Recently, there is an increasing concern on the problem in the abundance of fossil fuels for the world’s energy consumption. As the demand for the fossil fuel is higher than the supply, the cost for these natural resources will naturally increase. Because of the increasing cost of fuel, Singapore Power has to increase the electricity tariff by 22%. To cut down on the power bills, businesses have to go green by reducing the use of electrical power and hence, help to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere by the generator. In the pursuit for businesses to go green and cut power bills, the Singapore government has provided many new initiatives to assist them.
Firstly, $6million is used to train energy managers. They will acquire the professional skills during their course of training to help companies in planning the most energy efficient plan. They will be able to assist the companies to cut down their power usage too. Secondly, The National Environment Agency (NEA) would help and subsidies the company for designing their workplace in a most energy-efficient manner. This is to reduce the carbon dioxide been generated and at the same time, reduce the energy wastage. NEA will also provide more monetary assistance to add energy-saving equipment and energy audits for the companies. These include the switching to a more efficient generators, air-conditioners and light bulbs. Lastly, grants will be given to firms to take on projects that use less fossil fuel or produce less carbon dioxide. These encourage the firms in cutting down their use of power energy and also to minimise the release of greenhouse gas.
There are number reasons on why government have to put in so much effort for the businesses to go green. First of all, the government is promoting a cleaner environment for us to work in. The second reason is, reduce in energy usage will reduce the use of fossil fuel and hence reduce carbon dioxide emission. Finally, all these initiatives will help the companies to cut down their power bills.
All in all, with the help of the government, businesses still can function normally and generate revenue for the economy without doing much harm to the environment. However, each individual plays a vital role in helping the companies to cut down the electricity usage. If they do not help to save energy by switching off any appliances or lights when not in used, the amount of assistance given by the government to aid them will be fruitless.
Reference
Kesava, S. (2008, October 18). New ways to help businesses cut power bills. The Straits
Times, p. H3.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Friday, November 7, 2008
1. Broome maintains that how we deal with climate change in our generation is an ethical issue. Do you agree that our decisions and actions relating t
Global warming is one of the increasing concerns for the world today. It is due to the emitting of greenhouse gases which was trapped in the atmosphere, causing the temperature of the earth to increase. The main contribution of greenhouse gases is due to human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels for energy. Due to our negligence, the problems of global warming have arise which affecting the survivability of our generation or even our later generation in the near future. One of the problems is climate change. We should not allow other people or our future generation to answer for our actions. Therefore, I agree that our decisions and actions relating to climate changes are ethical issues.
Firstly, developed countries are the main cause of emitting greenhouse gases due to rapid expansion in their industries. Is it ethical that third world countries should suffer the same setback with them? The people in the third world countries are innocent parties who do not contribute much of the greenhouse gases, but they are experiencing the effects of climate change now. For instance, India is facing the flood problem due to the monsoon rain over the part of Bihar. Villages that are previously not prone to flood are also affected (Oxfam International, 2008). The changing patterns of rainfall will cause inconvenient and constant rainfall due to climate change will cause flood prone areas to be flooded as well. The self-centred thinking of the developed countries has deteriorated the climate change. They have been generating revenue for their countries while causing suffering in the third world countries.
Secondly, we should not allow our future generations to suffer from the effects of climate change. We should answer for our actions and not them. The damage caused by climate change is devastating. According to Broome (2008), “the European heat wave of 2003 is estimated to have killed 35000 people.” And I believed the number of death will increase in the future as the Earth’s temperature continues to rise. This way of act is unethical as we are putting our future generation’s life in danger. We have no rights to endanger their lifes. Hence, we should try to alleviate the effects of climate change.
The consequences brought by the climate change are severe. The climate change is the results of our continuous production of greenhouse gases for our own benefits such as driving a car. We should not let any third party or our future generation to suffer because of our wrong doings as this is unethical. Therefore, our decisions and actions relating to climate change are ethical issues.
References
Broome, J. (2008, May 19). The Ethics of Climate Change. Scientific American
Magazine. Retrieved November 4, 2008, from
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=the-ethics-of-climate-change&ec=b_atl1
Oxfam International. (2008). India Flood 2008. Retrieved November 4, 2008, from
http://www.oxfam.org/fr/emergencies/india-floods
Item 5: The two articles in “A computer that can ‘read’ your mind” and “Ethics and mapping the brain” describe the positive and negative effects brain
If you have watched the X-Men movies, did you remember a character called Professor Xavier? Have you ever thought of having his ability to read the people’s mind? This amazing ability can be accomplished with the help of today’s technology. Being working with my fellow colleagues for years we “are [now] closer to knowing how specific thoughts activate our brains” (The National Science Foundation, 2008). Computational modelling has become powerful enough to predict activities patterns which will improve scientists understanding of how the brain processes information from the senses. However, with this great discovery been uncovered, many potential unethical abuses will arise in our work.
One unethical abuse is invasion of privacy. With the use of this brain mapping technology, a person can invade one’s privacy and is able to ‘read’ one’s mind. This is a very disrespectful and unethical behaviour as everybody has their own rights of not disclosing their secrets or private matters. It will be disturbing when you cannot do your personal things in a discrete place as everyone knows where and what you are going to do! This unacceptable behaviour can be prevented by allowing only certain authorised personnel to use the brain mapping technology for critical conditions such as instigating the criminals.
