Singapore to consider nuclear power to improve energy security

bloomberg.com :

Singapore should consider using nuclear power and depend less on foreign workers in its efforts to transform the economy in the next decade, a government-appointed panel said. The recommendations have been accepted by the government and will be addressed in the budget to be unveiled on 22 Feb 2010. Singapore is seeking ways to ensure its economy expands in a more sustained manner after three recessions in the past decade, with its most recent slump the deepest since independence in 1965. The panel announced 7 proposals to restructure the economy. They include making the city state a hub for global companies seeking to expand in Asia, improving energy security and being more flexible in land usage. The committee urged the government to study using nuclear energy as a future source of power and the import of coal and electricity. It also recommended the creation of a "waterfront city" on existing port facilities run by PSA International in the south of the island when the lease expires in 2027. The panel recommends that the government develop an "underground master plan" to create more space as there may be limits to how much land it can reclaim.

channelnewsasia.com :

The Economic Strategies Committee (ESC) on Monday [1 Feb 2010] gave extensive recommendations to ensure energy sustainability and the full optimisation of Singapore’s land space, given the island-state’s limited resources. Among the plans is a new waterfront city at Tanjong Pagar, currently a port area comprising Keppel and Pulau Brani. Besides land constraints, Singapore also faces energy resource constraints. The committee suggested that Singapore study the feasibility of using nuclear energy in the long term, an idea which Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in 2008 said he "hasn’t ruled out". The ESC said the option could help meet base load electricity demand as well as Singapore’s energy security in the long run. In the medium term, the committee suggested Singapore should explore coal and electricity imports to diversify its energy sources. Importing energy will also free up valuable land in the country.

- This is the clearest confirmation yet by the Singapore government on its plans for nuclear power, which I have been advocating since at least 2006 (see my feedback to the government during the National Climate Change Strategy consultation). Until this pronouncement, all prior communications had been vague, along the lines of "we are not ruling it out". Of course the "coffeeshop talk" folks would murmur that once the Singapore government even so much hints at any new initiative even in vague terms, it has already been decided upon and WILL be implemented rapidly and efficiently, without so much as a peep from the rest of the people. Perhaps. But I shall leave the political pontifications to those so inclined.

Myself, I am glad that the Singapore government has decided to take a bold move towards embracing nuclear energy. As I have been saying all along, and now as the government panel itself has also said, what we need is baseload power, and with current technology we have about two choices – nuclear and coal. What *is* a little unfortunate, though, from my point of view, is that the government seems to be choosing *both* nuclear *and* coal. Now I’m sure that as a Kyoto signatory, Singapore probably wouldn’t be going out building conventional dirty coal power plants willy-nilly. Or at least, we environmental activists surely hope not. The hope is that they will at least try to adopt some form of clean coal system. And while I have some reservations (some rather big reservations) about clean coal, if it is at all technologically feasible, you can trust the Singapore government to try to pull it off. Well. Like they say : you win some, you lose some.

A mixed congratulations then to Singapore. +10 points for embracing nuclear power, -5 points for considering coal at the same time. To be fair, I have tracking both initiatives coming on the horizon, plus the one about the LNG terminal, so all this is hardly much of a surprise. So keep posted, as we shall track how the execution goes on these plans.

See also :

1. Asia going nuclear amid rising oil prices, global warming concerns
2. Should we build more nuclear power plants? Yes
3. Energy security: a look at other fuel sources
4. Indonesian firms to build LNG terminal (and why Singapore should go nuclear)
5. Singapore : Nuclear power not ruled out

via :
Singapore to consider nuclear power to improve energy security

 

2010 Mitsubishi i-MiEV to comprise first batch of 50 Singapore electric cars arriving in Sep 2010

channelnewsasia.com

Singapore will receive its first batch of electric vehicles (EVs) next year as part of a national EV test-bedding programme. The Energy Market Authority (EMA) said 50 Mitsubishi i-MiEV electric cars will make their way here from Sep 2010. EMA deputy CEO David Tan said the authority is now looking for companies to participate in the programme and be an early adopter of EVs in Singapore.

Mr Tan said a multi-agency EV Taskforce will also be rolling out a small network of charging stations. A competitive tender will be launched in 2010. On top of that, a study will be carried out to determine the number of EV charging stations and their specific locations. Most of the charging is expected to be done overnight in the car parks of the EV users’ homes or offices. The deployment of these EV charging stations will be timed to coincide with the actual take-up of EVs under the testbedding programme for Singapore electric cars.

