Brain mapping is a latest neuroscience technology which relates the structure and functions in the brain to a map. Scientists in this field seek to gain knowledge of the physical processes that underlies human sensation, attention awareness and cognition. (Brandmapping, 2007) It is no longer a dream for us to understand people’s mind. However, the potential unethical abuses of this technology should be predicted and minimised in long term.
Firstly, we should benefit this amazing technology within a limited extent. Since this technology requires large amount of capital and operating costs, it can be utilized in certain field, such as medical intervention. It has proven that the work could have applications in the study of autism, disorders of thought such as Pick’s disease (National Science Foundation, 2008). Furthermore, brain mapping also could be used in detecting the truth from suspected criminal and thus it enhances the law enforcement. As a result, brain mapping is always applicable if it is using in the right field.
Secondly, the result from brain mapping should not be unveiled or conducted to public in case of privacy. Every brain mapping processes should be undergone under a primary condition and agreement. The data obtained will only be the references for some applications or research but not abusing it. Besides that, the data retrieved has to be stored safely since it is treated as a form of privacy. In summary, processing the data resulted from brain mapping has to be specific and expertise in order to protect the privacy of everyone, as it is stated in law.
Lastly, brain mapping technology should not be introduced to the public regarding of its value. Even though everyone posses the potential as a terrorist in this community today, there is no necessary for everyone to undergo this treatment, especially children. In fact, everyone has their own talents and abilities to be untapped in their life journey. Therefore, it is anti-natural for them to use brain scanning for educational proposes instead of exploring by their own. Brain mapping will only pose potential of privacy’s intrusion. In summary, brain mapping will bring more negative effects than the positive one to the public.
In conclusion, brain mapping can really benefit people by increasing the efficiency of researching in many fields but only with a positive aim. I believe that the power of brain mapping is unpredictable and thus we should not abuse it in the future whenever it is not ready justified as a stable technology.
References
Brandmapping(2007) Retrieved November 6, 2008, from http://www.brainmapping.org/
National Science Foundation. (2008, May 30). A computer that can ‘read your mind [Press release 08-091]. Retrieved November 6, 2008, from http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=111641&org=olpa &from=news
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Is That Global Warming Occuring?
Polar ice caps melting, economic consequences, increased intensity of drought and temperature of ocean and spread of the diseases are the top 5 deadliest effects of global warming in the latest century. (Simmons, 2007)These phenomena are caused by the emission of greenhouse gases from people and it should be solved as soon as possible. In the future perspective, some people have come to a conclusion that mitigating climate change is an ethical one. However, the seriousness of global warming is no longer tolerated even with the effort of reducing it by the current technology.
According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center, there are 5,773,000 cubic miles of water in ice caps, glaciers, and permanent snow. If all glaciers melt today, the seas will rise about 230 feet. (Simmons, 2007) Although not all the polar ice caps melt today, the consequences are still serious. It is undeniable that temperature of earth is rising drastically within this few decades. Besides that, increased natural disasters resulted from global warming is also another worrying case since it is unpredictable. Hence, the damages and impacts brought by the global warming are tremendously dreadful.
In fact, Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) have been introduced by United States since 1980 in order to reduce the greenhouse gases around the atmosphere. In 2005, 60000 tons of carbon dioxide has been injected into aquifer of salty water 700 meters beneath the surface. (Quirin, 2006) However, scientists estimated that 8.4 billion tons of carbon dioxide have been releasing every year. (CDIAC, 2008) It is obvious that technology cannot totally eliminate the greenhouse gases indeed. From engineering perspective, climate change can only be reduced by decreasing the amount of gas before emission but not capturing the gas back to the ground after releasing.
Besides that, to overcome the global warming, many climate change mitigation programs have been proposed. For example, reducing use of vehicle has been promoted in Singapore. Public transportation is more likely encouraged for people instead of driving their own cars. As a result, the responsibility of mitigating climate change is no longer bore by the rich but also the poor. People should face the climate change together but not weighing the benefits and costs when the problem is on the edge. Hence, global warming should not be prolonged.
In summary, global warming is indeed occurring in earth since technology is no longer the best way to mitigate climate change anymore. It is always the high time for everyone to solve it regardless of values. If the earth is suffering too much, human cannot bear the loss in future indeed.