Another potential abuse will be the marketing of the brain mapping technology to the consumers to earn large sums of money. The creating of this technology is not for sale in the first place. The purpose of brain mapping is to study the human brain and to provide the beneficial to mankind. This technology “could have applications in the study of autism, disorders of thoughts such as paranoid schizophrenia, and semantic dementias such as Pick’s diseases” (The National Science Foundation, 2008). According to Wilksinson (2008), neurologists from the Imperial has been using brain mapping to monitor the conditions of the stroke patients so as to “study the changes in the language pathways of the brain before and after the rehabilitation.” There are many medical benefits that have yet to be discovered using this technology. The main purpose of brain mapping technology will be defected if it is sold to the consumers. It will be very unethical for my researchers and me, if we are willing to sell our technology for money. If such technology will be laid onto the consumers hands, the problem of invasion of privacy will arise. To minimise this problem, only authorised dealers are allowed to sell the brain mapping technology to authorised users such as the Police Academy. Offenders will be dealt with legally if they sell the technology to unauthorised users.
The last unethical issue I want to bring about is treating the patients as ‘experimental tools’. Many people will say that it is unethical for us to do research on patients. By connecting them with wires, we are using them as our ‘specimens’ to conduct our experiment. I beg to differ. Before we conduct our research, we will make sure that we have a mutual trust and respect with the patients and their next of kin. The patients are aware of their great importance in this major project and not as ‘experimental tools’. The public must know that in order to have a breakthrough in medical history, we have to examine the patient’s brain and conduct the essential experiment. This is the only possible way to find the solution to some of the medical problems arises in our society. For instance, the using of brain mapping technology has proven to be successful in monitoring the rehabilitation progress of the stroke patients.
In conclusion, there are many unethical issues which arise from the research of brain mapping such as the invading of personal privacy, marketing of brain mapping technology to the consumers and making use of patients as our ‘experimental tools’. However, these potential issues can be minimised and prevented if the measures are acted as accordingly. Now you know that, even though humans can be Professor Xavier, but not everybody has the authority to posses this power.
Reference
National Science Foundation. (2008, May 30). A computer that can ‘read’ your mind [Press
release 08-091]. Retrieved November 2, 2008, from
http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=111641&org=olpa&from=news
Wilksinson, E. Helping stroke patients to speak. BBC News. Retrieved November 2, 2008
from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7330790.stm
One unethical abuse is invasion of privacy. With the use of this brain mapping technology, a person can invade one’s privacy and is able to ‘read’ one’s mind. This is a very disrespectful and unethical behaviour as everybody has their own rights of not disclosing their secrets or private matters. It will be disturbing when you cannot do your personal things in a discrete place as everyone knows where and what you are going to do! This unacceptable behaviour can be prevented by allowing only certain authorised personnel to use the brain mapping technology for critical conditions such as instigating the criminals.
Another potential abuse will be the marketing of the brain mapping technology to the consumers to earn large sums of money. The creating of this technology is not for sale in the first place. The purpose of brain mapping is to study the human brain and to provide the beneficial to mankind. This technology “could have applications in the study of autism, disorders of thoughts such as paranoid schizophrenia, and semantic dementias such as Pick’s diseases” (The National Science Foundation, 2008). According to Wilksinson (2008), neurologists from the Imperial has been using brain mapping to monitor the conditions of the stroke patients so as to “study the changes in the language pathways of the brain before and after the rehabilitation.” There are many medical benefits that have yet to be discovered using this technology. The main purpose of brain mapping technology will be defected if it is sold to the consumers. It will be very unethical for my researchers and me, if we are willing to sell our technology for money. If such technology will be laid onto the consumers hands, the problem of invasion of privacy will arise. To minimise this problem, only authorised dealers are allowed to sell the brain mapping technology to authorised users such as the Police Academy. Offenders will be dealt with legally if they sell the technology to unauthorised users.
The last unethical issue I want to bring about is treating the patients as ‘experimental tools’. Many people will say that it is unethical for us to do research on patients. By connecting them with wires, we are using them as our ‘specimens’ to conduct our experiment. I beg to differ. Before we conduct our research, we will make sure that we have a mutual trust and respect with the patients and their next of kin. The patients are aware of their great importance in this major project and not as ‘experimental tools’. The public must know that in order to have a breakthrough in medical history, we have to examine the patient’s brain and conduct the essential experiment. This is the only possible way to find the solution to some of the medical problems arises in our society. For instance, the using of brain mapping technology has proven to be successful in monitoring the rehabilitation progress of the stroke patients.
In conclusion, there are many unethical issues which arise from the research of brain mapping such as the invading of personal privacy, marketing of brain mapping technology to the consumers and making use of patients as our ‘experimental tools’. However, these potential issues can be minimised and prevented if the measures are acted as accordingly. Now you know that, even though humans can be Professor Xavier, but not everybody has the authority to posses this power.
Reference
National Science Foundation. (2008, May 30). A computer that can ‘read’ your mind [Press
release 08-091]. Retrieved November 2, 2008, from
http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=111641&org=olpa&from=news
Wilksinson, E. Helping stroke patients to speak. BBC News. Retrieved November 2, 2008
from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7330790.stm
Sunday, November 2, 2008
1. Briefly compare and contrast any two waste disposal schemes and decide which one might be more suitable for your country.
