3rd e-post

After the lecture on 30 January, write a report of 300-400 words that

1. Summarizes the main points each lecturer presented

2. States what you found interesting and why

Three presentations on technology and environmental issues were presented by Professor Andrew Palmer, Professor Benjamin k. Sovacool and, lastly, by Professor Rajasekhar Bala on 30th January.

Firstly, Professor Andrew Palmer touched on the topic on global warming, particularly on the possible technology techniques to tackle it by reducing the quantity of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and the stands of politicians regarding such climate change. The possible responses to climate change are improving fuel efficiency and conservation, switching to alternative renewable energy sources and storing of carbon dioxide in the depleted oil, gas well or ocean. On top of that, he also mentioned about the lack of interest from the politicians as they perceive other issues, such as economic crisis, poverty and military defense, as having higher priorities.

I agree that there is an absolute need to reduce the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and this requires global cooperation. Climate change is a global issue and countries around the world should put in significant amount of effort to counteract the causes together. However, it is depressing to say that I have to agree with Professor Andrew Palmer about the lack of interests in combating global warming shown by the politicians around the world. I think the main reason for this is because long term mitigations are required to counteract the deep-rooted problem which we have caused over the years. Moreover, for most of the countries in the world, the combating of economic crisis, poverty and even against each other, come before the environmental issues. Hence, the mitigations to global warming are delayed without considering the rapid declination of the sustainability of our Gaia as time passes. Techniques and policies to reduce greenhouse gases are widely available, but it depends on the wills of government around the world to adopt them and tackle global warming in full front.

Next, Professor Benjamin k. Sovacool talked about the interconnectivity of technology with political, social and economic, the substitution of fossil fuel with renewable power and the electric vehicles in the 19th century. The introduction of green energies have to cross over the economic, political and social hurdles in order to be accepted by the majority. In the nutshell, the failure and acceptance of technology are related to the power and interests rather than the science itself.

In order to counteract the damages we have done so far, we have been introduced to renewable energies. However, these new technologies are not widely practiced due to the underfunding of research and development and only little incentives are given to companies to promote the usage of renewable power. Hence, we can see the important role of government in tackling global warming. The behaviour of the society is also very important as this determines the market demands. Therefore, in order to practise the use of renewable energies across the world to combat the increasing of greenhouse gases, we require the active role of the governance and positive responses from the people.

Lastly, Professor Rajasekhar Bala rounded up with the assessment and mitigation to climate change by beginning with some background information and statistic regarding global warming and greenhouse effects. Then, he moved on to talked about the causes and effects of global warming and what individuals, companies and government should do to slow down this phenomenon. In his presentation, he also highlighted the difficulties in dealing global warming as it is a long-lasting global problem.

The enhanced global warming phenomenon has also led to other consequences, such as the irregular distribution of droughts and floods, increasing in spreading of infection diseases and extinctions of species. Although we cannot really see the direct link between these and global warming, it is a fact that these consequences are occurring more rapidly with the increase in the earth’s average temperature. All these effects highlight the urgency of tackling global warming and capping the amount of carbon dioxide emitted. If politicians, companies and individuals continue to ignore this environmental problem instead of enforcing mitigations immediately, the protests from the Earth may become more dreadful, like those featured in the movie, “The Day After Tomorrow”.

In conclusion, we, as the populaces of Earth, should execute the mitigations for global warming immediately as it takes long time to see their effects. We, especially the governments, should not think that environmental issues can be dealt at a later date because we might not even have tomorrow.

2nd e-Post

How can policies of your government either contribute or help to reduce the problem of global warming?
Global warming is the phenomenon of increasing temperature on the earth’s surface. One of the causes of it is the increase in the amount of greenhouse gases on Earth, which trap the sun’s heat. The main contributor of greenhouse gases is carbon dioxide, which has increased evidently since industrialization and urbanization due to high consumption of resources and deforestation. Hence, in order to tackle the problem of global warming, the Singapore government has come up with policies which promote recycling, energy efficiency and use of clean energy.
Firstly, recycling prevents further consumption of resources and also decreases the amount of waste generated. The consumption of natural resources, such as fossil fuels, for productions has exhausted high amount of greenhouse gases and pollutants into the atmosphere, while a large amount of trees in Amazon rainforest are cut down every day to satisfy the demand of people on materials like wood and paper. The alarming rate of deforestation has affected the conversion rate of carbon dioxide to oxygen on Earth greatly. This, coupled with increasing emission of carbon dioxide and other harmful gases, has led to the sharp jump in the amount of greenhouse gases on Earth over the years. In addition, recycling helps to reduce the waste which Singaporeans generate every day. The waste are either burnt in incinerators or dumped into landfill sites, which creates environmental damages, such as emitting more greenhouse gases. The landfill disposal method even adds on to the land constrain problem in Singapore. Over the decades, there is an increase in environmental consciousness among Singaporeans through education, media and campaigns. Currently in Singapore, 54% of the waste is recycled. This has helped to reduce the amount of waste generated and in turn decrease the amount of greenhouse gases produced in the process of disposing the waste.
Next, energy efficiency is a practical and cost-effective way of counteracting carbon emission while sustaining economic development. With lesser energy consumed, we can expect a drop in fossil fuel burning required in order to sustain the everyday needs of the people in Singapore. Recently, a Grant for Energy Efficient Technologies (GREET) has been earmarked to assist corporations in achieving energy saving. Since the majority of the energy usage is from industries and companies, such a move can decrease the amount of energy wasted significantly and in turn reduce the amount of greenhouse gases that is given out during the process.
Last but not least, Singapore government also promotes the usage of clean energy. Although clean energy cannot fully replace the current energy sources yet, it can reduce our reliance on fossil fuels imports and reduce the emission of greenhouse gases. In the near future, clean energy will definitely capable in sustaining some of Singapore’s energy demands at a more affordable price with the world’s largest solar energy plant to be built in Singapore, coupling with more researches and developments in this field.
In conclusion, through recycling, reducing in energy consumption and promoting usage of clean energy, the Singapore government can help to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emitted. These, in turn, contribute in mitigating the problem of global warming.

Re: The expaning world of engineers

In refer to Prof. Ramakrishna’s article, “The Expanding World of Engineers”, briefly explain how an engineer systematically analyse complex information and applies a holistic approach in designing solutions.

In today’s changing world, the current engineering tertiary education, differs from the past, is more diversified which allows graduates to adapt better to various adjustments in the market. Although technical knowledge is the fundamental essential of engineering education, one should note that analytical skill is playing a more significant role. Engineer has to decipher complex information and reconstruct the ideas systematically before providing the solutions. In tertiary institutions, students are showered with application and problem-solving questions and systematic approaches are taught. Such tasks demand a high degree of analytical ability from the students and these sculpt the engineering students to be judicious. This life skill is not only applicable in the use of engineering field but also in other sectors like banking and enterprising, which allows engineering graduates to venture into other arenas. One of the examples is Mr. George Yong-Boon Yeo, who studies Engineering in Cambridge University and he is currently Singapore’s minister of Foreign Affairs. Hence, this shows the versatility of an engineering training and education.

The word “creation” is often linked to engineering due the traditional perspective of manufacturing products. The elements of creating and changing surrounding for the better have been constantly instill into the engineers. This also applies to the engineering education, which has been constantly modified to accommodate to the need of the workforce. Therefore, in the current context, this innovative quality of an engineer is not only limited to physical inventions, but also designing solutions to various problems in reality. With the analytical ability mentioned earlier, engineers are to apply a holistic approach in creating solutions based on their knowledge and expertise in the respective fields. Engineers are trained to look at the pros and cons of the intended solutions and run tests before the actual execution of the project. All these have shaped engineers to be more creative and matriculate than their mates.

The majority has recognized the versatile and holistic education system of engineering couple with a wide career prospects it brings. Thus, engineering is no longer deemed as the terrain of males, more female counterparts are joining and excelling in this field like what Prof Seeram Ramakrishna mentioned in the article.