Our oil and gas-fuelled economy will ground to a halt but, of course, Singapore will not be alone in this awkward predicament when this happens. In the midst of chaos that follows, a few small communities in the world will continue to thrive because of public policies they have adopted earlier. Singapore has no natural resources for barter, thus we must build an economy and society that is as interdependent to oil and gas as much as possible.

Negawatt and Micropower are two terms used by Oxford and Havard Physicist Amory B. Lovins, who advises the largest logistic company in the world, the United States Army. Negawatt advocates that it is cheaper to save fuel than it is to buy fuel. Micropower advocates that power generation should be decentralised, using more of renewable energy generated by individual households and companies.

These two principles will help Singapore to quickly insulate itself from fuel prices. Due to our small size and with the correct and appropriate policies (and incentives) on energy efficiency and energy independence, Singapore can very quickly (in years) become the role model for other countries to follow.

If Singapore's fuel consumption and efficiency were to go up just by twofold, it will not just boost up our national productivity standard but also add the much needed and crucial economic strength and competitiveness to our economy. The profit alone, gained by the economy for being more energy-competitive, will more than offset the cost of implementing efficient-energy consumption policies. Best of all, these policies advised by Amory B Lovins is profit-oriented and savings can be seen almost immediately. Even private funds will be willing to help the private sector as profit can be generated.

Our current billion dollar energy infrastructure and the policies that govern how our society uses fuel are based on past principles that work now but not in the future; oil will dry up one day. It is inevitable that painful changes lie ahead but the question is whether we are changed by the environment or we are able to change to meet the future. I prefer the latter as it will give our country a crucial strategic edge against those who were forced to change later.

Syu Ying Kwok