Song Birds, Spring and Haze

Tui
Roger Smith - August 2012

In recent days the Tui (a native New Zealand song bird) have been flying around the gum trees as they enjoy the first signs of Spring.  I see them as I walk the nearby tracks around Botany where I live. The air is clean, plums are blossoming and there are signs of renewal everywhere.

By comparison, the air in Singapore is once again predicted polluted by the seasonal haze; a recurring problem created by the thoughtless actions of Singapore's neighbours as they burn off large areas of jungle for oil palm plantations and farming.

The likelihood of a El Nino weather pattern isn't helping matters either.  The last significant one to hit Singapore, the first year of our arrival, and I remember looking up Oxley Road and not being bale to see the Gurkha soldiers standing guard outside Lee Kuan Yew's residence.  No doubt they could see me as I made my journey from Oxley Mansions to Lloyd Road but the air was so thick with pollutants that I felt sorry for them having to stand in the smog.

So while Singapore may have been named "healthiest country" by Bloomberg, I wonder if any of their media people ever visited country during the 'hazy days'?  They might have formed a slightly different opinion or at the very least, broadened their criteria.

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