CY Lam is one of the celebrities in town who registered as a Climateer in 2007. He has retired but is still very active in spreading the message of climate change through various talks and seminars. We interviewed him again in 2011 to get to know more about his experience in practicing low carbon living in the past three years.
"Let me share an interesting story with you. When I compared my present electricity and water consumption amounts with those of the past tenant of my flat, I found that he used four times the electricity and seven times the amount of water I consumed! This really shocked me and from that you can see we have so much room for reducing our use of electricity and water. Take showering as an example; it will not cost much water if we turn off the tap during soaping. Each drop of water consumes much energy for delivery and filtration, which in turn causes carbon emissions. We have to bear this in mind when using water. For cooking, simplifying the cooking method can save much energy and gas. An electric steamer is an environmental friendly tool as food can be heated up with just a very small amount of steam! "
"As the economy grows, Hong Kong people are becoming more unhappy and the wealth gap is widening. We are living in a fragmented society. Hong Kong should re-define prosperity since consuming non-stop in order to sustain the economy is meaningless. Consumption and material possession do not bring real happiness."
"There is very close linkage between consumption and climate change. If there were less consumption, ladies would buy less clothes, shoes and bags; men would buy less mobile phones and cars, and there would be much less carbon dioxide emissions. Many things we own are not necessities. We should expend for quality but not for quantity. Purchasing good quality and durable clothes is better than owning many clothes without these qualities. Resources are limited and we are obliged to reduce our ecological footprint including the carbon component."
"We have to let consumers know about the amount of embodied carbon dioxide emissions caused by the products they purchase. For example, every shirt bought involves energy used in cotton collection, weaving, tailoring, packaging and transportation. Consumers have to know how much carbon dioxide was emitted during those processes, so that they can be alerted of the adverse impact on the climate as a result of consumption."
"The young generation knows they have to conserve the environment but rarely take action. The reality is we consume and waste more and more. With the invention of energy saving bulbs, we simply install more! Energy consumption may stay the same or even go up as a result. The government should introduce both reward and penalty systems. For example, it could charge users with high electricity consumption to subsidize the retrofitting of buildings to save energy. On the other hand, the government should provide incentives to real estate developers to enhance the energy efficiency for new buildings. These changes can never be achieved within a short period of time. However, as intelligent human-beings, we should be able to adapt to the new lifestyle as time goes by."
"China should not imitate the United States by having continuous economic growth with no limits. Americans consume a quarter of earth resources. The Chinese population is four times that of the Americans, which means China would take up all the resources on earth if all Chinese live like Americans! Consumption-driven economic growth is no longer a wise option; China should head towards a future with sustainable development, not economic development per se, as the core value."
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