem. Where are our contingency plans? 

In a fire, we know exactly what to do. Call 995. Leave your belongings. Stay low. Breathe into a wet towel. Avoid the lift. Take fire exit. Do you see people lining up outside a hardware store for fire hoses in a fire? Of course not! We're prepared to deal with fire. Are we prepared to deal with haze?

The haze hit on Monday, and yet the elderly need to wait till Sunday to get their masks. Shouldn't the masks have been distributed prior to the haze? Shouldn't there have been health advisories saying this is haze season, get ready? Why is it so hard to find information on the risks of PM2.5 and the proper steps to take to protect yourself and loved ones? Why were the 9 million masks not readily available for purchase? Logistics? I shudder to think of what would happen in the event of a pathogen (e.g. avian flu).

There is a huge discussion about the PSI readings, but to me, it is a distraction, disguising how utterly unprepared we are. PSI readings are not very useful without the proper training and preparation of the population to act on them. It's like reading a thermometer while your house is burning down. 

There is an old saying: You don't wait until you need to take a dump before building a toilet. Why do we wait till the haze reaches hazardous levels to have these things ready? People would feel safer knowing they are prepared than scrambling about in mass hysteria. If you want to avoid undue alarm, prepare the population!

End inflationary policies now

Sorry but I cannot support a minimum wage. Australia, HK, Norway and the US (frequently quoted as having minimum wage) are either exporters or points of export of rare earth, energy, or other natural resources which are highly inflationary in nature. The taxes and profits from these exports allow for a minimum wage to be set. Singapore does not have any natural resources which we can obtain at zero cost.

Instead, I favor fighting inflation. Deflation is not a dirty word. It all depends on how you measure growth. Inflation is a misnomer. It is actually the devaluation of each dollar you earn, such that over time, you can buy fewer goods. Poor people are created by inflation, not "low" wages. Remember, that once upon a time, $1000 a month was enough to comfortably raise a family. Inflation ended all that. A minimum wage will not solve this problem.

What we need are minimum skills and technological investments. Human beings are tool builders. On our own, we pretty much suck. We aren't the fastest, strongest, or most agile creatures, but we can make cars, forklifts, bicycles, pulleys, ropes, etc.

Singapore can never get to the tool-builder stage as long as the focus is on inflationary policies designed to suck the life out of the population via rent seeking activities. The capital is malinvested in more real-estate instead of skills training and technological innovation. We need an alternative policy that looks at how to arrive at an inflation rate of zero.

If we fought inflation, we would be able to purchase equal or more goods each day. Consider the tech industry. Each year, you can buy a faster computer at a lower price. Some of the best paid workers are in this industry. There is no need for a minimum wage in the Silicon Valley. As long as we are doing productive things, we can do a lot more with a lot less.

When deflation kicks in, the people who would benefit most are the savers. Currently, inflation destroys our purchasing power, so we are forced to spend and take risks (invest) today, instead of saving for our less-productive old age. Let's turn this problem around. Yes, we can!

End the madness of inflation. So what if our houses become cheaper tomorrow? Does that matter? Wouldn't you be happy your kids can afford a home?

We can easily cut inflation by reducing the number of people on the island. The larger the population (citizenship is irrelevant, just talking numbers here), the higher the demand for limited goods and services (see para 1, Singapore does NOT have natural resources). This creates an environment where only the rich and connected (cronies) gain access to resources while the rest of us suffer playing catch-up. When the malinvestments fail, the risk-takers get a bailout, subsidy, grant, or M&A deal while the rest of us are told to foot the bill. Adding insult to injury, if we so much as miss a payment, the lights go out on our homes. A minimum wage cannot stop the electric company from switching off the lights as energy gets more expensive.

The answer is not a minimum wage, but a maximum inflation rate of zero. That's right. Write a law where if inflation goes over zero percent for any given year, all MPs and Ministers take a pay cut equivalent to the inflation rate compounded throughout each term they are in office. If this becomes law, I promise you we will see an end to the madness of inflationary policies and the "worst-case" of 6.9 million population (doesn't matter if they're foreign or local, too many people = inflation).

We always say Singapore has no natural resources and the only resource we have is our people. Let us start walking the talk. Invest in people, not buildings. Invest in skills, not numbers. Invest in tech, not false economies. We can turn this around, but not with a minimum wage.

It only takes a spark

Sometimes it feels like we live in a broken nation. Nothing seems to work. We've lost that sense of who we are. Our leaders appear lost and unconvincing. Our social ties breaking at the seams. Yet when two precious lives were lost, our people came together.

No one said NIMBY. No angry Facebook posts about light pollution. We just lit candles and shared a moment of silence to remember who we are, and what we've lost. How much we treasure each other.

This picture gave me a glimpse of what Singapore could be. That even in our darkest moments, hope is kindled. Don't give up. Not yet. #fixsingapore

6.9 million reasons to invest in our future

Do you know that the average boss in a corporation today has fewer assistants despite having more responsibilities? There used to be office boys sending letters and coffee, and two to three personal assistants following a boss around. We don't have that anymore.

This is because of improvements in education and technology, so we no longer need someone other than the boss to draft a letter, record notes, and constantly plan and manage the boss' diary. A lot of the work in the workplace is self-driven.

If we invested in training our people and building new technology, would we still need the same number of foreign workers to support our economy in 2030? Why do we keep spending on low productivity foreign workers who have no ownership or future here, when we can invest in our own land. This is OUR land.

Let's try to find a solution instead of this show of closed-mindedness from both sides. We care for our future, so let's build the one which works for us, not the hell we currently live in.