References
Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Centre. (2008,Oct). Trends-emissions
Retrieved November 4, 2008, from ftp://cdiac.ornl.gov/pub/trends/co2_emis/Preliminary _CO2_Emisions_2006_2007.xls
Quirin, S.(2006, August). Putting the carbon back. Retrieved November 4, 2008, from http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v442/n7103/full/442620a.html
Simmons. (2007, September). Global Warming effects. Retrieved November 4, 2008, from http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/sciencetech/5-deadliest-effects-of-global-warming/276
According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center, there are 5,773,000 cubic miles of water in ice caps, glaciers, and permanent snow. If all glaciers melt today, the seas will rise about 230 feet. (Simmons, 2007) Although not all the polar ice caps melt today, the consequences are still serious. It is undeniable that temperature of earth is rising drastically within this few decades. Besides that, increased natural disasters resulted from global warming is also another worrying case since it is unpredictable. Hence, the damages and impacts brought by the global warming are tremendously dreadful.
In fact, Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) have been introduced by United States since 1980 in order to reduce the greenhouse gases around the atmosphere. In 2005, 60000 tons of carbon dioxide has been injected into aquifer of salty water 700 meters beneath the surface. (Quirin, 2006) However, scientists estimated that 8.4 billion tons of carbon dioxide have been releasing every year. (CDIAC, 2008) It is obvious that technology cannot totally eliminate the greenhouse gases indeed. From engineering perspective, climate change can only be reduced by decreasing the amount of gas before emission but not capturing the gas back to the ground after releasing.
Besides that, to overcome the global warming, many climate change mitigation programs have been proposed. For example, reducing use of vehicle has been promoted in Singapore. Public transportation is more likely encouraged for people instead of driving their own cars. As a result, the responsibility of mitigating climate change is no longer bore by the rich but also the poor. People should face the climate change together but not weighing the benefits and costs when the problem is on the edge. Hence, global warming should not be prolonged.
In summary, global warming is indeed occurring in earth since technology is no longer the best way to mitigate climate change anymore. It is always the high time for everyone to solve it regardless of values. If the earth is suffering too much, human cannot bear the loss in future indeed.
References
Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Centre. (2008,Oct). Trends-emissions
Retrieved November 4, 2008, from ftp://cdiac.ornl.gov/pub/trends/co2_emis/Preliminary _CO2_Emisions_2006_2007.xls
Quirin, S.(2006, August). Putting the carbon back. Retrieved November 4, 2008, from http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v442/n7103/full/442620a.html
Simmons. (2007, September). Global Warming effects. Retrieved November 4, 2008, from http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/sciencetech/5-deadliest-effects-of-global-warming/276
Summary 2
Popularly, scientists and engineers have been described as two different jobs in young. Scientists investigate, invent, and discover while engineers make, apply, and construct. However, in the reality, scientists always work with engineers. They work together to explore new information in the physical and biological world. Firstly, scientists are always need specific instrument to make experiments over their researching. Thus, they need the latest mathematical and computing methods and insert them into their systems for better understanding. New methods for studying the brain should assist the study of memory, learning, emotions, and thought. In exploring the universe, engineers also play an important role in future. In fact, scientists do not know what most of the universe is made of initially. They are the engineers who have continuously worked on to search a better answer for the questions. In addition, the investigation of universe is further improved by the invention of new and modified telescopes, both on the ground and in space. As Einstein said, finding out may require new tools to unlock the secrets of matter and energy. Engineers will be able to devise economical, but more powerful tools to assist scientists to explore realms beyond the reach of current technology. In the future perspective, the foundation of quantum mechanics will be another field for engineers and scientists to cooperate, in order to explore new insights and knowledge. In summary, the greatest challenges will be faced by engineers, scientists, and society itself. Engineering’s success in finding answers to nature’s secrets will not only advance the understanding of life and the universe, but also provide engineers a better working enthusiasm in their life.
Summarized from National Academy of Engineering, “Engineer the tools of scientific discovery,” Available at: http://www.engineeringchallenges.org/cms/8996/8965.aspx
Summarized from National Academy of Engineering, “Engineer the tools of scientific discovery,” Available at: http://www.engineeringchallenges.org/cms/8996/8965.aspx
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Zero Waste - Writing Task Question 2
What is zero waste? I believe many people have never search these two words through Google on the internet though. Basically, zero waste is meant by a concept to extend the current recycling to form a circular system which the waste can be reused and minimized. In order to solve waste disposal problems, zero waste has been largely implemented in many Western countries such as US and Canada. However, even though the 3R program (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle) has been introduced in my country, I always agree that zero waste is a must for every country to adopt as 3R is only a part of it.
