Talks from Three Esteemed Professors

Global warming is real. It has already been happening and is the result of our activities, not a natural occurrence! On 30 January, we was given talks by three reputable professors, namely Professor Palmer, Dr Sovacool and Associate Professor Pala, who respectively specialized in their field of research. We gained a lot of information and knowledge from them who looked at the problem of global warming from very different perspectives in very different presentation styles.

The first speaker was Professor Palmer, who himself specialized in offshore research. He mainly focused on some real surprising statistics and the newest technology proposed to tackle with global warming. From year 1750 to proposed 2050, the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere had increased from 270 ppm to 370 ppm. If this trend went on, not only our atmosphere would be engulfed in high concentration of carbon dioxide, but carbon gas would also diffuse into the ocean, causing it to be more acidic than ever and not sustainable to life. Hence, Professor Palmer proposed a brilliant idea to combat global warming. Due to the fact that carbon dioxide gas is denser than the water at a certain depth under the sea, we could actually contain carbon gas in a membrane called 'sausage' and put it on the sea bed; thus indirectly reduced the carbon gas concentration in the atmosphere. However, the concern about whether the membrane would burst and released the contained carbon gas into the ocean killing aquatic life arouse. Carbon storage was technically feasible because more research could be done to find strong yet flexible material to withstand strong pressure under the sea. However, whether the will to do so was the major problem. We knew well that atmosphere is well-mixed and reducing carbon dioxide contents required collaboration. Thus, political issues kicked in and these were very often the most demanding and complex problem.

Then, we had Dr Sovacool, who gave us detailed information in two areas, those were renewable energy and electric vehicles. He emphasized that technology could succeed technically, but not socially in the sense that advancement of technology was always hindered by social issue. For instance, there were a number of renewable energy explored by scientist and engineers which could be used to replace the burning of fossil fuel, namely solar energy, wind energy, hydroelectric, biomass and geothermal energy. Unfortunately, market failures, political issues and cultural challenges became the blocking stones of the widespread uses of renewable energy. Besides renewable energy, electric vehicles faced the same major problem. In the past, electric vehicles outshone steam- and gasoline-vehicles and gained popularity among people. They were quieter and cleaner to operate, more luxurious and safer to drive. However, economic, political and social challenges stunted the growth of electric vehicles, resulting in petrol-driven vehicles superseded electric car in the years later. As a consequence, the amount of carbon gas was surging up and the condition of global warming went from bad to worse.

Last but not least, we had Associate Professor Pala, who gave us a very broad view about global warming. He stressed on the factors causing global warming, its consequences, the measures taken to combat it and the difficulties faced in dealing with global warming. There were few measures where I found particularly useful. For example, government taxed greenhouse gas emission, subsidized energy efficiency and renewable energy use and cooperated internationally in compliance with global warming regulations. In this context, Building and Construction Association (BCA) in Singapore played a vital role to work closely with the government. Hence, the policy of the government could indeed affect how a country would react when dealing with global warming.

To sum up, global warming is a global problem and has long lasting effects on our Mother Earth but the progress of curbing it is always hindered by political, economic and social issues. I believe that where there is a will, there is a way. If the world works hand in hand to fight global warming, nothing is impossible and we will definitely have a green planet. So, let us take action now!