Post 3 - Main Points of each lecturer presented

In this post, I will be summarizing on the main points each lecturer presented and write about what I found interesting and why.

The first lecturer presented yesterday was Prof. Andrew Palmer. He talked about carbon dioxide capture and storage in terms of technology and politics. He mentioned that Global Warming causes climate change and in order to overcome climate change, we need to focus on actions that could be taken now by making use of existing technology. Furthermore, these actions have to be scale large enough to be significant. In his entire presentation, he focuses on carbon dioxide capture and storage. The main purpose of capturing and storing carbon dioxide is to make sure that it is not dumped into the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide can be stored in places like depleted oil, gas field or ocean. However, storing carbon dioxide in the ocean can make the ocean more acidic with several biological effects. So, he suggested storing carbon dioxide into the ocean using a membrane. The carbon dioxide can be captured in power station and send to the membrane in the ocean through pipeline. He also mentioned some of the roles that the Government can play in reducing Global Warming, such as introduce petrol tax. As for individuals, they can give up owning cars or buy economical cars. Lastly, he also questioned whether is it possible to capture and store carbon dioxide because the atmosphere is well-mixed, therefore reducing carbon dioxide is a global and not local problem. However, he said it is possible if all countries are willing to cooperate.

The second lecturer is Dr Benjamin K. Sovacool and he speaked about using Science and Technology System (STS) to address energy (and Technological) problems. He mentioned that STS looks at contingency, social and political ordering, invisibility and failure. Two case studies that Dr Sovacool talked about are on renewable power and electric vehicles. Some of the constraints of using renewable power are market failures and barriers, political and regulatory obstacles, and cultural and behavioral challenges. In the past, people travelled in electric vehicles and it is produce less pollutants. Due to the technical challenges and batteries, charging stations problems, electric vehicle gradually become extinct. Lastly, he mentioned that failure and acceptance of technology have nothing to do with technical feasibility but more to do with social factors.

The last lecturer is Dr. Rajasekhar Bala and he touched on climate change in terms of assessment and mitigation. He mentioned that the earth's atmosphere is warming because of human activities. Some of the greenhouse gases that trap heat are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. Without these gases, the earth will not be so warm. He also mentioned signs that suggest Global Warming is occurring, possible consequences of Global Warming and possible effect of warmer earth. The rate of climate change can be slowed down by increasing energy efficiency, use renewable energy resources and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The government can tax on greenhouse gas emissions, subsidize energy efficiency and cooperate internationally. Some basic approaches that Dr Bala mentioned in dealing climate change are drastically reducing greenhouse gas emissions and develop strategies to reduce its harmful effects. Finally, he mentioned that there is a climate change conference held in Denmark next month is an opportunity for all countries to learn from each other.

To conclude, I find that what all three lecturer have speaked about are interesting. However, what I found most interesting is the use of membrane to store carbon dioxide because it is first time that I heard of this method. After attending the lecture yesterday, I have gained better knowledge on Global Warming.