The inter-bog debate kicks off with Waq’s view on the topic: “There are too many people on Earth. It’s international an issue. Governments should enforce laws to control human population growth.”
I remember during my younger teenage age, the world population was 5,821,946,536(July 1996 estimate). However, the population has expanded to 6,525,170,264 as of July 2006. We can see an increase of 12% over the decade. Why has there been a drastic increase in the population? Is the trend following Moore’s law regarding the number of transistors in an integrated circuit? (In other words, exponential increase).
The good news is that the population growth in developed countries are slowing down, but unfortunately developing countries, mainly 3rd world countries have to deal with increasing population. They can take a view that this is good for their economy as they would have more workforce and ability to create more job opportunities and market creation – main aim is basically economical focus to compete with more developed nations.
Now, this increase in population does have an adverse effect, or rather many adverse effects that can create a chain reaction. We all share a limited number of resources and these resources are depleting. The main current issue is the sustainability of oil and gas, as the main resource of energy. This non-renewable energy is facing a downward sloping trend and we have to collectively deal with these scarcities of energy as a global occupier and not base our decisions on national or local economy. Hence, can the world sustain and support the existence of the increasing number of inhabitants?
It is true that we can’t make up for the previous usage of non-renewable energy sources, but we can prolong the life of the existing sources by cutting back on consumption. We have to act fast! While all other animals and plants are facing extinction, the human population is the only inhabitants in the planet that is not faced with this problem. We are actually the problem creators! We are using up earths resources, displacing the natural habitats that used to be home to various species of flora and fauna just to make way for development of human activities.
In the next entry, I would talk about CO2 emissions, global climate change and various global problems which can be rooted back to population growth and industrial revolution.
Wednesday 31 January 2007
Tuesday 30 January 2007
Fairtrade
After the Christmas holidays, IC's cafes were all selling only fairtrade coffee and tea. I was intrigued by it and was a bit skeptical on whether the proceeds really go to the farmers and the deserving parties. So I googled fairtrade and explored the website.
Basically, 'The FAIRTRADE Mark is an independent consumer label which appears on products as an independent guarantee that disadvantaged producers in the developing world are getting a better deal' -Fairtrade- It was first introduced in Holland in the late 1980s and now there are more than 20 participating countries.
I am now officially a coffee addict, especially with the buy 6 get 1 free deal at IC. Prices are high and consumers are bearing these costs and they assume that farmers are paid what they were promised. It is therefore not a demand-supply driven market, hence it loses its efficiency. I am still skeptical that the deserving parties are rightfully compensated with the fairtrade deals. We can just hope as anything that has bureaucratic process or hierarchy would involve money leaking somewhere along the chain.
Basically, 'The FAIRTRADE Mark is an independent consumer label which appears on products as an independent guarantee that disadvantaged producers in the developing world are getting a better deal' -Fairtrade- It was first introduced in Holland in the late 1980s and now there are more than 20 participating countries.
I am now officially a coffee addict, especially with the buy 6 get 1 free deal at IC. Prices are high and consumers are bearing these costs and they assume that farmers are paid what they were promised. It is therefore not a demand-supply driven market, hence it loses its efficiency. I am still skeptical that the deserving parties are rightfully compensated with the fairtrade deals. We can just hope as anything that has bureaucratic process or hierarchy would involve money leaking somewhere along the chain.
IC Centenary
Imperial celebrated its 100 years today! What better way than to have staff and students celebrate with events lined up the whole day.
It all started out when I went to Univ to catch my 10am lecture. I intended to buy a cup of latte and a chocolate croissant. While walking towards the JCR, I spotted a line in front of a newly set up fairtrade coffee stand. Coffee were sold at 50p! Too bad there weren't any deals on the croissant. Then I headed to Pal's lecture which I wasn't concentrating on as I was 'curi-curi' memorising my chinese characters as I had a test at 12pm today. As it was a normal day for me, I called up Waq to have lunch after my mandarin class and he was with Charl and XQ. All I heard was 'come to level 5 first'. Apparently they were giving out free cakes and main meals were going at only £1.50, a glass of wine priced at £1.00. After having a sort of 'feast' we(Charl, XQ and me) braved the cold and waited for 2 hours to climb up and get an aerial view of South Ken from the Queen's tower. It was never opened to the public, or students in the past as there are stories that there were students who committed suicide in the past! Scary but I do not find it difficult to believe. Pictures can be seen in Waq's blog.