Singapore has been using the incinerators to burn 90% of their waste for the past decades. Four incinerators are in used. The ashes produced from the incinerators are sent to Pula Semakau to be land filled. However, this offshore landfill will be filled up after 2040. After that, it will be a problem for us to find land to fill up ashes. Therefore, we should find an alternative waste disposal scheme which supports sustainability. Zero waste system should be adopted by Singapore as it increased profits resulting from significant cost savings, improved environment conditions and stronger local economics. It also helped in solving the problem of finding more land to bury the ashes produced by the incinerators.
By adopting the zero waste system, it could reduce dramatically the need for incinerators and landfills. This is because the approach of zero waste is to turn waste into profitable resource by repairing, reusing or recycling them. Waste are not burnt, thus incinerators and landfills are not required. However, by using the convention method, waste is burnt into ashes, which will be then sent to a landfill to be buried. In this case, land must be made available. And this will be a problem for land scarce countries such as Singapore. The use of incinerators involved the combustion of waste which emits harmful gases into the surrounding such as dioxin. Moreover, the ashes produced are buried into the ground, polluting the land. Unlike the use of incinerators, zero waste is more environmental friendly since no burning is involved. Hence zero waste improved the environment conditions. The amount of money used in building, operating and maintaining the incinerators is very high. Singapore has four incinerators that are in used. Hence, it is a financial burden for us. By using zero waste system, minimum money is required to regenerate the waste into useful products Since the main objective is to reuse and recycle the waste, money can be saved from buying resources that are needed to be extracted from the nature. This increased the profits resulting from the significant cost savings. Furthermore, resource recovery facilities and exchange networks were forced to be turning waste into an asset, creating small business opportunities and employment in struggling communities. Therefore, zero waste will make our local economics stronger.
Both the use of incinerators and zero waste system have a common goal, which is to manage the waste. However, the latter has the ability to eliminate the waste to the minimum. The zero waste approach is more suitable for the Singapore since land is not required to bury any ashes. More money can be saved as using incinerators to burn waste is not necessary. In addition, zero waste approach are more environmental conscious and it can provide a strong local economics.
By adopting the zero waste system, it could reduce dramatically the need for incinerators and landfills. This is because the approach of zero waste is to turn waste into profitable resource by repairing, reusing or recycling them. Waste are not burnt, thus incinerators and landfills are not required. However, by using the convention method, waste is burnt into ashes, which will be then sent to a landfill to be buried. In this case, land must be made available. And this will be a problem for land scarce countries such as Singapore. The use of incinerators involved the combustion of waste which emits harmful gases into the surrounding such as dioxin. Moreover, the ashes produced are buried into the ground, polluting the land. Unlike the use of incinerators, zero waste is more environmental friendly since no burning is involved. Hence zero waste improved the environment conditions. The amount of money used in building, operating and maintaining the incinerators is very high. Singapore has four incinerators that are in used. Hence, it is a financial burden for us. By using zero waste system, minimum money is required to regenerate the waste into useful products Since the main objective is to reuse and recycle the waste, money can be saved from buying resources that are needed to be extracted from the nature. This increased the profits resulting from the significant cost savings. Furthermore, resource recovery facilities and exchange networks were forced to be turning waste into an asset, creating small business opportunities and employment in struggling communities. Therefore, zero waste will make our local economics stronger.
Both the use of incinerators and zero waste system have a common goal, which is to manage the waste. However, the latter has the ability to eliminate the waste to the minimum. The zero waste approach is more suitable for the Singapore since land is not required to bury any ashes. More money can be saved as using incinerators to burn waste is not necessary. In addition, zero waste approach are more environmental conscious and it can provide a strong local economics.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Item 4: What difficulties do you have writing in your engineering classes? You may use your work in MLE1101 to give examples. How do you resolve the d
Currently, there is limited writing in my engineering class as most of my modules are calculating- based. Most of my writing is done on EG1471 and on my CM1502 laboratory reports. Therefore, one of the difficulties that I have in my engineering class will be writing the laboratory report for CM1502. I could still remember how hard for me to write my first chemistry report because it is totally different from what I did during my junior college or secondary school years. During that time, our chemistry reports required only our experimental results and some simple deductions which we could conclude from the experiment. But now, there are many items that I have to include in my university chemistry report. Being exposed to this for the first time is a challenging task for me.
For each experiment, seven items need to be included into the laboratory report. These items are Aim, Introduction, Procedure, Data and Analysis, Discussion, Conclusion and Reference. In order to write a good report, every item in the report requires a higher level of detailed writing and good organisation skills. The ideas bring across in the report must be explicit so that my tutor can understand the report I wrote. Thus, to resolve the difficulties I faced in writing my laboratory report, I have to refresh on what I have learned in EG1471 and apply the writing skills on to my report.
