Generative AI images

I've been playing with AI tools more since Microsoft's Copilot popped up on the computer. Although I have tried generative AI imaging previously, it was still a delight to use MS's Designer image creator tool, built right into its Copilot text user interface. Here are some examples I did using text prompts:

 

 

And here's one from a description found in my book !

 

Some of my earlier attempts at AI imagery from a free to use online tool:

Hope you like them, and have fun making some images of your own!

Black panthers - a tribute

Leopards have been and continue to be an obsession of mine since many years ago. Overshadowed by their bigger and more popular cousins tigers and lions, Panthera pardus is the underdog of big cats, smaller, stealthier and far more adaptable, able to subsist on a far larger range of prey animals and requiring less undisturbed natural habitats to get by, even thriving at the fringes of our largest urban areas like Mumbai and Nairobi.

It is this elusiveness that has enabled leopards to persist in larger numbers than their more endangered cousins, and yet makes them more difficult to spot in the wild. Over the years, I have gone to many protected areas in Asia with the hope of sighting wild leopards. This I have managed, with great luck , in the national parks of India and in Sri Lanka. Closer to home, they have eluded me thus far in Southeast Asia, where some of the more prime areas in Java, Cambodia and Thailand have failed to yield any sightings unfortunately, likely due to greater persecution and a diminished prey base.

Just next door in peninsular Malaysia where leopards are almost all of the black variety, the likelihood of encountering one is even slimmer not only because of their dark coloration, but owing to the thick evergreen rainforest environment where they inhabit. However that does not stop me from finding out as much about black panthers as I can, and I am pleased to share the fruits of my labor in the form of two published articles.

1) Natural history of the leopard (Panthera pardus) in Peninsular Malaysia

Having a research paper published in an established scientific periodical is quite an achievement for a non-scientist like myself, and I am truly honored that the Malayan Nature Journal accepted my manuscript!

2) Black panthers of Singapore

A popular account of the history of the species in my home country, sort of an appendix, if you will, to the more technical article above.

Addendum:

In the interest of brevity, I omitted the following observation in the second article:

Compared to tigers, reported leopard sightings started later and peaked in the 1890s and early 1900s. I postulate two reasons for this. Firstly, as tigers were being hunted intensively from the mid 1800s, their population declined significantly, allowing leopard numbers to increase, a phenomenon also known as 'mesopredator release' as competitive pressure eased. Second, looking at the history of land use and forest cover in Singapore, there appears to be a short window of time beginning in the 1880s and lasting till 1910 where forested area actually increased in extent. This was due to the diminishing acreage of pepper and gambier plantations, which were incidentally associated with tiger attacks on people. Fewer tigers and a concomitant recovery in forest coverage likely served to benefit leopards. Then, as the cultivation of rubber took off from around 1910, natural habitat for large animals quickly declined and sightings of leopards also dropped and were limited to the offshore islands.

Source: Corlett 1992 The Ecological transformation of Singapore, 1819-1990

I hope you enjoy reading these two articles as much as I had researching and writing them. Comments are most welcome, I would love to expand our knowledge of this most beautiful and enigmatic of all animals, truly the Prince of Cats!

Is Growth always the answer?

In a widely televised interview, the Prime Minister of Singapore reiterated the need for continued economic growth in order to "improve lives". Undoubtedly, many of us do not question the assumption that growth is always good, after all it was what had brought Singapore from Third World to First, and its citizens are now enjoying the fruits of decades of increase in GDP and material standard of living.

However like all physical phenomenon, there will be limits to growth eventually, since we live on a finite planet. Today, resource scarcity and climate change are manifestations of the physical constraints the world faces. Singapore can be seen as a microcosm of the world in that the island-state is severely limited in land size. As such it will more quickly run into problems of overcrowding compared to most other countries. Already as Mr Lee Hsien Loong pointed out, the nation is finding it very difficult to maintain the rapid pace of expansion enjoyed previously due to currently low population and labor productivity growth – the twin drivers of GDP growth. This is natural for any mature economy, as is the case with developed countries in the West and Japan for example.

