Reader Response (Final)

Reader Response

In the article “Why the climate fight needs engineers”, Shah (2015)  mentions that Asia’s development is susceptible to a hostile environment. Global warming increases the awareness of the need of a decarbonised economy.  As there is an increasing demand to transform cities into a sustainable urban and economic system, engineering solutions will see a peak in demand in local and regional areas. Under these circumstances, experts face obstacles in their attempts to combine integrate individual technologies into a single system.

I agree that the climate fight needs engineers to a certain extent but I believe that apart from the engineers, everyone can play a part in transforming our planet towards a cleaner and greener world.

Firstly, individuals play an important role to tackle global warming by controlling the usage of fossil fuels. Some examples include cycling to work, utilising energy-saving light bulbs at home and switching off household appliances when not in use. In addition, Earth Hour event such as switching off all non-essential lights for an hour held by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), promotes the idea in going green. The objectives of Earth Hour are to inspire an “interconnected universal community”, in order to exchange the prospects and encounters when crafting a sustainable world. These activities raise awareness to cut down "carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emissions ." (Earthhour.org,n.d.).

Secondly, education should be one of the fundamental aspects to the global response to climate change. According to United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO, 2014) , Climate Change Education for a Sustainable Development programme aims to increase youth’s awareness on the consequences of global warming. Member States’ competency are built up to implement quality climate change programme consisting of creative teaching methods and organizing this programme in school. It will take more than a few months to achieve a sustainable future. However, with great commitment and a set of realistic targets, we can ensure that we are heading in the right direction in restoring earth's balance.

Lastly, government plays a key role in the fight against climate change by introducing new policies. According to The White House (2013) homepage, President Obama’s Plan to Fight Climate Change framework, President Obama introduced the “Clean Power Plan." "Clean power plan" is designed to promote the use of less polluting and cleaner American energy. Strict standards are set for power plants and goals are set for the states to reduce carbon pollution.

Engineers are vital to fight climate change as their skills and expertise are required to search for engineering solutions. However, engineers alone cannot fight climate change without everyone's cooperation. Recently, the haze situation in Kalimantan, a region in Indonesia, has shown even with engineering solution to clear land for palm oil plantations, locals still prefer to burn forests which results in uncontrollable forest fires. Soeriaatmadja (2015) reports that there were a few corporations involved in the illegal forest fires. One of them was the senior executive from Bumi Mekar Hijau, a group of 'Singapore-based Asia Pulp and Paper', which is also Indonesia's greatest 'pulp and paper' contractor.

In conclusion, the climates changes have been the focus point worldwide and engineers are the solution provider. However, the climates fight need more than that; individuals, the education system and government should work cohesively in order to achieve greater level of success. If everyone makes an effort to go an extra mile, earth will be effectively sustained as everybody's actions count.

References:

Bokova, I. (n.d). Educating for Sustainable Development. Retrieved from http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/world-education-forum-sustainable-development-by-irina-bokova-and-christiana-figueres-2015-05#1y2Th7MlPWfKvOGj.99

Earthhour.org. (n.d). Celebrating Earth Hour | EARTH HOUR. Retrieved from http://www.earthhour.org/celebrating-earth-hour

EPA. (n.d). Cutting Carbon Pollution from Power Plants. Retrieved from http://www2.epa.gov/cleanpowerplan/fact-sheet-overview-clean-power-plan

Indonesia arrests seven company executives for illegal forest fires. (2015, September 16). Retrieved December 2, 2015, from http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/indonesia-arrests-seven-company-executives-for-illegal-forest-fires 

Shah V. (2015, June, 8). Eco-business, Why the climate fight needs engineers. Retrieved from http://www.eco-business.com/news/why-the-climate-fight-needs-engineers/

The White House. (2013). President Obama’s Plan to Fight Climate Change. Retrieved from http://www.whitehouse.gov/share/climate-action-plan

Nature.org. (n.d). Take Action to Fight Climate Change. Retrieved from http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/urgentissues/global-warming-climate-change/help/

UNESCO. (2014). Climate Change Education for Sustainable Development at UNESCO. Retrieved from http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/leading-the-international-agenda/education-for-sustainable-development/climate-change-education/

Oral Presentation Reflection

On Monday, my team and I gave an oral presentation to address our problem statement, current solutions and proposed solution. Our problem statement is Singaporeans feel uncomfortably hot as the indoor temperature increases due to the heat being trapped particularly on the west facade wall. Our proposed solution is to reduce heat gain on the west facade wall, which will ultimately reduce indoor temperature for greater energy efficiency and sustainability using Water-Cooled Facade Wall.

My team and I were extremely worried as we could not find the flow in our presentation. We met up almost everyday after school to practice. We gave each other feedback so that we know what to improve on individually. Two days before the actual presentation, we conducted a trial run at Starbucks with our classmates and they gave us feedback to improve on our slides and presentation skills. The feedback from my classmates were to slow down and smile more.

On the actual day of presentation, I felt very nervous as I was representing my team to present our proposed solution. I kept reminding myself to slow down, smile more and be passionate during the presentation. I received positive feedback from Professor Brad and my classmates such as I am passionate, confident, persuasive, knowledgeable in my product and able to catch the audience attention for my presentation. However, I feel that there is still room for improvement for my part as I rushed through my last few slides and kept referring to the slides instead of making eye contact with the audience.

Overall, I think my team did a good job as we can present more confidently and fluently. There is a sense of satisfaction as we have achieved our goal!