Firstly, the Aim of the report acts like the thesis statement of an essay. It contains the main idea and the specific topic of what I am going to investigate in a very clear and brief manner. Secondly, for the Introduction of the report, it defines the subject of the report. It contains the relevant information to support the thesis and suggests ways to approach the experiment. The paragraph in the Introduction must be well linked with transition signals to ensure the flow of the report. Next, for the Procedure of the report, I can apply what I have learned for process essay using chronological order. This forms of writing able me to describe the procedure precisely. Therefore chronological order signal words are important to link the sequence of the steps clearly. For Data and Analysis, it only involves the calculating and plotting of graph or charts; hence not much of writing involves. After that, under the Discussion, I have to relate my data to the existing theory. Therefore, the data and graph serve as supporting details to support my hypotheses graphically. Furthermore, I have to organise my writing and sometimes, planning (brainstorm) is required which was taught by EG1471. Transition signals have to be used to ensure a logical flow in the discussions. In Conclusion, I have to reiterate the thesis of the experiment and summarise what I discovered based on the experimental results. Lastly, for Reference, I have followed the APA style given by EG1471 except that, for the report, in-text citations are not required.
Generally, writing a good report requires not only a good theoretical background, but also requires a good foundation in writing. It will be very disturbing for the readers or tutors to understand my work if the report is not well-organised and full of grammatical errors. With the help of EG1471, I am able to organise my ideas well. However, I found out that there is a lack in transition signals in my report and quite a few grammatical errors. Thus, these are two of the areas have to improve on to make my report a better one. This can be done by doing some grammars exercise in the SELF or read more English articles. I can also refer back to the EG1471 textbook to refresh on some of the transition signals which I can used.
For each experiment, seven items need to be included into the laboratory report. These items are Aim, Introduction, Procedure, Data and Analysis, Discussion, Conclusion and Reference. In order to write a good report, every item in the report requires a higher level of detailed writing and good organisation skills. The ideas bring across in the report must be explicit so that my tutor can understand the report I wrote. Thus, to resolve the difficulties I faced in writing my laboratory report, I have to refresh on what I have learned in EG1471 and apply the writing skills on to my report.
Firstly, the Aim of the report acts like the thesis statement of an essay. It contains the main idea and the specific topic of what I am going to investigate in a very clear and brief manner. Secondly, for the Introduction of the report, it defines the subject of the report. It contains the relevant information to support the thesis and suggests ways to approach the experiment. The paragraph in the Introduction must be well linked with transition signals to ensure the flow of the report. Next, for the Procedure of the report, I can apply what I have learned for process essay using chronological order. This forms of writing able me to describe the procedure precisely. Therefore chronological order signal words are important to link the sequence of the steps clearly. For Data and Analysis, it only involves the calculating and plotting of graph or charts; hence not much of writing involves. After that, under the Discussion, I have to relate my data to the existing theory. Therefore, the data and graph serve as supporting details to support my hypotheses graphically. Furthermore, I have to organise my writing and sometimes, planning (brainstorm) is required which was taught by EG1471. Transition signals have to be used to ensure a logical flow in the discussions. In Conclusion, I have to reiterate the thesis of the experiment and summarise what I discovered based on the experimental results. Lastly, for Reference, I have followed the APA style given by EG1471 except that, for the report, in-text citations are not required.
Generally, writing a good report requires not only a good theoretical background, but also requires a good foundation in writing. It will be very disturbing for the readers or tutors to understand my work if the report is not well-organised and full of grammatical errors. With the help of EG1471, I am able to organise my ideas well. However, I found out that there is a lack in transition signals in my report and quite a few grammatical errors. Thus, these are two of the areas have to improve on to make my report a better one. This can be done by doing some grammars exercise in the SELF or read more English articles. I can also refer back to the EG1471 textbook to refresh on some of the transition signals which I can used.
Writing Assignment 2: Based on Stephens’ article and your related readings, do you think R&D (i.e., Research and Development) should focus on coal-bas
Fossil fuels such as coal have been a primary source of energy for the world since the start of civilization. However, these natural fuels will be depleting soon. According to Biotour (n.d), “the world will run out of oil by the year 2043” and if the demand continues to rise, “the world’s oil supply may be depleted of as soon as the year 2020.” Hence, alternative sources that are not reliant on fossil fuels should be used in the future. Generally, Research and Development (R&D) should focus on technologies which are not reliant on fossil fuels rather than on coal-based Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technologies.
The burning of fossil fuels will emit carbon dioxide which exacerbates the effects of global warming. Thus, CCS was introduced to capture the emissions of carbon dioxide. Based on Stephen’s article (2006), CCS “incorporates a variety of technology associated with the capturing of carbon dioxide from power plants and storing it in naturally occurring, underground geologic reservoirs.” It is true that countries such as America and China have abundance of coal and we cannot neglect CCS. However, CCS serves as a temporary solution. It will be of no use once coal is completely depleted. Stephens (2006) has said that CCS is no longer restricted by the feasibility of technology. Thus it is invalid to play the emphasis of R&D in CCS.
Furthermore, CCS posed many doubts and problems which have yet to be solved. Firstly, CCS cannot be applied for every country. The storage locations for carbon dioxide are not feasible for every country. Those countries without the proper storage space such as ocean storage or oil and gas fields will not be able to use CCS technology.
Another problem Stephens (2006) mentioned is the “lack of clear regulations that provide economic incentives for investment.” The economic incentives generated by CCS are still very vague and investors will be reluctant to invest this technology. Moreover, “the (CCS) technology is used in small-scale applications, [and] it has not been demonstrated on a commercial-scale power plant.” Presently, there is no large-scale power plant proven to be successful in using CCS technology. Thus investors may not have the confidence in expanding this technology, fearing that they will lose all their investment if CCS technology does not work in large-scale.
