THE LIGHTHOUSE: The UK’s first zero-emission home | Inhabitat – Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building

Parisian architect Patrick Nadeau is currently constructing a gorgeous green house disguised as a grassy hill in the city of Reims, France.

Read more: Hill-Shaped French Eco House is a New Wave in Green Building | Inhabitat – Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building

Bird Island is a stunning urban renewal project that is currently being developed in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Designed by Graft Lab architects for the YTL Green Home Competition, the project comprises a zero energy home made of sustainably-sourced silicone glass fabric.

Read more: Bird Island: Zero Energy Home in Kuala Lumpur | Inhabitat – Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building

All seems great and the provincial laid-back life is envious to many who are jaded by the city-life, but then you realize how bad things can get when the weather turns against the farmer.

Especially in our changing weather patterns these years, summers now seem to fill with rain and the wet season can have prolonged dry periods, throwing the entire routine and harvesting schedule off.

When this happens and entire crop plantations are decimated (we saw rice that had been drying on the ground earlier completely destroyed by the sudden deluge- it took all of 5 minutes to go from sunny to rainy to puddles) the farmer has to look for sources to finance his next crop and in the mean time feed his family.

Unlike the rest of us who have access to education and technology who would find a way to get a Personal loan for poor credit, your typical farmer or sari-sari store owner has no choice. In fact, even if they are literate and even if they know how to use the internet, online sites such as eLoanPersonal are probably not of much use to them because they simply have no paper trail to speak of. They don’t just have poor credit, they have no credit. They work on their own farm and pay themselves based on whatever they make during harvest time.

Thus, even though some people ballyhoo microfinancing companies for charging upwards of 20% per annum for small loans (as little as PhP1,000), the fact of the matter is, they do much more work and help far more than meets the eye.

The risk, as has been proven, is less than a commercial bank is exposed to as most small lenders do pay back their loans and defaulting is unhonourable and unhelpful to them (since they will probably need a loan again).

Going through microfinancing companies also saves them from the usurious lenders who normally will give a loan and charge not only an exorbitant rate but also demand goods produced at extremely low prices.

A WANTED PAPER TRAIL
The other thing that most people don’t think of also is that microfinancing companies give the erstwhile farmer a paper trail. Suddenly, because there is legitimized lending, he can get a loan from a bank with the good credit rating he has established via the microfinancing company. His paperwork, if it was non-existent before, would also have been sorted out by these social enterprises who won’t charge the farmer for the consultancy and sometimes service provided. And even if they do, the fact is, it’s worth it as no other institution will give him the time of day.

Of course, not all microfinancing companies are helping in the way that they should. Some, although very few, treat the business as a business instead of a social enterprise. I don’t begrudge them that unless they take advantage of the uneducated. In the meantime, I am all for micro-financing as they best way to let those in the poverty cycle get out of it themselves.

Mr Mechai Viravaidya set up the non-governmental PDA in 1974, when he realised that Thailand’s high population growth could not be sustained given its high poverty levels where many lived on US$2 or less a day.

So he started promoting the use of condoms and other contraception methods in Thailand through PDA. The movement successfully reduced the country’s population growth and also reduced the number of people living under the poverty line.

To help drum in the message of social entrepreneurship, the 2007 Gates Award recipient was joined at the forum by a panel comprising Mr Willie Cheng, director of Lien Centre for Social Innovation; Mr Aaron Maniam, chairman of the National Youth Council Academy’s Advisory Panel; and Ms Elim Chew, SIF governor and 77th Street founder.

Among the forum audience were 62 youths who have ideas for companies that can help address social issues.

The panel further challenged these young people to initiate a national spirit of social entrepreneurship by cultivating an ecosystem of business- and socially-minded youths. In such an environment, young entrepreneurs would be able to share with each other their ideas and resources to set up and sustain what Mr Viravaidya calls businesses for social progress.

Mr Maniam noted that, ultimately, social entrepreneurship is “about drawing from the strengths of all to create a cohesive whole”, adding that “the ability to do this is critical”.

Mr Viravaidya also had an important message for donors, explaining that rather than simply donating money to causes, corporates could achieve sustainable good more effectively by investing in social enterprises set up and run by young people, and helping train future social entrepreneurs.

His final message leaves room for much thought, “Don’t look to the generation that ruled you [for answers]. Look to the next one.”

NOTE: The Ideas for a Better World Forum is a platform for global thought leaders to share their ideas with an international audience. The key areas explored through the forum include health, education, environment, arts and culture, as well as livelihood and business. In facilitating these discussions, SIF hopes to encourage more interest in these focus areas and generate a lively discourse so ideas can be translated into action for a better world.