In fact, zero waste has the strategy to turn disposal into the raw material for other products. In other words, zero waste can turn useless outputs into useful inputs. For example, a Coca Cola glass bottle is primarily produced with a potential to be recycled and reused in the factory. When the bottle is recycled and washed, the only wastage will be the wash-water and energy loss will be minimized. Apparently, the idea is different from 3R. It is not only reusing the waste but it also relates to the redesign of the goods which has potential of reuse. As a result, the outputs will not be disposed entirely.
Besides that, zero waste has created good job opportunity for the people in these struggling communities. This has been a key factor in New Zealand, where zero waste is regarded more as a driver of local economic development than a matter of environmental conscience. (Collins, 2002) For instance, people just have to recollect and classify the wastage they created, and resell them to certain recollection centre. In addition, it always creates benefits even it is little. Who does not want the profit? Zero waste can really help the poor and grow the country, indirectly.
In summary, zero waste proposes a new idea of producing recyclable goods and increases the economic growth in a country. Although zero waste cannot be strictly zero, it always approximate to zero if the idea is well applied. As a future engineer, I strongly think that zero waste should be adopted in my country as soon as possible.
Reference
Collins, J. (2002, Oct 3rd). Radical plans for waste could herald a big clean-up. The Guardian Weekly. P.25.
In fact, zero waste has the strategy to turn disposal into the raw material for other products. In other words, zero waste can turn useless outputs into useful inputs. For example, a Coca Cola glass bottle is primarily produced with a potential to be recycled and reused in the factory. When the bottle is recycled and washed, the only wastage will be the wash-water and energy loss will be minimized. Apparently, the idea is different from 3R. It is not only reusing the waste but it also relates to the redesign of the goods which has potential of reuse. As a result, the outputs will not be disposed entirely.
Besides that, zero waste has created good job opportunity for the people in these struggling communities. This has been a key factor in New Zealand, where zero waste is regarded more as a driver of local economic development than a matter of environmental conscience. (Collins, 2002) For instance, people just have to recollect and classify the wastage they created, and resell them to certain recollection centre. In addition, it always creates benefits even it is little. Who does not want the profit? Zero waste can really help the poor and grow the country, indirectly.
In summary, zero waste proposes a new idea of producing recyclable goods and increases the economic growth in a country. Although zero waste cannot be strictly zero, it always approximate to zero if the idea is well applied. As a future engineer, I strongly think that zero waste should be adopted in my country as soon as possible.
Reference
Collins, J. (2002, Oct 3rd). Radical plans for waste could herald a big clean-up. The Guardian Weekly. P.25.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
W9T2
In 1995, I started my journey of learning English. Since my mother language is Chinese, I always met difficulties in writing a complete sentence. Even until now I will still make some grammatical mistakes in my writing. Most often, I could not translate a sentence well from my mind with English.
As an engineering student, writing an academic essay is unavoidable. In fact, engineering students have a lot of reports and assignments to deal with. Some of them maybe spend a student 2 days to complete and recheck. For myself, I met some difficulties in writing MLE1101 assignments. I was not able to write my assignments and lab reports with the sentences coherence with each other especially when the format is not provided. In addition, I always have grammatical mistakes in my essay. It seemed like a destiny, unavoidably. Besides that, due to lack of vocabulary, I have always stuck over my mind since I could not express my thought with words in my writing.
In order to improve my weakness in writing, I will try to use more transition signal to make the whole essays more coherent. Before I start writing, I will outline all the main points and distribute them to every paragraph. All the thesis statements have to be stated clearly with solid evidence. Furthermore, I will pay attention to my spelling and punctuation as well as the grammar. After finishing the first draft, it is time for me to proofread and edit the essay. I will also let my friends to comment and reedit the essay in order to make it more perfect in accuracy.
In summary, writing is just like a lifelong learning journey. Opportunity is always waiting for those who want to improve. So, I will enhance my writing skills with great enthusiasm, indeed.