- A slight departure from the Renault-Nissan combo mentioned earlier, but nevertheless it is good to know that the first *real* electric cars are coming over to Singapore finally. Ok, let me define "real" here as an actual electric car you can look forward to buying from a showroom soon, something that is a mass production model, not a one-off thing, and not something so high-end that you get movie stars and government officials on some kind of a waiting list.

It’s something that the "Average Family Man" might want to buy, and just as importantly is able to afford. Something from a well-known, trusted car-maker brand that would benefit from the same distribution, dealership and service network that would be required to support the entire lifecycle of the car, without you having to register your own one-man dealership to import *one* special electric car into the country (yes, I do know someone who almost had to do that). All the above, that to me, makes for "real". Now it may not be *your* definition, but it’s just *my* definition

And finally, not to forget that in Singapore, over 80% of the population stays in high-rise apartment buildings, so having our folks trying to haul 100-feet electric power cords down from our homes to the carpark to plug into our EV’s or plug-in hyrbids is pretty much out of the question. So we will also need a "real" EV charging network to match, and it’s good to see that the Singapore government is working on that as well.

See also :

1. Singapore electric vehicles : Government agencies EMA and LTA to study EV introduction

2. 2010 Mitsubishi i-MiEV electric car to be more affordable, plug-in hybrid planned
3. 2010 Nissan Leaf electric car specifications : 107hp, 24KWh lithium-ion batteries, 100-mile range

4. Hong Kong to introduce electric cars by end 2010
5. Smart power grid : Singapore to introduce intelligent energy management system

via :
2010 Mitsubishi i-MiEV to comprise first batch of 50 Singapore electric cars arriving in Sep 2010

 

Smart power grid : Singapore to introduce intelligent energy management system

channelnewsasia.com :

Singapore’s Energy Market Authority (EMA) is launching a 3-year pilot project aimed at helping households and businesses save more on electricity bills. The initiative comes on the back of higher consumption patterns and more diversified energy sources. Due to the current design of Singapore’s electricity grid, users do not know how much electricity is used until the monthly power bill. The growing use of renewable/alternative energy like wind power and solar power will also create complications as power sources become intermittent and variable.

To address these challenges, EMA is rolling out the "Intelligent Energy System" project aimed at developing smart grid solutions. It includes deploying smart meters to more homes, which provide households with real-time information on their electricity usage, and help them shift demand away from peak periods. Having a smart electric grid will also ensure continued reliability in electricity supply, using renewable energy sources, and offer the ability to tap into electric cars as an energy storage system to feed power back to the grid during peak periods, also known as V2G (Vehicle-to-Grid). As technology takes off, there will be increasing demand for electricity charging by plug-in hybrid vehicles and electric cars.

- The Singapore government continues to execute on its long-term energy strategy. With the advent of Peak Oil, the era of cheap energy and certainly cheap electricity is over. The next best things to do, then, are to look into renewable/alternative energy sources, energy conservation, and certainly, energy management systems, such as grid tie solar systems, and intelligent electrical power distribution systems such as this "Intelligent Energy System".

The other notable point is the one about plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles acting as smart cars when plugged into the grid for recharging (or discharging, if that were the case) to act as a sort of distributed battery system. It would certainly be most interesting to see how this might work out seeing how it is quite likely that at night the cars would need recharging while the sun isn’t shining. Which brings us back to the point that the peakoilers are making : "we need all of the above, and every bit helps" – to which the corollary might state : "but we still need reliable base-load power", though a smart power grid would certainly be useful to help even things out a bit.

See also :

1. Energy authority mulling over market for electricity futures
2. Singapore to trial EVS (Electricity Vending System) with 1000 users from Nov 2008
3. Singapore : Nuclear power not ruled out
4. Singapore electric vehicles : Government agencies EMA and LTA to study EV introduction

5. Singapore : First Zero Energy Building launched with largest solar power installation in Southeast Asia

via :
Smart power grid : Singapore to introduce intelligent energy management system

 

Singapore : First Zero Energy Building launched with largest solar power installation in Southeast Asia

channelnewsasia.com, manilatimes.net :

The inaugural Singapore Green Building week started with the launch of Singapore’s first "Zero Energy Building". The Zero Energy Building along Braddell Road, a three-storey office building, cost S$11 million [USD $7.9 million] to retrofit and is expected to generate as much electricity as it consumes. It has various green features which act as a test bed for clean energy technologies before being introduced into the industry. The visitor’s centre has plants on its walls which help reduce external wall temperatures by up to 12 degC while a solar chimney sucks out the warm air from the room. Panels help shade the building from the sun and bounce natural light into the interiors.