In addition, there is a risk of leakage of carbon dioxide and the consequences are devastating. Schiermeier (2006) commented that “a sudden catastrophic release of carbon dioxide, which is heavier than air, can suffocate people at low lying areas.” He also said that “gas-filled reservoirs could potentially trigger landslides and tsunamis.” For ocean storage, if there is a leakage under the sea, it will increase the acidity of the seawater, thus threatening the marine life. To add on, when carbon dioxide is injected into deep saline aquifers, brines will be displaced into overlying aquifers, “with concomitant potential to contaminate potable water supply” (Schiermeier, 2006). With so many problems associated with CCS, R&D should not be focused on CCS technologies.
Although the costs of building plants for both CCS and other technologies are comparatively the same, more efforts should be placed on the latter. Other technologies which are not reliant on fossil fuels are renewable and sustainable. Most importantly, they are environmental friendly. Such technologies include solar, nuclear and water energy. They are in abundance and obtainable without much efforts. These technologies have been improvised for the past decades and should not be neglected.
Results have shown that R&D has increased the efficiency of existing technologies. According to National Academy of Engineering (2008) the efficiency of solar cells has increased from “10 percent to 34 percent.” In the case of hydroelectric power, Power Technology (2008) stated that the Xiaolangdi hydroelectric plant in China “generated 5.1 billion kWh of electricity a year.” It is because of R&D that we are able to capture the natural energy and convert it into the useful forms we need. The efficiency of the existing technologies can then be further improved with the help of R&D.
Using the non fossil fuel technologies will not produce any form of pollutions. It only produces clean energy which is not harmful to the environment. Some people have raised doubts on using non fossil fuel technology such as nuclear energy. Although the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster has drastic effects on the health of people and environment, the present nuclear plants have been improved with minimum hazards with the help of R&D. As quoted in RadWaste (1996-2008), “The nuclear industry is highly regulated.” Hence, careful procedures have been carried out to ensure the safety of humans and environments. Most of all, the energy produced by nuclear technology is very high. A major commercial plant called ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) which is based at Cadarache in France will produce “a power level of 500 megawatts.” (National Academy of Engineering, 2008). This cannot be done without the efforts of the R&D in the past decades.
Technologies not reliant on fossil fuels are largely dependent on natural sources and weather conditions. It may be true that poor weather can result in poor power productivity; however, technologies have allowed us to store energy for further usage. For instance, “sunlight could power the electrolysis of water, generating hydrogen as fuel” (National Academy of Engineering 2008). R&D has thus stretched the technical abilities in creating storable fuels.
In conclusion, R&D should place more attention on technologies not reliant on fossil fuels, which are more feasible and environmentally friendly. These technologies can be used for many generations which serve as permanent solutions when fossil fuels are used up. On the other hand, CCS technology will no longer require in our generation when the coal has been used up. Therefore, if R&D focuses on non fossil fuel technologies, it can then further improved on the efficiency on the existing technologies, making them more affordable and provide efficient ways to store the energy.
References
Biotour. (2008). Fossi Fuel. Retrieved October 2, 2008, from
http://www.biotour.org/content/Inform%20yourself/fossilfuels.html
National Academy Of Engineering Of The National Academies. (2008). Grand Challenge for
engineering: Making solar energy economical. Retrieved October 2, 2008, from
http://www.engineeringchallenges.org/cms/8996/9082.aspx
Nature Publishing Group. (2008). Putting the carbon back (pp.620-623)
Power-Technology. (2008). Industrial Projects: Xiaolangdi hydroelectric power plant. Retrieved
October 2, 2008 from http://www.power-technology.com/projects/xiaolangdi/
RadWaste. (1996-2008). Waste link: Laws and regulations. Retrieved October 2, 2008 from
http://www.radwaste.org/laws.htm
Stephens, J.C. (2006). CCS: Research is not enough. In The world energy book (pp.15-18).
London: World Energy Council
The burning of fossil fuels will emit carbon dioxide which exacerbates the effects of global warming. Thus, CCS was introduced to capture the emissions of carbon dioxide. Based on Stephen’s article (2006), CCS “incorporates a variety of technology associated with the capturing of carbon dioxide from power plants and storing it in naturally occurring, underground geologic reservoirs.” It is true that countries such as America and China have abundance of coal and we cannot neglect CCS. However, CCS serves as a temporary solution. It will be of no use once coal is completely depleted. Stephens (2006) has said that CCS is no longer restricted by the feasibility of technology. Thus it is invalid to play the emphasis of R&D in CCS.
Furthermore, CCS posed many doubts and problems which have yet to be solved. Firstly, CCS cannot be applied for every country. The storage locations for carbon dioxide are not feasible for every country. Those countries without the proper storage space such as ocean storage or oil and gas fields will not be able to use CCS technology.
Another problem Stephens (2006) mentioned is the “lack of clear regulations that provide economic incentives for investment.” The economic incentives generated by CCS are still very vague and investors will be reluctant to invest this technology. Moreover, “the (CCS) technology is used in small-scale applications, [and] it has not been demonstrated on a commercial-scale power plant.” Presently, there is no large-scale power plant proven to be successful in using CCS technology. Thus investors may not have the confidence in expanding this technology, fearing that they will lose all their investment if CCS technology does not work in large-scale.