Instead of always agonizing over how to further expand an already well developed economy, perhaps we should be asking if more growth is always beneficial. Singapore’s per-capita GDP has been among the world’s highest for some time now. Research has shown that beyond a certain level, people generally do not become happier from further increases in income. Just as in a growing person, there is an optimal level when further expansion becomes excessive and detrimental. We become overweight and suffer from the associated health problems if we overeat. Living organisms also naturally go through the stages of youth, maturity and old age. Similarly with our economies, when the marginal costs of economic growth exceed the marginal benefits, we should rationally stop growing. Congestion in all its forms like public transportation breakdowns, overcrowded roads and hospitals, shrinking living spaces per family, and pollution, from the ever expanding islands of garbage we need to the destruction of wild places to make way for property and infrastructure development, are all signs that growth is doing more harm than good. They also show that there are diminishing returns to growth, when it becomes more costly to obtain the same increase in GDP or well-being, or even just to maintain the status quo.

Singapore should focus on creating an optimal living environment given its limited size, rather than relying on growth to improve lives. Economic inequality cannot be resolved through economic growth alone. Better redistribution of existing resources should be tried. The appetite for unabated growth has to be curbed at some point as we have long overshot the Earth’s capacity to support us sustainably. Continuing on its present path of business-as-usual expansion, by planning for seven million or more people on the island will leave its population even more vulnerable to an increasingly volatile and resource constrained world. Rather than fostering the attitude of current and future generations that more is always better and to always expect a bigger economy, our leaders should face up to the reality that perpetual growth is neither possible nor desirable and prepare the country to be more resilient to setbacks as we head into tougher times ahead.

The New Wild: Why Invasive Species Will Be Nature's Salvation by Fred Pearce
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

It is always interesting to read what Fred Pearce has to say, and I have great respect for his many years of investigative reporting on environmental and nature issues. He writes lucidly and the variety of locations from which he reports adds tremendously to the interest of his accounts.

Having already read two of his previous books, I noticed he tries to be deliberately controversial and contrarian in his views on these topics. Whether it is merely an attempt to generate more interest for his publishers and audience, or if he truly believes in the conclusions he writes about I do not know. This book is ostensibly about invasive species, a subject that evokes strong feelings in many. Pearce argues that labeling species as such is entirely arbitrary and artificial since it all depends on the time frame in which one is referencing. Go back far enough and every organism has to come from somewhere else, so arguably every species 'invaded' its current home. This much I agree with. But he goes further to opine that given this, we should therefore embrace ecological change, since nature is never static, habitats and their creatures are always evolving. We should not be too bothered by 'novel' ecosystems created out of brownfield sites where hybrid and alien species thrive. In any case there is nothing humans can do to stop this change as nature does not go back to previous states.

Yes, it is true that humans have altered the landscape on a massive scale for thousands of years, even in such seemingly wild places like the Amazon and the African savanna. However the book totally misses the point at looking at the RATE of change we are imposing on the natural world. It is this that makes the whole argument for letting go of traditional attempts at preserving nature fall flat. "The New Wild" is the author's version of that other controversial book "Rambunctious Garden" by Emma Marris, in that it also envisions and supports a new state of nature marked by human interference and the giving up of preserving 'pristine' nature because it was hardly pristine to begin with. For this conclusion and its anti-conservation (in the traditional sense) message it does not warrant a high rating from me.

One simply cannot deny that we are in the midst of the sixth mass extinction because of the rapid rate of species extinction, up to 1000 times the background rate, due to our activities in the Anthropocene. How can one argue that this does not matter since change is the constant? Of course it does because we are the agents of change at a pace that is out of proportion to the change that the environment is used to. There is no time for nature to adapt to the destruction, we are for all intents and purposes akin to the meteorite that struck out the dinosaurs. Sure nature will EVENTUALLY come back, but in what time frame? What about the species lost FOREVER? The danger in Pearce's and Marris' writing is that it is okay to let go, and let our destructive habits continue unabated, let nature 'take its course' so to speak. Yes we are part of nature anyway so is it therefore natural to let humans wipe out other living beings on this planet?

It is well and good that forests are regenerating on abandoned farms as urbanization takes hold. Good that animals are once more returning to suburban landscapes in Europe and North America. What the author does not mention is the continued habitat destruction that has been exported by the developed countries of the west to the global South in places like China, India and Indonesia, where the opposite is occurring much like the massive die offs that took place in America and Europe during their industrialization. Nature simply cannot withstand the scale and pace of industrial development. It is merely wishful thinking and misplaced optimism that unbridled development is all right since nature can recover as is now happening in some places of the global North. We will all live in a biologically impoverished world as nature gets wiped out, notwithstanding the handful of hardy species that can live with us.

