8: Energy and World Change

In this day and age, we constantly discuss the fact and emphasize the importance that technology has had on world change. It doesn’t seem to be coming to a standstill anytime soon, unlike other things that could remain stagnant once its peak has been attained. Instead, it is progressing much faster than we expect it to be because of the simple fact that research is always ongoing and there is a constant flow of funding towards the technological field. Currently, there is a whole host of emerging technologies identified, some of which contains the most prominent ongoing developments, advances and innovations in various fields of modern technology.

For the past 7 weeks, we have touched on biotechnologies such as genetic engineering of food/crops to reduce perishability of crops, robotic surgery to enhance entire operation process, information and communication technology on the people & economy, biofuels as an alternative source of energy and many more. From here, we can conclude that in each respective aspect, technology has sought to improve quality and sustainability of human life, though there has been concerns brought up as well.

This week, our focus is on energy and world change. Energy is undoubtedly a source for many of our activities, from electrical energy in households to supplying energy to drive industrial processes. The following are components of energy sources consumption in 2008: Fossil fuels 78%, Renewables 19%, Nuclear 3%. From here, it is clearly evident that much of our energy source comes from non-renewable resources and this threatens dependency on it because these fossil fuels take so long to be formed that once they are entirely used up, they will cease to exist. Because of its wide usage in many areas in our lives and the growing demand our population has on energy sources, we are now facing a global energy crisis where energy supply is quickly dwindling.

This is when we continuously seek alternative sources of energy, so that in future, when our renewable sources run dry, we could still depend on the alternatives cultivated in the past. Patrick introduced a very a topic that captured my interest - about carbon capturing and recycling such that carbon dioxide is effectively converted to fuel as an energy source via methods such as the biofuel method and nanotechnology method. This fuel produced by the CCR technology is very compatible with the current transportation infrastructure and has a great potential as a solution to energy dependence and climate change. No doubt there remains the fact that the carbon cycle in our environment will be disrupted because this technology could well capture the CO2 required for plants to photosynthesize for survival and thereby result in ecological detriment, analysts are still positive that it could greatly reduce CO2 emission and its contribution towards global warming, and at the same time, acting as an alternative source of energy which we could rely on in the future.

Another area that could well be tapped on is the osmotic energy and energy derived from reverse electrodialysis. The osmotic process is simple because it creates a flow through the plant (from a higher water potential to lower water potential) and it is this flow that forces turbines to rotate and generate energy/electricity. But the challenge and the fact that is not largely implemented yet is because of the high cost incurred in anchoring power plants such as the Submarine Hydroelectric Power Plant/ underground Pressure-retarded Osmosis Plant. Which is why professionals have also suggested possible extensions that could be cheaper or produces much more energy per unit, and an example would be reverse electrodialysis. This process involves direct electrochemical conversion in dialytic cells. Dialytic cells use the potential found between solutions of different salt concentrations, which are separated by charged membranes. For instance, fresh water has, in general, 850 parts per million dissolved salt water. That is equal to a potential of 80 millivolts at the interface (the membrane). By putting many cells in series it is possible to create more power.

Having said the above, the possibility to utilise salinity gradient in the ocean to power our household/industrial activities lies within the technollgy to be developed. Although the costs accrued now remains the top factor of low usage, it is strongly believed that in future, when the costs decrease, osmotic energy will be a great alternative source of energy.

With all the technologies and research that scientists now undertake to create alternative sources of energy and the fact that they are looking into renewable energy as well, it is no doubt that “The days of fossil fuels are numbered and Renewable energy will drive the Green Revolution.”

I’d rate today’s lesson an 8.5/10 because it covered a wide scope with respect to alternative energy sources, such as the different TYPES of alternative energy , the way they work and the 9 challenges faced when exploring these alternatives. And I’d like to end off with a video I came across, on how the usage of solar energy seeks to alleviate mounting problems faced by 3 billion people who rely solely on wood for cooking fuel.