Expert Views on Climate Change

The effects and problems due to the global warming are on a rise in the present years. The change in climate pattern is not something which everyone can ignore. On the 30^th of January three distinguished speakers gave a lecture on the issue of global warming and the ways to find a solution. Although they all had a different way of approach towards the issue, the ultimate result was to take control over the climate change issue.

The first lecture was given by Dr. Andrew Palmer. The topic was “Carbon Dioxide storage technology and politics”. He explained different ways to fight against the climate change. They are fuel efficiency, mitigation, adaptation and storage of carbon dioxide. The main point that he talked about was the carbon dioxide storage. As a result of the experiments carried out by expert scientists, it was found that the carbon dioxide can be stored at depleted oil or gas fields. Another main storage location is the ocean bed. The idea is to put liquid carbon dioxide in a membrane and store this at a height of more than 2750m below the sea level. However the psychological factor of storing a bag of carbon dioxide at the ocean bed is uncomfortable for the some people in this world. Another method he suggested is the release of sulphate particles into the atmosphere, thereby reducing the radiation of the sun to the earth. This in turn reduces the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Although it is an efficient idea, the cost of implementation is quite high and only a few countries can afford to do this. I found these ideas quite amusing as these are the feasible options that can be achieved by the involvement and participation of all the developed as well as developing countries.

The second lecture was given by Dr. Benjamin K. Sovacool. The topic of the lecture was “Using STS to address Energy Problems”. He introduced two case studies. The first one and the second were Renewable Power and Electrical Vehicles respectively. Another view he pointed out is the traditional analysis of technology. The technologies can succeed technically, but sometime they fail socially. The technical feasibility can also be about social interests and values. The society has always been reluctant to accept a change in their lifestyle and routine. In the matter of both the case studies, the development is affected mostly by the social issue and it has very little to do with the technical issues. Other issues that are considered as barriers include the political, regulatory, cultural and behavioural obstacles. It is appreciable that the STS method provides a useful lens to evaluate new technologies. This method looks at the social consideration, and defines the technology differently.

The third lecture was given by Associate Professor Rajasekhar Bala. He addressed mostly about the effects of global warming and ways the government is trying to solve this issue. The temperature records for the past few decades were explained. He introduced the evidences to support global warming. They are 2007 IPCC report, rise in the average global surface temperature, the fact that 13 warmest years in the record occurred since 1990, changes in glaciers, rainfall pattern and recent hurricanes. It was pointed out that some area will benefit from a warmer earth whereas most of the other areas will have to suffer from melting ice and rising sea levels. The rate of climate change could be slowed down by increasing the energy efficiency, relying more on renewable energy and reducing the greenhouse gases. Singapore’s National Environmental Authority is going to build a ‘Singapore Green Plant’ in 2012. This is a major step taken by the government of Singapore. The government roles in acting against the climate change were discussed. They are to regulate the carbon dioxide as a pollutant, carbon taxes, subsidize energy efficient technologies and technology transfers.

From these lectures it was prominently clear that the time has come where we should act accordingly to fight against the climate change. “The good news is we have everything we need now to respond to the challenge of global warming. We have all the technologies we need, more are being developed.  But we should not wait, we cannot wait, we must not wait." These are the wise words of the ex-vice president of the United States of America.