Pearce's book is still worth reading for educating readers about common misconceptions of nature being untouched, virgin and pristine, and how no species can be seen as absolutely native and more recent arrivals as dangerous and undesired. But this does not imply that we should not care about the rapid change we are imposing right now on the natural world and that anything goes since nature has always been resilient and will bounce back somehow. I hope readers do not get misled into this dangerous way of thinking.

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The Beauty of Buses

I've recently rediscovered the joys of riding the bus. There is something to be said for not having to keep your attention on the traffic like a driver must, instead letting your gaze wander where it pleases, enjoying the passing scenery outside. As the bus wends it's way through the city streets, one can observe not only the unique mix of buildings and architecture that define each neighborhood, the serene parks and gardens with their profusion of trees and greenery, but also the life of it's inhabitants. Be it a quiet residential estate with maids pushing their little charges in prams and retirees sitting in the void decks enjoying a game of chess, flat dwellers hanging out laundry on poles outside their windows, or a bustling historic ethnic enclave with colorful street markets and their stalls displaying a multitude of wares, the occasional tourist in shorts and sandals snapping away with their cameras. The entire smorgasbord of city life is played out to the observant bus commuter peering out from its windows. This is especially so on double-decker buses, which provide the added perspective from a heightened vantage point. From the top deck, one has an extended visual range that opens a whole new world to view, past the ground level fences, gates and hedges into the compounds of both private housing and public institutions like schools and even swimming pools! You don't have to have voyeuristic leanings but merely possess some curiosity to enjoy looking at say, a football game or parade of students at school, or the landscaping of a beautiful park, that would be entirely hidden from view at street level. I also enjoy the gentle swaying sensation as the bus rounds a corner or pulls out of a stop, almost like being on a boat buoyed by the sea, and sitting at a height well above other vehicles feels a little like low level flying even! And one can easily get lulled into sleep by the soporific rocking motion.

In today's hectic world where most of us value the time saving efficiency of quicker modes of transportation, only tourists, retirees and students choose to take buses on a regular basis. Most commuters rely on the subway instead. Yes, trains are more predictable as they are not subject to the vagaries of vehicular traffic, whisking you in a direct line, more or less, to your destination at the same constant pace, no matter the weather or time of day, in air conditioned comfort without having to brave the elements at a bus stop. But how boring it is! With our trains being almost at capacity most times these days, finding a comfortable seat for the duration of your ride is well-nigh impossible. One has to stand the entire way, jam packed like sardines or cattle, like so many anonymous goods on a conveyor belt. While the ambient environment in a subway carriage could be comfortable, there is nothing to see on the journey through dark underground tunnels, which goes to explain why most people are glued to the glowing screens of their phones or computers. Lastly, even though trains carry you faster from point A to B, unless your point of origin or destination is right on top of a train station, chances are you face a long walk getting to and away from them to wherever you're going. In cavernous multi-level underground stations this can mean time spent going up or down escalators while jostling with others all the way and long lines due to bottlenecks, all adding additional time to your journey. Time spent getting stressed and frustrated and waiting, instead of enjoying the city sights above ground.

Cattle Car

What about driving I hear you say. Surely having your own set of wheels is the ultimate luxury and preferred choice if you can afford it, right? No more being at the mercy of unreliable public transportation, prone to delays and breakdowns, not to mention having to put up with sweaty commuters, and having to actually walk to and from the bus and train stations. True that relying on yourself to get from one place to another offers the utmost freedom, after all the car is like an extension of your own legs, taking you precisely where you want to go at whichever time you please. It symbolizes freedom, independence and control, is highly personal because it is private, and so accords privilege and status to those who have one, and envy from those who don't. But is it really an efficient and even joyful choice of transportation in a crowded and densely packed city like ours? With the rising population of urban dwellers that necessitates allocating more land for housing, commercial and other infrastructural uses, space to expand the road network is more limited than ever before. This means more competition for road space, making traffic jams now a constant, negating the advantages of having your own personal vehicle. While one does not have to wait for others or walk any great distance to get into the car, once in it, the actual journey could take just as long if not longer, say during peak hours. Unless you enjoy stewing in your car with a leg cramp thanks to start stop traffic, I think the alternative of being a passenger on a bus and not suffering from road rage is enticing indeed. Finally, the cost of car ownership is vastly higher than taking the bus or train obviously, from vehicle maintenance, to petrol, insurance, taxes and parking, the last of which can be a real hassle at your destination, the endless circling in parking lots or on the streets looking for a spot adding not insignificantly to your total transit time, as well as stress and unhappiness to your journey.