A massive array of solar panels of 1,300 sq metres [14,000 square feet] – almost half a football field and the biggest such installation in Southeast Asia – covers the roof. The solar photovoltaic power panels can generate about 207,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity annually. Three hours of sunlight would be enough to supply the building’s energy requirement for a day. At night and when there is no available sunlight, the building can tap energy from the grid. While it might cost 5% more to retrofit existing buildings with green design and technologies, experts said the payback is not as long as some might expect. Cash incentives are already in place under the Green Mark certification scheme to encourage buildings to go green. The Singapore government aims to get 80% of all buildings on Green Mark certification by 2030.

- Another good eco/green initiative from the Singapore government, which, post-Kyoto, has been making quite a bit of progress in the area of renewable energy and other pro-environmental issues, from various tax incentives for green vehicles such as hybrid cars, to setting up a waste-to-energy power plant, water-recycling plants, and ongoing clean & green campaigns.

The Zero Energy Building will be a landmark Singapore development, and will pave the way to building green homes and other office buildings in line with the government’s move towards Green Mark certification of all new buildings as green buildings and ongoing retrofitting of existing ones.

In Asia, Singapore aims to be one of the pioneers in building green homes, with the development of the Treetops@Punggol public housing project being a prime example. Though there is not quite enough land in Singapore for a full-scale solar or wind power project to provide grid power, as alluded to in my earlier post, ongoing developments will still tackle the issues of energy efficiency, and for eco-homes, solar power would still feature prominently with the existing power grid providing supplemental power.

Hopefully, the Singapore experience will show that the world needs a systems approach to tackling energy and environmental issues from many different angles, as opposed to slogans such as a "carbon zero building" or a "zero energy home". For homes, the cost of residential solar panels is still high though it has been coming down significantly, and of course it ought to be recognized that "eco-" or "green"-ness entails much more than putting up solar panels – we need a total systems solution that, as the peakoiler community is saying nowadays, necessarily includes "all of the above", whether it be energy efficiency, renewable/alternative energy sources, nuclear power, hybrid/electric cars, vehicle-to-grid (V2G), green building design, intelligent grids, cooling/heating system design, water and materials recycling, and more. The works, in short. The future of solar energy is bright, but what we really need, is truly "all of the above".

See also :

1. Singapore company converts Waste2Energy
2. Energy security: a look at other fuel sources
3. Singapore : Nuclear power not ruled out
4. Singapore electric vehicles : Government agencies EMA and LTA to study EV introduction

5. Singapore opens largest CNG refuelling station in the world

via :
Singapore : First Zero Energy Building launched with largest solar power installation in Southeast Asia

 

2008 Honda Civic Hybrid FD3 real world fuel consumption gas mileage figures

Of course, I may be eyeing that 2010/2011 Honda Civic Hybrid right now, but what of my current one, the 2008 edition? Mind you that although hybrids have gained a much wider level of acceptance than say, 5 years ago, there are still misconceptions abound, especially with regard to things like gas mileage, highway vs city/urban fuel economy, and even the technology itself is sometimes misunderstood. I still get the odd questions like “do hybrid cars run on natural gas?” or “do you still need petrol/gasoline?” from time to time.