And then there’s always something else that needs to be replaced. Ok, I understand worn out spark plugs and batteries, and even cleaning the air filter, but then there’s all these other parts that are just beyond understanding like when to change the fan belt or the cannot be seen timing belt. I mean I want to know when to really change it versus the recommended mileage by manufacturers who obviously just want more sales. Or, how about when the airconditioning is not working well? Or when there’s some sort of electrical failure that keeps me from locking and unlocking my doors properly or putting my windows up and down? How come the charges are always exorbitant and does not even fix the problem permanently most of the time?

But maybe, just like the internet has leveled the playing field for a lot of industries, especially the real estate industry and the infamous Ku Klux Klan (Freakonomics), maybe its also doing that for us when it comes to getting autozone car parts. We’re at least more savvy of the actual prices of these parts although it depends a lot on the make of your car. (Go Japanese! Down with Continental!)

My friend had to get her little window in her Jetta replace and it cost her a whopping US$250 to get it done. How crazy is that? She decided to forego fixing all the other problems with her little German whiz of a car after that- living with all the noisy sounds it makes and hurtling jerks, completely devoid of any shock absorbers. In case you’re wondering, the window was more necessary than all the other problems because without the window, there was no way to actually “lock” the car.

I wonder if there are any sites for fed up car owners who just don’t want to get fleeced by the mechanic and teaches laymen how to tell when they’re being given a snow job. If there are, please, please, please, let me know.

2011- A Healthy Year for Asia

In 2011, the World Steel Association estimated a rise of 6.8% in global crude steel production, up from the annual 2010 total of 1419 million tonnes and the highest total ever. The biggest producer and consumer was China who accounted for 45% of this total. If you removed China from the equation, the annual total only rose by 5.1% which just goes to show how much of an impact that ginormous country has.

So what is in store for 2012?

The European crisis is definitely affecting the rest of the world as steel prices are coming down and sales are tepid. This, even with China in its 12th “5-year-plan” promoting low-cost housing construction to the tune of 36 million affordable homes for its 1.3 billion population. Slowing down in China is commercial development as the manufacturing sector cools down with orders for Q1 of 2012 at much lower levels than in 2011. This slowdown has redounded to other countries in our now truly globalized and interconnected economy despite healthy local economies because when prices are dropping and potentially will drop more, everyone also waits to stop and see how far bottom the market will go in order to get the lowest prices. But this is clearly just for the short term and it seems that Asia will largely be unaffected by Europe with local demand, especially from consumer giants China and India.

Below is my own comments section which is constantly flooded with spam comments I’ve stopped looking at my comments section and tend to dismiss more than bothering to take the time to sift through the crap.

So more than ever, buyer beware. Identity thieves are getting more sophisticated, with our own recent ATM scam by Chinese nationals who stole information from ATM machines in Singapore and used it to withdraw money in Malaysia. So yeah, the paranoid survive, cover your fingers when you are punching in your passcode.

For the Mayans, this would be the last year on earth. For the Chinese, this is supposed to be a very auspicious year and here’s what’s abuzz in the Feng Shui Universe:

(1) It will be a very different year for everyone depending on their birth sign. Some will do very well, like the rats and monkeys who jive with the dragon but others may not like 2012.

(2) There will be a lot of political turmoil throughout the world because there are ascendant stars that will not align well with others. However, these bad vibes can be neutralized by using certain feng shui methods. (If only it were so easy to neutralize bad governments!)

(3) Major natural calamities will occur in 2012 because of the birth of new seedlings that need to break ground (earthquake). More explanation: In Chinese Metaphysics the term Dragon symbolizes the massive mountain range, the powerful energy of the land and is strong earth element. So an active dragon indicates strong movement of the earth. Also Dragon and Dog are symbols of Gates to Heaven and Hell. Of the 12 animal signs the Dragon and Dog are considered as strange places or twilight zones where ‘Noblemen’ will not present themselves. ‘Noblemen’ are helpful deities that can rescue people from bad luck. However in Dragon and Dog years there is no such rescue angels coming forward to save people from tragedy and as such, the disasters usually will have higher death tolls or casualties.

I think that’s enough stuff to ruminate on or have a hearty chuckle about.