In addition, there is a risk of leakage of carbon dioxide and the consequences are devastating. Schiermeier (2006) commented that “a sudden catastrophic release of carbon dioxide, which is heavier than air, can suffocate people at low lying areas.” He also said that “gas-filled reservoirs could potentially trigger landslides and tsunamis.” For ocean storage, if there is a leakage under the sea, it will increase the acidity of the seawater, thus threatening the marine life. To add on, when carbon dioxide is injected into deep saline aquifers, brines will be displaced into overlying aquifers, “with concomitant potential to contaminate potable water supply” (Schiermeier, 2006). With so many problems associated with CCS, R&D should not be focused on CCS technologies.
Although the costs of building plants for both CCS and other technologies are comparatively the same, more efforts should be placed on the latter. Other technologies which are not reliant on fossil fuels are renewable and sustainable. Most importantly, they are environmental friendly. Such technologies include solar, nuclear and water energy. They are in abundance and obtainable without much efforts. These technologies have been improvised for the past decades and should not be neglected.
Results have shown that R&D has increased the efficiency of existing technologies. According to National Academy of Engineering (2008) the efficiency of solar cells has increased from “10 percent to 34 percent.” In the case of hydroelectric power, Power Technology (2008) stated that the Xiaolangdi hydroelectric plant in China “generated 5.1 billion kWh of electricity a year.” It is because of R&D that we are able to capture the natural energy and convert it into the useful forms we need. The efficiency of the existing technologies can then be further improved with the help of R&D.
Using the non fossil fuel technologies will not produce any form of pollutions. It only produces clean energy which is not harmful to the environment. Some people have raised doubts on using non fossil fuel technology such as nuclear energy. Although the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster has drastic effects on the health of people and environment, the present nuclear plants have been improved with minimum hazards with the help of R&D. As quoted in RadWaste (1996-2008), “The nuclear industry is highly regulated.” Hence, careful procedures have been carried out to ensure the safety of humans and environments. Most of all, the energy produced by nuclear technology is very high. A major commercial plant called ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) which is based at Cadarache in France will produce “a power level of 500 megawatts.” (National Academy of Engineering, 2008). This cannot be done without the efforts of the R&D in the past decades.
Technologies not reliant on fossil fuels are largely dependent on natural sources and weather conditions. It may be true that poor weather can result in poor power productivity; however, technologies have allowed us to store energy for further usage. For instance, “sunlight could power the electrolysis of water, generating hydrogen as fuel” (National Academy of Engineering 2008). R&D has thus stretched the technical abilities in creating storable fuels.
In conclusion, R&D should place more attention on technologies not reliant on fossil fuels, which are more feasible and environmentally friendly. These technologies can be used for many generations which serve as permanent solutions when fossil fuels are used up. On the other hand, CCS technology will no longer require in our generation when the coal has been used up. Therefore, if R&D focuses on non fossil fuel technologies, it can then further improved on the efficiency on the existing technologies, making them more affordable and provide efficient ways to store the energy.
References
Biotour. (2008). Fossi Fuel. Retrieved October 2, 2008, from
http://www.biotour.org/content/Inform%20yourself/fossilfuels.html
National Academy Of Engineering Of The National Academies. (2008). Grand Challenge for
engineering: Making solar energy economical. Retrieved October 2, 2008, from
http://www.engineeringchallenges.org/cms/8996/9082.aspx
Nature Publishing Group. (2008). Putting the carbon back (pp.620-623)
Power-Technology. (2008). Industrial Projects: Xiaolangdi hydroelectric power plant. Retrieved
October 2, 2008 from http://www.power-technology.com/projects/xiaolangdi/
RadWaste. (1996-2008). Waste link: Laws and regulations. Retrieved October 2, 2008 from
http://www.radwaste.org/laws.htm
Stephens, J.C. (2006). CCS: Research is not enough. In The world energy book (pp.15-18).
London: World Energy Council
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Item 3: Summary of an article
One of the grand challenges that engineers have to face will be finding alternative sources of energy in terms of electrical energy for the growing population. Currently, our main source of energy comes from fossil fuels which include oil, natural gas and the coal. However, these natural fuels are non-sustainable and they are depleting at an alarmingly rate. Furthermore, since the start of industrialisation, the use of fossil fuels has worsened the problems of air and water pollution. Hence, the alternative source must be sustainable and environmentally friendly. Solar energy is one of them. Although the sun’s energy can produce much more commercial energy that human normally use, there are many obstacles which hinder us from optimising the sun’s energy. Firstly, the efficiency of the solar cells is very low. They are not able to convert all the sunlight captured into electricity for commercial usage. Engineers have to work on different methods such as applying nanotechnology to enhance the performance of solar cells. Secondly, the manufacturing cost to produce solar cells is very high. This means that each individual will be heavily charged as using solar energy is expensive. Therefore, new components can be used to modify existing solar cells which can help to reduce the production costs. Lastly, engineers must provide efficient ways to store solar energy. This is necessary because sunlight is not available during night time and cloudy days. Thus, solar energy must be tapped and stored for further use. This introduced the invention of fuel cells where hydrogen is used as a fuel. Making use of solar energy, hydrogen can be produced by electrolysis of water. The combustion of hydrogen produces energy and water, which is an environmentally clean by-product. All in all, our ability of using solar energy can be further optimised with the help of engineers. By limiting the mentioned obstacles to the minimum, solar energy can then be economically used as the main source of energy in place of the fossil fuels.
