§ave ŧhe Ëarth™

Results!

2008-11-03T22:04:00.003+08:00

So finally...just 2 days ago, My Yeo made his final post at the home page for the blogs. All about the blog awards, and which blogs got them. We're proud to announce that we have managed to bag two awards: The Exceeds Expectations one, and The Top 10 blogs award!

Now to all reading this blog: This shall be our final post for this blog, so we hope you enjoyed reading our posts.

AND REMEMBER, THE WORLD IS IN OUR HANDS. WE CAN CHANGE IT FOR THE BETTER WHENEVER WE WANT IF WE PUT IN A GOOD EFFORT TO SAVE IT!

See you guys around next year (:

Group 7.

Poll!

2008-09-10T00:41:00.011+08:00

Here is a video we found on youtube. It's the music video "Heal The World" done by Michael Jackson. We apologise if some of these pictures might disturb you.

Anyway, would we want to suffer like those people we saw in the first part of the video? Count ourselves lucky that we have such good resources. There are many out there right now who would do anything to get a hold the leftover of our meals. Enjoy (: If you want, you can also vote your own opinion about what you think about our brochure, which is in the form of a poll on the left.

Cheers!

2008-09-08T22:35:00.003+08:00

Congratulations to us for getting full marks for our progress report! This would not have happened if we were not united as a team to accomplish our tasks on time and of high standards. Since most of our schedules were tight and had a lack of time, we were forced to discuss our projects through Windows Live Messenger, just like how we're discussing what to post right now! Today we presented the survery results using bar charts. We stuttered slightly but at least we did present well.

This teamwork that has been displayed by not only ours, but other groups, is something very similar to a service in our school: the Student Council. We have observed that they have worked tirelessly to organise events mostly on their own! As they are just teenagers like us, it is really something to be proud of. Yes, we have to agree once again on what is read on the back of the SL t-shirts: There is no I in Team.

reSACKEL bag

2008-09-08T22:20:00.007+08:00

Different designs for reSACKEL bags.
Left: Draw string bag
Right: Shopper bag

Get it? reSACKEL (recycle) -.- How thoughtful can one get?

Buying a reSACKel shopping bag means you are helping the environment in 3 ways:

1. Reducing your future need for disposable plastic bags.

2. The fabric of your bag is 100% reused plastic sacking. In addition, we use new nylon thread to stitch the bags, so this guarantees that they remains strong. The tags and the labels are also made out of unbleached paper sourced from a paper mill using managed forests. In conclusion, for every reSACKel bag you buy, you save one old sack and all the resources it took to manufacture it in the first place. Why use new fabric bags when you can reSACKel?

3. The reSACKeling process is simple, clean and efficient - so not only are you saving the resources it took to make the sack, but you are doing it in a way that does not require heavy industrial recycling processes.

So what else is so great about these bags that are worth buying?

Here are 7 good reasons why. (Taken from http://www.resackel.com/whyoldsack)

Distinctive – Because we only clean the fabric, your bag still carries all the original designs and text from the sack, this creates an original and distinctive bag. They are also unique as no 2 sacks are exactly alike. Each will have small differences due to its previous life as a rice sack.

Great variety – The sack manufacturers are really working to make their sacks bright and colourful, there are literally thousands of designs out there, it’s just a matter of getting out there and finding them. As a result we have an increasing number of bag designs to choose from, so there is bound to be a design you like.

Constantly changing - The great thing about working with old sacks is you don’t need in house designers dreaming up cool new designs, these are all originals. We continue to source sacks from a variety of suppliers, so the collection is constantly changing.

Exclusive – There are only so many sacks of one design or pattern we can source at any one time, therefore the numbers are going to be limited, unlike new fabric bags where they are mass produced by the hundred thousand.

Collectable – With so many changing designs, you can make sure you have you favourites with you at all times.

Tough - The sacking fabric is designed to carry loads of 25KG and 50KG, depending on the size of the sack, the fabric is incredibly strong and also designed not to tear, so even if you put a hole in your bag, it is not going to get any larger thanks to the woven nature of the fabric.

Wipe clean - plastic sacking is easily cleaned, simply wipe with a damp cloth to remove the majority of dirt and grime. Unlike many cloth bag alternatives, you don’t need to worry about spills or grime ruining your bag.

What one viewer of the website said:

''What an excellent idea, not only are these bags no adding more waste to landfills, but they are helping keep waste out too. Brilliant idea !! Now I just wish I could buy them online. ''

-Sean Clarke

Our Opinion

The reSACKEL bag is no way like any other normal supermarket bag. Not only does it reduce the amount of plastic wasted, but the materials used are even environmentally friendly as well!

As the 'Bring Your Own Bag Day' is becoming the trend in shops such as supermarkets or IKEA, this bag is the best choice in the long run. People might think that 10c is nothing, but eventually it will cost more than what you would pay for the reSACKEL! The reSACKEL would most likely be expensive, but at least it is efficient and will last long.

On the website, http://www.resackel.com/, we read that one old sack has enough plastic for 25 disposable bags given out at normal shops! Hopefully this bag would hit the stores in Singapore and people would be more enthusiastic of limiting the use of normal plastic bags.

Ok...so WHY ON EARTH are you just sitting behind your computer, reading this post? Go on, try getting hold of a bag now!

GTower!

