Blackout was reported at many parts in Singapore yesterday. (See archived report from CNA: http://www.clipclip.com/choongyong.koh/clips/detail/11782)

I happened to be at home, and the blackout occurred between 1555hrs to 1630hrs.  Quite a quick response time, I should say.  However, other reports say that there are areas in Singapore that only had power returned about 2 hours later.

Areas affected reported by CNA were:

• Golden Mile Food Centre
• Choa Chu Kang
• Bukit Batok
• Bukit Timah
• Woodlands
• Jalan Eunos

Areas affected reported by Straits Time today (22 Dec 2006) are:

• Bukit Batok
• Choa Chu Kang
• Mandai Road
• Sengkang
• Kallang
• Katong

Traffic lights were also affected by the power outage and caused traffic jams.

A few days ago I just went through the DVD on how Cuba survived Peak Oil. Today I came across another article (Peak oil preview: North Korea & Cuba) that essentially tells us how North Korea did not survive Peak Oil.

North Korea and Cuba experienced the peak-oil scenario prematurely and abruptly due to the collapse of the former Soviet bloc and the intensified trade embargo against Cuba. The quite different outcomes are partly due to luck: the Cuban climate allows people to survive on food rations that would be fatal in North Korea’s harsh winters. But the more fundamental reason is policy. North Korea tried to carry on business as usual as long as possible, while Cuba implemented a proactive policy to move toward sustainable agriculture and self-sufficiency.

Chillingly, the main difference I derived from the article is that Cuba looked at the problem and said “let’s do something about this.”  In the case of North Korea, it seems like they simply ignored the problem, and people died of the food famine that followed.

Is Singapore looking at the problem and doing something about it?

Our opinions were not sought when cable TV points were installed in our HDB homes, you get them regardless of whether you want them.

Now there is a survey out there asking if you want solar power wired into your next home.  Not done by the officials, but by a group of people who are concerned about future availability of cheap power.  Want to have your say?

Who knows, maybe your next home will come with solar power devices installed (that will help you save utilities costs) instead of infrastructure that silently encourages you to migrate over to monopolistic entertainment services.

When Soviet Union fall in 1990, Cuba lost over half of its oil imports. Cuba underwent transformation and survived. Cuba became a living example of how a country can successfully traverse what we all will have to deal with sooner or later, the reduction and loss of finite fossil fuel resources.

I borrowed this DVD from Shooperman, who has a solid library of DVDs and books on Peak Oil listed on his BillMonk public library.  If you are interested in borrowing them, you can approach him, I am sure he will be most willing to lend you a copy.

I was listening to 938live and came across this segment where Wilson Wong from Green Culture Singapore (http://www.greenculturesg.com) was sharing his experiences in grow vegatables in Singapore. Here’s the excerpt from the 938live web site:

Is that small green patch in your home being utilised properly? Or have you just filled it with plants you have picked up over the years? Well if you are looking to make the most of your garden plot, be it on a balcony or and outdoor patch, vegetable and herb gardening can be a rewarding and wonderful experience, especially when you harvest your own crops! You can also control what goes into the cultivation of these edibles and enjoy their unique freshness and sweetness. In this hour, founder of Green Culture Singapore, Wilson Wong, will share his experience in vegetable and herb gardening. He will demonstrate how you can start a vegetable plot from scratch, land preparation techniques, and pest and disease management. Wilson will also introduce some exotic vegetables and herbs that are bound to raise your eyebrows.

Maybe when farmers earn more than the regular IT guy (see the case of Cuba), we will all be learning from him.

Simon Tay wrote an interesting account of his experiences during the 29 June 2004 blackout in Singapore. Interesting how life has gone back to normal since then, and memories of this worrisome event reduced to something that seems so remote.

This event that affected almost every one in Singapore happened barely two years ago, but most have forgotten about it. Amongst those who still remembers, the incident was casted aside as an “anamoly in the system” (Matrix?). Only a handful amongst those who remember knows that it was more of a prelude, or sign of a bigger crisis to come.

Do you remember? If you do, you can always blog on your own experiences and tag it with sgblackout2004

Technorati tag: sgblackout2004

Thanks to my friend Shooperman, I came to take the Peak Oil Crisis and the Dollar Crisis seriously. The Dollar Crisis might be averted, since it is fundamentally a man-made crisis. On the other hand, the Peak Oil Crisis will happen without doubt, just a matter of sooner vs later.

Singapore, where I live, is especially vulnerable to the impacts of these crises, since we depend on imports for almost everything that matters: food, oil, natural gas. While various countries are starting to implement measures to get themselves prepared, there are only very slight mention of the crises in Singapore. The bottom line is “We are not prepared”, and I hope something can be done to raise awareness to get enough people to be concerned enough for something to be done. Time is running out, and we’d better get our acts together now.