References
National Academy Of Engineering Of The National Academies. (2008). Grand Challenge for
engineering: Making solar energy economical. Retreieved September 21, 2008, from
http://www.engineeringchallenges.org/cms/8996/9082.aspx
References
National Academy Of Engineering Of The National Academies. (2008). Grand Challenge for
engineering: Making solar energy economical. Retreieved September 21, 2008, from
http://www.engineeringchallenges.org/cms/8996/9082.aspx
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Reflection:
Time has passed very fast, before I knew it, this is my sixth week in school. I have gone through half of the semester and have attended countless of Maths and Science tutorials. Well, this is what I should have expected when I have chosen to study Engineering. It’s quite tiring for me to take six modules in this semester. Luckily for me, out of these six modules, one of them is EG1471. This is the only module which is not totally related to Math and Science.
Although it is true that all the research and essays that I have done in EG1471 is related to engineering, at least I do not have to crack my brain and use equations to solve the problems in my work. EG1471 has given me the opportunity to read up on up to date information with regards to engineering and also taught me the essential skills to write an essay. It has helped me in many areas especially for writing my laboratory reports for Chemistry. In order for students to have their own self pace learning, CELC has provided a study place, called the SELF, which allows student to study and to build up their English foundation. This environment has all the necessary reference books and other facilities just for us.
All in all, it has been an enjoyable lesson for these few weeks in EG1471. It is not only a place for me to brush up my English but also to engage some cultural exchange with all the different nationalities in my class.
Although it is true that all the research and essays that I have done in EG1471 is related to engineering, at least I do not have to crack my brain and use equations to solve the problems in my work. EG1471 has given me the opportunity to read up on up to date information with regards to engineering and also taught me the essential skills to write an essay. It has helped me in many areas especially for writing my laboratory reports for Chemistry. In order for students to have their own self pace learning, CELC has provided a study place, called the SELF, which allows student to study and to build up their English foundation. This environment has all the necessary reference books and other facilities just for us.
All in all, it has been an enjoyable lesson for these few weeks in EG1471. It is not only a place for me to brush up my English but also to engage some cultural exchange with all the different nationalities in my class.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Writing Assignment 1: Disadvantages of focusing STEM education rather than language arts.
Over these years, the advancement in technology and science is very remarkable. Science and technology have helped us in many ways and our need and desire on them will continue to expand. In order to sustain this continuing advancement, more emphasis is placed on STEM education rather than language arts. However, focusing more on STEM education instead of language arts will cause some disadvantages which will be discussed in this essay.
Language arts may be deemed as the capability of writing and reading, but it is more than that. According to Homeroom Teacher (2006), language arts can be demonstrated in “poetry, plays, song lyrics, screen plays, novels.” It is a form of communication which we cannot neglect.
Focusing more on STEM education, it will cause the students to be “unbalanced”. Students have minimum exposure of literature and poetry; therefore, they do not have the opportunity to apply and practise their creative style of writing. There will be a drop in the literacy skills of the students and their command of language and usage of grammar will deteriorate. Moreover, famous poetry and novels may lose their values and will not be well-appreciated by the younger generations.
In addition, language arts play a big part in plays, screen plays and song lyrics. Without providing a proper platform, we will not be able to cultivate and unveil potential students who have talent in songs or script writing. The proportion of such talents may diminish in time to come.
Furthermore, emphasising on STEM education may cause the loss of traditions as well as the opportunity to build up the character of the students. For instance, Chinese calligraphy is an important art form for the early Chinese civilisation. According to an article (n.d) from ChinaConnection, “Chinese calligraphy can bring physical and spiritual benefits to the practitioner, and can train one in discipline, patience, and persistence.” Therefore, language arts can build up the personalities and inculcate correct values into the students.
In conclusion, STEM education may seem to be of more importance than language arts, but it does not equip us with the essential writing skills and building up our characters. Equilibrium should be reached between STEM education and language arts so that the students will have a more balanced education system.
Reference:
Homeroom Teacher. (1998-2006) Teacher supplier info center: Language Arts. Retrieved
September 2 2008, from http://www.homeroomteacher.com/infolanguagearts.html
ChinatownConnection. (n.d.). Chinese society, traditions: Chinese calligraphy. Retrieved
September 2 2008, from http://www.chinatownconnection.com/chinese_calligraphy.htm
Item 2, Common grammar mistake
One of my common grammar mistakes that I have made in my first assignment will be the inaccurate use of preposition. What is a preposition? A preposition describes a relationship between other words (noun, pronoun) in a sentence. It is often used with other words to form prepositional phrases and preposition normally comes before the noun (Learn English Language, n.d). A preposition usually indicates a logical relationship of its object to the rest of the sentence. For instance,
I placed my laptop on the table.
The preposition, on, locates the noun “laptop” in space or in time.
Preposition can be simple (in, on, into) or compound (in between, because of ). They can also be classified under preposition of time and preposition of space. Sometimes a preposition can be used in both ways. For example,
The bus will be here shortly in a minute or two.
Please help yourself with the food in the kitchen.
