Reader Response (FINAL)

The article “Sustainability Efforts_ Gardens by The Bay. (n.d.)” suggested how environmental sustainability is one of the primary driving factor behind the architecture of this nature park.

With Garden Lake system (Dragon Lake and Kingfisher Lake) naturally filtrating water for the Gardens catchment by incorporating essential ecological processes and functions, it provides aquatic habitats for biodiversity. Aquatic plants and reed beds helps reduces nitrogen levels and phosphorus which is critical in ensuring better water quality. The different plants, good water circulation and aeration tackles potential problem - mosquito breeding. The conservatories are like energy efficient cooling system which applies sustainable engineering technology. A customized glass fitted on the conservatories allows sufficient sunlight for plants yet reduces a considerable amount of heat. Through thermal stratification, hot air is then emitted at high level. By dehumidifying the air using liquid desiccant before cooling, the amount of energy required in the cooling process is lessened. With Combined Heat Power steam turbine, the reliance on the electrical grid reduces. Electricity to run the chillers in the Conservatories are generated on site while waste heat is utilized to reconstruct the liquid desiccant. Supertrees contributes to environment sustainability efforts by having photovoltaic cells on their canopies to harvest solar energy and some serve as air exhaust repository.

While the author was accurate on how the park was introduced as a product meant for environmental betterment, he has however overlooked the numerous and extensive amount of resources pumped in to creating this eco-garden. Additionally, construction process may have contributed to air pollution, putting us in a dilemmatic situation of having to move backwards in order to move forth.

With the enumerated advantages, it was clear the author was emphasizing on what the park can offer but little on how the process had consumed vast amount of energy that seem to be rather contradicting to the idea behind the need for such infrastructure. Its main website- ‘Gardensbythebay.com (n.d.)’ suggested how the park first started its construction from November 2007 till October 2011 clearly showing the prolonged consumption of resources.  “Technology cannot truly be deemed as being sustainable in the long term when it is used to extract efficiencies from fossil fuels” (Patti Dinneen 2014). Additionally, the parks occasionally host events that requires the occupying of facilities, further disrupting the resources that were painstakingly built with respect to environment betterment.

The author also mentioned that how conservatories incorporates technologies that requires sustainable engineering which logically requires much intelligence and resources like energy and electricity to maintain its functionality in the long run. Moreover, specific sites and conditions are required in order to sustain these technologies, further expending scarce resources.  Approach like such may be useful but in exchange for a hefty amount of resources that requires manpower, electricity and energy.

He was also unable to notice the fact that environmental sustainability concerns more than just the mere maintenance or improvement of environmental issues and defects through infrastructures like such. It involves the intangible that requires much more consistency. Philip Sutton (2004) implied how the term was defined by the ability to maintain valuable physical resources around us, particularly features that will directly affect our quality of life. To achieve environmental ideals like sustainability, it is more than just mere reliance on man-made structure but also the behaviors and mind-sets of locals. While the facts and scientific justifications provided by the author were informative, the article was lacking the persuasive factor – the strong why to why sustainability is equally as important as its methods and approach to executing it. The article can improve by providing a more holistic viewpoint that encompass of both pros and cons.

Works Cited

Changi Airport group. (n.d.). Corporate Social Responsibility - Sustainability. Retrieved from Changi Airport Group: http://www.changiairport.com/corporate/csr/sustainability.html

Dinneen, P. (2014, December 29). Pros & Cons: Combined Heat and Power (CHP). Retrieved from CT Energy Solutions Blog: http://www.kinsley-group.com/blog?article=25

Garden By the Bay. (2016). About the gardens. Retrieved from Garden By the Bay: http://www.gardensbythebay.com.sg/en/the-gardens/aboutus/sustainability.html

Sutton, P. (2004, April 12). A-Perspective-on-Environmental-Sustainability. Retrieved from Green innovation: http://www.green-innovations.asn.au/A-Perspective-on-Environmental-Sustainability.pdf