Reader’s Response to ‘Why The Climate Fight Needs Engineers’

Hello,

For my today's post, I am going to write about my reader response to the article in the previous post, (Why The Climate Fight Needs Engineers: http://www.eco-business.com/news/why-the-climate-fight-needs-engineers/). It is my final draft, so here it goes. 

My response to the article ‘Why The Climate Fight Needs Engineers’

In the article "Why the climate fight needs engineers", Shah (2015) emphasised the importance of having skilled professionals, in particular, competent engineers who are able to help to respond future challenges posed by climate change that Singapore too will inevitably face. The writer agrees with the experts who believe it is essential for engineers to find solutions to the rising climate changes in Singapore. To aid with this notion of helping engineers in Singapore to enhance their professional and technical skills to tackle global environment issues, The Engineers Progression Pathway programme was launched by labour group National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and the Institution of Engineers, Singapore (IES). According to the chairman of the Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore, Edwin Khew, Asian cities are already being affected by climate change such as massive floods, intense high temperatures and droughts, water scarcity, and rising sea levels caused by rapidly increasing population and urban development. Shah further quotes Edwin Khew saying that “Sustainable engineering solutions will be in strong demand, and engineers will see tremendous opportunities, both locally and regionally” to support the need of engineers to fight climate change. I agree with Shah and Edwin Khew who say that engineers will be the ones playing the greater part in finding solutions to fight climate change. Climate scientists will be only be able to pin-point the causes and effects of climate change. They will need to work hand-in-hand with engineers to find workable solutions to the problems.

Climate change is something that can no longer be taken lightly as the consequences of climate change are already evident everywhere. Cities in many parts of the world are already encountering intense weather consequences such as floods, intense temperatures, droughts, water scarcity, and rising sea levels. These problems are only going to get worse unless solutions are found quickly to curb them. Through the study of long-term trends in average meteorological conditions climate scientist can only pin-point the causes of climate change and forecast the likely consequences of these changes but they may not have the expertise or the in-depth knowledge on how to manage these effects. They need to work in collaboration with the engineers to find workable solutions to manage the effects of these consequences. For example, the climate scientists may predict the increased occurrences of storm and flooding but it is the engineers who have to find ways to alleviate or divert the flood waters from submerging cities, perhaps by building more drainage canals, river diversion or building of storage dams.

Climate change is not caused by one single factor. How resources like energy, waste and water, are being managed also contribute to climate change. For example, burning of the fossil fuels has been identified as a major factor contributing to climate change. To manage such problem and find solutions to the rising challenges caused by mismanagement of resources, skilled professionals, in particular, competent environmental engineers, are needed. Competent environmental engineers help reduce and manage waste and pollution. They are also involved in the battle of ensuring that air, water, soil are free harmful chemical and pollutants that might affect the quality of life for all. They design, plan, and implement measures to prevent, control, or remediate environmental hazards. They are also handed the task of, making sure the companies they work for are in compliance with all environmental regulations.

Singapore is not insulated from climate change. In fact, Singapore has also been contributing to climate change. According to the director and country manager of the Clean Technology Centre, Sanjay Kuttan, “Singapore has one of the world’s highest carbon emissions per capita.” Inevitably Singapore will also face many of the challenges posed by climate change. Climate scientists have pointed out that in fact, Singapore’s annual mean surface temperature has increased about 0.8°C since 1948 and rainfall has become more excessive in recent years. An increase in the intensity of weather variability could present significant challenges to the management of our water resources. Periods of drought can affect the reliability of Singapore's water supply, while sudden episodes of intense rainfall could overwhelm our drainage system and lead to flash floods. These and many other sustainability challenges require engineering solutions to manage them. Recognising the impact of greater weather uncertainties and urbanisation can have on drainage, the Public Utilities Board (PUB) has revamped its storm water management approach to introduce greater flexibility and adaptability to our drainage systems. One way this is achieved is by widening our system of drainage canals.

In conclusion, to manage climate change, engineering expertise is indeed essential. Problems caused by climate change are on the rise. I agree that it is crucial that Singapore builds up a pool of skilled engineering professionals to address future problems that will likely arise through climate change. Recognising the need, Singapore has launched ‘The Engineers Progression Pathway programme’ to help current Engineers to enhance their professional and technical skills to better prepare against problems contributing to climate change.

Reference:

Chua, J. (2015, July 28). Engineering plays crucial role in climate change. Retrieved from https://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/portal/news/engineers-play-critical-role-innovation-and-entrepreneurship

Lawlor, R. (2013). Engineering in society. Retrieved from www.raeng.org.uk/publications/reports/engineering-in-society

Meldrum FAICD FIChemE FIEAust CPEng, A. (2014, August 22). Engineers play a critical role in Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Retrieved from https://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/portal/news/engineers-play-critical-role-innovation-and-entrepreneurship

Nichols, S.P. and Weldon, W.F. The role of engineering in society. Retrieved from http://www.me.utexas.edu/~srdesign/paper/

Overview of Singapore’s Drainage Management Approach. (2011, July), Retrieved from http://www.pub.gov.sg/general/documents/overview_drainagemgmt.pdf

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

A person who had inspired me most

Has there ever been a person in your life who had inspired you to do something or just astonishes you with their achievements? The person I admire most is not any normal man. You can call him a machine because he never stops. He worked hard for his first degree in Economics at the age of 21 and since then he has never stopped studying. Even while he was holding a senior post in a statutory board, he managed to take care of his family and at the same time found time to study and to acquire one degree after another.