I have been diligently noting down the fuel mileage figures for my 2008 Honda Civic Hybrid for over a year now, and Biow had been asking me what I intended to do with all these numbers. Well I had been intending to publish my detailed fuel consumption figures for a while now and I admit it took me till two cars and three years later, but here it is for the current one (click here if you have problems viewing the iframe) :

The above are “live figures” in the sense that whenever I update my Google spreadsheet after pumping up a full tank, these figures will also be updated – according to Google the table should be updated within 5 minutes of that. A quick explanation of the data columns shown above :

km/l – kilometers per liter, which the Asians and European community would be more familiar with
mpg – miles per gallon, for our American friends
SGD cts/km – amount it costs to travel each km in Singapore currency (Singapore Dollar/SGD terms)
USD cts/mi – amount it costs to travel each mile in US currency (US Dollar/USD terms)
SGD $/liter – average cost of petrol in SGD dollars per liter
USD $/gal – what it would cost in gasoline, converted into US dollars per gallon

If you wish to be pedantic about it, you might want to note that the USD/SGD forex rate is converted in near real-time using my (rather popular may I say) currency conversion formula for Google spreadsheets. Also, though European folks are used to such things, do note that there is a significant amount of government tax involved in the petrol prices over here in Singapore (read the link for a detailed explanation).

As of today’s writing, my Honda Civic Hybrid sedan has achieved an average lifetime, *real world* fuel consumption of 17.68 km/l or 41.60 mpg. While not the most fuel efficient car in the world, it is still better than my earlier conventional Civic of the same model platform (which itself is a story for another day) which had managed around 13 km/l (30 mpg).

I would say it’s a mix of around 60-40 highway vs city/urban driving, and of course with the 3-stage VTEC, CVT and all, highway fuel economy with the Civic Hybrid is quite good, reaching into the 25 km/l (58 mpg) range during sustained highway cruising. It’s the traffic jams that don’t help at all, and this is where the inevitable “Honda Civic Hybrid vs Toyota Prius Hybrid” fuel economy debates have raged all over the Internet. And if you are talking about the new EPA gas mileage figures, I would say I’m pretty darn close, with the 2006-2008 Civic Hybrid models being essentially similar, the new EPA fuel economy rating is 42 mpg, which is very close to my (current) 41.6 mpg.

It would also be useful to note that my figures are for a single sample size of *one* car, based on *my* driving patterns (or rather Biow’s since she drives more often these days). If you are in the market for fuel efficient vehicles, or looking for hybrid car comparison figures, you may also want to look at GreenHybrid’s Fuel Economy Comparison table, where as of this writing, the Toyota Prius is at a median mpg of 48.21 mpg and the Honda Civic Hybrid is at 47.16 mpg, both with sample sizes of over 1000 each. As always, be aware that these are more American-centric numbers probably with more highway usage and given the nature of that website there are probably more than a couple of expert hypermilers included in the statistics.

Fuel consumption figures are subject to any number of factors, from make, model and technology, to driving patterns, traffic, temperature, climate and weather conditions and more, but I hope that for my current model, these figures are of some help toward whatever research you may be doing. You may also bookmark this page and come back from time to time to see how things are going.

See also :

1. 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid first drive
2. Peakoiler buys 2008 Honda Civic Hybrid FD3
3. 2010 Honda Civic Hybrid preliminary specifications released
4. 2010 Honda CR-Z hybrid, 2010 Honda Fit/Jazz hybrid models confirmed

 

Singapore opens largest CNG refuelling station in the world

channelnewsasia.com :

The world’s largest CNG refuelling station – spanning over 7,000 square metres [75,000 square feet] – has opened in Singapore. It has 44 pump hoses for cars and 2 for buses, and is open 24 hours. This should address the problem of insufficient refuelling stations that users have complained about. The S$16m C-nergy station, the 5th CNG station in Singapore, is owned by the Union Energy Group. C-nergy is the brainchild of Teo Kiang Ang, who also runs TransCab, Singapore’s second largest taxi company. Mr Teo plans to open 3 more CNG stations – in Bedok/Changi, Woodlands and Toa Payoh – within the next 3 years.

There are 4,200 CNG vehicles, 1/3 of them taxis, out of over 700,000 vehicles in Singapore. Still, users are hampered by a Catch-22 situation. Drivers are reluctant to switch to CNG despite the green tax rebate, because there are not enough CNG stations. CNG refuellers say they are reluctant to spend millions to build CNG stations because there are not enough CNG vehicles. But as oil prices increase and relatively cheaper CNG becomes more easily available, Mr Teo expects more to switch to CNG vehicles.

- It is probably a good (or at least slighty better) thing from an environmental point of view for more to switch to CNG vehicles, since vehicles which run on CNG, or compressed natural gas, have slightly less emissions than conventional petrol vehicles. Still, my contention remains that CNG is still natural gas, and natural gas is still a fossil fuel, as prone to depletion as any fossil fuel is.

