Lesson 8

Brief Overview

The lesson was about energy and world change, mainly focusing on how our ever-rising consumption of energy is pressurizing us to find a need for alternative energy. We also discussed about the drivers of global energy change, such as the need for sustainability and new technologies and approaches. As our society becomes more affluent, the need for energy will increase. For instance, China is currently using 25% of oil compared to USA, but it is forecasted that this percentage will increase exponentially as the years goes by.

The days of fossil fuel are numbered. Renewable energy will drive the green revolution. – Gurinder Shahi

There is an urgent need to develop new ways to produce energy given how rapidly our fossil fuels are depleting. It is estimated that the remaining fossil fuels are expected to last for 40-50 years.

We also talked about some considerations that needed to be considered before changes can be implemented such as energy security, energy and transportation technology. We have to increase efficiency of current energy sources such as solar energy and wind energy. However it is easier said than done, we learnt that political will is the ultimate roadblock to achieve all the above mentioned. With our world leaders squabbling over debt crisis and wars, would they even invest as much resources and time to solve our energy crisis? It is only human nature that one would focus more on the urgent tasks at hand. I believe that till the day we are close to running out of fossil fuels, only would the government step in and push for more innovations and solutions. 

Interesting Observations

1) How much renewable energy do we use in Singapore?

      Close to 1%.

Given how dependent Singapore is on other countries for energy (and a lot of       other things), it is rather crucial that the local government ensure that there is sufficient energy for growth and development in the future, if ever our supplies of fossil fuels are cut.

2) China is the largest investor in clean energy. Well, that’s quite surprising; given how rapid they are growing, they have also taken time to explore alternative sources of energy.

3) The sun provides more energy to the Earth in one hour than humankind currently uses in an entire year!

Yearly Solar Fluxes & Human Energy Consumption
Solar	3,850,000 EJ
Wind	2,250 EJ
Biomass	3,000 EJ ----------------
Primary energy use (2005)	487 EJ
Electricity (2005)	56.7 EJ

Source: Wikipedia

Shouldn’t we focus more on solar energy instead of biomass?

Key Takeaways

Germany is not exactly the hottest place in the world yet it has invested so much into solar energy. They have lined up solar panels along roads to channel sunlight into something useful. Due to the success of solar energy there, they can even attain having renewable resources constituting 20% of energy supplied by 2020, as set by the EU. That is something Singapore should think about, given that it is sunny 365 days a year over here. Instead of wasting millions of YOG, won’t it be much more commonsensical to invest this money on solar energy so that we would not be so reliant on other countries.

And, a lot of money can be made this particular field of technology :D

Rating for this lesson

8/10. This lesson was enriching. I did not realize so many other countries had spent so much time and resources into investing in green technology; something for the government to think about. I also liked how some of the presentations brought out fresh and exciting technologies for us to ponder upon.