Following an eventful day at IC, I watched Dreamgirls at ODEON Bayswater, which was entertaining and suprisingly good. I guess I did not have any expectation before watching the movie, but the songs were good, and brilliantly acted out.
There goes another one of my unproductive day. On a different note, I am currently reading Tipping Point which I find hard to put down. Malcolm Gladwell has brilliantly explained different 'stories'/scenarios where it tipped and it is a remarkable book that makes you think. I will write more on this book when I finish reading, which I hope to do by this weekend!
It all started out when I went to Univ to catch my 10am lecture. I intended to buy a cup of latte and a chocolate croissant. While walking towards the JCR, I spotted a line in front of a newly set up fairtrade coffee stand. Coffee were sold at 50p! Too bad there weren't any deals on the croissant. Then I headed to Pal's lecture which I wasn't concentrating on as I was 'curi-curi' memorising my chinese characters as I had a test at 12pm today. As it was a normal day for me, I called up Waq to have lunch after my mandarin class and he was with Charl and XQ. All I heard was 'come to level 5 first'. Apparently they were giving out free cakes and main meals were going at only £1.50, a glass of wine priced at £1.00. After having a sort of 'feast' we(Charl, XQ and me) braved the cold and waited for 2 hours to climb up and get an aerial view of South Ken from the Queen's tower. It was never opened to the public, or students in the past as there are stories that there were students who committed suicide in the past! Scary but I do not find it difficult to believe. Pictures can be seen in Waq's blog.
Following an eventful day at IC, I watched Dreamgirls at ODEON Bayswater, which was entertaining and suprisingly good. I guess I did not have any expectation before watching the movie, but the songs were good, and brilliantly acted out.
There goes another one of my unproductive day. On a different note, I am currently reading Tipping Point which I find hard to put down. Malcolm Gladwell has brilliantly explained different 'stories'/scenarios where it tipped and it is a remarkable book that makes you think. I will write more on this book when I finish reading, which I hope to do by this weekend!
Wednesday 24 January 2007
The Greenhouse Effect
Everytime you tune in to listen to the rado or watch television, there is some energy issue being discussed. Why is there such a huge debate going on with regards to energy consumption? Firstly, fossil fuel is running out and being depleted by the day. Also, these fossil fuels contribute to the greenhouse effect, which I would try to briefly explain here.
Joseph Fourier, a mathematician and physicist was the first to comtemplate the Earth's energy balance. He suspected that the outgoing energy from Earth is being intercepted by the atmosphere, thus keeping us warmer than we would otherwise be. Fourier made a comparison of our atmosphere to that of how a glass box traps heat, hence the concept of GREENHOUSE EFFECT(GH). However, this analogy is flawed as out atmosphere doesn't trap air the way glass box does, but absorbs infrared radiation from the Earth's surface. So, the more greenhouse gas there is, the less radiation can escape from Earth to space-hence the warmer we get!
I have explored the basic idea of the greenhouse effect. The effect has been exagerrated over the decades or centuries even due to the existence of positive feedback of our system. Going back to pure control theory, negative feedback offsets a fault and stabilises a system, whereas positive feedback accelerates a process making it deviate even further from equilibrium.
Now, moving towards the greenhouse gases itself. John Tydall carried out experiments and discovered that the broader the absorption profile of a gas, the more wavelengths(varies across the spectrum) it can absorb, hence the more powerful it is to provide the greenhouse effect. Carbon Dioxide, Nitrus Oxide, Methane, Ozone, Water vapour and Chlorofluorocarbons are among the main culprits that contribute heavily towards GH effects which in turn helps promote global warming or the more 'hip' term 'global climate change'.
The main push for expansion in GH effects is the industrialisation of many nations! However, we can't blame them as developing countires especially, depend on manufacturing industries to develop their country. From a developing nations point of view, economic factor outweighs environmental effects, hence we see loads of open burning in Indonesia(especially in Kalimantan-part of Borneo), China concentrating on manufacturing with increasing usage of coal and gas and America not being part of the Kyoto Protocol!
Joseph Fourier, a mathematician and physicist was the first to comtemplate the Earth's energy balance. He suspected that the outgoing energy from Earth is being intercepted by the atmosphere, thus keeping us warmer than we would otherwise be. Fourier made a comparison of our atmosphere to that of how a glass box traps heat, hence the concept of GREENHOUSE EFFECT(GH). However, this analogy is flawed as out atmosphere doesn't trap air the way glass box does, but absorbs infrared radiation from the Earth's surface. So, the more greenhouse gas there is, the less radiation can escape from Earth to space-hence the warmer we get!
