The global climate crisis is real and unpredictable weather is dangerous. It’s more than just about sunny one minute and rainy the next. Weather like that can affect entire populations of both human and animal and nature like the sea and its coastline if we don’t do anything to help combat it.
Living in Singapore, we are considered very lucky as we don’t experience natural disasters. But what we do get is the rising heat, though not as bad as some other countries where it can get so bad that it causes drought for months. According to Eco-Business, Singapore is getting warmer “at 2.5 times faster” than the rest of the world.
We may not feel the worst of it yet, but there’s no denying that other parts of the world already do. And it’s up to all of us to try and fix climate issues as much as possible so that our future generations can live safely.
About the exhibition
In efforts to bring awareness on climate issues, Eco-Business launched Changing Course 2019: An exploration of our climate crisis at the ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. Eco-Business is an Asian Pacific media organisation dedicated to sustainable development. Supported by various partners from government, business and civil society, the multimedia exhibition is part of the museum’s Climate: SOS — Season of Sustainability, a series of events and programmes about the impact of climate change in oceans.
What does the exhibition showcase?
Located on the 4th floor of the museum, the exhibition isn’t too big but it’s packed with human stories via photographs and videos. Visitors can learn about the melting Arctic, the droughts in Chennai and the impact of rising temperatures in Asia’s cities like Singapore.
Go further inside and visitors can find seats to have a 360-degree video experience, complete with Virtual Reality (VR) goggles provided.
What I like about the exhibition
To the general public, climate issues can be a very dry topic. So even though it’s easy to drum up awareness, retaining people’s interest to carry on the conversation and actually do something about it is much harder.
The exhibition provides great insights through interesting videos and photographs that really capture visitors’ attention as soon as they enter. But what will make them remember is the stories crafted in a very humanised way. This easily builds connection with visitors.
For example, there is a panel where various personalities around the world tell their stories about how climate issues directly affect.
There is Nadeem Ahmad, head of policy and advocacy of WaterAid Pakistan, who said that:
“Women usually stay at home taking care of children and doing housework. In rural areas, many are engaged in farm labour. Restrictions arising from fixed gender roles make it harder for them to escape the heat, which often leads to health complications. Heat also causes food to turn bad faster. This often leads to nutrition deficiency, which tends to affect women and children the most.”
And there’s also Victor Latican, a Jeepney driver from Philippines:
“Sometimes it’s so hot, and sometimes, it suddenly just rains. If it’s too hot, then we are forced to rest in the shade instead of working. And if it rains too hard, then we don’t have many passengers. Where I live, we open all our windows and use electric fans, but it is still too hot most of the time.”
By knowing their first-hand experiences, especially the daily ones, it makes the global climate crisis very current and real.
So how can we help with the global climate crisis?
To start off at home, Singaporeans can help reduce usage of energy by using the air-conditioner only when necessary and at no temperature lower than 25 degrees Celcius. Why? Air-conditioners take up a lot of energy which speeds up climate change that contributes to the melting of Earth’s polar ice caps.
Is the exhibition still open? And is it free?
Yes, the exhibition is still open till its last day on 3 November 2019. It is also free!
Check out our coverage video that shows you the exhibition in a glance:
