-Lecture on 30 January 2009-

The first speaker, Professor Andrew Palmer began the lecture by showing the results of an experiment of the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. It has been increasing rapidly since the Industrial Revolution. He mentioned that the rapid increase in carbon dioxide might lead to a climate change. He states that the world is producing 200 tonnes of carbon every sec a day and thus a large scale effort is needed to have any impact of reducing the problems of climate change. He suggested a few ways including increasing fuel efficiency, finding alternate energy sources, capturing and storing carbon dioxide instead of releasing into the atmosphere. Professor Palmer focused on carbon dioxide capture and illustrated the structure of a carbon dioxide storage in the ocean. It can be done by compressing carbon dioxide enough and transferring it to the sea bed. But he also mentioned about the worries of the population and the problems that will arise from the storage. He then move on to the political problems. He mentioned about the problems faced by the government when trying to improve the situation of the climate change. He said that trying to solve the problems of global warming may not be a wise use of resource. Professor Palmer then ends off his lecture by saying that the world will be very fortunate if climate change is the worst problem in the next hundred years.

Following up next is Dr.Benjamin K.Sovacool who talks about using Science and Technology Studies method to address energy and technology problems. He first gave a background view of technology in general and gave a few reasons why people resist certain technologies. He then introduced the social science system that describes how technology and the society are linked. Dr.Sovacool brought up two case studies whereby the link between technology and social behavior is clearly seen. The first case study focused on the reasons why renewable power resources were not widely accepted by people. Some of them include cultural, social, political and economic problems. The second case focused on electric vehicles used in the early 1920s. The case study showed why electric vehicles, when compared to automobiles, had more attractive factors and yet lost the market to steam or gasoline powered automobiles. The reasons include the limitation of electric vehicles during World War II, Henry Ford's superior sales techniques and many social and cultural factors. Dr.Sovacool then concluded his lecture by emphasizing the political, cultural, social and economical factors that affects the technology that we used today.

The 3rd speaker, Dr.Rajasekhar Bala talked about the climate change that is affecting the Earth. He first revealed a few graphs showing the global average temperature increasing in the recent years. He explained that these are caused by the increase in human population and emission of greenhouse gases. Dr.Bala then gave a brief introduction on how the Earth is habitable because of the greenhouse effect. He gave a few problems that arised from the climate change. This included an increase in surface temperature of the Earth and extreme weather that will be worsen in certain areas. This will also affect human population through diseases caused by the climate change. Next, he moved onto the technologies that can be used to slow down the rate of climate change. Firstly, he mentioned about reducing the emission of greenhouse gases. Secondly, fuel efficiency can be increased to reduce the consumption of energy and in turn reduced burning of fossil fuels in power station. Furthermore, he mentioned about renewable energy sources including bio fuels and solar energy. Moreover, he suggested that government can tax industries that emit greenhouse gases which do not comply with environmental regulations. He added that urbanization promotes deforestation which in turn reduce the acquiring of carbon dioxide through photosynthesis. Dr.Bala concluded his lecture by suggesting a few ways to help reduce the problem of climate change. This includes taking public transport, using environmental friendly appliances. He also added waste should be viewed as a resource that could be reused or recycled for other useful applications.

After the lecture, I feel that to reduce the problems of climate change, a large scale effort, as emphasized by Professor Palmer, has to be put in by all countries in the world. However, this is easier said than done. The countries' government are usually restricted largely by economic factors. The economy is as fragile as the environment. A change in certain policy would have tremendous effect on the economy. No government would be willing to take the risk. Till the day the effects of climate drastically affects our lives, I feel that little action will be done to improve the situation.

Post 2

Have you taken a walk at the park nearby your house recently and wondered about the warm weather even though it is the rainy seasons? It might be the effects of the greenhouse gases produced everyday through the burning of fossil fuels in power stations for electricity or even the use of refrigeration systems.

Environmentalists around the world are constantly promoting environmental awareness, educating the people the possible effects and aftermath of increasing global warming. From increasing sea levels due to the melting of ice sheets over Greenland and Alaska to the increase of acidity of the ocean water, these, however, did not seemed to be of a concern to leaders of developed countries around the world. Although there were several agreements, for example, the Kyoto Protocol, to cut down on greenhouse gases emissions, much of the results were below expectations because of the consideration of the impact on the economy by implementing the changes.

In Singapore, the government can help reduce the problem of global warming in 3 ways: increasing or implementing penalties or tax on large contribution of greenhouse gases, rewarding or providing subsidy for a cleaner and lesser contribution and educating the public.

Firstly, Singapore can impose heavy taxes on industries and buildings producing large amount of greenhouse gases, although there must be careful considerations done for the nature of certain industries. The government can also increase road tax during peak hours and location so as to possibly reduce traffic jams, which are a major contribution of carbon dioxide, and discourage the use of private transport. They have also been enforcing the use of CFC-free products.

Furthermore, Singapore can reward or provide subsidy for people who choose a cleaner alternative. For example, the government can provide tax subsidy for industries that are able to reduce greenhouse gases emission. Subsidy can also be given to people who choose to travel in public transport.

However, the problem of global warming cannot be reduced without everyone's contributions. The government should implement more programmes to educate the public of environmental awareness. From practicing the 3Rs: reduce, reuse and recycle, to understanding the effects of global warming, schools too must educate and cultivate students' environmental awareness.

In conclusion, the government can help reduce the problem of global warming by imposing heavier penalties on major emissions of greenhouse gases industries, providing a reward or subsidy for cleaner alternatives and most importantly educating the public.