Big-picture wise, using CNG, and consequently importing LNG, is at best an interim solution, which my earlier post has explained in greater detail. From a longer term point of view, my money remains on hybrid vehicles, followed by electric cars, and as for the source of energy, nuclear power, followed, eventually, by space solar.

See also :

1. Indonesia’s LNG supremacy wanes as Chevron’s fields run short
2. LNG at best an interim measure, alternatives must be looked into
3. Singapore’s first public CNG station to be ready by Jan 2008
4. Singapore : 3 more CNG stations to open by end of 2008
5. Indonesia to speed up CNG vehicle conversion, using up more of its natural gas

via :
Singapore opens largest CNG refuelling station in the world

 

Singapore electric vehicles : Government agencies EMA and LTA to study EV introduction

channelnewsasia.com :

A multi-agency taskforce chaired by the Energy Market Authority (EMA) and Land Transport Authority (LTA) has been set up to study the introduction of electric vehicles (EV’s) in Singapore from 2010. Key industry players include auto manufacturers and technology companies. S$20 million will be set aside to support infrastructure development and tests for electric vehicles. The EV test-bed will allow testing of different EV prototypes and charging technologies as well as research into vehicle-to-grid (V2G) power, and is expected to run for three years (2010-2012). The taskforce will then evaluate the scope for larger scale adoption of EV’s in the future.

EMA CEO Mr Lawrence Wong said Singapore is well-positioned for the deployment of EVs because of its compact urban environment, robust electrical grid and IT infrastructure. The EV test-bed offers potential economic benefits for manufacturing and R&D, such as in battery technology, power electronics and electric drive systems. Renault-Nissan and Keppel Energy have signed an MOU with the EV taskforce. Renault-Nissan will supply EVs and share knowledge to develop common standards. Keppel Energy will develop charging stations and other supporting infrastructure.

- The timeline of 2010 to 2012 for the EV test program looks great. In fact, it looks like pretty good timing to me, with the likes of Toyota, Honda and Nissan and Mazda already planning PHEV’s and EV’s, and lithium-ion hybrid car battery manufacturing tie-ups coming up between major players including Honda-Yuasa, Toyota-Panasonic and Nissan-NEC. And on the American side of things, if/when they emerge from the current situation, they have the Chevrolet Volt, while the higher-end folks may start considering the Tesla Model S or the Tesla Roadster.

As an aside, back in Sep-Oct 2006, the Singapore government issued a National Climate Change Strategy call for consultation. My response included this item : "Consider a strategy to implement infrastructure for recharging of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, eg Cashcard-based overnight recharging stations in carparks". Of course technology and standards have evolved since then, with the current thinking as far as I can gather being the adoption of compact, standardized 440V/480V charging stations that can be put nearly anywhere including along roadsides (and hence near shops, businesses and other areas where people will visit), or inside carparks, existing petrol stations and so on, with quick charging times of just 15-20 minutes.

People like myself, whether environmentalists, peakoilers, or just concerned citizens, have been trying to push for something like this since years back. It is good to see the Singapore government starting to look into the possibility of introducing EV’s onto Singapore’s roads. This is a progressive and forward-looking initiative.

See also :

1. Nissan starts PHEV plug-in hybrid development, to introduce electric car concept at 2008 Paris Motor show

2. GM unveils production version of Chevrolet Volt PHEV plug-in hybrid car
3. Toyota to launch pure electric car based on FT-EV concept in US by 2012
4. Tesla Model S electric car unveiled, specifications include 300-mile range, 5.6 sec 0-60 mph timing

5. Honda may develop plug-in hybrid cars as Obama alters US policy

Via :

Singapore electric vehicles : Government agencies EMA and LTA to study EV introduction

 

Hello Again

This is a "Hello Again" – as compared to a "Hello World" message.

It has been a while since this blog has been updated, as I have been posting regularly to my main blog.

I would probably re-visit this blog from time to time, and put up postings and updates on the Singapore peak oil situation, some updates on Singapore electricity and petrol prices perhaps, the electrical generation industry, renewable energy efforts, and so on. Do keep posted.

