E-Post #3 - Summary of the "Special" Lecture

The 2 hour special lecture had touched on issues relating to mitigating of global warming, with Prof Andrew Palmer sharing his knowledge on geo engineering, Dr Benjamin k Sovacool relating topics to Science & Technology Studies (STS) and A/P Rajasekhar Bala talking on how the public and government as a whole could do to aid in mitigation of global warming.

Prof Andrew Palmer shared mainly on carbon storage methodology, on how is it possible to store carbon dioxide within a membrane and depositing them deep into the ocean. The advantages of this is certainly, that the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will deplete, however at the risk of having the deposited carbon dioxide diffusing into the ocean, which could cause the ocean to become acidic.
Dr. Benjamin k Sovacool had shown through his case studies that technology adoption is not solely based on its advantages or benefits alone, but it is also determined by external factors such as political, cultural, social and economic factors.
A/P Rajasekhar Bala had addressed global warming in a general context, on what the role of both the public and government could do to reduce global warming.

In my own personal view with regards to Prof Andrew Palmer’s lecture, I felt that having discovered such technology will surely aid in the delay of more drastic global warming effects, however this would only give people more excuses to use and demand more energy blatantly, without considering the effects. I felt that it is not about discovering such mitigating technology that we should be boasting about, but rather the ability of individual’s selflessness to take effort in demanding less of energy on late night party’s or extravagant events. While such technology is a short term solution to mitigating global warming, it is an personal responsibility to start to use less energy.

Dr. Benjamin k Sovacool had shared an interesting lectures regarding how technology adoption could be affected by external factors. He talked about how electric vehicle, an energy saving vehicle, could be actually overtaken by fossil fuel car, because of the public acceptance of lower purchasing cost. He also share about how misunderstanding, misconception of energy saving sources such as nuclear and wind energy could actually lead to the public disapproving of them. Therefore, despite how environmental friendly and advantageous one technology might be, it is still being subjected to public approval, economic challenges and other factors.