session 8

Today we had our 9^th session and the topic we discussed in class was Energy. It is a really interesting topic and I learnt many interesting facts through this lesson.

One of the points I think really interests me is the way Germany encourage the installation of solar panels. The government is trying to promote the use of solar power among its people by giving cash incentives.  Each household is allowed to sell the electricity to the grid at a higher price and then buy from them at a lower price when they need to use. Therefore not only electricity becoming free but also allows the residence to make a small profit out of it. I think this incentive is a very good way to promote solar energy. This makes me wonder why Singapore does not have any form of incentive for solar energy.  Geographically Singapore has its natural advantage, as there is sufficient sunshine throughout the year. By providing incentives, many private house owners will be willing to install the solar panel.  The only problem in Singapore is that most of our housing are high rise building so solar power is unable to provide enough energy for the residence however, the government still should promote this green technology. This technology is still not fully mature yet but I believe one day it will and it will be too late to start to raise the awareness among people by then. Therefore, I feel that our government should implement some policies to encourage solar power and raise the awareness of its people.

Towards the end of class, there is a discussion about whether country should be punished for causing severe pollution. In my opinion, the country should be punish because that is simply the best way to deter the country from polluting as well as setting a deterrence for other countries. The best way to punish the country I think is through economy sanction. It is true that it will be a tough decision as there is no proper guideline on the standard of pollution and also it is very hard to track the exact amount of pollution the country is emitting. Therefore a collaborative effort is needed within the region such as ASEAN.  When one country is been noticing for pollution problem, other neighbouring countries should warn the country for bring the matter to international court.

There are also interesting presentations near the end of the lesson. I think the idea of putting magic tricks into the presentation is a brilliant idea as it is able to catch the attention of the audience.

Overall I rate this lesson 9/10 due to the interesting topic as well as enthusiastic discussion and presentation.