$2b extra cost if Cross Island Line skirts Central Catchment Nature Reserve
Click HERE
follow up on the earlier post on CRL (CRoss island Line), we have another point now why it is hard to balance economy and evnmtal needs....
For countries like Indonesia (exporter of palm oil) and Brunei (exporter of crude oil), sparing a thought for the envmt means slowing down their economy.
As for Singapore, w are told in this article that sparing a thought for envmt means we have to fork out an extra S$2billion for an extra 5km of train tunnelling if we choose to spare Mother Nature and have the MRT line skirt around the nature reserve instead of through it....(this recalls the Bukit Brown incident where after protests from the public, the final decision was to build an elevated road instead of a surface road in order to minimise the cutting down of excessive vegetation, though it will cost three times more! see HERE)
While it is also mentioned that we can put a price tag or dollar value on Mother Nature, surely $2billion for an extra 5km (albeit underground) is a bit too much too stomach! And this is not even factoring in the inconvenience resulting from uprooting people living in the affected fringe area, the noise pollution, and the potential political costs involved when the people affected turn against the govt.....
Now do you see why it can be so difficult to give in to environmental considerations? But of course, wanton indifference to it will mean we will pay big time in future when Mother Nature has her revenge on us!
Qn: In your society, how well are the demands of the economy and the environment balanced? (Cam. 2015)
follow up on the earlier post on CRL (CRoss island Line), we have another point now why it is hard to balance economy and evnmtal needs....
For countries like Indonesia (exporter of palm oil) and Brunei (exporter of crude oil), sparing a thought for the envmt means slowing down their economy.
As for Singapore, w are told in this article that sparing a thought for envmt means we have to fork out an extra S$2billion for an extra 5km of train tunnelling if we choose to spare Mother Nature and have the MRT line skirt around the nature reserve instead of through it....(this recalls the Bukit Brown incident where after protests from the public, the final decision was to build an elevated road instead of a surface road in order to minimise the cutting down of excessive vegetation, though it will cost three times more! see HERE)
While it is also mentioned that we can put a price tag or dollar value on Mother Nature, surely $2billion for an extra 5km (albeit underground) is a bit too much too stomach! And this is not even factoring in the inconvenience resulting from uprooting people living in the affected fringe area, the noise pollution, and the potential political costs involved when the people affected turn against the govt.....
Now do you see why it can be so difficult to give in to environmental considerations? But of course, wanton indifference to it will mean we will pay big time in future when Mother Nature has her revenge on us!
Qn: In your society, how well are the demands of the economy and the environment balanced? (Cam. 2015)
posted by Dark Shadow | 1:33 PM
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