Session 8

Session 8 was about one of my favorite topics – Energy! Today, the world is facing challenges to meet sustainability and energy is one hot topic. How fast can we reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and increase use of renewable energy sources?

The session began with an interesting observation. “If everyone consumed as much energy as the average Singaporean and US president, the world’s oil reserves would be depleted in 9 years.” This observation is firstly very alarming. The amount of consumption of energy is that high that it can result in depletion of the oil reserves in such short amount of time. Secondly, having lived in Singapore for four years now, my personal perception of the city was that it is very clean and green. However, to my surprise it is not at all green. Singapore is a developed nation and is yet reliant on oil and coal for energy.

Energy is a pressing issue as the world consumption is increasing rapidly and our natural resources such as oil and coal are depleting at a rapid rate. In such times, countries such as Brazil are setting examples of sustainable development. Brazil does it by its Proalcool Gasohol Programme. In Brazil, car engines have been refined such that they can run on ethanol/gasohol. Brazil is a very good example because even though it is a developing country, it is taking initiatives towards economic growth and development sustainably.

The need to innovate and that change is the sole constant was reemphasized in this session. Countries and businesses, who would invest in clean energy today, will benefit and be leaders in their fields tomorrow. Germany exemplifies this point very well. I found it inspiring when we saw a video about Germany and the way they are integrating solar energy in their energy systems. It is inspiring because Germany is a cold country. It does not have access to a lot of sunlight. Yet, steps are being taken to promote solar energy. Furthermore, governments often see reluctance to change among people. Perhaps, due to cost related issues. Germany overcame such issues by awareness programs and incentives such as tax credits to common public. Can countries like Singapore follow Germany’s steps? When Singapore does have money to invest in clean energy then why I sit still heavily reliant on oil?

Another interesting observation made in this session was that there has been an inverse relationship between petrol prices and research and development in innovation. The present economic crisis explains this point well. The economic slowdowns not only see changes in consumer behavior but also cut in country’s budgets in areas concerning clean energy such as in USA.

This week we had interesting presentations on topics such as Tar sands and energy from trash. Both the topics were new to me. Tar sands found in Canada involves taking out oil from the sands. It is a unique area because it can possibly solve our problem of depleting oil. However, there are many potential environmental hazards such as pollution. On one hand we have a pool of lot of energy; on the other hand there are many potential negative consequences. Such issues are hard to handle as people and government confront dilemmas between the practical and ethical issues.

The next presentation was about energy from trash. This technology goes beyond recycle, reuse, reduce and also refuse. It is about extracting energy from the waste that we produce.

I enjoyed being part of this session. My personal rating of this session is 10/10 :)