Night fell softly upon the city of London. All was silent and peaceful. The only sounds to be heard were the squeaking of mice and the barking of dogs. Most of the city’s inhabitant’s were asleep, save those who were mourning the passing of a relative. One such person was a girl named Angela. Her mother had always called her ‘angel’. Always, until now.

The girl was crying.

Her mother lay in a ditch, her face forever frozen in a hideous death-grin, her eyes staring into the starry sky, never to close in peaceful death. She had been touched by the Black Death. The girl cried, for now she had no one to whisper her secrets to, no one to call her ‘angel’. Barely ten years old, she was already alone in the world. Finally, exhausted by her grief, she fell asleep beside the cold, still body of her mother.

Morning came, and Angela packed the few belongings she had. She kissed her mother tenderly on the cheek and made a vow. She vowed never to cry again, to be strong and to make her mother proud of her. She dragged her mother’s body to a secluded spot and buried her, saying a prayer before she left.

She wandered the streets of London, searching for employment, a way to earn a living. She was young and strong, willing to accept any task, no matter how menial. However, no one wanted Angela, a mere uneducated street urchin. Very soon, what little money she had, had been spent. She was reduced to stealing to survive. She grew emaciated as the days passed.
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As we all know, oceans cover more than three quarters of the earth’s surface. It is considered the largest habitat on earth. Oceans provide a large proportion of oxygen we breathe. It also provides 15% of the animal protein we consume. Hence, even small oil spills can result in large-scale effects. One example will be the case on San Cristobal Island. More than 60% of the marine iguanas on Santa Fe Island in the Galapagos were killed within months of a relatively small oil spill in 2001 when a leaking tanker encircled San Cristobal Island.

The biggest spill occurred during the 1991 Persian Gulf War when about 240 million gallons spilled from oil terminals and tankers off the coast of Saudi Arabia. The second biggest occurred over a ten-month period (June 1979 – February 1980) when 140 million gallons spilled at the Ixtoc I well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico near Ciudad del Carmen, Mexico.

As we can see, the effects of oil on marine life are caused by either the physical nature of the oil (physical contamination and smothering) or by its chemical components (toxic effects and accumulation leading to tainting). Marine life may also be affected by clean-up operations or indirectly through physical damage to the habitats in which plants and animals live.

Similarly, oil, tar balls, dead fish and birds all get washed up on the shores and the oil slick interferes in activities such as fishing, sailing, swimming, etc The local tourist industry suffers as well because tourists are not interested in visiting a coastal area where they cannot do the activities listed above. Furthermore, industries that rely on clean seawater for routine operations can also suffer because operations have to be stopped while the water is cleaned.

One may say it would be possible to reduce the severity of oil spills if humans are less dependent on oil. Indeed, the occurrence of oil spills will be greatly reduced if less oil is being transported. However, oil still remains the most fundamental resource today. It will be costly to replace oil with other alternative resources such as nuclear power or hydro-electrical power. Therefore, as long as oil remains the main resource powering the world’s industries, we must find an effective long term solution to oil spills.
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Singapore is a small island city state in South East Asia with an area of approximately 648 km2. Despite the inherent disadvantages of a small domestic economy and lack of natural resources, Singapore has established itself as one of the top trading nations in the world, and is consistently voted as one of the best business destinations. It is also recognized as one of the most competitive economies in the world, supported by an increasingly competitive workforce.

However, will this trend continue?
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Scientists have through centuries faced the layman’s question: What is the practical use of their theories and discoveries? Today, however, technology, that is that branch dealing with the application of scientific theories and discoveries, has developed to such an extent that we have begun to ask the question if we are going to neglect quality for the sake of quantity. It has been the fate of the scientist to face the constant demand that he should show his learning to have some practical use. In many a case, it is of no interest to him to have such a practical use to exist; to him, the delight of learning, of understanding, of probing the universe is its own reward. Today, the practical use of his learning has come to be appreciated so much that he is encouraged more than any one else to come out with theories and discoveries. That is to say, quantitative output is more than is qualitative worth.
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