Energy and World Change

Today’s class was on Energy and World Change. We talked about renewable energy where it is the energy, which comes from natural resources. We were also reminded of the many different forms of renewable energy, for instance, hydroelectricity, geothermal energy, solar energy and energy from biomass and wind turbines that we have. I’m certain of the importance of all these renewable energy looking at the rate at how our energy sources are depleting. Such alternative sources of energy are crucial to help sustain the world today. Commercial activities by mankind have caused much damaged to our Earth today and that our demand for energy will just continue increasing, like what one of the presenter said; where energy is needed is almost every part of life. Hence, having all these renewable energy is important to us and important for sustainable development.

Also, with all the usage of the fossil fuels; burning them, we are emitting harmful gases especially CO2 into the environment. This then lead to global warming which will affect our goal for sustainable development. Hence, renewable resources are important to us. Citing from reading 2, it states that there is an increase in CO2 emission and use of energy supply.  It also states that the rising CO2 emission from energy will be 60% higher than what they are today. Also, it states in it that this has caused climate change. Due to the rise in CO2, it has led to global warming and hence, is a contributor of climate change. Furthermore, climate change will influence economic prosperity, environmentally sustainability and energy security. This greatly affects us as I feel that it is an obstacle to us in achieving sustainable development. We have to ensure the survival of our environment and yet, we are depleting it ourselves. Like what reading 2 stated, “human induced climate change”. This reading further talked about transport technologies where technologies could provide the foundation for a sustainable transport system, with zero or near zero emission of CO2. I feel that with the advancement of technology, we should make use of it to help improve our environment and help sustain our environment, where we transform the way energy is supplied and used.

I found the presentation on Fly Kites Fly really interesting. It talks about a new alternative energy, Kitegen, which uses flying kites to capture wind, which will then translate it to energy. I thought this was a really creative idea, to make use of kites to get energy. However, honestly, I wouldn’t support it 100% at the moment. I feel that there are still many things that we have to take into considerations. For instance, will the kites cause any obstruction to the things in the sky? But then again, considering the size of Singapore, it’ll be really cool if we actually build this Kitegen on HDB flats, where we save up space for other purposes. Or like what one of our classmate said, where we build if above the area where we place our solar panels. 

Then we were introduced to a new term Geoengineering. Personally, I have never came across this term before. I found it really amazing. We have bioengineering and now, Geoengineering. Where ways are invented to help decrease global warming. However, I agree with what was brought up in class, where this solution will only help cover up the problem and not solve the root cause of it. Hence, it may not be very effective in the long run. I feel that we have to tackle the root of the problem like coming up with alternative sources of energy so as to work towards sustainable. 

We ended class with a new quote,"Days of fossil fuels are numbered. Renewable energy will drive the green revolution". I agree with this statement. With the continuous research on new renewable energy and other alternative sources, i feel that we are working towards a stage where we will not depend on fossil fuels anymore. Which i feel will help us also, in terms of our environment state.

Class rating: 8/10