I have explored the basic idea of the greenhouse effect. The effect has been exagerrated over the decades or centuries even due to the existence of positive feedback of our system. Going back to pure control theory, negative feedback offsets a fault and stabilises a system, whereas positive feedback accelerates a process making it deviate even further from equilibrium.
Now, moving towards the greenhouse gases itself. John Tydall carried out experiments and discovered that the broader the absorption profile of a gas, the more wavelengths(varies across the spectrum) it can absorb, hence the more powerful it is to provide the greenhouse effect. Carbon Dioxide, Nitrus Oxide, Methane, Ozone, Water vapour and Chlorofluorocarbons are among the main culprits that contribute heavily towards GH effects which in turn helps promote global warming or the more 'hip' term 'global climate change'.
The main push for expansion in GH effects is the industrialisation of many nations! However, we can't blame them as developing countires especially, depend on manufacturing industries to develop their country. From a developing nations point of view, economic factor outweighs environmental effects, hence we see loads of open burning in Indonesia(especially in Kalimantan-part of Borneo), China concentrating on manufacturing with increasing usage of coal and gas and America not being part of the Kyoto Protocol!
Tuesday 23 January 2007
Nuclear Power
In light of my pursuit of studying power and various sources of renewable energy, nuclear power caught my attention.
In the past decade, nuclear power has gone from the fastest growing energy source to the second slowest in the world! The public has become more aware of the hazards that were caused by accidents in Chernobyl and Three Mile. However, nuclear power is not a bad thing...let me explain:
The way we harness nuclear energy is similar to other energy sources. However, we need to control and regulate the process properly so that the process flows smoothly. It produces little pollution and virtually no greenhouse gases. Well-designed, constructed and operated nuclear power plants have proven to be reliable, safe, economical and with little environmental impact.
There has been a growing concern with regards to the management of nuclear waste and political issues on the potential proliferation of nuclear weapons. Hopefully, with proper management of the implementation of nuclear power production, we can look forward to a safe and reliable energy source. One inevitable factor in any production is human intervention and in both nuclear accidents mentioned above, the common cause was human error. How long can countries divert their attention from nuclear energy whilst conventional fuels are depleting? With the emergence of renewable source of energy, can it be reliable and sustain a good balance in energy production and maintain the ecosystem? Only time will tell.
In the past decade, nuclear power has gone from the fastest growing energy source to the second slowest in the world! The public has become more aware of the hazards that were caused by accidents in Chernobyl and Three Mile. However, nuclear power is not a bad thing...let me explain:
The way we harness nuclear energy is similar to other energy sources. However, we need to control and regulate the process properly so that the process flows smoothly. It produces little pollution and virtually no greenhouse gases. Well-designed, constructed and operated nuclear power plants have proven to be reliable, safe, economical and with little environmental impact.
There has been a growing concern with regards to the management of nuclear waste and political issues on the potential proliferation of nuclear weapons. Hopefully, with proper management of the implementation of nuclear power production, we can look forward to a safe and reliable energy source. One inevitable factor in any production is human intervention and in both nuclear accidents mentioned above, the common cause was human error. How long can countries divert their attention from nuclear energy whilst conventional fuels are depleting? With the emergence of renewable source of energy, can it be reliable and sustain a good balance in energy production and maintain the ecosystem? Only time will tell.
Monday 22 January 2007
2nd marker meeting
I was so tired that I did not prepare much before meeting Prof Strbac. I thought he was gonna grill me on costing. However, he asked about the marine devices and commented that my report was too high-level, I got to get more technical if I want to get a decent mark! I totally agree with him on that one, which is funny, I was not annoyed and took a criticism very well indeed. Will take his advice on board and work towards a better project!
Paintballing
Second time paintballing yesterday at combatuk, which Jas thought was com-BATUK! Luckily Fei drove Jas, Su Ann, Neha and me. Played 9 games, 8 team based, 1 individual. Won 7 out of the 8 games, with me contributing toward the victory of the first game! Towards the end, I got shot quite a few times and violently by the marshal!!! So exciting yet bruised and knackered by the end of the day. Slept at 8pm, for 11 hours!!!
First Post!
Testing blogging. I had a new resolution : to write about new things that i have learnt. This will help me review my self understanding and view of the new things that I have learnt. Life is a learning process and the aim is to learn at least one new thing everyday. This keeps me going, as I have a new target in life!!! Feel free to comment!
Cheers,
$oh@
Cheers,
$oh@
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