 

Your power bill is standing by

peakoil.com -> forbes.com :

If someone asked you to burn 10% of your cash, it’s doubtful you’d comply. But this happens every month with your energy bill. The culprit: the many electronic devices in your home that are always on, even when you think they’re off. “Standby power can be 10% to 15% of the energy load of a state,” says Andrew Fanara, team leader for product specification development at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. “In California they went to homes where everything was shut off, and even then they consumed 100 to 105 watts of standby power at all times.”

Digital video recorders and cable/satellite converter boxes are among the most profligate. These devices, known as “set-top boxes,” draw a constant 30 or more watts of power. Computers are also a huge standby drain. Traditional computers average 35.5 watts in standby, while laptops average 16.5 watts. Other large standby drainers include ink jet printers, which can use from three to 20 watts, and mini-stereos, which can consume from one to 25 watts.

- Update : I have finally turned off the old VCR. I figure I don’t need another clock display since there is a battery-powered clock on the wall, and all my computers auto-sync themselves to atomic clocks. I have also turned off the speakers for the PC’s. The *second*, not-really-necessary, analog, non-DECT, non-encrypted cordless phone may be turned off permanently – soon.

Existing measures include setting up the wireless network in a cascaded subnet topology, such that while the original (and still working after 5-6 years) wired Linksys BEF-SR41 router remains on, the Linksys WRT-54GL wireless router and the third (!) PC in the bedroom are turned on only when needed. All battery chargers are also turned on only when needed.

One of the measures with the greatest potential impact could be the replacement of the electric hot air-pot with a Tiger vacuum flask. The old air-pot was demonstrably guzzling electricity since I have noted that the outside surface felt hot to the touch. It was continuously heating up water for the occasional use (!). Quite a waste actually.

…. and then there’s the matter of the *second* fridge …

Well, I’d suppose that my household guzzles energy, to the tune of 650-700 KWh per month (!). Way above the national average consumption for my housing type (supposedly 474 KWh for a HDB 5-room flat as indicated on the power bill). On the other hand, we have not turned on the aircon to sleep through the night for years, we have cancelled our cable TV subscription (so no more set-top box!) many years ago, and we have replaced the old, spoilt Ariston 3.0KW dryer with a more efficient Fisher Paykel 1.8KW model <- still need that, because, with 3 adults and 2 kids in the house, the existing clothes line capacity is regularly exceeded.

Let’s see what transpires in the next few billing cycles.

See also :

1. Electricity tariff to go up 2.3%
2. TV standby buttons will be outlawed

- via lowem.log

 

Corporate energy awareness

Over an in-house lunch at the office, our R&D team’s Chief Architect spoke at length about biofuels, and how it is going to turn out to be a choice between feeding people or feeding cars – a topic I have blogged on earlier. My colleague and senior, a System Architect, proffered his opinion that biofuels are nothing but a gimmick. I noted that we burn up in fossil fuels the equivalent of 400 years of global plant and animal growth each and every year, so it’s not like biodiesel can help much.

My boss, VP Software Engineering, and the Chief Architect, then talked about the storage and range problems associated with using hydrogen as a fuel (or rather, as an energy carrier, as peakoilers will point out). A fellow colleague chimed in with his observation that there is a hydrogen fueling station at East Coast and how it seemed to have been built just for one particular “million-dollar Mercedes” seen zipping around the area.

I’m not quite sure how the discussion came about though. Perhaps it was the sight of the amount of catered food (KFC and Pizza Hut) on the conference table, and how someone remarked how we shouldn’t waste it as we had apparently ordered a bit more than needed. But it’s interesting to see how awareness of energy issues is making its way into the company. And these folks are alpha geeks – the smartest people in the room, in fact some of the smartest people I have ever worked with. They are probably a couple of notches down on the “doomerosity scale” but that’s fine by me; there are no economists in the room.

Elsewhere, in the parent company, it is also apparent that there is an increasing level of corporate awareness of energy issues. The current edition of the company newsletter has an article on the front page about alternative commuting options such as vanpools, carpools, bus services and even cycling to work. An employee comments enthusiastically about a work-related advantage : “I drive in with eight people who work on the F-22, and it keeps me in touch with what’s happening …”

So, how does your company fare on the energy awareness scale? How about your colleagues, on a personal level? Are you the resident peakoiler in your company or department? Has the corporate HQ shown any awareness or taken any action in this regard?