As an engineering student, writing an academic essay is unavoidable. In fact, engineering students have a lot of reports and assignments to deal with. Some of them maybe spend a student 2 days to complete and recheck. For myself, I met some difficulties in writing MLE1101 assignments. I was not able to write my assignments and lab reports with the sentences coherence with each other especially when the format is not provided. In addition, I always have grammatical mistakes in my essay. It seemed like a destiny, unavoidably. Besides that, due to lack of vocabulary, I have always stuck over my mind since I could not express my thought with words in my writing.
In order to improve my weakness in writing, I will try to use more transition signal to make the whole essays more coherent. Before I start writing, I will outline all the main points and distribute them to every paragraph. All the thesis statements have to be stated clearly with solid evidence. Furthermore, I will pay attention to my spelling and punctuation as well as the grammar. After finishing the first draft, it is time for me to proofread and edit the essay. I will also let my friends to comment and reedit the essay in order to make it more perfect in accuracy.
In summary, writing is just like a lifelong learning journey. Opportunity is always waiting for those who want to improve. So, I will enhance my writing skills with great enthusiasm, indeed.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Writing Assignment 2
Can you imagine that 600 million cars floating on the air around the earth every year? It has the same weight as the amount of carbon dioxide emitted on earth every year. It is unbelievable. Referring to the data collected in 2007 by Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Centre (CDIAC) for United Nations, 8.4 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide gases have been emitted through the burning of fossil fuels annually and it is believed to be increasing continuously in the following years. Regarding to this issue, Stephens (2006) concluded that carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a feasible way to reduce pollution caused by coal-fired power generation in the world today. However, I do not agree with her that CCS is applicable to all countries, especially developing countries.
CCS is mainly about capturing carbon dioxide in a large quantity from power plants and storing it in order not to release it to the air. Basically, the technology comprises three parts: capture, transport and storage. However, these three parts require a large amount of capital and investments to operate separately and it certainly will become a great economic burden to a country, especially those in developing countries. “A new power plant costs 1.5 billion dollars to build, it will cost an extra 700,000 dollars to fit the capture equipment on the first experimental plants,” said Professor Haszeldine (Hilary & Ilana, 2008). The expenses of operating a CCS power plant can be increased by using chemical absorption and energy. Furthermore, transferring the gas by container or pipe to storage will add to a country’s financial burden as well. Rather than spending hundreds of billions of dollars to pump tons of gases into the ground by using current CCS technology, why not research a better power generation method by using renewable energy?
Everything in this world has pros and cons; so does this technology. CCS gives rise to other environmental problems other than global warming. In fact, the most serious risk faced is the potential leakage of the pumped gas back into the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide may be emitted to the air through abandoned wells and underground cracks or even released by natural disasters such as earthquakes or volcanoes. In 1986, 1700 people died after a disaster where 1.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide were released from the lake into the ground in Cameroon (Alister, 2006). The gases can cause asphyxia as carbon dioxide is heavier than oxygen in the air. Besides that, storing tons of carbon dioxide underground and in oceans may increase the acidification of soil and sea water, and as a result, the equilibrium of the ecosystem in soil and water will be affected.
In addition, even though the concept of CCS is gradually spread among all the countries, it has not been demonstrated on a large scale power plant today. The main reason is the overall operating costs are significantly high and thus developing countries are not able to support it in long term. Even if the United States government has planned the first large scale CCS project--FutureGen--it does not have a regulatory framework and clear incentives to invest (Stephens, 2006). The public seem likely to reject the idea of CCS based on the high costs instead of the critical leakage since the technology is not yet popular.
In conclusion, CCS can bring negative impact on people. It requires the cooperation and rapport between developing and developed countries in order to maximize its efficiency in the future. Also, it may not be realistic to invest a large amount of capital on CSS since there are a lot of other social problems to deal with, especially in a developing country. Thus, I believe that CCS is not the best way to solve the problem of global warming today.
References
Alister, D. (2006, July). Concerns rise about CO2 burial. Retrieved October 2,
2008, from http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/2006/1683532.htm
Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Centre. (2008,October). Trends-emissions
Retrieved October 2, 2008, from ftp://cdiac.ornl.gov/pub/trends/co2_emis/Preliminary_CO2_Emisions_2006_2007.xls
Hilary, W., & Ilana, H. (2008, August). Carbon capture and storage: How does it
work? Retrieved October 2, 2008, from http://edition.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/07/29/carbon.capture/index.html
Stephens, J.C. (2006). CCS: Research is not enough. In The world energy book. London: World Energy Council.