2008-09-08T22:09:00.003+08:00

The GTower, which is 30 storeys high, is the first building in neighbouring country Malaysia to achieve the globally recognised BCA Green MarkGOLD award (Provisional). Now, the GOLD rating means that GTower is 20 per cent more energy-efficient than a normal building.

The GTower has a fair number of facilities, but this is the one that made the greatest impression:
2. Special glass panels that lower the amount of heat transmitted from the external environment to the interior of the building.

Explaination on our decision:

Malaysia these days can be extremely humid. As a result, the people might make the use of air-conditioners and set them at low temperatures to keep themselves cool. However, with these glass panels, they would feel less uncomfortable as there is less heat penetrating through. They could still use air-conditioners, but they will set them at higher temperatures. Gradually, they will save a lot of electricity and money.

Survey results (NOT part of the brochure project)

2008-09-06T20:34:00.005+08:00

As part of our holiday assignment together with the brochure, we were tasked to tabulate the results of a survey taken by 17 people from HI with the help of bar charts. It comprised of 9 questions related to the quality of services in the school canteen.

At first, we had no clue to knowing how to create a bar chart. However, after searching through Yahoo!'s search engine, we found out that we could use Microsoft Excel to help us.

Above: Part of our final product

Another problem was understanding the instructions! They were rather complicated and it took us many tries to finally get what we wanted. The charts are in full colour and are in a 2-D form.

We would also like to add that we would never have completed these projects without working well together. Remember: There is no I in team!

It's Done!

2008-09-01T20:31:00.004+08:00

Yes, it's finally completed! The brochure is printed out on nice, smooth glossy paper, giving it a professional look! Christophe had saved the file onto a thumbdrive and sent it to a professional printing shop somewhere in Kovan to print. Take a look at these pictures.

ABOVE :Sorry this one came out sideways. This is the front cover.

ABOVE :This is one side of the brochure. In the middle is the introduction, briefly explaining the purpose of our task.

ABOVE :The second side, suggesting ideas for installing facilities into our school for environmental purposes.

Hope you like it :D

Near-completion

2008-08-11T18:23:00.004+08:00

Alright, this project is about to be completed. The brochure we have done is nearly complete and shall be brought to printer shop to be printed on glossy paper. We are using an extremely complicated programme called Adobe Indesign CS3. Recently the members went to my (Christophe's) house to use the programme on my computer. It will be just like a classy brochure that looks almost professionally done. (: As soon as the brochure is done, we will take a picture of both sides and let you have a look at it.

Now we shall move on to a learning issue we took from the FILA chart we filled in. Here it is:

"Why should we promote the 3 Rs?"

Explanation:
The 3Rs is a vital programme that is related to environmental-friendly activities. You can easily start practising any of them now. Why not turn off the main power switch of the TV you were watching? You might think that doing this might not save much electricity, but in the long run it will save loads. The 3Rs also cuts down on usage of resources, some of which are non-renewable. If not many practice the 3Rs, then eventually, we would destroy our own kind. It's extremely mean not to let others enjoy this great world, right? So let's NOT be so selfish, and start saving our environment!

Discussion

2008-07-19T18:21:00.011+08:00

Our group has so far discussed about the features and facilities of our school. There are a couple of features that the school already has that would help decrease global warming and save the environment. However, many more should be added. The following would show you how we can promote some facilities to be added in different parts of the school.

Classroom

Sunshare to block out direct sunlight.
Motion detector to optimize usage of electrical appliances. For example the lights would automatically be turned off the minute no one is in the classroom.
Collection of recycling materials be held once a month.
Photo sensors to harness solar energy.

Toilet

Low VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds: Chemical compounds that have high enough vapor pressures under normal conditions to significantly vaporize and enter the atmosphere.)
Paints on walls and partitions to reduce indoor pollutants.
Waterless urinals to save water and improve hygiene.

Ground Floor

Bike kiosk to encourage students to cycle to school and not use vehicles for transport as they pollute the air and waste electricity.
Low maintainance and hardly plants, grass and shrubs. (more of them)
More recycling bins positioned around the school.
Energy efficient refridgerators in canteens.

General

Entirely non air-conditioned school.
Skylights at hall to bring in daylight.
Composite wood on doors to reduce low-formaldchyde.
Energy saving flat-screen computers.

Saving earth @ HIHS

2008-07-19T18:09:00.007+08:00

Introduction

Recently in Holy Innocents' High School, the school management board gave the school permission to participate in the Building and Construction Authority's (BCA) Green Mark Scheme.

Our group has been tasked by Mr Francis Guei to promote the reduction of the negative impact of global warming on the environment in our beautiful school, with the aim of achieving the Green Mark Award of 55 to 69 points.

To promote, we have to design and create a brochure that explains a cost-effective and feasible green idea that Mr Guei can share with Ms Soh Lai Leng, our principal.

Progress

Currently, our group is still working on this huge project, with the brochure halfway done. We are, however, confident that we can deliver and complete this task on a high note.

Oh yes, what about our slogan? We have taken quite a while and we've finally decided with it:

Try, and you shall achieve

We came up with this one because everyone should always work hard to achieving their goals, no matter how hard they are to get. We just have to continue working at a task, correcting mistakes along the way and trying again. Sooner or later, we would get what we wanted (:

Posted by: Christophe