ICPD: Current Impressions

Hello there! I am Hao Dong, a Year 2 student currently studying Chemical Engineering. When I'm not busying myself with schoolwork and projects, I enjoy bowling, cooking and playing videogames with friends. I am not a very active person, but I play sports such as badminton and basketball from time to time.

Goals and Reflection of the "World's Largest Lesson":

From this module, I wish to learn more about the UNSDGs and gain an insight of how massive groups of people can come together and work together, regardless of their backgrounds and history. I wish to learn the impacts of these goals, and how it will improve our community as a whole. As we near the year 2030, the question of being able to fulfill the 17 UNSDG goals becomes more and more debatable. In my opinion, I believe that it is not achievable at the moment. This is because the rate at which we are approaching our goals is too slow at the moment. Furthermore, the amount of unresolved conflicts and events that are happening are hindering our progress even more. This does not mean that what we have done for the SDGs should be overlooked, as a tremendous effort has been put into this project. Even if we do not meet the goals by 2030, I am positive we will achieve it someday.

Learning Journey to the Singapore National Museum:

This trip on the 24th of April was a really eye-opening experience for me, even though I had visited it before. This time, the theme of the museum was about plastics and life before it. I had also learned the impact of plastic on our lives, both positive and negative. Before this visit, I had known that people used animal and plant parts as materials for everyday products, but not to the large extent of objects the museum had shown. Even things like spectacles and combs were made from tortoiseshell! Very cool.

My favorite part of the museum was surprisingly the first area, where we were supposed to pick microplastics from a sea of other biodegradable items, including wood and bits of paper. Although a simple exercise,

Chosen UNSDGS:

As a group, we were tasked to choose two UN SDGs that would be most fitting for Singapore to combat. As a result, we have chosen SDG 7 and 12. Here's why!

SDG 7:

The 7th UNSDG is Affordable and Clean Energy.

Singapore is a densely populated city with barely any natural resources to spare. As a result, we have to look for alternatives to energy sources such as fossil fuels. This brings us to the renewable sources of energy such as solar energy, derived from solar panels. Although it sounds feasible, it is difficult for Singapore to have solar energy as its main source as Singapore does not have enough land. Thus, Singapore has to look into other forms of electricity such as wind energy or hydroelectric energy. This will allow Singapore to use and consume energy in a sustainable way that is environmentally friendly.

SDG 12:

The 12th UNSDG is Responsible Consumption and Production.

As stated before, Singapore is a densely populated city. This means that a large amount of waste is produced in a small country. This means that there is little space for landfills to contain all the waste, proven by the fact that Pulau Semakau, the sole landfill in Singapore, is expected to fully fill up by 2035. This forces Singapore to be creative with the ways of dealing with waste, such as applying the 3 Rs (Reducing, Reusing and Recycling) and discouraging the use of single-use disposables such as plastic bags and straws. These have been replaced with biodegradable items such as paper straws. The intervention applied ensures a Singapore with less waste.

Chosen chemical device:

Another task we were assigned with was to choose a chemical product based on our selected SDGs. A chemical device that can contribute to SDG 7 is a solar-powered car. A solar powered car

works by charging during the day where sunlight is available. This is especially beneficial to Singapore because it has plenty of sun during the day, allowing for a faster and more efficient charge for the car. This is also a more eco-friendly alternative as it does not produce emissions and uses renewable energy, making it more environmentally responsible compared to traditional vehicles.