For those born in the year of the dragon, here are some supposed personality traits that should shine through. Those who are born in the dragon year are innovative, self-assured, brave, enterprising, conceited, passionate, and quick-tempered. WOW! The Dragons are often referred to as the free spirits of Chinese Zodiac. Their creative sparks get destroyed when they are restricted. Hence dragon people always look to be free and uninhibited. A beautiful creature, Dragon happens to be flamboyant and colorful. Dragon personality traits range from being energetic, irrepressible and gifted. They are fearless and confident and ready to take up any challenge. In most cases they happen to be successful.

Helping others is something that they find pleasure in. One can always count on the dragons for help. They make friends very easily because of their generous personalities. Yet they can be solitary reapers at heart. Those who are born in the Year of the Dragon have a love for outdoor activities and nature. They are extroverts who have a deep love for nature.

Having an explorative spirit, the dragon people are very imaginative. They are suitable for any occupation owing to their adaptable nature. They like spending money for charity. When it comes to finances, they are ready to take up risks and big chances. They are very straightforward in their approach when it comes to matters related to financial dealings and can therefore be trusted.

His bookstore later became a favorite haunt even for the established poets and authors, especially for readings and book signings. Some that you may know include: Henry Miller, Anaïs Nin, Samuel Beckett and James Baldwin. Beat writers William Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg and Gregory Corso also became George Whitman’s friends.

Very telling is his philosophy to be like famed poet Walt Whitman- not in what he wrote, but what he liked. “Perhaps no man liked so many things and disliked so few as Walt Whitman,” George wrote, “and I at least aspire to the same modest attainment.”

Indeed, how many of us have lost that sense of curiosity about the world even as we are inundated with information. We dismiss so many things readily in search for the new and the latest. Our curiosity is only in so far as the first search page that Google gives us. Can we, do we, persist when the technology is absent?

Another thing he tried to live by is one of the sayings on his bookstore’s walls. He quotes Yeats, “Be not inhospitable to strangers, lest they be angels in disguise.” Amen to that.

So after 129 years, the Kidder Peabody name disappears due to mortgage backed bonds. Just like Bear Stearns disappears after 85 years due to mortgage-backed securities. And then Lehman Brothers disappears after 158 years on wall street, again due to mortgage-backed securities that were failing, worsened by creation of “repurchase agreements” within the company to make it appear that these toxic assets were not on the books. (Many ordinary Singaporeans invested on these which were sold as low-risk vehicles.) And now the most recent scandal of course is with UBS’ Kweku Abodoli who lost US$2.3 Billion in supposed unauthorised trading. (This time it was the Singapore government who lost a lot since it is the single biggest shareholder of the firm … which means many ordinary Singaporeans are also left holding the bag.)

And again we see … “there is nothing new under the sun.”

LOOKING AT REAL COMPANIES & REAL WEALTH
But forgetting about the hedge funds and securities firms and looking at a real company that makes real products: GE stock today, trading at $15.00 range … it seems very undervalued. Jack Welch gave a very good sell in his book on how strong GE is and despite Harvard professor’s Michael Porter preaching that a company should only have complementary businesses to do well, here’s GE with its fingers in every honey pot in the world. Should we be bold and back companies like GE in our troubled and interesting times?

Well, I certainly didn’t have any money, probably around US$1,500 total to my name which was reserved for my spending money for the entire year as rent, school fees, books, etc. had to come first. I was surprised that they would offer a credit card to a student- but in hindsight it was obviously well calculated and a brilliant marketing effort by Amex.

After all, it wasn’t a blanket open invitation to just any college student. It was an offer only to the top university students and it would be safe to assume, as Facebook founders did, that these were already a select group of successful people who had either the smarts or work ethic, or both to most likely fare well after graduation.

We would understand the complexities as well as the responsibilities of owning a credit card. Chances are, we wouldn’t spend above our means, and if we did, most likely we had parents who could afford to help bail us out. To sweeten the offer, the fee-free credit card came complete with airline vouchers to go anywhere on the mainland for a mere US$99. The result- I not only signed up, I asked all my siblings and friends to go get the great deal.

Sadly, Amex began to lose its footing as other credit card merchants came to the scene, seeing how successful they were. Their service also started to deteriorate where once no one could touch them as it took them a long time to settle disputes or even just questions. Citibank credit cards soon quickly took over the lead and to this day, for me, remains one of the best credit cards to own.

Thing is, I have several cards and juggle them joyously, bill payment due dates, point accumulation and all. It’s tedious for some people, but for me, it carries the same kick it did in college, to get a good deal, an extra discount, a points perk that I otherwise would never consider.

Whoever invented the credit card system was a genius.
Thank you, whoever you (or your team) are.