In this case, the preposition, in, was used in preposition of time and preposition of space.
Preposition can also be found in parallel form. The preposition will not be repeated if two phrases used in parallel require the same preposition to be idiomatically correct (Capital Community College Foundation, n.d). This can be shown in this example,
You can wear this outfit in summer and in winter.
On the other hand, there are cases which requires different preposition to make the sentence correct. Look at this,
The children were interested in and disgusted by the movie.
Here are a few questions to try out (ESL English Quiz, 2001,2004):
1) ________ my stay in New York, I have made a lot of friends
2) The library is open _______ four to nine.
3) There will be a concert ________ in the evening.
4) We will have a party _______ Christmas Eve.
5) Classes begin _______ nine in the morning.
Referenes:
Learn English Language (n.d). English Grammar: Prepostion. Retrieve September 13, 2008,
from http://www.englishlanguageguide.com/english/grammar/preposition.asp
Capital Community College Foundation (n.d). Preposition: Locater in time and space.
Retreive September 13, 2008 from
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/prepositions.htm
Kelly, C. (2001,2004) Activities for ESL students: ESL English Quiz. Retrieved September
13, 2008, from http://a4esl.org/q/f/z/zz98bck.htm
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Item 1: The first assignment
Which idea in those two articles do you think is the most important to the profession? Briefly explain your choice in about 300 words.
The job scopes of engineers are no longer restricted on building and designing buildings or machineries. They can involve in many different sectors which include banking, finance or even health care as engineering tertiary education "trains the mind to systematically analyse complex sets of information and to apply systems thinking in designing solutions" (Prof Seeram Ramakrishna, The expanding world of engineers). There are many areas which engineers can develop their potential on, but the main concerns which I think engineers should focus on will be the vulnerability face by the human.
Due to our rapid development, increase usage of fossil fuel and deforestation, global warming has surfaced. Human activities have degraded the surrounding environment. Forest was cleared for housing and agriculture and more air pollutants were emitted to the surrounding due to industrial purposes. Human are facing the adverse impacts from the melting of the ice glaciers from the North and South poles and weather changes. These have result in poor yields from the farmers and also endanger low laying countries such as Venice due to the rise of sea level. Thus, engineers have to design counter measures to minimise the greenhouse gases without affecting the development of the countries. Natural disasters include earthquake, typhoon have caused lots of damages to properties and loss of lives. Hence, engineers have to explore new methods of protection and prevention to solve this problem.
According to an article, " Global warming is not only a treat to our future health, it already contributes to more than 150000 deaths and 5 million illness annually, according to a team of health and climate scientists at the World Health Organisation and the University of Wisconsin at Madison - and those numbers could DOUBLE by 2030 "( Larry West, About.com).
This astonishing figure is very shocking and it shows our vulnerability to diseases and virus. Pandemics diseases such as the SARS which "has infected more than 6900 people, killing almost 500" (CNN.com, May 8 2003) are deadly to us. Thus, it is important for engineers to manufacture new resistance medicine to counter threatening diseases for the society. Our survivals are greatly depended on these biomedical engineers.
In a nut shell, the engineers have the abilities to analyse different situations and provide the most efficient solutions. Their priority is not only safeguarding the interests of the mankind, but also the environment. Henceforth, equilibrium must be reach between these two areas so as to minimise the vulnerability face by our future generations.
The job scopes of engineers are no longer restricted on building and designing buildings or machineries. They can involve in many different sectors which include banking, finance or even health care as engineering tertiary education "trains the mind to systematically analyse complex sets of information and to apply systems thinking in designing solutions" (Prof Seeram Ramakrishna, The expanding world of engineers). There are many areas which engineers can develop their potential on, but the main concerns which I think engineers should focus on will be the vulnerability face by the human.
Due to our rapid development, increase usage of fossil fuel and deforestation, global warming has surfaced. Human activities have degraded the surrounding environment. Forest was cleared for housing and agriculture and more air pollutants were emitted to the surrounding due to industrial purposes. Human are facing the adverse impacts from the melting of the ice glaciers from the North and South poles and weather changes. These have result in poor yields from the farmers and also endanger low laying countries such as Venice due to the rise of sea level. Thus, engineers have to design counter measures to minimise the greenhouse gases without affecting the development of the countries. Natural disasters include earthquake, typhoon have caused lots of damages to properties and loss of lives. Hence, engineers have to explore new methods of protection and prevention to solve this problem.
According to an article, " Global warming is not only a treat to our future health, it already contributes to more than 150000 deaths and 5 million illness annually, according to a team of health and climate scientists at the World Health Organisation and the University of Wisconsin at Madison - and those numbers could DOUBLE by 2030 "( Larry West, About.com).
This astonishing figure is very shocking and it shows our vulnerability to diseases and virus. Pandemics diseases such as the SARS which "has infected more than 6900 people, killing almost 500" (CNN.com, May 8 2003) are deadly to us. Thus, it is important for engineers to manufacture new resistance medicine to counter threatening diseases for the society. Our survivals are greatly depended on these biomedical engineers.
In a nut shell, the engineers have the abilities to analyse different situations and provide the most efficient solutions. Their priority is not only safeguarding the interests of the mankind, but also the environment. Henceforth, equilibrium must be reach between these two areas so as to minimise the vulnerability face by our future generations.
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