Remember you're not stuck in traffic, you ARE traffic.

This is why I now find myself taking the bus more frequently again, reliving bygone days as a student using public buses for the daily commute to and from school. The fares may now be a whole lot higher, the buses all fully air conditioned therefore sealing one from the refreshing air outside and cool cleansing breezes, but well, I suppose that's the price of progress, eh?

Took this bus twice a day for more than three years back in the day, fond memories!

What's that smell?! Oh, it's the stench of sweaty kids that just came in from under the hot sun outside.

Limits to Growth: The 30-Year Update by Donella H. Meadows
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A classic in environmental literature, the tremendous debate and controversy generated when it was first published back in 1972 makes this one of the most famous publications the world has ever seen. For the first time it set a time, albeit a broad range in which our global civilization could collapse as we overshoot the Earth's limits. Basically these can be classified as source limits and sink limits, the former being the natural resources at hand from fossil fuels to raw materials and land, while the latter refers to the planet's ability to absorb the pollution from human activities, be it air, water or land pollution, or greenhouse gases. We will likely run into either the first or second kind, sooner or later, if we continue pursuing perpetual economic growth.

Despite the debates that ensued since the first edition, the world has unfortunately not acted on its dire warnings since then, and this latest edition shows that we are now past the time when action could have easily made a difference to the future. 30 years of dithering and business-as-usual have made the situation more urgent than ever, making our choices and their effects much more limited than if the world had changed its path 20-30 years ago.

The analysis is very systematic and clear, the conclusions convincing. This should definitely be made mandatory reading for every student today, and maybe all politicians as well! The more than ten scenarios run by the model at the heart of this book shows that only if we combine policy, technological advances (such as in efficiency and negating effects of pollution) and the active WILL to curb our desire for more will we even have a small chance of averting disaster. It is therefore difficult and perhaps even idealistic to be optimistic about our future, but there is no other way than pushing on with even the faintest glimmer of hope I suppose.

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Book review of "Nature Contained, Environmental Histories of Singapore" by Tim Barnard

Nature Contained by Tim Barnard
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a collection of essays on the history of various subjects relating to the natural environment of Singapore. Some of the topics are interesting, like how the island came to become a hotspot for man-eating tigers in its earliest days since British colonization, or how farming was so widespread that it surprisingly did not have to import much food from elsewhere up till as recently as the 1980s! Other drier topics include the history of the Botanical Gardens, Alfred Russell Wallace's years spent using the country as a base for his wanderings in the surrounding archipelago, the brief but failed attempt by the colonial government at controlling trade in wildlife, and the episode of how Singapore was coerced into signing CITES by the United States after flatly rejecting pleas from local environmental activists.

The overwhelming impression is that of how the natural environment as manifested in the original primary rainforests and its wildlife had always taken a backseat to more pressing economic concerns. Indeed, from the sad chronicle of how the collection in the natural history museum was shunted from one basement storage shed to another, the aforementioned passive stance of the authorities with regard to wildlife trade, to the rapid closure of very productive market gardens and pig farms in favor of more economic industrial and housing developments, makes the use of the word 'contained' in the book's title rather lenient. I would've chosen 'Nature Subjugated', 'displaced' or 'eradicated' as a more apt description of the country's history as far as wild nature is concerned. In the final chapter about the state's drive to green the island by planting non-native trees, the lead author falls short of being really critical of the direction the government has taken in making nature a man-made product and equating planted trees with 'nature'. The culmination of it all he rightly points out, is the monstrosity that is Gardens by the Bay, basking in the glory of its artifice and proud to be a showcase of how nature can be built from scratch.

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