CCS is mainly about capturing carbon dioxide in a large quantity from power plants and storing it in order not to release it to the air. Basically, the technology comprises three parts: capture, transport and storage. However, these three parts require a large amount of capital and investments to operate separately and it certainly will become a great economic burden to a country, especially those in developing countries. “A new power plant costs 1.5 billion dollars to build, it will cost an extra 700,000 dollars to fit the capture equipment on the first experimental plants,” said Professor Haszeldine (Hilary & Ilana, 2008). The expenses of operating a CCS power plant can be increased by using chemical absorption and energy. Furthermore, transferring the gas by container or pipe to storage will add to a country’s financial burden as well. Rather than spending hundreds of billions of dollars to pump tons of gases into the ground by using current CCS technology, why not research a better power generation method by using renewable energy?
Everything in this world has pros and cons; so does this technology. CCS gives rise to other environmental problems other than global warming. In fact, the most serious risk faced is the potential leakage of the pumped gas back into the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide may be emitted to the air through abandoned wells and underground cracks or even released by natural disasters such as earthquakes or volcanoes. In 1986, 1700 people died after a disaster where 1.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide were released from the lake into the ground in Cameroon (Alister, 2006). The gases can cause asphyxia as carbon dioxide is heavier than oxygen in the air. Besides that, storing tons of carbon dioxide underground and in oceans may increase the acidification of soil and sea water, and as a result, the equilibrium of the ecosystem in soil and water will be affected.
In addition, even though the concept of CCS is gradually spread among all the countries, it has not been demonstrated on a large scale power plant today. The main reason is the overall operating costs are significantly high and thus developing countries are not able to support it in long term. Even if the United States government has planned the first large scale CCS project--FutureGen--it does not have a regulatory framework and clear incentives to invest (Stephens, 2006). The public seem likely to reject the idea of CCS based on the high costs instead of the critical leakage since the technology is not yet popular.
In conclusion, CCS can bring negative impact on people. It requires the cooperation and rapport between developing and developed countries in order to maximize its efficiency in the future. Also, it may not be realistic to invest a large amount of capital on CSS since there are a lot of other social problems to deal with, especially in a developing country. Thus, I believe that CCS is not the best way to solve the problem of global warming today.
References
Alister, D. (2006, July). Concerns rise about CO2 burial. Retrieved October 2,
2008, from http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/2006/1683532.htm
Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Centre. (2008,October). Trends-emissions
Retrieved October 2, 2008, from ftp://cdiac.ornl.gov/pub/trends/co2_emis/Preliminary_CO2_Emisions_2006_2007.xls
Hilary, W., & Ilana, H. (2008, August). Carbon capture and storage: How does it
work? Retrieved October 2, 2008, from http://edition.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/07/29/carbon.capture/index.html
Stephens, J.C. (2006). CCS: Research is not enough. In The world energy book. London: World Energy Council.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Reflection
Time pass in a blink of an eye. Two months have over and mid-term tests are coming soon. Well, I am glad to become one of the members in the family of E02. I have made a lot of new friends from different nations here, and my Singaporean tutor as well. For the first two months, I have tried to improve my language in many ways. Firstly, I learnt how to quote and cite people’s words in a correct style. Secondly, I have been taught to organize my essay by step, from outlining to conclusion, systematically. Thirdly, I have also started leaving comments to my friends in order to improve my error identification skill, as well as my friends’ writing skills. Our relationships are connected with our own efforts. That is a win-win situation indeed. For the next term, I would like to learn more about casual speaking skill in real life communication/conversation. For example, I would like to practice more about the proper way of using words like “Bravo”, “Well” etc. Besides that, I think that presentation is also an important part in our studies. I suggest that we can make more practices about giving clear speeches in order to communicate well with people. Lastly, accurate vocabulary is also a must for all of us to master. I hope that we can learn more vocabulary so that we can apply them in our future essays. I convey my best wishes to all of you who always try to improve yourselves. Thank you. English is special.
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