Now, the person I admire most has one ambition and that is to earn himself one more degree that will allow him to become a qualified lawyer. What is so special about it, you may ask. This is where he inspires me, because he is 64 years old and is still going strong. It is definitely special because the man I am talking about has EIGHT degrees already in his cap and he is now working for his ninth degree, Barrister at Law in England.

As I said, the person I admire is no ordinary man. He is Mr Clement and he is my DAD.  When people at his age are planning to retire, he is planning for new jobs. You inspire me, DAD!

Reader's response to the article ‘Why The Climate Fight Needs Engineers’ (Draft 2)

Hello,

For my today's post, I am going to write about my reader response to the article in the previous post, (Why The Climate Fight Needs Engineers: http://www.eco-business.com/news/why-the-climate-fight-needs-engineers/).

In the article "Why the climate fight needs engineers", Shah (2015) emphasised the importance of having competent engineers who are able to help in overcoming the sustainable challenges Singapore faces. The writer agrees with the experts who belief it is essential for engineers to solve the rising climate changes in Singapore. Hence, the Engineer Progression Pathway programme aids engineers to develop professional and technical skills to combat global environment issues. According to Edwin Khew, deputy president of IES and also chairman of the Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore, Asian cities are affected by climate change such as experiencing extreme weather events such as floods, extreme high temperatures and droughts, water shortages, and rising sea levels due to screaming increase population growth and urban development. She further quotes Edwin Khew that “Sustainable engineering solutions will be in strong demand, and engineers will see tremendous opportunities, both locally and regionally” to support the need of engineers to flight climate change. I agree that engineers will be the ones playing the greater part in finding solutions to fight climate change and executing them. They will be working in collaboration with engineers from other disciplines.

In the article “Why The Climate Fight Need Engineers” Vaidehi (2015), the writer does not directly state that climate fight needs engineers. However, by citing the new schemes introduced for engineers in Singapore and quoting various authorities in the field, she is agreeing that engineers will be the ones playing the crucial role in not just managing climate change but also for numerous other developments in Singapore.  

Vaidehi also mentions Singapore has launched a new programme for engineers which will boost their long-term job prospects and provide the country with the skilled professionals it needs to address future challenges posed by climate change. The launching of this programme further emphasises the fundamental role that engineering expertise will play in Singapore and Asia Pacific region's fight against climate change. Singapore would not have launched this three-tier programme if the country does not see the importance of and the need for engineers. Another example that shows the importance of engineers and engineering, is the competition called The Engineering Feats by the Singapore Institution of Engineers that aims to identify innovations that contributed to Singapore's economic growth (Jean, July 2015). They are needed to innovate and find solutions for problems and execute them.

Now coming back to the topic ‘Why The Climate Fight Need Engineers’ Edwin Khew, deputy president of IES and chairman of the Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore at the Engineers and Sustainable Development Forum 2015 said that ‘urbanisation and rapid population growth have increased the vulnerability of Asian cities to climate change. Cities are already experiencing extreme weather events such as floods, extreme high temperatures and droughts, water shortages, and rising sea levels’. If Singapore and the Asia Pacific region are to handle this problem, then engineering expertise is essential in climate fight.

To manage climate, the energy sector, which is the greatest contributor to greenhouse gases, has to be managed. ‘Solving this challenge will take innovations in numerous areas including renewable energy, electric vehicles, and energy efficiency, but ultimately, it is the engineers who will have to demonstrate an understanding of how these technologies work together in a broader, truly sustainable manner‘ noted Sanjay Kuttan, director and country manager of the Clean Technology Centre, DNV GL. It is clear from this, that engineers are the key persons who can devise that creative solutions Kuttan talks about and execute them. 

Climate scientists can only identify the causes for climate change and maybe provide solutions but it is the engineers who will have to find ways to come up with workable and sustainable solutions.  Tan Gee Paw, chairman of Singapore’s national water agency PUB, agreed, noting that it was systems engineering that helped Singapore tackle its water crisis over the past several decades. Now, it is also systems engineering that will help Singapore deal with the impact of climate change on its water supply (Jean, July 2015). So, I will end my response by reiterating there will always be a need for engineering expertise in the region to design and build reliable infrastructure to fight climate change.

References:

Alexandra Meldrum FIEAust CPEng FIChemE FAICD, (2014). Retrieved Friday 22 August 2014, from https://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/portal/news/engineers-play-critical-role-innovation-and-entrepreneurship

Jean Chua, (2015). Engineering plays crucial role in climate change. Retrieved Tuesday 28 July 2015, from http://www.eco-business.com/news/engineering-plays-crucial-role-in-climate-change/

Rob awlor, (2013). Engineering in society. Retrieved from http://www.raeng.org.uk/publications/reports/engineering-in-society

S.P. Nichols and W.F. Weldon. Professional responsibility:

The role of engineering in society. Retrieved from http://www.me.utexas.edu/~srdesign/paper/

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

Cheers!

Edited on the 2 Oct 2015 (0135)