Group Roundtable Discussion

Our first round table discussion was to study why technologies have been resisted or partially adopted and why they should or should not be adopted. We decided to focus on the solar energy and CNG (Compressed natural gas) technology. Solar energy has been partially adopted in the recent years. Firstly people seemed to the lack of acknowledge on the usefulness of solar energy. They misunderstand about solar energy technology as a more expensive alternative energy source. They feel that the installation cost and maintenance is very expensive (Williams, 2007). Many people lack the concern about saving the environment against global warming. They also feel that solar energy does not work during night or cloudy days. Nevertheless research and development of solar energy has reduced its manufacturing cost by introducing various fabrication methods and even the use of different material. Energy storage would also help to store energy which can be used during night or cloudy days. It is important to find alternative energy source as fossil fuels will deteriorate in times to come.

CNG gas is also partially adopted in recent years. Firstly, there are only a few petrol kiosks available for the top up of gas. Moreover they are not located at the central regions. People would need to travel to places as far as Tuas/Jurong in Singapore. They feel that the tanks are quite bulky and heavy, about three times more so than normal LPG tanks (Mark, 2003). Most of these tanks are kept in the boot of the car, thus reducing its storage space. Nevertheless, more petrol kiosk is being implemented over the years. Cars are manufactured such that the tanks are built-in reducing the space used in the boots. CNG is the least expensive alternative fuel and they are tested to be the most effective fuel for reducing emissions that will contribute to global warming.

The second round table discussion was about the documenting of sources in EG 1471 course. As student in the university, we are required to write academic text such as questions to lab reports and it is important that student write in Anglo-English context. Thus, it is important that students document and cite the sources of information that is owned or author by another person. There are mainly two types of citation mainly the APA (American Psychological Association) and IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers). The commonly used style is the APA style. There are in-cite citation where the citation is made at the end of the text. Next we have the end-text citation which is located at the end of the article also known as the references. There are some basic criteria for references. Firstly reference should be in alphabetical order and only surname which is also the last name is written. Secondly the title of the book is italizced. Thirdly for electronic versions of journal, a DOI which is a Digital Object Identifier has to be written in the references. Lastly the types of font, spacing and punctuations and abbreviation should be also followed accordingly. (Documenting Source, 2008-2009). Thus it is important to cite the references and also cite them according to the APA style.

Bibliography
(2008-2009). Documenting Source. EG 1471.
Mark. (2003, July 21). Compressed Natural Gas (CNG). Retrieved February 23, 2009, from Compressed Natural Gas: http://www.altfuels.org/backgrnd/altftype/cng.html
Williams, W. (2007, 05 17). Advantages and Disadvantages of Solar Energy for Your Home. Retrieved 03 14, 2009, from http://ezinearticles.com/?Advantages-and-Disadvantages-of-Solar-Energy-for-Your-Home&id=569540

Lecture Summary

The first speaker for the lecture was Prof. Andrew Palmer. In his speech, he shared with us the actions to be taken in response to climate change. Some of the actions mentioned by him were to move from coal to gas/nuclear, release of particles in the atmosphere and carbon dioxide capture and storage as a response to combat climate change. Ocean storage option is done by capturing CO2 and storing them in a bag at the seabed. I found this very interesting as it is one of the most advanced methods of CO2 capture and something that would not be detrimental to the environment.

The second speaker was Dr.Benjamin K.Sovacool who shared with us the traditional analysis of technology (STS). He shared with us that everything is not only about technology but also social interest. For example, we have the renewable power such as solar panel, hydroelectric and turbines but they are all not successful. This is due to the market failure, information failure, the low return of investment and many more factors. The political and regulatory obstacle such as unfunded research and development, cultural and behavioral challenge such as public misunderstanding are some of the factors mentioned. He used the case study of Electric Vehicles to show the challenges that were faced. I find the view shared was very interesting as there are many good inventions around the world but not all are successful. As engineers we should look at the various challenges that we will face and understand that why things succeed or fail is not mainly due to technology.

The third speaker was Assoc Prof Rajsekar Bala who shared with us the assessment and mitigation of global warming. He showed the evidence of global warming such as the increase in greenhouse gases, the change in the rainfall and the recent warming due to human activities. These would lead to temperature change, extinctions, intense storms and even economic and social disruption. He shared some measure to eliminate global warming such increasing energy efficiency, reduce greenhouse gas emission and involving the government to impose tax on carbon use. Nevertheless the problem is global, long lasting, a long term political issue and the impacts are not spread evenly. I found this point highlighted very important as everyone needs to understand that global warming is a global problem.